Reading.
Inglés, exámenes de 2025.

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

DOLLAR PRINCESSES

1. During the late 1800s, a period also known as The Gilded Age, the US experienced rapid economic growth following the Civil
2. War. Although some American families became insanely wealthy, they still considered themselves “commoners”, lacking the
3. exquisite titles of European aristocracy, such as Dukes, Barons, and the like. This became unacceptable to many of them who
4. wanted an aristocratic identity to accompany their newfound fortunes.
5. Meanwhile, British noblemen represented “old world charm” on the other side of the Atlantic. They were sophisticated, cultured,
6. and aristocratic, with noble titles passed down through their family legacies. However, they were desperate for cash due to
7. economic pressures mostly caused by rural populations moving to the cities and the costly maintenance of their aging mansions.
8. The answer to the problems of the American millionaires and the British aristocracy can be summed up in two words: dollar
9. princesses. Dollar Princess was a term referring to an American heiress, a woman from a newly wealthy family. The fathers of
10. these “princesses” believed that a title would provide a shortcut to social acceptance. Since the American Constitution forbade the
11. government from giving out titles of nobility, they “sold” their daughters to British aristocrats in exchange for titles.
12. In a short time, more than $25 billion was sent to Britain, rejuvenating dying aristocratic families and boosting the European
13. economy. If these marriages seem like cold, hard contractual negotiations, it’s because they were. Very often, the future husbands
14. were complete strangers to the young heiresses, who led hopeless and miserable lives with no support.
15. Once in Britain, most dollar princesses found their majestic homes terribly dark and cold, as they were in desperate need of
16. repair. Soon, the new wives remodeled their homes, but they were often judged, and even mocked, for doing so. To make matters
17. worse, they were marginalized by high society for their non-aristocratic roots.
18. In 1880, railway heiress Frances Ellen Work married the future Baron Fermoy. Like many dollar-princess matches, it was an
19. unhappy one. The baron blew Frances’s $2.5 million fortune on gambling, and the couple divorced in 1891. Frances’s story might
20. suggest that dollar princesses were but an anecdote in the history of Britain. However, just over a century after she traded her
21. money for aristocracy, her great-granddaughter Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales—and later, the mother of Prince
22. William, now first in line to the British throne.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. According to the text, Dollar Princesses…

A2. According to the text, after the wedding, Dollar Princesses…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

THE FORGOTTEN HABIT OF TWO SLEEPS

1. For millennia, people slept in two shifts between nightfall and dawn. But why did this habit disappear?
2. On 13 April 1699, in northern England, nine-year-old Jane Rowth and her mother woke up from their first sleep of the evening,
3. just before two men came to their window. Mrs. Rowth whispered to Jane to stay quiet and promised to return in the morning, but
4. she never came back; she was later found murdered. This story struck historian Roger Ekirch when he discovered Jane’s testimony
5. in the judicial archives in the early 1990s, where she casually referenced her “first sleep.”
6. Intrigued, Ekirch researched the phenomenon of biphasic sleep, finding that it was widely practiced throughout the preindustrial
7. world. References to first and second sleeps appeared in various texts, including Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and works by
8. notable figures such as Plutarch and Virgil. The habit was not limited to England; it appeared in cultures across Africa, South
9. America, and Asia. The system of two sleeps was around for centuries, with the first mention dating back to the 8th century BC in
10. Homer’s Odyssey. Evidence of biphasic sleep can be found throughout history. For example, Christian monks adopted it for prayers
11. in the 6th century.
12. In the 17th century, a typical night involved going to bed from 9:00 to 11:00 pm, with people sleeping in shared spaces. Then,
13. they would naturally wake up for a period known as the watch, which lasted until about 1:00 am. The watch was used for various
14. activities, including household chores, socializing, and even sexual intimacy. This interval was also often a time for reflection,
15. prayer, or simply chatting with bed companions.
16. Ekirch’s research reached a crucial moment in 1995 when he read about a sleep experiment by Thomas Wehr. The study
17. involved men who, after weeks of limited light exposure, reverted to biphasic sleep, confirming Ekirch’s hypothesis about the
18. biological basis for this practice. More recent studies, including one in Madagascar, found that certain communities still follow
19. biphasic sleep patterns.
20. The shift away from this natural rhythm began with the Industrial Revolution, which introduced artificial lighting and altered
21. diurnal rhythms, leading to the consolidation of sleep into a single uninterrupted period. Although we may have lost the social and
22. philosophical aspects of biphasic sleep, modern conditions provide a different but arguably healthier sleeping experience.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. According to the text, Mrs. Rowth…

