UNIVERSIDAD DEL AZUAY
UNIDAD DE IDIOMAS
EXAMEN DE SUFICIENCIA EN INGLÉS.- MUESTRA
A.- READ AND ANSWER IN ENGLISH THE QUESTIONS THAT
FOLLOW.
The First Amendment to the American Constitution declares
freedom of the press to all men. Although this right was not officially
adopted until 1791, the famous Zenger trial of 1735 laid the
groundwork for insuring this precious freedom.
John Peter Zenger emigrated as a teenager from Germany around
1710. In 1733 he began publishing the New York Weekly Journal. The
following year, he was arrested for writing a story about the crownappointed governor of New York. While he was imprisoned for nine
months, Zenger's wife dutifully published the newspaper every day,
bravely telling the truth about the corrupt government officials sent by
the king to govern the colonies.
Finally Zenger's long-awaited trial took place. The hostile judge
dismissed Zenger's local lawyers, making it necessary for his wife to
seek out Andrew Hamilton, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer.
Persuaded by Hamilton, the jury bravely returned a not-guilty verdict
defying the judge's orders for a conviction.
As a result of determination and bravery on the part of the
colonists, a lasting victory for freedom of the press was set by a young
immigrant.
1 .- Who was Peter Zenger?
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2 .- What political problems existed in the colonies at that time?
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3 .- How long did it take after the trial before the concept of
freedom of the press was officially adopted?
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4 .- What did the judge do?
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5 .- What did Andrew Hamilton do?
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B.- READ AND CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
THAT FOLLOW.
As heart disease continues to be the number one killer in the
United States, researchers have become interested in identifying the
potential risk factors that trigger heart attacks. High-fat diets and “life
in the fast lane” have long been known to contribute to the high
incidence of heart failure. But according to new studies, the list of risk
factors may be significantly longer and quite surprising.
Heart failure appears to have seasonal and temporal patterns. A
higher percentage of heart attacks occur in cold weather, and more
people experience heart failure on Monday than any other day of the
week. In addition, people are more susceptible to heart attacks in the
first few hours after waking. Cardiologists first observed this morning
phenomenon in the mid-1980s and have since discovered a number of
possible causes. An early-morning rise in blood pressure, heart rate,
and concentration of heart-stimulating hormones, plus a reduction of
blood flow to the heart, may all contribute to the higher incidence of
heart attacks between the hours of 8:00 A. M. and 10:00 A. M.
In other studies, both birthdays and bachelorhood have been
implicated as risk factors. Statistics reveal that heart attack rates
increase significantly for both females and males in the few days
immediately preceding and following their birthdays. And unmarried
men are more at risk for heart attacks than their married counterparts.
Though stress is thought to be linked in some way to all of the afore
mentioned risk factors, intense research continues in the hope of
further comprehending why and how heart failure is triggered.
6 .- What does the passage mainly discuss?
a.- Seasonal and temporal patterns of heart attacks.
b. Risk factors in heart attacks.
c. Cardiology in the 1980s.
d. Diet and stress as factors in heart attacks.
7 .- According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a
possible cause of many heart attacks?
a. Decreased blood flow to the heart.
b. Increased blood pressure.
c. Lower heart rate.
d. Increase in hormones.
8 .- The phrase "susceptible to" in line 10 could best be replaced by:
a. Aware of
c. Affected by
b. Accustomed
d. Prone to
9 .- Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a possible risk
factor?
a. Getting married
c. Having a birthday
b. Eating fatty foods.
D. Being under stress.
10 .- Which of the following does the passage infer?
a. We do not fully understand how risk factors trigger heart attacks.
b. We have not identified many risk factors related to heart attacks.
c. We recently began to study how risk factors trigger heart attacks.
d. We now fully understand how risk factors trigger heart attacks.
C.- FIND THE WORDS IN THE PARAGRAPHS WHICH MEAN THE
FOLLOWING.
HOW TO REDUCE STRESS.
a. Personalise your work space. Bring a plant to work, a
photograph of the family and some personal items. The plant will
help to provide fresh oxygen in an air-conditioned environment.
By personalising your workspace you create an atmosphere in
which it is comfortable to work. This can help to increase your
productivity. Whatever you decide to do, it is important to select
items appropriate to your company's culture.
b. Start the day in a positive way. Try to be positive about going to
work. Research has indicated that a positive attitude helps to
reduce stress and conflict in the workpIace.
c. Prioritise your tasks. Set a list of priorities each day. Prioritising
your tasks will hep to reduce stress by ensuring that the most
important things are done first which helps to avoid emergencies
and unnecessary pressure.
d. Achieve a task a day. When you set your priorities, make sure
you include at least one task which you will be able to complete
on that day.
e. Personalise your work space. Bring a plant to work, a
photograph of the family and some personal items. The plant will
help to provide fresh oxygen in an air-conditioned environment.
By personalising your workspace you create an atmosphere in
which it is comfortable to work. This can help to increase your
productivity. Whatever you decide to do, it is important to select
items appropriate to your company's culture.
f. Start the day in a positive way. Try to be positive about going to
work. Research has indicated that a positive attitude helps to
reduce stress and conflict in the workpIace.
g. Prioritise your tasks. Set a list of priorities each day. Prioritising
your tasks will hep to reduce stress by ensuring that the most
important things are done first which helps to avoid emergencies
and unnecessary pressure.
h. Achieve a task a day. When you set your priorities, make sure
you include at least one task which you will be able to complete
on that day. Even if it is a very small task and there are several
complex tasks you will be working on, completing one thing each
day will help, you feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
i. Exercise Your body. Try to do some exercise at least once a day.
