SEPTIEMBRE 2014

PRUEBAS UNIFICADAS DE CERTIFICACIN

B2

COMPRENSIN DE LECTURA

Apellidos:
Nombre:..
MarcaconunaXloquecorresponda:

Alumno/aOFICIAL(Indicaelnombredetuprofesor/atutor/adurante
elcurso20132014:...)

Alumno/aLIBREGrupo:...........................

INSTRUCCIONESPARALAREALIZACINDEESTEEJERCICIO:

o Duracin:75minutos
o Esteejercicioconstadedostareas.Debersrealizarlasdos.
o Enlatarea1debersleereltextodelapgina3ycompletarcadaenunciadocon
unadelasopciones(A,BoC)delapgina2.
Obtienes 1 punto por cada respuesta correcta; 0 puntos por cada respuesta
incorrectaonodada.
o En la tarea 2 debers leer el texto de las pginas 4 y 5 y completar cada hueco
eligiendolapalabraadecuadadelbancodepalabrasdelapgina4.
Obtienes 1 punto por cada respuesta correcta; 0 puntos por cada respuesta
incorrectaonodada.
o Muy importante: al final, comprueba que ha marcado una sola opcin (como en el
ejemplo);simarcasdosopciones,seanulalarespuestaaesapregunta.
o Noescribasenloscuadrosdestinadosalacalificacindelastareas.
o Sloseadmitenrespuestasescritasconbolgrafoazulonegro.

NOESCRIBASAQU

PUNTUACIN DEL EJERCICIO: _____ / 20

CALIFICACIN:

Superado No Superado

NIVEL AVANZADO

INGLS

PRUEBASUNIFICADASDECERTIFICACIN
2014

TAREA 1 -10 puntos -: Readthetextonpage3.Choosethecorrectoption(A,B,orC)tocomplete

eachsentence.Thefirstone(0)isanexample.

PUNTOS:/10

Ex.:0.Lauratookherdecisionnottohaveachild...
A. ...whenshegotmarried.
B. ...whenshewasalittlechild.
C. ...whenshewasateenager.
1. Whatwashermomsresponsetothatdecision?
A. Sheapprovedofherdaughtersresolution.
B. Sheopposedherdaughterschoice.
C. ShethoughtLauramightthinkdifferentlyinthefuture,
2. LauraScottconsidershermother...
A. ...foundherwaytoreconcilefamilylifeandwork.
B. ...lackedenergytododomesticchoresproperly.
C. ...ledanunsatisfactoryfamilylifeduetoworkfamilyconflict.
3. Aftergettingmarried,Laura...
A. ...discoveredshedidntlongtohavechildren.
B. ...expectedtocombinemotherhoodwithacareer.
C. ...wasuncertainofhavingmadetherightchoice.
4. NowadaysLaura...
A. ...deniesfeelingsatisfied.
B. ...isnottheonlywomannotwantingchildren.
C. ...regretsherdecision
5. ThefertilityrateintheStates...
A. ...fluctuatesacrossdifferentsegmentsofthepopulation.
B. ...hasbeendeclining.
C. ...isevenlowerthanincertainEuropeancountries.
6. Thedebateovermaternitychoice...
A. ...haditsoriginsnearlyfourdecadesago.
B. ...stressestheneedforsharedchildcarearrangements.
C. ...intensifiedatthebeginningofthecurrentfinancialcrisis.
7. SherylSandberghaspublishedabookthat...
A. ...dealswiththeconflictbetweenindividualchoiceandsocialdemand.
B. ...isabouttheexpansionofwomensemploymentpolicies.
C. ...valueswomenwhoreconcileworkandfamilylife.
8. Inthemedia,childlesswomenare...
A. ...consideredprivilegedpeople.
B. ...criticisedasirresponsibleandselfindulgent.
C. ...praisedfortheireffortstobeindependent.
9. JonathanLastsbook...
A. ...blameswomenforthereductioninfutureconsumption.
B. ...haswonhimnationalacclaim.
C. ...portrayschildlesscouplesasopposedtothefamilyunit.
10. Inthelastparagraphthewritersuggeststhatwomen
A. ...havelostfreedomtosomeextent.
B. haveneverbeensoindependent.
C.nowhavefeweropportunitiesthanbefore

Pgina

ANSWER

HavingItAllWithoutHavingChildren

PRUEBASUNIFICADASDECERTIFICACIN
2014

TAREA 1 -10 puntos -: Readthefollowingtext.Choosethebestoption(A,B,orC)tocompleteeach

sentence.Thefirstone(0)isanexample.Answeronpage2.

