Opción A · Inglés PAU Madrid Extraordinaria 2018

OPCIÓN A

Saving the British Pub

In 1946 George Orwell described his favourite pub, “The Moon under Water”, where there were “mirrors behind the bar” and a “ceiling stained dark yellow by tobacco smoke”. It was the perfect pub, but it didn’t exist since the ideal boozer lived only in Orwell’s imagination. If we carry on the way we are, by 2046 many of the real pubs will exist only in our imaginations, too.

Today about 17,000 pubs are expected to be affected by a dramatic raise in business rates, with closures feared in the next five years. Yes, the death of the great British pub has long been predicted, with some losses since the 1900s. However, in the past decade numbers have dropped like a stone. What is strangling “The King’s Head”? The smoking ban, wage stagnation, alcohol duty, supermarket pricing and the more nebulous “cultural change”. In the forties Orwell wrote that the trend was “away from creative communal amusements and towards solitary mechanical ones” - and this was half a century before the Internet and Netflix came to seduce us.

There are many good economic arguments for wanting to see pubs thrive. In fact, a recent report showed that the industry supports 900,000 jobs. But this is not why the thought of decline hurts. It hurts because for many British people pubs are, in a strange way, an extension of what home is. Our national identity is glued by the places we share, the common denominators of the British experience - and there is perhaps no greater one of these than the pub.

More should be done especially to help rural pubs provide different services and stay alive. One organization helps landlords set up post offices, shops and libraries. We should take more pride in our pubs and support them.

1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. [Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos]

a)

George Orwell used to visit his favourite pub every day.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

Pub closures have been most significant since the beginning of the 21 st century.

TRUE

FALSE

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)

There are several reasons for pub closures. Mention four.

b)

Why is the decline of pubs affecting British people's feelings?