Examen de Inglés PAU Canarias 2023 · Julio (2)

*AI ChatGPT amazes professors with essay-writing skills and usability

Professors, programmers and journalists could all be out of a job in just a few years, after ChatGPT, from

the Elon Musk-founded OpenAI foundation, stunned spectators with its writing ability, proficiency at

complex tasks, and ease of use.

The system, called ChatGPT, is the latest evolution of the GPT family of text-generating AIs. Two years

5 ago, the team’s previous AI, GPT3, was able to generate an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, and

now the new ChatGPT has significant further capabilities.

In the days since it was released, professors have generated responses to exam questions that they say would

result in top marks if they were written by a student.

Dan Gillmor, a professor in journalism at Arizona State University, asked the AI to carry out one of the

10 assignments he gives his students: writing a letter to a relative giving advice about online security and

privacy. The chatbot advised: “If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a website or email, you can do a

quick search to see if others have reported it as being a scam.”

“I would have given this a good grade,” Professor Gillmor said. “Universities have some very serious issues

to confront.”

15 OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialogue format makes it possible

for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect ideas, and reject

inappropriate requests,” OpenAI said in an online post announcing the release of the software.

Unlike previous AI from the company, ChatGPT has been released for anyone to use, for free, during a

“feedback” period. This information would help the company to improve the final version of the tool.

20 ChatGPT is good at self-censoring, and at realising when it is being asked an impossible question. For

example, it was asked to describe what happened when Columbus arrived in America in 2015. Older models

would most likely have presented an entirely fictitious account, but the new ChatGPT recognises the false

information and warns that any answer would be fictional.

The bot is also capable of refusing to answer questions altogether. Ask it for advice on stealing a car, for

25 example, and the bot will say that “stealing a car is a serious crime that can have severe consequences”, and

instead gives alternatives such as “using public transportation”.

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, December 2022

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a)

Employment is unlikely to be affected by future developments in AI.

b)

The most recent version of ChatGPT is much better than the earlier version.

c)

The main concern of ChatGPT developers was that the AI should be user-friendly.

*AI ChatGPT amazes professors with essay-writing skills and usability

Professors, programmers and journalists could all be out of a job in just a few years, after ChatGPT, from

the Elon Musk-founded OpenAI foundation, stunned spectators with its writing ability, proficiency at

complex tasks, and ease of use.

The system, called ChatGPT, is the latest evolution of the GPT family of text-generating AIs. Two years

5 ago, the team’s previous AI, GPT3, was able to generate an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, and

now the new ChatGPT has significant further capabilities.

In the days since it was released, professors have generated responses to exam questions that they say would

result in top marks if they were written by a student.

Dan Gillmor, a professor in journalism at Arizona State University, asked the AI to carry out one of the

10 assignments he gives his students: writing a letter to a relative giving advice about online security and

privacy. The chatbot advised: “If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a website or email, you can do a

quick search to see if others have reported it as being a scam.”

“I would have given this a good grade,” Professor Gillmor said. “Universities have some very serious issues

to confront.”

15 OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialogue format makes it possible

for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect ideas, and reject

inappropriate requests,” OpenAI said in an online post announcing the release of the software.

Unlike previous AI from the company, ChatGPT has been released for anyone to use, for free, during a

“feedback” period. This information would help the company to improve the final version of the tool.

20 ChatGPT is good at self-censoring, and at realising when it is being asked an impossible question. For

example, it was asked to describe what happened when Columbus arrived in America in 2015. Older models

would most likely have presented an entirely fictitious account, but the new ChatGPT recognises the false

information and warns that any answer would be fictional.

The bot is also capable of refusing to answer questions altogether. Ask it for advice on stealing a car, for

25 example, and the bot will say that “stealing a car is a serious crime that can have severe consequences”, and

instead gives alternatives such as “using public transportation”.

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, December 2022

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

What kind of scores would university professors give to exam answers produced by the chatbot?

b)

What does OpenAI want to achieve by allowing the general public to access the app freely?

c)

What does the chatbot advise that is better than car theft?

*AI ChatGPT amazes professors with essay-writing skills and usability

Professors, programmers and journalists could all be out of a job in just a few years, after ChatGPT, from

the Elon Musk-founded OpenAI foundation, stunned spectators with its writing ability, proficiency at

complex tasks, and ease of use.