A2. According to the text, two-phase sleep…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

A PROPER HALLOWEEN

1. “What are you going as this Halloween?” The discussion at home starts in the spring, takes all the summer, and usually settles
2. towards the end of September. This year we have been through John Lennon, a clown, and Pikachu. We have finally settled on
3. Willy Wonka for my son and Snow White for me. As for my daughter, you can bet she will be wearing the same costume she wore
4. last year. In a moment of weakness at an American shopping centre, I had bought her a $40 inflatable costume of a “dark spirit
5. riding a dinosaur,” and she loved it. She was really excited at the school’s Halloween fair surrounded by kids disguised as sumo
6. wrestlers, aliens, Wednesday Addamses or the occasional inanimate object, a popular subcategory of costume in the US.
7. This year is the first time in almost two decades that we will be in the UK for Halloween, and most people I talk to seem to
8. suggest that Halloween preparations here are out of control. Current research proves that Halloween spending has tripled since
9. 2013, with an average spend of £25 a person, rising to £43 in London. And while these increases are predominantly pushed by
10. gen Z and millennials, the data suggests that their elders are being brought along to the party behind them.
11. However, Americans still take Halloween much more seriously than the British. Every year entire streets in our Manhattan
12. neighbourhood are transformed, culminating in the Hollywood-level effects and decorations put into the houses on 69th Street,
13. which annually draws crowds from across the city. As far as I can tell, Britain has not gone this far yet. Most houses aren’t
14. decorated, and it’s common to see online warnings against knocking on houses without clear signs that the occupants are into
15. Halloween. Also, the costumes in Britain are still based on the conventionally spooky rather than on funny or outrageous images
16. that pop into your head and that you spend weeks trying to make wearable. Shops are another story: In the supermarkets pumpkin
17. spice and similar products can be found everywhere.
18. My American children have no doubt about it: Halloween in Britain cannot compare yet. When I asked if they thought British
19. Halloween had caught up with its American equivalent, my daughter gave me the same pitying look she used the day she asked
20. me: “You really don’t know what a meme is?”

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. According to the text, the author’s family…

A2. According to the text, …

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

BEYOND THE STARS

1. There is more than one way to lead a successful life. Ronald McNair succeeded despite racism. He became an accidental
2. revolutionary as a kid, when he broke the color barrier in Lake City, South Carolina. His act of rebelliousness would set the course
3. for his relatively short but full life, which culminated in his career as an astronaut.
4. Ronald McNair was born in 1950. Although the family was poor, Ron grew up surrounded by books, music, and the strong
5. support of his mother, who nurtured his love of reading. From a young age, he was obsessed with space.
6. When Ron first went into the public library in 1959, he found out that the library was segregated and that, unlike white boys,
7. he wasn’t allowed to check a book out. Nine-year-old Ron didn’t give up: He simply refused to leave the library without his science
8. books. The librarian called the cops, who immediately called his mother. Pearl McNair proudly stood by her son in the matter,
9. persuading the librarian to let him borrow the books. From that day on, Ron was allowed to check out books whenever he wanted.
10. Despite his high grades, Ron couldn’t just apply to any college he liked. After earning his degree from the nearest college
11. offering physics to Afro-American students, Ron got a brochure in the mail from NASA one day. They were looking for mission
12. specialist candidates. He enthusiastically applied and was accepted from a pool of 10,000 applicants.
13. Ron spent six years in astronaut training before his first mission on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. The mission’s goal
14. was to put a satellite into orbit, but Ron had another, secret objective: playing the saxophone in space. By blowing a solo
15. performance of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” Ron McNair became the first person to play a saxophone in space.
16. Two years later, Ron was scheduled to return to space on the unfortunate 1986 Challenger mission. He lost his life along with
17. six other crew members when the shuttle broke apart during launch on January 28th.
18. Since the tragedy, many institutional buildings have been named in honor of the seven men and women whose lives were cut
19. short that day. In 2011, Lake City Library was turned into Ronald E. McNair Life History Center. Anywhere a kid can be found trying
20. to rise above their circumstances, Ron’s spirit lives on.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. According to the text, after the incident at the local library, Ron…

A2. According to the text, Ron…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

