Opción A - 4 · Inglés PAU Castilla y León Ordinaria (Fase Mejora de Nota) 2022

OPTION A

YOUR FACE IS, OR WILL BE, YOUR BOARDING PASS

Tech-driven changes are coming fast and furiously to airports, including advancements in

biometrics that verify identity and shorten security procedures for those passengers who opt into the

program. If it’s been a year or more since you traveled, particularly internationally, you may notice

something different at airports in the United States: More steps — from checking a bag to clearing

5 customs — are being automated using biometrics.

Biometrics are unique individual traits, such as fingerprints, that can be used to automate and

verify identity. They promise both more security and efficiency in moving travelers through an airport

where, at steps from check-in to boarding, passengers are normally required to show government-issued

photo identification.

10 “The technologies have gotten much more sophisticated and the accuracy rate much higher,” said

Robert Tappan, and “Iris-scanning has been promoted as the most infallible,” said Sherry Stein: “For

biometrics to work, you have to be able to match to a known trusted source of data because you’re trying

to compare it to a record on file. The face is the easiest because all the documents we use that prove your

identity — driver’s licenses, passports, etc. — rely on face.”

15 “The implementation of contactless platforms is currently at full speed all over the globe, and the

major impact of this is expected to be felt by 2022, as planning and distribution usually needs 12 to 18

months to be effective,” said Jeff Lennon, the vice president of strategic sales and global partnerships at

Vision-Box, which operates biometric technology in more than 100 airports globally, including New

York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. “This is well-aligned with the expected return of mass

20 international travel next year.”

In short, tech-driven changes are coming fast and furiously to airports, including the following

advancements in biometrics: bag-check-to-boarding facial recognition, testing biometrics without

passports, facial recognition at the border, international biometric boarding, from airports to sports arenas.

(Fragment adapted from The New York Times.)

4) VOCABULARY (2 POINTS).

4.1

Choose one of the options below and find one word in the text for its definition (0.6 POINTS):

4.2

Find a synonym in the text for one of the two words below (0.6 POINTS):

4.3

For one of the following words from the text, give a synonym that fits the meaning of the text (0.8 POINTS):