PRUEBA TIPO.

SELECTIVIDAD 2004-05
A DOG'S LIFE
Recently, newspapers have reported that a chow-chow, a companion dog of Chinese origin, was
badly hurt when it jumped from a second-floor window. The poor dog was shocked when it heard a
plane flying over its house in London.
Judging the intelligence of any animal is difficult but, according to psychologist Stanley Coren,
5 it can be done. Coren wrote to all the dog experts in North America and asked them to classify types of
dog by how fast they learn: they found 79 levels of canine intelligence. The chow-chow ended up in
76th place, says Coren; probably some furniture is easier to train than chows.
Coren's study showed that it took around 90 attempts to train a chow-chow to do something (like
sitting down). And there was only a 25% probability that the dog would remember the order. In
10 contrast, the collie needed only five times to learn a new command and would remember it 95% of the
time afterwards.
However, it is not the chow-chow's fault to be so stupid. For many centuries, in ancient China they
were kept in farms simply to be sold as food. They were useless either for hunting or helping in the
country. "Who needs intelligent food?" says Coren. In China, some farms still raise chows for meat.
(A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)
a) ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE
YOUR OWN WORDS.
(1 point per answer)
1) How did the study evaluate the intelligence of the different types of dogs? (give two ways)
2) Are chow-chows the most stupid dogs in the world? Why?
b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE
PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.
(0.5 points per answer)
3) A dog can be surprised by the noise of a plane.
4) Chow-chows have a good memory.
5) A collie is hardly more intelligent than a chow.
6) Chows are being used for food in China.
(B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)
7) Give one synonym for HURT (verb) (line 1).
(0.25 points)
8) Find in the text the word which has the following definition
(0.25 points)
a person highly qualified in some area (noun)
9) Fill in the gap with the correct preposition:
(0.25 point)
Last week I went _____ a journey around China.
10) Give a noun with the same root as STUPID (adjective) (line 11)
(0.25 points)
11) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice:
(0.5 points)
They never taught the dog to dance.
12) Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning. Begin as indicated.
(0.5 points)
A chow-chow is not as heavy as a bulldog.
A bulldog
13) Turn the following sentence into reported speech:
(0,5 points)
Jenny said: I will be happy if I can be of any help.
14) Use the words in the boxes to make a meaningful sentence. Use all and only the words in the boxes
without changing their form.
(0.5 points)
easy dog jump for was it to the
(C) PRODUCTION (3 points)
15) WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS) CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
OPTIONS. SPECIFY YOUR OPTION.
a) Reasons for and against becoming a vegetarian.
b) What type of animal would you like as a pet? Why?

A DOG'S LIFE
SOLUCIONES
A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)
a) ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE
YOUR OWN WORDS.
(1 point per answer)
1) How did the study evaluate the intelligence of the different types of dogs? (give two ways)
BY STUDYING HOW FAST THEY LEARNED A NEW COMMAND AND HOW WELL
THEY COULD REMEMBER IT.
2) Are chow-chows the most stupid dogs in the world? Why? NO, BECAUSE THERE ARE THREE
TYPES OF DOGS THAT ARE EVEN LESS INTELLIGENT.
b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE
PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.
(0.5 points per answer)
3) A dog can be surprised by the noise of a plane. TRUE ... The poor dog was shocked when it heard a
plane ... (lines 2-3)
4) Chow-chows have a good memory. FALSE ... only a 25% probability that the dog would remember
the order (line 9)
5) A collie is hardly more intelligent than a chow. FALSE ... the collie needed only five times
to learn a new command and would remember it 95% of the time afterwards. (lines 10-11)
6) Chows are being used for food in China. TRUE In China, some farms still raise chows for meat,
(line l3)
(B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)
7) Give one synonym for HURT (adjective) (line 1).
(0.25 points)
INJURED, HARMED, DAMAGED, WOUNDED
8) Find in the text the word which has the following definition
(0.25 points)
a person highly qualified in some area (noun)
EXPERT (line 5)
9) Fill in the gap with the correct preposition:
(0.25 point)
Last week I went ON a journey around China.
10) Give a noun with the same root as STUPID (adjective) (line 11)
(0.25 points)
STUPIDITY
11) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice:
(0.5 points)
They never taught the dog to dance.
THE DOG WAS NEVER TAUGHT TO DANCE.
12) Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning. Begin as indicated.
(0.5 points)
A chow-chow is not as heavy as a bulldog.
A bulldog ... is heavier than a chow-chow.
13) Turn the following sentence into reported speech:
(0.5 points)
Jenny said: I will be happy if I can be of any help.
JENNY SAID THAT SHE WOULD BE HAPPY IF SHE COULD BE OF ANY HELP.
14) Use the words in the boxes to make a meaningful sentence. Use all and only the words in the boxes
without changing their form.
(0.5 points)
easy dog jump for was it to the
It was easy for the dog to jump