Selectivity

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TEXT A

Irish airspace to reopen after volcanic ash shutdown Test designed by Lucas Valenzuela

Irish airspace is due to reopen this afternoon after a seven-hour shutdown caused by another volcanic ash cloud drifting south from Iceland. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said seven airports including Dublin and Shannon would reopen for normal operations from one o’clock after they were shut from six o’clock this morning as a precautionary measure. But its chief executive Eamon Brennan warned that Ireland "remains at risk" of further disruption in the days and weeks to come. "The reason we have changed our advice is because the ash cloud has moved towards the south, down towards the Bay of Biscay," he told RTE Radio, the state broadcaster. "At the moment the volcano is more or less dormant but should it re-erupt again, we'd be faced with this problem."

Airspace across Europe was closed down for up to a week last month after the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, but was re-opened after emergency talks between European governments, airlines and regulators. The new alerts did not disrupt transatlantic aircraft flying over Ireland but the new closure did trigger the cancellation of hundreds of flights in and out of Ireland, bringing fresh chaos to thousands of people.

One victim of the ban was the Republic of Ireland’s Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, who had to cancel a trip to Brussels for talks with his EU counterparts on the recent ash cloud travel chaos. As Britain's election campaign entered its penultimate day, opposition Conservative leader David Cameron briefly cancelled plans to visit Northern Ireland due to the ban, but later said the trip would go ahead. "We are battling through everything to make this happen," he said.

Heathrow said that around 20 flights to and from the West London airport had been cancelled this morning. "We are asking passengers to check with their airlines before coming to the airport," said a Heathrow spokeswoman. Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus said it had cancelled all British and European flights scheduled to depart and arrive into Dublin and other airports in the country until midday.

Eurocontrol, the continent's air traffic control co-ordinator, said more than 100,000 flights to, from and within Europe had been cancelled between April 15 and 21, preventing an estimated 10 million passengers from travelling.

(From Times Online May 4, 2010)

A.- CONPREHENSION (4 points)

 

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.-. How bad did the first shutdown affect transatlantic air traffic from Ireland? (1 point per answer

2.- Who and how have been affected, apart from regular passengers and flying companies’ owners?

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)

3.- Airspace has been re-opened because there isn’t and there won’t be any problem in the future.

4.- The Republic of Ireland’s Transport Minister Noel has been the victim of an assassination.

5.- David Cameron intends to cancel his plans to visit Northern Ireland due to the ban.

6.- According to the text, all flights for the day to Dublin have been cancelled.

USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)

7.- WHICH WORD DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING? go ahead / go on / keep on / schedule (0.25 points)

8.- FIND A SYNONYM FROM THE TEXT FOR SECOND LAST (0.25 points)

9.- FIND A WORD IN THE TEXT MEANING “Moving without a specific direction. Aimless wandering” (0.25 points)

10.- FIND IN THE TEXT A SYNONYM FOR PROHIBITION . (0.25 points)

11. - Put the following sentence into the passive voice: (0.5 points)

We are asking passengers to check with their airlines before coming to the airport.

12. - Put the following sentence in reported speech: (0.5 points)

"The reason we have changed our advice is because the ash cloud has moved towards the south, down towards the Bay of Biscay," he told RTE Radio,

13. - Complete the following sentence: (0.5 points)

We'd be faced with this problem...............

14.- Complete the following sentence with just one appropriate word. (0.5 points)

Airspace across Europe will re-open ................................the Iceland's Eyjafjallajökul volcano.

PRODUCTION (3 points)

WRITE A COMPOSITION OF APPROXIMATELY 120 WORDS. CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS, AND FOCUS STRICTLY ON IT.

1.- Flying is the best way to travel. Discuss.

2.- International Terrorism


TEXT  B

                               Is eating bogeys bad for you?                      

According to statistics, only 3 per cent of people eat their own bogeys. I say only because, if I'm honest, I've always eaten mine and I've often caught my sons having a quick nibble too. Are we really that unusual or, as I suspect, are most people just too embarrassed to own up?

Well, all that may change if an Austrian doctor named Dr Friedrich Bischinger has his way. He says that people who pick their noses are healthier, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies than people who don't.

At this point, I should mention that the main risk of picking your nose is not the dirt you might find there but the dirt you might introduce, which could subsequently enter your body. So, if you're going to pick your nose, make sure you do it with clean fingers.

Having issued a health warning, let me now return to Dr Bischinger, who says, “With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of  strengthening the body's immune system.” Medically, it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system, the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria is collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines, it works just like a medicine. I would recommend a new approach where children are encouraged to pick their nose. It is a. completely natural response and medically a good idea as well.

So there you have it you can eat your own bogeys. But don't tell Mum and Dad I said so.

NB: However, you shouldn't eat your own earwax. This isn't good stuff.

           

A.- CONPREHENSION                                                                                                                  (4 points)

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.-How does eating bogeys help you?                                                                                                         (1 point per answer)

                                                                                                                                                            

2.- Why is the author of the article suspicious about the data of people who eat their own bogeys?

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)

3.- The author has never eaten bogeys.

