A son writes ... Last week I asked my Mum if I could go to a rock festival.

`No', she said, `the music will be too loud ... there'll be crowds of people ... you won't know anybody ...'. These excuses were so lame I decided there was some other secret reason why she didn't want me to go. After all, this is the first time my mum has ever shown any concern about the dangers of loud music. I think the real reason Mum is worried about my going to the festival is that my friends and I will have to survive by ourselves for a couple of days. This might not sound like much of a challenge, but surviving means preparing food as well as eating it, putting tents up as well as sleeping in them ... Mum has obviously realized that if I went to the festival I would soon find out how totally dependent on her I am. And once I realized how incapable I am of surviving on my own, I would never leave home again. Then Mum would have a pathetic teenager / adult under her feet for the rest of her life. QUESTIONS 1. Answer the following questions using your own words. (2 points: 1 point each) a) Why did the son find it difficult to believe the excuses that his mum gave him? b) What does he think she is really worried about? 2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? (1 point: 0.5 each) a) The mother doesn't like music festivals. b) If the son had gone to the festival, he would have slept in a youth hostel. 3. Find a word or phrase in the text which, in context, is similar in meaning to: (1 point: 0.5 each) a) continue to live or exist : b) difficult task: 4. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (2 points: 0.5 each) 1. According to the writer, his mother refused to let him go to the festival because ... a) she knew something secret about the festival. b) she wanted to go with him but she couldn't. c) she imagined the future consequences of letting him go. 2. The son wanted to go to the festival for ... a) two days with his friends. b) two days alone. c) a couple of weekends. 3. The mother realized that ... a) she was very dependent on her son. b) her son would leave home. c) her son would realize how difficult life without her would be. 4. The mother seems not to want ... a) her son to leave home. b) her son to become a pathetic person forever. c) to become a pathetic adult herself. 5. Composition (100-150 words approximately). Choose one of the following topics. (4 points) 1. Most young adults in Spain live with their parents. Explain why. 2. Write a story about a teenager who wants to go to a big pop festival and has to ask for permission.

Mum who dumped a tot is jailed A CAREER mum dumped her baby on a stranger's doorstep to stop his dad bringing him up. The householder heard the 12-week-old boy crying in his pushchair on a cold winter's night. And yesterday the mum began six months in jail for her heartless act. The judge at Newport crown court told her: "You are a selfish woman who acted out of spite. "You did nothing to alert the occupants. They might not have found him." The court heard that the woman, 30, from Preston, dumped her son 200 miles away at Newport, South Wales. She had found that she was pregnant after splitting with the dad. The first he knew of the baby was when he was told by an adoption agency. It is his second child with the mum of three. The woman, who admitted cruelty, was said to have had depression. QUESTIONS 1. Answer the following questions using your own words. (2 points) a. Was the woman sent to jail? Why? b. When did the father find out about the baby? 2. Are the following statements true or false? (1 point) a. The woman in the story has two children. _

b. The woman lives 200 miles away from Preston. _ 3. Find a word or phrase in the text which, in context, is similar in meaning to: (1 point) Abandoned: Egotist: 4. Choose a, b or c in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (2 points) 1. The boy was a. one month old. b. two months old. c. three months old. 2. The woman left the boy at a. a friends house. b. her mothers house. c. an unknown persons house. 3. The woman is in her a. twenties. b. thirties. c. forties. 4. The boy was left in a. Preston b. Newport. c. South Wales. 5. Composition (100-150 words) Give your opinion about that womans action. (4 points)

