TEXT 1: The First Sign of Civilization

(Paragraph 1, line 1) Margaret Mead was an American anthropologist who demonstrated through her studies of primitive cultures that differences in human behaviour are not due to innate differences among individuals, but rather the result of cultural influence on individual development. She was also an advocate for gender equality, human rights and the importance of education in society.

(Paragraph 2, line 6) During one of her lectures, she was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But that wasn't her answer.

(Paragraph 3, line 9) Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.

(Paragraph 4, line 14) A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell and has bound up the wound. Moreover, they must have carried the person to safety in order to be assisted until full recovery. "Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts", Mead said. We are at our best when we serve others.

Adapted from "The Best Care Possible" by Ira Byock

TEXT 1. QUESTIONS — 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.

1. According to Mead, human behaviour is birth-determined.
2. The student mentioned thought the first signs of civilization were nothing but material objects ancient people used.
3. In the animal kingdom, animals die before their broken bone can heal.
4. A healed femur showed that primitive people were unable to treat injuries.

PART II. LEXICON / PHONETICS (2 POINTS) — TEXT 1

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.

1. natural, inherent:
2. cured:
3. injury:
4. help:

B. PHONETICS. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer) Answer these four questions. Write the number of the line in which the word is found when requested.

1. Look for a word containing the diphthong /eɪ/. (LINE _______)
2. How is the ED pronounced in EXPLAINED: / t /, / d / or / ɪd /?
3. Find a word with the same sound as in HEAL /iː/. (LINE _______)
4. How is the G pronounced in GENDER: / g /, / tʃ / or / dʒ /?

TEXT 2: A Peculiar Skyscraper

In Vancouver, there's a skyscraper that's taller on the inside than on the outside.

(Paragraph 1, line 1) In 2.015, Vancouver firefighters conducted a drill in the Quay West residential skyscraper. The interior team climbed the building's stairs to meet the exterior team, which used an extendable platform. The meeting of the firefighters was supposed to happen on the 32nd floor. But when the interior firefighters reached the floor marked as 32, they found that the exterior team was actually 4 floors higher. However, both were technically on the 32nd floor. Where were those four missing floors?

(Paragraph 2, line 8) Part of the blame for the disappearance of those floors lies with triskaidekaphobia: the fear of the number 13. This fear leads to some buildings worldwide omitting the 13th floor. In many cases, it's not that the 13th floor doesn't exist, of course; it's just renamed. Sometimes, it's replaced with 12A or the letter M (the 13th letter of the alphabet).

(Paragraph 3, line 12) But this superstition would only explain the lack of one floor in the Vancouver skyscraper, not four. This is where we get to a linguistic anomaly. In Chinese, the number 4 is pronounced as /sì/, which sounds quite similar to /sǐ/, the sound of the word "death." Although the ideograms are different (四 for four and 死 for death), the phonetic similarity is striking. And since "four" sounds like "death," it's common for buildings in the Far East to omit any reference to the fourth floor, as well as the 14th, 24th, 34th, and any number ending in four.

(Paragraph 4, line 18) But if this fear of the number 4 is an East Asian thing, why does it happen in Vancouver? Vancouver is one of the Western cities with a sizable Oriental community. Furthermore, the architect of Quay West is a man of Chinese descent named James Cheng. This is a clear example of how language can shape reality.

Adapted from Instagram - @pedrotorrijos

TEXT 2. QUESTIONS — 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.

1. The firefighters who performed the drill planned to meet on the same floor.
2. The 13th floor is never built in any worldwide building.
3. Number "four" and the word for "death" are pronounced very similarly in Chinese.
4. Few citizens in Vancouver come from China.

PART II. LEXICON / PHONETICS (2 POINTS) — TEXT 2

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

1. arrived at, got to:
2. in fact, really:
3. absence:
4. remarkable:

B. PHONETICS. (1 POINT) Answer these four questions.

1. How is the "EA" pronounced in FEAR: /ɜː/, /ɪə/ or /eə/?
2. How is the "S" pronounced in LIES: /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/?
3. How is the "TH" pronounced in ALTHOUGH: / ð / or / θ /?
4. Look for a word containing the sound /ʌ/. (LINE _______)

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. I haven't had my eyes tested for a long time.
   It is a long time _______
2. "Where did the annual meeting of the World Bank take place?", she asked me.
   She wanted to know _______
3. That blond kid climbed the tree to fetch the ball.
   That is the blond kid _______
4. John didn't revise his homework. Therefore, he made a lot of mistakes.
   If John _______
5. Despite giving up her Japanese lessons, she was still capable of holding a conversation.
   Although _______
6. I am sorry I didn't apologize to her.
   If only _______
7. They don't allow parking in the hospital premises.
   Parking _______
8. People think this winter is warmer than ever.
   This winter _______
9. It is not necessary for you to wear a uniform.
   You _______
10. Pupils had never taken a tougher maths test.
    That was _______
11. I was so sorry I told him the truth.
    I regretted _______
12. _______?
    Rose's babysitter always picks her children up outside the school gate. (Make a question for the underlined part)

PART IV. WRITING

Write ONE of these two compositions (3 POINTS). Your composition must have at least 125 words.

OPTION 1: Living in the present world rather than in the past has more advantages than disadvantages. Discuss.

OPTION 2: Do you believe in luck? Can luck change people's lives? Give your opinion.