textos puente de mayo

SPYPHONES

A device first used by German tank drivers in 1942 can prove to be helpful in everyday life: people will no longer have to run out of pubs when their mobile rings showing the number of their boss or their partner. They will talk freely knowing that the person on the other end cannot hear a thing going around them: the roar of the crowd, loud music, or a friend’s laughter.

The device, which is worn around the neck, does not transmit outside noise as it does not use a microphone; instead, a microchip translates voice vibrations in the skin into electrical impulses that are then turned into words. It can be worn under the collar of a shirt, and you can only see an earpiece, although a wireless version is also being developed.

The apparatus has been brought to Britain by Andrew Darby, who saw it in a spy shop in Hong Kong. He thinks that it can be especially beneficial to emergency services, construction industry and sports people, who could communicate with each other in very noisy situations. However, it doesn’t work if you are unable to hear someone speaking to you over the phone. So do not try to go to a rock concert and ring your boss telling them you are at the doctor’s.

(A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)

a) ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (1 point per answer)

1) What is the main contribution of the new device to mobile phones?

2. How will mobile users know that the device is operative?

b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points per answer)

3. Thanks to the device people will be able to get out of public places when they see the number of their boss.

4) A microphone prevents outside noise from interrupting the conversation.

5. The device can’t be seen because it is worn under the user’s clothes.

6) The first model of the device has a wire connecting the earpiece.

(B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)

7) Give one opposite for HELPFUL (adjective) (line 1) (0.25 points)

8) Find in the text a synonym for BUILDING (noun) (0.25 points)

9) Find in the text the word which has the following definition: (0.25 points)

“person who controls or gives orders to workers”

10) Give a noun with the same root as LOUD (adjective). (0.25 points)

11) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice. (0.5 points)

You can’t hear anything on a helicopter.

12) Turn the following sentence into reported speech: (0.5 points)

Michael wondered: “Why do I do this every day?”

13) Complete the following sentence: (0.5 points)

If I had known the truth about Larry . . .

14) Use the words in the boxes to make a meaningful sentence. Use all and only the words in the boxes without changing their form. (0.5 points)

40 dollars

me

wine

charged

they

the

for

(C) PRODUCTION (3 points)

15) Write a composition (80-100 WORDS) Choose ONE of the following options. Specify your option.

1. Good and bad uses of new technologies.

2. Would you like to work or volunteer for an emergency service? Why?

TEXT 2

Yellow journalism is a type of journalism in which sensationalism triumphs over facts. Some journalists employ colourful language and exaggeration to make a dull, dry story more exciting; sometimes facts are not carefully checked, and even entire incidents are falsified. “Human interest” stories, accounts of murders, scandals and gossip are habitually covered by the yellow press, which developed in the 19th century, especially in the United States.

Two early examples of yellow newspapers were the New York World and the New York Journal American, published by magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, respectively. They used a populist approach to political and social issues, and competed with each other with attractive illustrations, articles by talented writers, and cartoons (one of these, called “The Yellow Kid”, gave the journals their nickname). These papers had large circulations and financial success; they became models for the popular press, and a powerful influence on public opinion.


 The Spanish/American War of 1898, for example, was preceded by intense campaigns in the yellow press encouraging the U.S. public’s patriotism and sympathy for Cuban rebels. Sensational anti-Spanish stories were published distorting the news. Hearst is said to have told his reporters in Cuba, when they found the situation peaceful: “You supply the pictures, and I’ll supply the war”.

(A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)

a) ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS... (1 point per answer)

1) How are facts treated by yellow journalism?

2) Why is the sensationalist press known as “yellow journalism”?

b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points per answer)

3) The news published by the yellow press is always true.

4) Hearst’s and Pulitzer’s papers were not read by many people.

5) Hearst and Pulitzer encouraged an anti-war atmosphere.

3. Hearst sent his reporters to Cuba after the war had started.

(B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)

7) Find in the text one opposite for BORING (adjective). (0.25 points)

8) Give one synonym for INCIDENT (line 3) (noun). (0.25 points)

9) Find in the text one synonym for USE (verb). (0.25 points)

10) Find in the text the word which has the following definition: (0.25 points)

“a familiar or humorous denomination for a person or thing” (noun).

11) Turn the following sentences into reported speech: (0.5 points)

“Buy me the paper if you’re going out”, Alice asked her brother.

12) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice: (0.5 points)

Many people consider the yellow press dishonest.

13) Join the following sentences using a relative. Make changes if necessary. (0.5 points)

Clark Kent worked for a newspaper. The newspaper was called ‘The Daily Planet’.

14) Give a question for the underlined words: (0.5 points)

The yellow press specializes in scandal and gossip.

