Part 1: Listening comprehension
AMERICA'S BEST KNOWN ARCHITECT
In the following conversation you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them. Make sure you know what they mean.
windbag: persona que pontifica
grace: honorar / honrar
flock: congregar
Ready?
Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to the conversation.
[Now listen to the interview.]
QUESTIONS
Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct.
[3 points; 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.]
1. Why is Frank Lloyd Wright a famous American?
a. His poetry won international prizes.
b. His social activism earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.
c. His designs for buildings are admired by architects everywhere.
d. He advocated the elimination of banks and the banking system.
2. Frank Lloyd Wright wanted people to look to architects and to consult them more because
a. he knew he could build cheaper houses.
b. he wanted to change the type of buildings we live in.
c. he wanted to make money from consulting.
d. he wanted to become the most famous architect in the world.
3. What did Frank Lloyd Wright want to reform in the U.S.?
a. The educational system.
b. The type of farms and agriculture.
c. The general way of life.
d. The role of government.
4. Frank Lloyd Wright liked buildings that
a. were built in modules so that families could move their own home to another state.
b. were tall, like those in the New York City skyline.
c. had lots of windows and which could be seen from a distance.
d. fit into the natural area where they were built.
5. Why did Frank Lloyd Wright not like New York City?
a. He thought the city was over-populated.
b. He thought the type of buildings there represented a money-oriented view of society.
c. He thought there was not enough space for his buildings nor for people.
d. He thought New Yorkers didn't like him.
6. Why is Fallingwater so famous?
a. Because it is made entirely from local wood.
b. Because it was the first home Wright designed.
c. Because it is the largest single family home in Pennsylvania.
d. Because a stream runs inside the building.
7. Which of the following expressions is a synonym for awe in the text?
a. admiration.
b. deception.
c. envy.
d. fear.
8. According to Mr. Wolf, Frank Lloyd Wright
a. is an over-rated architect.
b. deserves his fame.
c. was a pretty boring person.
d. spent too much time criticizing others.

