PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD JAVERIANA.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Communication and Language
First Mid Term Exam – English 7 International Business
NAME: Carolina Burgos

THE USE OF CELLPHONES OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL RESULT IN THE

ANNULMENT OF THE EXAM.
READING COMPREHENSION. (20 points)

Read the following text and answer the following questions that follow.

50% of the each point will be given for the validity of your answer, and 50% will be given for vocabulary and
correct grammar use.

Regardless of whether there is correct grammar and/or vocabulary, you will lose 100% of the point if the answer is
NOT valid.

You must answer using your own words. If you copy and paste you will lose 100% of the point.

UNLIKE conventional wars, the one that has broken out between Mexico and the United States is not starting on the
border. Some 178,000 people still cross over daily from Tijuana to San Diego, 33km (21 miles) away, through the
busiest border post between the two countries. The Mexican city is home to an estimated 100,000 Americans, many
of whom commute to jobs in the United States.

But the conflict that Donald Trump has provoked with Mexico is causing unease, even dread in Tijuana, a city of
1.7m people. “We’re heading for confrontation,” says David Mayagoitia of the Tijuana economic development
corporation. “It’s just the details that are still to be discovered.” José Luis, a driver, fears that “Trump will declare
war,” an actual shooting war, “if we don’t pay for the wall.” This is far-fetched, but one can see why Mexicans are
worried.

Mr Trump’s executive order to start building his long-threatened border wall was among the 14 he signed during his
extraordinary first week in office. It also calls for an increase in the number of border-patrol agents and customs
officers. Another order partly aimed at Mexico threatens to cut off federal money to “sanctuary cities” (those that
make no effort to catch or help deport illegal immigrants). Mr Trump vowed again to make Mexico pay for the wall.
Perhaps, his underlings mused, the way to do this would be to impose a 20% tax on Mexican exports to the United
States.

Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, tried to keep his cool. He condemned the wall directive (signed, insultingly,
the day Mexico’s foreign minister arrived in Washington for informal talks). Nonetheless, he did not at first cancel
his plan to visit Washington on January 31st. On January 26th Mr Trump fired off an intemperate tweet: “If Mexico
is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.” That left Mr
Peña with no choice but to call it off.

The two presidents later spoke for an hour by telephone. During the call they “acknowledged their clear and very
public differences” on how to pay for the wall, according to the Mexican statement. But this leaves Mexicans none
the wiser about what Mr Trump’s new “fair relationship” with Mexico will look like.

For Tijuana, any arrangement that disrupts the 23-year-old North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which
includes Canada, would be a disaster. More than 200,000 jobs are in maquiladora factories, in which workers
assemble parts for export, mainly to the United States. Of the $530bn in bilateral trade between the United States and
Mexico in 2015, $43bn passed through Tijuana. Gilberto Leyva, who runs the city’s branch of the national chamber
of commerce, fears that many maquiladoras will close. If Mr Trump imposes a 20% border tax, 30,000-40,000 jobs
could be lost, reckons Mr Mayagoitia.
Tijuanenses have worries beyond trade. Many Mexicans fear that Mr Trump’s order could raise sharply the number
of deportations. Under Barack Obama these were already very high: 360,000 a year on average from 2009 to 2015.
Many deportees might stay in Tijuana to remain near friends and relatives in the United States or to wait for a chance
to return. That could cause problems. “Tijuana is already over-populated,” says Mr Leyva. Ignacio Castillo, who
sells books from a stand in a park, worries that Mr Trump will deport mainly people with criminal records. “Good
people are fine, they’ll work,” he says. “But bad people….” He leaves the thought unfinished.

That fighting spirit is tempering Tijuana’s anxiety. The city will “adapt and diversify”, says David Moreno of the
mayor’s office. He thinks the situation was worse during the recession caused by the global financial crisis in 2008.
No tariff that Mr Trump imposes is likely to wipe out Mexico’s cost advantage, some businessmen believe.

Maquiladoras are used to cutting costs and can do so again, by automating, generating their own electricity and
using local suppliers, the factory manager says. The mayor’s office is working on packages of incentives for
investors, including reductions in property taxes and fees for permits. It is stepping up promotion of Tijuana in Asia
and Europe as a destination for investment. Even if NAFTA collapses, Californians will still come for cheap
dentistry and a legal drinking age of 18 (three years younger than that across the border).

Nor does the wall hold terrors for feisty Tijuanenses. The border in this area is already protected by a 74km-long
fence. Locals find ways around it. One boasts that he got into the United States by paying to borrow the papers of a
man who looked like him. “There are many ways to cross to the US,” says another man. “And we’re experts.”

Taken and adapted from: http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21715827-fear-and-feistiness-how-mexican-border-city-reacting-

president-trump

1) What is the author’s main purpose for writing this text (3 points)?

The main purpose is to show the problem between the United States and Mexico for the construction of the wall that separates the two
countries, since the United States refuses to host illegal immigrants, and apart from building the wall wants to impose a payment from
Mexico to do it and the principal problem is the difference of views that exist around the construction of this wall and the
consequences that it could bring if they do not agree, because it is being required that Mexico be the one to build it, and if not, it
would have to break bilateral trade agreements and this will bring a series of consequences more than political, labor for both borders.

2) Based on the word Dread in paragraph 2 line 1, choose and circle a correct synonym from the following (1 point):

(a) Death-likeness/ (b) Horror/ (c) Unease/ (d) Anticipation/

3) Why do you think the author thinks it is insulting to have signed The Wall Directive the same day the Mexican foreign
minister arrived in Washington (3 points)?
I think that the author saw this act as insulting because President Trump began to take arbitrary action weeks before the arrival of the
Mexican minister, perhaps thinking that his visit would lead to the acceptance of the construction of the wall. That is why just before
his arrival he wrote that tweet indicating that if Mexico did not accept that it would be better not to go.

