Texto Selectividad Extremadura 2007 Septiembre

Dangerous driving

How many times have you driven to work in the morning and, either on a dual carriageway or parked at traffic lights, looked at the car next to you, only to be confronted by the sight of somebody with a mobile phone glued to his or her ear? It is a sight that is now becoming increasingly common as more people than ever before have mobile phones and people drive to work rather than use the public transportation system. However, a recent study at the Transport Research Laboratory sponsored by insurer Direct Line has provided new evidence that driving and using a mobile phone may be more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol. The research showed that on average the reactions of the driver were nearly 50% slower than when driving normally, and that even using a hands-free kit did not completely eliminate the distraction caused by having a telephone conversation whilst driving. Using a hand held mobile phone and driving is illegal in many countries, including the UK, and those caught in this country are usually prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving. Some MP's, however, believe that it should be treated as a separate offence and are currently trying to push a bill through parliament banning the use of hand-held mobile phones when driving. But it is not just the Nokia-wielding maniacs that give me cause for concern. A friend of mine e-mailed me this morning to tell me about a woman he saw driving at around l00mph in a BMW with her face close to the rear view mirror as she applied her makeup. Also, the number of times I’ve seen a sales rep sitting in his company car either shaving or reading the paper just amazes me.

1. Do you think that young people in Spain should be able to learn to drive before the age of eighteen, as in other countries? Give your opinión in about 80-100 words.

2. According to the text, why is using a mobile phone when driving dangerous?

3. Imagine a friend of yours has been drinking alcohol. Tell him/her not to drive and give him/her a reason for not doing so.

4. Rewrite the following sentence in indirect style (reported speech): He asked:
How many times have you driven to work in the morning?

5. Find two words in the text containing vowels or groups of vowels which are pronounced in the same way as i in driven, eo in people, and a in many. Underline the part of the word that contains the sound.

Texto Selectividad Extremadura 2007 Junio

Marriage

In the English common law tradition, from which US legal doctrines and concepts have developed, a marriage was a contract based upon a voluntary private agreement by a man and a woman to become husband and wife. Marriage was viewed as the basis of the family unit and vital to the preservation of morals and civilization. Traditionally, the husband had a duty to provide a safe house, pay for necessities such as food and clothing, and live in the house. The wife's obligations were maintaining a home, living in the home, having sexual relations with her husband, and rearing the couple's children. Today the underlying concept that marriage is a legal contract still remains but, due to changes in society, the legal obligations are not the same. Marriage is chiefly regulated by the different states in the U.S.A. The Supreme Court has held that states are permitted to reasonably regulate the institution by prescribing who is allowed to marry, and how the marriage can be dissolved. One power that the states do not have, however, is that of prohibiting marriage in the absence of a valid reason. For example, prohibiting interracial marriage is not allowed for lack of a valid reason and because it was deemed to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. All states limit people to one living husband or wife at a time and will not issue marriage licenses to anyone with a living spouse. Once an individual is married, the person must be legally released from the relationship by either death, divorce, or annulment before he or she may remarry. Other limitations on individuals include age and close relationship. Limitations that some but not all states prescribe are: the requirements of blood tests, good mental capacity, and being of opposite sex.


1. Do you think it is a good idea for a couple to live together before getting married? Express your opinion in about 80-100 words.

2. According to the text, what law do all the states have in common?

3. Imagine a friend of yours is planning to marry a much older person just because s/he has a lot of money. Advise him/her not to and give a reason for not doing so.

4. Rewrite the following sentence in negative interrogative:
States are permitted to reasonably regulate the institution

5. Find two words in the text containing vowels or groups of vowels that are pronounced in the same way as aw in law, E in English, and a in basis. Underline the part of the word that contains the sound.

Texto Selectividad Extremadura 2006 Septiembre

Violence in Media Entertainment

Between the years 2000 B.C. and 44 A.D., the ancient Egyptians entertained themselves with plays repeating the murder of their god Osiris –and the spectacle, history tells us, led to a number of copycat killings. The ancient Romans were given to lethal spectator sports as well, and in 30 B.C. Saint Augustine lamented that his society was addicted to gladiator games and “drunk with the fascination of bloodshed”.

Violence has always played a role in entertainment. But there’s a growing consensus that, in recent years, something about media violence has changed. In the first place, there’s more violence than ever before. Laval University professors Guy Paquette and Jacques de Guise studied six major Canadian television networks over a seven-year period, examining films, situation comedies, dramatic series, and children’s programming (though not cartoons). The study found that between 1993 and 2001, incidents of physical violence increased by 378 per cent. TV shows in 2001average 40 acts of violence per hour.

Moreover, other research indicates that media violence has not just increased in quantity, it has also become much more graphic, much more sexual, and much more sadistic. Explicit pictures of slow-motion bullets exploding from people’s chests, and dead bodies surrounded by pools of blood, are now commonplace material. One of the top-selling video games in the world, Grand Theft Auto, is programmed so players can beat people to death with baseballs bats.

Concerns about media violence have grown as television and movies have acquired a global audience. When UNESCO surveyed children in 23 countries around the world in 1998, it discovered that 91 per cent of children had a television in their home –and not just in the US, Canada And Europe, but also in the Arab States, Latin America, Asia And Africa. More than a half of boys living in war zones and high-crime areas chose action heroes as role models, ahead of any other images; and a remarkable 88 per cent of the children surveyed could identify the Arnold Schwarzenegger character from the film Terminator. UNESCO reported that Terminator “seems to represent the characteristics that children think are necessary to cope with difficult situations”.

1. Should all violence in films and TV programmes be prohibited? Express your opinion in around 80-100 words.
2. According to the text, what are the main changes in media violence over the last few years? (Give a short answer enumerating at least two changes).
3. Imagine a friend of yours wants to watch a violent film. Tell him or her not to do it.
4. Write the following sentence in the negative form of the simple past:
“Violence has always played arole in entertainment”.
5. Find two words in the text containing vowels or groups of vowels which are pronounced in the same way as o in slow, ea in dead, and ay in play (underline the part of the word which contains the sound).

Texto Selectividad Extremadura 2006 Junio

A Kiss Before Buying 

Two gay men shopping for a dinning room table together may not seem such a surprise these days, but in 1994 nothing similar had appeared on TV. Swedish retailer Ikea portrayed the first gay couple in a TV commercial (advertisement), and though it was briefly shown in just a few American Cities, it became worldwide news.

Ten years later, gays and lesbians have become very important I television programming and movies but have rarely graced ordinary advertisements. Despite its creative bent, the industry has remained reluctant to recognize gays either in advertising or internal business policies. A 1997 survey of 50 agencies of varying sizes obtained just nine responses to Window Corporation, a marketing and public relations firm specializing in the gay market. Only three recognized samesex couples benefits, and five had an inclusive non- discrimination policy.

However, a number of advertisers are beginning to find a comfort level with gay themes, which are becoming increasingly common. The motive is not really to catch the much-solicited gay dollar but to use the cachet that gay seems to add to certain brands. By using gay themes, many forward-thinking advertisers are positioning their products as being young and fashionable. 

In some cases a gay theme is used for comic effect. Early this year a New York-based company started running local commercial on the Comedy Central cable network about a woman meeting a blind date in the park. She sits next to attractive, bookish man whom she thinks may be her date until he is met by a gay who plants a big kiss on him.

1. Do you think gay people are discriminated against our society? Express your opinion in around 80-100 words.

2. According to the text, what is the main reason that gay people are shown in ads nowadays? (Give a short answer)

3. Imagine you are a shop assistant and a customer is not satisfied with a table he has bought in your shop. Apologize for having a sold table in bad condition.

4. Combine the following two sentences by replacing the underlined words with a relative pronoun to form a relative clause: a. The woman is meeting a blind date. B. The woman is sitting next to an attractive man in the park.

5. Find two words in the text containing vowels or groups of vowels which are pronounced in the same way as u in number, a in days, and o in local (underline the part of the word which contains the sound).

