Inglés EvAU – Junio 2021

TEXTO A

Is the Full Stop no Longer Necessary?

The full stop has been used for centuries to end sentences, but its use is changing. As
Generation Z – teenagers or those in their early twenties – have grown up in the age of instant
messaging, the punctuation mark is no longer commonly used. Linguists from across the world
have been investigating the purposefulness of the full stop as communication habits have
evolved, and some of them think people simply do not put full stops in unless they want to
make a point.

Dr Fonteyn tweeted: If you send a text message without a full stop, it’s already obvious that
you’ve concluded the message. “So, if you add that additional marker for completion, they will
read something into it, and it tends to be a falling intonation or negative tone.” The full stop is
“intimidating” to young people who interpret it as a sign of anger.

According to The Telegraph, linguists are divided on whether the full stop has become
redundant given that text messages are concluded by pressing “send” so there is arguably no
need for the full stop. In 2015, a study from Binghamton University suggested that people who
finish messages with full stops are perceived as insincere. The study involved 126
undergraduates and the researchers concluded that text messages ending in the most final of
punctuation marks were perceived as being less sincere. Unusually, texts ending in an
exclamation point are deemed heartfelt or more profound.

Research leader Celia Klin said: “When speaking, people easily convey social and emotional
information with eye gaze, facial expressions, tone of voice and so on. People obviously can’t
use these mechanisms when they are texting. Thus, it makes sense that texters rely on what
they have available to them – emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds and,
punctuation.”

Adapted from “Full stop is ‘intimidating’ to young people who interpret it as a sign of anger,
linguists say.” The World News, August 24, 2020. <https://bit.ly/3jRw1Hi>

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QUESTIONS

A.1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No
marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a) According to the text, several researchers consider that people use the full stop when
they want to highlight something.
True. The evidence is on the first paragraph: “Linguists from across the world have been
investigating the purposefulness of the full stop as communication habits have evolved, and
some of them think people simply do not put full stops in unless they want to make a point.”

b) Youngsters think using a full stop shows someone is quite annoyed.

True. The evidence is on the second paragraph: “The full stop is “intimidating” to young
people who interpret it as a sign of anger.”

A.2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions.
Do not copy from the text. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a) What is the difference between ending messages with a full stop or an exclamation mark?
Ending messages with a full stop often indicates that the sender is angry or dishonest, while
an exclamation mark at the end tends to be perceived as a more sincere or deeper message.
b) Why do people use emojis when they are messaging online?
Because when we talk face to face we complete our message with other tools like our
gestures or tone, so, not having that possibility in written messages, we use any other
resources like emojis.

A.3.- Find the words in the text that mean: (Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

a) behaviours (paragraph 1) habits

b) clear (paragraph 2) obvious
c) include (paragraph 2) add
d) indicated (paragraph 3) suggested

A.4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets
when given. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a) Youngsters who are used to communicating (communicate) electronically break up their

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thoughts by sending each one as a separate message, rather than using a full stop.
b) The full stop derives from Greek punctuation which was introduced (introduce) by
Aristophanes of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC.
c) The slightest (slight) mistake in punctuating a clause in a contract can have massive
unintended consequences. Punctuation matters (matter).
d) If I were you, I would not show (show) how brilliant I am by manipulating the language
on the internet.
A.5.- Write about 150 to 200 words on the following topic. (Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)

Our words have impact. Why is it determining or relevant to think before speaking our minds?
Explain.

In the society of immediacy in which we live we are often compelled to react to situations
promptly. However, we should take into account the possible impact of our words before
speaking our minds.

On the one hand, we might be surrounded by a sensitive audience. For example, if we convey
our thoughts without adapting them to our listeners, children could learn aspects of life they
are not prepared to or someone with problems unknown to us could feel hurt or attacked by
our comments.

On the other hand, it is undeniable that the way we talk to others has a direct effect on the
way they react to us. Therefore, if we don’t pay attention to what we are saying, people could
make a wrong idea about us and think that we are insensitive or unkind.

In a nutshell, we need time to organise our thoughts because the first thing that comes to our
mind tends to be driven by emotions and it could be too extreme. Thus, thinking before
speaking our mind is essential to improve how we relate to each other.

