Inglés – Prueba de Promoción, Junio 2020

Nivel B2.2

Junta de Comprensión de Textos Escritos: 75m /20

Castilla y León
Consejería de Educación Apellidos
ESCUELA OFICIAL DE IDIOMAS
PONFERRADA Nombre DNI

Task 1 (5 x 1.5 = 7.5 marks) MARK

You are going to read a magazine article about photography. For questions 1-5,
choose the best option (a, b or c). Write your answers in the box provided. Question
0 is an example. © Cengage Learning

0. What is Jim trying to do in the first paragraph?

a. convince the reader that his method of working is appropriate

b. explain his approach towards taking good photographs
c. remind himself that he should listen to the ideas of others

1. Why does Jim provide an example in the second paragraph?

a. to describe what he imagines the next place he will visit to be like

b. to offer details of what he has discovered about Skellig Michael
c. to show how he prepares himself mentally before going to a new place

2. How does Jim feel about the cruise he will go on?

a. excited about getting ready for the perfect shot in advance

b. confident he will produce better work than other photographers
c. uninterested in certain aspects of preparing for travel

3. What point does Jim make about photographers in the fourth paragraph?

a. They are unable to decide on the best plan of action.

b. It is possible for them to adopt flexible ways of working.
c. Some of them refuse to try to understand the way others work.

4. What does 'this' refer to in the fifth paragraph?

a. having a daily plan of travel

b. knowing which angles to avoid
c. looking at photo websites

5. What does Jim suggest in the final paragraph?

a. He is careful about choosing the right place to visit.

b. Many people who travel don't understand what they see.
c. He likes to go to places that few people bother to visit.

0 1 2 3 4 5
b
 PHOTO RESEARCH
Photographer Jim Richardson tells us how he aims to get the most from photo shoots.

'If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of better stuff.' That's a simple mantra and I
repeat it over and over to myself. I share it with other photographers and I endeavour to follow my
own advice. As a result, I spend a great deal of time doing photo research, looking for great
locations to shoot. Put simply, l'm a better photographer when l'm standing in front of something
wonderful like the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA.

Seeing wonderful places is bread-and-butter photography - it's just part of the job. But getting
there is only half of any great photograph's story. The other half is how the photographer prepares
to capture the subject once in front of it. Example: today my mind is absorbed in the long climb up
Skellig Michael, a remote island isolated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. In my head I
am getting ready to be among the little huts in the monastery at the summit, in the mindset of
those who sought their spirituality in the vast Atlantic all those years ago.

In four days I'll be setting sail on a cruise of the British and Irish lsles, and I'll have a chance once
again to ascend the slopes of Skellig Michael. I want to be ready to seize the day. For me,
groundwork is part of photography, as essential as knowing exposure and lighting or recognising
the decisive moment to take the shot. Research sounds like a boring task to many photographers,
but for others, digging into a subject in advance is part of the pleasure. l'm one of those
photographers.

Philosophically, photographers seem to divide along that line. On one side are those who desire
only to be in the moment. On the other side are the planners. These folks would never dream of
going out the door without a full list of how they're going to approach the shoot. (Actually, there is a
third group nowadays. They just capture the whole scene and do all the creative work in
Photoshop after the event.) Fortunately, it doesn't have to be an either/or decision. Most
photographers I know do both: research extensively to prepare their schedule (and their minds)
and then act in the moment once on site.

I do extensive research in order to get ready for a photographic trip. This includes creating a file
for each location l'm due to visit. For my upcoming cruise I already know where we are going day
by day. So I start a file for each place and begin to compile information. Knowing what the place
looks like in advance is invaluable, so I’ll hit several internet photo sites. This can show me what
angles have already become overused and which I should therefore avoid. But I’ll also find angles
I didn't expect from locations I hadn't imagined. Armed with these I’ll be better prepared to push
the boundaries of what people expect.

