EXAM WITH ANSWERS

EvAU Practice Examination (Comunidad de Madrid)

INSTRUCCIONES GENERALES Y VALORACIÓN

Después de leer atentamente los textos y las cuestiones siguientes, el alumno deberá escoger una de
las dos opciones propuestas y responder en INGLÉS a las cuestiones de la opción elegida.
CALIFICACIÓN: Las cuestiones 1ª, 2ª y 4ª se valorarán sobre 2 puntos cada una, la pregunta
3ª sobre 1 punto y la pregunta 5ª sobre 3 puntos.
TIEMPO: 90 minutos

An Almost Forgotten Tribe

There are certain ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks that many young
people learn about. However, there is one group who are unfairly overlooked, despite being
responsible for building one of the world’s most famous landmarks.
The Nabataeans were a nomadic tribe that moved to what is now Jordan in about the 6th century BC.
They then built an overland trade route that stretched from Syria to Yemen, which made them rich and
powerful. They also built pipes and aqueducts in order to help irrigate the arid, desert land for farming.
Their capital and most famous city was Petra, which is now the biggest tourist attraction in Jordan. It
was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer, Johann L. Burckhardt, in 1812. He could have been forgiven for
believing he had discovered a Greek city. The Nabataeans’ art and architecture were influenced by the
people they did business with, and a strong Greek influence can be seen in the pillars and carvings in
the buildings in Petra.
As sea routes took trade away from the Nabataeans, their wealth declined. In 106 AD, the last
Nabataean king died and the kingdom ceased to exist, with Petra being taken over by the Romans. The
tribe continued living at Petra until sometime around the 4th century. Although there was an
earthquake there in 363 AD, no one knows if this was the reason they left. Petra remained inhabited
for at least two more centuries, but the Nabataeans seemed to have just vanished.
It’s thought that a Bedouin tribe called the Slayb could be the descendants of the Nabataeans. Like the
Nabataeans, they are artistic and musical, and the women are freer than in many similar tribes. Their
dialect of Arabic contains Indian words, possibly due to trade with India in the distant past, and there
is evidence in their appearance of foreign blood. Could this be evidence of marriages with the Romans
many centuries ago? There is no proof of any link between the Slayb and the Nabataeans, and there
almost certainly never will be, but it would be nice to think that this proud and extraordinary
civilisation didn’t die out completely.

1/2
 QUESTIONS
1. Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text.
No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.
a) The writer believes that the Nabataeans deserve to be better known than they are.
TRUE (paragraph 1) “However, there is one group who are unfairly overlooked, …”
b) The Slayb have a different background to other Bedouin tribes of the area.
TRUE (paragraph 5) “… there is evidence in their appearance of foreign blood.”
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

2. In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions.
Do not copy from the text.
a) In what way do the buildings in Petra resemble Greek buildings of the time?
Their pillars and carvings look like Greek art and architecture.
b) What happened to the Nabataeans around the 4th century?
They left Petra and seemed to have disappeared.
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

3. Find the words in the text that mean:

a) to be unnoticed or dismissed (paragraph 1) overlooked
b) fortune (paragraph 4) wealth
c) disappeared (paragraph 4) vanished
d) stop existing (paragraph 5) die out
(Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

4. Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets
when given.
a) Living (live) at Petra wasn’t easy. The Nabataeans had to find (find) ways to catch and store
rainwater so that it lasted all year.
b) We haven’t succeeded in finding (find) evidence that this was an ancient city, but we’re optimistic
(optimist) we will soon.
c) The bigger (big) an empire becomes, the more difficult (difficult) it is to defend against invaders.
d) Complete the following sentence to report what was said.
“I’ve never seen such an amazing place before.”
Alex said that he had never seen such an amazing place before.
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

5. Write about 150 to 200 words on the following topic.

Have you ever visited a famous historical site or building? Describe your experience.
(Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)
Answers will vary.

EvAU Comunidad de Madrid – An Almost Forgotten Tribe 2/2