nivel c - actividades de lecto-comprension · nivel c - actividades de lecto-comprension c1: read...

Universidad Nacional de La Pampa - Facultad de Ciencias Humanas

Evaluación de Competencias Comunicativas - Tercer Ciclo de EGB y Nivel Polimodal

Año 2010

Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………………………

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Servicio Externo de Lenguas Extranjeras

NIVEL C - ACTIVIDADES DE LECTO-COMPRENSION

C1: Read the text below



Año 2010

Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………………………

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a. Correct these false statements.

1. Calcium can be found in the earth’s crust.

………………………………………………………………………………...

2. Uranium and plutonium are grouped together because they are natural

elements.

………………………………………………………………………………...

3. Lavoisier noticed that hydrogen atoms are hardly ever present in water.

………………………………………………………………………………...

4. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth groups have no elements in common.

...........................................................................................................................

5. Lead and aluminum are grouped together because they are hard metals.

………………………………………………………………………………

b. Choose the best option.

1. The best synonym for intuitive is …

a. non-natural.

b. inclined.

c. automatic.

d. simple.

e. passionate.

2. Something synthetic is …

a. non-natural.

b. manmade.

c. artificial.

d. All of the above are

correct.

e. Both B and C are

correct.

3. When you exhale, you …

a. breathe out.

b. take out.

c. consist of.

d. Both A and B are

correct.

4. Inert means …

a. non-reactive.

b. radioactive.

c. reactive.

d. shiny.

e. hard.

5. The best synonym for insulate is …

a. melt.

b. protect.

c. conduct.

d. combine.

e. represent.

6. An alloy is …

a. a combination of carbon

and oxygen.

b. a mixture of metals.

c. a chemical laboratory.

d. a soft metal.

e. a non-metal.

e. Both B and C are correct.



Año 2010

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C2: Read the text below

Doctor Knowall

There was once upon a time a poor peasant called Crabb, who

drove with two oxen a load of wood to the town, and sold it to a

doctor for two talers. When the money was being counted out to him, it so happened that

the doctor was sitting at table, and when the peasant saw how well he ate and drank, his

heart desired what he saw, and would willingly have been a doctor too. So he remained

standing a while, and at length inquired if he too could not be a doctor. 'Oh, yes,' said the

doctor, 'that is soon managed.' 'What must I do?' asked the peasant. 'In the first place buy

yourself an A B C book of the kind which has a cock on the frontispiece; in the second,

turn your cart and your two oxen into money, and get yourself some clothes, and

whatsoever else pertains to medicine; thirdly, have a sign painted for yourself with the

words: "I am Doctor Knowall," and have that nailed up above your house-door.' The

peasant did everything that he had been told to do. When he had doctored people awhile,

but not long, a rich and great lord had some money stolen. Then he was told about Doctor

Knowall who lived in such and such a village, and must know what had become of the

money. So the lord had the horses harnessed to his carriage, drove out to the village, and

asked Crabb if he were Doctor Knowall. Yes, he was, he said. Then he was to go with him

and bring back the stolen money. 'Oh, yes, but Grete, my wife, must go too.' The lord was

willing, and let both of them have a seat in the carriage, and they all drove away together.

When they came to the nobleman's castle, the table was spread, and Crabb was told to sit

down and eat. 'Yes, but my wife, Grete, too,' said he, and he seated himself with her at the

table. And when the first servant came with a dish of delicate fare, the peasant nudged his

wife, and said: 'Grete, that was the first,' meaning that was the servant who brought the first

dish. The servant, however, thought he intended by that to say: 'That is the first thief,' and

as he actually was so, he was terrified, and said to his comrade outside: 'The doctor knows

all: we shall fare ill, he said I was the first.' The second did not want to go in at all, but was

forced. So when he went in with his dish, the peasant nudged his wife, and said: 'Grete,

that is the second.' This servant was equally alarmed, and he got out as fast as he could. The

third fared no better, for the peasant again said: ‘Grete, that is the third.' The fourth had to

carry in a dish that was covered, and the lord told the doctor that he was to show his skill,

and guess what was beneath the cover. Actually, there were crabs. The doctor looked at the

dish, had no idea what to say, and cried: 'Ah, poor Crabb.' When the lord heard that, he

cried: 'There! he knows it; he must also know who has the money!'

