July 7, 1985

With a night of rest to refresh him, Boris Becker returned to Centre Court today to continue the pursuit of a championship his opponents have said he cannot win. And once again the 17-year-old West German was like rolling thunder, overpowering Anders Jarryd in the completion of their semifinal match and becoming the youngest player to reach the men's final at Wimbledon. Becker defeated Jarryd, seeded fifth, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3, and will face Kevin Curren in the final Sunday. The match was suspended Friday because of rain and darkness with the score at 1-1 in the third set. The additional time to contemplate what he is on the verge of accomplishing did not appear to affect Becker.

A covered wagon crossing an empty desert in the mid-day sun. A man on horseback at full gallop across a wide and lonely prairie with nothing but space and sky as far as the eye can see. These are scenes so ingrained in the American psyche that they form a part of our national self-image. They come from the westerns we all grew up with, but, according to the writer and director Lawrence Kasdan, they are as exotic to the young moviegoers of today as the landscape of the moon. Now, in his new film ''Silverado,'' which opens Wednes-day at the Ziegfeld, Mr. Kasdan hopes to introduce the western to an audience that has hardly ever seen it, and pique the nostalgia of those who may have forgotten its what they have been missing.

A growing number of colleges and universities in the Northeast are embarking on projects to bolster the economic health of their communities. From opening day-care centers to setting up real-estate ventures in depressed neighborhoods, public and private colleges are undertaking the projects independently, as collaborators with state governments or as partners in corporations. Columbia University, for example, which has had problems finding ample housing for its students in the Morningside Heights area, has joined the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in planning a mixed housing project on Amsterdam Avenue between 111th and 112th Streets to accommodate the elderly as well as students. Yale University in New Haven is one of the founders of a corporation that is building an 80-acre industrial park on the border of an impoverished neighborhood. Day-Care Center - Trinity College in Hartford plans to open a day-care center that city residents will be able to use. Drew University in Madison, N.J., gave $300 this year to the town's Police Department to buy bulletproof vests.

Oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries failed again today to agree on measures to bolster world oil prices, despite a warning by Mexico that it might cut its oil prices next week. It would be Mexico's second price cut in a month in response to declining demand for its oil. Analysts say a price cut by Mexico, which is not an OPEC member, would almost certainly lead to a renewed decline in world oil prices, rendering the cartel's price structure increasingly unrealistic and fragile. After two days of apparently fruitless talks here, Indonesia's Oil Minister, Subroto, who is presiding over the meeting, told reporters he had asked ministers to return on Sunday to suggest ''immediate steps'' to defend the cartel's price structure and its share of the world market.

JUST three years ago, there were a handful of bed and breakfast accommodations in Connecticut. Now, more than 200 Connecticut homeowners make rooms available to paying guests, said Barbara Beeching, a spokesman for the State Division of Tourism. Bed and breakfasts, as they are called by their operators, are found in mansions, old farmhouses, and homes of every description. Homeowners rent out spare bedrooms and offer their guests breakfast, which can range from a croissant and a cup of coffee to a meal of several courses.