HavingItAllWithoutHavingChildren

Source:time.com

TheAmericanbirthrateisatarecordlow.Whathappenswhenhavingitallmeansnothavingchildren?

Oneeveningwhenshewas14yearsold,LauraScottwaswashingdishesinthekitchenwithhermotherwhen
she decided she didnt want to have a child. You might change your mind, said her mother, whom Scott
describesasbonetiredfromalifeinwhichshedidnthaveanytimeforherself.Scottsmomworkedasa
samplemakerforanupholsterycompany;aftermakingdinnerforScottandherbrother,shedparkthemin
front of thetelevision and go down to the basement to spend herevening cutting and sewing. That life was
whatdoingitallmeanttoScott.Ilearnedyoucouldbutdidyouwantto?shesays.At26,Scottgotmarried
andwaitedforhermindtochange.IthoughtIwouldbestruckbyabiologicallightningbolt,sherecalls.It
neverhappened.AndIrealizedIwasgoingtobefine.AsshesaysfromherTampaoffice,wheresheworksasa
professionalcoach,writeranddocumentaryfilmmaker,MymainmotivenottohavekidswasthatIlovedmy
lifethewayitwas.
Now50,Scottismorethanfine:shesfulfilled.Andshesnotalone.ThebirthrateintheU.S.isthelowestin
recordedAmericanhistory,whichincludesthefertilitycrashoftheGreatDepression.From2007to2011,the
mostrecentyearforwhichtheresdata,thefertilityratedeclined9%.A2010PewResearchreportshowedthat
childlessnesshasrisenacrossallracialandethnicgroups,addinguptoabout1in5Americanwomenwhoend
theirchildbearingyearsmaternityfree,comparedwith1in10inthe1970s.Evenbeforetherecessionhit,in
2008,theproportionofwomenages40to44whohadnevergivenbirthhadgrownby80%,from10%to18%,
since1976,whenanewvanguardbegantoquestionthereproductiveimperative.Thesestatisticsmaynothave
theheftofchildlessnessinsomeEuropeancountrieslikeItaly,wherenearlyonequarterofwomennevergive
birthbuttheriseisbothdramaticand,inthescopeofourhistory,quitesudden.
Thedecisiontohaveachildornotisaprivateone,butittakesplace,inAmericaatleast,inaculturethatoften
equateswomanhoodwithmotherhood.Thebirthratemayhavefallen,butthebabyproductindustryisata
record high, an estimated $49 billion for 2013. Any national discussion about the struggle to reconcile
womanhoodwithmodernitytendstobeginandendwithonesubject:parenting.EvenSherylSandbergsLean
In,abookfocusedonencouragingwomensprofessionaldevelopment,devotesalargechunkofitstakehome
advicetobalancingworkandfamily,presumingthat,likeitsauthor,ambitiouswomenwillhaveboth.Itsgreat
thatwereinthemidstofaculturalconversationabouttheindividualchoicesandstructuralbarriersthatshape
ourlives.Butifyoureawomanwhosnotinthemommytrenches,moreoftenthannotyoureexcludedfrom
thediscussion.

Pgina

Withfertilitytreatmentwidelyavailable,nottomentionadoption,evenclinicallyinfertilewomenhavemore
options than ever to become mothers, which increases the possibility that any woman who doesnt will be
judgedforherchoice.Theresmorepressureonwomentobemothers,tofulfillthatobligation,thanIveever
seen,saysAmyRichards,authorofOptingIn:HavingaChildWithoutLosingYourself.Inthepastweassumed
it was out of a womans control whether or not she had a child. Now we think its her choice, so we can
blameher.

Beingsidelineddoesntexemptchildlesswomenfrombeingscolded.InaDecembercolumnintheNewYork
TimesheadlinedMoreBabies,Please,RossDouthatarguedthattheretreatfromchildrearingis,atsomelevel,
a symptom of latemodern exhaustionan indicator of decadence, revealing a spirit that privileges the
present over the future. The Weekly Standards Jonathan Last has made the case in his controversial book
WhattoExpectWhenNoOnesExpectingthattheselfishnessofthechildlessAmericanisresponsibleforno
lessthanthepossibledestructionofoureconomicfuturebyreducingthenumberofconsumersandtaxpayers.

