Opción A - I. Comprehension · Inglés PAU Andalucía Extraordinaria Reserva A 2013

OPTION A: “The Ig Nobel awards, honouring improbable research”

1 The Ig Nobel awards, organised by the humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research, are a parody of the Nobel

2 Prizes. They honour achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think”. However, despite the

3 strangeness factor, these awards are handed out by genuine Nobel laureates, and one scientist, Andre Geim, has been

4 awarded a Nobel Prize after having been given an Ig Nobel Prize.

5 The 2012 laureates for the Ig Nobel Prize in physics are a team of scientists who studied the shape and movement of

6 ponytails. Raymond Goldstein, a physicist at the University of Cambridge, was set the challenge of considering the

7 movement of ponytails by the company Unilever. “This might be interesting,” said Goldstein, “for people who want more

8 energy-efficient homes which minimise heat loss through walls and roofs.”

9 He was honoured alongside Rouslan Krechetnikov’s team, who carried out research into why you usually drop coffee

10 when walking around with a cup. Krechetnikov was inspired at a scientific conference while watching delegates walking

11 carefully with mugs full of hot drinks. He noted that “the sizes of common coffee cups, together with the natural irregularity of

12 the biomechanics of walking, are responsible for coffee spilling.”

13 He had no idea, of course, of the attention his work would get. “Personally, this goes along with my view of science –

14 there should be a fun side to it. The project was certainly fun,” he said. “There are many people who are curious not only

15 about black holes, but also about everyday ordinary phenomena.”

I * COMPREHENSION (4 points: questions 1-3, 1 point each; 4-5, 0.5 points each)

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-3 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.

Are there any connections between the Ig Nobel and the real Nobel awards, apart from the parody element? Explain. [1 point]

2.

What can the study of the ponytail be used for? [1 point]

3.

How did Krechetnikov get the idea for his unusual research project? [1 point]

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT, OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

4.

Goldstein’s ponytail project wasn’t actually his own idea. [0.5 points]

TRUE

FALSE

5.

The wide impact of Krechetnikov’s research took him by surprise. [0.5 points]

TRUE

FALSE