Texto EBAU Canarias 2018 Opción B

Why Bob Dylan Shouldn’t Have Gotten a Nobel

Bob Dylan does not deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature. He does deserve the many Grammys he has received, including a lifetime achievement award, which he won in 1991. He unquestionably belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1988. He is a wonderful musician, a world-class songwriter and an enormously influential figure in American culture. But by awarding the prize to him, the Nobel committee is choosing not to award it to a writer, and that is a disappointing choice.
Yes, Mr. Dylan is a brilliant lyricist. Yes, he has written a book of prose poetry and an autobiography. Yes, it is possible to analyze his lyrics as poetry. But Mr. Dylan’s writing is inseparable from his music. He is great because he is a great musician, and when the Nobel committee gives the literature prize to a musician, it misses the opportunity to honor a writer. As reading declines around the world, literary prizes are more important than ever. A big prize means a jump in sales and readership even for a well-known writer. But more than that, awarding the Nobel to a novelist or a poet is a way of affirming that fiction and poetry still matter, that they are crucial human endeavors worthy of international recognition.
The committee probably did not mean to discredit fiction or poetry with its choice. By honoring a musical icon, the committee members may have wanted to bring new cultural recognition to the prize and make it feel relevant to a younger generation. They could have chosen a writer who has made significant innovations in the form. They could have selected a writer from the developing world, which remains sadly underrepresented among Nobel laureates. Instead, the committee gave the prize to a man who is internationally famous in another field, one with plenty of honors of its own. Bob Dylan does not need a Nobel Prize in Literature, but literature needs a Nobel Prize. This year, it won’t get one.   
                                                                               (334 words)
www.nytimes.com, October 2016

1.- Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. Copy the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)
a) Bob Dylan’s lyrics are not considered a literary work on their own.
b) The Nobel committee’s decision to award Bob Dylan might have been taken to make the prize gain more significance among younger people.
c) The author’s reason to criticise the decision of the committee is that it deprives writers of getting it.


2.- Choose ONLY THREE of the following words and write a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence (  only one of these four)   to show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1.5 points)
a) – to deserve (line 1)
d) – to discredit (line 15)
b) – lifetime (line 2)
e) – instead (line 19)
c) –worthy (line 14)
f) – field (line 20)


3.- Read this conversation and complete your part. Write the numbers (1-8) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. (2 points)
You are talking to your English teacher about your final mark
You: Teacher, (1)______________________________ please?
Teacher: I only have a moment because I have a class in five minutes.
You: It’s just for  a minute.(2) ______________________________ ?
Teacher: Of course, but not now. I have the exams in the English office. What’s the matter?
You: I have been thinking and (3) ______________________________
Teacher: Your mark is correct.
You: I disagree! (4) ______________________________
Teacher: In reading comprehension? Higher? Why?
You: Yes,(5) ______________________________
Teacher: The final mark is not only the mark of one exam.
You: Then,(6) ______________________________?
Teacher: Everything you do for the English class counts in the final mark.
You: Sorry teacher, but (7) ______________________________
Teacher: The marks you have in every skill (listening, speaking, reading and  writing) and grammar affect  your  final mark. You made some mistakes because you didn’t understand the questions or the instructions given.
You: Sorry teacher, but I disagree! (8)__________________________
Teacher: Ok, You have the right to do it. No problem. Do it if you want to. I’ll have to write a report to the headmaster then.


4.- Choose only 4 of the following situations. Write what you would say in or about each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 6 and 20 words. (2 points)
1. -You and some of your classmates want to organize a summer trip. Make a suggestion and give a reason to support it.
2. - Your cousin is texting while driving. Give her some advice.
3. -You lent a friend your mobile to phone his/her mother but he/she is looking at your photos. Complain and express your dissatisfaction.
4.-  Your biology teacher says, “Animals shouldn’t be in zoos or a circus.” Express your agreement or disagreement.
5.- A friend of yours says, “Lyrics should be a very important part of a song. That’s why I don’t like reggaeton music”. Make a comment.
6.- You borrowed a friend’s mobile to phone your mother but he/she sees you are looking at his/her photos. Apologize and try to give an explanation.


5.- Write a composition of about 100 – 120 words on ONE of the following topics. (3 points)
a) Most awards are given on the basis of marketing rather than on the basis of talent. Give your opinion.
b) Reading is much more than just entertainment. Give your opinion.

