The Notting Hill Carnival - PAU 2016 inglés Andalucía

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

The Notting Hill Carnival traces its origins back to the culture of the Caribbean. When African slaves were first brought to Trinidad, they were not permitted to dance or play their own music. However, as the slavery regime settled down, a strong local tradition of carnival emerged. Once a year, enslaved people symbolically escaped from the oppression of their daily routine by playing music, dancing, and dressing up in costumes which mimicked the European fashions of their masters. They even whitened their faces with flour or wore white masks.

The tradition came to London with the migration of workers and their families from the Caribbean to Britain after the Second World War. By the late 1950s, many Caribbeans were living in Notting Hill a poor area. There, they faced racism, bad housing conditions and, in 1958, violent attacks from white youths. The idea of a Caribbean carnival emerged as a way of reasserting community cohesion after the 1958 disturbance. 

Claudia Jones, the editor of the West Indian Gazette, was the moving spirit behind the idea. The first carnival celebration was held in the town hall building in St. Pancras in 1962. This was a great success and became an annual event. In 1965, local social worker Rhaune Laslett suggested holding some outdoor festivities in Notting Hill. The two celebrations were combined, and so the Notting Hill carnival began. The skills of costume-making, steel drumming and calypso music gradually came together to establish a festival of music, arts and culture.

The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest European street party and the second major street festival in the world after Rio's Carnival. It is truly a spectacle not to be missed.

No Fear, No Surprise, No Hesitation - PAU inglés 2016 Madrid

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos C. Madrid

Ancient Samurai Armor | by williamcho

Where does this saying come from? It's from a seventeenth-century samurai warrior. This way his key to successful living.

No fear. There should be nothing in this life that you are afraid of. If there is, you might need to overcome that fear. Here I have to confess to a certain fear of heights. Recently, owing to leaky rain gutters, I had to crawl out on our roof. I gritted my teeth and kept repeating, "No fear, no fear", until the job was done. Oh yes, and of course I didn't look down. Whatever your fear, face it head on and defeat it.

No surprise. Life seems to be full of them. You're going along swimmingly and suddenly something huge rears up ahead of you. But if you look carefully, there were clues all along the way that it was going to happen. So why does life seem to surprise us then? Because we are asleep half the time. Wake up and nothing can sneak up on you.

No hesitation. Weigh up the odds and then just get on with it. If you spend too long thinking, the opportunity will have passed. Once we have looked at the options, we make a choice; then, go for it. No hesitation means not waiting around for other people to help out or make up our minds for us. No hesitation means if there is a certain inevitability about a situation then just throw yourself in, head first, and enjoy the ride. If there is nothing to be done then waiting doesn't help.

Migrant crisis - PAU 2016 C.Valenciana

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Comunidad Valenciana resueltos

NORWAY WILL RETURN BACK TO RUSSIA REFUGEES WHO EXPLOITED LEGAL BICYCLE GAP

Sylvi Listhaug, Norway’s immigration minister, has told refugees that exploited a legal gap to enter the country  on bikes  through an  Arctic  Circle  crossing  will  have to  return  to  Russia.  Around 5,500 asylum seekers used bikes to travel through the Storskog crossing last year and, although Russia does not  allow people  to  cross  the  border  on foot  and  Norway  does  not  let  in  motorists carrying people without documents, people on bicycles are allowed in on both sides. 

Listhaug  also  announced  that  immigrants  without  a  transit  visa  would  be  sent  back  to  Russia. The two  nations  have  been  sending  refugees  back  and  forth  since  November  2015  when  the  new route was identified by authorities. Once they reach Norway, refugees spend time at a centre that provides shelter for  around  600  people  in  barracks  on  a  former  military  camp  bordering  the airport  of Kirkenes. New arrivals are given fleece jumpers, waterproof jackets and other clothes appropriate for the  Arctic climate,  with  most  of  them  sleeping  in  bunk  beds.  On  Thursday, Norwegian  police confirmed that the refugees would not be forced to return across the border on two wheels, and could instead be taken by bus. 

The number  of  people  taking  the  Arctic  route  is  tiny  compared  with  the  estimated  750,000  who arrived  via  the  Mediterranean  in  2015,  a  perilous  journey  that  has  led  to  the  loss  of  at  least 3,400 lives. 

William Watkison, International Business Times, 15-1-2016

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

Are you a Phubber? PAU 2016 resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

"Stop Phubbing" is a campaign aimed to embarrass people over the rude use of mobile phones. "Phubbing" is a slang word that means ignoring others in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention.  "Tweeting" during weddings, or "instagramming" at dinner with friends are cases of phubbing. Posters have been created for use in cafes, bars and restaurants, with slogans including "Respect the food and the company you are in" or "Put your phone away and have a chat in the real world." 

The campaign creator, Alex Haigh, an Australian student, explained how the idea of the campaign was born: "A group of friends and I were chatting when someone commented how annoying being ignored by people on mobiles was. It's the people who do it all the time that we are targeting. It's a paradox. You disconnect from those around you in favour of those pretty much anywhere else. This often irritates your friends, unless they're phubbing too, in which case you all might as well have stayed home." 

Joseph Haddad, who owns a cafe in Brunswick, Germany, has displayed posters of the campaign to try to discourage bad manners: "It happens a lot, people come in and we ask them, 'what would you like?' and they stay on their phones. And we see a lot of people who are sitting at the table with friends, and they are on Facebook, or Twitter... don't you think they should be talking to each other instead?" Although the first "Stop Phubbing" campaign group started in Australia, at least five others have appeared as indignation about this new type of rude behaviour grows all over the world. 

PAU 2015 Cantabria. Train to take you from Los Angeles to San Francisco in three hours

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Cantabria resueltos

Everyone’s talking about California's high-speed rail project – a $68 billion network that could zip passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three hours. Construction of the first phase of the line will begin next year in the Central Valley, a 28-mile stretch from Madera to Fresno. In future years, the rail line will stretch north to San Jose and south to Palmdale and the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. The whole network might not be completed until 2028.

The project has been surrounded by controversy. Some have said even though the nation’s first bullet train will take a quarter of the time it currently takes, it will still not be fast enough to attract sufficient customers.

Others have said the price tag is too high. Yet officials at California’s High-Speed Rail Authority say it is still cheaper than building dozens of new airport runways and highways to accommodate a state population that is estimated to reach 46 million by 2035.

At a special ceremony in Fresno on Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown compared the rail line to the construction of the great cathedrals of Europe, which took generations. “The high-speed rail links us from the past to the future, from the south to the north,” he said. “It's not that expensive. We cannot really afford not to build it.

All these projects are a little controversial. You’ll always have some critics say why spend all this money?”

Last year, two government transport officials from the state, Brian Kelly and Mary Nichols, wrote in a newspaper article that the only genuine alternative to the high-speed train was to invest up to $150 billion to build 4,300 new lanes of highway, more freeways and hundreds of new airport gates and runways. They added: “This would cover large parts of the state with concrete and asphalt.”

By car, the journey takes at least six-and-a-half hours in optimum traffic conditions, and can cost about as much depending on the type of car, fuel and highway tolls. The high-speed train tickets will be similar to the cost of air travel, promoters say, and deliver people to central stations, saving more time and money.

The Independent, 7 January 2015 (Adapted)

PAU 2015 inglés. E-Cigarettes increase the risk of flu and pneumonia

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Cantabria resueltos

Using electronic cigarettes may harm the body’s defences against pneumonia and flu, according to a recent study. The research, which reopens the debate on the dangers and benefits of e-cigarettes, suggests the vapour produced by the devices can compromise the immune system in the lungs, leaving them more vulnerable to infection by harmful bacteria and viruses.

Scientists from John Hopkins University exposed mice to e-cigarette vapour twice a day for two weeks.

They then administered some of the mice with an influenza virus and others with the bacteria which is responsible for pneumonia. The mice that had been exposed to the vapour were less able to fight off illness, and some died. Professor Shyam Biswal, senior author of the study, said the findings suggested that e-cigarettes are not neutral in terms of the effects on the lungs and that studies should now be carried out on people, particularly those with common lung problems which often affect smokers and ex-smokers – the main users of e-cigarettes.

It is true that e-cigarettes have been shown to be highly effective in helping smokers to quit, and there is a broad consensus that despite some uncertainty over their health impact, they are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes but Professor Biswal remains concerned e-cigarettes could pose risks to future generations, particularly given evidence from some countries that they are becoming more popular among young people who have never smoked.

He has recommended to the World Health Organisation that they be banned in indoor public spaces – a measure the Department of Health in England has ruled out, but which is being considered by the Welsh government.

However, Professor John Britton from the UK said the most important point was that harm to the lungs was less from e-cigarettes than from tobacco. “The lung is an exquisitely delicate organ and therefore nobody with any common sense would believe that inhaling heated vapour many times a day would be harmless,” he said. “What matters here is not a comparison of the effects of e-cigarette vapour compared with nothing, but the effects compared with those of tobacco smoke. Harm to the lungs will be less with electronic cigarettes than tobacco cigarettes, and any smoker who cannot quit using nicotine, and doesn’t find medicinal products effective, would be well advised to try an electronic cigarette.”

The Guardian, 4 February 2015 (Adapted).

How Facebook affects us - PAU 2015

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Cantabria resueltos

Two recent studies have revealed amazing facts about how Facebook affects its users. The first study, carried out by researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has shown that being envious of Facebook friends can cause depression and that looking through the site to compare achievements with those of friends can have a very detrimental effect on a person`s mental health. Margaret Duffy explains, "Facebook can be a fun and healthy activity if users take advantage of the site to stay connected with family and old friends and to share interesting and important aspects of their lives. However, using it to see how well an acquaintance is doing financially or how happy an old friend is in his relationship can lead to feelings of depression."

Duffy and a colleague based in Singapore surveyed 700 students for the paper, published in the journal ‘Computers in Human Behaviour’. She went on to say, "Facebook can be a very positive resource for many people, but if it is used as a way to compare your own accomplishments against others, it can have a negative effect. It is important for Facebook users to be aware of these risks so they can avoid this kind of behaviour when using Facebook."

A second study, completely independent from the first, has shown that a computer can be better at assessing someone’s basic personality than close friends or family. A study of more than 86,000 users of Facebook has demonstrated the power of intelligent machines to predict an individual’s character based on what they have listed as their “Likes.”

Researchers said that the day when computers are able to judge a person’s personality accurately has almost arrived and even suggested that science fiction films like “Her”, based on a man’s emotional attachment to an intelligent computer, are closer than we think. In the future, computers could be able to infer our psychological characteristics and react accordingly in an emotionally-intelligent way. “People may choose to change their own intuitions and judgements with this kind of data analysis when making important life decisions such as choosing activities, career paths or even romantic partners,” said Wu Youyou of Cambridge University.

The Independent, 12 January and 4 February 2015 (Adapted)

Do young people care about learning foreign languages? - PAU 2015 inglés Cantabria

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Cantabria resueltos

Do young people in the UK care about learning languages? Fewer students than ever are choosing to study a language degree at university, and since 2004, taking a language at GCSE* has not been compulsory, so the simple answer would seem to be no. This is disconcerting news for a country which is not exactly famous for its multilingualism.

However, research conducted by the organisation ICM paints a far more complex picture of youth attitudes in the UK. Those choosing to study languages may have dropped, but of the 1001 young people between the ages of 14-24 interviewed in the survey, almost 20% already speak another language at home with their family, and 70% would be interested in learning another language in the future.

When asked to pick the three main benefits of learning a language, students said that job prospects at home and abroad were both key incentives. Learning about another culture and the experience of communicating also scored highly in this section. So if languages offer you the ability to make new friends and work abroad, why are young people put off? Asked to pick the three main downsides of learning a language, the difficulty of the learning process was an important reason but the idea that they were less interesting than other subjects came top for our young interviewees. Interestingly, low confidence levels in speaking another language also played a role in this decision.

Asking interviewees to comment on their ability in the language they had studied at school provided perhaps the most revealing piece of data from the survey. For most of the languages, students don’t perceive themselves to be progressing past basic language levels. The survey suggested that the opportunity to use a language outside the classroom and communicate with native speakers would make language learning more attractive. As for teaching inside the classroom, young people want more interaction, and more technology.

November 2014, The Guardian (Adapted).

• *GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education (in the UK)

The birth of Rock and Roll - PAU 2016 Andalucía inglés

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

The  origins  of  rock  and  roll  have  been  fiercely  debated  by  commentators  and  historians  of  music.  There  is  general  agreement  that  it  began in  the  Southern  United  States  –  a  region  which  would  produce  most  of  the  major  early rock and roll acts – through the meeting of various influences that embodied a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation.  The migration of many former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers  such  as Memphis,  New  York  City,  Detroit  and  Chicago meant  that  black  and  white  residents  were  living  in  close  proximity  in  larger  numbers  than  ever  before,  and  as  a  result  heard  each  other's  music  and  even  began  to  emulate each other's fashions.

