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Nivel: POST-INTERMEDIO Paper: READING
A.1. Read the fol lowing text . Choose from these options the sentences
that are missing in the text below. There is an extra sentence.
A. "Kids who love Maths do well in Maths. He loves languages and is
doing well in languages."
B. After about age 4, most people will never gain a truly deep grasp on a
second language's morphology, which refers to the rules that govern
how words are formed from linguistic units.
C. But that finding only applies to learning tonal languages like Mandarin,
said study author Patrick Wong, a neuroscientist at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois.
D. Very young children are remarkably good at learning multiple
languages simultaneously.
E. That raises the question:
F. There are no other areas that process language.
G. There are also many other areas throughout the brain that process
language.
H. The answer, experts say, seems to be yes, no and it's complicated.
I. According to this article, studies also show that it becomes more
difficult to learn new languages as you get older.
Are some brains better at learning languages?
A ccording t o research, t here may be cert ain areas in t he brain t hat , in som e
language learners , a re larger o r more ef f ic ient , and t hat could giv e t hem an
adv ant age at learn ing languages. 1 . _____________________
The gis t
There may be cert ain areas in t he brain t hat are enlarged or ex t ra
e f f ic ient t hat could lend some language learners an adv ant age.
Sc ient is t s hav e made anot her huge st em ce ll breakt hrough, t h is t ime
growing a human brain t is sue in a lab! St udies show t hat it becomes
more dif f icu lt t o learn new languages as y ou get o lder.
Neuroscient ists are st ill t ry ing to understand all the various brain regions
inv o lv ed in learn ing a language.
In his spare t ime, an otherwise ordinary 16 -year old boy from New York taught
himself Hebrew, A rabic, Russian, Swahili, and a dozen other languages, t he New
York T imes report ed last week.
A nd ev en t hough it ' s not ent ire ly c lear how c lose t o f luent T imot hy Doner is
in any of h is s t udied languages, t he h igh school sophomore - along wit h ot her
po ly glot s l ike h im - are cert ain ly dif fe rent f rom most A mericans, who speak
one or may be t wo languages.
How Exercise R ewires Your B rain
2. _____________________: I s t here somet hing unique about cert ain brains ,
which allows some people t o speak and underst and so many more
languages t han t he rest o f us?
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3. _____________________ For some people , genes may prime t he brain t o be
good at language learn ing, according t o some new research. A nd st udies
are just s t art ing t o pinpoint a few brain regions t hat are ex t ra - large or ex t ra-
ef f ic ient in people who exce l at languages.
For ot hers , t hough, it ' s more a mat t e r of be ing det ermi ned and mot iv at ed
enough t o put in t he hours and hard work necessary t o learn new way s of
communicat ing.
"K ids do we ll in what t hey l ike , " said M ichae l Paradis , a neuro linguis t at
McGill Un iv ers it y in Mont real, who compared language learn ing t o piano,
sport s o r any t h ing e lse t hat requires disc ipline . 4. _____________________
Breaking the Code: Why Yuor Barin Can Raed Tihs
" Th is is just an ex t reme case of a general princ iple , " he added. " I f y ou
pract ice and hav e a great deal of mot iv at ion fo r a part icu lar domain,
y ou' re go ing t o be able t o improv e in t hat domain bey ond normal l imit s . "
5. _____________________ They can dev e lop nat iv e -sounding accent s in each
t ongue. A nd int o adult hood, all re inforced languages ho ld t he ir own in t he
brain wit hout int e rfe ring wit h t he ot hers - un like lat e r learners who may hav e
t rouble remembering a second language when t hey begin t o learn a t h ird.
Wit h age, t hough, it not only becomes t ougher t o learn new languages,
t here may ev en be dev e lopment al s t ages bey ond which cert ain nuances of
language s imply become inaccess ible . By t he age of 9 t o 12 mont hs, fo r
example , babies begin t o lose t he abil it y t o dis t inguish bet ween sounds t hat
are not used in t he ir nat iv e language, said Loraine Oble r, a neuro linguis t at
t he CUNY Graduat e Cent er in New York.
6. _____________________ A f t e r age 7 or so , t he brain begins t o pay more
at t ent ion t o what it ' s learn ing, Paradis said, which af fect s t he t y pe of
memory k ids use t o pick up languages.
A nd bey ond pubert y , it becomes unlike ly t hat someone wil l be able t o speak
a new language wit hout a fo re ign accent , t hough Doner is un ique in how
impress iv e h is accent sounds, which may re f lect a lat e -t o-mat ure brain.
( There seems t o be no cut -of f po int fo r learn ing v ocabulary ).
For more t han a cent ury , sc ient is t s hav e known t hat t here are key areas on
t he ex t e rio r cort ex of t he brain ' s le f t hemisphere , known as Broca' s area and
Wernicke ' s area, t hat are c rit ical fo r learn ing t o speak and underst anding
speech, Oble r said. 7. _____________________
Genes, neurot ransmit t e rs and brain regions inv o lv ed in long -t e rm memory
play ro les as we ll, Paradis said. A nd a number of dif fe rent s t ruct ures
probably come int o play when people speak a second language compared
t o when t hey speak t he ir f irs t .
Only in t he last few y ears hav e sc ient is t s begun t o ze ro in on brain regions
t hat seem t o mat t e r most in he lping po ly glot s dev e lop t he ir impress iv e sk il ls .
I n a 2008 s t udy in t he journal Cerebral Cort ex , fo r example , researchers
found bet t e r language learn ing abil it ie s in co llege st udent s wit h a larger
Heschl' s gy rus , an area on t he le f t s ide of t he brain t hat processes pit ch.
8. _____________________
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B. Read the fol lowing text and complete the exercises below .
A Hom e s For Al l Organisat ions that he lp the homeless are warn ing that people wi l l face even greater hardship th is winter un less urgent act ion is taken to o f fer shel ter to those wi thout a home. T his warn ing fo l lows publ icat ion of f igures showing an increase in the number of homeless pe ople. Susan Evans of the organisat ion 'Homes for Al l ' sa id : "Wi th a shor tage of accommodat ion, more people than ever before - young and o ld - are hav ing to s leep rough . A co ld winter is predic ted th is year which
means that these people wi l l have to put up wi th sub-zero temperatures. Act ion must be taken urgent ly to of fer these people shel ter . " A nat ionwide demonstrat ion to ra ise awareness of the problem wi l l take p lace th is weekend. Suppor ters welcome. B V il lage Prote st Residents o f loca l v i l lage, Shi lden, are prepar ing for a n ight o f protest to save the i r v i l lage f rom Government p lanners. Proposals for a new motorway to be bui l t that wi l l run wi th in 2 k i lometres of Shi lden have caused uproar amongst res idents . T hey c la im that they were g iven insuf f ic ient t ime to respond to the proposal . T ony Fel lows, spokesperson for the 'Vi l lage Protest ' campaign expla ins: "T he p lanned route cuts across some of the most p ic turesque count rys ide in the reg ion. Shi lden
welcomes thousands of tour is ts each year . Many of the sho pkeepers depend on th is t rade and would a lmost cer ta in ly face ru in i f tour is ts were put o f f coming by the damage th is road is l ike ly to cause". T he a l l -n ight protest wi l l take p lace in the f ie lds where the bu i ld ing work is l i ke ly to begin. C Ne w Y outh Club Youngsters in the c i ty -centre wi l l lose out on a much - loved pro ject i f substant ia l funds are not found th is year . T he 'New Youth Club ', which is open to young people f rom the ages of 10 to 17, is be ing threatened wi th c losure by Heal th and Safety of f ic ia ls who c la im the bui ld ing is unsafe. T he c lub, bu i l t 30 years ago, was badly damaged by heavy s torms last year and c i ty engineers est imate that one hundred thousand pounds in needed to repai r s t ructura l damage. Wi th on ly l imi ted funds at the i r d isposal , managers fear the c lub wi l l have to c lose. Youngsters f rom
the c lub have organised an Open Day on T uesday in an ef for t to ra ise some of the money needed to enable the repai rs to be under taken. "T his a lone won't be enough, however" warned Adam Ross, Youth Leader . D Sav e Le a V al le y A rare species of but ter f ly and many nat ive p lants face ext inct ion i f the 'Lea Val ley Of f ice Complex' pro ject goes ahead. T his is the c la im made by loca l env i ronmenta l is ts invo lved in the 'Save Lea Val ley ' campaign. T hey argue that the proposed development , to be bui l t on the s i te of woodland dat ing back hundreds of years, wi l l rob the country of severa l rare species of wi ld l i fe . 'Local people would be horr i f ied i f they knew of the consequences of th is pro ject , ' c la imed env i ronmenta l is t Ian Wi lson yesterday . "We need to inst igate a loca l campaign to
a ler t everyone to the dangers. We are s tar t ing by wr i t ing le t ters to everyone in the area ask ing for the i r suppor t . T he of f ice complex developers must not be a l lowed to do th is . "
B.1. Multip le Matching: Read the magazine ar tic le about var ious local
campaigns. Fo r Questions 1 -10, choose A, B, C o r D .
1 Local bus inesses could be badly af fect ed.
2 People in t he area are not aware of t he problem.
3 There are plans t o build a bran d new building.
4 The campaigns do not hav e t o meet t oget her.
5 The problem af fect s all age groups.
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6 The problem was caused by bad weat her.
7 I f t he plan goes ahead it wi l l spo il t he look of t he area.
8 The campaign cannot raise enough money on it s own.
9 The problem was announced short ly af t e r a report was published.
10 Young people are in danger.
B.2. Vocabulary exe rc ise : f ind words o r express ions in the text that match
the de f in it ions be low.
1 t o spend t he n ight in t he open; be wit hout a home or wit hout she lt e r (A )
2 a s t at e of v io lent and no isy dis t urbance; t urmoil (B)
3 charming or pleas ing t o t he ey e (B)
4 hav ing t he opport unit y t o make use of somet hing (C)
5 t o cause t o happen by urging; t o encourage (D)
C. R ead t h is t ext about B i l l G at es and do t he exe rc ises be low .
William Henry Gates III, Bill, was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington.
B i l l was the second of three ch i ldren in an upper -middle c lass fami ly . He enjoyed
p lay ing games wi th the fami ly and was very compet i t ive. He a lso loved to read. B i l l
became bored in publ ic school so h is fami ly sent h im to Lakeside School , a pr ivate
school , where he excel led in math and sc ience and d id wel l in drama and Engl ish.
Gates became in terested in computer programming when he was 13, dur ing the
era of g iant mainf rame computers. His school he ld a fund -ra iser to purchase a
te le type terminal so s tudents could use computer t ime that was donated by
Genera l E lect r ic . Us ing th is t ime, Gates wrote a t ic - tac- toe program us ing BASIC,
one of the f i rs t computer languages. Later he created a computer vers ion of Risk,
a board game he l iked in which the goal is wor ld dominat ion. At Lakes ide, B i l l met
Paul Al len, who shared h is in terest in computers. Gates and Al len and two other
s tudents hacked in to a computer be longing to Computer Center Corporat ion (CCC)
to get f ree computer t ime but were caught . Af ter a per iod of probat ion, they were
al lowed back in the computer lab when they of fered to f ix g l i tches in CCC’s
sof tware. At age 17, Gates and Al len were paid $20,000 for a program cal led T raf -
O-Data that was used to count t ra f f ic .
In ear ly 1973, B i l l Gates served as a congress ional page in the U.S. House of
Representat ives. He scored 1590 out o f 1600 on the SAT and was accepted by
Harvard Univers i ty . Steve Bal lmer , who became CEO of Microsof t a f ter B i l l re t i red,
was a lso a Harvard s tudent . Meanwhi le , Paul Al len dropped out o f Washington
Col lege to work on computers a t Honeywel l Corporat ion and conv inced Gates to
drop out o f Harvard an d jo in h im in s tar t ing a new sof tware company in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. T hey ca l led i t Micro -Sof t . T h is was soon changed to
Microsof t , and they moved the i r company to Bel levue, Washington.
