EVALUACIÓN DE BACHILLERATO
PARA EL ACCESO A LA UNIVERSIDAD (EBAU)
FASE GENERAL
CURSO 2020–2021
MATERIA: Primera Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés (4)
Convocatoria:
Esta prueba está organizada en dos Grupos – A y B, cada uno de los cuales consta de 6 preguntas. El alumnado
dispone de la siguiente optatividad para realizar la prueba:
1. Preguntas 1, 2, 3 y 6: deberá elegir en bloque las 4 correspondientes a un mismo Grupo (A o B).
A saber, A1, A2, A3 y A6, o B1, B2, B3 y B6.
2. Pregunta 4: podrá optar por elegir la del Grupo A o la del Grupo B.
3. Pregunta 5: podrá optar por elegir la del Grupo A completa o la del Grupo B completa, sin que
sea posible combinar apartados de los dos grupos (A y B).
GRUPO B
New super-enzyme eats plastic bottles six times faster
A super-enzyme that degrades plastic bottles six times faster than before has been created by scientists and
could be used for recycling within a year or two. The super-enzyme, derived from bacteria that naturally
evolved the ability to eat plastic, makes possible the full recycling of the bottles.
Plastic pollution has contaminated the whole planet, from the Arctic to the deepest oceans, and it is now
5 known that people consume and breathe microplastic particles. It is currently very difficult to break down
plastic bottles into their chemical constituents in order to make new ones from old, meaning more new plastic
is being created from oil each year.
The super-enzyme was created by linking two separate enzymes, both of which were found in the plastic-
eating bacteria discovered at a Japanese waste site in 2016. In 2018, the researchers revealed an engineered
10 version of the first enzyme, called PETase, which started breaking down the plastic in a few days. Further
study analysed a second enzyme that doubled the speed of the breakdown by the first enzyme. Thus, the
scientists thought that by connecting the two enzymes together, the speed of degradation might be increased.
The new super-enzyme works six times faster.
“When we linked the enzymes, rather unexpectedly, we got a dramatic increase in activity,” said Professor
15 John McGeehan, director of the Centre of Enzyme Innovation at the University of Portsmouth, UK. “This is
a trajectory towards trying to make faster enzymes that are more industrially relevant. But it’s also one of
those stories about learning from nature, and then bringing it into the lab.”
A bacterium on its own would not be able to create the linked super-enzyme, as the molecule would be too
large. So the scientists connected the two enzymes in the laboratory and saw a further tripling of the speed.
20 The team is now examining how the enzymes can be altered to make them work even faster.
Besides, combining the plastic-eating enzymes with existing ones that break down natural fibres could also
allow mixed fabric clothing to be fully recycled, McGeehan said. “Mixed fabrics [of polyester and cotton]
are really tricky to recycle. We’ve been speaking to some of the big fashion companies that produce these
textiles, because they’re really struggling to find a way to recycle the clothing they produce.” Today, millions
25 of tonnes of such clothing is either dumped in landfill or incinerated.
Researchers have also been successful in finding bacteria that eat other plastics such as polyurethane, which
is widely used but rarely recycled.
While activists insist that reducing the use of plastic is key, those working on recycling say that strong,
lightweight materials like plastic are very useful and that true recycling is part of the solution to the pollution
30 problem.
Fragment adapted from The Guardian, September 2020
1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence
from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)
a) It is very simple to decompose plastic bottles for reuse.
b) The new enzyme can evolve naturally from bacteria.
c) The research group is still experimenting to see whether they can improve the speed of plastic
breakdown further.
2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to
answer each question. (1.5 points)
a) When will the new enzyme be ready to be used for recycling?
b) What has been the effect of plastic pollution on humans?
c) Apart from plastic, what other materials could be recycled through the linking of enzymes?
3. WRITE a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence for each of the following words to
show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1 point)
a) full (line 3) c) to struggle (line 24)
b) increase (line 14) d) key (line 28)
4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each
sentence on your exam paper. (1.5 points)
You’re trying to convince your mother to buy you a motorbike
Your mother: I can’t believe you’re back to that, again!
You: But, Mum, (1) _______________________________
Your mother: I know you do, but you already have a scooter.
You: That’s not cool. (2) _______________________________
Your mother: I don’t care about what other people do. Motorbikes are really dangerous.
You: Mum, you know (3) _______________________________
Your mother: I trust you, but other drivers can cause an accident.
You: My goodness, (4) _______________________________
Your mother: OK, I won’t think about the bad things. But why are you so crazy about having one?