Radio stations that made white and black forms of music available to both groups, the development  and  spread  of  the gramophone  record,  and  African  American  musical  styles  such as  jazz  and  swing  which were taken up by white musicians, aided this process of "cultural collision".

The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the rhythm and blues, then called " race music", and country music of 10 the  1940s  and  1950s.  

Particularly  significant  influences  were  jazz, blues, gospel,  country,  and folk. Commentators differ in their views of which of these forms were most important and the degree to which the new music was a re-branding of African American rhythm and blues for a white market, or a new hybrid of black and white forms.

In the 1930s jazz, and particularly swing, both in urban based dance bands and blues-influenced country swing, was among the first music to present African American sounds for a predominantly white audience.

PAU Galicia 2015 inglés - The Polite Society

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Galicia resueltos

When  was  the  last  time  you  stopped  to  have  a  friendly  chat  with  your  neighbour,  or  paused  to open  the door for someone, or gave up your seat on the bus to an elderly person? If you have to stop to think, then it was too long ago.

Ian Gregory, the founder of the Polite Society, is the sort of person who does it every day and thinks that the world would be a better place if we all did the same. What we need, he says, is a touch more courtesy. Our society is full of rude, inconsiderate and selfish people who wouldn’t give you the time of day even if your life depended on it. He’s absolutely right, of course, but isn’t that “a sign of the times”? Well,  he  thinks there is  something  that  is  going  wrong  with  the  way  we  live  our  lives  and  interact  with one another, especially  on  the  roads,  where  an  estimated  47  per  cent  of  accidents  can  be  traced  back  to some act of discourtesy.
There is nothing that legislation can do about this; there’s nothing that money can do about it either. You can’t impose a personality on a nation and say: “Well, let’s all be nicer to one another”. But the only way you  are going  to  get  anything  effective  done  about  it  is  if  you  persuade  enough  people  that  they  can  be happier, more successful individuals if they are more considerate to one another in their business, in their love lives, in their family lives, in everything.
You  see,  we  are  brilliant  at  discovering  things,  learning  how  to  use  computers,  etc.,  but  in  terms  of behaviour towards one another we are no better than cavemen.

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).

PAU Galicia 2015 - Kirkland, the most desirable place to live in the USA

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Galicia resueltos

Kirkland,  in  Western  Seattle,  has  been  voted  the  most  desirable  place  to  live  in  the  United  States. Seattle’s  eastside  suburbs  are  a  pleasant  mass  of good  schools,  great  jobs  and  family-friendly neighborhoods. Kirkland has  all  that, while also offering  a unique, lively downtown on  the shores of Lake Washington.

From Kirkland’s beaches on the lake you can see the Seattle skyline, but there’s no need to go to the big city to have fun. Even on a weeknight, the downtown restaurants and sidewalks are full. “Kirkland is definitely a hotspot right now,” says Kristi Caggiano, 42, who moved to town 14 years ago. She lives near downtown with her husband, daughter and 10-year-old son, and says the family can walk to the market, local shops, pool and library. “The school system is fantastic,” Kristi says, “and we are going to send our daughter to a high school which is going to open right next to our house.” This is just one of several schools that will open in the near future. Her son’s elementary school has a well-attended  choir  program,  and  every  child  has  a  chance  to  take  swimming  lessons.  Also,  25%  of Kirkland’s total area is made up of parks. Some of these have sandy beaches and attractions for kids. 

“There’s always something to do,” says Caggiano. Residents report that Kirkland’s proximity to Google and Microsoft offices is attracting a lot more young  people  and  families.  Google  now  employs  about  800  people,  and  has  announced  plans  to double the size of its Kirkland offices by 2016. The town is seeing many other new business start-ups.

The  good  job  market  means  reasonably-priced housing is in short supply. “It’s a problem we are hoping to solve soon, but we’re not there yet,” says real estate agent Brenda Nunes. A three-bedroom home averages $440,000. 

PAU inglés Galicia 2015 - Once upon a time, fashion was only for the rich

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Galicia resueltos

Once upon a time, fashion was only for the rich. Paris was the centre of the fashion world, and everyone else  tried  to  copy  the  top  French  designers.  But  now,  fashion  is  a  much  more  international  matter. London,  like  other  big  European  cities,  has  a  large  number  of  its  own  talented  and  hard-working designers.

