ESCUELA SUPERIOR POLITECNICA LITORAL DEL Centrode Lenguas Extranjeras .

CELEX ESPOL AdvancedB v2 Questions

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I. Reading Section (20 marks)

Readtwo film reviews of the StevenSpielberg film, War of the WorWs(2ffi5), starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins.
D a n : T h e w a y T o m C rui se has been acting lately, I've been ro o ti n g fo r h i m to get abducted and taken home by aliens. T h e fi rs t h a l f o f th e fi l m w as g re a t. It w a s e x ci ti ng and scary a n d C ru i s e a c tu a l l y seemed n o rm a l a g a i n . Wi th pl ane crashes, fl a m i n g tra i n s , a n d peopl e getti ng v a p o ri z e d , I h a d t houghts of thi s b e i n g o n e o f m y f avouri tes ever. E x c ept f or D a k o ta F a n n i n g ' ss c re a m i ngthat i s. If I nev er hea r th a t s o u n d a g a i n , i t' l l b e too soon. T he s ec on d h a l f, th o u g h , m i g h t a s w e l l have been c ons t ant s c re a m i n g . T h e s to ry b e c a me predi ctabl e, unr ealis t i c ,a n d ru i n e d b y T i m R o b b i ns.A nd through i t all is t his u n d y i n g n e c e s s i tyto g e t to Boston to see m um beca u s e e v e ry o n e k n o w s a l i e n s hate B oston. W hat ev er. In s te a d , ma y b e th e y s h o u l d have spent a lit t le m or e e x p l a i n i n g w h y th e s e s tu p i d al i ens became s o v ulner a b l e i n s te a d o f j u s t s a y i n g , " B y the w ay, they all got a cold and died.The End." W as t his fi l m w o rth i t? T h e fi rs t h a l f was, but the s ec ond wi l l ru i n i t s o g e t o u t w h i l e y o u can. A basi c r ule of t h u m b s - i f y o u s e e T i m R o bbi ns,you' ve s t ay ed t oo l o n g . W o u l d I s e e i t a g a i n ? N o. Vocabulary abduct - kidnap Answer the following questions. (8 marks) N ancy: Thi s w as another sci -fi movie t hat lef t me w onderi ng i f somethi ng l i ke thi s can r eally happen. E ven though most of i t w as f ar fetched, w i th technol ogy and al l the violence now i n the w orl d, w ho' s to say i t co uldn't happen? Tom C rui se di d a good j ob, but w i th all his recent publ i ci ty I am ti red of seei ng him . D a k o t a F a n n i n gw a s g r e a t a s u s u a l . S h e i s a n amazi ng young actress and, boy, does she have l ungs on her. Ti m R obbi ns a nnoyed m e but he pl ayed a good psychopath. The fi rst part of the movi e w as very gr ipping. I even j umped a coupl e of ti mes. I' m not sur e if i t w as becauseof the movi e i tsel f or t he 9- year old sitting next to me scared out of his mind. H e remi nded me of w hen I saw " Gre m lins" as a ki d and w as terri fi ed. I thi nk w hat ru ined t he movi e for me w as actual l y seei ng the aliens. Imagi ni ng them i s far scari er. W as thi s rnovi e w orth the pri ce of ad m ission? Y es, i t had pl enty of suspenseand I love t hat . W oul d I see i t agai n? I w on' t go out of m y way to see i t agai n, but maybe i f i t w as on TV. By DanMarcuccian..J Nancy Serougi

Sour text adapted from unkno-wnve-bs-iG

1. Who liked the movie more - Nancy or Dan? 2-3.Nhat do they each think of Tom Cruise in general?(2 marks) 4. Which half of the film was better? 5. \tVhowas more scared - Nancy or the nine-year old sat next tc her? 6. \A/hatwas disappointing about the film for Nancy? T.Whatnoise did Dan dislike? 8. What annoyed Dan about the plot? What do these expressions mean? Choose the best answer (u, b or c). (3 marks) 9. " A basicrule of thumb ..." a. a rule you can always apply b. a regulation you must follow c. part of the hand 10."...boy, doesshehave lungson her." a. She is very strong. b. She knows how to scream very loudly. 1L."... scaredout of his mind." a. quite frightened

c. She is extremely athletic

b. very frightened 1

c. extremely frightened

Read the opinion article about banking.

