Profesores Asociados Egresados del Instituto de

Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”

LEVEL A5 PAPER 1 / 12
Nombre: ___________________________________________________________________________________

1. Read this letter about one of the characteristics of cities and answer the question

Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the article “Protecting Our Public Spaces” in issue 14, published this
spring. In it, the author claims that “all graffiti is vandalism, pure and simple, and offers no benefit to our
public spaces.” I would like to point out that many people believe that graffiti is an art form that can
benefit our public spaces just as much as sculpture, fountains, or other, more accepted art forms.
People who object to graffiti usually do so more because of where it is, not what it is. They argue, as
your author does, that posting graffiti in public places constitutes an illegal act of property damage. But
the location of such graffiti should not prevent the images themselves from being considered genuine art.
I would argue that graffiti is the ultimate public art form. Spray paint is a medium unlike any other.
Through graffiti, the entire world has become a canvas. No one has to pay admission or travel to a
museum to see this kind of art. The artists usually do not receive payment for their efforts. These works
of art in the urban landscape are available, free of charge, to everyone who passes by.
To be clear, I do not consider random words or names sprayed on stop signs to be art. Plenty of
graffiti is just vandalism, pure and simple. However, there is also graffiti that is breathtaking in its
intricate detail, its realism, or its creativity. It takes great talent to create such involved designs with
spray paint. Are these creators not artists just because they use a can of spray paint instead of a
paintbrush, or because they cover the side of a building rather than a canvas?
To declare that all graffiti is vandalism, and nothing more, is an overly simplistic statement that I
find out of place in such a thoughtful publication as your magazine.
Furthermore, graffiti is not going anywhere, so we might as well find a
way to live with it and enjoy its benefits. One option could be to make a
percentage of public space, such as walls or benches in parks, open to
graffiti artists. By doing this, the public might feel like part owners of
these works of art, rather than just the victims of a crime.
Regards,
Derrick Milton

1. Why did the author write this letter to the editor?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why do most people object to graffiti?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How much money do graffiti artists get for their work?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What kind of graffiti does the author consider as vandalism?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What solution does the author propose for graffiti not to spread all over cities?
___________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Now read about tropical rain forests and fill in the blanks with a suitable connective.

There are rainforests in over 80 countries throughout the world.

An estimated 1.6 billion of the world’s poorest people (those surviving on less than 2 US dollars a day)
rely to some extent on forests so ____________________ to survive. These could be the many poor
people who take something out of the forest in ____________________ to sell it elsewhere. It is not only
the poor who rely on the rainforests for their income. Rich people ____________________ as cattle
ranchers and soya bean farmers are also amongst those who depend on rainforests.
____________________ addition, there are governments who look to the rainforests as a source of
wealth and power.
____________________, those people whose families have lived in the rainforests for generations have
a particularly close relationship with them and could play a vital role in protecting them. The tragedy is
that not ____________________ are the rainforests being destroyed but so are its peoples. Five

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 Profesores Asociados Egresados del Instituto de
Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”
LEVEL A5 PAPER 1 / 12
centuries ago there were approximately ten million Indians living in the Amazonian rainforest
____________________ today there are fewer than 200,000. The Indians could not survive
deforestation, the illnesses brought into the forest by outside people and the violence of those invading
the land. Some tribes were only discovered in the early 1950s, such as the Yanomani tribe,
____________________ had lived peacefully until 1975 when outside people discovered gold and
uranium. ____________________ governments claimed that they were protecting them, in fact they
were not. Roads were built ____________________ that the precious metals could be reached and
mines were opened.

