Ejercicio Text 1 - Part I. Reading Comprehension · Inglés PAU Castilla-La Mancha Ordinaria 2024

TEXT 1: The First Sign of Civilization

Margaret Mead was an American anthropologist who demonstrated through her studies of primitive cultures that differences in human behaviour are not due to innate differences among individuals, but rather the result of cultural influence on individual development. She was also an advocate for gender equality, human rights and the importance of education in society.

During one of her lectures, she was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But that wasn’t her answer.

Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell and has bound up the wound. Moreover, they must have carried the person to safety in order to be assisted until full recovery. “Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts”, Mead said. We are at our best when we serve others.

Adapted from “The Best Care Possible” by Ira Byock

TEXT 1. QUESTIONS

1. READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer).

Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. No marks are given for T or F.

1.

According to Mead, human behaviour is birth-determined.

2.

The student mentioned thought the first signs of civilization were nothing but material objects ancient people used.

3.

In the animal kingdom, animals die before their broken bone can heal.

4.

A healed femur showed that primitive people were unable to treat injuries.