You: (5) _______________________________
Your mother: I think what you want is to show off and flirt!
You: Please, Mum, (6) _______________________________?
Your mother: I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll keep insisting.
5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you
understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. (1.5 points)
a) Your sister is using her phone during lunch as always. Complain about it.
b) Your teacher is going to give you too much homework. Try to persuade her not to.
c) Your classmate comments that he doesn’t like being an only child. Give your opinion.
6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic (3 points):
Plastic products are so essential in our daily life that it is impossible to reduce their use. Give your opinion.
GRUPO A
Were the Beijing Winter Olympics “green and clean”?
China promised to deliver a “green and clean” 2022 Winter Olympics. The organisers said they had prioritised
protecting native species, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting down on resources used.
But there was criticism that this was the first Winter Olympics to rely entirely on artificial snow and that the
Olympic ski runs were constructed in the middle of a nature reserve in Yanqing, over an area bigger than a
5 thousand football pitches. The construction required digging up more than 20,000 trees, which was done over
a number of years.
The Beijing Organising Committee (BOC) was alerted to the potential environmental risk in this area as early
as 2015 by Chinese biologists, but the site was not moved to another place. The journal Nature reported at the
time that posts about this issue on the Chinese social media site, Weibo, were removed. When the BOC was
10 asked about this, they said, “Beijing 2022 did its best to protect ecosystems in the competition zones.”
The BOC promised to transplant the trees to another location in the mountains north of the city. The Committee
worked closely with Beijing Forestry University and claims that more than 90% of the trees survived the move.
However, Dr Carmen de Jong, Professor of Hydrology at the University of Strasbourg, says the removal of the
surface soil in this process has significantly increased the risk of erosion and landslides, water pollution and
15 damage to animal habitats. “The nature reserve, which has very high biodiversity and is home to protected
species such as the golden eagle, has lost about 25% of its surface,” she said.
Beijing also promised that all competition venues would be covered with “high-quality snow”, despite the city
only having a few days of snow in recent years. Yanqing, the site of the ski centre, only receives an average of
21cm a year of snowfall, nowhere near enough for skiing. The ski slopes needed more than 1.2 million cubic
20 metres of snow for Olympic events. The process of producing artificial snow is both energy and resource-
intensive. It is estimated that 222.8 million litres of water were used, in a region which is already short of water.
The organisers wanted the Beijing Winter Olympics to be the “first carbon-neutral Games” and China set an
ambitious goal of delivering the games using 100% renewable energy. In fact, they constructed new wind and
solar projects to produce enough clean energy, not just for the Games, but for the whole of Beijing. However,
25 critics have argued that the Olympics green energy commitment should not hide the fact that more than half of
China’s energy is still produced from fossil fuels.
Fragment adapted from BBC Reality Check, January 2022
1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence
from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)
a) The Beijing Organising Committee apologised because most of the trees that were moved had died.
b) Beijing had more than enough water to produce the artificial snow that was needed for the Games.
c) By building green energy plants for the Games, China also improved the clean energy supply to the rest of
the host city.
2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer
each question. (1.5 points)
a) What extension of land did the Olympic ski centre cover?
b) Where did the Beijing Olympic organisers take the trees?
c) How much of China’s energy does not come from clean sources?
3. Find a word or expression in the text that means... (1 point)
a) opposite of increasing (lines 1-10)
b) eliminated (lines 1-10)
c) contamination (lines 11-16)
d) difficult to achieve (17-26)
4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each sentence
on your exam paper. (1.5 points)
A Friday night at your partner’s home
Your partner: We should stay home today and do something different.
You: Great! (1) _______________________________
Your partner: Perhaps we could order something to eat.
You: Order something? (2) _______________________________
Your partner: Fine, that’s an option, too.
You: And it will be really quick. (3) ________________________
Your partner: There’s this new series everybody is talking about.
You: A series? (4) _____________________
Your partner: What do you want to do then?
You: (5) _______________________________
Your partner: But the idea was to be on our own!
You: OK. What about (6) _____________________________ ?
Your partner: Really?! Is that the best thing you can think of for a Friday night together?
5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you understand
the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. (1.5 points)
a) Your father suggests that you help him to paint the sitting room at the weekend. Say why you can’t do that.
b) Covid restrictions are over, so there are more holiday choices. Propose a plan to your family for the summer.
c) You see an accident in the street. Offer your help.
6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic (3 points):
How could the Canary Islands become “greener and cleaner”? Give your opinion.
