ANDALUCIA EXAM 2018

The instructions in this exam are a bit confusing. I understand that when they ask
you to give the “meaning” of the word, you have to explain the definition of the
word and not just give a synonym. Also, make sure your sentences are actually
complex ones! https://examples.yourdictionary.com/complex-sentence-examples.html

Exercise 1

a) Impassioned: to put all one’s heart into what one is saying.

Their grandson’s impassioned letter, which had taken almost two months to be
completed, brought them into tears.

b) Jaded: bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of
something.

They were all so jaded after listening to the conference speaker for three hours without
a break.

c) Shredded: to destroy a perceived idea or proposal

Once everyone knew how untrustworthy they were, she shredded the company’s plans
in an instant

d) Accustomed: to perceive as normal behaviour or be used to something

When he had finally become accustomed to the tasks he had to accomplish in the office,
he was fired.

e) Pawns: people used by others for their own purposes

Unless we start paying attention to what’s really going on, we will all become pawns in
Amazon’s empire.

f) Endeavor: an attempt to achieve a goal

Although Fernando Alonso’s endeavour was to finish Dakar’s race within the first
positions, he only managed to achieve thirteenth position.

g) Naysayers: a person who criticizes, objects to, or opposes something.

Stay strong, even when naysayers try to make you believe that you will never
accomplish your dreams.

h) Stark: severe, complete or noticeable

In spite of the stark winter that was coming in the north, the men of the wall remained
strong.

i) Gridlock: a situation, typically one involving opposing parties, in which no

progress can be made.

The government voted on the Brexit agreement so many times, but kept ending up at a
gridlock.

j) Preordained: something which has been previously decided or determined.

In some parts of Africa and Asia marriages between young people, which are left up to
free will in most western countries, are preordained by their parents.

Exercise 2

a. Pulled off: to carry out something. In the case of the text, a change.

The UK Members of Parliament, who took forever arguing among themselves, almost
didn’t pull off Britain’s exit from the European Union.

b. Have bought into: to believe something, especially an idea that many other
people believe in.

Many people have bought into the idea that Area 51 is holding aliens, which must have
been captured years ago.

c. Tick away: when time is passing.

As hours ticked away, the possibilities of being out of danger for the patient, who had
had a terrible car accident, increased.

d. Stream down: to flow downward on or onto a surface, usually when referring to

liquid or light.
The river streams down the banks vastly since the thaw of snow that has recently fallen
has increased its flow.

e. Blend in: to mix into the surroundings.

Mix the eggs with the sugar and the flour, and then blend in the cream until you have a
homogeneous mixture.

Exercise 3

Fifth paragraph

La decisión de permitir hablar exclusivamente a niños y adolescentes fue la clave de

todo el esfuerzo. Sin discursos políticos preparados, ni emociones fingidas. La
experiencia de más de 180.000 alumnos que habían presenciado violencia con armas en
las escuelas durante las últimas décadas fue real e inmediata.

Sixth paragraph

En el escenario hablaron de sus amigos, de su creencia en el cambio político, su

solidaridad con otras víctimas y de su valentía enfrente de detractores y cínicos. Se
burlaron y condenaron a la Asociación Nacional del Rifle y a políticos, en especial el
Senador Marco Rubio, su blanco preferido, que les robaban su dinero. Se mostraron
enfadados, tristes y serios. Hablaron sobre democracia y animaron a la multitud a votar;
atacaron verbalmente a los partidos políticos.

Exercise 4

a) Coherent = articulate

Although the topic of the conference was difficult, John managed to produce an
articulate speech.

b) Blatant = palpable

The sadness after the accident, when everyone stood and cried, was palpable.
 c) Ragged = ? (if you know what the answer is, please tell me in comments!)

d) Compassionate = empathetic

The King and Queen of Spain made empathetic gestures towards the families which had
lost a relative in the plane accident.

e) Increases = amplifies

When you’ve had an extremely negative experience, it amplifies your will to live.

Exercise 5

1. Knit
2. Canned
3. Mocked / (blames?)
4. Grapple /fight
5. futility

Exercise 6

How would you explain Emma Gonzalez’s words to your ESO students?

This question is difficult because they don’t clearly state what they’re looking for. I
would interpret it in a way in which you are not being asked to write an essay or a
summary of the topic here, but rather, they want you to specifically write how you
would explain the girl’s speech to your class. You could do this in a more of a
summary style, explaining how you would highlight the most important points, or
you could give a specific teaching proposal like you do in your topic essays.
The two versions below are good but neither is perfect. Version 1 focuses on the
topic itself but doesn’t explain classroom methodology, while version 2 focuses on
the classroom but doesn’t really clarify whether they have fully understood
Emma’s speech. In fact, her speech wasn’t about the words she spoke. Emma listed
the names of her dead classmates and their dreams, and then stood in silence,
crying, to remember them. She showed that actions are a lot more powerful than
words; because hers is the “speech” that everyone will remember and could cause
people to react.
I would be inclined to combine parts of both versions, including the introduction
which states why the topic is relevant to our students, further information to
summarise what happened, and then a specific class activity.
Once again, this is just my interpretation… there are a number of aspects of this
exam which aren’t very clear in general.
Version 1
 The effects of gun violence in the United States have been noticeable all around
the world during recent years. As you may know, there, the possession of guns is legal
from eighteen years old onwards. Nevertheless, the problem lies in the fact that most
Americans have a gun at home, since the Constitution protects them, and the underage
can misuse them, as has been demonstrated in the dramatic attacks on schools and high
schools.
The many mass shootings have provoked demonstrators all around the country
to mobilize in hopes of convincing political parties and lawmakers to address this issue
in order to end these massacres. It is here where Emma Gonzalez has played an
important role and whose words have had a remarkable and powerful effect on people.
Being a survivor of the shooting at her high school, she addressed the crowd, but she
also stood paused and silent, representing the time the shooter took to carry out the
shooting.
Six minutes and thirty seconds represented the speed with which the lives of
parents, siblings and friends changed. They represented the speed with which someone
could end other people’s dreams forever. What did the country’s politicians have to say
about it? It wasn’t the first shooting, many others preceded it, and everything remained
the same. That is the reason why she said, “Fight for your lives, before it’s someone
else’s job”. She clearly made a call for action against gun violence and to stop at
nothing until their elected leaders acted to prevent it.

Version 2

There are many things that our ESO students should learn about what Emma says in her
speech. In fact, our CSE students are not aware of how difficult it is living in a country
where weapons are totally legal and having a gun or a rifle is something very common.
So, how would I explain these words to my CSE students?
First, it is important to mention that I would present this question to my 4th year of CSE
students because I think they are mature enough to cope with it. The first thing I would
do is to project Emma’s speech on the classroom whiteboard and then write her most
important words on the blackboard. In this way, our students would be working with
real materials which would encourage them to keep working on the following activities
related to the topic.
After watching the video, I would divide the class in groups of 5-6 people and I would
propose some questions to make them criticise the situation of the citizens in the USA
and compare it with the Spanish one. This exercise would awake their imagination,
creativity and their critical judgements and we would also be working on the moral and
civic education. Some of those questions would be: What do you think about the use of
weapons in the USA? What would you do if it happened in Spain? , what would you
propose to stop the problem? Or is it an option to use violence to reach a goal?
To come to an end, we would analyse in detail the last part of Emma’s speech and I
would try to make them see that she is trying to make people speak up to stop the
problem because words are a more powerful weapon than violence. Moreover, I would
clarify to them that violence is never an option.