PRUEBASUNIFICADASDECERTIFICACIN
2014

TAREA 2 -10 puntos -: Readthefollowingtext(continuedonpage5).Filleachgapwithoneofthe

words provided below. There are five extra words you do not need to use. The first one (0) is an
example.Usetheboxprovidedbelow.
A.cuts

B.easy

C.eat

D.feed

E.getting

F.growing

G.having

H.height

I.holders

J.many

K.meant

L.owners

M.pace

N.rise

O.undertook

P.usingup

GAP

10

ANSWER

PUNTOS:/10

EuropesDebtCrisis:NoReliefontheHorizonSource:www.nytimes.com

Pgina

Spain
Spainabandonedhousingprojects,whererotted,waisthighweedssproutedfromcracksinthesidewalks.
Soup kitchens strained to _(2)_ allwho arrived. A growing number of people have turned to scavenging
outsidesupermarketsandwholesalefooddistributioncenterslookingforediblethrowaways.OneSpanish
town,Girona,foundthepracticesuchahealthriskthatitissuedanordinancetolockthecitysgarbage
bins.Spaincontinuedtowrestlewiththecollapseofitshousingboom.Itsbankstriedyetagaintogeta
handle on their true loses, and the government worked to negotiate a bailout for them. But even that
broughtbadnews. The EuropeanCommission approveda paymentof$49billiontofourSpanishbanks,
but only on the condition that they lay off thousands of employees and close offices as part of their
restructuring,amovethatonlycontributedtoa/an(3)unemploymentrate.

When the economic crisis erupted in 2008, many Europeans assumed they were facing a couple of bad
years.Butthecrisis,nowinitsfifthyear,seemstogoonandon, (0) unemploymentbenefits,eating
throughsavingsaccountsanddashingdreamsofaneasyretirement.Overthepastyears,thecountrieshit
hardestbythecrisis(Greece,Spain,PortugalandIreland)havestruggledtobringdowntheirdebts.Each
countryhaditsownformula.Buttheywerejoinedinthemiseryoftryingtomakedoonless;andthen
evenless.Noamountofcuttingseemedtobeenough.Businessescontinuedtofailatarapid_(1)_.Even
many of those Europeans who thought they were safe lost their jobs. Those who had work saw their
salariesreduced.Parentswatchedtheirchildrenflyofftoothercountrieslookingforemployment...

PRUEBASUNIFICADASDECERTIFICACIN
2014

EuropesDebtCrisis:NoReliefontheHorizon(continuedfrompage4)

Apellidos:Nombre:

Spains regional and municipal governments continued to struggle with their own debts, making
relationships with the central government tense. One of Spains richest provinces, Catalonia, began
threatening a referendum on independence, which many see as a way of pressuring Madrid to give the
regionbackmoreofthemoneyitearns.Hundredsofthousandsofmortgage_(4)_oftenmadeheadlines.
Somecommittedsuicideasthepolicearrivedtomovethemout.
Portugal
Foratime,Portugalwasseenasarolemodelinthegrindingcrisis.Inreturnforaninternationalbailout,its
governmentcutservicesandraisedtaxeswhileitscitizenspatientlyenduredthehardships.Butthatended
in 2012, when the government appeared to make one demand too _(5)_. After Prime Minister Passos
Coelhoofferedaplantoshifttheburdenofsocialsecuritypaymentsfromemployerstoworkers,tensof
thousands took to the streets. Although the measure was _(6)_ to lower labour costs, the protest from
workerswassoferociousthatMr.Coelhowassoonforcedtowithdrawit.
Greece
In Greece, it was another year of often violent demonstrations as a new government was elected and a
fragilecoalitionworkedtosatisfytherequirementsofthenationscreditors,whopressedrelentlesslyfor
more_(7)_.Greeceoncehadanextensivepublichealthcaresystemthatensurednearuniversalcoverage.
But reducing costs yet again, public hospitals instituted new fees and copayments that many poor and
unemployedresidentscouldnotafford.Atthesametime,severaldrugcompanies,tiredofnot_(8)_paid,
stoppedsupplyingsomeoftheirdrugstothecountryshospitals.Manycancerpatientscouldnotafford
theexpensivedrugstheyneeded.
Meanwhile, with Greeces unemployment rate hitting 25 percent, and exceeding 50 percent for young
people,socialtensionswereonthe_(9)_.Illegalimmigrants,blamedfortakingjobs,becamethetargetof
attacksbymembersofanextremerightwinggroup,GoldenDawn.Thoseattacksonlyfedthepopularity
oftheparty,whichwasseatedinParliamentforthefirsttime.

Pgina

Ireland
Irelandcontinuedtostruggle,too.Theproportionofhouseholdswithoutaworkingadultwasamongthe
highestintheEuropeanUnion,andyetthegovernment,underpressurefromitscreditors,_(10)_aseries
ofcutsthatreducedaidtothepoorest,includingchildsupportpayments.Atthesametimeitincreased
propertytaxes.