READING — Young people's screen time

(Paragraph 1, line 1) As we can attest from firsthand experience, regular TV viewership has been decreasing as streaming services like Netflix are becoming increasingly popular. The amount of time kids and teens spend watching TV has dropped. In 2.013, young people spent an average of 3 hours per day in front of the television screen; today, it's an hour and 12 minutes. So, have youths reduced their screen time? Not really. Studies show rather that they have traded the TV screen for their phone and laptop. Now the average youth watches 97 minutes of YouTube and 95 minutes of TikTok per day.

(Paragraph 2, line 7) A few years ago, two Oxford researchers captured the media's attention by concluding that screen time was as bad for teen mental health as… potatoes! Their paper even stated that social media had no psychological negative effects. However, most of the evidence points to the contrary. Two Spanish researchers argued that the Oxford study's conclusions were "extremely misleading", after they found that the use of social media was strongly linked to mental health issues, while TV and gaming were only weakly related. Other studies confirmed this and added that the worst effects impacted girls 50% more than boys.

(Paragraph 3, line 13) It's time to abandon the idea that screen time doesn't matter for mental health. It does. It's just that some screen time matters more than others. Social media seems the most problematic. For practical purposes, that's good news. Parents, policymakers, and teens themselves don't need to consider giving up technology; instead, they can focus on cutting back on social media time. There are other ways teens can stay in touch with friends virtually, like texting, gaming together or meeting on FaceTime or Zoom.

Adapted from the bbc.com/news/education

PART I. 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. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. No marks are given for T or F.

1. The decline in regular TV viewership is correlated with the rise in popularity of streaming services like Netflix.
2. The Oxford researchers concluded that social media has a significant negative impact on mental health.
3. Spanish researchers studied the effect of videogames on young people.
4. The author suggests that adolescents should avoid interacting with friends online.

PART II. LEXICON / PHONETICS (2 POINTS):

A. LEXICON. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer) Find a synonym for each of the following words.

1. Decreased:
2. Proof:
3. Leave:
4. Difficult, tricky:

B. PHONETICS. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer) Answer these four questions.

1. Write one word from the text that includes the diphthong /aɪ/. Write the number of the line where you find this word in the text.
2. How is the "ed" pronounced in reduced: / t /, / d / or / ɪd /?
3. How is the "th" pronounced in other: / ð / or / θ /?
4. How is the "s" pronounced in teens: / s /, / z / or / ɪz /?

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. Clearly identify the sentences you choose using the numbers here.

1. Two Oxford researchers captured the media's attention.
   The media's attention _______
2. I sometimes miss the school bus because I get up very late.
   If _______
3. My mother said "I'll lend you some curtains tomorrow".
   My mother said _______
4. I'd like to have a lot of money but that's just a dream.
   If only _______
5. Paul likes to drink red wine rather than white wine.
   Paul prefers _______
6. I am sure he is at home. The light is on.
   He _______
7. I have just visited the village. I was born there.
   I have _______
8. I haven't eaten a sandwich for years.
   The last time _______
9. Write the correct question for the underlined words.
   My sister arrived at 2 pm.

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 use of mobile phones in schools. Give your opinion.

OPTION 2. Digital books in schools: advantages and disadvantages.