Examen de Inglés PAU Baleares 2024 · Ordinaria

1. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Explain WHY using your own words OR finding evidence in the text. NO marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (1 point)

a)

The video Eva Mendes posted was to represent the gestures she makes when her children ask if they can use the internet. (0,5)

Statement a)

b)

Eva Mendes and her partner constantly reveal details about how they are bringing their girls up. (0,5)

Statement b)

2. In your own words and based on the ideas from the text, answer the following question. NO marks are given for personal opinions or responses copied directly from the text. (1 point)

Why did some people criticise Eva Mendes for her parenting rule?

3. Find in the text words or phrases which mean the same as the ones below. In the case of verbs, ONLY infinitive forms will be accepted (1 point):

1)

To express admiration or approval of the achievements or characteristics of a person or thing. (0,25)

2)

A short piece of text under a picture or photo that describes or explains what the people in it are doing or saying. (0,25)

3)

To understand someone or something, or to find the answer to something by thinking. (0,25)

4)

To be certain of your abilities or having trust in people, plans, or the future. (0,25)

4. Follow the instructions for each question and answer them (2 points):

4.1.

Fill the blanks in the following sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets. (0,5)

A: How often

you

(publish) posts on Facebook?

B: Facebook? I

(not use) it for ages. It´s so old-fashioned.

4.2.

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets. (0,5)

a) Please open your

(browse) and search for some cheap hotels!

b) The students worked in a

(collaborate) manner to finish the group project on time. It was a team effort.

4.3.

Write a question for the underlined words in the following sentence. (0,5)

John left his computer on for 24 hours.

4.4.

Turn the following sentence into the passive voice. (0,5)

The IT department are installing the new software update on all computers.

The new software update

5. Look at the highlighted part of the words below. Three of the words in each line (A, B, C, D) contain the same sound. Circle the word which contains a different sound (1 point):

5.1.

5.2.

5.3.

5.4.

6. Write a composition of 120-150 words on the following topic. Answer ALL the questions ( 4 points):

How often do you use your phone to communicate with your relatives and/or friends? Do you prefer talking to people online or face-to-face? Why?

OPCIÓ B

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions in English. USE YOUR OWN WORDS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

Mysterious masked guards in pink boiler suits, a singing giant doll, and a life-changing sum of money... This can only mean the return of Squid Game

The Netflix hit has come back to our screens, but this time with a reality game show spin-off called Squid Game: The Challenge. Over 450 real players battle it out for a $4.56m (£3.66m) prize, one of the biggest cash prizes in TV history.

The show kicks off with hundreds of contestants in green tracksuits trying to cross a line without being seen. Their mission is to get past a 4.2m doll that is furiously spinning her neck. In Red Light, Green Light, radio-controlled exploding dye takes out the players who have tripped over—instead of a fatal bullet as in the fictional version. "It felt like it was real, it didn't feel like you were in a fictional place", Lorenzo Nobilio told BBC News. He described it as the physically hardest game on the show: "I made it past the line in seven hours, that was a very long time, but it's called Squid Game: The Challenge, it's not an all-inclusive holiday in the Canary Islands".

The show made headlines earlier this year because some of the contestants received medical treatment during filming and complained about the cold conditions during freezing UK weather. The huge prize attracted applications from 81,000 people from around the globe which were finally cut down to 456 apparently normal people—unlike the similar Netflix reality competition show Physical: 100, which gathered a hundred South Korean competitors at peak fitness, including national athletes and bodybuilders. Squid Game: The Challenge players ranged from a mother and son to the oldest contestant at the age of 69. "We were interested in the games as a test of human nature, so we wanted the widest possible variety of people", explained one of the show's executive producers, John Hay.

When the players were not participating in original games from the series like intricately cutting out umbrella-shaped honeycomb wafers with a needle, they were fully immersed in the Squid Game universe—no phones, confined to a prison-style dormitory, sleeping on five-bed-high bunk beds, and surviving on rationed food served by threatening guards. The Big Brother-like living space also provided ample time for alliances to form. In this new edition, players were also given chances to eliminate others, as part of the producers' aim to create drama and reveal players' characters between games.