Texto EBAU Canarias 2018 Opción A

The Failures of Spain’s Fight Against Domestic Abuse

Ten years after Spain introduced a network of courts* specializing in domestic violence cases, experts are warning that sexist stereotypes and sexist forms of behavior persist.  In fact, last year, in the whole of Spain, sixty women were murdered – beaten to death, stabbed or burnt by partners or ex-partners – as a result of gender violence. The highest rate of victims of domestic violence is in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands while the lowest ratio is in La Rioja. The national average is 15.2 cases per 10,000 women.
Organizations that work with victims insist on the need to eradicate sexist attitudes that remain deeply established in Spanish society and to report domestic abuse more frequently. However, a survey by the Adecco Foundation found that 91 percent of abused women failed to report violence for fear that either they or their partners would lose their job.  The foundation, which helps victims find employment, ties the number of complaints to the effects of the economic crisis. The report also revealed that 65 percent of victims did not have a job at the time of the abuse. And 81 percent responded that the best way to deal with abuse was to be financially independent.
Fortunately, the latest Interior Ministry figures show that six percent of Spanish prison inmates are serving sentences for gender violence. The president of the Domestic and Gender Violence Observatory, Ángeles Carmona, welcomes the rise in the number of criminal convictions for gender violence. “Abuse no longer enjoys impunity,” says Carmona.
Her predecessor, Inmaculada Montalbán, also applauds the change but adds that a major tool in the domestic violence law – education – has suffered setbacks in the last decade. “The best vaccine against violence is education; the justice system acts when the violence has already taken place”, she explains.  Montalbán believes that the elimination of civic education courses from the school curriculum has “deactivated” a good tool for breaking stereotypes.           

                     (322 words) Taken from different sites *courts = tribunals

1.- Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. Copy the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a) Education in schools is not an effective weapon to eradicate sexist abuse.
b) Gender violence crimes started a decade ago. 

c) According to statistics, women in the two Spanish archipelagos are at increased risk for domestic violence.

2.- Choose ONLY THREE of the following words and write a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence (  only one of these four)   to show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1.5 points)
a) –whole (line 2)

d) – to deal with  (line 13)

b) – deeply (line 7)

e) – figures (line 14)

c) – to tie (line 11)

f) – major (line 18)

3.- Read this conversation and complete your part. Write the numbers (1-8) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. (2 points)
Your friend Bob and you are going to share an apartment next year when you start university

You: We have to find an apartment. (1) _________________________________?

Bob:  In the city center near the shopping area.

You: But don’t you think we should live much closer to the Schools of Chemistry and Mathematics, where we’ll be studying.

Bob: OK. But I don’t want anything too expensive. I can’t afford it.

You: All right. And (2)_____________________________________?

Bob: I think we need at least two bedrooms; we should each have our own. That way, we’ll be able to study better. Don’t you think so?

You:  (3) ____________________________________________

Bob: And what about cleaning the flat?

You:  (4) ______________________________

Bob: I don’t agree with you. That’s not enough.

You: Really? And (5) ____________________________?

Bob: I think we should pay someone to clean it.

You:  But you’ve just said you don’t have a lot of money. (6) __________________?

Bob: True, I don’t, but cleaning is so boring!

You: Yes, but if we do the cleaning ourselves, (7) _______________________________

Bob: All right, all right.  And who’s going to do the cooking?

You: I think we should both take turns because (8)__________________________

Bob:  That’s not a bad idea.

4.- Choose only 4 of the following situations. Write what you would say in or about each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 6 and 20 words. (2 points)

1. - You have received the best mark on an exam in your Maths class. What do you say to your best friend, who failed the exam?

2. - Your Science teacher is organising activities to raise environmental awareness. Make a suggestion.

3. - Your classmates ask you for help to organise a party to celebrate the end of the academic year. Give them a polite refusal. 

4. - You’ve lost your sister’s MP4 player. Explain and apologise.

5. - Your friend has uploaded a picture of yours to Facebook without asking for permission. Complain to her/him, showing you are angry.

6. - At school, you see a student being bullied. Try to convince her/him to report it, giving her/him some advice.

5.- Write a composition of about 100-120 on ONE of the following topics. (3 points)

a) – Write an e-mail to your school newspaper editor suggesting what can be done in your school to fight against domestic abuse.

b) – Being a woman in Spain: no gender equality

Fronting of so and such

FRONTING OF SO AND SUCH

The child was so intelligent that she started university when she was 11

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The guitarist was so talented that he was never short of work.

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The offer was so attractive that it was impossible to refuse.

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The tornado was so powerful that it destroyed whole villages.

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