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 The Ghost Orchid

8 The Ghost Orchid is one of Britain’s rarest and loveliest wild flowers. The plant’s name
9 refers to its pallid features, mysterious beauty, and intermittent appearances. The Ghost Orchid
10 rarely appears above ground and is very well camouflaged in the woods and forests where it
11 grows. Traditionally, the best time to see a ghost is at night.
12 The Ghost Orchid was first found in Britain in 1854 by Mary Anderton Smith. Botany
13 was considered a very suitable pastime for young ladies at the time, and in 19th-century Britain,
14 women often made important botanical discoveries. But although a lot of people have looked for
15 it since Mary first found it, this plant has only occasionally been seen in Britain again.
16 One notable sighting came in 1953, when botanist Rex Graham, who had been searching
17 for years in the hope of finding the Ghost Orchid, decided to take a moment’s rest, sat down on a
18 tree stump and, while lighting his pipe, saw the orchid in front of him.
19 More years went by with no confirmed sightings, and in 2001 the Ghost Orchid was
20 officially declared extinct in the British Isles. The last British specimen, we were told, had died.
21 Nevertheless, botanists continued to look for the orchid. One of them, Mark Jannink, carefully
22 researched its preferred habitats and records of where and when it had been found. He discovered
23 that many of the sightings came after a cold winter.
24 The winter of 2008-9 was cold. Jannink identified ten possible sites and visited each one
25 of them every fortnight throughout the summer of 2009. Finally, on 20 September 2009, he
26 found a single small specimen in a wood only a few kilometres from where Mary Anderton
27 Smith had first found it all those years ago.

28 I* COMPREHENSION (4 points)
29 CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)
30 1. Which of the statements about the Ghost Orchid is definitely true according to the
31 passage?
32 (a) It is especially difficult to find at36 (c) It grows amongst trees.
33 night. 37 (d) It is now extinct.
34 (b) It is usually found in early
35 summer.
38 2. According to the passage …
39 (a) the specimens of the Ghost 44 (c) Rex Graham was preparing to
40 Orchid are usually quite large.45 smoke his pipe when he saw the
41 (b) everybody stopped looking for46 Ghost Orchid.
42 the Ghost Orchid when they 47 (d) the Ghost Orchid appears
43 heard it was extinct. 48 intermittently, but always in the same
49 place.
50

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52 ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE
53 PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)
54 3. The Ghost Orchid blends into the forest.
55 True: “… it is very well camouflaged in the wood and forests …”
56 4. It was surprising that the Ghost Orchid was discovered by a woman.
57 False “in 19th-century Britain, women often made important botanical discoveries.”
58 5. Rex Graham had been looking for the Ghost Orchid for a long time.
59 True “… Rex Graham who had been searching for years in the hope of finding the
60 Ghost Orchid, …”
61 6. Mark Jannink discovered the Ghost Orchid by pure luck.
62 False “… carefully researched its preferred habitats and records of …” and “Jannink
63 identified ten possible sights …”
64 7. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)
65 7.1 ONE OPPOSITE FOR “exposed” (adjective). camouflaged
66 7.2 ONE SYNONYM FOR “hobby” (noun). pastime
67 8. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)
68 8.1 ONE WORD MEANING “a period of two weeks” (noun). fortnight
69 8.2 THE WORD WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION: “a time to relax”.
70 rest

71 II* USE OF ENGLISH (3 points; 0.5 points each)

72 9. FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION:
73 up the name of this flower. up / on / out
9.1 I had to look ______
74 9.2 He’s always had an interest _____in botany. on / in / with
75 10. FILL IN THE GAP WITH A CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS:
76 10.1 We wouldn’t have touched the flower if we _______ it was poisonous. (know)
77 had known
78 10.2 She stopped ______ some flowers for her mother. (buy) to buy
79 11. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING (CONDITIONAL) SENTENCE:
80 If I discovered a rare flower, … . Answers will vary.
81 12. REWRITE THE SENTENCE WITHOUT CHANGING ITS MEANING. BEGIN AS
82 INDICATED:
83 Someone has recently discovered it in Britain. It …
84 It has recently been discovered in Britain.
85 13. THERE ARE TWO MISTAKES IN THE SENTENCE. FIND THE MISTAKES AND
86 REWRITE THE SENTENCE CORRECTLY.
87 These are the most lovely flowers I have never received.
88 These are the loveliest flowers I have ever received.
89 14. GIVE A QUESTION FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS.
90 The Ghost Orchid was declared extinct in 2001.
91 When / In what year was the Ghost Orchid declared extinct?

92 III* WRITING (3 points)

93 15. WRITE A COMPOSITION OF APPROXIMATELY 120 WORDS ABOUT THE TOPIC
94 PROPOSED. YOU MUST FOCUS STRICTLY ON IT.
95 Should countries be investing a lot of money in protecting wild flowers?
96 Answers will vary.

PEvAU Andalucia – The Ghost Orchid 2/2