Anyway,  many  people,  especially  the  young, take  no  notice  of the  clothes  the  designers produce.  They wear  things  which  express  their  ideas  and  feelings  about  life.  They  use  fashion  like  a  kind  of  uniform. Take hairstyles, for example. If a boy has very short, almost shaven hair, people expect him to have right-wing politics whereas they expect boys with very long hair to have left-wing politics. A boy who wears a leather jacket covered in bits of metal will probably ride a motorbike, and a girl who wears Laura Ashley dresses will probably have middle-class ideas.

Some young people, of course, have fun with all the latest “street styles”. They cut their hair into strange shapes, wear lots of cheap jewellery, cut holes in their trousers to make them look old, or paint their lips blue. These “street styles” come and go, and are not the creation of the big fashion designers, who, in fact, often use ideas from street fashions when they make their own designs. Many young people simply try to look  as  clean  and  tidy  as  possible,  particularly  when  looking  for  a  job,  in  order  to  produce  a  good impression  on  possible  employers.  Clothes  with  a  sporty  look  are  popular,  as  they  make  people  look healthy and energetic.

Most British people are possibly not very fashion-conscious. Even the richest and most important people frequently wear old and untidy clothes, and, of course, only a very few can afford designer clothes.

How would we live in a world without oil? -PAU 2016 inglés Madrid resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos C. Madrid

What would happen if our oil supply were shut off in a day? First, there is transportation. With the overwhelming majority of the oil we produce devoted to powering our vehicles, the impact on getting around would be most dramatic. Price-speculation would begin right away, and long lines would form at gas stations. Soon, we would all be looking for an electric car or converting our vehicles to run on natural gas. But it would not be long before natural gas supplies were also driven to extinction.

Fuel shortage is not the only problem our enslavement to black gold would cause. We also need to keep the lights on and blackouts would soon begin. It gets much worse still, of course, because a world without oil would quickly become a world without all of the products made from petroleum that we have come to know, love and depend upon. The list of essentials that we would soon be doing without is prodigious: medicines, paints, utensils and equipment, virtually all plastics, etc.

Eating would get tougher, too. If no one can truck fresh vegetables from across the country, we might be inclined to go back to basics and grow our own food. Local farmers would become a necessity, not just people who sell us honey at the street fair. It is an interesting thought experiment to picture such a world. Though the scenario is unreal, of course, taken to its logical conclusion, it encompasses so much more. A complete extinction of oil would lead to a rapid breakdown of society, desperation, lawlessness, wars and untold suffering.

Better ways to learn- PAU 2016 inglés Madrid resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos C. Madrid

New studies challenge the notion that a high test score equals true learning. Although a good grade may be achieved in the short term by cramming for an exam, chances are that most of the information will be quickly lost. Indeed, these surveys show that over 70 % of students probably don’t need to study more – just more effectively.

Based on decades of brain science, experts offer students a new method for learning. “Students tend to sit there and push themselves for hours, when there are other ways to make the learning more efficient, fun and interesting, which will maximize their learning potential,” researchers say. For instance, rather than sitting at the same desk studying for hours, changing the scenery will create new associations in your brain and make it easier to recall information later. Another way to signal to your brain that information is important is to talk about it. Self-testing and writing down information on flashcards also reinforces learning.

Another technique is called “distributed learning” or “spacing”. Long study sessions may seem productive, but chances are that learners are spending most of their brainpower on maintaining their concentration for a long time. That does not leave a lot of brain energy for learning. “The brain wants variation. It wants to move, it wants to take periodic breaks.” Scientists also confirm that repeating the information over a longer interval – say a few days or a week later, rather than in rapid succession – sends a stronger signal to the brain to retain the information, and this enhances learning.

Videogames - PAU inglés 2015 Andalucía resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

A teenager died at an Internet cafe in Taiwan after reportedly playing a videogame for 40 hours straight. The 18-year-old, who has only been identified by his first name, Chuang, had booked a private room in an Internet cafe in southern Taiwan. Chuang then proceeded to play the videogame for 40 hours straight without eating. The next day, an attendant went into the room where Chuang had been playing and found the teen resting on the table. The attendant was able to wake Chuang, who stood up, took a few steps and then collapsed onto the ground. He was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital. Authorities believe the teenager may have suffered a heart attack due to sitting for such a long period of time. 

The video game he had been playing was of the role play variety and very popular due to its repeated scheme of killing the monsters, finding the treasure and then escaping from the beast’s den. What made it so addictive, particularly when it got to the end of the game, was the fact that repetitive actions are necessary to develop our character’s strength till you are able to overcome the boss level. 