In 1980, IBM, one of the largest technology companies of the er a, asked Microsof t
to wr i te sof tware to run the i r new personal computer , the IBM PC. Microsof t kept
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the l icens ing r ights for the operat ing system (MS -DOS) so that they earned money
for every computer so ld f i rs t by IBM, and la ter by a l l the other companie s that
made PC computers. Microsof t grew quick ly f rom 25 employees in 1978 to over
90,000 today. Over the years, Microsof t developed many new technologies and
some of the wor ld ’s most popular sof tware and products such as Word and Power
Point . Al though some have cr i t ic ized Gates for us ing quest ionable bus iness
pract ices, he bu i l t Microsof t in to one of the largest companies in the wor ld . He has
been descr ibed as br i l l iant but ch i ld l ike, dr iven, compet i t ive, in tense, fun, but
lack ing in empathy.
B i l l Gates i s one of the r ichest men in the wor ld . In 2012, h is $61 b i l l ion dol lars in
assets made h im the wor ld 's second r ichest man accord ing to Forbes Magazine. In
2006, Gates announced that he would cut back h is invo lvement a t Microsof t to
spend more t ime on phi la nthropy and h is foundat ion. T he Bi l l and Mel inda Gates
Foundat ion suppor ts many causes inc lud ing the quest to erad icate Pol io , f ight ing
AIDS, malar ia and tubercu los is ; prov id ing vacc inat ions for ch i ldren; and even
re invent ing the to i le t among many other th ings. (Adapted f rom ht tp : / /m rnus s baum.com/gates)
C.1. Choose t he best opt ion:
1. I f t he ent ire passage was l imit ed t o t he last paragraph, what would an
appropriat e name for t he passage be?
a. The R ise of M ic rosof t
b. Microsof t and it s Sof t ware
c . The Bus iness P ract ices of M ic rosof t
d. Microsof t and it s Bil l ionaires
2 . Which is NOT t rue about Bil l Gat es in t he f irs t paragraph?
a. He enjoy ed public school
b. He was born in Seat t le , Washingt on
c . He was compet it ive
d. He was inv o lv ed in drama
3 . What does t he word "philant hropy " m ean in t he last paragraph?
a. charit y
b. bus iness
c . wealt h
d. comput er t echnology
4 . Microsof t earned money ev ery t ime. . . .
a. I BM built a comput er
b. I BM so ld a comput er running MS -DOS
c . T raf -O-dat a was used
d. CCC used it s sof t ware
5 . Where was St ev e Ballmer a s t udent ?
a. Washingt on College
b. A lbuquerque, New Méx ico
c . Harv ard Univ ers it y
d. The passage doesn' t say
6 . Which of t he fo llowing was t he EFFECT of Bil l hacking int o t he CCC
comput er
a. He wrot e a T I C -TA C-TOE program
b. He met Paul A llen
c . They were allowed back on t he comput er ev ent ually
d. He lost comput er priv ileges
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7 . Which of t he fo llowing WA S NOT a program writ t en by Bil l Gat es o r Paul
A llen?
a. A comput erized v ers ion of T ic -Tac-Toe
b. BA SI C
c . A comput erized v ers ion of R isk
d. T raf -o-Dat a
8 . The second t o last paragraph describes. . .
a. how Bil l Gat es became a bil l ionaire
b. how Mic rosof t rose t o a major corporat ion
c . how Mic rosof t became a bigger company t han I BM
d. t he t echnical det ails o f MS -DOS
9 . What quest ion is answered in t he second t o last paragraph?
a. What does empat hy mean?
b. How many people wo rk fo r M ic rosof t t oday ?
c . What new t echnologies , bes ides MS -DOS, did M ic rosfot dev e lop?
d. How rich is Bil l Gat es?
10. I n which of t he fo llowing way s were Bil l Gat es and Paul A llen NOT
alike?
a. They bot h went t o t he same co llege
b. They went t o t he same school
c . They bot h dropped out of co llege
d. They bot h l iked comput ers
C.2. Say w hy t he fo l low ing events w ere impor t ant in t he l i fe o f B i l l G at es:
1. His school he ld a fund-raise r t o purchase a t e le t ype t e rminal.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2 . A t Lakes ide, Bil l met Paul A llen.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
3 . He scored 1590 out of 1600 on t he SA T .
