PAU inglés Galicia 2015 - Attitudes towards Britain and the British

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Galicia resueltos

The  British  Council  recently  conducted  a  31-nation  survey  (including  Spain)  of  attitudes towards Britain and the British, as part of the British Government’s efforts to improve the UK’s image  overseas.  In  general  the  attitudes  of  people  in  Africa,  the  Middle  East  and  South  Asia were  quite  positive,  but  those  in  Western  Europe  and  East  Asia  gave  more  critical  responses. However,  all  areas  agreed  on  Britain’s  most  famous  representatives:  David  Beckham,  Hugh Grant and Mr Bean.

In  Spain people  were  more  critical  than  in  other  countries  when  asked  about  Britain.  As  far  as British  people  are  concerned,  Spanish  attitudes  were  positive  in  some  aspects  and  negative  in others.  On  one  hand  they  seemed  to  think  that  the  British  are  honest,  fair, hardworking  and loyal,  but,  on  the  other  hand  they  regarded  them  as  being  rather  conservative,  a  little  bit  dull, and not terribly friendly, particularly to people from other countries and cultures. The country’s main  strengths  were  felt  to  be  the  English language, the nation’s stable economy and its legal, government and education systems. The country’s higher education system, its universities and colleges,  were  well thought of and most Spanish people believe  that if they  go to the UK, they will  get  a  good academic experience in the universities and colleges there. Britain’s art world was widely praised, especially because of its tremendous capacity for innovation.
Contrary  to  people  from other  countries,  the  Spanish  are  more  or  less  aware  of  the  differences between the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. Scotland (whose key images were mountains,  kilts  and  whisky)  was  the  most  recognised,  ahead  of  England  (best  known  for London,  the  Royal  Family  and  the  Tower  of London),  Wales  (the  Prince  of Wales,  castles  and rugby) and Northern Ireland (violence and the IRA).

READING COMPREHENSION

Read the text and the instructions to the questions very carefully. Answer all the questions in English.

1. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points, using your own words whenever possible (approximately 50 words, 1 point).

2. Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the following

(1 point: 0.25 each)

• a) make better
• b) boring
• c) great, enormous
• d) skirts worn by men

3. Complete the second sentence of each pair so that it has the same meaning as the first one (2 points: 0.5

points each)

• a) The British Council recently conducted a survey of attitudes towards Britain and the British.
• A survey of attitudes.......
• b) The attitudes of people in Africa, were positive, but those in Europe were more critical.
• Whereas ...
• c) All areas agreed on Britain’s most famous representatives: David Beckham, and Mr Bean .
• All areas agreed that ....
• d) Spanish people believe that if they go to the UK, they will get a good academic experience.
• The text said that .....

4. Answer the following questions in your own words, as far as possible. Your answer must be based on the information given in the text. (2 points: 1 point each).

• a) In what ways are the Spanish critical of the British?
• b) What do the Spanish think about education in Britain?

WRITING

5. What do YOU think about Britain and the British? (Approximately 120 words; 3 points).

RESPUESTAS

1. In a British Council survey of attitudes towards Britain and the British, Spanish people were more critical than those from the other 30 countries consulted. They saw good and bad aspects in British people, but admired certain British institutions and Britain’s contributions to the arts, and were aware of the countries that constitute the UK.

2.
a) make better = improve
b) boring = dull
c) great, enormous = tremendous
d) skirts worn by Scottish men = kilts

3.
a) A survey of attitudes towards Britain and the British was recently conducted by the British Council.
b) Whereas the attitudes of people in Africa were positive, those in Europe were more critical.
c) All areas agreed that David Beckham and Mr Bean were Britain’s most famous representatives.
d) The text said that Spanish people believed that if they went to the UK, they would get a good academic experience.

4.
a) As people, they think that the British are conservative, a bit dull, and rather unfriendly.
b) They  admire  the  British  educational  system,  especially  the  universities  and  colleges,  which  they  think  are  very good.

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