NIVEL INTERMEDIO B2 INGLÉS B2

PRUEBAS DE CERTIFICACIÓN
2018/2019

COMPRENSIÓN DE TEXTOS ESCRITOS

Apellidos: ……………………………………………………………………………
Nombre: ………………………………………………………………………………..

Marca con una X lo que corresponda:

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 Alumno/a OFICIAL (Indica el nombre de tu profesor/a tutor/a durante el curso

2018-2019): ………………….…..…………………………………. Grupo: .......................
 Alumno/a LIBRE

INSTRUCCIONES PARA LA REALIZACIÓN DE ESTE EJERCICIO:

o Duración: 75 minutos
o Este ejercicio consta de dos tareas. Deberás realizar las dos.
o En la tarea 1 deberás leer un texto y responder las 10 preguntas de comprensión con
una de las opciones dadas (A, B o C).
Obtienes: 1 punto por cada respuesta correcta; 0 puntos por cada respuesta incorrecta
o no dada.
o En la tarea 2 deberás leer un texto y unir cada reseña (1-10) con su título
correspondiente (B-M).
Obtienes: 1 punto por cada respuesta correcta; 0 puntos por cada respuesta incorrecta o
no dada.

Muy importante: al final, comprueba que has elegido una sola opción (como en
el ejemplo); si eliges dos opciones, se anula la respuesta a esa pregunta.

o No escribas en los cuadros destinados a la calificación de las tareas.

o Sólo se admiten respuestas escritas con bolígrafo azul o negro.

NO ESCRIBAS AQUÍ :

PUNTUACIÓN DEL EJERCICIO: _____ / 20

CALIFICACIÓN: □ Superado □ No Superado

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2018/2019

TAREA 1 - 10 puntos: Read the following text and answer the questions on pages 5 and 6.

Why Does Time Seem to Fly as We Get Older?

When we were children, the summer holidays seemed to last forever, and the wait between Christmases felt like
an eternity. So why is that when we get older, the time just seems to zip by, with weeks, months and entire
seasons disappearing from a blurred calendar at dizzying speed?

This apparently accelerated time travel is not a result of filling our adult lives with grown-up responsibilities and
worries. Research does in fact seem to show that perceived time moves more quickly for older people making
our lives feel busy and rushed.

There are several theories which attempt to explain why our perception of time speeds up as we get older. One
idea is a gradual alteration of our internal biological clocks. The slowing of our metabolism as we get older
matches the slowing of our heartbeat and our breathing. Children’s biological pacemakers beat more quickly,
meaning that they experience more biological markers (heartbeats, breaths) in a fixed period of time, making it
feel like more time has passed.

Another theory suggests that the passage of time we perceive is related to the amount of new perceptual
information we absorb. With lots of new stimuli, our brains take longer to process the information so that the
period of time feels longer. This would help to explain the “slow motion perception” often reported in the moments
before an accident. The unfamiliar circumstances mean there is so much new information to take in.

In fact, it may be that when faced with new situations our brains record more richly detailed memories, so that it
is our recollection of the event that appears slower rather than the event itself. This has been shown to be the
case experimentally for subjects experiencing free fall.

But how does this explain the continuing shortening of perceived time as we age? The theory goes that the older
we get, the more familiar we become with our surroundings. We don’t notice the detailed environments of our
homes and workplaces. For children, however, the world is an often unfamiliar place filled with new experiences
to engage with. This means children must dedicate significantly more brain power re-configuring their mental
ideas of the outside world. The theory suggests that this appears to make time run more slowly for children than
for adults stuck in a routine.

So the more familiar we become with the day-to-day experiences of life, the faster time seems to run, and
generally, this familiarity increases with age. The biochemical mechanism behind this theory has been suggested
to be the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine upon the perception of novel stimuli helping us to learn to
measure time. Beyond the age of 20 and continuing into old age, dopamine levels drop making time appear to
run faster.

