FINAL EXAM

November 2015
Section 1: LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Section 2: WRITING
Choose ONE of the following options and write a composition (200 250 words).
In either task, you must show a correct use of:
- Composition structure
- Specific vocabulary
- Grammar
A. Short Story:
You found the following article online:
"Pinewood Studios, a british film production company, is holding a short story
contest for young writers around the world. The winning short story will be
made into a film. The genre must be adventure/drama."
Write a short story about a sportsman/sportswoman/team who
suffered a "strange" accident while practising a sport.
Some tips for you to have in mind:
- Use time sequences, adverbs, reported speech/dialogue.
- Create suspense/adrenaline, include visual details (it has to be moviematerial)
- Include character's feelings/thoughts/etc. You can choose to tell your story
from either a first person or a third person's point of view.
B. Informal Letter:
You are a well-known actor/actress. You have been filming your next movie in
Japan, and it has been three months since you have last seen your best friend.
Write an e-mail telling him/her:
1. How is this new filming experience in a place so different from what
you are used to.
2. Which are your plans for the following months, according to the
information regarding filming-schedules the producer has given you.
3. Ask him/her wether he/she would like to visit you, should he/she
have some days off from his/her job. Mention what you will do if
he/she comes.
Some tips for you to have in mind:

- Use time sequences, adverbs, reported speech, conditionals.

- Communicate your emotions (enthousiasm/disgust/etc.) and give your
opinion.
- Use informal tone, familiar phrases, interjections, ask questions.

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FINAL EXAM
November 2015
Section 3: GRAMMAR
A. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable tense and form:
Susan

_________________________(1.

COME)

in

few

minutes

ago

___________________________ (2. LOOK) as if she ___________________________(3.

SEE)

ghost.

She

____________________________(4.

TELL)

me

what

__________________________(5. HAPPEN). "I ___________________________(6. WALK)

along the street", she said, "when I _________________________________(7.
APPROACH) by someone who __________________________(8. ASK) me what the
time __________________________(9. BE). While I_____________________________(10.
HEAR)

him

____________________________(11.SPEAK),

___________________________(12.
___________________________(13.
_______________________________(14.
___________________________(15.

HAVE)

the

MEET)
SPEAK)
DISCOVER)

feeling

that

before.
for
that

I
we

After
some
the

we

time,

person

_________________________(16. BE) none other than my younger brother, who I

_________________________________(17. THINK) _______________________________(18.
DIE) during the war. If he ___________________________(19. NOT SPEAK) to me, it
is probable that we ________________________________(20. NEVER LEARN) of each
other's existence."

B. Paraphrase the following sentences:

1. The dentist took out all of my front teeth.

I had
________________________________________________________________________________
___________
2. I feel Im not doing much to save the environment.
Its time
________________________________________________________________________________
________
3. "You really must try some pie", she said.
She insisted
________________________________________________________________________________
___
4. He couldnt take a picture of Madonna because hed forgotten to bring the
camera.
If he
________________________________________________________________________________
_____________
5. Theyre pulling down that row of shops to make way to a hypermarket.
That row
________________________________________________________________________________
_________
6. They didnt let me have friends stay overnight until I was 16.
I wasnt
________________________________________________________________________________
__________
7. She asked me whether I had dropped the paint on her shoes.

Tell me John,
_______________________________________________________________________________
___
8. You should take more excercices, the doctor said.
The doctor advised
__________________________________________________________________________
9. "What time do the children come out of school?", she asked
She wanted to know
____________________________________________________________________________
10. She was really pale and scared.
She looked as
________________________________________________________________________________
___
11. I felt sick after that Chinese meal.
I wasnt used
________________________________________________________________________________
___
12. Many scientists think the ozone layer is getting bigger each year.
It is
________________________________________________________________________________
________________
13. "Please, Kate, why dont you speak to you brother personally?", her mum
said.
Kate's mum begged
_______________________________________________________________________________
14. I thought itd be a hot, sunny day but now Im freezing!

I should have
________________________________________________________________________________
_______
15. Everyone supposes that shes coming on Saturday.
She is
________________________________________________________________________________
_______________

C. Complete the following dialogue:

A patient is answering a doctors questions. Look at the patients answers and
complete the doctors questions. The first one has been done for you.
DOCTOR: (0) Well, now, what seems to be the problem?
PATIENT: Uh, well, I keep getting a strange pain in my stomach.
DOCTOR: (1) ________________________________________________________?
PATIENT: Uh, well its difficult to describe. Its just a heavy, very unpleasant
feeling.
DOCTOR: (2) ________________________________________________________?
PATIENT: Usually after meals.
DOCTOR: (3) ________________________________________________________?
PATIENT: For about three months now.
DOCTOR: (4) ________________________________________________________?
PATIENT: Uh, usually I feel it down here, on the left side.
DOCTOR: (5) ________________________________________________________?
PATIENT: Yesterday evening, just after dinner.