(C) PRODUCTION (3 points)

15) Write a composition (80-100 WORDS) Choose ONE of the following options. Specify your option.

4. Gossip and yellow journalism in the Spanish media. Give your opinion.

5. Would you like to become famous and appear on TV?

TEXT 3

University students in the UK today

1. A survey, whose results have been made public recently, contradicts the long-held perception of

2. university students as more interested in socializing and partying than in working hard and keeping

3. healthy habits. It also shows how much the university experience has changed; it is now more

4. separatist and less centred around campus than it used to be.

5. According to the survey, three-quarters of the UK’s 1.2 million undergraduates view university as

6. a way of improving their potential for a well-paid job. Money is also a preoccupation to students in

7. another sense: two years ago universities introduced higher fees, increasing the pressure on the

8. students’ !nances (many of them have to pay back their student loans after graduation). Therefore, the

9. tradition of university as a “fun” life experience is becoming obsolete, and today’s students are

10. prepared to work hard to make their investment pro!table.

11. The number of hours students spend socialising while at university has fallen dramatically in the

12. last two years. And many of them are less likely to be found in university bars than in libraries: more

13. than three-quarters spend two hours or more of a typical weekday on private study, and over a

14. quarter devote four hours or above.

15. (For their socialising, 52% of students choose off-campus sites, but the majority still prefer

16. university cafeterias at meal times. They say that the traditional community spirit has not disappeared

17. entirely, although internet “social webs” are used by at least 88% of them.)

18. This generation of students is also health-conscious: most do exercise and make an effort to eat

19. healthily.

20. Unfortunately, their !nances aren’t so healthy; the majority expect to accumulate debts of over

21. £10,000 by the time they graduate. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, most students are doing this without

22. much difficulty because they are con!dent that they are making the right investment in their future

23. career. And curiously, worries about money seem to matter less than worries about work or results.

24. Seven in ten students are more concerned about achieving the quali!cations they want while just 43%

25. lose sleep over money.

26. Going to university is a much bigger responsibility than it used to be. But most lecturers still say

27. that if you study something you like, there is a better chance you’ll work in a !eld you love, even if

28. you don’t earn so much money.

I COMPREHENSION (4 points)

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-3 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (1 point per answer)

1 Why isn’t university life as “fun” as it used to be? Give two reasons.

2 How have the students’ socialising habits changed?

3 Why aren’t money debts the students’ top concern?

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT, OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (0.5 points per answer)

4 Many students borrow money to study a degree.

5 Each year at university costs the average UK student £10,000.

II USE OF ENGLISH: Choose either all the A or all the B questions (3 points)

6A FIND IN THE TEXT ONE WORD MEANING “money charged for a service” (NOUN).	6B GIVE ONE SYNONYM FOR “fall” (VERB; LINE 11).	(0.25 points)
7A GIVE ONE OPPOSITE FOR “higher”(ADJECTIVE) (LINE 7).	7B FIND IN THE TEXT ONE OPPOSITE FOR “worsen” (VERB).	(0.25 points)
8A FIND IN THE TEXT THE WORD WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION: “university student who has not completed his/her degree” (NOUN).	8B FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORECT OPTION: “Travel is easier ...... than it was in the past.” Actually / Presently / Nowadays	(0.25 points)
9A GIVE A VERB WITH THE SAME ROOT AS “preoccupation” (NOUN; LINE 6).	9B WHICH WORD IS NOT AN ADVERB? Hard / Costly / Hardly	(0.25 points)
10A FILL IN THE GAP WITH A CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS: “Students can’t help .......... (worry) about final exams”.	10B FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION: “The girl was very quiet; she ......” hardly never spoke / hardly ever spoke / spoke hardly	(0.5 points)
11A JOIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING A RELATIVE. MAKE CHANGES IF NECESSARY: “Most students will owe a lot of money to the bank. Their finances aren’t very healthy”.	11B TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE: “People were accusing me of the accident.”	(0.5 points)
12A COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONAL SENTENCE: “If I had been more careful ..........”.	12B REWRITE THE SENTENCE CORRECTLY: “The road to the beach has 2Km.”	(0.5 points)
13A USE THE WORDS IN THE BOXES TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL SENTENCE. USE ALL AND ONLY THE WORDS IN THE BOXES WITHOUT CHANGING THEIR FORM: weren't lift the arms enough to his weight strong	13B JOIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING AN APPROPRIATE LINKER (DO NOT USE AND, BUT, OR BECAUSE). MAKE CHANGES IF NECESSARY: “He lacked physical strength. He won the !ght.”	(0.5 points)

III PRODUCTION (3 points)