Why are British kids so unhappy? Two words: screen time. PAU Valencia 2016

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Comunidad Valenciana resueltos

Children at school-by-Lucélia Ribeiro

Peter Wanless has warned of a nation of deeply unhappy children, due to “the pressure to keep up with friends and have the perfect life online... adding to the sadness that many young people feel every day”. New research by Action For Children (AFC) finds that one in four parents struggles to control their  children’s  screen  use, 10% of parents find it hard to get their kids to do homework, and 18% can’t get them to go to sleep at night.

AFC suggests limiting children’s screen time by planning fun activities for the whole family that don’t involve technology and creating a balance between technology use and other activities, insisting that, for every hour of screen, children should have to do an hour of something else.

Sorry, none of that’s ever going to work on any teen I know, for that matter; it’s too late for that now. No, it’s time for some Victorian-style parenting.  So last night we sat our son Fred down and laid down the law: from this Sunday,  he’s to hand in his phone to us by 10.30 pm on school  nights - no discussion,  no argument,  just good old-fashioned “because I said so”. His response? “No way. That is so unfair. I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Sure, you can blame the parents for this whole mess -if we hadn’t filled our homes with smartphones and tablets and  laptops and desktops, none of this would ever have happened.  You can even blame society or  the government. Or it could be Tim Berners-Lee’s fault for inventing the web.

Bob Granleese, The Guardian, 7-1-2016

RESPUESTAS

Part A. Reading Comprehension

I. Answer  the  following  questions  using  your  own  words  but  taking  into  account  the  information in the text. (2 points: 1 point each)

• a. What does AFC suggest to reduce children’s hours in front of the screen?
• PAR 2. (planning fun activities for the whole family that don’t involve technology and creating a balance between technology use and other activities, insisting that, for every hour of screen, children should have to do an hour of something else).
• b. Who is to blame for this situation that we are facing now about children and technology?
• PAR 4. (you can blame the parents for this whole mess -if we hadn’t filled our homes with smartphones and tablets and laptops and desktops, none of this would ever have happened. You can even blame society or the government. Or it could be Tim Berners-Lee’s fault for inventing the web.)

II. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Identify the part of the text that supports your answer by copying the exact passage on the answer sheet. (1.5 points: 0.5 each)

• a. Other activities should be more frequent than the use of technology.
• F. creating a balance between technology use and other activities.
  
• b. Fred and his parents reached an agreement on technology use.
• F. His response? “No way. That is so unfair. I’ve done nothing wrong!” 
• c. Parents have some responsibility in what has happened.
• T. Sure, you can blame the parents for this whole mess -if we hadn’t filled our homes with smartphones and tablets and laptops and desktops, none of this would ever have happened. 

III. Find a synonym for each of the four words below from these six options. (1 point: 0.25 each)

keep up with        involve       plan       balance      work        fault

• a. equilibrium: balance
• b. mistake: fault
• c. maintain: keep up with
• d. arrange: plan      

IV. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (1.5 points: 0.5 each)  

1. The pressure to have a perfect life online...

• a. is the main reason why British kids are unhappy nowadays.
• b. is part of why British kids are unhappy nowadays.
• c. is part of the reason why they use their smartphones all the time.

2.  Asking children to do something else instead of using technology...

• a. is a good way to keep the family together at weekends.
• b. is a good way to stop the use of technology by children.
• c. is useless because they are too addicted to technology.

3.  The author...

• a. has a clear picture that only parents are responsible for the current situation.
• b. has a clear picture of who is to blame for the current situation.
• c. does not have a clear picture of who is to blame for the current situation.

Part B. Composition 

• Are you addicted to technology? Discuss. (130 to 150 words approximately) (4 points)

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