Above all, I'll look for places and events that are seasonal and timeless. I open my mind to what
might make a great subject for a picture. Most travellers tend to think only of places they're visiting,
without looking deeper into culture, history or meaning. I try to get in time with the rhythm of the
place and in tune with its melody. But most of all I just want to be ready. If I'm ready, I can just
about count on being lucky.
Task 2 (10 x 0.75 = 7.5 marks) MARK
Read an article in which four people talk about going to the cinema. For questions 1-10
choose from the authors (A-D). The authors may be chosen more than once. Write your
answers in the box provided. Question 0 is an example. © Cengage Learning

Going to the cinema

A. Jonathan
My family went to the cinema every Saturday when I was a child. My parents both worked long
hours, so we didn't see much of each other during the week, and going to the local Picture Palace
meant a great deal to all of us. The habit stayed with me as I got older, and although l'm a great
reader, and a fan of the arts in general, nothing comes close to the feeling I get when l'm fully
absorbed in a film. That's not to say I'll watch anything, in fact l'm very critical of bad movies. I saw
something just recently I wanted to walk out of, but had to sit through it to the end as a good friend
of mine had talked me into going, and was laughing all the way through. When he asked me
afterwards what I'd thought about it, I had to choose my words carefully!
B. Ivan
Even though I've always loved films, I never went to the cinema much when I was younger. I
preferred watching TV with my friends. There used to be three cinemas in the town I grew up in,
and I suppose I just thought they'd always be there. They're long gone, of course, replaced by
blocks of flats, and now I wish I'd been more often. These days, the nearest cinema is half an
hour's drive away from my home. I go as often as I can, because watching a film on a big screen is
the only way to truly appreciate it, in my opinion. I took a film studies course in my first year at
university, because I'd decided to learn about the cinema industry in depth, and at that time I
thought I might like to become a producer myself one day. I'm actually working in the music
industry now!
C. Liam
My interest in films dates back to a visit to the cinema with my father when I was about nine. We
didn't go very often, tending to watch things like nature documentaries on TV at home. He'd picked
the film and thought I'd like it because it was a spy drama, which I did, even though I hadn't really
got a clue what was going on. There was something wonderful about the sense of occasion, and
the thrill of watching a film in a crowd of other people. I was hooked. It also turned out that one of
the actors lived in the next street to us, and I'd often seen him in our neighbourhood. I'd never had
a clue who he was before then and was very impressed. A few years later, I started writing a film
blog, and I'd like to make a living as a film critic one day.
D. Simon
My parents rarely went to the cinema, so it was only as a teenager that I started going to the
cinema with my friends, and realised what I'd been missing. Sadly, I'll never make up for losing out
on the magic of seeing things on the big screen as a young child, but have done my best to make
up for it ever since! I got a summer job in our local cinema, which I absolutely loved, because apart
from selling tickets, I could see films for free. Then the manager asked me if I'd like to work at a
week-long film festival in a neighbouring town. I met all sorts of amazing people with similar
interests to mine, and a group of us ended up running our own independent film festival a few years
later.

Which person …

0. enjoyed going to the cinema when he was a child? 0 A

1. mentions feeling confused at the cinema? 1
2. took advantage of an opportunity someone gave him? 2
3. was persuaded to see a film he didn’t enjoy? 3
4. wishes he’d discovered his love of film earlier? 4
5. wanted to research something thoroughly? 5
6. hopes he will be able to turn his interest into a job? 6
 7. explains the importance of the regular visits he made to the cinema? 7
8. made a surprising discovery? 8
9. regrets taking something for granted? 9
10. states a preference for film over the media? 10

Task 3 (10 x 0.5 = 5 marks) MARK

Read the text and complete each blank with ONE suitable word from the box. Each
word can be used only ONCE. There are 4 extra words you will not need. Item 0 is an
example. © Cambridge University Press (adapted)

A FAMOUS EXPLORER

Captain James Cook is (0) famous today for being one of Britain’s most famous explorers of the
18th century. Cook was (1) ________ most other explorers of the same period as he did not come
from a wealthy family and had to work hard to (2) ________ his position in life. He was lucky to be
(3) ________ by his father’s employer, who saw that he was a bright boy and paid for him to
attend the village school. At sixteen, he started work in a shop in a fishing village (4) ________ on
the coast and this was a turning (5) ________ in his life. He developed an interest in the sea and
eventually joined the Royal Navy (6) ________ to see more of the world.
Cook was fascinated by sailing, astronomy and the production of maps, and quickly became an
expert (7) ________ these subjects. He was also one of the first people to (8) ________ that
scurvy, an illness often suffered by sailors, could be prevented by careful attention to diet. It was
during his voyage to the Pacific Ocean that Cook made his historic landing in Australia and the (9)
________ discovery of New Zealand was two separate islands. He became a national hero and
still (10) ________ one today.

achieve different famous for in

in order major moment noticed of
point realise remains situated unlike

ANSWER BOX

0 famous

1 6

2 7

3 8

4 9

5 10