ASOCIACIN EX ALUMNOS DEL PROFESORADO EN LENGUAS VIVAS

JUAN RAMN FERNNDEZ

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Sample Paper 2012
Exam duration: 3 hours

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Total

A)

Read the following passage and answer the questions below in your own words. (20)
FIRST GRADE
THE VOICE OF BART SIMPSON
Final Exam
The woman Ive come to meet is sitting atop a large plastic cow in the grounds of her

Los Angeles home. Small and blonde, she holds an umbrella aloft and gives a mischievous
smile for an American magazine photographer. Hi, there! she says, giving me a warm,
almost motherly wave from her unusual vantage point. Her real name is Nancy Cartwright.
Her stage name, however, is a little more familiar:

Bart Simpson, the obnoxious,

skateboard-touting ten-year-old from the cartoon metropolis of Springfield.

Its hard to

believe, but this forty-six-year-old mother of two, dressed in a sensible green top and blue
trousers, is the yellow-hued rascal who instructed the world to eat his shorts.
I can bring him out at will, says Cartwright, with a hint of a raised eyebrow, her
naturally husky voice always seemingly on the verge of breaking into a Bartism, punctuated
by his cruel, gloating laughter. Think about it, its kind of ideal, isnt it? If I go to a party and
someone brings a kid up to me I can go, Hey, man, whats happening? and watch the kids
face. I love doing that. My own gawping response is probably similar. The ten-year-old
voice coming out of Cartwright is scarily incongruous.

It belongs to another world

certainly not here in the lush Californian suburb of Northridge, with its white picket fences,
tennis courts, swimming pools and three-car garages.

Reckless skateboarding would

certainly not be tolerated.

Cartwright, however, has grown tired of deploying Barts voice as a means to claim
traditional celebrity perks, such as a table at the famous Sky Bar. I tried it once, she says.
Its embarrassing.

People are like, So what?

She has had similarly disappointing

encounters with unamused traffic cops and harried flight attendants. Now Cartwright has
learnt to relish her anonymous celebrity status. Its probably because I have the choice to
be able to do it whereas most celebrities dont, she concludes. Theyre kind of, you know,
at the whim of the public, and that must be unnerving.
But there is, of course, something profoundly odd about the fact that Nancy Cartwright
is at once both an A-list celebrity and a faceless nobody. So odd, in fact, that it has inspired
Cartwright to produce a one-woman show based on what she calls My life as a ten-year-old
boy, which she is bringing to the Edinburgh Festival. The one-woman show takes the

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audience through Cartwrights real life as a ten-year-old living in the Midwestern
nowheresville of Dayton, Ohio when she won a school competition with a performance of
Rudyard Kiplings How the Camel Got His Hump. After that came other competitions,
other trophies, and a gradual realization that her voice was perfect for cartoons. By her late
teens, Cartwright was working for a radio station where she met a Hollywood studio
representative who gave her the name and phone number of Daws Butler, the legendary
voice of cartoon favourites Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear.
At just 19, and with only that one contact, Cartwright, like so many other wannabe
starlets, packed her bags and headed west, transferring her university scholarship from
Ohio to the University of California. Cartwright, however, was no ordinary blonde starlet.
Most people who come to Hollywood are looking to get on camera, she says. My story is
quite different. My purpose was to hook up with this pioneer of the voiceover industry, so
thats what I did. He put her in touch with the directors at the Hanna-Barbera studio and
helped her get the voice of Gloria in Richie Rich the adventures of the richest boy in the
world.
Then came the call from the producers of a 30-second cartoon spot on The Tracey
Ullman Show. They wanted her to play the role of Lisa Simpson, a nerdy and morally
upstanding know-all with a bratty little brother, Bart. I went in, saw Lisa, and didnt really
see anything I could sink my teeth into, says Cartwright. But the audition piece for Bart was
right there, and Im like, Whoa, ten years old, underachiever and proud of it!, and Im
going, Yeah, man thats the one I wanna do! She knew the audition was a success
when Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, started cracking up and shouting, Thats
it! Thats Bart! Its no surprise to learn that Barts catchphrase Eat my shorts! was
originally an ad lib by Cartwright. The Bart voice had long been a part of Cartwrights
repertoire, but it didnt come alive until she saw the pictures of him and read the script. The
material, meanwhile, which was pretty heady stuff in the late eighties, didnt shock her.
You know what, she says, I couldnt believe I was actually getting paid for doing things I
would get into trouble for doing as a kid.
1. How do adults tend to react when Nancy uses Barts voice in public?