But neither of these theories seem to tie in precisely with the almost mathematical and continual rate of
acceleration of time.

The apparent reduction of the length of a fixed period as we age suggests a “logarithmic scale” to time.
Logarithmic scales are used instead of traditional linear scales when measuring earthquakes or sound. Because

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2018/2019

the quantities we measure can vary to such huge degrees, we need a wider ranging measurement scale to really
make sense of what is happening. The same is true of time.

On the logarithmic Richter Scale (for earthquakes) an increase from a magnitude ten to 11 doesn’t correspond
to an increase in ground movement of 10 percent as it would do in a linear scale. Each increment on the Richter
scale corresponds to a ten-fold increase in movement.

But why should our perception of time also follow a logarithmic scaling? The idea is that we perceive a period of
time as the proportion of time we have already lived through. To a two-year-old, a year is half of their life, which
is why it seems such an extraordinary long period of time to wait between birthdays when you are young.

To a ten-year-old, a year is only 10 percent of their life, (making for a slightly more tolerable wait), and to a 20-
year-old it is only 5 percent. On the logarithmic scale, for a 20-year-old to experience the same proportional
increase in age that a two-year-old experiences between birthdays, they would have to wait until they turned 30.
Given this viewpoint it’s not surprising that time appears to accelerate as we grow older.

We commonly think of our lives in terms of decades – our 20s, our 30s and so on – which suggests an equal
weight to each period. However, on the logarithmic scale, we perceive different periods of time as the same
length. The following differences in age would be perceived the same under this theory: five to ten, ten to 20, 20
to 40 and 40 to 80.

I don’t wish to end on a depressing note, but the five-year period you experienced between the ages of five and
ten could feel just as long as the period between the ages of 40 and 80.

So get busy. Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not. And it’s flying faster and faster every day.

TAREA 2 - 10 puntos: Read the following text and answer the questions on page 6.

Upcoming TV Shows
0. This dark tech-horror returns with an outstanding cast and crew. It has now been confirmed that the season
will land on television at the end of December, rather than early January, as initially assumed. (Example) → A

1. Armed with stunning visuals and a pessimistic story, this new sci-fi series is bound to succeed. Set more than
300 years in the future, it is based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by R. K. Morgan – and marries its Blade
Runner aesthetic with a tale of death and betrayal. In a world where consciousness can be digitized, a former
soldier is given the chance to live again, centuries after his mind was stored away. In exchange, he has to solve
a murder.

2. US crime series from The Killing’s Veena Sud stars Doctor Foster’s Clare-Hope Ashitey as an assistant
prosecutor who has to deal with the case of a black teenager, critically injured by a white cop. What really
happened? Was there an attempted cover-up? And was there more going on in the boy’s life than his family

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2018/2019

realised? Set among rising racial tensions that mirror recent real-life events, it sounds like an all-too well timed
investigative and courtroom drama.

3. This revival of pop culture hit ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ aims to offer more than just entertainment.
The creators advertised it as an attempt to “make America fabulous again” in the era of Donald Trump. They
change the original’s New York setting for communities in and around the traditional Republican state of Georgia.
The aim is to put the hosts in touch with people “of backgrounds and beliefs often contrary to their own”, hoping
to prompt life-changing shifts in attitudes – as well as fashion and design.

4. The second original German drama to grace television, this series follows two very different cops who are
forced to team up. So far, so typical. But the attractive prospect here is of a central duo who both blur the lines
between police detective and criminal. The series’ gripping modern story seems to set to explore themes of
human weakness and corruption.

5. Gerard Way swapped life on stage for a career as a graphic novel writer. This is a live-action drama based on
his popular comic series of the same name. Revolving around the estranged members of a dysfunctional
superhero family, the strange cast of characters must work together to solve their father’s mysterious death
while struggling with their own volatile personalities and abilities. Think The Incredibles meets Watchmen.

