SEPTIEMBRE 2003 INSTRUCCIONES GENERALES 1. Lea todo el texto cuidadosamente 2. Lea atentamente todas las preguntas de la prueba. 3. Proceda a responder en lengua inglesa a las preguntas en el papel de examen TIEMPO: 1 hora y 30 minutos CALIFICACIÓN: La puntuación máxima de la prueba es de 10 puntos.

Dragons Of all the mythological creatures, few have captured the human imagination as much as the dragon. It appears in the literature and legends of cultures as diverse as China, Japan, Iran, the Mayans, classical Greece, Rome, Judaism, the Babylonians, ancient Egypt, and medieval Europe. These fascinating creatures have taken different forms and qualities in the mythologies of different cultures throughout history. To the Chinese, a dragon was an immensely wise animal which brought good luck. But for the Norsemen of Scandinavia, it was an evil, terrifying and treacherous monster. And to the ancient Greeks, the dragon was often a creature of intelligence and virtue – and might be found guarding shrines dedicated to the gods. All these dragons do have some things in common, however. They tend to be show with huge bat-like wings, long toothed jaws like a crocodile, piercing eyes, sharp eagle-like talons and huge scaly bodies-and they can often breathe fire. Another common point is that they’re always creatures of immense power and strength. But where do dragons come from? The creatures they most resemble, in size and shape, are dinosaurs – but since the last dinosaurs died out tens of millions of years before the firs humans ever appeared, that seems an unlikely source of inspiration. One theory is that the earliest humans may have evolved when huge lizards – smaller than dinosaurs, but larger than anything know today – were still around. Another theory is that the dragon represents something submerged in the human subconscious. It’s fun to speculate, but nobody knows for sure.

QUESTIONS 1.

Are they following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidences from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. a) TRUE “To the Chinese, a dragon was an immensely wise animal which brought good luck”. b) FALSE “ All these dragons do have some things in common, however. They tend to be shown...”.

2.

In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. a) They appear in European cultures following the legends and literature of the ancient Greeks and the medieval population. b) It is said (fórmula impersonal de pasiva refleja, “SE DICE”) that dragons look like dinosaurs in size and shape.

3.

Find a synonym for the following words according to meaning in the text: a) clever (paragraph 2) wise b) keeping (paragraph 2) guarding c) look like (paragraph 3) resemble d) hidden (paragraph 3) submerged

Autora: Elena Gomez Godoy Diplomada Superior de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas

4.

Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate from of the word in brackets when given. Para este tipo de ejercicios, recomiendo siempre tener en cuenta que pueden estar requiriendo completar la frase con elementos sencillos como posesivos, partes de estructuras comparativas, o formas verbales; para captar lo que falta, lo mejor es leer cuidadosamente la frase y entender su significado. a)

Dragons have formed (form) a part of human mythology since long ago. One only has to consult ancient texts to know (know) that this is true. b) In China the dragon is seen (see) as a wise and lucky animal, while Greek people were afraid of it because of its evil and terrifying reputation. c) The Komodo Dragon is the world’s largest (large) living lizard, although there are some species of reptile, such as the crocodile, that are much bigger (big). Rewrite the following sentence in reported speech with the words given. (No olvidar que se trata de mantener exacto el contenido de la frase pero usando otra estructura gramatical, como en este caso, los verbos de “reported speech” teniendo en cuenta cambiar el determinante posesivo. d) “Dragons have played an important role in my life” Steven Spielberg said. -Steven Spielberg said that dragons had played an important role in his life. 5.

Write about 100 to 150 words on one of the following topics. a) Have you ever read a book or seen a film about dragons? Tell the story. b) Why are dinosaurs so interesting today? Explain. a)

Dragons are creatures which are usually found in children’s books, specially in fantastic ones and in adventures novels. When I was a child I loved very much this sort of books and when they told a story where a dragon appeared it was absolutely amazing, because then, you could read exciting things about this creature and the author usually made very interesting descriptions. I remember one book which told the story of a big dragon who lived alone in the mountains as it was the last one of his species. In spite of having a big body and, of course, breathing fire, this dragon did not understand why everybody of the near villages feared him and only wanted to see him dead. He began to feel more and more sad each day because he could not share his life with nobody. However, things in this story will change when the dragon with his strength and power saved the village from the attack of a dangerous group of wolves (= plural de wolf, wolves). After all, the book showed a nice message: we should look always at the inside of everybody before than the appearance. (COMENTARIOS: en este caso se pide contar una historia, así que se espera que uséis correctamente los tiempos pasados durante toda la composición para que sea coherente. Es aconsejable que uséis también, la mayor cantidad de adjetivos para enriquecer la historia aunque ésta sea sencilla, así que los subrayo.)

Autora: Elena Gomez Godoy Diplomada Superior de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas

b) Everybody knows the great amount of animal species living (= who are living) in our planet. They have different characteristics and they appear with thousands of colours and shapes. Thanks to the work of many people interested in the animals life, we can see all the species in TV programmes, books or zoo parks. However, the discovered of the existence of dinosaurs in the past has been really important for our knowledge of animals, not only because they are very exciting creatures with very big bodies but for being the symbol of life who appeared millions and millions of years ago. From my point of view, knowing and studying about dinosaurs, how they lived, in what areas, how they behaved....we can have a lot of information about the evolution of animals and also, the influences of some aspects such as climate, food....etc. To conclude, all this information answers to the important question of mankind about “where do we come from?”. (COMENTARIOS: aquí, es importante dar ejemplos y aportar ideas sobre lo que opinamos. Subrayo una construcción interesante para dar explicaciones.)

Autora: Elena Gomez Godoy Diplomada Superior de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas