Past exam of the options I course of the University of Oxford / 2013 / E / 1 / a / Solution

A basis of a topology $\mathcal{T}$ is a collection $\mathcal{B}\subseteq \mathcal{T}$ such that every open set is a union of members of $\mathcal{B}$. Equivalently, for each open $U$ and every $x\in U$, there exists $B\in \mathcal{B}$ with $x\in B\subseteq U$. The empty union represents the empty set. In particular, the basis covers $X$, and any intersection of two basis elements is itself a union of basis elements.