PAU Practice Examination (Castilla y León)

IT’S ALL ABOUT WINNING

Sports people everywhere like to win, so it is not surprising that athletes have always
been willing to use technology to enhance their performance. But the use of some new techno-
logies raises troubling questions.
Today, there are new advances in almost every field of sport. The poles used by
pole-vaulters are no longer made of flexible wood; instead, they consist of lightweight
aluminium and fibreglass. The surface of the track used by runners has changed from coal,
used in the 1930s, to plastic, latex and rubber. And swimmers today wear swimsuits made of a
new fabric called Fastskin.
Partly as a result of these changes, new records have been set. But does this mean
that athletes are no longer competing against each other, that the technologies are competing
instead? Many people believe that the use of some advanced technologies takes the sporting
element out of certain activities. They wonder if it is fair to use heat-seeking missiles to shoot
birds, or darts that are electronically guided. And what about the cost of new equipment?
Competitions that allow expensive technology automatically favour competitors who can
afford it. In order to keep competitions fair, sports committees have sometimes banned
expensive innovations.
Is winning at all costs worth it? What should the goal of sporting competitions be?
There are no easy answers, only questions.

1. Answer the following questions according to the instructions. (3 points as a whole)

a. Answer the following question using your own words. (10-20 words) (1 point)
a.1. According to the text, how can new technologies take the sporting element out of
certain activities?
b. Are the following statements true or false? Indicate the line(s) in the text
supporting your choice. (1 point as a whole: 0.5 point each)
b.1. The surface of tracks used by runners is now made of coal from the 1930s.
b.2. Technological advances have helped set new records in many sports.
c. Choose a, b or c in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (1 point as a
whole: 0.5 point each)
c.1. It’s difficult to compare past and present achievements because …
a) few records exist.
b) there were fewer competitions in the past.
c) the technologies have changed.
c.2. The writer of the text …
a) is unsure about the importance of winning.
b) doesn’t like sporting competitions.
c) believes that winning is always important.
2. Complete the following tasks according to the instructions. (2 points as a whole:
0.5 point each)
a) Transform into reported speech: “Will the athlete run in the race tomorrow?” asked the
coach. Begin with: The coach asked …
b) Fill in with the correct tense: If we …… (use) the most expensive equipment, we ……
(win) the competition last week.
c) Combine into one sentence containing a relative clause: Jesse Owens was a famous
athlete. He competed in the 1930s.
d) Put into the passive: The use of some new technologies raises troubling questions.
3. Find words in the text with the following meaning (a and b) and synonyms for each of
the words below (c, d and e). (1 point as a whole: 0.2 each answer)
a) the price or value of something
b) to be able to pay for something
c) improve
d) category
e) justified
4. Write about the following topic using 90-120 words. (0-4 points)
The advantages and disadvantages of allowing expensive, modern equipment to be used in
athletics competitions.