Opción A - II. Use of English · 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.”

II * USE OF ENGLISH (3 points; questions 6-9, 0.25 points each; 10-13, 0.5 points each)

6.

FIND IN THE TEXT THE WORD WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION: “something that is difficult and that tests someone’s ability or determination”. [0.25 points]

7.

GIVE AN ADJECTIVE WITH THE SAME ROOT AS “loss” (noun). [0.25 points]

8.

FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION: How rude! He didn’t even...... at me when he answered. (see / view / look / watch) [0.25 points]

9.

FIND IN THE TEXT ONE SYNONYM FOR “real” (adjective). [0.25 points]

10.

FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS: If I.......... (be) you, I wouldn’t put up with that. [0.5 points]

11.

JOIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING A RELATIVE. MAKE CHANGES IF NECESSARY: This is the place. Shakespeare was born here. [0.5 points]

12.

GIVE A QUESTION FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS: She criticized Nabokov’s novel. [0.5 points]

13.

USE THE WORDS IN THE BOXES TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL SENTENCE. USE ALL AND ONLY THE WORDS IN THE BOXES WITHOUT CHANGING THEIR FORM: [0.5 points]

him

not

to

I

promised

offend