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
4 . Paul A llen dropped out of Washingt on College [ …] and conv inced
Gat es t o drop out of Harv ard.
……………………………………………………………………………………………… …
5 . Microsof t kept t he l icens ing r ight s fo r t he operat ing sy st em (MS -DOS).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
6 . Gat es announced t hat he would cut back h is inv o lv ement at
M ic rosof t .
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Nivel: POST-INTERMEDIO Paper: ENGLISH IN USE
A.1. For quest ions 1-15, read the text “TWINS” below and decide which
answer A, B , C, or D best f i ts each space.
On 19 A ugust 1939 i n Pi qua, Ohi o, t wi n brot he rs we re born (0) __to __ an
unmarr i e d mot he r. The y (1) ____ t o be adopt e d by di f fe re nt fami l i e s and (2) ____
up not knowi ng of e ach ot he r ’s e x i s t e nce . Je ss and Luci l l e Le wi s of Li ma, Ohi o,
cal l e d t he i r son Jame s (3) ____ t hat , 130 km away i n Dayt on, t he ot he r adopt i v e
pare nt s had al so cal l e d t he i r ne w son Jame s . I t was anot he r 39 ye ars be fore Jame s
Le wi s and Jame s Spr i nge r we re (4) ____ but t he l i s t of coi nci de nce s re gardi ng
t hose (5) ____ ye ars i s as t oni shi ng. Bot h had grown up wi t h adopt i ve brot he rs
cal l e d Larry and owne d dogs cal l e d Toy. A t school bot h e x ce l l e d (6) ____
mat he mat ics but hat e d spe l l i ng. Bot h had (7) ____ on 4,5 kg (10 l b. ) i n t he i r l at e
t e e ns (8) ____ no obvi ous re ason be fore l os i ng t he i r we i ght l at e r . Bot h (9) ___ _
hav i ng he adache s whe n t he y we re e i ght e e n whi ch woul d be gi n i n t he l at e
aft e rnoon and (10) ____ i nt o mi grai ne s . Bot h had marr i e d wome n cal l e d Li nda,
di vorce d t he m, and (11) ____ re marr i e d wome n name d Be t t y . One f i r s t son had
be e n name d Jame s A l an, t he ot he r Jame s A l an. Bot h me n had be e n part -t i me
de put y she r i f fs , (12) ____ by McDonal d’s and worke d as pump at t e ndant s i n pe t rol
s t at i ons . Bot h l i ke d s t ock car raci ng but hat e d base bal l . Each ye ar , bot h t wi ns had
(13) ____ t he i r fami l y t o t he same smal l F l or i da hol i day (14) ____ , dr i v i ng t he re i n
t he same (15) ____ of car and s t ay i ng at hot e l on t he same be ach.
(0)A to B got C by D f rom
(1)A came B depended C went D were
(2)A brought B raised C grew D dev e loped
(3)A unknown B unaware C unt h ink ing D unimport ant
(4)A re jo ined B l inked C combined D reunit ed
(5)A bet ween B int e rv al C miss ing D disappearing
(6)A of B fo r C wit h D at
(7)A put B t aken C grown D gone
(8)A wit hout B wit h C fo r D be ing
(9)A used B s t art ed C suf fe red D complained
(10)A become B dev e lop C keep D cont inue
(11)A t herefore B furt hermore C subsequent ly D consequent ly
(12)A worked B employ ed C st af fed D occupied
(13)A t rav e lled B brought C t aken D spent
(14)A v enue B recreat ion C resort D pos it ion
(15)A labe l B make C name D badge
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A.2. Complete the second sentence so that i t has a s imi lar meaning to
the f i rs t one us ing the word given. Do not change the given word.
You must use between two and f ive words including the given
word.
0- I w oul d prefer not to go out tonight .
I __would rather not go__ out tonight . rather
1- I ’v e nev er seen a better performance.
