EXAM WITH ANSWERS
1 PEvAU Practice Examination (Andalucía)
2
3 Instrucciones: a) Duración: 1 h. 30 m. b) No se permite el uso de diccionario. c) La
4 puntuación de las preguntas está indicada en las mismas. d) Los alumnos
5 deberán realizar completa una de las dos opciones A o B, sin poder mezclar
6 las respuestas.
7 Computer Impact
8 In 1996, Gary Kasparov, the world’s number one chess player, played six chess games
9 against the computer Deep Blue. Kasparov won 4-2, but today, a computer would easily beat any
10 human at a game of chess.
11 Computers can do this because they are able to find the best move by calculating every
12 possible continuation in a way that no human brain could ever do. As a result, the computer
13 sometimes comes up with an astonishing move which even a chess grand master would never have
14 considered. As well as being an unexpected move, human players can ultimately learn from it.
15 Something similar may be happening in the music industry. To identify new talent,
16 music companies have traditionally relied on people with “golden ears”, who use their intuition
17 and experience to find tomorrow’s stars. But increasingly, music companies are starting to use
18 computerised analysis to do this job.
19 Using home computers, almost anybody can now make high-quality recordings and this
20 home-made music can be uploaded to sites like YouTube. Now it’s possible to find out how
21 many people have been listening to this new music, to analyse all this Internet data and to
22 discover which of these unknown singers is suddenly becoming “hot”.
23 Sometimes, the data points to an unknown artist that the human experts would never
24 have considered. “The other day, we were listening to this rap artist and, she seemed pretty
25 awful,” comments one music business executive. “But at the same time, the numbers she was
26 getting were fantastic. And because of those statistics, we had to start taking her seriously … .
27 And then as we went on listening, we started to think, ‘Hey, actually she’s really good’ … .”
28 The reality is that nobody knows what humans were missing before we had computers –
29 and that applies to music as much as chess.
30 I* COMPREHENSION (4 points)
31 CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)
32 1. The computer
33 (a) thinks in the same way as a 37 (c) wins because it astonishes the human
34 grandmaster. 38 player.
35 (b) has better intuition and pattern 39 (d) can consider every possible move in
36 recognition than a human. 40 the game.
41 2. Which is the best summary of the text?
42 (a) Computers can help us play 46 (c) Computers are changing the world in
43 better chess. 47 ways that we don’t fully understand.
44 (b) Computers can surprise us 48 (d) Computers are finding new talent in
45 with new ideas. 49 chess and music.
1/2
50
51 ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE
52 PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)
53 3. When playing chess, computers produce new ideas that grandmasters will never
54 understand.
55 False: “… human players can ultimately learn from it.”
56 4. In the past, people with “golden ears” discovered talented musicians.
57 True: “… relied on people with ‘golden ears’ … to find tomorrow’s stars.”
58 5. It is now much easier to publish music than it used to be.
59 True: “Using home computers, almost anybody can now make high-quality recordings …”
60 6. The executive thought the rap artist should be taken seriously even though not many
61 people were taking her seriously.
62 False: “And because of those statistics, we had to start taking her seriously … .”
63 7. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)
64 7.1 ONE OPPOSITE FOR “predictable” (adjective). unexpected
65 7.2 ONE SYNONYM FOR “very popular and in demand” (noun). hot
66 8. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)
67 8.1 ONE WORD MEANING “more and more” (adverb). increasingly
68 8.2 THE WORD WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION: “in fact” actually
69 II* USE OF ENGLISH (3 points; 0.5 points each)
70 9. FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION:
71 9.1 What did you think of her recording? of / on / out
72 9.2 I’m trying out this new computer game. on / out / of
73 10. FILL IN THE GAP WITH A CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS:
74 10.1 I wonder what else computers will control in the years to come. (control)
75 10.2 I wish I knew how to play chess. (know)
76 11. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING (CONDITIONAL) SENTENCE:
77 If he had paid more attention during the chess game, he might have /
78 could have won.
79 12. REWRITE THE SENTENCE WITHOUT CHANGING ITS MEANING. BEGIN AS
80 INDICATED:
81 He plays so well that he can almost beat the computer.
82 He is such a good player that he can almost beat the computer.
83 13. TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE.
84 They would never have considered her.
85 She would never have been considered.
86 14. GIVE A QUESTION FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS:
87 They have been playing chess for ten years.
88 How long / How many years have they been playing chess?
89 III* WRITING (3 points)
90 15. WRITE A COMPOSITION OF APPROXIMATELY 120 WORDS ABOUT THE TOPIC
91 PROPOSED. YOU MUST FOCUS STRICTLY ON IT.
92 Would you want to be interviewed for a job by a computer? Give reasons for your
93 answer.
94 Answers will vary.
PEvAU Andalucia – Computer Impact! 2/2