The system, called ChatGPT, is the latest evolution of the GPT family of text-generating AIs. Two years

5 ago, the team’s previous AI, GPT3, was able to generate an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, and

now the new ChatGPT has significant further capabilities.

In the days since it was released, professors have generated responses to exam questions that they say would

result in top marks if they were written by a student.

Dan Gillmor, a professor in journalism at Arizona State University, asked the AI to carry out one of the

10 assignments he gives his students: writing a letter to a relative giving advice about online security and

privacy. The chatbot advised: “If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a website or email, you can do a

quick search to see if others have reported it as being a scam.”

“I would have given this a good grade,” Professor Gillmor said. “Universities have some very serious issues

to confront.”

15 OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialogue format makes it possible

for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect ideas, and reject

inappropriate requests,” OpenAI said in an online post announcing the release of the software.

Unlike previous AI from the company, ChatGPT has been released for anyone to use, for free, during a

“feedback” period. This information would help the company to improve the final version of the tool.

20 ChatGPT is good at self-censoring, and at realising when it is being asked an impossible question. For

example, it was asked to describe what happened when Columbus arrived in America in 2015. Older models

would most likely have presented an entirely fictitious account, but the new ChatGPT recognises the false

information and warns that any answer would be fictional.

The bot is also capable of refusing to answer questions altogether. Ask it for advice on stealing a car, for

25 example, and the bot will say that “stealing a car is a serious crime that can have severe consequences”, and

instead gives alternatives such as “using public transportation”.

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, December 2022

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

3. FIND a word or expression in the text that means... (1 point)

a)

informed about (lines 9-17)

b)

moment at which a product goes on sale (lines 9-17)

c)

versions (lines 18-26)

d)

probably (lines 18-26)

4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. (1.5 points)

Organising your graduation ceremony

Your classmate: We need to get on with organising the graduation ceremony. Nobody’s doing anything!

You: I know! (1)

?

Your classmate: The first thing is to decide where to hold it.

You: (2)

Your classmate: OK, let’s try to reserve it today to make sure it’s free for us.

You: And then (3)

Your classmate: I think all the teachers who have taught us should be invited.

You: But (4)

Your classmate: Don’t worry, there’s plenty of space. And what about after the ceremony?

You: (5)

Your classmate: That’s a good idea. And then we could all go to a disco together and let our parents go home!

You: Great, (6)

5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. [1.5 points]

a)

You have a sports match immediately after school, but you have left your team kit at home. Call your mum and ask for her help.

b)

You borrowed your friend's jacket for a formal event and spilled tomato sauce on it. Apologise.

c)

Your grandad wants to buy a smartphone. Advise him about a phone you think is suitable for him.

*AI ChatGPT amazes professors with essay-writing skills and usability

Professors, programmers and journalists could all be out of a job in just a few years, after ChatGPT, from

the Elon Musk-founded OpenAI foundation, stunned spectators with its writing ability, proficiency at

complex tasks, and ease of use.

The system, called ChatGPT, is the latest evolution of the GPT family of text-generating AIs. Two years

5 ago, the team’s previous AI, GPT3, was able to generate an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, and

now the new ChatGPT has significant further capabilities.

In the days since it was released, professors have generated responses to exam questions that they say would

result in top marks if they were written by a student.

Dan Gillmor, a professor in journalism at Arizona State University, asked the AI to carry out one of the

10 assignments he gives his students: writing a letter to a relative giving advice about online security and

privacy. The chatbot advised: “If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a website or email, you can do a

quick search to see if others have reported it as being a scam.”

“I would have given this a good grade,” Professor Gillmor said. “Universities have some very serious issues

to confront.”

15 OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialogue format makes it possible

for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect ideas, and reject

inappropriate requests,” OpenAI said in an online post announcing the release of the software.

Unlike previous AI from the company, ChatGPT has been released for anyone to use, for free, during a

“feedback” period. This information would help the company to improve the final version of the tool.

20 ChatGPT is good at self-censoring, and at realising when it is being asked an impossible question. For

example, it was asked to describe what happened when Columbus arrived in America in 2015. Older models

would most likely have presented an entirely fictitious account, but the new ChatGPT recognises the false

information and warns that any answer would be fictional.

The bot is also capable of refusing to answer questions altogether. Ask it for advice on stealing a car, for

25 example, and the bot will say that “stealing a car is a serious crime that can have severe consequences”, and

instead gives alternatives such as “using public transportation”.