I t ’s ______________________ ev er seen. the
2- He managed to pass his dr iv ing test at the third attempt.
He ______________ his dr iv ing test at the third attempt. succeeded
3- I s tarted w orking here four years ago.
I ____________________ four years . have
4- In our opinion, you ought to see a doctor about your arm.
Y ou ___________________ a doctor about your arm. better
5- I t ’s poss ib le he d idn’t see the note you l eft .
He _____________________ the note you l eft . seen
6- I think a qual if ied el ectr ic ian needs to l ook at it .
I think you need ________________ by a qual if ied el ectr ic ian. have
7- I can’t s tand peopl e ta l k ing about me behind my back.
I can’t s tand _____________________ behind my back. talked
8- Y ou onl y do so badl y because you don’t t ry hard.
I f you __________________ do so badl y . would
9- We might go sw imming so br ing your sw imsuit w ith you.
Br ing your sw imsuit w ith you ____________________ sw imming. case
10- I ’m sure it isn’t the engine – it ’s just being checked.
I t _________________ the engine – it ’s just being checked. be
11-“I’ l l make the country a safer p l ace,” promised the Pr ime Minis ter.
The Pr ime Minis ter __________ the country a safer p l ace . promised
12- I d idn’ t phone because I d idn’t know you w ere back.
I __________________________ I ’d know n you w ere back. i f
13- “The t r ip is not going to be an easy one,” sa id our teacher.
Our teacher __________________ _ the t r ip w as not going to be an
easy one. warned
14- My fr iend has a l ways been abl e to cook better than me.
I ’v e nev er been abl e to cook ______________ ____ my fr iend. as
15- Peopl e say that infl at ion is gett ing out of control .
Infl ation _____________________ gett ing out of control . be
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A.3. Read the text below. Use the words given at the end of the l ines to
form a word that f i ts in the space in the same l ine.
World Cup Mystery
The Jules Remit Trophy, the greatest prize in 0-_ profess ional_ so ccer PROFESSION
i s mo re co mmo n ly 1 -__________ a s t h e Wo rl d C u p – a rewa rd t o o n e KNOW
co u n t ry a n d i t s e l even mo st 2 -_________, i d i o lised fo o t bal lers G IFT
Wh en t h e cu p wa s s t o l en i n En gl an d i n 1966, 3 -__________ o ffered ORG A NISE
a l a rge rewa rd fo r i t s sa fe ret u rn . Na t ion al 4 -__________ h a d t o b e PROUD
rest o red t o i t s r i gh t ful p l ace. Bu t wh ere wa s t h e cu p ? Th e p o ss ibi lit ies
were 5-_________. END
Th e a n swer ca me i n a n 6 -_________ wa y. A ma n wa s wa l ki n g h i s d o g EXPEC T
i n Lo n d on wh en h e sp o t ted a gl i n t , a 7 -_________ t h a t l a s ted a seco n d REFLEC T
i n a b u n d le o f d i rt y o l d n ewspa pers . He l i f t ed t h e t o p 8 -_________ o f LA Y
n ewsp a pers a n d t h ere i t wa s . Bu t t h e s t i l l 9 -_________ q u estion A NSWER
rema i n ed: wh o a ct u a ll y s t o l e t h e cu p ? Desp i te a n u mb er o f 10 -________SUSPEC T
i t wa s a q u est ion t h at t h e p o l ice were n ever t o a n swer.
A.4. Read the text below and look careful ly at each l ine. Some l ines
are correct and some have an extra word. I f a l ine is correct, put a
t ick (√ ) by i t . I f a l ine has an extra word, wri te the word at the end
of the l ine.
