What’s in a Name? - PAU Madrid 2011

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos C. Madrid

Recently, a couple in New Zealand was not allowed to name their baby son 4Real. Even though New Zealand has quite liberal rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed. They decided to call him Superman instead.

In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, especially since the increasing fashion for celebrities to give their children silly names. In Britain, you can call a child almost anything you like - the only restrictions on parents relate to offensive words. Some parents choose names which come from popular culture. For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films. Equally, names relating to sport are fairly common - since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the football team.

Other countries have much stricter rules about how parents should name their children. Countries including Japan, Denmark, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose. In China, there are some rules about what you may call a child - no foreign letters or symbols are allowed. As a result, just a year ago, a couple could not name their baby son @.

In Britain, some names which were previously considered old-fashioned have become more popular again, such as Maisie or Ella for a girl, or Alfie or Noah for a boy. But the most popular names are not the silly ones. The top names are fairly traditional - Jack, Charlie and Thomas for boys and Grace, Ruby and Jessica for girls.

 RESPUESTAS

I. READING COMPREHENSION

Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are
given for only TRUE or FALSE.

a) There are no rules about what you can name your child in the UK.

• FALSE: In Britain, you can call a child almost anything you like - the only restrictions on parents relate to offensive words.

b) Some children in the UK now have names of fictional characters.

• TRUE: Some parents choose names which come from popular culture. For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films.

2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not
copy from the text.

a) What was the New Zealand couple’s problem and how did they solve it?

• They wanted to call their son 4Real but that was not possible because people´s names must not start with a number in New Zealand. Instead of that, they named the baby Superman.

b) Explain at least three different regulations on naming children mentioned in the text.

• British children cannot be named words that can be considered insults.Chinese names must not contain any foreign letter or symbol.In New Zealand names starting with a number are not permitted. In some countries parents must choose their baby´s name from an official list of names.

II. USE OF ENGLISH

3.- Find the words in the text that mean:

• a) trend (paragraph 2) fashion
• b) select (paragraph 2) choose
• c) in the same way (paragraph 2) equally
• d) like (paragraph 4) such as

4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when
given.

• a) Naming your baby is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT (important) tasks you will ever face. A silly name may affect you and your child FOR ever!
• b) IF you don’t like the first name that comes into your mind, keep SEARCHING (search) until you find a name that you really like.
• c) No one LIKES (like) having their name constantly MISPRONOUNCED (mispronounce), that’s for sure.
• d) Once you have an idea for your BABY´S (baby) name, always check the initials! I had a neighbour WHOSE initials were “P.I.G.”.

+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS