MAGISTER OPOSICIONES AL PROFESORADO Inglés Secundaria ANSWERS TO PRACTICE EXERCISES (PART A – LINGÜÍSTICA) JUNE 2014 1. TRANSLATIONS. A. Translate the following text into English. No se arrepintió. Desde hacía mucho tiempo el pueblo yacía en una especie de sopor, estragado por diez años de historia. Esa tarde ―otro viernes sin carta― la gente había despertado. El coronel se acordó de otra época. Se vio a sí mismo con su mujer y su hijo asistiendo bajo el paraguas a un espectáculo que no fue interrumpido a pesar de la lluvia. Se acordó de los dirigentes del partido, escrupulosamente peinados, abanicándose en el patio de su casa al compás de la música. Revivió casi la dolorosa resonancia del bombo en sus intestinos. Cruzó por la calle paralela al río y también allí encontró la tumultuosa muchedumbre de los remotos domingos electorales. Observaban el descargue del circo. Desde el interior de una tienda una mujer gritó algo relacionado con el gallo. Él siguió absorto hasta su casa, todavía oyendo voces dispersas, como si lo persiguieran los desperdicios de la ovación de la gallera. En la puerta se dirigió a los niños. ―Todos para su casa ―dijo.― Al que entre lo saco a correazos. Puso la tranca y se dirigió directamente a la cocina. Su mujer salió asfixiándose del dormitorio. «Se lo llevaron a la fuerza», gritó. «Les dije que el gallo no saldría de esta casa mientras yo estuviera viva.» El coronel amarró el gallo al soporte de la hornilla. Cambió el agua al tarro perseguido por la voz frenética de la mujer. (…/) (/…) El viscoso aire de octubre había sido sustituido por una frescura apacible. El coronel volvió a reconocer a diciembre en el horario de los alcaravanes. Cuando dieron las dos todavía no había podido dormir. Pero sabía que su mujer también estaba despierta. Trató de cambiar de posición en la hamaca. ―Estás desvelado ― dijo la mujer. ―Sí. Ella pensó un momento. ―No estamos en condiciones de hacer esto ―dijo―. Ponte a pensar cuánto son cuatrocientos pesos juntos. ―Ya falta poco para que venga la pensión―dijo el coronel. ―Estás diciendo lo mismo desde hace quince años. ―Por eso―dijo el coronel―. Ya no puede demorar mucho más. Ella hizo un silencio. Pero cuando volvió a hablar, al coronel le pareció que el tiempo no había transcurrido. ―Tengo la impresión de que esa plata no llegará nunca ―dijo la mujer. (…/) (/…) «Es la misma historia de siempre», comenzó ella un momento después. «Nosotros ponemos el hambre para que coman los otros. Es la misma historia desde hace cuarenta años.» (…/)
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(/…)―También tenías derecho a que te dieran un puesto cuando te ponían a romperte el cuero en las elecciones ―replicó la mujer―. También tenías derecho a tu pensión de veterano después de exponer el pellejo en la guerra civil. Ahora todo el mundo tiene su vida asegurada y tú estás muerto de hambre, completamente solo. De El Coronel no tiene quién le escriba de Gabriel García Márquez. ANSWER He didn’t repent. The village had been long sleeping in a sort of drowsiness, as if stranded from history. That evening – another Friday without any post/ mail― people had woken up. The colonel recalled another time. He saw himself, with his wife and his son attending, from underneath an umbrella, a show which wasn’t put off despite the rain. He remembered the party leaders, their hair neatly/conscientiously combed, fanning themselves to the rhythm of music, in the backyard of his house. He even revived the painful resonance of the bass drum in his gut/ stomach. He crossed the street running by the river and there he also found the riotous crowd in a Sunday of elections. They were watching the circus unpacking. From the inside of a shop a woman shouted something related to the cock. He went on absent-mindedly to his house, still hearing dispersed voices, as if he was haunted by the remains of the cockpit acclamation / plaudits / ovation. He warned the children by the door. “You must go home”, he said. “If I find anyone inside, I’ll whip you off with my belt.” He locked the gate with a bar / barred the entry door and went straight to the kitchen. His wife emerged from the dormitory/ bedroom, breathing with great difficulty/ in suffocation. “They took it by the force”, she screamed. “I told them the cock wouldn’t leave this house as long as I was alive”. The colonel tied the cock to the support / basis of the stove. He changed the water in the jar, chased by the frantic voice of his wife. (…/) (/…) The viscous air of October had been replaced by a peaceful/ tranquil freshness/ coolness. The colonel recognised again December in the calendar of the stone-curlews / thick-knee birds. He still couldn’t asleep by two but he knew his wife was awake too. He tried to change his position in the bed / hammock. “Can’t you sleep? / Are you still awake?” she asked. “No.” / “Yes.” She was thinking for a while. “We can’t afford doing this” she said. “Just think for a moment how much four hundred pesos are together”. “The pension will arrive very soon”, the colonel said. “You have been saying the same for fifteen years”. “That’s why” the colonel said. “It can’t take any much longer”. She remained silent. But when she spoke again, it seemed as if time hadn’t passed by to the colonel. “I’ve got the feeling that the money will never arrive”, the woman said. (/…) “It’s always the same story” she started shortly afterwards. “We endure hunger for others to eat. I has been the same story for the last forty years.” (…/)
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(/…) “You also had the right for a post after supporting them in the elections”, she added. “You also had the right for a veteran pension after risking your neck in the civil war. Now everyone has their lives sorted out, and you are starving, completely abandoned/ totally alone / deserted.” From The colonel has no one to write him by Gabriel García Márquez. B. Translate the following fragment into Spanish. Frodo looked at them in wonder, for he had never before seen Elrond, of whom so many tales spoke; and as they sat upon his right hand and his left, Glorfindel, and even Gandalf, whom he thought he knew so well, were revealed as lords of dignity and power. Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other two; but his long white hair, his sweeping silver beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient legend. In his aged face under great snowy brows his dark eyes were set like coals that could leap suddenly into fire. Glorfindel was tall and straight; his hair was of shiny gold, his face fair and young, and fearless and full of joy; his eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was strength. The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fullness of his strength. He was the Lord of Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and Men. In the middle of the table, against the woven cloths upon the wall, there was a chair under a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that she was one of this close kindred. Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost, her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring. Above her brow her head was covered with a cap of silver lace netted with small gems, glittering white; but her soft grey raiment had no ornament save a girdle of leaves wrought in silver. So it was that Frodo saw her whom few mortals had yet seen; Arwen, daughter of Elrond, (/...) Long she had been in the land of her mother’s kin, in Lórien beyond the mountains, and was but lately returned to Rivendell to her father’s house. But her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, were out upon errantry: for they rode often far afield with the Rangers of the North, forgetting never their mother’s torment in the dens of the orcs. From “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R.Tolkien Frodo los observó maravillado, pues nunca había visto a Elrond, de quien se contaban tantas historias; y según se sentaban a su izquierda y derecha, Glorfindel, y aun Gandalf, a quien creía conocer tan bien, ambos se le revelaban como dignos y poderosos señores.