On this the servants looked terribly uneasy, and made a sign to the doctor that they wished

him to step outside for a moment. When therefore he went out, all four of them confessed

to him that they had stolen the money, and said that they would willingly restore it and give

him a heavy sum into the bargain, if he would not denounce them, for if he did they would

be hanged. They led him to the spot where the money was concealed. With this the doctor

was satisfied, and returned to the hall, sat down to the table, and said: 'My lord, now will I

search in my book where the gold is hidden.' The fifth servant, however, crept into the

stove to hear if the doctor knew still more. But the doctor sat still and opened his A B C

book, turned the pages backwards and forwards, and looked for the cock. As he could not

find it immediately he said: 'I know you are there, so you had better come out!' Then the

fellow in the stove thought that the doctor meant him, and full of terror, sprang out, crying:

'That man knows everything!' Then Doctor Knowall showed the lord where the money was,

but did not say who had stolen it, and received from both sides much money in reward, and

became a renowned man.

Source: Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales



Año 2010

Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………………………

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a. Read the fairy tale and answer the questions in your own words.

1. What was the reason that moved Crabb to become a doctor?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. What were the steps that the peasant should follow so as to achieve it?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. Why did Crabb ask for advice from the doctor?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. Which did the doctor NOT recommend in order to become a doctor?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Why did the nobleman require Crabb's help?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. Who did Crabb insist on bringing with him?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. What was the first thing they did at the castle?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

8. What did Crabb mean when he said to his wife: "That was the first"?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

9. Why was Crabb lucky with the covered, fourth course?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

10. What did the servants tell Crabb?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

11. What did the servants promise Crabb if he didn't tell the king who had stolen the

money?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

12. How did Crabb know where the money was located?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

13. What mistake did the servant who was listening in the dark make?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

14. What three things did Crabb gain from this encounter with the king?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….



Año 2010

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b. Match the words in bold in the text with their appropriate

meaning.

1. peasant ____ a- to hide

2. oxen ____ b- farmer, worker, any non-royal who works the

land

3. talers ____ c- to push lightly in order to indicate something

4. to manage ____ d- old form of German money

5. cock on the frontispiece ____ e- wagon used to carry things and people

6. cart ____ f- to move slowly and carefully

7. attached to his carriage ____ g- strong animals similar to cows that were used

to pull carts

8. to conceal ____ h- to be possible

9. to creep ____ i- to be related to, to do with something

10. to pertain ____ j- eagerly

11. willingly ____ k- picture of a male chicken on the cover of the

book

12. to nudge ____ l- harnessed to his carriage to spring out



Año 2010

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NIVEL C - ACTIVIDADES DE PRODUCCIÓN ESCRITA

C1

Part 1: Read the text below and complete it with the correct form of the

word given in capitals at the end of each line.

The Claim: Violent Video Games Make

Young People Aggressive

By Anahad O’Connor

The facts Republicans and Democrats alike screamed (1) …………. GOVERN

waste last March when a group of senators (2) …………. spending $90 SUGGEST

million to study how video games "and other (3) …………. media" ELECTRIC

influenced children's (4) …………. . Surely an important question, BEHAVE

critics of the plan said, but $90 million?

This month, the American (5) …………. Association called PSYCHOLOGY

for a reduction of (6) …………. in all video games, saying the VIOLENT

(7) …………. from 20 years of research on the subject was clear. EVIDENT

They based their (8) …………. CONCLUDE

(9) …………. on the work of Kevin Kieffer, a psychologist at St. Leo LARGE

University, who prepared an analysis of dozens of relevant (10) …………. . STUDY

Adapted from: http://www.e-teachingonline.com.ar



Año 2010

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Part 2: Read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the

lines are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If a

line is correct add a tick (√) at the end of the line. If a line has a word

which should not be there, underline that word.

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water By Janet Majeski Jemmott

Remember the drinking fountain, that once ubiquitous, and free, ______

source of H2O? It seems quaint now. Instead, the bottled water is ______

everywhere, in offices, airplanes, stores, homes and restaurants ______

across the whole country. We consumed over eight billion gallons ______

of the stuff in 2006, a 10 percent increase from 2005. It's a refreshing, ______

calorie-free, convenient to carry around, tastier than some tap water ______

and a lot of healthier than sugary sodas. But more and ______

more, people are questioning whether the water is, and the package ______

it comes in, is safe, or at least more safer than tap water -- and if ______

the convenience is worth to the environmental impact. ______

Evocative names and labels depicting pastoral scenes have been ______

convinced us that the liquid is the purest drink all around. "But no ______

one should have think that bottled water is better regulated, ______

better protected or safer as than tap," says Eric Goldstein, co-director ______

of the urban program at the Natural Resources Defense Council ______

(NRDC), a non-profit organization which devoted to protecting ______

health and the environment.