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, December 2022

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic (3 points):

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using ChatGPT to do your homework?

Was the Qatar FIFA World Cup really carbon-neutral?

From the moment that Qatar was controversially awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, it promised that the football tournament would be carbon-neutral, a difficult promise to keep for any big sporting event organizer since you need to build new infrastructure, accommodate teams and fans, move them around, and run the actual games. 5 It was an even more demanding challenge in this small Gulf state, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, extremely hot, and which had almost no suitable facilities before the event.

However, the Qatari state still claimed that almost all the stadiums built for the World Cup were constructed with regional, reused, and recycled materials. (Just one venue, Stadium 974, used shipping containers as building blocks so that it could be fully deconstructed and reassembled after the tournament). They also said that, to handle Qatar's heat, stadiums were going to use a novel cooling system, powered by a solar farm in 10 the desert, that consumes 40 percent less energy than any other cooling system on the market.

The methods and calculations used to get to net-zero were particularly dubious, according to the non-profit Carbon Market Watch (CMW). Undoubtedly, the emissions levels were underestimated. Qatar had to import building materials to construct the stadiums. Even the grass seeds for playing surfaces were flown in from the United States. In addition, maintaining a football pitch in the desert in November and December needs 15 10,000 litres of desalinated seawater a day. Desalinating that water requires lots of energy, and nearly 100% of the country's energy comes from oil and gas. Besides, it is hard to understand how the stadiums can continue to be used effectively after the tournament in such a small country, with fewer than 3 million inhabitants and that will not become a tourist centre overnight. All the investment was designed for a few weeks, which most people would consider totally unsustainable.

20 Even so, infrastructure only accounted for around a quarter of the Cup's emissions. You still need to include travel and accommodation. Air travel alone represented 44% of total emissions. According to an official report, the tournament produced around 3.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than some countries emit in a year.

Despite the efforts of Qatar to convince the world, the 2022 World Cup cannot be considered carbon neutral. 25 In fact, final emissions were even higher than predicted because a shortage of accommodation in Doha, Qatar's capital city, forced many fans to stay in neighbouring countries, requiring hundreds of flights that had not been considered in previous calculations.

Fragment adapted from Wired, November 2022

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a)

In organising the World Cup, Qatar encountered similar problems to other hosts.

b)

None of the major stadiums for the matches were built using recycled materials.

c)

All of the Cup’s infrastructure will be really useful for sporting events in the future in a big country like Qatar.

Was the Qatar FIFA World Cup really carbon-neutral?

From the moment that Qatar was controversially awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, it promised that the football tournament would be carbon-neutral, a difficult promise to keep for any big sporting event organizer since you need to build new infrastructure, accommodate teams and fans, move them around, and run the actual games. 5 It was an even more demanding challenge in this small Gulf state, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, extremely hot, and which had almost no suitable facilities before the event.

However, the Qatari state still claimed that almost all the stadiums built for the World Cup were constructed with regional, reused, and recycled materials. (Just one venue, Stadium 974, used shipping containers as building blocks so that it could be fully deconstructed and reassembled after the tournament). They also said that, to handle Qatar's heat, stadiums were going to use a novel cooling system, powered by a solar farm in 10 the desert, that consumes 40 percent less energy than any other cooling system on the market.

The methods and calculations used to get to net-zero were particularly dubious, according to the non-profit Carbon Market Watch (CMW). Undoubtedly, the emissions levels were underestimated. Qatar had to import building materials to construct the stadiums. Even the grass seeds for playing surfaces were flown in from the United States. In addition, maintaining a football pitch in the desert in November and December needs 15 10,000 litres of desalinated seawater a day. Desalinating that water requires lots of energy, and nearly 100% of the country's energy comes from oil and gas. Besides, it is hard to understand how the stadiums can continue to be used effectively after the tournament in such a small country, with fewer than 3 million inhabitants and that will not become a tourist centre overnight. All the investment was designed for a few weeks, which most people would consider totally unsustainable.

20 Even so, infrastructure only accounted for around a quarter of the Cup's emissions. You still need to include travel and accommodation. Air travel alone represented 44% of total emissions. According to an official report, the tournament produced around 3.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than some countries emit in a year.

Despite the efforts of Qatar to convince the world, the 2022 World Cup cannot be considered carbon neutral. 25 In fact, final emissions were even higher than predicted because a shortage of accommodation in Doha, Qatar's capital city, forced many fans to stay in neighbouring countries, requiring hundreds of flights that had not been considered in previous calculations.