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Gandalf era de menor estatura que los otros dos, pero su larga melena blanca, su poblada barba plateada, y sus hombros anchos, le daban un aspecto de rey sabio de las antiguas leyendas. En su rostro añejo, bajo espesas cejas de nieve, estaban engarzados sus ojos oscuros como carbones que de súbito podrían encenderse y arder. Glorfindel era alto y erguido, su cabello de oro reluciente, su semblante joven y hermoso, valiente e iluminado de alegría; sus ojos brillantes y penetrantes, y su voz musical; en su frente reposaba/ se asentaba la sabiduría, en su mano, la fortaleza. El rostro del Elrond era atemporal; no era ni viejo, ni joven, aunque llevaba escrito el recuerdo de muchas cosas, felices y tristes. Tenía el cabello oscuro como las sombras del crepúsculo, y ceñido por una corona de plata; sus ojos eran grises como un atardecer claro y con la luz de los luceros. Parecía venerable como un rey coronado por muchos inviernos, y vigoroso sin embargo como un guerrero probado en la plenitud de sus fuerzas. Era el Señor de Rivendel, poderoso tanto entre los Elfos, como entre los Hombres. En el centro de la mesa, contra los tapices que pendían del muro, había una silla bajo un dosel, y allí estaba sentada una dama hermosa de ver, y de tal parecido a Elrond, en forma femenina, que no podía ser, pensó Frodo, sino un familiar cercano. Era joven, mas no tanto, porque aunque la escarcha no había tocado las trenzas de su pelo oscuro, y sus brazos blancos y rostro claro fueran tersos y sin defecto, y la luz de las estrellas le brillara en los ojos, grises como una noche despejada, había en ella verdadera majestad, y su mirada tenía el conocimiento y la sabiduría, de quien ha visto las muchas cosas que los años traen. Le cubría la cabeza una redecilla de encaje de plata entretejida con pequeñas gemas de un blanco resplandeciente, pero sus delicadas vestiduras grises no tenían más adorno que una guirnalda de hojas forjada en plata. Así fue como vio Frodo a aquella a quien pocos mortales habían visto: Arwen, hija de Elrond, (…/) Mucho tiempo había permanecido en la tierra de la familia de su madre, en Lórien, más allá de las montañas, y había regresado hacía poco a Rivendel, a la casa de su padre. Pero sus dos hermanos, Elladan y Elrohir, llevaban una vida errante, y a menudo cabalgaban muy lejos junto con los Montaraces del Norte; y jamás olvidaban los tormentos que su madre había sufrido en las guaridas de los orcos. De “El Señor de los Anillos” de J.R.R.Tolkien
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2. TEXT ANALYSIS. Read the following text and answer the questions below: The gradual disintegration of the Midnight Children’s Conference―which finally fell apart on the day the Chinese armies came down over the Himalayas to humiliate the Indian fauj―was already well under way. When novelty wears off, boredom, and then dissension, must inevitably ensue. Or (to put it another way) when a finger is mutilated, and fountains of blood flow out, all manners of vilenesses become possible…whether or not the cracks in the Conference were the (activemetaphorical) result of my finger-loss, they were certainly widening. Up in Kashmir, NaradaMarkandaya was falling into the solipsistic dreams of the true narcissist, concerned only with the erotic pleasures of constant sexual alterations; while Soumitra the time-traveller, wounded by our refusal to listen to his descriptions if a future in which (he said) the country would be governed by a urine-drinking dotard who refused to die, and people would forget everything they had ever learned, and Pakistan would split like an amoeba, and the prime ministers of each half would be assassinated by their successors, both of whom ―he swore despite our disbelief― would be called by the same name… wounded Soumitra became a regular absentee from our nightly meetings, disappearing for long periods into the spidery labyrinths of Time. And the sisters from Baud were content with their ability to bewitch fools young and old. ‘What can this Conference help?’ they inquired. ‘We already have too many lovers.’ And our alchemist member was busying himself in a laboratory built for him by his father (to whom he had revealed his secret); preoccupied with the Philosopher’s Stone, he had very little time for us. We had lost him for the lure of gold. From “Mildnight Children” by Salman Rushdie
a) Identify the style and textual types in the extract. Explain your answer. It’s a piece of literary prose, an extract from a novel. It is mostly a narrative text mixed, yet with hints of subjective description and argumentation. None of the before mentioned texts following established patterns. Narration of events occurs without time sequencers, but imprecise time references (e.g. “the day the Chinese armies came down over the Himalayas). Description happens with a sort of very subjective qualifiers (“solipsistic dreams”, “a urine-drinking dotard”), and non-finite (past participle) adjective form (“wounded”, “governed”). Argumentation subtly hidden on lexical choices, narrative voice and inserted disjuncts (“active-metaphorical”). Slight dialogic (direct speech). There is a 1st person narrator, giving account of facts and experiences in a rather informal style, thus using the first person, phrasal verbs (“wears off”, “put it”, “flow out”), and coordinating connectors: “or”, “and” in initial position. Besides there are locative adjuncts in initial position too. In addition to syntactical repetition (“would be governed”, “would be called”, “would become”, “would split”) and direct speech (‘What can this Conference help?’ they inquired. ‘We already have too many lovers.’ ). 5
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It seems to try to provide agility while lexical choices still stick to the formal style, there is use of Latin origin words: nouns (novelty, vilenesses,) verbs (to humiliate,) and adjectives (mutilated, solipsistic). The irregular narration is characterised by the use of rare tenses such as: -passive constructions of verbs in non-finite attributive position: is mutilated, become possible, concerned. Wounded by, would be assassinated, would be called…) - continuous tenses for description: was busying himself. There is evidence of argumentation in the disjuncts, to explain opinion and establish metafictional relationship with the reader: “When novelty wears off, boredom, and then dissension, must inevitably ensue. Or (to put it another way)”, “―he swore despite our disbelief―” Lack of further cohesive devices.
b) Describe the communicative functions used on the text. Representational, so as to account for the events in the story even if it is quite obscure due to the textual features and narrative voice chosen. Emotive and Poetic, due to the lexical choice and signs of expressive load in epithets and subjective description, where there is also some underlying argumentation attempting to address and engage the audience “we”(Conative). c) Locate cohesive devices and other rhetorical resources, illustrated by examples. Already mentioned in textual types. Plus: Simile: “like an amoeba”, Metaphors: a urine-drinking dotard, Epithet: “spidery labyrinths”, “solipsistic dream” d) Comment briefly on the author, his work and time. Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (born 19 June 1947) is an Indian British novelist and essayist. His first novel, Grimus (1975), a part-science fiction tale, was generally ignored by the public and literary critics. His next novel, Midnight's Children (1981), catapulted him to literary notability. It won the Booker Prize in 1981. Much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent. He is said to combine magical realism with historical fiction; his work is concerned with the many connections, disruptions and migrations between East and West. Midnight's Children follows the life of a child, born at the stroke of midnight as India gained its independence, who is endowed with special powers and a connection to other children born at the dawn of a new and tumultuous age in the history of the Indian sub-continent and the birth of the modern nation of India. The character of Saleem Sinai has been compared to Rushdie. However, the author has refuted the idea of having written any of his characters as autobiographical, stating, "People assume that because certain things in the character are
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drawn from your own experience, it just becomes you. In that sense, I’ve never felt that I’ve written an autobiographical character." After Midnight's Children, Rushdie wrote Shame (1983), in which he depicts the political turmoil in Pakistan, basing his characters on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Shame won France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Best Foreign Book) and was a close runner-up for the Booker Prize. Both these works of postcolonial literature are characterised by a style of magic realism and the immigrant outlook that Rushdie is very conscious of as a member of the Indian diaspora. Rushdie wrote a non-fiction book about Nicaragua in 1987 called The Jaguar Smile. This book has a political focus and is based on his first-hand experiences and research at the scene of Sandinista political experiments. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was the centre of a major controversy, provoking protests from Muslims in several countries. Death threats were made against him, including a fatwā issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, on 14 February 1989. Rushdie was appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in January 1999. In June 2007, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his services to literature. In 2008, The Times ranked him thirteenth on its list of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945. Since 2000, Rushdie has lived in the United States, where he has worked at Emory University and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he published Joseph Anton: A Memoir, an account of his life in the wake of the controversy over The Satanic Verses. Rushdie collaborated on the screenplay for the cinematic adaptation of his novel Midnight's Children with director Deepa Mehta. The film was also called Midnight's Children. Seema Biswas, Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, and Irrfan Khan participated in the film. Production began in September 2010; the film was released in 2012 In 2012, Salman Rushdie became one of the first major authors to embrace Booktrack (a company that synchronises ebooks with customised soundtracks), when he published his short story "In the South" on the platform. e) Provide definitions or synonyms for the following words from the text. Add their phonological transcription: 1. novelty: /ˈnɒvəlti/ originality by virtue of being new and surprising 2. dissension: /dɪˈsenʃən/ a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters 3. solipsistic: /ˈsɒlɪpsɪstɪk/ of, relating to, or being disposed to solipsism (philosophy) the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist 4. dotard: /ˈdəʊtəd/ someone whose age has impaired his intellect 5. amoeba: /əˈmiːbə/ naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion 6. spidery: /ˈspaɪd(ə)ri/ relating to or resembling a member of the Arachnid class 7
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7. bew witch: /bɪˈw wɪtʃ/ attract; cause to be enamoured, c e cast a spell over o someonee or somethin ng; 8. lurre: /l(j)ʊə/ qualities q that attract by seeming to promise soome kind off reward f)
Transcribe phon nologically the t followin ng lines fro om the text. Whhen novelty wears off, boredom, and a then diissension, must m inevitaably ensue. Or (to put it anoother way) when a finnger is muttilated, and d fountains of blood fl flow out, alll manners of vileenesses become possibble…whetheer or not th he cracks inn the Confeerence weree the (activvemettaphorical) result of myy finger-losss, they weree certainly widening. w | ween ˈnɒvəlti weəz ɒf | ˈbɔːdəm | ənnd ðen dɪˈseenʃ(ə)n̩ | mʌʌst ɪnˈevɪtəbbli ɪnˈsjuː | ɔː | tə ˈpʊt ɪt əˈnʌðə ˈweɪ | wen w ə ˈfɪŋɡɡər (ɪ)z ˈmjuuːtɪleɪtɪd | ənd ə ˈfaʊntɪnnz əv blʌd ffləʊ aʊt | ɔːl ˈmænəz əv ə r ð kræks ɪn ɪ ðə ˈkɒnnferəns weəə ðə ˈækttɪf ˈvaɪlnəsɪz bɪˈkkʌm ˈpɒsɪbb(ə)l…weðəə ɔː nɒt ðə r mettəˈfɒrɪk(ə)l rɪˈzʌlt əv maɪ m ˈfing(ə )-lɒs | ˈðeɪ weə w ˈsɜːt(ə))nlɪ ˈwaɪd(ə))n̩ ɪŋ |
g)
Analyse syntaactically thee followingg extract fro om the textt. Peoople would forget eveerything theey had eveer learned, and Pakisttan would split like an a amoeba, and the t prime ministers m of each e half would w be asssassinated bby their succcessors, both of whom w ―he swore desppite our disbbelief― wou uld be called by the sam me name… Senntence 1 Peoople Subbject
would foorget everyth hing they haad ever learrned, Predicaator G VG Od (NG)
NG (head)
Operator
l lexical verb
Nouun
Modal verb
( heaad) + (postmoddifier)
native Distribuutive Determin
Personal Pronoun P
(Adj G : that-clausse, that omitteed) S P VG N (head) NP Operator+adjuunct+lexical veerb O A Auxiliary AdvvG P.P
andd (Coordinatinng Conjunctioon) Pakkistan Subbject
would split Predicator
NG (head) Nouun
like an amoeba, a
C Complement oof manner
VG operrator
lexical verb
8
Head+Subordiinate clause) Adv G (H Head comparativee clause Adv S (NG) V VG (omitted:d does) D head Det
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woould be assa assinated byy their succeessors,
Subject NG
VG
Det premod head post mod (PrepG) (
Predicatoor A Agent compleement
operator auxiiliary lexical verb
Deff Adj
nounn head coompletive (NG G) Prep deet head (nouun) (Objject complem ment ref: successors)
prep
PrrepG
hhead complletive (NG) det (possesssive) head(nou un)
botth of whom ―he ― sworee despite ourr disbelief― ― would be called by thhe same nam me… disjunct
S
P
Ng:Head ( prronoun)
NG lexical veerb + (Adv G))
post modifier m quantiifier + Prep G ve) head (prep)+ Completivee (relative pronnoun) (Possessiv
S (omitteed)
Prediccator
G VG Co mannner operator auxilliary lexical verb v PrepG head +Completivee
3. LISTEN NING Listen to the t documeentary “60 Second Ad dventure in n Thought” and answeer the follow wing questions. a. Why could Achiless never beaat the tortoise accordiing to Zenoo? Because noo matter how w much Acchilles would ran, whilee he is tryinng to catch uup the distan nce with thee tortoise, thhere is alwayys time enouugh for the tortoise to move m slighttly further aaway. b. How doo banks putt into practtice that moovement pa aradox? This conceept of sometthing finite being dividded an infiniite number of times, inn an infinite series, is used in finance to lookk at mortgage paymentts c. Which trilogy t was inspired by b Barjavell’s grandfatther paradox? Back to Thhe Future Sppielberg’s films. fi d. Why did Searle saay his Chineese room proved p com mputers werre not intellligent? Because hee thought thhey just imittate knowleedge and thinking patterns. They cannot do it for themselvess. e. Hilbertss’ Grand Hotel H allowss infinite gu uests, how is i that posssible? By movingg guests to the t double number n of thheir originaal room, so that t all odd rooms wou uld be free. f. Did Einsstein have any a twin brrother? No he didnn’t. He just figured f out what it wouuld be like. 9