2. How does Nancy feel about keeping a relatively low profile?

3. Why did Nancy originally decide to go to Hollywood?

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4. In what way was she different from the other prospective starlets there?

5. How did she actually get the part of Bart Simpson?

B)

Fill in the blanks with only one word.

(10)
SUSHI CHEF

Kazutoshi Endo has been making the Japanese fish and rice delicacy known as sushi
for thirteen years. Yet he wants to (1) it clear that he is still very
much a beginner. In fact, he is quite adamant about it, (2) being
head sushi chef at one of Londons leading Japanese restaurants.
Endo comes from a hard-working family in the port city of Yokohama and is a third
generation sushi chef.

Although as a child he was (3)

encouraged to follow in his fathers footsteps, and actually trained to be a PE teacher

instead, it was always Endos ambition to (4) so. Yet he was
never taught (5) to do. The way you learn in Japan is to watch.
Some chefs spend three years washing sushi rice, whilst at the same time watching
their masters (6) work.
It takes (7) concentration to keep an eye on Endos hands as he
makes sushi, however. All it takes is just a (8) quick cuts with
his knife and a neat pile of perfectly sliced octopus sits on the counter. A sushi roll
(9) look like a piece of rice, but apparently it takes years to get
the touch, to be able to roll rice with exactly the right amount of pressure. As Endo
says: Shushi (10) to be mastered. I cant explain the process
in words.

C)

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Put the verbs in the correct place and in the correct tense. Add modals if necessary.
(15)
ALLOW

READ

BEGIN

BE

COVER

KEEP
DO

SUGGEST

SEND

ASK

Some years ago, I received a letter from a stranger, Joanna King.

No sooner

(1) . ( I ) reading it than I thought it was one of those

pleasant fan letters that authors are occasionally cheered by, but I was wrong. Joanna
had an aunt, aged ninety-eight, who (2) .. a diary from the
age of thirteen until she was ninety-four.

Neither Joanna nor her husband

(3) . (ever) to read any of these diaries, but as their

relative

was

woman

of

strong

opinions,

they

thought

they

(4) . interesting.
The point of writing to me was (5) . my advice. I had
written a memoir about my own mother and grandmother, two ordinary women with little
claim to fame. (6) .it, Joanna had started wondering if
there was some value in her aunts diaries as a social document.

What

(7) . with them? Could I make any suggestions?

I recommended that she (8) . them to a university and
enclosed various names and addresses. I said the thought of someone keeping a diary
over such a length of time, so neatly (9) . most of a
century, was in itself extraordinary. She wrote back asking if I was intrigued enough to
want to make something of them myself.

I hadnt thought of that but once

(10) ., I began to toy with the prospect.

D)

Make all the changes and additions necessary to produce sentences that, together,
make a coherent whole.

Dear Sir/Madam,
1. I wish / complain / broadband speeds I / receive from FASTNET.
..
..

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2. I / subscribe / your service / June and pay $30 / month.
.
.
3. Last four weeks / I / suffer/ low speeds / evening. / connection speed / less / 2MBs.
.
.
4. This make / Internet connection useless / evening, / peak time / me / my family.

5. I / call your company / helpline and no-one / able / improve / situation.

6. Instead, I / tell / just switch off / computer/ wait five minutes / then / switch / on again.

7. None / this / have / effect / problem and I / estimate I / spend / least / four hours /
phone / customer and technical support departments.

8. I / not have / problems before / so I /extremely disappointed / service / your company

9. I / appreciate / you / contact me / advise / when / you / resolve / problem.

10. I / wait / hear / you / before / take / further action.

.
.

E)

Rewrite the following sentences without changing their meaning.