The drama's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had previously said the story "was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society". In the original drama, Netflix's most watched series, South Korean contestants with many debts competed in a series of children's games for a huge cash prize won only by the last surviving player. Executive producer Hay points out that this show is flipped so it's driven by opportunity rather than need. "We are giving them the most enormous opportunity and it turns out that's as strong as a motivation and story".

Adapted from BBC News, November 2023

1. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Explain WHY using your own words OR finding evidence in the text. NO marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (1 point)

a)

In the Red Light, Green Light game, paint is splashed on the players who are able to maintain their balance. (0,5)

TRUE

FALSE

b)

Contestants in Squid Game: The Challenge are allowed to remove others from the competition. (0,5)

TRUE

FALSE

OPCIÓ B

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions in English. USE YOUR OWN WORDS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

Mysterious masked guards in pink boiler suits, a singing giant doll, and a life-changing sum of money... This can only mean the return of Squid Game

The Netflix hit has come back to our screens, but this time with a reality game show spin-off called Squid Game: The Challenge. Over 450 real players battle it out for a $4.56m (£3.66m) prize, one of the biggest cash prizes in TV history.

The show kicks off with hundreds of contestants in green tracksuits trying to cross a line without being seen. Their mission is to get past a 4.2m doll that is furiously spinning her neck. In Red Light, Green Light, radio-controlled exploding dye takes out the players who have tripped over—instead of a fatal bullet as in the fictional version. "It felt like it was real, it didn't feel like you were in a fictional place", Lorenzo Nobilio told BBC News. He described it as the physically hardest game on the show: "I made it past the line in seven hours, that was a very long time, but it's called Squid Game: The Challenge, it's not an all-inclusive holiday in the Canary Islands".

The show made headlines earlier this year because some of the contestants received medical treatment during filming and complained about the cold conditions during freezing UK weather. The huge prize attracted applications from 81,000 people from around the globe which were finally cut down to 456 apparently normal people—unlike the similar Netflix reality competition show Physical: 100, which gathered a hundred South Korean competitors at peak fitness, including national athletes and bodybuilders. Squid Game: The Challenge players ranged from a mother and son to the oldest contestant at the age of 69. "We were interested in the games as a test of human nature, so we wanted the widest possible variety of people", explained one of the show's executive producers, John Hay.

When the players were not participating in original games from the series like intricately cutting out umbrella-shaped honeycomb wafers with a needle, they were fully immersed in the Squid Game universe—no phones, confined to a prison-style dormitory, sleeping on five-bed-high bunk beds, and surviving on rationed food served by threatening guards. The Big Brother-like living space also provided ample time for alliances to form. In this new edition, players were also given chances to eliminate others, as part of the producers' aim to create drama and reveal players' characters between games.

The drama's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had previously said the story "was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society". In the original drama, Netflix's most watched series, South Korean contestants with many debts competed in a series of children's games for a huge cash prize won only by the last surviving player. Executive producer Hay points out that this show is flipped so it's driven by opportunity rather than need. "We are giving them the most enormous opportunity and it turns out that's as strong as a motivation and story".

Adapted from BBC News, November 2023

2. In your own words and based on the ideas from the text, answer the following question. NO marks are given for personal opinions or responses copied directly from the text. (1 point)

In what ways were the contestants in the reality show different from those in the original fictional TV series?

OPCIÓ B

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions in English. USE YOUR OWN WORDS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

Mysterious masked guards in pink boiler suits, a singing giant doll, and a life-changing sum of money... This can only mean the return of Squid Game

The Netflix hit has come back to our screens, but this time with a reality game show spin-off called Squid Game: The Challenge. Over 450 real players battle it out for a $4.56m (£3.66m) prize, one of the biggest cash prizes in TV history.