Part 2: Reading comprehension
ASSATEAGUE'S WILD HORSES
Assateague Island is a 60 km long barrier island located on the East Coast of the United States, facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland section contains the majority of Assateague Island National Seashore; the Virginia section contains Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The island contains numerous marshes, bays and pristine beaches, and is a habitat for migratory birds and a wildlife sanctuary.
Assateague, however, is best known for its herds of wild horses. The "wild" horses on Assateague are actually feral animals, meaning that they are descendants of domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state. Horses tough enough to survive the scorching heat, abundant mosquitoes, stormy weather and poor quality food found on this remote, windswept barrier island, which have formed a unique wild horse society.
Local folklore describes the Assateague horses as survivors of a shipwreck off the Virginia coast. While this dramatic tale of struggle and survival is popular, there are no records yet that confirm it. The most plausible explanation is that they are the descendants of horses that were brought to barrier islands like Assateague in the late 17th century by mainland owners to avoid fencing laws and taxation of livestock.
The horses are split into two main herds, one on the Virginia side and one on the Maryland side of Assateague. They are separated by a fence at the Virginia/Maryland State line. These herds have divided themselves into bands of two to twelve animals and each band occupies a home range. The National Park Service manages the Maryland herd. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns and manages the Virginia herd, which is allowed to graze on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge through a special use permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The permit restricts the size of the herd to approximately 150 adult animals in order to protect the other natural resources of the wildlife refuge. It is the Virginia herd which is often referred to as the "Chincoteague" ponies.
Many visitors first learn about the Assateague horses from Marguerite Henry's famous book Misty of Chincoteague. The story takes place during a traditional Chincoteague festival called "Pony Penning." On the last Wednesday of July, the Virginia herd of horses is rounded up and made to swim from Assateague Island to nearby Chincoteague Island. On the following day most of the young foals are auctioned off. Proceeds from the sale benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department.
Assateague's horses are beautiful, tough, and wild. They have learned to survive in a harsh environment. Feeding and/or petting them is detrimental to both visitors and horses. Horses can get sick from human food. Those that learn to come up to the road to beg for food are often hit and killed by cars. Visitors are kicked, bitten and knocked down every year as a direct result of getting too close to the wild horses. Treating wild horses like tame animals takes away the wildness that makes them special. The park rangers warn visitors that they must protect their family by respecting the horses: people must give the horses the space they need to be wild.
There are few places in the United States where you can view wild horses. Due to their complex social structure the Assateague horses display a wide range of unique behaviors. Visitors can take advantage of the opportunity to view these horses in a natural habitat. With careful management, the wild horses will continue to thrive on Assateague Island and provide enjoyment to thousands of nature enthusiasts, photographers, and people who just love horses!
herd: ramat / manada
foal: cavall de menys d'un any / caballo de menos de un ano
QUESTIONS
Choose the best answer according to the text. Only ONE answer is correct.
[3 points; 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points.]
1. The horses we see in Assateague Island are described as "feral". This means that they
a. descended from domestic animals that have become wild over the years.
b. are domestic animals whose owners have freed them in the island.
c. were wild horses that now have been domesticated.
d. have always lived free on this island.
2. These horses are unique because they
a. are extremely small.
b. are native to the Americas.
c. have adapted to very tough living conditions.
d. must live in very frigid temperatures.
3. How did the horses arrive on the island?
a. They have always lived there.
b. They migrated naturally from the mainland.
c. They were travelling on a ship that sunk off the coast.
d. They were most probably taken there to avoid paying tax.
4. Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
a. The National Park Service is in charge of all the horses on the island.
b. There is a herd of horses in each state.
c. There's a variable number of horses in each band.
d. A fence along the state line keeps the herds apart.
5. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
a. owns the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.
b. issues a permit allowing the horses to feed on its grounds.
c. is in charge of the Virginia herd of ponies.
d. won't allow ponies to feed in order to protect the wildlife refuge.
6. The Pony Penning festival
a. is organized by the National Park Service.
b. is a local festival in which horses swim to a nearby island to be sold.
c. was created after Marguerite Henry described it in her book.
d. takes place in many other places around the US on the same day in July.
7. The Assateague horses
a. usually hit or bite other wild animals that get too near them.
b. have become accustomed to eating human food.
c. have adopted to their environment and developed a complex social structure.
d. are quite tame and never bite humans.
8. Visitors to Assateague Island
a. know that this is the only place in the USA where they can see horses in the wild.
b. must treat the horses as wild animals and respect their habitat.
c. can feed the wild horses with a special permit.
d. almost never see horses because they are extremely rare.

Part 3: Writing
Choose ONE topic. Your answer should be 125-150 words in length. There is no specific penalty for exceeding 150 words in length. Extra points are not given for exceeding 150 words. [4 points]
1. Many towns in Catalonia celebrate local festivals. Write an article for a travel magazine in which you explain and describe a local festival or celebration that you know well.
2. A national park is a large area of land which is protected by the government because of its natural beauty, plants, or animals, and which the public can usually visit with some restrictions. Have you ever visited a national park? What did you do there? Did you see any wild animals or protected flora? Write a narrative text in which you explain your experience there.
3. Governments often create national parks to protect wildlife and encourage conservation. Do you think governments are doing enough to protect animals in their natural habitat? Do you think governments have to take more forceful action to protect animals? Write an opinion essay.