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(10)

1. Our neighbour made us reinforce the fence because our dog kept getting through.
We were
in order to
2. I know that it was wrong of me to get angry in front of the children.
I know that I should .. temper in
front of the children.
3. The students did not return from the end-of-term party until it was getting dark.
Not until ..
...
4. The police acted quickly, thus preventing a real fight between rival groups.
Had the police ..., there

5. We missed the train because we arrived at the station late.

By the time left.

F. COMPOSITION

(30)

Choose ONE of the following questions and write about 200-250 words, in an
appropriate style.

1) You have seen this announcement in an international newspaper.

We need people to live in a remote mountain area for three

months with only each other for support. Their experiences will be
filmed and shown as part of a television series called Survival.
Have you got the skills to survive in a hostile environment, and
work in a team? Tell us why you should be included in the project.

Write your letter of application. You do not need to include postal addresses.

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2) You have had a class discussion on whether technology has really improved
the quality of our lives. Now your teacher has asked you to write an essay on
the subject of Technology is it a good or a bad thing? You should think
about communication, travel and home life.
Write your essay.
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KEY/ ADVANCED / FINAL EXAM

A. - READING COMPREHENSION (Suggested model answers)
1. People do not seem to like it much. They are surprised, but Nancys use of Barts
voice has not allowed her to claim any celebrity perks.
2. She enjoys having the possibility to avoid being recognized. She can choose not
to get any attention whereas other celebrities cannot avoid being recognized and
cannot ignore the publics attention at will.
3. She had realized her voice was perfect for cartoons so she went to Hollywood to
find an actor who played famous characters so that she would be able to find a
job with the voiceover industry.
4. She wasnt looking for a role in a film. She only wanted a job in a cartoon film.
5. She had intended to audition for Lisa Simpsons part but she couldnt really think
of something inspiring but she suddenly felt that she had the right voice for Bart
and decided to try for his part.
B. - CLOZE
1.- make
6.- at

2.- despite
7.- some/much

3.- not/never
8.- few

4.- do
9.- may

5.- what
10.- needs/has

C. - TENSES
1.- had I begun
3.- had ever been allowed
5.- to ask
7.- might/could be done
9.- covering

2.- had kept

4.- would be
6.- Having read
8.- (should) send
10.- suggested

D. - MAKE ALL THE CHANGES AND ADDITIONS NECESSARY TO PRODUCE

SENTENCES THAT, TOGETHER, MAKE A COHERENT WHOLE.
1. I wish to complain about the broadband speeds I / am receiving/have been
receiving from Fastnet.
2. I /have (been) subscribed to your service since June/ subscribed to your service
last June and have been paying $30 a/per month.
3. In / For the last four weeks I / have been suffering/ have suffered from low
speeds in the evening. The connection speed is less than 2MBs.
4. This makes the Internet connection useless in the evening, (which is) a peak
time for me and my family.
5. I have called/ have been calling your companys helpline and no-one has been
able to improve the situation.
6. Instead, Ive been told/ I was told to just switch off the computer, wait five
minutes and then switch it on again.
7. None of this has had any effect on the problem and I (would) estimate I (have)
spent at least four hours on the phone to your customer and technical support
departments.
8. I hadnt had any problems before so I am extremely disappointed by the service
from your company.
9. I would appreciate it if you could contact me to advise me when you will (be able
to) resolve this problem.
10. I will wait to hear from you before I take any further action.

E. - PARAPHRASING
1- We were MADE TO REINFORCE THE FENCE in order to STOP OUR DOG
GETTING THROUGH/PREVENT OUR DOG FROM GETTING THROUGH.

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2- I know that I should NOT HAVE LOST MY temper in front of the children.
3- Not until IT WAS GETTING DARK DID THE STUDENTS RETURN FROM THE
END-OF-TERM PARTY.
4- Had the police NOT ACTED QUICKLY, there WOULD HAVE BEEN A REAL
FIGHT BETWEEN RIVAL GROUPS.
5- By the time WE ARRIVED AT THE STATION, THE TRAIN HAD ALREADY left.