Banking
The conceptof bankingmay have beena good one initially, I can'thelpfeelingthat in today'sworldthere but are less peoplebenefiting. course,it's good to know that your moneyis safe and sound, but it does seem Of for strangeto pay an organization havingyour moneywhen they make a profitfrom this. The charges nowadaysin some banksare incredible. Some chargefor an overdraft facility even if you don't go overdrawn, some chargeeverytime you take moneyout (your money!)while otherschargefor closingan account!lf you're not careful,it's a way of losingmoney ratherthan keepingit safe. Perhapsbecauseof this, thereare some interesting alternative moneysystems.In fact there are some banks that don't use moneyat all. Time banksare an exampleof this.Instead Pounds,Dollars, Eurosetc.,the of 'time'- issuedin currencyis the form of time credits.As this is an egalitarian system, everyone's time is valuedequallyso one time creditis equivalent one hour'swork,whatever work.The idea is that of the you do something helpanotherpersonyou are givena time creditfor this ratherthan cash.So, whenever to for example, you spendan hour looking if afterthe kids nextdoor you'llbe givenone time credit.This you can then spendon an hour'syogaclassor havingyourfrontdoor painted. Time banking believes 'giveand in take' and it helpsto form a feelingof community. free and you don't have to pay tax. There are now many lt's time banksall over the world.In the UK, thereare morethan 100 but theycan also be found in the US, Japan,Spain,New Zealandand Brazilamong others. One man who has recognized banksdon'thelpthe poor is Bangladeshi that economist Muhammad Yunusof Chittagong University who set up the GrameenBank('village' bank).He realized that one reasonthat poor peoplewere remainingpoor was becausethey could not borrowany moneyfrom 'normal'banks.The people then had no choice but to borrowmoneyfrom unscrupulous money lenders who chargedenormous interestrates.So the professor and his colleagues lent very small amountsof moneyto peoplewith very low interestrates.They simplyhad to trust the peopleto returnthe moneyas agreed. To his surprise, foundthat poorerpeopleare much more reliable returning he in moneythan thosewho are richerand borrowfrom a bank.GrameenBank has a provenrepayment rate of around98o/o much better than any high street bank! The moneyis mainlylentto women,95% of the borrowers female,and as a are resultsmall businesses booming and peoplehave a much betteropportunity breakingout of their are of poverty. Professor Yunus'sbankturnedagainstthe bankingprinciple 'the moreyou have,the more you of get' and thereare now well over 1,000branches Bangladesh. in Meanwhile, the UK clientsare takingtheirbanksto court.Theyclaimthatthe charges beingoverdrawn in for are unfair.Thousandsof cases have alreadybeen settled out of court, costingthe banks millionsof pounds. A court case involving Officeof FairTradingis taking placeto clarifythe situation. the Perhapsthe resultwill 'the also turn againstanotherbankingprinciple: lessyou have,the moreyou lose'.
O Macmillan Publishers 2007Takenfromthe Skills Ltd section www.onestopenglish.com in

Are the following statements true or false. If they are false, change them so that they're true. (6 marks) 12.The writer doesn't like today's banking system, but is interested in alternative banks. L3. Time banks offer time credits in exchangefor cash. 14. One time credit is worth an hour of time. 15. Muhammad Yunus wanted to help poor people by offering them small, low-interest loans. 16. According to the arcle, richer people are better at managing their finances than poorer people. 17.The Grameen Bank hasn't been particularly successful. Choose the most appropriate definition (a-f) for the following words and phrases (18-23).(3 marks) 18. An overdraft facility is 19. An egalitarian system is a systemwhere ... 20. Unscrupulous money lenders ... 21. There is normally a high street bank ... 22.lf something is boomirg . . . 23. When a caseis settled out of court a. a judge doesn't get involved in the matter. b. it is very successful c. the ability to take more money out of your bank account than you have got d. try and make as much money as possible without thinking of others. e. everyoneis equal.
f. in everv maior town.