Part 1: Listening comprehension
THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF HANDWASHING
In this radio programme you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them. Make sure you know what they mean.
go delirious: entrar en un estat de deliri / entrar en un estado de delirio
wreck: naufragi / naufragio
puzzling: misterios / misterioso
Ready?
Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to the radio programme.
[Now listen to the interview.]
QUESTIONS
Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct.
[3 points; 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points.]
1. Where did Ignaz Semmelweis work?
a. In the Emperor's palace in Vienna.
b. In a small town in Hungary.
c. In a large hospital in Vienna.
d. The recording does not say where he worked.
2. Which of the following statements about Vienna General Hospital is NOT true?
a. The hospital had too many patients.
b. It was a very large hospital.
c. It only served veterans of war.
d. The sanitary conditions were poor by today's standards.
3. Child bed fever was a disease affecting
a. babies who had just been born.
b. women who had just given birth.
c. older children who had become delirious.
d. anyone living in a house with small children.
4. Why did the hospital divide the maternity ward into two clinics?
a. Because doctors were better trained than midwives.
b. Because rich people did not want to be in a ward with poor people.
c. Because they needed more doctors.
d. Because the hospital had too many maternity patients.
5. As he tried to discover why more women were dying in one of the clinics, what did Ignaz do first?
a. He considered solutions that others had proposed.
b. He analysed blood samples in a laboratory.
c. He compared data from several hospitals.
d. He treated patients in both clinics.
6. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ignaz's work?
a. He discovered the importance of handwashing soon after the clinics were divided.
b. He discovered the importance of handwashing because he had done controlled experiments.
c. His friend Robert actually discovered the importance of handwashing, but he died too soon to take credit so Ignaz took the credit instead.
7. Ignaz discovered that child bed fever
a. was spread by the doctors' lack of personal hygiene when working.
b. was caused by germs.
c. was caused by contaminated water in one of the clinics.
d. only affected women after giving birth.
8. Once the doctors started to wash their hands after performing autopsies,
a. the number of women dying in the clinic served by doctors increased.
b. the number of women dying in the clinic served by doctors decreased.
c. the number of women dying in both clinics remained unchanged.
d. the two clinics were combined again into a single, large maternity ward.

Part 2: Reading comprehension
GINKGO TREES NEARLY WENT EXTINCT. HERE'S HOW WE SAVED THESE 'LIVING FOSSILS'
On the streets of Manhattan and Washington, D.C., in neighborhoods of Seoul and parks in Paris, ginkgo trees are gradually losing their bright yellow leaves in reaction to the first frigid winter air. Such leaf drop, gradual at first, and then suddenly, carpets streets with golden, fan-shaped leaves every year. But around the world, scientists are documenting evidence of the event happening later and later, a possible indication of climate change.
Carr, who's been at The Ginkgo Grove since 1997, says the trend toward warmer falls and later-in-the-season leaf color is a noticeable one. But this is not the first time the ancient species has confronted major climate changes. And the story of ginkgos is not the familiar one of human carelessness with nature.
Thanks to fossils found in North Dakota, scientists know the species Ginkgo biloba has existed in its current form for 60 million years; it has genetically similar ancestors dating back 170 million years to the Jurassic Period.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies the tree as endangered in the wild. Only a few rare populations are thought to potentially exist in China.
On Earth today there are five different types of plants that produce seeds: flowering plants; conifers; gnetales; cycads, another ancient group of palm-like trees - and the lonely ginkgo. In the Ginkgoaceae family, there is just one living species, Ginkgo biloba.
Fossilized plants from 170 million years ago show ginkgo-like trees with only slight variations in leaves and seeds. A paper published in 2004 suggested the supposedly undomesticated population in western China had been cultivated by ancient Buddhist monks.
Crane is not worried: "it is a plant that is unlikely to ever go extinct."
Text adapted from Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic (Nov 30, 2020)
QUESTIONS
1-8 (see exam for full questions)

Part 3: Writing
Choose ONE topic. Your answer should be 125-150 words in length. [4 points]
1. Many traditions from the United States, such as Halloween or the character of Santa Claus, have been exported to other cultures. Write a for-and-against essay discussing to what extent this enriches or has a negative effect on one's own traditions.
2. Football has become a phenomenon that involves a lot of people and money. Do you think that football has become something other than a sport and has lost its original spirit? Write an opinion essay.
3. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on cultural events. Write a narrative essay explaining your experience at the last concert, music festival or theatrical performance that you attended.