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g. What is the main conclusion of his relativity theory regarding time and space? That regarding travelling at light speed, the faster you move, the slower time passes. h. Why did Schrödinger dislike his own theory on quantum mechanics? Because it challenged our perception of things. Most things cannot be taken from a superposition but atoms do show two different positions at the same time, which is misleading. He wasn’t prepared to assume his own theory. Summarize the content. The transcript is a brief and light hearted description of thought challenges in History. There is a narrator, probably the voice over a video, as lots of sound effects are heard in the soundtrack, who provides short accounts of six different challenges related to thought or science. The first one explains the myth of Achilles and the tortoise on the grounds of the idea of infinite series which are currently applied to mortgage and bank instalments. The second one, explains the famous grandfather paradox, proposed by the French writer Barjavel, suggesting the consequences of travelling back in time which inspired the 80’s blockbuster Spielberg’s trilogy of “Back to the Future”. Thirdly we can listen Searle’s attempt to prove artificial intelligence is nothing but imitation by means of the Chinese Room. Next, Hilbert’s infinite hotel again refers to the infinite possibilities of infinite subdivisions, making humorous comments on the complaints of the liable guests constantly moving room and suffering eternal queuing for breakfast. Following, Einstein’s twin paradox, refers to the effects of light speed travelling and the relativity of time and space distance and the funny consequences this could bring to his own couple of twins. Finally, Schrödinger’s attempt to study and explain quantum mechanics, which ended up by frustrating himself and cats worldwide. TRANSCRIPT 60 seconds adventures in thought No.#1 Achilles and the tortoise How could a humble tortoise beat the legendary Greek hero Achilles in a race? The Greek philosophers Zeno liked the challenge and came up with this paradox. First the tortures is given a slight head start. Anyone fancying a flatter would still rush to put their money on Achilles. But Zeno pointed out that to overtake him Achilles would first have to cover the distance to the point where the tortoise began in that time the tortoise would have moved so Achilles would have to cover that distance, giving the tortoise time to amble forward a bit more logically this would carry on for ever. However small the gap between them the tortoise would still be able to move forward while Achilles was catching up, meaning that Achilles could never overtake. Taken to an extreme, this bizarre paradox suggested all movement is impossible, but it did lead to the realization that something finite can be divided an infinite number of times. This concept of an infinite series is used in finance to look at mortgage payments which is why they take an infinite amount of time to pay off No.#2 10
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The grandfather paradox Will time travel ever be possible? René Barjavel was a French journalist and science fiction writer who spent a lot of his time thinking about time travel. In nineteen forty-three, Barjavel asked what would happen if a man went back in time to a date before his parents were born and killed his own grandfather? With no grandfather one of the man's parents would never have been born and therefore the man himself would never have existed, so there will be nobody to go back in time and kill the grandfather in the first place. Or the last-place depending on how you look at it the grandfather paradox has been a mainstay on philosophy, physics and the entire Back to the Future trilogy. Some people have tried to defend time travel with arguments like the parallel universe resolution in which the changes made by the time traveller create a new separate history branching off from the existing one, but the grandfather paradox prevails although the paradox only suggests the traveling backwards is impossible. It doesn't say anything about going the other way. No.