4) In paragraph 4 line 3, which connector could replace nonetheless (1 point)?

However or Nevertheless.
5) In paragraph 7, what can you infer from Mr. Leyva’s silence when he says “But bad people….”(3 points)?

That silence means that the bad people would return to Mexico and would not help to improve the country on the contrary would
cause problems for society they could not work but steal or even kill.

6) Why do you think that some businessmen believe that No tariff that Mr Trump imposes is likely to wipe out Mexico’s
cost advantage (3 points)?

It could be said that no tax imposed by the president would end up with the cost advantage in Mexico, because Mexico is one of the
countries with the lowest cost of production.

7) In the final paragraph, what do you think the author means by Nor does the wall hold terrors for feisty Tijuanenses. (3
points)?
I think the author is trying to say that Mexicans are not afraid of the wall or the vigilantes in order to accomplish their goal of crossing
the border.

8) What is your view on the wall and making another nation pay for it? Give reasons for your answer. (3 points)?
I think it shouldn't be done because I feel like we are going back in time and following the cycle and this doesn't help a globalized
planet, and I don't think Mexico should pay for it either, because President Trump is the one who wants to carry out this idea so I think
he should be the one to invest in this action.

GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY (30 points)

AVOIDING REPETITION
Complete the sentences with the correct auxiliary verb. 5 points (1 point each)
1. Your co-workers believe that we should negotiate aggressively this time. Mine do too.

2. Mr. Escobar has been working many extra hours this week. I have too.

3. We hadn’t seen Mr. Lopez presentation at that moment. Had you?

4. I wanted to have our monthly meeting yesterday, but our manager didn’t.

5. Other secretaries are never ready on time. But I always am.

Circle the correct words to complete the sentences. 2.5 points (0.5 each)

1. My computer is OK, but I think I’ll need a better one / a better soon.
2. I spend too much time chatting to friends online, even though I try to / not to.
3. I’d like to get a laptop, but the ones / the one I like tend to be too expensive.
4. I’m saving up to buy a new camera, but I know I won’t be able / able to for some time.
5. My friends are encouraging me to join a new social networking site, but I’m not sure
I want to / want.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT 2.5 points (0.5 points each) 
Circle the correct words to complete the sentences.

1. I just can’t understand this philosophy essay, it’s beyond me / off the top of my head!
2. I don’t think I need to take this class, in fact, I can’t come to terms with it / don’t see the point of it at all.
3. That film has always stuck in my mind / lost my train of thought.
4. It’s a tough class, and I’m finding it hard to keep up, but I’m sure I’ll learn it by heart / get something out of it in the end.
5. I know who wrote that book, it comes to mind / it’s on the tip of my tongue!
 Use the following 4 compound adjectives in 4 of your own sentences. 50% of the each point will be given for correct use of
the compound adjective and 50% will be given for correct grammar use. You will lose 100% of the point if the compound
adjective is not used correctly. (6 points / 1.5 points each)
State-of-the-art / last-minute / custom built / labor-saving

1. All of the improvements they have made are state of the art
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2. I cancelled the appointment in the last minute

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3. the castle was custom-built to protect royalty

4. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device

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NOUN PHRASES 4 points (1 point each) 

Modify the underlined sections of the below sentences with the type of phrase given in parentheses.

1. Young people who text and drive at the same time usually have accidents. (present participle)
Young people texting and driving at the same time usually have accidents
2. People who live near hospitals complain about night-time noise. (prepositional phrase)
People who live next to hospitals complain about night- time noise
3. Meetings that are scheduled every Wednesday finish by 11 am. (past participle with passive meaning)
Meetings scheduled every Wednesday finished by 11 am
4. Most items will be discussed in tomorrow´s conference and they are in the document. (passive infinitive phrase)
Most items of the document to be discussed in tomorrow’s conference
COMBINING IDEAS 6 PTS (1.5 points each)

Rewrite the sentences using the cues in parenthesis

1. The flight from Los Angeles is delayed, so it might arrive at 8:45. It might arrive after 11:00. (either / or - two
alternatives) (

The flight from Los Angeles is delayed, so it might arrive either 8:45 or 11:00

2. Unfortunately, our products won’t be sold in India. They won’t be sold in Pakistan. (neither / nor - combine two phrases in a
negative context) (neither… nor)
Unfortunately, our products will not be sold neither in India, nor in Pakistan.

3. Our company will expand to the north area of the country. It will expand to the south area of the country. (both / and - to
combine two phrases in an affirmative context) (
Our company Will expand to both areas of the country north and south

4. With this control remote, you can turn on the lights. You can turn on the heating system too. (not only / but also - to combine
two phrases in a more emphatic way) (not only…but also)
With this control remote, you can’t only turn on the lights, but also the heating system

Adding Emphasis (4 points / 0.67 each)

Complete the sentences using even, only, so, and such.

1. Many companies are so concerned about data leakage that they do not allow

employees to access personal email on company computers.

2. Apparently even the most careful companies suffer security breaches from time to time.

3. Most companies try hard to keep data safe, but there’s only so much they can do.

4. Losing sensitive data can be so damaging to a company that it might never recover.

5. Data security is such a serious matter that all employees need to be aware of its

importance.

6. Many people don’t even realize that failing to change their passwords regularly is

problematic as far as security is concerned.