Fragment adapted from Wired, November 2022

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

What produced the energy for the air-conditioning in the stadiums?

b)

What was required in order to maintain a football pitch in such a hot country?

c)

What did some supporters have to do to find suitable accommodation?

Was the Qatar FIFA World Cup really carbon-neutral?

From the moment that Qatar was controversially awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, it promised that the football tournament would be carbon-neutral, a difficult promise to keep for any big sporting event organizer since you need to build new infrastructure, accommodate teams and fans, move them around, and run the actual games. 5 It was an even more demanding challenge in this small Gulf state, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, extremely hot, and which had almost no suitable facilities before the event.

However, the Qatari state still claimed that almost all the stadiums built for the World Cup were constructed with regional, reused, and recycled materials. (Just one venue, Stadium 974, used shipping containers as building blocks so that it could be fully deconstructed and reassembled after the tournament). They also said that, to handle Qatar's heat, stadiums were going to use a novel cooling system, powered by a solar farm in 10 the desert, that consumes 40 percent less energy than any other cooling system on the market.

The methods and calculations used to get to net-zero were particularly dubious, according to the non-profit Carbon Market Watch (CMW). Undoubtedly, the emissions levels were underestimated. Qatar had to import building materials to construct the stadiums. Even the grass seeds for playing surfaces were flown in from the United States. In addition, maintaining a football pitch in the desert in November and December needs 15 10,000 litres of desalinated seawater a day. Desalinating that water requires lots of energy, and nearly 100% of the country's energy comes from oil and gas. Besides, it is hard to understand how the stadiums can continue to be used effectively after the tournament in such a small country, with fewer than 3 million inhabitants and that will not become a tourist centre overnight. All the investment was designed for a few weeks, which most people would consider totally unsustainable.

20 Even so, infrastructure only accounted for around a quarter of the Cup's emissions. You still need to include travel and accommodation. Air travel alone represented 44% of total emissions. According to an official report, the tournament produced around 3.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than some countries emit in a year.

Despite the efforts of Qatar to convince the world, the 2022 World Cup cannot be considered carbon neutral. 25 In fact, final emissions were even higher than predicted because a shortage of accommodation in Doha, Qatar's capital city, forced many fans to stay in neighbouring countries, requiring hundreds of flights that had not been considered in previous calculations.

Fragment adapted from Wired, November 2022

3. Find a word or expression in the text that means... (1 point)

a)

b)

c)

d)

4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. [1.5 points]

A new bedroom

Your mum:

I was talking to dad about changing your room.

You:

Your mum:

I'm happy you like the idea.

You:

Your mum:

No, it will just be for you.

You:

Your mum:

Fine, we can go to Ikea next Saturday.

You:

Your mum:

A TV?! Of course not. You would be distracted all the time and we wouldn't have meals together.

You:

Your mum:

All right, then, but if you don't keep your promise, you will go back to your old room with your little brother.

You:

5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. [1.5 points]

a)

Your dad is thinking of a birthday gift for your mum but doesn't know what to buy her. Make some suggestions.

b)

You don't feel like going to the cinema with your friends to see Knock at the Cabin. Propose an alternative plan.

c)

Your sister warned you not to use her tablet, but you ignored her. Explain why.

*AI ChatGPT amazes professors with essay-writing skills and usability

Professors, programmers and journalists could all be out of a job in just a few years, after ChatGPT, from

the Elon Musk-founded OpenAI foundation, stunned spectators with its writing ability, proficiency at

complex tasks, and ease of use.

The system, called ChatGPT, is the latest evolution of the GPT family of text-generating AIs. Two years

5 ago, the team’s previous AI, GPT3, was able to generate an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, and

now the new ChatGPT has significant further capabilities.

In the days since it was released, professors have generated responses to exam questions that they say would

result in top marks if they were written by a student.

Dan Gillmor, a professor in journalism at Arizona State University, asked the AI to carry out one of the

10 assignments he gives his students: writing a letter to a relative giving advice about online security and

privacy. The chatbot advised: “If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a website or email, you can do a

quick search to see if others have reported it as being a scam.”

“I would have given this a good grade,” Professor Gillmor said. “Universities have some very serious issues

to confront.”

15 OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialogue format makes it possible

for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect ideas, and reject

inappropriate requests,” OpenAI said in an online post announcing the release of the software.