II. LIse of English Section (40 marks)

FiIl in the gaps with these words/phrases. (6 marks) chat rooms blog anti-virus software webcam online dating agency search ne forum Example: I really enjoy making new friends in Internet chatrooms. 24. He's started writing a _ about his dailv life and work. 25. Get some or you may lose everything on your computer. 26.I often use the to chat to friends abroad. I love seeing their faces! 27. She met her husband after she joined an 28. Google is a very popular 29.He enjoys discussing current affairs in the politics Choose the correct verb forms. (3 marks) Example: Alan's beenbreakingl lroken the s window. 30. They'ae been aisiting/'ueaisitedNew Zealand several times. 31. Robin and I haaebeen knowing/lmae known each other for years. 32. She'sbeen playing/'s plnyedtennis since 8.30. 33. Graham's been finding/'s found his car keys. 34. We've just been retu.rninglretunrcd from holiday. 35.I'ae been sorting out/'aesortedout my tax all day. I should finish it tomorrow. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. (5 marks) 36. I wish we _ (not have to) go to work tomorrow. 37. I hope you (have)a good time at the party tomorrow. 38. My parents wish they (sell) their big old house years ago. 39. If only the government (not increase)taxes so much last year. 40. It's time (leave)for the airport. 41.If only ]ohn (check) email last his night. Fill in the gaps with the correct acve or passiveform of the verbs in brackets. There is sometimes more than one possible answer. (8 marks)

The History of Film

The first ever fllmwas ntade(made) in 1895and the first commercially successfulmovie released was the Great Train Robbery in 1903.The end of the age of silent films (42)_(mark) by the success the first "talkie",Thelazz Singer, of in7927, and the arrival of colour (43)_ (add) to the populari$ o the cinema. Between 1930 and1945 the cinema industry in the USA (44)(become)en entertainment factory which (45)_ (control) by Hollywood studios. But since the 1940sthe most significant advancesin cinema (46)_ (achieve)elsewhere.The Brish film industry (47) (expand) after the war, but fewer films (48)_ (make) in the UK today, mainly becausethe money that (49)-(need) to finance them can't (50) (find) easilv.In the 1980sthe home video recorder (51) _ (invent) and many people (52)_ (predict) the death of the cinema. For a few years audiences (53) (decrease) alarmingly and dozens of cinemas (5a) (go) out of business,but recently more people (55)(attract) back to the cinema. It (56)-(hope) that this growth will (57)(continue) and cinema can return to its golden age.
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Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition. (3 marks) Example: My company exports tea to the UK. 58. Which project are you working _? 59. Gabi's been out _ work for six months. 60. I don't want to spend anything this weekend. I'm trying to save for a holiday. 61. Dad is putting some new shelvesin the living room at the moment. 62.It's been a pleasuredoing business you. 63. \tVhatdo you do _ a living?

Sourceof all Useof Englishexercises: Face2Face Upper-Intermediate Teacher'sBook/ Chris Redston & Tim Marchand / CUP/ 20A7/ ProgressTestspages 212-223

Complete the table with male or female words. If there is no word, put - . (3 marks) male a landlord (64)
an actor a fireman

female
a landladv

Choose the correct words. (3 marks) Example: There's yg/ttonemilk in the fridge, I'm afraid. T4.Bothdogs is/nre taken for walks regularly. 75. Eachstudent get/gcts coursebook. a 76. AII/Eaery member of the family was there. 77.Every hat I try on is/nrethe same. 78. Noneof/Neither my parents smoke. of 79.Ihaven't seenneither/eitlrcr my niecesfor of over a year. Read the situations and complete the following sentences with your own ideas. (5 marks) Example: He didn't go to work becausethere was a classicfootball match on TV. His bosswas very angry. I would have plrcned boss my and asked before nmtch. permission tlte for 80. Ben went to a party the night before his English exam and failed the exam. He shouldn't have 81. When they got to the airport, their parents had already got a taxi to the hotel. They needn't have 82. She was robbed as she walked home late at night. I would have 83. He forgot his girlfriencl'sbirthday and she was really upset. He could have 84. They didn't go to the party. They might have

a bride 65) 66\

a niece

67) 68)
a hero

a headmistress 69\

Complete these reported statements, questions and requests. (4 marks) Example: "Flave you got time for a coffee, ll4'aria?" He asked Maria if slrchad timefor a

coffte.

