Lengua Inglesa I

2.º parcial

Nombre: Bado Andrés

DNI:36459256

Fecha: 09/02/2017

Calificación:

Reading comprehension:

Skimming and Scanning - Travel – The Environment

1- Read the following article and answer the questions. Highlight the answers
with yellow (—/40).

CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON

Who isn't tempted by adverts for cheap flights by low-cost

airlines? It seems like the ideal solution to broaden your horizons
and go out to see something of the world. But now governments
are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of air
travel on the environment, and politicians are under pressure
from environmental groups to stop the growth in low-cost flights.

Air travel is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases, and fights are on course to double by
2020 and triple by 2030. Emissions from aircraft, principally carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and
water vapour, contribute in part to the effect of global warming. If aviation continues expanding at
the same rate as it has done in previous years it will become the main source of CO2 emissions by
the middle of the century.

Plans to halt the increase in air travel include introducing a tax on jet fuel, selling permits to airlines
to cover their output of dioxide, and stopping the expansion of existing airports. Airline companies
will be forced to put up their prices to cover these costs, making air travel much more expensive for
passengers. It looks like the days of a cheap weekend break in Venice could be over.

In response to these proposals, airlines insist that the impact of aviation on the environment is not
sufficiently understood to justify introducing such drastic measures. A representative from the
environmental affairs department of British Airways admitted that air travel could account for nearly
half of the total CO2 emissions by 2050, but alleged that the proposals would limit society's choice
on how the gases should be reduced. He said that society might prefer to continue to allow flights to
grow and reduce emissions elsewhere, such as in power generators or road transport.

The European Parliament is at present debating the environmental impact of air travel, and
politicians are drawing up plans for a scheme to cover all flights arriving at or departing from all
airports in the European Union. However, the scheme is likely to be limited in the early years to
flights within Europe in order to avoid legal challenges from the United States and other countries.

As the years go by it is becoming clear that it is not only governments who will be paying the price
of reducing global warming. In the future individuals will be encouraged to either stay at home or
contribute to the bill.

Choose a suitable answer:

1- Read the article and decide what it is mainly about (—/5).

A- The impact of cheap flights on the environment.

B- How budget airlines are helping to save the planet.
C- The ways in which airlines can cut their costs.

2- Read the article again and choose a, b, or c.

1- Environmental groups want governments (—/5)

a- to close low-cost airlines.

b- to reduce air travel.
c- to increase air fares.

2- Aircraft emissions will be the main source of greenhouse gases (—/5)

a- by 2020.
b- by 2030.
c- by 2050.

3- Airlines will have to buy permits (—/5)

a- to pay for the fuel they use.

b- to be able to enter a European airport.
c- to compensate for the dangerous gases their aircraft emit.

4- In the opinion of the representative from British Airways (—/5)

a- the estimate of aircraft emissions or 2050 is exaggerated.

b- people should be allowed to choose how to reduce emissions of
carbon dioxide.
c- road transport is a greater source of C02 emissions than air
transport.

5- The European Parliament wants to introduce a scheme to cover (—/5)

a- all flights using an airport in an EU country.

b- all international flights worldwide.
c- only flights from one European country to another.
Find words or phrases which mean the following (—/10):

 likely to achieve something: contribute

 stop: halt
 increase: expansion
 to be the reason why something happens : to cause
 to experience something unpleasant because you have done something
wrong, made a mistake etc.: paying the price

Language in use:

Proofreading, editing, rewriting – The Environment

2- Rewrite the following paragraph with your corrections in bold. There are
12 mistakes of spelling, punctuation, or grammar (—/12).

How does palm oil harm the forests?

The majority of the world´s palm oil supplies comes from Indonesia and Malaysia,
countries which have been clearing thousands of hectares of forest, much of it of high
conservation value, to make way for palm plantations. According to the NGO, the
Environmental Investigation Agency , oil palm was responsible for 80 per cent of the
forest fires in Indonesia from 1997 to 1998, and figures from the Worldwide Fund For
Nature (WWF) indicate that Indonesia has already lost an area of forest the size of the
Netherlands.

Verb tenses - Stories

3- Complete the following text using the verbs in brackets in the correct
form: past simple, past continuous or past perfect (—/18).
 Blue skies
When I was a child, I (1) lived (live) in Arizona. One day in 1956, I (2) was walking
(walk) around the house with my sister Kathy’s new parakeet, Perky, on my finger.
Suddenly, I (3) had (have) the idea of showing Perky what the sky looked like. His
wings (4) were (be) clipped, so I felt it was safe to take him outside. I (5) took
(take) him into the garden, and then, to my horror, Perky suddenly (6) flew off (fly
off). One minute he was there and the next minute he was gone, clipped wings and
all.
Many years later I was living with my own family in a different city. My husband and
I had become very friendly with another family who had children of the same age
as ours. One summer evening, we (7) were sitting (sit) together in the garden
telling stories about pets we (8) had had (have) in the past. Then Barry, the father
of the other family, (9) announced (announce) that the Greatest Pet of All Time
was his blue parakeet, Sweetie Pie.
‘The best thing about Sweetie pie,’ he (10) was explaining (explain), ‘was the way
we got him. One day, when I was about eight, I (11) was standing (stand) outside
my house. Then, out of a clear blue sky, a little blue parakeet (12) flew down (fly
down) and (13) landed (land) on my finger.’
I was astounded. When I was finally able to speak, we (14) examined (examine)
the evidence. The dates and the locations and the description of the bird all (15)
matched up (match up). Apparently forty years before we (16) had actually met
(actually/meet), our two families (17) were (be) linked by Perky.
That night I (18) phoned (phone) my sister and said to her, ‘You were right! Perky
did find a new home!’

Production:

Stories

4- Your teacher has asked you to write a story for the school’s English
language magazine. The story must begin with the following words:

Write your story using between 200 and 250 words (—/30).

Michael closed the door and knew at that moment he had made a mistake. He was
not allowed to get out that day as their parents had told him he had to stay home to
look after it. Their parents had flown to LA for work and would be back the
following day. He got to his best friend´s house and decided they should go for a
drink in a pub in the city centre. They met friends there and started to have tequila
shots. They were happy. But there was something in Michael´s mind annoying
him. It was his disobedience. When he finally chilled out, his cell phone rang. His
neighbour Luke was telling him to go home because there was fire coming out
from the back garden. At that same moment, he was reading, in his screen phone,
an incoming call from his mom. He got shocked. He had to do something, and
quickly. So, he went out of the pub, to a quiet place to get his mom´s call. He
talked to her for less than a minute, said everything was ok, ended the call and
rushed home. When he arrived, there were huge fire flames in the garden. With his
neighbour´s help, he achieved to put out the fire which had been caused by some
rubbish he had been burning in the morning of that day. Luckily, a disaster didn’t
happen. But he learnt a lesson: ¨You must always obey your parents¨