Adapted from: http://www.rd.com/



Año 2010

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Part 3: You’ve seen this advertisement in an international e-magazine.

Read the advertisement carefully and then write an application letter to

this family. Write your letter in 180-200 words. Remember to use the

appropriate style.

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Nanny is needed urgently......... Posted in: Looking for a job? October 2010

Do you love children?

I am Robert Atchie and my wife is Sharon Dina, we both own a

architect company in Baths (UK). We have two children:

Anthony (8) and Patrick (5).

Due to the extremely busy nature of our job and our tight business

schedule, we are looking for an au pair to take care of our boys.

You must be between 21 and 27 and able to work for at least a

semester, starting as soon as possible.

You should also be responsible, patient, energetic and enthusiastic.

It is also important that you speak English.

This job will require you to move to London.

Accommodation, food, pocket money, medical insurance and a

monthly salary are all provided.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for further information or if you are

willing and ready to pick up the job. Please send us an email at [email protected]



Año 2010

Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………………………

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Año 2010

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C2

Part 1: Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the

first one. Begin with the words given.

1. She’s been living in this flat for 9 years, and next year will make it 10.

By next year .......................................................................................................................

2. He forgot to post the letters because he was in such a hurry.

If he ....................................................................................................................................

3. I haven’t read a more amazing book recently than Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth.

The most ............................................................................................................................

4. They had to put down that elephant because she was so old.

That elephant had ........................................................................................................... ....

5. Might I have a clean knife, please?

I wonder ..............................................................................................................................

6. She often has to do the washing-up and she can’t stand it.

She can’t stand ...................................................................................................................

7. Paul’s a poor swimmer but John’s much worse.

John’s ......................................................................................................................... ........



Año 2010

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Part 2: Read the text below and fill in the word which fits best. Use only

one word.

CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU by Kesta Allen

Can chocolate help you live longer?

My mother would never allow me 1)……….

eat sweets and chocolate. She said that

chocolates were bad for me and that they

2)………. damage my teeth. What would

she say about the new research 3)………. says that chocolate is good for you?

Over the last couple of years a number of surprising claims have 4)……….

made about chocolate. Chocolate improves the memory 5)………. helps

children to pass exams. Can these claims be true?

Researchers have found that men 6)………. eat sweets and chocolates

regularly live for almost a year longer 7)………. those men who never or only

occasionally eat them.

This new evidence comes from a study of approximately eight thousand

American men over a period 8)………. eighty years. The longest living men

were those who ate chocolate between once and three 9)………. a month.

They cut their risk of death by a third. Men who ate chocolate and sweets once

or twice a week cut their risks by a quarter. Even those men who ate chocolate

more than three times a week lived longer than those who never or seldom ate

sweets or chocolate.

It is 10)………. that the answer to these findings lies in the antioxidant

effect of phenols which are found in chocolate. A small piece of chocolate

contains the same number of phenols 11)………. a glass of red wine. Phenols

have been found to help to reduce cholesterol and 12)………. help to protect

against forms of cancer.

13)………., before we all rush off to the sweet shop and eat all the

chocolate we can buy, doctors advise against over-indulgence. Research

14)………. still going on. As with all things, 15)………. best advice is to eat

all the chocolate you want to – but in moderation!

Source: New English Digest

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/



Año 2010

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Part 3: You have been asked to write a story for a student magazine

beginning with the following words.

It was only 7:00 in the morning and the temperature was already over 35 degrees. I couldn’t

take another day of swimming in my own sweat! There was only one solution.

or It was a damp, chilly night when Jonathan and I eventually left the building. We couldn’t

see much because it was very dark.

Write your own story in 120-180 words.

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Año 2010

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NIVEL C - ACTIVIDADES DE COMPRENSIÓN AUDITIVA

C1

SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence).

You’ll listen to an interview on the radio

with a professor who talks about S.E.T.I.

programs

(taken from http://esl-lounge.com/)

Listen carefully and tick () the parts

that will make a correct sentence,

according to what you heard.

