Soap operas - PAU Madrid 2015

>Exámenes selectividad inglés resueltos C. Madrid

Watching  TV  is  a  very  popular  pastime  in  Britain,  but  what  kind  of programmes  do  British people  like  to  watch?  Well,  the  most-watched  TV programmes  are  dramas  based  in  one  neighbourhood  that  try  to  depict ordinary life. We call these dramas “soap operas” or “soaps”.

Most soap operas these days are shown in the evening. Each show will have several  different  storylines  happening  at  once  that  continue  over  several shows.  The  same  actors  will  appear  in  every  show  too.  There  are  lots  of different  soaps  on  in  the  UK  these  days,  but  there  are  three  main  popular

ones.

Coronation  Street has  been  on  since  1960.  It  is  set  in  a  suburb  of Manchester and it’s supposed to represent working class life in the north of England. Then there’s Eastenders, which started in 1985, set in the East End of London. And we should not forget Emmerdale, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire, in the north of England.

In  the  early  days  of  TV,  most  of  these  daytime  dramas  were  aimed  at entertaining  the housewives  who  would  traditionally  be  at  home,  probably doing the washing. Companies selling washing powder would advertise their products   at   times   when   these   dramas   were   on,   and sometimes   those companies would even sponsor the drama. Hence the word “soap”. So what about the word “opera”? Well, that’s because these dramas are often an exaggeration of real life. They are supposed to represent ordinary lives but, to  make  them  entertaining,  lots  of  dramatic  events,  like  murders, divorces, affairs,  etc.,  all happen  probably much  more  regularly than  they would in a normal neighbourhood.

RESPUESTAS

I. READING COMPREHENSION

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

a) Every episode of the soap operas has one single narrative running through it.

• FALSE: “Each show will have several different storylines happening at once that continue over several shows.”

b) All popular soap operas in the UK represent life in cities.

• FALSE:“And we should not forget Emmerdale, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire, in the north of England.”

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 does the text say about the origin of the word “soap” in “soap opera”?
Key ideas:

• They are called soap operas because in the past this kind of programmes was mainly for women
• They used to be on while women were probably doing the washing
• They included soap commercials 

b) What kind of life and people do soap operas usually show?
Key ideas: 

• They don’t show ordinary life  
• There are a lot of divorces and love affairs 
• There are violent characters that kill other people

II. USE OF ENGLISH

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

• a) describe (paragraph 1): depict
• b) at the same time (paragraph 2): at once
• c) go on (paragraph 2): continue
• d) take place (paragraph 3): happen

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

• a) “How often do you watch TV online?” “I do it at least four times every / a week.”
• b) My neighbour, who is a telly addict, is always watching the TV and can’t live without it.
• c) My husband loves watching / to watch (watch) TV, but he goes from channel to channel with the remote control and is unable to decide what / which / which one to watch.
• d) Before leaving / I left (leave), I asked Eric if he had watched (watch) last night's game. 

III. WRITING

5.- Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic.

Which  are  your  favourite  TV  programmes?  Describe  them  and  explain  why  you  like them.

+Exámenes inglés selectividad 2015 Madrid resueltos

+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS