INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACION DOCENTE N°21 DR.

RICARDO ROJAS

PRÁCTICAS DISCURSIVAS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN ESCRITA 1

MOCK EXAM

NAME:

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT AND DO THE ACTIVITIES BELOW IT

sunday june 27 2021 midday update

My River Hero
It was just after 9.30 pm on a cold, wet February morning that I got a call from my 17-year-
old son Matthew. “Mum, I´m at the hospital,” he said. Terrible thoughts started going
through my head but before I really had a chance to worry, he added very matter-of-factly,
“I have just saved a baby girl from drowning.” What I did not know at that stage was that
he had put his own life at risk in order to save her.
Mathew loves fishing and you´ll find him by the River Medway in Maidenstone in his
spare time. That day the water was high and dangerous because there had been a lot of rain.
Matthew was sitting by the river when he heard a woman scream. He looked over to see a
woman and a young girl by the water´s edge.
He ran up to them to see if there was anything he could do to help. In the water he saw an
upside- down pushchair. Without thinking, Matthew dived in and went underwater to push
the chair up towards the little girl´s mum.
At the local hospital, the doctors praised Matthew for reacting so quickly. But it wasn´t
only Emily lucky to be alive. A few days later I was reading the local paper when I saw a
danger warning for the river. It was only then that I realized I could have lost my son, too.
Soon afterwards, Matthew, myself and my two younger daughters went along to Emily´s
second birthday party. There, her grandmother drank a toast to Matthew. She thanked him
for saving Emily´s life and said they´d think of him on every one of her birthdays. It sent
me a shiver down my spine and it still makes me go all funny thinking about it now.
He was hailed as a hero and received a lot of attention from the media. He made the front
page of a local paper and even appeared on television. I am proud of my son. He is a caring
lad who puts other people before himself. He´ll always be my river hero and I hope this
story helps to start showing on the media who the real heroes are.
A. READING COMPREHENSION.
Read the text and answer these questions:
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACION DOCENTE N°21 DR. RICARDO ROJAS

PRÁCTICAS DISCURSIVAS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN ESCRITA 1

MOCK EXAM

NAME:

 Did the boy feel that he was a hero? Remove a sentence from the text that indicates this.
 In your own words explain why the mother said that she was proud of her son.

B. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
State the following:

Genre:

Source:

Expected Audience:

Purpose:

Tone:

Register:

Topic:

C. COHESION. Describe the underlined cohesive devices. In the case of reference, state word
class as well. In the case of conjunction state what it expresses and think of a synonym.

In order to

Because

It

This

D. Language in use.

Explain what the verb tense in the underlined verb phrases express in context.

1. “I have just saved a baby girl from drowning.”

2. That day the water was high and dangerous because there had been a lot of rain.
Matthew was sitting by the river when he heard a woman scream.
3. It was only then that I realized I could have lost my son, too. What does this modal
verb express?
4. He was hailed as a hero. Why is passive voice used in this sentence?
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACION DOCENTE N°21 DR. RICARDO ROJAS

PRÁCTICAS DISCURSIVAS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN ESCRITA 1

MOCK EXAM

NAME:

1. Paraphrase this sentence:

 Despite the fame and popularity he has now, Mathew is still a humble boy.

Although…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

E. Syntax
What types of phrases are the ones underlined?

Soon afterwards, Matthew, myself and my two younger daughters went along to Emily´s
second birthday party. There, her grandmother drank a toast to Matthew. She thanked him
for saving Emily´s life and said they´d think of him on every one of her birthdays. It sent
me a shiver down my spine and it still makes me go all funny thinking about it now.

F. Over to you

In your opinion, what is “a real hero”? Write your answer in about 50 words.