The show kicks off with hundreds of contestants in green tracksuits trying to cross a line without being seen. Their mission is to get past a 4.2m doll that is furiously spinning her neck. In Red Light, Green Light, radio-controlled exploding dye takes out the players who have tripped over—instead of a fatal bullet as in the fictional version. "It felt like it was real, it didn't feel like you were in a fictional place", Lorenzo Nobilio told BBC News. He described it as the physically hardest game on the show: "I made it past the line in seven hours, that was a very long time, but it's called Squid Game: The Challenge, it's not an all-inclusive holiday in the Canary Islands".

The show made headlines earlier this year because some of the contestants received medical treatment during filming and complained about the cold conditions during freezing UK weather. The huge prize attracted applications from 81,000 people from around the globe which were finally cut down to 456 apparently normal people—unlike the similar Netflix reality competition show Physical: 100, which gathered a hundred South Korean competitors at peak fitness, including national athletes and bodybuilders. Squid Game: The Challenge players ranged from a mother and son to the oldest contestant at the age of 69. "We were interested in the games as a test of human nature, so we wanted the widest possible variety of people", explained one of the show's executive producers, John Hay.

When the players were not participating in original games from the series like intricately cutting out umbrella-shaped honeycomb wafers with a needle, they were fully immersed in the Squid Game universe—no phones, confined to a prison-style dormitory, sleeping on five-bed-high bunk beds, and surviving on rationed food served by threatening guards. The Big Brother-like living space also provided ample time for alliances to form. In this new edition, players were also given chances to eliminate others, as part of the producers' aim to create drama and reveal players' characters between games.

The drama's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had previously said the story "was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society". In the original drama, Netflix's most watched series, South Korean contestants with many debts competed in a series of children's games for a huge cash prize won only by the last surviving player. Executive producer Hay points out that this show is flipped so it's driven by opportunity rather than need. "We are giving them the most enormous opportunity and it turns out that's as strong as a motivation and story".

Adapted from BBC News, November 2023

3. Find in the text words or phrases which mean the same as the ones below. In the case of verbs, ONLY infinitive forms will be accepted (1 point):

1)

A thin metal pin, used in sewing, that is pointed at one end and has a hole for thread. (0,25)

2)

To start or initiate something, often an event, activity, or process. (0,25)

3)

The title of a story in a newspaper, or the main points in a piece of news that is broadcast on television or radio. (0,25)

4)

Something, especially money, that is owed to someone else. (0,25)

4. Follow the instructions for each question and answer them (2 points):

4.1.

Fill the blanks in the following sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets. (0,5)

A: Are you excited? This time tomorrow, we (talk) to the casting producer.

B: I really hope we (be selected) for the show.

4.2.

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets. (0,5)

a) Some participants have filed a (complain) against the show because they suffered injuries after standing in cold temperatures for over two hours.

b) The winner of the reality show gave a very (motivation) speech, encouraging other people to participate in future editions.

4.3.

Join the following two sentences with a relative pronoun. (0,5)

Big Brother started in 2000 in Spain. It is now on its twentieth edition.

Big Brother

4.4.

Rewrite the following sentence in reported speech. (0,5)

'Would you like to participate in Squid Game: The Challenge?', he asked us.

He asked

5. Look at the highlighted part of the words below. Three of the words in each line (A, B, C, D) contain the same sound. Circle the word which contains a different sound (1 point):

5.1.

5.2.

5.3.

5.4.

6. Write a composition of 120-150 words on the following topic. Answer ALL the questions (4 points):

Why do you think people are attracted to reality shows? Would you like to participate in one? Why?

Total number of words:

Assessment criteria:

Criterion

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1

Task fulfilment:

0

0,25

0,50

0,75

1

Grammar:

0

0,25

0,50

0,75

1

Organisation:

0

0,25

0,50

0,75

1

Vocabulary:

0

0,25

0,50

0,75

1