Scotland: a land of contrasts Scotland provides superb opportunities to enjoy wild and grand scenery which is even more impressive than the postcards suggest. It also offers towns and cities with a rich cultural life, a good mix of accommodation and places to eat and drink. Friendly and welcoming, it is an interesting and colourful all-season destination, where landscapes and the environment, sport and leisure pursuits, heritage and history, culture and cuisine are all part of a rewarding experience. The best reason for choosing to go on holiday to Scotland is this: is one of the last places inside the crowded and frenetic European Union where it is possible to be alone isolated countryside. This is not to say that Scotland, like everywhere else, does not have its tourist traps, its crowded roads or its popular beauty spots. But it is relatively easy to escape from them. It would be a mistake to think that Scotland is merely an extension of England. Indeed, no attitude is capable of causing greater offence to the Scots. They successfully resisted English attempts at domination for seven hundred years, and many differences between the two countries persist. Scotland's history, embodied in its castles, battlefields, and ancient links with France, Flanders and Scandinavia, is special. 1. Answer the following questions using your own words. (2 points: 1 point each) a) What is Scotland's countryside like? b) Why do people in Scotland think they are different from the English? 2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? (1 point: 0.5 each) a) The only good time to go to Scotland is in summer. b) There is a variety of places to stay in Scotland. 3. Find a word or phrase in the text which, in context, is similar in meaning to: (1 point: 0.5 each) a) full of people b) drawn, depicted 4. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (2 points: 0.5 each) 1. Scotland is ... a) full of lively towns and cities. b) similar to many other countries in Europe. c) as impressive as postcards suggest. 2. In Scotland, tourists ... a) are always alone in the country. 2 b) can easily get away from crowds and traffic. c) get trapped in popular beauty spots. 3. When you say that Scotland is like England, the Scottish ... a) feel insulted. b) cause offence. c) are amused. 4. Scotland ... a) was dominated by England for seven hundred years. b) dominated England for seven hundred years. c. kept out English invaders for seven hundred years. 5. Composition (100-150 words approximately). Choose one of the following topics. (4 points) 1. Write a letter to persuade a friend to go on holiday with you in Scotland. 2. To what extent is Spain a land of contrasts?

Death penalty One issue that didn=t really provoke a lot of discussion in the last presidential election was the death penalty. The reason was a simple one: both the Democrats and the Republicans, along with 75% of the American public, are absolutely in favour of it. Clinton, who supposedly represents the less rightwing of the two main parties, had trouble in demonstrating his support for capital punishment. This, it seems, was part of a well-planned strategy to capture the all important Amiddle-ground@ in American politics. And yet, in its enthusiasm for the death penalty, the United States remains strangely out of sync with other western democracies. The nations that practise capital punishment are those that many Americans would consider Aprimitive@ or even Abarbaric@. They include China, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the former Soviet Union. Even South Africa, for decades the most hated country in the world, has abolished the death penalty. This decision came shortly after the ending of the apartheid. Read the text and answer the following questions. 2. Answer the following questions without copying from the text. (1.5 points) a. What is the Americans= opinion about the death penalty? b. Is this opinion shared by many other countries? Which ones? c. What do we know about the author of this text? 3. Join these sentences, making conditionals. (2 points) 1. The death penalty did not provoke a lot of discussion in the last presidential election. Both parties were in favour. Clinton followed a well-planned strategy. He captured the all-important Amiddle ground@ in American politics. Some nations practise capital punishment. They are considered Aprimitive@ or even Abarbaric@. South Africa abolished the death penalty after ending the apartheid. Otherwise, it would still be much hated. 4. Change the following sentences into the passive. (1.5 points) Even South Africa has abolished the death penalty. Clinton supposedly represents the less right-wing of the two main parties. They had to capture the all-important Amiddle ground in American politics. 5. Composition (80 words). Choose one of the following topics. Can you tell the argument of any film you have seen about death penalty, or life imprisonment?

WHATEVER YOU NEED I was working as a consultant in a beer company, helping the president and senior vice-presidents formulate and implement their new strategic vision. It was an enormous challenge. At the same time, my mother was in the final stages of cancer. I worked during the day and drove 40 miles home to be with her every night. It was tiring and stressful, but it was what I wanted to do. My commitment was to continue to do excellent consulting during the day, even though my evenings were very hard. I didn=t want to bother the president with my situation, yet I felt someone at the company needed to know what was going on. So I told the vice-president of Human Resources, asking him not to share the information with anyone. A few days later, the president called me into his office. I figured he wanted to talk to me about one of the many issues we were working on. When I entered, he asked me to sit down. He faced me from across his large desk, looked me in the eye and said, AI hear your mother is very ill.@ I was totally caught by surprise and burst into tears. He just looked at me, let my crying subside, and then gently said a sentence I will never forget: AWhatever you need.@ That was it. His understanding and his willingness to both let me be in my pain and to offer me everything were qualities of compassion that I carry with me to this day. 1. Vocabulary. Find in the text words or expressions that mean the same. Began to cry: Got in: Disturb: Completely: 2. Answer the following questions according to the text. a. What kind of job did the writer have? b. Who in the company knew about the writer=s mother=s illness?

c. Why did the president of the company call the writer into his office? d. Why was the writer pleased with the president=s behaviour towards his situation? 3. Composition. In your opinion, how would you handle a similar situation?