Entrance University exam, June 2008

15th March
BACHILLERATO LOGSE
Junio 2008
INGLÉS. CÓDIGO 54
The pencil is 150 years old
The pencil as we know it was 150 years old on Sunday 30th March. We can find pencils everywhere:
at school, at home, at the office, even on the golf course. Because they are so common we tend to take them for granted. Pencils are the most useful yet least appreciated writing instruments of all time: the world's only portable, lightweight invention that can draw a line 35 miles long, write an average (1) of 45,000 words, absorb 17 sharpenings and delete its own errors.
Modern pencils are the descendants of ancient (2) writing instruments. In ancient Rome, scribes wrote on papyrus (an early form of paper) with a thin (3) metal rod called a stylus, which left a light but readable mark. Other early styluses were made of lead*. Today we still call the core (4) of a pencil the "lead" even though it is made from non-toxic graphite.
Graphite came into widespread use following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564. Graphite left a darker mark than lead, but was so soft and breakable that it required a holder. At first, sticks of graphite were wrapped in string. Later, the graphite was inserted into wooden sticks and the wood-cased pencil was born.
The first mass-produced pencils were made in Nüremberg, Germany in 1662. There an active pencil industry developed with famous (5) companies like Faber-Castell established in 1761, Lyra, Staedtler and others growing throughout the 19th century industrial revolution.
Lead: a soft, grey and heavy metal.
PREGUNTAS (NO RESPONDER EN ESTA HOJA)
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. BE CAREFUL TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH QUESTION.
1. Link each of the words or expressions listed below with one word or expression in the column (as numbered in the text) [1 mark]. Please copy the correct pair of words on your answer sheet, e.g. ‘common and ...’
heart known mean narrow old
average (1) and … common
ancient (2) and …old
thin (3) and …narrow
core (4) and …heart
famous (5) and …known

2. Reading comprehension
2.1. Choose the best option [0.75 marks]. Please copy the complete correct option on your answer sheet.
Pencils are extremely useful and most appreciated writing instruments.
Pencils are the most useful and appreciated writing instruments in history.
Pencils are the most used and appreciated writing instruments of all time.
Pencils are very useful but little appreciated writing instruments.

2.2. Choose the best option [0.75 marks]. Please copy the complete correct option on your answer sheet.
Graphite is darker than lead, but lead is softer and more breakable than graphite.
Graphite writes darker than lead, and is also softer and more breakable than lead.
Graphite looks darker than lead, but lead is softer and more breakable than graphite.
Graphite leaves darker marks than lead, and is as soft and breakable as lead.

3. Complete the sentences using information from the text [2 marks]. It is important that phrases from the text are not reproduced literally, unless this is unavoidable.
a) At first, people started to use very simple gadgets to write.
b) The discovery of a large graphite deposit made it possible the widespred use of graphite
c) Famous companies like Faber-Castell were founded throughout the the 19th centrury
d) Nüremberg was the first town where pencils were produced massively.

4. Complete with one or more adequate words [1.5 marks]. Do not copy the complete text on your sheet, only the letter – (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) – followed by the word or words that you find suitable for the gap. It is important that phrases from the text are not reproduced literally.

Look at (a) the end of your pencil. Most wood pencils are (b) numbered and the most common pencil is the No. 2 pencil. The number 2 refers to (c) how hard and black the pencil graphite is. Back in the 1800s, pencil manufacturers used (d) letters instead of (e) numbers to describe the graphite. For example, an H pencil was hard, a B pencil was black and an F pencil had a fine point. An HB pencil as hard and black. Eventually, most pencil manufacturers got used to(f) using numbers to make it easier for people to understand.

5. From the information in the text, what are the main differences between graphite and lead? (25- 50 words) [2 marks] You are expected to draw information from the text, but please use your own words.
From the information given in the text we learn that lead is a toxic mineral whereas graphite is not. Graphite replaced lead to write on paper as it left a darker mark .

6. Which do you think are the reasons for the popularity of pencils as writing instruments? (25-50 words) [2 marks]. Express your own ideas by using your own words.

It´s so common to use a pencil since it has a lot of advantages. Firstly, A pencil stroke is erasable and thus correctable. Secondly, Pencil writing is environmentally friendly, since all materials used in manufacture are of "natural" origin. Moreover, wood is a renewable natural resource.
Besides, a pencil writes in/under water, in a vacuum and "upside down". Futhermore,
Pencil writing is absolutely non-toxic, because all ingredients used in manufacture consist of entirely safe substances (clay, graphite, wood, water-based lacquer). Last but not the least pencils are always "ready-to-write" and can even be sharpened with a knife and its
has always been consistently good over the years. (e.g. degrees of hardness).