Bloque A - Texto 1 · Inglés PAU Andalucía Ordinaria Reserva 2024

TEXT 1: SAVING ABU SIMBEL

1 In the early 1960s, Egypt had to improve agriculture and provide electricity for its increasing population. In order to do so, the

2 country planned to build a huge dam across the Nile River that would flood an area with important archaeological sites. In the eyes

3 of the Egyptian government, the destruction of the treasures, while regrettable, was necessary. Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt,

4 the female chief curator of Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre Museum, appealed to Egyptian officials not to resign themselves to

5 this catastrophic loss of their cultural heritage.

6 Christiane proposed to them the most difficult archaeological rescue in history —a project of almost unthinkable magnitude and

7 complexity consisting in moving the fragile sandstone temple of Abu Simbel to higher ground. On top of the enormous engineering

8 problems, the project required cooperation among countries at a time of escalating global political tensions. But that didn't stop her.

9 After months of countless meetings, Christiane eventually won the support of UNESCO and Egypt's Minister of Culture, who

10 persuaded the Egyptian president to approve the rescue plan. This was a major step, but the project was doomed to fail without

11 massive financial help from Western countries, particularly the United States. It was then that an unexpected saviour, Jacqueline

12 Kennedy, appeared on the scene. Thanks to her influence, her husband, President John F. Kennedy, called on US Congress to

13 authorise money to ensure the rescue.

14 Ironically, the two women who played crucial roles in this landmark rescue apparently had no idea of each other's moves. Both

15 Christiane and Jacqueline had worked behind the scenes. Neither of them ever sought or received public attention for their

16 achievement, caring less about the credit than getting the job done.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

1.

According to the text, Abu Simbel...

2.

According to the text, Jacqueline Kennedy...

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 each)

3.

The initial dam project involved leaving ancient treasures under the water.

4.

International conflicts added to the difficulty of the mission.

5.

Egypt had enough resources to carry out the rescue operation.

6.

Christiane and Jacqueline worked side by side.

7. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

7.1.

ONE SYNONYM FOR: “lamentable” (adjective)

7.2.

ONE OPPOSITE FOR: “gain” (noun)

8. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

8.1.

ONE WORD MEANING: “to make certain, guarantee.”

8.2.

ONE WORD MEANING: “a person who rescues another person or a thing from danger or harm.”