February 2018

Relaxing at a bar after a long day is nothing new. But the oxygen bars that are springing up all over the United States are
certainly something different. These bars don´t serve alcohol. In fact, they don´t serve drinks at all. Instead, they serve 95%
pure oxygen, which is inhaled through a nose tube.

Oxygen bars look a little like hospitals, with people sitting around with plastic tubes sticking out of their nostrils. Yet, oxygen-
bar users are not ill. They are healthy people who pay about one dollar a minute to breathe fresh air. The oxygen is mixed with
scented oils, and people can choose to inhale a variety of different scents. Each flavour is said to have a specific effect on your
body. While one flavour promises to reduce stress, another will give you energy.

Oxygen bars first opened in Japan in the early 1980s, to counter the effects of highly-polluted city air. Since then, bars have
opened in India, China, the USA and all over Europe. Because it is relatively cheap to buy or rent the equipment needed to run
an oxygen bar, many entrepreuners are getting in on the act and trying to cater to health-conscious consumers.

But are there real medical benefits to inhaling fresh, flavoured air or is this simply another fad? Although oxygen-bar users
swear that they feel healthier and have more energy, doctors are not convinced. They claim that healthy people already have
the maximum concentration of oxygen in their blood, and that inhaling oxygen has no effect on a person´s health.
Furthermore, they suggest that too much oxygen can, in fact, cause severe health problems and can inhibit heart, lung and
memory function.

It is true that the benefits of using the oxygen bar haven´t been scientifically proven. However, if customers choose to visit an
oxygen bar rather than to drink alcohol and breathe cigarette smoke at an ordinary bar, that has to be a good thing!

QUESTIONS
1. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points using your own words (approximately 50 words;
1 point)

2. Mark the following sentences True or False (T/F) according to the text. Then write the part (and ONLY the part) of the text
which justifies your answer. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a. Oxygen bars sell different flavours of air.
b. Everyone agrees that inhaling oxygen is good for you.
c. Doctors believe that healthy people breathe enough oxygen.
d. Research has shown that inhaling oxygen has a positive effect on a person´s health.

3. Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given here. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a) appearing suddenly b) advantages c) new fashion d) shown to be true

4. Pronunciation (1 point; 0.25 each)

a) Write the word where the combination "ea" sounds differently
learn pear heard early
b) In which of the following verbs is the ending -ed pronounced /t/ ?
cleaned ended enjoyed stopped
c) In which of the following words the ending (-s /-es) is pronounced /iz/
opens cups houses Jim´s
d) Which of these words have the schwa /ǝ/ sound?
coffee danger more cup
5. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the original meaning (1.5 points; 0.5 each)

a) We in no way want to be associated with that project.

In no way ...
b) I prefer using a keyboard to writing with a pen.
I´d rather ...
c) It is possible that codes of attraction and beauty are millions of years old.
Codes of attraction and beauty ...

6. WRITING. Choose ONE of the two options (Approximately 120 words; 3 points)

A) Retell the story of an interesting film or book you enjoyed.

B) Write about a significant event in your life or a frightening / exciting experience that you had in the
past.
2º BAC. ABAU TEXT February 2018

Read the text and the instructions to the questions very carefully. Answer all the questions in English.

Judy loves coffee. However, lately she’s been trying hard to decrease the number of cups she drinks, because she’s heard that coffee is
addictive and unhealthy.

Judy will be pleased to learn that she needn’t quit her coffee habit. Thousands of studies in the past few years suggest that coffee isn’t the
terrible health hazard that most of us have been led to believe. Research has shown that coffee can reduce the risk of several serious
diseases.

One example is a study led by Frank B. Hu and Jo Ann Manson of Harvard University in the United States. Hu and Manson monitored 125,000
participants to see which of them developed diabetes during a period of eighteen years. The results were both remarkable and unexpected.
Compared with people who did not drink coffee at all, men who drank six cups or more each day lowered their risk of diabetes by 54%. For
women, the danger was reduced by 30%.

At least six additional studies indicate that people who drink several cups of coffee every day are 80% less likely to develop
Parkinson’s disease, have a 50% lower chance of getting liver cancer, and reduce the risk of colon cancer by 25%. Coffee has
also been found to stop headaches, help manage asthma and even prevent dental cavities.

This is good news for coffee drinkers, although more research needs to be done before our doctors actually recommend that
we raise the amount of coffee we drink to six cups a day. But meanwhile, there is no doubt that those who can’t live without
the delightful flavour of their morning cup can now relax and enjoy themselves.

QUESTIONS

1. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points using your own words (approximately 50
words; 1 point)

2. Mark the following sentences true or false (T / F) according to the text. Then write the part ( and ONLY the part) of the
text which justifies your answer.(1 point; 0.25 each)

a. It is necessary for Judy to give up her coffee drinking habit.

b. It has been proved that coffee minimize the chance of important diseases.
c. Apart from liver cancer or colon cancer, coffee can also prevent other illnesses.
d. Nowadays doctors recommend that we drink as much coffee as we want.

3. Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given here. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a) surveys b) controlled c) outstanding d) caries

4. Pronunciation (1 point; 0.25 each)

a) Write the word where the combination "ea" sounds differently
dear learn heard earth
b) In which of the following verbs is the ending -ed pronounced /t/ ?
cleaned ended enjoyed stopped
c) In which of the following words the ending (-s /-es) is pronounced /iz/
opens cups houses Jim´s
d) Which of these words have the schwa /ǝ/ sound?
coffee danger more cup
5. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the original meaning (1.5 points; 0.5 each)

a) She not only speaks English well but also she knows the culture.
Not only ...
b) They were angry because you didn´t apologize
If you ...........
c) It is possible that he thought about following a career in dance.
He ...

6. WRITING. Choose ONE of the two options (Approximately 120 words; 3 points)

A) Retell the story of an interesting film or book you enjoyed.

B) Write about a significant event in your life or a frightening / exciting experience that you had in the
past.