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TEXTO B

Women Spies during World War II

The summer of 1941 was a difficult time for Britain and her European allies in the war. The
Nazis were bombing key cities across the country and much of Europe had fallen to the
Germans, leaving Britain vulnerable. This made the work of the Special Operations Executive
(SOE), and the actions of women within it, that much more important.

Established in June 1940 in London, the SOE was a volunteer force set up to practice a secret
war behind enemy lines. Intelligence agencies realized fairly early on during the war the
important part women could play in spying, in what had been traditionally considered the
domain of men. Women were thought to be more discreet as spies, and capitalized on this
perception during the war, carrying out tasks and missions that men were unable to do. In the
field, women could go unnoticed as messengers delivering vital information, with one SOE
officer from Holland noting that in 1944, women were rarely stopped and searched at
checkpoints.

In some instances, women spies took big risks and they had a great influence in the
development of the war conflict. As historian Juliette Pattinson notes, “several wartime
accounts indicate that male agents were less skilled and inventive than their female
colleagues.”

The SOE had sent 39 women to Occupied France by the time of the D-Day invasions on June
6, 1944. Because it was crucial that they evade suspicion, the SOE recruited agents who could
speak French and adapt to French life. Each agent was given a codename or an alias, and
trained in specialist skills, including radio operations, how to maintain a cover story and how to
open locks.

Adapted from “Inside the Stories of the Most Daring Women Spies of World War II,” Time, 2
October 2020. <https://bit.ly/3fbcjWp>

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QUESTIONS

B.1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No
marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a) Women began working as spies at the end of the war.

False. The evidence is on the second paragraph: “Intelligence agencies realized fairly early on
during the war the important part women could play in spying, in what had been traditionally
considered the domain of men.”
b) Historical evidence shows that men were better spies than women. Few young Americans
have traditionally voted.

False. The evidence is on the third paragraph: “As historian Juliette Pattinson notes, ‘several
wartime accounts indicate that male agents were less skilled and inventive than their female
colleagues.’”

B.2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions.
Do not copy from the text. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a) What are the two reasons why Great Britain was in a hard situation during the summer of
1941?
Because its most important cities were being bombarded by the Nazis and Germany had
taken over a great number of European countries.
b) Why was speaking French required to be a good spy?
Because the agents had to avoid being discovered, and, for that, they had to be able to adapt
themselves perfectly to life in France.

B.3.- Find the words in the text that mean: (Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)
a) challenging (paragraph 1) difficult
b) quite (paragraph 2) fairly
c) seldom (paragraph 2) rarely
d) every (paragraph 4) each

B.4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets
when given. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

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a) Considered (consider) the most dangerous of all allied spies by the Gestapo, Virginia Hall
was particularly good at opening locks.
b) Even though women spies worked very hard during World War II, they were paid less than
men.
c) According to official files, there were more than 200 women who served as double spies
during the war.
d) Complete the following sentence to report what was said.

“Who is your preferred woman spy?”

My friend asked me who my preferred woman spy was.

B.5.- Write about 150 to 200 words on the following topic. (Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)

Who is your favourite male or female historical character? Explain the reasons for your choice.

In history there have been countless figures that have left a worthy legacy for society. However,
I would like to focus on the twentieth century female British writer Virginia Woolf.

She was always connected to intellectuals thanks to her siblings, and together with some
relatives and Cambridge scholars she funded the Bloomsbury Group, which was a club of
intellectuals from several areas like economics, literature o art. The members were prominent
figures like E. M. Forster or John Maynard Keynes. Furthermore, she and her husband, Leonard
Woolf, funded Hogarth Press were most of her works were published.

As a writer she was a recognised novelist and a pioneer of the narrative device known as “stream
of consciousness”. Some of her most outstanding works are the novels To the lighthouse or Mrs.
Dalloway, and the essay A room of one’s own, an important feminist text.

In short, the reason why I have chosen her is that she is one of the most significant modernist
authors of the twentieth century and her figure has marked much of the current literary feminist
criticism and has been the subject of many plays, novels and films.

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