Opción A - II * Use of English · Inglés PAU Andalucía Ordinaria Reserva A 2013

OPTION A: “Halloween, more than an American tradition”

1 Halloween, a Celtic Irish tradition and one of the world's oldest holidays, is still celebrated today in many countries. All

2 Souls' Day, a festivity two days after Halloween, is the most important part of the celebration for many people in Mexico,

3 Latin America and Spain. In Ireland and Canada, where Halloween was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, the

4 festivity is now celebrated as in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages. Although most

5 people believe it is an American holiday, the custom was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants escaping their

6 country's potato famine.

7 The word “Halloween” comes from a contraction of “All Hallows Eve”. The expression referred to the eve of “All

8 Hallows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), the Catholic festivity celebrated on November 1st.

9 Different practices and symbols are associated to Halloween. The custom of trick-or-treat is believed to have originated

10 not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European tradition called souling, in which early Christians walked from

11 village to village asking for “soul cakes” or square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars received,

12 the more prayers they promised to say for the dead relatives of the donors.

13 The carved pumpkin, also called Jack-o-lantern, is perhaps the most famous icon of the holiday. This custom probably

14 comes from Irish folklore. The Irish used turnips originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that

15 pumpkins were far more abundant than turnips, and so the Jack-o-lantern became an emptied pumpkin in America.

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

6.

FIND IN THE TEXT ONE SYNONYM FOR "entertainment" (noun).

7.

FIND IN THE TEXT ONE WORD / EXPRESSION MEANING "lack of food for an extended period of time".

8.

WHICH WORD DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING? terrified / scared / worried / frightened.

9.

COMPLETE THE SERIES WITH ANOTHER WORD FROM THE SAME SEMANTIC GROUP. apparition / spirit / phantom /...

10.

FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION: "The more you drive the... driver you will become". (good / better / best)

11.

TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE INTO THE ACTIVE VOICE: "The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants."

12.

REWRITE THE SENTENCE WITHOUT CHANGING ITS MEANING. BEGIN AS INDICATED.

"You ought to spend more time with your children this year."

You had better...

You had better

13.

GIVE A QUESTION FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS: "The Jack-o-Lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore ".