Inglés 5 FINAL WRITTEN EXAM (100 pts)

A. Reading Comprehension

With the exception of English, Spanish is now the most common language spoken in the United States according to a report from the United States Census Bureau.

The report says that the number of Spanish speakers increased by about 50 per cent between 1980 and 1990. This brings the total number to over 17 million.

In some neighbourhoods of New York City, Miami (with 60 per cent Spanish speaking population) and many Texan cities, you don’t hear much English at all. In some cities you often see signs and advertisements in Spanish.

The Census Bureau says that one in seven US residents speaks a language other than English at home. This figure has risen from 23.1 million a decade ago to 31.8 million.

Three out of four people who said that they spoke a foreign language at home also said that they spoke English very well. Some communities have their own TV and radio stations, newspapers and schools. In public schools in many states, children have their lessons in a variety of languages, including, for example in California, Armenian, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish as well as English.

But the fastest-growing language in the US is Mon-Khmer, the language of Cambodia, the number of residents who speak Mon-Khmer at home has grown by more than 676 per cent over ten years.

True or False? (12 pts / 2 pts each)

More than 17 million people speak Spanish in the US.
English is the only language spoken at American homes
Few states teach other languages at school.
If you don’t speak English you will have problems in some Texan cities.
Most of the people who speak a foreign language at home don’t speak English.
Spanish is used to sell products.

Answer the following question (6 pts)

1. Is the information provided by this article reliable? Why?

2. Is Spanish the fastest growing language in the USA?

Name:

B. Read the passage and fill the gaps with the correct word (12 pts / 1 pt each)

Cities: Paris, Dubai and Melbourne

Melbourne was interesting, but for me, Paris was ____________________(interesting)

than Melbourne, and in some ways Dubai was the _____________________________

(interesting) city I _____________________________(be/ ever) because it was so different from any other place I know. It was also the ___________________(hot),

___________________(dry), and ________________________________(modern)

It was hot in Melbourne but not _____________hot______________ in Dubai. Dubai was the ___________________(hot)! Melbourne is ____________________(old) than Dubai but not ______________old_________________ Paris. Paris was the _________

(old) city I visited but it has some great modern buildings, too. It was the ____________

(romantic) place. I loved it!

C. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form (22 pts / 2 pts each)

Barbara Lively, the writer, (1) __________________(be) married with two children. She (2)__________________________(write) over 40 books. She (3) ______________

(start) writing after the death of her first husband. She (4) ________________________

(live) in many parts of the world, including Japan and India.

She (5)________________________(spend) her childhood in Egypt, but (6) _________

(come) to England in 1966.

She (7) ________________________________(win) many awards, including the Booker Prize, which she (8) ______________________________(win) in 1988. She (9) _______________________________(publish) a novel every year so yesterday she (10) ______________________________________________(write) all day because she (11) __________________________________(obligation / finish) her new novel next month.

D. Complete the texts with the correct verb pattern and modal verbs (11 pts)

Have you got a problem that you can’t solve? Write to Maggie for some good advice

a. I’m worried because I have a terrible memory. ___________________(forget) things is really horrible! I forget where I put things; I can never remember where I parked my car, I have a new job so I ____________________get up early in the morning and I often forget to set my alarm clock! I’m afraid of _________________

(lose) my job! What ________________I do? Please, help me!

b. You __________________________(negative) worry too much, because there’s an easy answer. Why don’t you write things down? You __________________keep a list of everything you want______________(do), every name you need ________

Name:

(remember) and probably you ____________begin _________________(remember)

things. But don’t leave your house without ___________________(take) the piece of paper!

E. We asked some students what they are going to do when they leave university. Complete their answers.( 7 pts)

a. I’ m not sure yet. I don’t have any money right now, but if I ____________(have) some, I ____________________(travel) to America. Some friends have invited me to go to Long Island.

b. If I _____________(pass) all the subject, I ________________(take) a gap year and I’m going to work as a life guard on a beach.

3. I _______________________yet (decide), but my mother always says: “If I _____________________(be) you, I ________________________(find) a good job immediately”.

E. Written Production ( 15 lines / 30 pts)

In this level you have read about the friendliest city. What is your opinion of Buenos Aires? Write a description of BA and include information about this topic. Use the structures and vocabulary you have studied in this level.