Ejercicio B · Inglés PAU Madrid Ordinaria Lunes 2021

TEXTO B

Women Spies during World War II

The summer of 1941 was a difficult time for Britain and her European allies in the war. The Nazis were bombing key cities across the country and much of Europe had fallen to the Germans, leaving Britain vulnerable. This made the work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the actions of women within it, that much more important.

Established in June 1940 in London, the SOE was a volunteer force set up to practice a secret war behind enemy lines. Intelligence agencies realized fairly early on during the war the important part women could play in spying, in what had been traditionally considered the domain of men. Women were thought to be more discreet as spies, and capitalized on this perception during the war, carrying out tasks and missions that men were unable to do. In the field, women could go unnoticed as messengers delivering vital information, with one SOE officer from Holland noting that in 1944, women were rarely stopped and searched at checkpoints.

In some instances, women spies took big risks and they had a great influence in the development of the war conflict. As historian Juliette Pattinson notes, “several wartime accounts indicate that male agents were less skilled and inventive than their female colleagues.”

The SOE had sent 39 women to Occupied France by the time of the D-Day invasions on June 6, 1944. Because it was crucial that they evade suspicion, the SOE recruited agents who could speak French and adapt to French life. Each agent was given a codename or an alias, and trained in specialist skills, including radio operations, how to maintain a cover story and how to open locks.

Adapted from “Inside the Stories of the Most Daring Women Spies of World War II,” Time, 2 October 2020. <https://bit.ly/3fbcjWp>

QUESTIONS

B.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)

Women began working as spies at the end of the war.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

Historical evidence shows that men were better spies than women.

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)

What are the two reasons why Great Britain was in a hard situation during the summer of 1941?

b)

Why speaking French required to be a good spy?