Examen de Inglés PAU Madrid 2024 · Modelo

TEXTO A

Nobel Prize for Studying Neanderthal DNA

Monday 3rd October 2022, the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine awarded the prize to Svante Pääbo, a smart Swedish geneticist who determined how to extract and analyze DNA from 40,000-year-old Neanderthal bones – an extremely complex and challenging process. His decades of research have made it possible for scientists to begin testing differences between today's modern humans and their ancestors.

Born in 1955, Pääbo spent three decades working on the Neanderthal genome, mostly at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany. He studied mummies and extinct animals before focusing his efforts on Neanderthals. “I'm driven by curiosity, by asking the questions, ‘Where do we come from?’ and ‘What were the important events in our history that made us who we are?’”, Pääbo told Smithsonian magazine in 2006.

The morning of the 3rd of October, Pääbo was finishing a cup of tea when he got a call from Sweden informing him he had been awarded with the Nobel Prize. He was asked whether he ever thought of winning. Pääbo humbly replied that he did not really think that this study would qualify for a Nobel Prize. But award-winning scientific discoveries are apparently in Pääbo's blood. His father, biochemist Sune Bergström, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1982. This was the eighth time that a child of a Nobel laureate also won a Nobel Prize.

Pääbo's unexpected win marked the outstanding start of last year's Nobel Prize announcements, which continued throughout the rest of that eventful week with awards in physics, chemistry, literature, economics, and peace. Winners get roughly 900,000€, which come from the money left by the prize's creator, Alfred Nobel, after his death, in order to contribute to science evolution.

Adapted from “Svante Pääbo Won Nobel Prize for Unraveling the Mysteries of Neanderthal DNA,” Smithsonianmag.com, October 3, 2022. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/svante-paabo-wins-nobel-prize-for-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-neanderthal-dna-180980883/>

QUESTIONS

A.1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. Use a complete sentence. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.

(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

Pääbo studies have only been focused on Neanderthals.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

Pääbo was sure he would win the Nobel Prize with this research.

TRUE

FALSE

A.2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.

(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

Why are Pääbo’s discoveries important for other researchers?

b)

How much is the prize and where does the money come from?

TEXTO A

Nobel Prize for Studying Neanderthal DNA

Monday 3rd October 2022, the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine awarded the prize to Svante Pääbo, a smart Swedish geneticist who determined how to extract and analyze DNA from 40,000-year-old Neanderthal bones – an extremely complex and challenging process. His decades of research have made it possible for scientists to begin testing differences between today's modern humans and their ancestors.

Born in 1955, Pääbo spent three decades working on the Neanderthal genome, mostly at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany. He studied mummies and extinct animals before focusing his efforts on Neanderthals. “I'm driven by curiosity, by asking the questions, ‘Where do we come from?’ and ‘What were the important events in our history that made us who we are?’”, Pääbo told Smithsonian magazine in 2006.

The morning of the 3rd of October, Pääbo was finishing a cup of tea when he got a call from Sweden informing him he had been awarded with the Nobel Prize. He was asked whether he ever thought of winning. Pääbo humbly replied that he did not really think that this study would qualify for a Nobel Prize. But award-winning scientific discoveries are apparently in Pääbo's blood. His father, biochemist Sune Bergström, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1982. This was the eighth time that a child of a Nobel laureate also won a Nobel Prize.

Pääbo's unexpected win marked the outstanding start of last year's Nobel Prize announcements, which continued throughout the rest of that eventful week with awards in physics, chemistry, literature, economics, and peace. Winners get roughly 900,000€, which come from the money left by the prize's creator, Alfred Nobel, after his death, in order to contribute to science evolution.

Adapted from “Svante Pääbo Won Nobel Prize for Unraveling the Mysteries of Neanderthal DNA,” Smithsonianmag.com, October 3, 2022. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/svante-paabo-wins-nobel-prize-for-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-neanderthal-dna-180980883/>

A.3.- Find the words in the text that mean:

(Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

a)

clever (paragraph 1):

b)

findings (paragraph 3):

c)

occasion (paragraph 3):

d)

excellent (paragraph 4):

A.4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when given.

[2 puntos]

a)

If he

(be) a science researcher nowadays, his studies would deal

DNA.

b)

Since 2012, developments in chemistry

(lead) to innovative options in the energy sector,

big changes are needed.

c)

the sale price was incredibly high, they managed

(sell) their summer home in only one month

d)

Complete the following sentence to report what was said.