Professor Hilary Twaine a. is a teacher at school in Yale

b. works for SETI programs

c. believes in UFO’s

d. looks for flying saucers in the sky

e. thinks there might be intelligent

beings somewhere in outer space

f. has colleagues working for NASA

g. has made contact with extra-

terrestrial beings

h. has a snail in Alaska looking for

fellow snails

i. believes extraterrestrial beings

might be advanced civilizations

j. believes that the total silence

received from outer space might

mean we are alone

k. thinks advanced civilizations can

possibly destroy themselves

l. is waiting for an ET to phone her



Año 2010

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C2

Part 1:

A Modern 'Sherlock' Is More Than Elementary

by David Bianculli (Adapted from www.npr.org)

Listen to TV critic David Bianculli giving his

review of a new TV series, in three episodes,

called Sherlock, which is based on Conan

Doyle’s short stories and novels Sherlock

Holmes.

a. General comprehension.

Sentences 1 to 4 are incomplete. Choose

from options a to d the ones which will

make a true statement. More than one

option may be correct.

1. Bianculli starts his review admitting that before previewing the TV series he

thought that …

a. there was no need for another adaptation of Sherlock Holmes

b. Dr House was a good version of Sherlock Holmes as a doctor

c. the film with Robert Downey Jr. was a good adaptation of Sherlock

Holmes

d. TV needed a new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes

2. Bianculli talks about this new series …

a. saying they are an exact reproduction of the original stories

b. comparing it with existing TV programs like CSI and Doctor Who

c. criticizing the actors who are too young and inexperienced

d. mentioning it is the first time the creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss

work together.

3. The critic talks about this new version of the story …

a. praising the changes that adapt it to modern-day London

b. mentioning they are just the same as the old ones

c. giving some hints about the topics dealt with

d. leaving some negative comments about the way the main actors perform

4. Bianculli ends his review saying that …

a. only readers of the old stories are going to enjoy this series

b. if you’re not familiar with the old adventures you won’t enjoy the series

c. TV watchers will love this series no matter whether they’ve read the old

stories or not

d. If you’re familiar with the old adventures you won’t like this new version

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101612



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b. Detailed understanding.

Listen to the review again and complete the following sentences with the missing

information from the recording.

1. Hugh Laurie as television’s House is basically Sherlock Holmes as a doctor,

except that instead of one Dr. Watson as his companion and assistant, House has

a ___________________________.

2. The new British import Sherlock, beginning next Sunday

on PBS, gets everything right. It’s a

____________________________________, with

storytelling approaches to match.

3. When Sherlock is explaining the reasoning behind his

astounding powers of ____________________, the camera

_______________ in tight on the various clues, with whooshy

_________________________, just like on an episode of CSI.

4. Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis may

sound like an odd team, but it’s actually _______________________________

5. When Sherlock first meets Dr. Watson, he instantly sizes him up as a

____________________________ who is in therapy and who has just returned

____________________________ in Afghanistan or Iraq.

6. This new version isn’t just good. It’s _________________. And the changes

bringing the characters into modern-day London are ____________________

7. This new Sherlock Holmes carries a ______________________ –but, like the

antisocial misfit that he is, he much prefers _____________________________

8. The three stories are about ____________________ disguised as suicides, a

_______________ smuggling ring, and a mad bomber.

9. The evil Professor Moriarty is here, too. But I can’t tell you where, or who plays

him, without _____________________ some of the fun. Because Moriarty loves

____________________, and loves to _______________ in plain sight.

10. However, if you are familiar with the stories, chances are you’ll

______________ this new Sherlock ________________________.



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Part 2:

Disability by Chris Wilson (Taken from http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org)

Listen to the following article about disability and answer T (true) or F (false.)

Correct any false statements.

1. In Western society nowadays, measures have been taken so as not to discriminate

disabled people.

2. The words crippled or spastic are the ones we must use to refer to disabled people.

3. New technology, like wooden legs, is making a huge difference in the way disabled

people live today, compared to the past.

4. In developing countries like Mozambique, says Anna, disabled people are more

integrated and happier than in Western society, where everyone is obsessed with

beauty and physical perfection.

5. Adolfo, a deaf Mozambican, is

an accomplished guitar player.

6. Adolfo tells the story of a woman

who has lost both legs in a land

mine explosion, and how she

was left behind, with no food.

7. Anna thinks that people in Western society are more tolerant, and much more

accepting of disabled people than in Africa.

8. In Africa, a young woman who sells tomatoes has been in a fire and has one side of

her completely burnt. But she flirts with all the guys and makes jokes about them

with other women. Anna thinks that in Western society, she would be lonely.

9. Technology is not making things easier for disabled people in Africa, Adolfo says.

10. Adolfo has got a computer with software that reads aloud to him.

nivel c - actividades de lecto-comprension · nivel c - actividades de lecto-comprension c1: read...

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