Unlike previous AI from the company, ChatGPT has been released for anyone to use, for free, during a

“feedback” period. This information would help the company to improve the final version of the tool.

20 ChatGPT is good at self-censoring, and at realising when it is being asked an impossible question. For

example, it was asked to describe what happened when Columbus arrived in America in 2015. Older models

would most likely have presented an entirely fictitious account, but the new ChatGPT recognises the false

information and warns that any answer would be fictional.

The bot is also capable of refusing to answer questions altogether. Ask it for advice on stealing a car, for

25 example, and the bot will say that “stealing a car is a serious crime that can have severe consequences”, and

instead gives alternatives such as “using public transportation”.

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, December 2022

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic [3 points]:

Write an e-mail to FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, explaining why you think Spain would be a better place than Qatar to hold the men's football World Cup.

GRUPO A

‘Bees are really highly intelligent’

You may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We have suggestive evidence that there

is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka,

professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee

5 sensory systems and cognition.

In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are

useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be *sentient beings – and humans have

an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

“Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. They can

10 count, recognise images of human faces and learn abstract concepts and how to use simple tools.”

Chittka thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique

entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female

worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them,

for example, to recognise human faces.” In one experiment, bees that were shown several monochrome

15 images of human faces learned that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice

of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which one do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the

correct one out of a group of different faces.”

In another experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to get food. “When we

increased or decreased the number of landmarks over the same distance, the bees tended to land earlier or

20 later than before, so they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is

a good place to land. The fact that the landmarks were all exactly the same demonstrated that the bees

really could only get the solution by counting the number of landmarks.”

Chittka started wondering whether such intelligent creatures had feelings so he designed an experiment

where bees suffered a simulated spider attack when they landed on a flower. Afterwards, “they became,

25 overall, very reluctant to land on flowers, and sometimes rejected them even if they saw there was no

spider present. This indicated to us a negative emotion-like state.”

Dr Jonathan Birch is leading a project on animal sentience at the London School of Economics: “My own

view is that it’s very likely that bees are sentient. More evidence is needed,” he said, “but in the past,

academics have not bothered to even ask these questions about insects. And now they are starting to.”

Fragment adapted from The Observer, July 2022

* sentient: able to have feelings

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a)

Professor Chittka has discovered a lot about bees in a short time.

b)

Professor Chittka believes that the only reason why we should protect bees is because they are essential to stability in nature.

c)

When bees believed they had been attacked by a spider, they continued to land on the same flowers as before.

GRUPO A

‘Bees are really highly intelligent’

You may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We have suggestive evidence that there

is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka,

professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee

5 sensory systems and cognition.

In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are

useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be *sentient beings – and humans have

an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

“Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. They can

10 count, recognise images of human faces and learn abstract concepts and how to use simple tools.”

Chittka thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique

entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female

worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them,

for example, to recognise human faces.” In one experiment, bees that were shown several monochrome

15 images of human faces learned that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice

of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which one do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the

correct one out of a group of different faces.”

In another experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to get food. “When we

increased or decreased the number of landmarks over the same distance, the bees tended to land earlier or

20 later than before, so they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is

a good place to land. The fact that the landmarks were all exactly the same demonstrated that the bees

really could only get the solution by counting the number of landmarks.”

Chittka started wondering whether such intelligent creatures had feelings so he designed an experiment

where bees suffered a simulated spider attack when they landed on a flower. Afterwards, “they became,

25 overall, very reluctant to land on flowers, and sometimes rejected them even if they saw there was no

spider present. This indicated to us a negative emotion-like state.”

Dr Jonathan Birch is leading a project on animal sentience at the London School of Economics: “My own

view is that it’s very likely that bees are sentient. More evidence is needed,” he said, “but in the past,

academics have not bothered to even ask these questions about insects. And now they are starting to.”

Fragment adapted from The Observer, July 2022

* sentient: able to have feelings

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

In the professor's opinion, how do bees consider themselves?

b)

What kind of bees did Dr Chittka use to carry out his research?

c)

What proved that the bees were actually counting?

GRUPO A

‘Bees are really highly intelligent’

You may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We have suggestive evidence that there

is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka,

professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee

5 sensory systems and cognition.

In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are

useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be *sentient beings – and humans have

an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

“Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. They can

10 count, recognise images of human faces and learn abstract concepts and how to use simple tools.”

