TEXT 1: The Importance of Sport for Children's Health

Sport helps children to develop both physically and mentally. Physical activity should be part of our daily life. Practicing any kind of sport from an early age helps children in many ways, for example, group activities improve interaction and social integration. It also improves the mental level and promotes a healthy lifestyle in adulthood, as the habits we acquire as children are often to stay. Sports have multiple health benefits. At a psychological or personality level, sports activities (especially those done in groups) help children to strengthen their social self-esteem, and allow them to understand the importance of having rules and respecting them.

Another aspect to consider is what type of sport or activity will best suit the child depending on his/her conditions and abilities. A timid and shy child is likely to get confidence in a sport where she/he has to relate to peers. For a more active one, an individual sport such as tennis can help better develop her/his ability to concentrate. One of the most relevant issues is the importance of physical exercise, not only in children but also in young and old people, because moderate daily physical exercise helps prevent excess weight and obesity. Taking into account the growth of the percentage of overweight children and young people with obesity in the Western world, the inclusion of sport in the family routine becomes almost mandatory.

Sport can also have the power to help us rest. For all those parents of active children, try to get them to run every day, playing soccer, or swimming or any other activity that keeps them physically active. They will fall asleep in bed in a matter of seconds and you, dads and mums, too.

peer: A person of the same age.

Adapted from www.oblumi.com

TEXT 1. QUESTIONS — 1. READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer). Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. No marks are given for T or F.

1. The habits we get as children usually change when we become adults.
2. Physical activity is important for everybody, no matter the age.
3. In the Western world it is nearly compulsory to do sports to fight obesity.
4. Sport is important for everything except for resting.

PART II. LEXICON / PHONETICS (2 POINTS) — A. LEXICON. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer). Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

• Numerous, many:
• Focus:
• Incorporation:
• Habit, custom:

B. PHONETICS. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer).

1. How is the "th" pronounced in "healthy"? /ð/ or /θ/?
2. How is the final "s" pronounced in "peers"? /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/?
3. How is the "o" pronounced in "world"? /ə/, /ɔː/ or /ɜː/?
4. How is the "o" pronounced in "becomes"? /ʌ/, /eɪ/ or /ɑː/?

TEXT 2: Little pieces of literature in vending machines

The public plazas in Grenoble, France, might appear to be a prototypical European panorama of outdoor cafes, people walking, and picturesque historic architecture. But the city has recently installed a handful of vending machines that, rather than snacks, dispense short stories in an effort to change the way people kill time. Instead of checking Twitter or playing videogames, the city's residents may discover a new story from the publisher Short Édition.

The vending machines can be used for free and operate 24 hours a day. Simply decide how long of a story you'd like (one, three, or five minutes), press the corresponding button, grab the printout and start reading. Currently, there are 600 short stories in the dispensers, which represent the best written works on Short Édition according to its community of 141,000 subscribers and 1,100 authors.

Quentin Plepé, co-founder of Short Édition, and his team came up with the idea a couple of years ago as they were standing around a snack machine in their office. What if the same concept could be applied to literature, they wondered. After two years of development, they finally launched their design. "The city council got involved from the beginning. What they really liked was the fact that the dispensers distribute culture through the city in an original way," Plepé says. "Stories are an important part of our life. More and more people don't take the time anymore to sit and read a book. This is a way to have a little 'bite' of a story, just for a couple of minutes," concludes Plepé.

Adapted from atlasobscura.com

TEXT 2. QUESTIONS — READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS)

1. There have always been machines in Grenoble selling snacks and stories.
2. Readers can choose the length of their stories.
3. Quentin Plepé's team developed the project designed by the council of Grenoble.
4. The city council regarded the initiative as innovative.

PART II. A. LEXICON. (1 POINT) Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

• Seem:
• Distribute:
• Inhabitants:
• Group, association:

B. PHONETICS. (1 POINT)

1. How is the "th" pronounced in "rather"? /ð/ or /θ/?
2. How is the "a" pronounced in "came"? /æ/, /eɪ/ or /ʌ/?
3. How is the "ed" pronounced in "involved"? /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/?
4. Write a word from the text that includes the diphthong /aɪ/.

PART III. USE OF ENGLISH. (3 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer). Choose SIX of these sentences and rewrite them starting with the words given. Only the first six will be corrected. No points will be given for the extra ones.

1. It´s a pity I can´t go to the concert tonight. — I wish
2. Someone will iron Liza´s dress. — Liza
3. Although it was raining heavily, they decided to go camping. — In spite
4. You must do this activity within five minutes. — This activity
5. "When will you travel to London?", Jane asked me. — Jane asked me
6. I missed my dental appointment because you didn´t remind me. — If
7. The police officers are investigating the murder. — The murder
8. If your friend doesn´t come before ten, he will miss the train. — Unless
9. We haven´t tasted this kind of food before. — This is
10. We have such intelligent teachers that everyone is happy. — Our teachers
11. "Let´s buy some sweets", Mary said. — Mary suggested
12. Make a question for which the underlined words may be the answer: Your friend Helen goes to school every day.

PART IV. WRITING — Write ONE of these two compositions (3 POINTS). If you write two, no points will be given to the second one. Your composition must have at least 125 words.

• OPTION 1: The advantages and disadvantages of extreme sports.
• OPTION 2: Would you like to be a professional writer? Give your opinion.