"Did any researcher from your country win a Nobel Prize?"

He asked me

A.5.- Write about 150 to 200 words on the following topic.

[3 puntos]

Which inventions do you think have significantly changed the world? Discuss.

TEXTO B

TikTok’s Rise

TikTok in 2022 became the most-downloaded app in the world, quietly surpassing forerunners Instagram and Twitter. By the end of 2023, it will overtake YouTube as the social media platform that users spend the most time watching. The video platform's meteoric rise has surprised investors and industry experts. As it grows at fast speed, the newspaper The Guardian investigates some of the many questions surrounding its operations: the opaqueness of its algorithm and its effect on our brains.

TikTok’s sprint towards world dominance began in 2018, when it first surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube in downloads. The following year, it became the fourth most-downloaded non-gaming app in the world. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic poured gasoline on the app's already-explosive growth. As billions of people struggled through repeated lockdowns, the app increased downloads, reporting a 45% rise in monthly active users. A recent report showed that nearly half of people between 18 and 30 in the US use the platform and 67% of users between the ages of 13 and 18 use the app daily.

TikTok’s algorithm, which serves intensely specific content to users, is a key element of its success. The platform, according to internal documents leaked in 2021, optimizes content for minutes and hours of view time – a departure from its competitors who historically prioritized clicks and engagement. That significant difference and its algorithm's impressive efficacy have raised alarm at the mental health impact of such intensive targeting.

Concerns about the consequences of extensive social media use have also been long standing, with studies suggesting excessive use can exacerbate mental health problems. Besides, TikTok comes with its own problems, including that its algorithm feed can make unhealthy trends go viral before they can be banned for safety.

Adapted from “From dance videos to global sensation: what you need to know about TikTok’s rise,” The Guardian, October 22, 2022. <https://bit.ly/3TSeiC0>

QUESTIONS

B.1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. Use a complete sentence. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

TikTok will become the second most watched social media by the end of this year.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

TikTok’s algorithm is crucial for the app’s widespread popularity.

TRUE

FALSE

B.2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

How did Covid-19 affect the use of TikTok?

b)

What are the main worries about using TikTok and other social media excessively?

TEXTO B

TikTok’s Rise

TikTok in 2022 became the most-downloaded app in the world, quietly surpassing forerunners Instagram and Twitter. By the end of 2023, it will overtake YouTube as the social media platform that users spend the most time watching. The video platform's meteoric rise has surprised investors and industry experts. As it grows at fast speed, the newspaper The Guardian investigates some of the many questions surrounding its operations: the opaqueness of its algorithm and its effect on our brains.

TikTok’s sprint towards world dominance began in 2018, when it first surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube in downloads. The following year, it became the fourth most-downloaded non-gaming app in the world. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic poured gasoline on the app's already-explosive growth. As billions of people struggled through repeated lockdowns, the app increased downloads, reporting a 45% rise in monthly active users. A recent report showed that nearly half of people between 18 and 30 in the US use the platform and 67% of users between the ages of 13 and 18 use the app daily.

TikTok’s algorithm, which serves intensely specific content to users, is a key element of its success. The platform, according to internal documents leaked in 2021, optimizes content for minutes and hours of view time – a departure from its competitors who historically prioritized clicks and engagement. That significant difference and its algorithm's impressive efficacy have raised alarm at the mental health impact of such intensive targeting.

Concerns about the consequences of extensive social media use have also been long standing, with studies suggesting excessive use can exacerbate mental health problems. Besides, TikTok comes with its own problems, including that its algorithm feed can make unhealthy trends go viral before they can be banned for safety.

Adapted from “From dance videos to global sensation: what you need to know about TikTok’s rise,” The Guardian, October 22, 2022. <https://bit.ly/3TSeiC0>

B.3.- Find the words in the text that mean: (Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

a)

b)

c)

d)

B.4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when given. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

TikTok was the top app (global) in the second quarter of 2020, because it is (easy) to use than others.

b)

By 2025, ads on TikTok (reach) 30% of internet users are aged above 18.

c)

TikTok is an international version of Douyin, which (release) in the Chinese market seven years.

d)

Facebook has stopped (be) the most downloaded app since TikTok appeared 6 th September 2016.

B.5.- Write about 150 to 200 words on the following topic. (Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)

What is your opinion about the impact of social media on society? Justify your answer.