Section 4: READING COMPREHENSION:

Read the text and then answer the questions that follow:

Decide which of the following statements is true in each case, A, B or

C.
1) The reason for the discussion was that Juan:
A. did not like Shakespeare
B. had been invited to have coffee
C. was interested in Shakespeare's use of ghosts and witches
2) The Englishman thinks that ghosts stories in Mediterranean countries are:
A. equally common
B. less common
C. more common
3) Ghosts may be associated with old houses because:
A. the people who live in them are nervous
B. they don't like modern buildings
C. they usually haunt the places where they lived
4) The Englishman's uncle thought he had seen a ghost because:
A. she disappeared through a locked door
B. she was wearing a nightdress
C. they had no servants
5) His grandmother's conviction that she had seen a ghost was stronger
because:
A. she had second sight
B. she had seen it in daylight
C. she was looking up at it
6) The Englishman's grandfather moved house because:
A. he had heard that a woman had killed herself there
B. his wife had told him it was haunted
C. the new house suited the family better
7) The Englishman:
A. believes his grandmother's story
B. does not believe his grandmother's story
C. is not sure about it
8) Juan:
A. believes in ghosts
B. believes in witches

C. does not believe in either

Section 5: ORAL
1. Lamb to the Slaughter - Roald Dahl
Focus on the character of Mary Maloney:
a. How can you describe her at the beginning of the story? What imagery
does the story begins to build up around this character?
b. Is it possible to think that the final scene -Mary laughing- reveals a
whole new dimension of the character? Why? How can you describe this
"new" Mary?
c. Why- the
do authors
you think
the toauthor
make
radical
change
in of
Imagery
attempt
create achose
mental to
picture
(or this
reference
point)
in the mind
the reader. Remember, though the most immediate forms of imagery are visual, strong and
effective imagery can be used to invoke an emotional, sensational (taste, touch, smell etc) or
even physical response.

2. Lamb to the Slaughter - R. Dahl + Whose face do you see - M.

Burgess
Focus on the way the story is narrated:
a. What can you say about the narrator of Lamb to the Slaughter?
What kind of point of view does he have? Can you give an example
where this can be seen?
b. And what about the narrator of Whose face do you see? Which is
the point of view? What element of the narrative points it out?
c. Why do you think the authors each chose that particular point of view?

Point of View - pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. The point of view of a story
can sometimes indirectly establish the author's intentions.

3. Lamb to the Slaughter - R. Dahl

Focus on one if the story's main symbolic element: the lamb.
a. How can you relate the lamb to the character of Mary Maloney? Give
an example of the text to justify your answer.
b. Would you say there are two different kind of lambs in this story, a
"symbolic" one, and a "real" one? Explain, show where do they appear in
the text.
c. How does Mary "uses" the leg of lamb? What effect does this have in
the way we see Mary's character at the end? (think about what you said
in a., and -how
this ischange)
Symbolism
whendoes
an object
meant to be representative of something or an idea greater
than the object itself.

4. Whose face do you see - M. Burgess

Focus on one if the story's main symbolic element: the mirror.
a. How can you relate the mirror to the character of Marianne? Give an
example of the text to justify your answer.
b. Would you say there are two different kind of mirrors in this story, a
"symbolic" one, and a "real" one? Explain, show where do they appear in
the text.
c. How is the mirror used in this story? What kind of change does it bring
to the character? What symbolic message do you think the author wants
to transmit
withan
this
ending?
Symbolism
- when
object
is meant to be representative of something or an idea greater
than the object itself.

5. Lamb to the Slaughter - R. Dahl + Whose face do you see - M.

Burgess
Focus on how narrative structure creates suspense:
a. How is the suspense build up in Whose face do you see? Explain,
give examples from the text. (Think about shifts in the point of view,
description, plot)
b. How about Lamb to the Slaughter? (Think about Mary's character,
narrative point of view, description)
c. Choose one story. Why do you think the author needs to build up
suspense
the
story?
Is he
effective?
Explain
(think
about
whatelements
the
Structure
- Theinway
that
the writer
arranges
the plot
of a story.
Look for:
Repeated
in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, time, place, etc .
6. Lamb to the Slaughter - R. Dahl + Whose face do you see - M.
Burgess
Focus on female character's development:
a. What can you say about Mary Maloney's character? Is it static or
dynamic? What makes her change? Explain and give examples from the
text.
b. How about Marianne's character?
c. Both stories offer a very different female character. Explain the
Character - Protagonist: The character the story revolves around / Antagonist: A character or
force that opposes the protagonist / Static character: A character that remains the same.
Dynamic character - A character that changes in some important way / Characterization: The
choices an author makes to reveal a characters personality, such as appearance, actions,

7. Lamb to the Slaughter - R. Dahl

Focus on the differences between the female character vs. the male
character:
a. How can you describe Mary Maloney at the beginning of the story?
What is the kind of relationship between her and her husband? Explain
and give examples for the text.
b. Which is the only fact we know about Patrick's character? Why is this
important to the story's plot, and to Mary's character development?
c. Could you say that, as the story develops, the character who is in

dialogue, and motivations.

Character - Protagonist: The character the story revolves around / Antagonist: A character or
force that opposes the protagonist / Static character: A character that remains the same.
Dynamic character - A character that changes in some important way / Characterization: The
choices an author makes to reveal a characters personality, such as appearance, actions,
dialogue, and motivations.

8. Whose face do you see - M. Burgess

Focus on the character of Marianne:
a. How can you describe her at the beginning of the story? What imagery
does the story begins to build up around this character?
b. How does this character changes? Explain the role of the memory and
of her mother and their importance in Marianne's identity.
c. Which is the message the author might wants us to think about at the
end of the story?
Imagery - the authors attempt to create a mental picture (or reference point) in the mind of
the reader. Remember, though the most immediate forms of imagery are visual, strong and
effective imagery can be used to invoke an emotional, sensational (taste, touch, smell etc) or
even physical response.