NOTE: Choose option A or B, and answer the questions from 1 to 4. For question 5, you can choose to write the composition that you like best, from either option A or option B.

OPTION A

DO ELECTRIC CARS POSE A GREATER FIRE RISK THAN PETROL OR DIESEL VEHICLES?

When a fire started in a car park at Luton airport last month, it caused a round of speculations that an electric vehicle (EV) was to blame. The theory was quickly rejected by the Bedfordshire fire service, which said the blaze appeared to have started in a diesel car. Yet the rumour did not stop, spreading on social media like, well, wildfire.

The claims about electric car fires fall into two broad categories. The first is that fires are more common in electric cars, while the second is that when fires break out, they are more damaging.

If electric cars do pose more of a fire risk than petrol or diesel, that would have a lot of consequences. One could be a requirement for larger car park spaces to stop fires spreading, while the Conservative MP Greg Smith, who serves on the Transport Committee, said in July that EV owners should pay higher insurance premiums to cover the extra costs to firefighters.

There are millions of electric cars on roads around the world, so some data on the prevalence of fires is slowly emerging. That evidence suggests there is no reason to think that EVs are more likely to go up in flames, several experts have said. Indeed, the opposite appears to be true. "All the data shows that EVs are just much, much less likely to set on fire than their petrol equivalent", said Colin Walker, the head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think-tank. "The many, many fires that you have for petrol or diesel cars just aren't reported." Elon Musk's TESLA is the world's biggest maker of electric cars. It says the number of fires on US roads involving TESLAs from 2.012 to 2.021 was 11 times lower per mile than the figure for all cars, the vast majority of which have petrol or diesel engines.

Despite the increased danger once a battery fire is burning, the probability of being caught in an EV fire appears overall to be much lower than for petrol or diesel cars, based on currently available data. However, this could change as more and more people get electric cars. (Fragment adapted from The Guardian.)

1) BRIEFLY ANSWER ONLY 4 OUT OF THE FOLLOWING 6 QUESTIONS WITH ONLY THE DATA REQUIRED (NOT A WHOLE SENTENCE) (2 POINTS; 0.5 POINTS EACH).

1. Who refuted speculation about the blaze at Luton airport parking?
2. How are fires in EVs compared to fires in other cars?
3. Who should pay more expensive car insurance?
4. Is it true that, according to Colin Walker, there are fewer fires in petrol or diesel cars than in EV's?
5. What does "it" in line 17 refer to?
6. Is the probability of being caught in an EV fire overall much lower than for petrol or diesel cars based on current data?

2) ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? INDICATE THE LINES THAT SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER (1 POINT).

1. If electric cars went up in flames frequently, larger parking spaces should be allowed to prevent the spread of fire.
2. From 2.012 to 2.021, the number of TESLAs involved in fires was much higher than the number of EVs which burnt on the road.

3) CHOOSE a OR b, ONLY ONE CHOICE IS CORRECT ACCORDING TO THE TEXT (1 POINT).

a) There was a false rumour in social media about an EV which set on fire at Luton airport.
b) Currently, the probability of being caught in an electric car fire seems to be higher than in other types of cars.

4) VOCABULARY (2 POINTS).

4.1 Choose one of the options below and find one word in the text for its definition (0.6 POINTS):
a) Assign responsibility for mistakes.
b) Amounts to be paid for an insurance policy.

4.2 Find a synonym in the text for one of the two words below (0.6 POINTS):
a) harmful
b) huge

4.3 For one of the following words from the text, give a synonym that fits the meaning of the text (0.8 POINTS):
a) broad (line 5)
b) figure (line 18)

5) WRITE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TOPIC USING BETWEEN 120-150 WORDS (4 POINTS).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars? Justify your answer.

OPTION B

WHAT'S A SWIFTPOSIUM? ACADEMICS STUDY A POP STAR'S ENORMOUS INFLUENCE

Taylor Swift — one of America's most decorated pop stars, whose concerts cause actual seismic activity— is again inspiring academic conferences. Academics in Australia and New Zealand are inviting fellow scholars to participate in a "Swiftposium," an unconventional conference to be held at the University of Melbourne from Feb. 11 to 13 next year, just days before Swift is due to perform in the city and in Sydney as part of her Eras tour. Academics may participate in person or online, the event's organizers said.

Scholars participating in the event are invited to submit papers that may deal with: Swift's impact on social movements such as feminism and LGBTQ+ rights; her influence on political discourse; literary interpretations of the singer's lyrics; the marketing strategy of the singer; and the "economic impacts" of Swift's cultural prominence. Interested participants are advised to send in abstracts of their papers within 300 words, and to include their names, affiliations, paper title and short bio by Oct. 31.

The singer's popularity is making its way into academia. Her songs have inspired a literary course at Ghent University, in Belgium, that uses her lyrics to explore 14th-century texts. In 2.021, academics gathered at the University of Oklahoma to assess Swift's impact on culture and music. And New York-University has revealed they'll be introducing a course which focuses on the career and cultural impact of the 32-year-old music icon.

The singer-songwriter has been selling out concerts in her Eras tour this year in North America; earning hundreds of millions of dollars; getting an honorary mention by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia for boosting the local economy when she performed there; creating new jobs in newspapers; and inspiring Santa Clara, Calif., to name her as its honorary mayor. Her jump from teen country-pop singer to extremely popular music star is partly due to her recent indie-folk albums, which convinced some music critics to start taking her music more seriously, and the explosion of her social media presence through TikTok. (Fragment adapted from The Washington Post.)

1) BRIEFLY ANSWER ONLY 4 OUT OF THE FOLLOWING 6 QUESTIONS WITH ONLY THE DATA REQUIRED (NOT A WHOLE SENTENCE) (2 POINTS; 0.5 POINTS EACH).

1. What unconventional conference related to Taylor Swift is taking place at the University of Melbourne?
2. When is the "Swiftposium" scheduled to be held?
3. How can academics participate in the "Swiftposium" event?
4. Name one topic that scholars are encouraged to explore in the papers submitted for the "Swiftposium."
5. What is New York University planning to introduce, regarding Taylor Swift?
6. Did the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia give the singer-songwriter an honorary mention?

2) ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? INDICATE THE LINES THAT SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER (1 POINT).

1. The "Swiftposium" conference is a conventional academic gathering in the University of New Zeland.
2. Taylor Swift's Eras tour this year in North America has been highly successful.

3) CHOOSE a OR b, ONLY ONE CHOICE IS CORRECT ACCORDING TO THE TEXT (1 POINT).

a) Taylor Swift's songs have motivated the creation of a literary course at Ghent University in Belgium, examining 14th century texts using her lyrics.
b) The singer's Eras tour did not have an impact on enhancing the local economy in Philadelphia.

4) VOCABULARY (2 POINTS).

4.1 Choose one of the options below and find one word in the text for its definition (0.6 POINTS):
a) Persons who take part in or become involved in a particular activity.
b) A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.

4.2 Find a synonym in the text for one of the two words below (0.6 POINTS):
a) celebrities
b) unusual

4.3 For one of the following words from the text, give a synonym that fits the meaning of the text (0.8 POINTS):
a) city (line 4)
b) discourse (line 8)

5) WRITE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TOPIC USING BETWEEN 120-150 WORDS (4 POINTS).

Do you like going to music festivals? Justify your answer, please.