CRIME AT CHRISTMAS
A s C h r i s tmas wa s a p p roach ing I d eci d ed t o gi ve my sch o o l p ro ject t h e t i t le √
“C r i me a t C h r i s t ma s”. I h a d a sked fro m my t ea ch er i f t h i s wa s a go o d i d ea from
a n d h e a greed wi t h t h a t i t wa s . I d eci d ed I wo u l d s t a rt b y i n t erviewing
a p o l i cewoman. Sh e sa i d t h a t t h e n u mb er o f b u rgl ar ies a ro u nd C h r i stmas d i d
n o t i n crea se a s t h e mo st p eo p l e t h i n k. Th i s wa s b eca u se t h e ki n d o f t h i n gs
t h a t a re b ei n g fo u n d u n d er t h e C h r i st ma s t ree a re n o t t h o se t h a t t h e t yp i ca l
b u rgl a r i s l o o ki ng fo r . Th e b u rgl a r wo u l d f i n d i t d i f f i cul t t o se l l t o ys . Bu t
o n e a rea a l t h ou gh wh ere t h er e wa s a n i n crea se i n cr i me wa s sh o p l iftin g.
Th e p o l i cewoman h a s sa i d t h a t sh e t h o u ght t h i s wa s b eca u se ma n y
p eo p le d eci d ed t h ey co u l dn ’t a ffo rd b u ying t h e ex t ra t h i ngs t h ey n eed ed
fo r C h r i s tmas. Peo p l e get greed y a n d a re mo re l i ke l y t o t a ke t h i n gs wi t h out
p a yi n g t h em. A n o th er co mmo n cr i me sh e men t i on ed wa s p eo p l e
p ret en ding t o b e Sa n t a C l a us . I l a u gh ed a t t h i s a s I wa s t h i n king o f
p eo p le wh o d ress u p i n d ep a rt ment s t o res b u t sh e wa s n o t a l l jo ki ng. A
l o t o f p eo p l e go t o u t i n t o t h e s t reet s d ressed a s Sa n t a so t o l o o k l i ke p eo p le
wh o a re co l l ect in g mo n ey fo r ch a r i t ies. Of co u rse t h i s i s n o t a s ser i o us
a s l i ke o t h er cr i mes b u t i t i s a sh a me p eo p le sh o u ld ex p l oit C h r is tmas t h i s wa y.
Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
Candidate’ s N ame………...…………………………… . .…
DN I ……………………………………………………….
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Nivel: POST-INTERMEDIO Paper: LISTENING
A.1. L is ten to the information about “ THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD”
competi tion. Complete the gaps with the correct word.
The organisat ion Tour ism Aust ra l ia is offer ing s ix jobs, for s ix 1-_________.
I f you w ant one of these jobs, you hav e to make a short 2-____________.
The job of outback adv enturer is for someone w ith a pass ion for
3- ______________ l ife. Job number tw o is a park 4-_______________ in
Queens l and. The w il d l ife caretaker job on Kangaroo I s l and is for
someone w ho l ov es 5-_______________. I f you’re not an outdoor person,
the next job is for someone w hose ta l ents are in 6-_____________. The
taste master w il l need to 7-_______________ about food as w el l as enjoy
eat ing it . The fina l job is based in 8-______________.
A.2. Listen and put the job requirements (a – l) with the corresponding job.
Outback
adventurer
Park
ranger
Wildlife
caretaker
Lifestyle
journalist
Taste
master
Chief
funster
a. write, take photographs and make films
b. help preserve and promote plants, animals, fossils and indigenous culture
c. work with some dangerous animals
d. work with the organisers of festivals
e. find the best places for “wining and dining”
f. learn how to make alcoholic drinks
g. work in a state with the world’s biggest sand island
h. use social media to tell people about cool events
i. find adventures and employment for young people on working holidays
j. travel in a hot air balloon and be prepared to eat insects!
k. use different types of transport and leave only footprints
l. report on cafés, concerts and days out
Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
Candidate’ s N ame………...…………………………… . .…
DN I ……………………………………………………….
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B.1. Listen to MY HERO and circle which speaker talks about someone who…
1. was dedicated to world peace. A / B / C / D
2. has been the victim of violence as a result of their campaigning. A / B / C / D
3. left a more conventional job to help young people in their country. A / B / C / D
4. was excluded from the professional community of the time. A / B / C / D
5. she wishes she could meet. A / B / C / D
6. wrote a book about the effect humans could have on nature. A / B / C / D
7. made an important scientific discovery while still a child. A / B / C / D
8. faced strong criticism from big business. A / B / C / D
B.2. Listen and circle the best answer to complete the sentences.