THE INGENIOUS STORY BEHIND MICHELIN STARS

1. If you made a reservation at a Michelin-starred restaurant, you might wonder why an elite restaurant guide has the same name
2. as Michelin, a company that makes tires. The roots of what became an incredibly influential ranking system did not begin with the
3. intent of recommending the highest-quality restaurants. Actually, it was a clever publicity campaign now legendary for its success.
4. The origin of the Michelin Star goes back to the early days of the automobile. French brothers André and Édouard Michelin
5. founded their self-named tire company in 1889. It was a pioneering move considering that there were fewer than 3,000 automobiles
6. in France at the time. Soon the brothers realized that if people drove more, the tires would eventually deteriorate, which would, as
7. a result, increase Michelin’s sales. So, much like bloggers do today, they launched the Michelin Guide in 1900 to achieve that goal.
8. The guide contained information that any motorist would need—a detailed map, a compendium of mechanics and fuel stations,
9. instructions on how to replace a flat tire, and suitable restaurants and hotels to eat and stay while journeying across France. There
10. was nothing quite like that in the market, so it became an instant hit.
11. In 1926, the Michelins introduced the concept of using a Michelin Star to rank restaurants. Most of this information came from
12. the company’s traveling salesmen, who spent much of their time on the roads and were, therefore, highly reliable sources. By the
13. late 1920s, Michelin’s restaurant recommendations had become so influential that the brothers started to use undercover
14. reviewers, now known as inspectors, to determine if a restaurant was a fine dining establishment. The ratings put in place in the
15. 1930s stand to this day—one star means the restaurant is “worth a stop,” two means it’s “worth taking a side trip,” and three means
16. it’s “worth a special journey.”
17. Any restaurant under consideration will have served multiple inspectors, who decide whether the establishment delivers a
18. consistent experience in terms of product quality, mastery of cooking techniques and the personality of the chef. What’s more, a
19. restaurant can lose the stars if it doesn’t maintain Michelin Star-worthy standards.
20. Surprisingly, there’s no evidence that the Michelin Guide ever increased tire sales. However, the brothers made Michelin
21. prestigious not only for tires but also for travel and gourmet cuisine.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. At the beginning, the Michelin Guide…

A2. According to the text, the Michelin Guide was born…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)

COMPREHENSION (4 points). READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

MONSIEUR TAN-TAN

1. In 1840, Monsieur Leborgne arrived at the Bicêtre Hospital in Paris. He was a twenty-one-year-old man who exhibited an
2. unusual linguistic problem: Whenever he was asked a question, he would always answer by saying one syllable twice, tan tan, in
3. conjunction with quite varied intonation and expressive gestures. For this reason, the patient was nicknamed Tan-Tan. He spent
4. the rest of his life hospitalized. Through the years, his condition deteriorated until, eventually, the limbs on his right side were
5. paralyzed. On April 12, 1861, he was transferred to the surgery ward to be treated for gangrene. It was then that Pierre Paul Broca,
6. a doctor who worked at the hospital, met him.
7. One week earlier, Broca had participated in a meeting of the Anthropological Society. During this meeting, another doctor,
8. Ernest Auburtin, presented some interesting studies about the possibility of identifying the location of language in the human brain.
9. Auburtin was attempting to support the hypothesis that the brain did not work as a homogenous mass, at least when it came to
10. higher functions such as language. However, many scientists opposed the idea fiercely.
11. It did not take long for Broca to realize that the case he had come across constituted strong evidence to resolve the scientific
12. controversy. Although it was hard to determine exactly how much Tan-Tan understood, he clearly was able to interpret most of
13. what he heard. He could count and understand time. And neither his tongue nor his facial muscles had been affected by the
14. paralysis. In other words, Tan-Tan did not lack the cognitive or motor skills necessary for talking. His problem must have been,
15. therefore, a language-specific disability.
16. Tan-Tan died on April 17, 1861, and Broca did an autopsy of his brain. After careful examination, he concluded that a lesion
17. in Tan-Tan’s left frontal lobe must have been the cause of his loss of language. Broca had just discovered the first anatomic
18. evidence for the localization of a specific brain function. Shortly thereafter, he gave a talk at the Anthropological Society that would
19. change our conception of how the brain works. Although not all of Broca’s colleagues accepted his conclusions, the road to studying
20. the biological basis of language had already been taken. Modern neuroimaging techniques have shown that what is now known
21. as Broca’s area is critically involved in grammar processing, sentence construction, and the coordination of language-related
22. functions.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

A1. According to the text, Tan-Tan…

A2. According to the text, Broca…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points each)