Chittka thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique

entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female

worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them,

for example, to recognise human faces.” In one experiment, bees that were shown several monochrome

15 images of human faces learned that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice

of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which one do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the

correct one out of a group of different faces.”

In another experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to get food. “When we

increased or decreased the number of landmarks over the same distance, the bees tended to land earlier or

20 later than before, so they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is

a good place to land. The fact that the landmarks were all exactly the same demonstrated that the bees

really could only get the solution by counting the number of landmarks.”

Chittka started wondering whether such intelligent creatures had feelings so he designed an experiment

where bees suffered a simulated spider attack when they landed on a flower. Afterwards, “they became,

25 overall, very reluctant to land on flowers, and sometimes rejected them even if they saw there was no

spider present. This indicated to us a negative emotion-like state.”

Dr Jonathan Birch is leading a project on animal sentience at the London School of Economics: “My own

view is that it’s very likely that bees are sentient. More evidence is needed,” he said, “but in the past,

academics have not bothered to even ask these questions about insects. And now they are starting to.”

Fragment adapted from The Observer, July 2022

* sentient: able to have feelings

3. FIND a word or expression in the text that means... (1 point)

a)

b)

c)

d)

4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. [1.5 points]

Planning a sports day

Your friend:

Mr. Garcia from the community centre asked me to organise a sports day for the younger children. Would you like to help?

You:

Yes, of course. (1)

?

Your friend:

They're between 5 and 10 years old.

You:

(2)

?

Your friend:

Well, there are some things in the store room, like balls and skipping ropes.

You:

Fine. (3)

Your friend:

That's a good idea. I think it should be fun as well as competitive.

You:

(4)

Your friend:

I don't think there is any money for that, but we can make some certificates.

You:

(5)

Your friend:

Can you think of anything else we might need?

You:

I think it's important (6)

5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. [1.5 points]

a)

Two weeks ago, your friend borrowed €10 from you, but she hasn’t returned the money. Remind her politely.

b)

“How did your maths exam go today?” your dad asks. Reply.

c)

You asked for delivery food through an app and you received a message cancelling it at the last minute. Complain to the manager.

GRUPO A

‘Bees are really highly intelligent’

You may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We have suggestive evidence that there

is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka,

professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee

5 sensory systems and cognition.

In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are

useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be *sentient beings – and humans have

an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

“Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. They can

10 count, recognise images of human faces and learn abstract concepts and how to use simple tools.”

Chittka thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique

entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female

worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them,

for example, to recognise human faces.” In one experiment, bees that were shown several monochrome

15 images of human faces learned that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice

of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which one do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the

correct one out of a group of different faces.”

In another experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to get food. “When we

increased or decreased the number of landmarks over the same distance, the bees tended to land earlier or

20 later than before, so they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is

a good place to land. The fact that the landmarks were all exactly the same demonstrated that the bees

really could only get the solution by counting the number of landmarks.”

Chittka started wondering whether such intelligent creatures had feelings so he designed an experiment

where bees suffered a simulated spider attack when they landed on a flower. Afterwards, “they became,

25 overall, very reluctant to land on flowers, and sometimes rejected them even if they saw there was no

spider present. This indicated to us a negative emotion-like state.”

Dr Jonathan Birch is leading a project on animal sentience at the London School of Economics: “My own

view is that it’s very likely that bees are sentient. More evidence is needed,” he said, “but in the past,

academics have not bothered to even ask these questions about insects. And now they are starting to.”

Fragment adapted from The Observer, July 2022

* sentient: able to have feelings

6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic [3 points]:

We need animals more than animals need us. Give your opinion

How to quit fast fashion

For more than two decades, fast fashion brands have tempted us with the promise that a shiny new outfit will result in happiness. It is just enough time for most of us to recognise that happiness is not really what fast fashion delivers. But given how easy and cheap it is to buy, breaking up with fast fashion can be difficult. According to psychologist Chris Cheers, sometimes the first step to changing your behaviour is to notice the beliefs that are happening underneath it. Here, some people who have successfully stopped buying fast fashion share how they did it and how they stuck to their decision.

In 2019, Lauren Bravo, the author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, set herself a challenge: going the whole year without buying anything completely new. To help her, she also used a rule from her mum: before you buy anything, name at least three items in your wardrobe you would wear it with, and three (real) places or occasions you will wear it to.