1. Mary Anning's discovery was important because it showed that __.
a. fossils could teach us about the past
b. an animal could become extinct
c. the shape of the coast was constantly changing
2. Mary Anning's dog died because __.
a. it fell off a cliff
b. a large amount of earth and rocks fell on it
c. it got stuck down a hole while looking for fossils
3. Mary Anning didn't write a famous book because __.
a. she was too busy exploring the cliffs
b. she did not have access to a formal education
c. she believed only men could be scientists
4. Kailash Satyarthi first saw the problems of child slavery when he was __.
a. 6 years old
b. 11 years old
c. 26 years old
5. Kailash Satyarthi has saved over __ children from enforced labour.
a. 18,000
b. 80,000
c. 800,000
6. Because of their work, two of Kailash Satyarthi's __.
Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
Candidate’ s N ame………...…………………………… . .…
DN I ……………………………………………………….
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a. friends were injured
b. children were attacked
c. co-workers were murdered
7. Rachel Carson first specialised in __.
a. human biology
b. the study of insects
c. marine biology
8. Rachel Carson's book made people realise that __.
a. using pesticides was damaging the ecosystem
b. birdsong is essential to humans
c. humans cannot control nature
9. These days, more and more people are buying __.
a. powerful pesticides
b. organic food
c. Rachel Carson’s book
10. The speaker is apologetic because __.
a. she doesn’t know very much about John Lennon
b. she gets upset when she thinks about John Lennon
c. John Lennon is an obvious choice of hero
11. The speaker likes __.
a. all the Beatles’ songs
b. all of the Beatles’ music
c. only the Beatles songs
Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
Candidate’ s N ame………...…………………………… . .…
DN I ……………………………………………………….
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Nivel: POST-INTERMEDIO Paper: WRITING
1. Wri te a sui table text of 200-230 words on ONE of the se options:
a. Last mont h y ou and y our family v is it ed t he nort hern t own of Bude in
Cornwall, which is a popular seas ide resort . You had booked a t wo -
bedroom apart ment , but when y ou arr iv ed problems st art ed. Ev en
t hough y ou complained t o t he recept ionis t , no so lut ion was of fe red
and y ou had t o leav e t he place and mov e t o a nearby hot e l.
Writ e t o Mr. Green, t he manager of Beachs ide A part ment s . Explain
ev ery t h ing t hat went wrong and complain about t he se rv ice y ou
rece iv ed f rom his company .
OR
b. You hav e rece iv ed an e -mail f rom y our English -speaking f r iend,
Nat alie . Th is is part o f her e -mail:
Thanks for inv iting me to stay with you when I v is it your country
next month . I ’m not sure how to get to your p lace from the bus station in Santa Rosa. Could you wr ite back g iv ing me some s imple
directions? What’s the cheapest means of transport there? Wha t
wi ll the weather be like when I get there? I ’ ll need to know which
clothes to pack. Also , p lease tell me about the activ ities we can do
in your town and the p laces we can v is it nearby.
Writ e an e -mail t o Nat alie answer ing he r questions .
OPT ION ______
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Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
Candidate’ s N ame………...…………………………… . .…
DN I ……………………………………………………….
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2. Express your opinion WRITING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY on ONE
of the fol lowing topics, to be shared with your classmates. Wri te
between 210 and 240 words.
2.1 Most teenagers now adays bel iev e they cannot do w ithout a
home computer and find them adv antageous in ev ery w ay. To w hat
extent do you agree w ith this? What do you think are the
adv antages and disadv antages of hav ing your ow n computer?
2.2. No one can deny that the age of gett ing marr ied is d ifferent
from one country to another. So, w e st il l can see that some peopl e
bel iev e that gett ing marr ied at a young age has bad effects on our
l iv es . Discuss and expl a in three benefit s and three draw backs of
ear l y marr iage.
OPT ION ______
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Ex amen de A credi tac ión de N iv e les de Lengua Inglesa - SEREX - 2 0 1 5
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DN I ……………………………………………………….
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