EVALUACIÓN DE BACHILLERATO
PARA EL ACCESO A LA UNIVERSIDAD (EBAU)
FASE GENERAL
CURSO 2018–2019
MATERIA: Primera Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés (1)
Convocatoria:
Esta prueba consta de dos opciones (A y B). El alumnado tiene que optar por una de ellas y
responder a todas las preguntas de la misma.
OPCIÓN A
Coral Reefs
As ecological catastrophes go, it’s hard to find anything more depressing than the coral reef crisis.
We’ve known for 30 years that climate change leads to the death of entire coral reef ecosystems, and
yet we’ve done almost nothing to save them.
Sixteen per cent of the world’s tropical reefs died in 1998, and 2016 was even worse: 70 per cent of
5 the world’s reefs were damaged, some irreparably. Almost one third of the Great Barrier Reef,
Australia’s crown-jewel, turned into a dead seabed that year; this rose to 50 percent by summer 2017.
Scientists say if we do nothing, 90 per cent of the world’s tropical reefs will be gone by 2050, along
with all the fish, wildlife and humans that depend on them.
“The most shocking thing about watching this crisis take place was hearing people say again and again
10 that if we just enclosed the world’s reefs in national parks, they would be fine,” says Dr. Ruth Gates,
Director of the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology.
Is there any hope? Yes, says Dr. Gates, if we forget outdated ideas about wildlife conservation and
start to actively intervene. “We have to stop thinking that if we leave nature alone and treat it with
more respect that is sufficient. It’s not,” she says.
15 Understanding why corals are so vulnerable to climate change involves understanding a particular
feature of their biology: while most people think corals are plants (or even rocks), they are in fact
animals. These animals live in symbiotic relationships with algae that reside within them; the algae
photosynthesize sunlight like plants, providing up to 90 per cent of a coral’s energy, and also its
pigmentation.
20 When summer temperatures remain just a few degrees warmer than the normal maximum, stressed
corals respond by removing their energy-producing, colourful algae. Within days, the reef becomes a
landscape of white skeletons. Corals that have lost their colour can recover if the water temperature
drops within a week or two, but if cooler temperatures fail to return in time, the corals die.
One of the most promising areas of research that could help to save coral reefs is cultivating types of
25 coral that are adapted to higher temperatures.
Fragment adapted from https://www.bbcearth.com, retrieved January 2019
1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence
from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)
a) Some of the damage that has been done to coral reefs can never be reversed.
b) Dr. Gates believes that if nature is left to itself, things will return to their natural state over time.
c) If water temperatures remain high for more than two weeks, the corals will never be able to recover.
2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to
answer each question. (1.5 points)
a) What solution could help to preserve the dying coral reefs?
b) When coral reefs disappear, what else is destroyed?
c) How do corals react to temperatures that are above the normal range for the time of year?
3. WRITE a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence for each of the following words to
show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1 point)
a) depressing (line 1) c) crown-jewel (line 6)
b) to lead to (line 2) d) outdated (line 12)
4. READ this conversation and COMPLETE your part. Write the numbers (1-6) and complete each
sentence on your exam paper. (1.5 points)
You are waiting for the bus but there is only one other person at the bus stop
Stranger: Excuse me, do you know what time it is?
You: (1) _________________________________
Stranger: I think I might have missed the Number 25. Did you see it go past?
You: No. (2) ________________________________
Stranger: Oh, I just wondered because it doesn’t usually keep to the timetable. Do you use that
route?
You: Not really, (3) _________________________________
Stranger: I see. And is your bus usually on time?
You: Well, (4) ________________________________________
Stranger: I really think the bus company should do something about it! The prices keep going up all
the time, but the service never gets any better.
You: I know. My bus ticket (5) _________________________________
Stranger: I think your school should complain to the local authority. Students shouldn’t have to pay
so much just to be able to go to school!
You: That’s a good idea! (6) _____________________________
5. Read the following situations and WRITE what you would say in each one to show that you
understand the context of the situation. Write between 10 and 25 words. (1.5 points)
a) Your sister has told you that she has just broken off her relationship. Offer her some advice.
b) You borrowed a classmate’s text book to do homework, but you accidentally left it on the bus.
Apologise and say what you will do about it.
c) A friend has uploaded photos of you to Instagram without your permission. Tell that person why you
are upset.
6. WRITE a composition of about 120-150 words on the following topic (3 points):
Everyone in Western society can contribute to stopping climate change. What can you do to help your
local environment?