70. "Can you pick me up after work? Peter's wife asked 71. "When is he leaving?" She wanted to know 72. "You must be home by ten o'clock." Bob told his son 73. "I'm not going to call them until Sunday." Kevin explained

Source of all Useo/Erglisft exercises:Face2Face Upper-Intermediate Teacher's Book/ Chris Redston & Tim Marchand / CUP/ 2007 / Progress T xb pages 272-223

III. Listening Section(20marks)

Listen to five people talking about things they like doing at the weekend. Match speakers one to five to activities a) to 0. Use each letter once only. There is one extra letter that vou don't need to use. (5 marks) 85. Speaker One 86. SpeakerTwo 87. SpeakerThree 88. SpeakerFour 89. SpeakerFive a) relaxing with the Sunday papers b) doing some DIY c) doing some gardening d) preparing a meal for friends e) watching sport on TV f) doing routine jobs at home

Listen to a radio intewiew with Karcn Thomas, a sports therapist. Choose the correct answers. (7rks) 90. Recent research has shown that the number of sports injuries has ... b) stayed the same. a) gone down. .' c) gone up. '. .E * F { B E \ U t S ; c) hire a personal trainer. c) cuts and bruise" ! # E .t f SiU 9E i: 8. g ^t: S S E I .$ j n S .sj H. rH g "E

91. Karen says that more people over thirty are taking up exercisebecausethey . . . b) want to Iose weight c) have serious health problems. a) want to join a sports club. 92. Karen thinks peopte are more likely to get injured if they ... a) have just started exercising. b) have been exercising for years.

93. The most common injuries causedby running are ... b) ankle and knee injuries a) back and foot injuries

they ... 94. Most of the popleshe seeshave physicalproblemsbecause b) need to losevreight. c) don't exercise all. at a) go running. 95. Karen advisespeoptewho want new sportsshoesto ... a) buy fashionable trainers. b) go to a shop with well-trained staff. c) get the most expensivepair they can afford.
a) walking.

96. She thinks that the best exercisefor people who haven t done any before is ... b) going to the gym. c) jogging.

|effrey and Lauren are talking about their attitudes toward technology. First read the questions below. Then listen and check the correct answers. (8 marks)
9T.Jeffrey A. is a mechanic. B. works on his new car. C. is a teenager. D. does sirnple repairs. 99. He can't A. use his computer. B. fix a leaky faucet. C. program his VCR. D. change light fixtures. 101. Lauren used to A. use her e-mail more. B. teach a computer class. C. hate technology. D. belong to several chatrooms. 104. She'd like to A. use her computer less B. join a new chatroom. C. stop banking on-line. D. take some more classes. 98. Jeffrey A. repairs his own car. B. is a complete technophobe. C. used to find cars really complicated. D. hires a mechanic to repair his car. 100.H e A. lost the instructions for his VCR. B. has never been interested in videos. C. never uses a computer D. didn't understand the instructions for his VCR. 102-"103. Which two on-line activities does she mention? A. Web searches B. Shopping C. Banking D. Online research

IV. Writing Section (20 marks)

Question One: Write a letter to a friend that you haven't seen in a long time. Tell himlher about what you've been doing recently and your future plans. (Write approximately 1,00 words.) Question Two: A local newspaper is running a competition. Choose ONE of the following topics and write an article for the newspaper (approximately 1-00 words.): . How has your city changed in the last ten years? Is it a better place to live now? Tell us your opinion. . Should men and women do the samejobs or are some iobs only for men? TelI us your opinion * about gender roles* in the 21"tCentury. according the sexof the person to Jobs/responsibilities