4.- Young children who pick their nose shouldn’t worry about anything.

5.- All doctors agree that people should not pick their nose.

6.- According to the author, picking your nose is quite weird, uncommon.

USE OF ENGLISH                                                                                                                           (3 points)

 

7.- WHICH WORD DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING?  recommend / suggest / advise / refuse        (0.25 points)

8.- FIND A SYNONYM FROM THE TEXT FOR CERUMEN                                                                                   (0.25 points)

9.- FIND A WORD IN THE TEXT MEANING “Something which is said or written to tell people of 

possible danger or problem”                                                                                                                                          (0.25 points)

10.- FIND IN THE TEXT THE OPPOSITE OF REACTION .                                                                                    (0.25 points)

11. - Put the following sentence into the passive voice:                                                                                                     (0.5 points)

 With the finger you can wipe some places better than with a handkerchief.

12. - Put the following sentence in reported speech:                                                                                                        (0.5 points)

 He said to me, “you shouldn't eat your own earwax.

13. - Join the two sentences into just one:                                                                                                                         (0.5 points)

 Children are encouraged to pick their nose. Children should not do it in public.

14.-  Join the following sentences in an appropriate way (do not use OR AND or BUT).                                               (0.5 points)

 Only 3 per cent of people admit having eaten their own bogeys. I've always eaten mine and I've often caught my sons having a quick nibble.

	PRODUCTION                                                                                           (3 points)

 

WRITE A COMPOSITION OF APPROXIMATELY 120 WORDS. CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS, AND FOCUS STRICTLY ON IT.

1.- We live in a hypocritical world. Discuss.

2.- Use of Statistics.

TEXT C 

Police have faked the murder of a pregnant woman in a sting operation to foil a conspiracy to kill her. In a scheme that could have been taken from a Hitchcock thriller, detectives arranged for Kermen Basangova, the head of a civil service academy in St Petersburg, to be “stabbed” in the street in front of witnesses. News that Mrs Basangova had died in hospital was leaked to the Russian media in an elaborate ruse to catch three employees at the academy who had hired a man to kill her.

            Mrs Basangova, 34, told reporters that the operation was so full of secrecy that even her family did not know that her murder was being staged. Although she was pregnant, she said that she had worried most “about relatives with weak hearts” once news of her death began to circulate.              

            The trap was set after the would-be murderer tipped off police that he had been offered 360,000 roubles  to kill Mrs Basangova, the rector of the State Polar Academy. He identified her deputy, Vladimir Lukin, 70, as the man behind the conspiracy. Detectives told Mrs Basangova about the plot and persuaded her to play the murder victim in the scheme to catch the conspirators. She agreed and was taken to hospital after the fake murder outside the academy by a masked, undercover policeman on Tuesday. Students and staff who witnessed the murder apparently had no idea that it was staged. Neither did police who arrived to cordon off the scene of the attack, which was full of pools of fake blood. They believed that they were dealing with a real crime.

            Mrs Basangova was kept under guard while detectives leaked news of her death. A police spokesman said that the plotters were arrested when they handed money to the hired killer. Mrs Basangova  alleged that the murder plot was linked to financial violations that she uncovered after becoming rector at the Polar Academy.               

           

A.- COMPREHENSION                                                                                                                  (4 points)

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.-How did the police know about the plan to kill Mrs. Basangova?                                    (1 point per answer)

                                                                                                                                                            

2.- Who did the fake killling?

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)

3.- Mrs Basangova was mostly worried about her unborn baby.

4.- The person behind the conspiracy was Mrs Basangova’s boss.

5.- Mrs Basangova refused to act out her own death.

6.- All witnesses and the police knew about the hidden plan.

USE OF ENGLISH                                                                                                                           (3 points)

 

7.- WHICH WORD DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING?  trick / trap / ruse / failure                               (0.25 points)

8.- FIND A SYNONYM FROM THE TEXT FOR PERSONNEL                                                                                               (0.25 points)

9.- FIND A WORD IN THE TEXT MEANING “Something masked, concealed, in disguise”                            (0.25 points)

10.- FIND IN THE TEXT THE OPPOSITE OF DISMISSED .                                                                                   (0.25 points)

11. - Put the following sentence into the passive voice:                                                                                                     (0.5 points)

 They believed that they were dealing with a real crime.

12. - Put the following sentence in reported speech:                                                                                                        (0.5 points)

“The plotters were arrested when they handed money to the hired killer”, the police spokesman said.

13. - Join the two sentences into just one:                                                                                                                         (0.5 points)

 News that Mrs Basangova had died in hospital was leaked to the Russian media. Mrs Basangova was pregnant.

14.-  Join the following sentences in an appropriate way (do not use OR AND or BUT).                                               (0.5 points)

Mrs Basangova was pregnant. Mrs Basangova agreed to play the murder victim in the scheme to catch the conspirators.

	PRODUCTION                                                                                           (3 points)

 

WRITE A COMPOSITION OF APPROXIMATELY 120 WORDS. CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS, AND FOCUS STRICTLY ON IT.

1.- Mass Meadia.

2.- Mobbing.