A twenty-minute stroll at lunch will not only reduce stress but
could also help you to live longer.
j. Exercise Your Eyes. In the modern world it is not enough to only
exercise your body. With the advent of computers and the
necessity in the modem office to sit looking at a screen for hours
on end, it is also important to exercise your eyes. There is little
doubt that computers have helped increase worker productivity
and efficiency. Unfortunately there is a very negative side effect
from excessive computer use: bad eyesight. By staring into the
distance for one minute every hour you can greatly reduce the
likelihood of suffering eye damage. It is just as important to
exercise your eyes as your body.
k. Take Regular Breaks. Take regular short breaks. Most people
can only maintain effective concentration for 40 minutes. Regular
short breaks will help you to be at your productive best. lt will
also help to approach problems from a different perspective after
a break. Don't work through coffee breaks and always try to leave
the office to eat your lunch.
l. Eat Healthy Food. Eating healthy food can not only increase the
length of your life, it also helps to reduce stress. The traditional
Mediterranean diet is recommended. Animal fats and excessive
alcohol intake should be avoided.
m. Avoid conflict. Seek solutions and resolutions not confrontation.
Be flexible and try to maintain positive relationships with your
colleagues.
n. Sleep. Many executives believe that they only need five or six
hours sleep a night. This may be so for a lucky few but the reality
is that most of us need between eight and ten hours sleep a night.
11.-........................................................................:physical
(paragraph f.)
activity.
12.-.............................................................................:things, articles.
belongings. (paragraph a.)
13.....................................................: finish, conclude (paragraph d)
14.-................................................: walk for pleasure (paragraph e.)
15.-...............................................................: monitor (paragraph f.)
16.-.....................................................: period of rest (paragraph g.)
17.-................................................................: (in this context) during
(paragraph g)
18.-................................................................: oily substances derived
from animals. (paragraph h)
19.-.............................................................: consumption (paragraph)
20.- ..............................................................: to look for, try to find.
(paragraph i)
D.- READ AND WRITE TRUE OR FALSE NEXT TO THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCES.
Typically people think of genius, whether it manifests in Mozart's
composing symphonies at age five or Einstein's discovery of relativity, as
having a quality not just of the supernatural, but also of the eccentric.
People see genius as a "good" abnormality; moreover, they think of
genius as a completely unpredictable abnormality.
Until recently, psychologists regarded the quirks of genius as too erratic
to describe intelligibly; however, Anna Findley's ground-breaking study
uncovers predictable patterns in the biographies of geniuses. These
patterns do not dispel the common belief that there is a kind of
supernatural intervention in the lives of unusually talented men and
women, however, even though they occur with regularity. For example,
Findley shows that all geniuses experience three intensely productive
periods in their lives, one of which always occurs shortly before their
deaths; this is true whether the genius lives to nineteen of ninety.
21.- According to the general opinion genius are predictable and
uncommon.
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22.-A genius has three prolific times in his or her life.
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23.- Ana Findley found out that geniuses are unpredictable.
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24.- Mozart discovered relativity.
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25.- One of the greatest productivity period of a genius life occurs
before he dies.
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F.- READING COMPRENHENSION AND VOCABULARY.
Each sentence has a word or phrase underlined. Below each
sentence are four other words or phrases. You are to underline the
one word or phrase which would best keep the meaning of the
original sentence if it were substituted for the underlined word.
26.- The Montfords have decided to take a cruise, so they went to
the travel agency for some brochures.
a. questions
b. inquisition
c. Identification
d. pamphlets
27.- He chose to show himself in public incognito, so he could
avoid the attention of the press.
a. in disguise
b. formally
c. In casual dress d. in person
28.- The fluctuating price of gas keep motorists guessing.
a. inexpensive
b. costly
c. Changing
d. confusing
29.- He failed to assimilate to the new culture.
a. to fit in
b. intercede
c. Dislike
d. to believe
30.- The Civil War decimated the people and the land.
a. intact
b. scenic
d. damaged
d. beautified
31.- The boy always tried to circumvent the law and get his own
way.
a. break
b. change
c. Ignore
d. follow
32.- Controversy is unavoidable when two political parties try to
come to an agreement.
a. consensus
b. antipathy
c. Dispute
d. euphemism
33.- The Chinese people worship their ancestors.
a. fossils.
B. elders
c. Forefathers
c. heirs
34. The rainforest air was humid, making the heat seem even more
smothering.
a. damp
b. hot
c. Hazy
d. volitile
35.- The major tailored his speech to suit the crowd of homeless
people gathered in his office.
a. intoned
b. expanded
c. Altered
d. shortened
F.- READ AND TRANSLATE. 36-45.
The financial firm Dow Jones and Company computes business
statistics every hour on the hour of each of the business days of the
year; and these statistics are known as the Dow Jones averages. They
are based on a select group of stocks and bonds that are traded on the
New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones averages are composed of
four different types of averages; the average price of the common stock
of thirty industrial firms, the average price of the common stock prices
of twenty transportation companies, the average price or the common
stock prices of fifteen utility companies, and an overall average of all the
sixty-five stocks used to compute the first three averages.
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G.- READ AND
INFORMATION.
MATCH
THE
PICTURES
WITH
THE
46.- .............This sign means you can recycle something. You may see
this on aluminium cans or plastic bottles.
47.-..............This means you've got to fasten your seat belt. You should
be able to see this sign in a taxi or a plane.
48.-.........This sign means you aren't allowed to touch something. You
might see this sign in a gift shop or a museum
49.-..............this means you aren't allowed to hitchhike. You would see
this on a freeway -where cars aren't allowed to stop- or where it's
dangerous to walk.
50.-...............You would see this one at an airport or immigration
checkpoint. It means you have to go through customs and may have to
open your bags for custom inspection.