Writer and podcaster Maggie Zhou says she avoids fast fashion by following several norms. “One is the ‘30 wears rule,’ where I ideally want to wear an item of clothing at least 30 times.” She has also made a conscious effort to put fast fashion brands out of sight and out of mind by changing her digital activity. That means unfollowing fast fashion brands and influencers on social media and unsubscribing from email lists.

Wendy Syfret, author of The Sunny Nihilist, takes a different approach: when she sees something she likes online, rather than buying it, she emails herself the link so she can consider it later. She says, “I know myself, and I know I’m not going to stop shopping. It is emotional, it is habitual. I can’t get rid of those impulses, but I can reduce them.”

The owner of the cake shops Jawbreaker the Baker, Nico Idour, used to buy a lot of fast fashion but has completely reformed his shopping habits since meeting his husband, designer Jason Hewitt. Hewitt changed Idour’s shopping habits by explaining the “realities of fast fashion” and the huge environmental costs of mass production and international shipping. He enjoys wearing clothes he loves and feels good in over and over again. Also, he has a rule that he has to try something on before he buys it, which stops him from making impulse purchases online.

The key to addressing and changing your consumer behaviour is to notice the thought and understand you don’t necessarily have to believe it. A useful exercise is following the thought to the end. If your brain is suggesting that you will be more popular or desirable wearing the new purchase, think about what happens in reality. Is a new pair of jeans actually going to make your life more meaningful?

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, November 2022

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a)

Controlling your dependence on fast fashion is a challenge.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

For one year, Ms Bravo tried to buy only second-hand clothes.

TRUE

FALSE

c)

Nico Idour never wears the same clothes twice.

TRUE

FALSE

How to quit fast fashion

For more than two decades, fast fashion brands have tempted us with the promise that a shiny new outfit will result in happiness. It is just enough time for most of us to recognise that happiness is not really what fast fashion delivers. But given how easy and cheap it is to buy, breaking up with fast fashion can be difficult. According to psychologist Chris Cheers, sometimes the first step to changing your behaviour is to notice the beliefs that are happening underneath it. Here, some people who have successfully stopped buying fast fashion share how they did it and how they stuck to their decision.

In 2019, Lauren Bravo, the author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, set herself a challenge: going the whole year without buying anything completely new. To help her, she also used a rule from her mum: before you buy anything, name at least three items in your wardrobe you would wear it with, and three (real) places or occasions you will wear it to.

Writer and podcaster Maggie Zhou says she avoids fast fashion by following several norms. “One is the ‘30 wears rule,’ where I ideally want to wear an item of clothing at least 30 times.” She has also made a conscious effort to put fast fashion brands out of sight and out of mind by changing her digital activity. That means unfollowing fast fashion brands and influencers on social media and unsubscribing from email lists.

Wendy Syfret, author of The Sunny Nihilist, takes a different approach: when she sees something she likes online, rather than buying it, she emails herself the link so she can consider it later. She says, “I know myself, and I know I’m not going to stop shopping. It is emotional, it is habitual. I can’t get rid of those impulses, but I can reduce them.”

The owner of the cake shops Jawbreaker the Baker, Nico Idour, used to buy a lot of fast fashion but has completely reformed his shopping habits since meeting his husband, designer Jason Hewitt. Hewitt changed Idour’s shopping habits by explaining the “realities of fast fashion” and the huge environmental costs of mass production and international shipping. He enjoys wearing clothes he loves and feels good in over and over again. Also, he has a rule that he has to try something on before he buys it, which stops him from making impulse purchases online.

The key to addressing and changing your consumer behaviour is to notice the thought and understand you don’t necessarily have to believe it. A useful exercise is following the thought to the end. If your brain is suggesting that you will be more popular or desirable wearing the new purchase, think about what happens in reality. Is a new pair of jeans actually going to make your life more meaningful?

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, November 2022

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

Over the years, what has the fashion industry made us believe?

b)

How often does Maggie Zhou try to wear each of her outfits?

c)

What does the writer of The Sunny Nihilist recognize she will be unable to do?

How to quit fast fashion

For more than two decades, fast fashion brands have tempted us with the promise that a shiny new outfit will result in happiness. It is just enough time for most of us to recognise that happiness is not really what fast fashion delivers. But given how easy and cheap it is to buy, breaking up with fast fashion can be difficult. According to psychologist Chris Cheers, sometimes the first step to changing your behaviour is to notice the beliefs that are happening underneath it. Here, some people who have successfully stopped buying fast fashion share how they did it and how they stuck to their decision.

