"selectividad texts", March, 2009

WHISKY ROBBER
The Hungarian police say that he committed 30 armed robberies, and that he shot at officers
trying to arrest him. He spent what he stole on expensive vacations, cars, and drink. Yet many Hungarians
regard him as a hero.
He is called Attila Ambrus, also known as “The Whisky Robber,” because he used to drink Scotch
to build up his courage before each robbery. He escaped 5 from jail in the centre of Budapest six months
after his arrest, and robbed three more banks before being recaptured. The biggest police mistake was to
allow him to escape. In spite of a security camera he scaled a wall of a prison yard where he had been
taking a walk.
His popularity is enormous. Almost everyone has been amused by his hide-and-seek game with
10 the police. An Austrian firm has acquired the rights to use his image to promote an energy drink. His
unfinished memoirs, left behind in his cell when he escaped and published by a local journalist, have
become a best seller. According to sociologists, people sympathise with Ambrus because they view many
government and police officials as little different from criminals in a system that is corrupt and unfair. “He
represents a kind of symbolic revenge on the system,” says a social psychologist.

(A) COMPREHENSION (3 points; 1 per question)
ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-3 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1) Is Attila Ambrus a typical hero? Why?
2) Have the Hungarian police been efficient in this case? Why?
3) What do Hungarians find attractive in Ambrus?

(B) LEXICON (2 points; 0.5 points per question)
4) Find in the text one synonym for INCREASE (verb).
5) Give one synonym for SCALE (verb) (line 7).
6) Find in the text the word which has the following definition:
‘A small room in which a prisoner is locked.’ (noun).
7) Find in the text one opposite for HONEST (adjective).

(C) GRAMMAR (2 points; 0.5 points per question)

8) Put the following sentence into the passive voice:
He always leaves his umbrella behind.
9) Give a question for this answer:
He robbed three more banks.
10) Complete the following sentence:
If the music hadn’t stopped…
11) Join the following sentences with a connector. Do not use AND. Make changes if necessary:
I enjoy cross-country skiing. It is an extremely dangerous sport.

(D) PRODUCTION (3 points)
WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS. SPECIFY YOUR OPTION.

12) a. What makes some people more popular than others? Why?
b. Do we need a police force? Why?