6. Narcos producer José Padilha has another riveting-sounding crime drama up his sleeve. This time it revolves
around corruption at a state-owned oil company where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for
awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices.

7. After the success of the TV adaptation of their acclaimed film, these siblings create their own first small-
screen series, an anthology featuring different tales set in the Wild West. Tim Blake Nelson plays the main
character. James Franco and Tyne Daly also feature.

8. This original Danish series comes from the mind of Jannik Tai Mosholt. But rather than your standard
Scandinavian noir, this is in fact a compelling post-apocalyptic thriller, set in the aftermath of a biological
catastrophe.

9. An anthology series centered around people who believe themselves to be the modern-day descendants of
the Romanov family. In July of 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children and remaining
loyal servants were executed, a slaughter that has, over the years, inspired conspiracy theories, including the
myth that daughter Anastasia survived the attack.

10. Rome, 1973. The heir of an oil tycoons' saga is kidnapped by the Italian mafia in order to get a ransom.
Quite surprisingly, for some undisclosed reason, his family seems not interested at all in having him back.

Source: https://inews.co.uk

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PRUEBAS DE CERTIFICACIÓN
2018/2019

Apellidos y Nombre: ……………………………………………………………………………………………

TAREA 1 - 10 puntos: Read the text about the perception of time on pages 2 and 3. Choose the
best option (a, b or c) to complete each sentence. Only one answer is correct. Write your answer
in the appropriate box. The first one (0) is given as an example. You get 1 point for each correct
answer.

0. Children feel that…

a) the time between summer and Christmas is very long.
C 
b) the summer holidays are really long.
c) the Christmas holidays last an eternity.
1. Time seems to go faster for adults...
a) as a result of them being very busy.
b) because they have more worries.
c) so they feel more rushed.
2. The biological theory states that…
a) a faster metabolism results in a slower perception of the passing of time.
b) a slower metabolism results in a slower perception of the passing of time.
c) our biological clocks don’t change over time.
3. The perception of the passage of time…
a) is related to the amount of information we are able to absorb.
b) is affected by how much information we have to process.
c) is more accurate the moments before an accident.
4. When faced with new situations…
a) our memories are more vivid and complete.
b) we experience free fall.
c) our memories seem faster than what actually happened.
5. A familiar environment…
a) helps us record information better.
b) demands a lesser effort processing information.
c) makes us grow older faster.
6. The presence of high levels of dopamine.
a) means that our brain is more active taking in information.
b) means that we perceive time running faster.
c) is more frequent after the age of 20.
7. The logarithmic scale…
a) helps to measure certain magnitudes more accurately.
b) presents the same amount of increase between magnitudes.
c) is used for measuring age.

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8. Our perception of a period of time…

a) depends on how many years we have already lived.
b) depends on the percentage of time it represents in our lifetime.
c) is five per cent faster after the age of 20.
9. From the point of view of the logarithmic scale, each decade in our life…
a) is perceived as having the same length.
b) equals the period between the ages of 5 and 10.
c) is seen as having a different weight.
10. The writer’s intention is to…
a) improve the readers’ pessimistic point of view.
b) encourage readers to live faster.
c) make readers aware of how fast time passes.

PUNTOS: / 10

TAREA 2 - 10 puntos: Read the TV series reviews on pages 3 and 4. Choose ONE heading (A-
M) for each text (1-10). There are TWO headings which you do not need to use. Write your answers
in the appropriate box. The first one (0) is an example. You will get 1 point per correct answer.

HEADINGS

A. Ahead of Schedule. (Example)

B. Bizarre Beings.
C. Challenging Perspectives.
D. Colleagues against their Will.
E. Historical Fact or Fiction?
F. Impossible Romance.
G. In Disguise.
H. Scandal Inc.
I. Reincarnation Thriller.
J. Secrets, Corruption and Xenophobia.
K. Survival in a New World.
L. Westerns Stories.
M. Unexpected Outcome.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

PUNTOS: / 10
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