3. Go on reading about rain forests and fill in the blanks with a suitable word.

The Yanomani tried to stop this invasion of their homeland but they had to fight very powerful interests who
were intent on making money. In the 1970s the Surui tribe ____________________ discovered. It now has a
university-educated chief ____________________ is working with global companies to map his region using
modern technology. This will help to safeguard the region against all who wish to destroy it for profit.
Tropical rainforests provide important services ____________________ local communities and to the world. Medical
research has benefited from the rainforest. Over 120 medicines sold worldwide come from rainforest plants, and
25% of cancer-fighting drugs come from plants only found there. But on the ____________________
hand, with deforestation, it is projected that we will lose ____________________ than 20% of the world’s
oxygen. In addition, rainfall ____________________ cease to be regulated around the world. We will lose
137 plant, animal and insect species ____________________ a single day due to deforestation. Many of
these disappearing plants could hold new cures for diseases. The knowledge of healers in
the rainforests is extremely helpful ____________________ understanding the
healing properties of plants. However, most medicine men of the forests are now at
least 70 years old and ____________________ they die what they know will go with
them. Although small in number, the people of the rainforests possess great wisdom.
____________________ we lose this wisdom, then the whole world will suffer.

4. Now read about Ricky, who lives in a village in a rainforest and complete the text using the
correct form of the verbs in brackets. When you see a +, use a modal

Folklore had it that my father once wrestled a bear, a claim he never denied. If the story
____________________ (be) about anyone else, it would have been dismissed as exaggeration.
But no one ever ____________________ (doubt) the truth of any story about my father. He was
an enormous man; when he walked into a room, people behaved like sunflowers
____________________ (turn) towards the sun. With me, Ricky, as the glaring exception, my
father shaped the world around him to his liking. He was also a man whose word ____________________ (always
respect) by everyone.
My mother ____________________ (die) giving birth to me and the truth was that I always felt my father hated
me a little. And why not? Had I not killed his beloved wife? The least I ____________________ (+ do) was to turn
out a little more like him. Was having a son who preferred poetry to sport what my father ____________________
(always dream of)? When it became clear that I ____________________ (not inherit) any of my father’s athletic
talents, he settled for trying to turn me into a passionate spectator. At first, I ____________________ (+ pretend)
I was interested, but my father soon realised I was not, and he resigned himself to the fact that his son
____________________ (+ never play) or watch football.

5. Ricky is telling a friend about a day when he made his father really happy. Complete their
conversation.

Sasha: Hi Ricky! I hear you’re having problems with your father. Would ________________________________
about it?
Ricky: Well, yes. I really need to talk to someone.
Sasha: Tell me, ____________________________________________________________________________?
Ricky: I really believe he doesn’t love me.
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 Profesores Asociados Egresados del Instituto de
Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”
LEVEL A5 PAPER 1 / 12
Sasha: That’s impossible! ____________________________________________________________________?
Ricky: Well, because I’m so different from what he expected!
Sasha: ___________________________________________________________________________________?
Ricky: Just look at me! I’m just the opposite of him. I’m weak, I don’t like sports, nobody respects me …
Sasha: But Ricky, that’s ridiculous! Many people like you a lot!
Ricky: _________________________________________________________________________________ so?
Sasha: Of course I do. I’ve heard many people say you’re a wonderful boy.
Ricky: Mmmm, I don’t know. If they liked me so much, they would tell me so, _________________________ ?
Sasha: Well, ____________________________________________ they tell you? Maybe they just don’t think
they need to tell you anything.
Ricky: Maybe. In fact, there was a time when my father congratulated me.
Sasha: You see. ____________________________________________________________________________?
Ricky: Three years ago. There was a marathon across the town and I won gold medal.
Sasha: Really? _____________________________________________________________________________?
Ricky: It was really long. We had to complete 100km.
Sasha: Wow! That’s really long! I’m sure your father was proud of you when they gave you the medal.
Ricky: Yes, I think he was. ___________________________________________________________________?
Sasha: Never! And I don’t think I ever will! I don’t like running.

6. Composition. Write about 100 - 120 words on one of the following:

 Write a letter to a friend telling him/her about a time when you did something that made you
 really proud of yourself.
 OR
 An evening to remember.

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