In 2019, Lauren Bravo, the author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, set herself a challenge: going the whole year without buying anything completely new. To help her, she also used a rule from her mum: before you buy anything, name at least three items in your wardrobe you would wear it with, and three (real) places or occasions you will wear it to.

Writer and podcaster Maggie Zhou says she avoids fast fashion by following several norms. “One is the ‘30 wears rule,’ where I ideally want to wear an item of clothing at least 30 times.” She has also made a conscious effort to put fast fashion brands out of sight and out of mind by changing her digital activity. That means unfollowing fast fashion brands and influencers on social media and unsubscribing from email lists.

Wendy Syfret, author of The Sunny Nihilist, takes a different approach: when she sees something she likes online, rather than buying it, she emails herself the link so she can consider it later. She says, “I know myself, and I know I’m not going to stop shopping. It is emotional, it is habitual. I can’t get rid of those impulses, but I can reduce them.”

The owner of the cake shops Jawbreaker the Baker, Nico Idour, used to buy a lot of fast fashion but has completely reformed his shopping habits since meeting his husband, designer Jason Hewitt. Hewitt changed Idour’s shopping habits by explaining the “realities of fast fashion” and the huge environmental costs of mass production and international shipping. He enjoys wearing clothes he loves and feels good in over and over again. Also, he has a rule that he has to try something on before he buys it, which stops him from making impulse purchases online.

The key to addressing and changing your consumer behaviour is to notice the thought and understand you don’t necessarily have to believe it. A useful exercise is following the thought to the end. If your brain is suggesting that you will be more popular or desirable wearing the new purchase, think about what happens in reality. Is a new pair of jeans actually going to make your life more meaningful?

Fragment adapted from The Guardian, November 2022

3. FIND a word or expression in the text that means... (1 point)

a)

in an effective way (lines 1-10):

b)

obeying (lines 11-18):

c)

trademarks (lines 11-18):

d)

significant (lines 19-28):

4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. [1.5 points]

Planning the end-of-year trip

Your classmate: Hey guys, we should start organising our end-of-year trip.

You (1):

Your classmate: True, classes end in a few weeks. I've always dreamt of travelling to Disneyland Paris.

You (2):

Your classmate: OK. And we need some teachers to go with us.

You (3):

Your classmate: How shall we find out how many students want to go?

You (4):

Your classmate: And we need to think of some ways to raise money to make it cheaper for our families.

You (5):

Your classmate: And who's going to organise that?

You (6):

5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. (1.5 points)

a)

You missed your English lesson because you stayed at home studying for a history exam. Apologise to your teacher.

b)

Your friends have bought you a new perfume as a present for your birthday, but you don’t like it. Tell them politely.

c)

A tourist asks you where the nearest pharmacy is. Explain how to get there.

GRUPO A

‘Bees are really highly intelligent’

You may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We have suggestive evidence that there

is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka,

professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee

5 sensory systems and cognition.

In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are

useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be *sentient beings – and humans have

an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

“Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. They can

10 count, recognise images of human faces and learn abstract concepts and how to use simple tools.”

Chittka thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique

entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female

worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them,

for example, to recognise human faces.” In one experiment, bees that were shown several monochrome

15 images of human faces learned that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice

of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which one do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the

correct one out of a group of different faces.”

In another experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to get food. “When we

increased or decreased the number of landmarks over the same distance, the bees tended to land earlier or

20 later than before, so they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is

a good place to land. The fact that the landmarks were all exactly the same demonstrated that the bees

really could only get the solution by counting the number of landmarks.”

Chittka started wondering whether such intelligent creatures had feelings so he designed an experiment

where bees suffered a simulated spider attack when they landed on a flower. Afterwards, “they became,

25 overall, very reluctant to land on flowers, and sometimes rejected them even if they saw there was no

spider present. This indicated to us a negative emotion-like state.”

Dr Jonathan Birch is leading a project on animal sentience at the London School of Economics: “My own

view is that it’s very likely that bees are sentient. More evidence is needed,” he said, “but in the past,

academics have not bothered to even ask these questions about insects. And now they are starting to.”

Fragment adapted from The Observer, July 2022

* sentient: able to have feelings

6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic (3 points):

Today, everything happens very quickly (fast fashion, fast food, fast delivery...). What are the advantages and disadvantages of living this way?