Regarding the teen's death, the developer of the game said: “We're saddened to hear this news. Though we recognize that it's eventually up to each individual or their parent or guardian to determine playing habits, we feel that moderation is clearly important, and that a person's day-to-day life should be more important than any form of entertainment.” Chuang is not the first individual to die following a long gaming session. Last February, 23-year-old Chen Rong-yu was found dead after having played a videogame for 23 hours.

Triskaidekaphobia - PAU inglés 2016 Andalucía resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

The number 13 is synonymous with bad luck. It's considered unlucky to have 13 guests at a dinner party, and most people avoid getting married or buying a house on a day marked by this dreaded number. Especially superstitious folks even avoid driving on Friday the 13th. Our fixation with the number 13 runs deep. Of course, unlucky 13 isn't the only popular superstition that has been linked to the human psyche for decades. We're also beholden to black cats, broken mirrors and umbrellas opened indoors.

Author and psychology professor Stuart Vyse explains that the number 13 has a history of very old references that tend to be associated with groups of 13 people. "At the Last Supper in Christian theology, there were 13 dinner guests, so that number is unlucky because Christ was betrayed... And in Norse mythology, 12 benevolent gods were gathering in a hall and the evil god Loki, the 13th guest, attacked the group and the god Balder was killed".

Although there isn’t any statistical proof to support the superstition that Friday the 13th — or even just the number 13 itself — is unlucky, the fear of the number 13 is so pervasive that it even has a phobia named after it: triskaidekaphobia. Based on this phobia, airlines typically do not have a 13th row, and most tall buildings do not have a 13th floor. However, many triskaidekaphobics, who count author Stephen King and former president Franklin Roosevelt among their ranks, don't need statistical evidence to back up their conviction that the number is truly cursed. As with any superstition, no matter how irrational it may be, some people will still choose to believe in it

What is cyberbullying? - PAU 2015 Andalucía resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

It is currently reported that up to 69% of young people experience cyberbullying before the age of 18… but what is it and who does it affect? Cyberbullying is defined as “the use of digital technologies with an intent to offend, humiliate, threaten or abuse somebody.” It can include anything offensive that is directed at you on an electronic form of communication. This includes via text, email, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and online games.

Anybody can become a receiver of cyberbullying, no matter how old they are or the kind of job they occupy. In fact, it is well documented that a lot of celebrities also experience cyberbullying. The most important thing is knowing how to deal with it by considering how serious the cyberbullying is. If it is light name-calling (that is, receiving insults) from somebody that is unknown, it may be easier to just block that user. However, if the experience comes from somebody you go to school or college with, you should report it to a teacher, an adult or contact the police as soon as you can. It is also advisable to keep social media privacy settings high and not get together with anybody unknown offline. People may not always be who they say they are and you could be putting yourself and those that you care about most in real danger. Additionally, taking a screenshot of anything that could be considered cyberbullying and keeping a record on the computer might be helpful.

However, you should never respond to anything that has been said or get revenge by doing the same thing back. Posting something humiliating in revenge may make matters worse or even get you into trouble.

Mass tourism can kill a city - PAU 2015 Andalucía resuelto

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos Andalucía

We have all been a tourist at some point, but citizens of great cities like Venice or Barcelona are trying to defend their traditional neighbourhoods from the massive invasion of tourists. The last local underwear shop in Venice closed a decade ago. This means that residents of this city of islands have to go to the mainland for such essential purchases. This is a warning sign. Any city that concentrates too much on mass tourism will be abandoned by its people when they can no longer pay the cost of housing, food and basic everyday necessities. 

We’re starting to see Venice without Venetians. It’s also happening in Barcelona, a city of 2 million inhabitants that received 7.5 million tourists last year. The local authorities say that they want to increase this to 10 million visitors per year. These figures have led to open conflict this summer. There have been neighbourhood assemblies and protests against the situation, because in popular places of the city the scale of visitor numbers is affecting not only residents’ quality of life, but their very ability to live in the area.

Neighbourhood communities are essential to the culture of southern Europe. Yet, people who live in popular tourist areas are at risk of being forced out by speculators who raise the rents of apartments and shops. The people who have always lived in these areas are forced to leave or, if they don’t, they suffer consequences such as noise and pollution levels that are difficult to combine with daily life. It’s paradoxical, but uncontrolled mass tourism ends up destroying the things that made a city attractive to visitors in the first place: the unique atmosphere of the local culture.