#3 The Chinese room. Can a machine ever be truly called intelligent? American philosopher and road scholar John Searle said certainly can’t. In 1980 he proposed the Chinese room thought experiment in order to challenge the concept of strong artificial intelligence and not because of some eighty’s design fan. He imagines himself in a room with boxes of Chinese characters he can't understand and a book of instructions which he can. If a Chinese speaker outside the room passes in messages under the door Searle can follow instructions from the book to select an appropriate response. The person on the other side would think they're chatting with a Chinese speaker ―just one who doesn't get out much― but really is a confused philosopher. Now according to Alan Turing the father of computer science, if a computer program can convince a human they're communicating with another human then it could be said to think. The Chinese room suggest that however well you program a computer it doesn't understand Chinese, it only simulates that knowledge. Which isn't really intelligence, but then, sometimes humans are not that intelligent either. No. #4 Hilbert's infinite hotel. At Grand Hotel with an infinite number of rooms and an infinite number of guests in those rooms that was the idea of German mathematician David Gilbert, friend of Albert Einstein and enemy of chambermaids the world over. To challenge our ideas about infinity he asked what happens if someone new comes along looking for a place to stay Gilbert answers to make each guests shift along one room. The guest in room one moves to room two, and so on to the new guest would have a space in room 1, and the guest book would have an infinite number of complaints. But what about when a coach containing an infinite number of new guests pulls up? Surely he can accommodate all of them. Hilbert frees up an infinite number of rooms by asking the guest to move to the room number which is double their current one, leaving the infinitely many odd numbers free. Easy for the guest in room 1, not so easy for the man in room 8,600,590. Hilbert’s paradox has fascinated mathematicians, physicists and philosophers. Even theologians and they all agree you should get down early for breakfast.
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Inglés Secundaria
©MELC,S.A.(MAGISTER)
SOLUCIÓN Práctico Parte A (Lingüística)-Junio 2014
No. #5 The twin paradox Albert Einstein didn't have a twin brother. But he had some funny ideas of what you could do with one he imagined two identical twins. Let's call them Al and Bert. Now Al is a couch potato but Bert likes to travel, so he hops into a spaceship and zooms off at closer the speed of light. That’s when Einstein’s special theory of relativity kicks in it says that the faster you travel through space the slower you move through time. So from Al’s point of view Bert's time would be moving slower than his own. To put it another way, time might fly when you're having fun. But when clocks fly they run more slowly in relativity. After a while Bert decides to head back, still at closer the speed of light, and return to his brother with his holiday snaps. When Bert arrives home, Al will now be older than his twin which makes their double dates a lot more over. Although it seems implausible Einstein just follows his theory to its logical conclusion and it turns out he was right. This concept of time dilation provides the basis for our global positioning system which how you’re set now knows you need to turn left in 200 yards. No. #6 Schrödinger’s cat Erwin Schrödinger was a physicist, a theoretical biologist, and probably more of a dog pet. In the 1920s scientists discovered quantum mechanics which said that some particles are so tiny you can't even measure them without changing them. But the theory only worked if before you measured them the particle is in a superposition of every possible state all at the same time. To tackle that Schrödinger imagined the cat in a box with a radioactive particle and a Geiger counter attached to a vial of poison. If the particle decays it triggers the Geiger counter releases the poison and ―Bye, bye, tickles. But if the particle is in two states both decayed and not decayed, the cat is also in two states both dead and not dead, until someone looks in the box. In practice is it's impossible to put a cat into a superposition. You’ll have the animal rights lobby up in arms. But you can isolate atoms and they do seem to be in two stays at once. Quantum mechanics challenges our whole perception of reality so maybe it's understandable that Schrödinger himself decided he didn't like it. And we're sorry he had started it all about cats. 4. USE OF ENGLISH A. Rephrase the following sentences in TWO different ways using the given expressions: 1. He stood no chance of passing his exams. a. BOUND …He was bound to fail his exams…. b. INEVITABLE…It was inevitable to fail his exams……. 2. I’m sure that he missed the eleven o’clock train. a. MUST …He must have missed the eleven o’clock train……… b. CAN’T …He can’t have caught the eleven o’clock train…… 3. The house has got everything except a large garden. a. LACKS ………The house lacks a large garden……… b. FROM …Except for the large garden the house has got everything… 12
Inglés Secundaria
©MELC,S.A.(MAGISTER)
SOLUCIÓN Práctico Parte A (Lingüística)-Junio 2014
4. I’m afraid to say that we haven’t got ant oil left. a. UP ……I’m afraid we have used up all the oil………… b. OUT …I’m afraid we have run out of oil.………………… 5. The film is similar to Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a number of ways. a. BEARS …The film bears some resemblance with Shakespeare’s Hamlet…… b. COMMON … The film has several points in common with Shakespeare’s Hamlet…… B. Choose the word which best completes each sentence. 1. I was kept awake for most of the night by the ……. of a mosquito on my ear. a. whine b. moan c. groan d. screech 2. If you would like to wait a moment, sir, I will just ….. your file on the computer screen. a. call up b. pull down c. bring in d. pick up 3. If I were you, I would regard their offer with considerable …, because it seems too good to be true. a. suspicion b. doubt c. reservation d. disbelief 4. My sister’s confidence in her ability to play the piano was badly ….. by her last music teacher. a. subsided b. weakened c. loosened d. undermined 5. Now’s a …. time to tell me you’re going out this evening ―I’ve spent the whole day preparing supper for you. a. suitable b. reasonable c. fine d. right 6. He ….. to be an expert in bomb disposal. a. pronounced b. certified c. professed
d. declared
7. He was not ….. to taking on all the extra responsibilities the promotion entailed. a. hesitant b. unenthusiastic c. reluctant d. averse 8. As fog had closed the airport, they had to …. the relief flight elsewhere. a. distract b. divert c. deflect d. detract 9. There was a(n) …. Of freshly baked bread coming from the field kitchens. a. reek b. scent c. odour d. aroma 10. During the rioting several houses in the area had their windows ….. a. clinked b. banged c. crashed d. smashed
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Inglés Secundaria
©MELC,S.A.(MAGISTER)
SOLUCIÓN Práctico Parte A (Lingüística)-Junio 2014
C. Fill in the gaps with a suitable expression: Collocations in English (1) fall into a number of different categories. In this article I should like to draw a (2) distinction between ‘ordinary’ collocations and those that are so fixed that they can be called idioms. Although my main focus is on ‘ordinary’ collocations, I shall also to some extent (3) take idioms into consideration too. I plan to (4) raise a number of questions about learning collocations in a foreign or second language. I shall attempt to answer these questions by (5) making reference to the work of the leading writers in the field. My intention is to make a strong (6) case for a more intensive focus on collocation in the language learning process. I shall also (7) touch on issues such as pronunciation. D. Match the idiomatic expressions on the left with their meaning on the right: IDIOM
EQUIVALENCE
MEANING IN SPANISH
1. to be patsy 2. to get out of the jam
g). to take the blame d). to get by
3. to be topsy-turvy 4. to call the roll 5. to be head-andshoulders 6. to have one’s heart set on 7. to be head over heels in love 8. not to make head or tail out of 9. to come to a head
j). to be jammed, messed up l). to check attendance k). to be ahead of
pagar el pato salir del atolladero, de un apuro Estar algo patas arriba Pasar lista Aventajar a alguien, sacarle la delantera Tener la esperanza puesta en algo Estar perdidamente enamorado No tener pies ni cabeza
e). to hope b). to be madly in love a). not to make any sense
10. to gild the lily
c). to be in the worse possible case f). to adorn unnecessarily
11. to go out on a limb
h). to get into danger, to risk
12. to toe the line
i). to obey the rules
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Estar la cosa que arde Rizar el rizo, emperifollar Jugársela, arriesgar la vida Ceñirse a las reglas
