I

I. READING COMPREHENSION SECTION

A. Before reading the text, list three situations that can lead to conflicts between parents and
teenagers. Cotaes:
9 pontos

Now read the text carefully:

Trust Teenagers to Make Their Choices

We live in a careless age. Only this week, a survey has revealed that childhood has been lost.
David Cameron has made a speech arguing that adults have lost authority over the young. In his new
book Tokens of Trust , the Archbishop of Canterbury had identified a loss of trust in public institutions
and the political system. We have also apparently mislaid the ability to be decent parents, according to a
5 report from an Educational Select Committee.
But there is one area of private life, at least, where there is no sign of decline. The teenage years
are growing fast and awkwardly. They tend to start well before 13 and often are only beginning to peter
out at 25, or beyond. Just as childhood (playing conkers, climbing trees, riding bikes) is disappearing, so
adolescence (snogging, fighting, sulking, getting drunk) is expanding. For beleaguered adults, it is all
10 rather worrying; not since the nine days of Teddy-boys has the word teenager been freighted with
such alarm and disapproval.
A sensible-sounding paediatrician, Dr Russel Viner, has suggested that there is now a dangerous
mismatch between the legal view of teenagers and the way they are in reality. We need to rethink age
limits for young people, Dr Viner writes in The Lancet. The age of 18 is enshrined as the traditional
15 age at which you become an adult but there is no biological basis for this. It is contradictory, he argues,
to expect a brain to understand calculus at the age of 16 and yet be too immature to vote. The time has
arrived when adolescents should begin to assume roles and responsibilities appropriate to their true
biological age.
It is right that this argument should come from the medical profession. The symptoms of
20 dysfunctional years (anorexia, pregnancy, depression, drug dependence, ) are evident in hospitals. For
the same reason, it is understandable that Dr Viner is not entirely consistent in his case, arguing that,
while teenagers should take on adult roles, the age limit for buying alcohol and tobacco should actually
be raised.
But the broader case he makes is important. Treating teenagers like children when their bodies
25 and their brains are telling them they are adult is a recipe for social and personal trouble at time when
the world offers an unrivalled playground for misbehaviour.
Politicians and commentators are often unaware of the frustration and crushing boredom of those

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English Test 10th February 2009 1/6
 who feel they have outgrown the classroom and lecture hall and who want to be allowed to grow up.
The adult worlds pressures and temptations, which bear upon those in their teens, need to be
30 accompanied by a new trust in the young to make responsible choices on their own behalf.

Glossary:
snogging (line 9) kissing each other, especially for a long time
sulking (line 9) to look angry and refuse to speak or smile because you In: The Independent, 28 March, 2007 (adapted and abridged)
want people to know that you are upset about something.
enshrined (line 14) official or respected

B. The text has six paragraphs. Identify the paragraphs where the ideas below are expressed:
(6x3)
1. New ideas about teenagers; 18

2. Consequences of treating teenagers like children;

3. The traditional age limits for childhood and adolescence are changing;

4. Challenges that todays adults face;

5. Adults should believe in teenagers ability to grow up responsibly;

6. Worrying signs of immaturity.

C. Complete the following sentences according to the information in the text. (3x7)
21
1. According to David Cameron, authority over young people

2. Dr Viner believes

3. If teenagers are treated like children

(24)
D. Answer the following questions using your own words as far as possible:
10
1. Why does the author tell us that we live in a careless age?

2. What do you think are the causes of the wrong choices some teenagers make? Explain your answer
14
in about 40 words.

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English Test 10th February 2009 2/6
 II. VOCABULARY SECTION

A. Read the following text carefully and fill in the gaps with the words below: (10x2)
20
adulthood thirteen childhood juvenile teenager nineteen adult adolescence teen human

__________________1 is the period of psychological and social transition between

__________________2 and __________________3 . Adolescence is the transitional stage of
__________________4 development in which a __________________5 matures into an
__________________6 . A __________________7 or __________________8 is a person whose age is
a number ending in teen in the English language: that is to say, someone from the age of
__________________9 to the age of __________________10 .

III. USE OF THE LANGUAGE SECTION

(6x2)
12
A. Choose either the adjective or adverb form for each gap.

1. Did Paul pass his exam? ~Yes, he passed __________a. Hes ____________ bisnt he? aeasy/easily-
b
clever/cleverly

2. Are you all right? ~My stomach feels a bit __________a. I think Im going to be ____________ b .
a
funny/funnily- b sick/sickly

3. You havent washed these plates __________a. Theyre still ____________ b . aproper/properly- b
dirty/dirtily

B. Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. Omit the by-agent when suitable: (3x8)
24

1. Parents should tell their teenage children off when they behave badly.
Teenage ____________________________________________________
2. My parents gave me permission to stay out until midnight.
I __________________________________________________________
3. You should encourage adolescents to discover their own talents.
Adolescents _________________________________________________

C. Fill in the gaps with the correct future form (will or be going to) of the verb in brackets: (4x3)
12

1. Do you think Mike _______1 (be able) to succeed in the exam? Im sure about it. He has
studied a lot, so he ________2 (not have) any problem.
2. Ive made up my mind. Next year I ______3 (join) UNICEF. I have already filled the form.

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English Test 10th February 2009 3/6
 (10x2)
3. Oh, Ive forgotten my book at home. ~ Dont worry, I _______4 (get) it in a minute. 20

D. Choose the correct option for each situation:

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English Test 10th February 2009 4/6
1. The future with will is used
a) to express intentions or decisions decided at the moment of 6. /frendIp/ is the phonetic transcription that
speaking; represents the word
b) to express previously arranged intentions or decisions; a) friends;
c) to describe predictions based on present evidence. b) French;
c) friendless;
2. By adding a particle to a verb, we change it into a phrasal verb d) none of the previous are correct.
and 1.
a) always change its original meaning; 7. _____ are words that describe nouns.
b) by doing that we maintain its original meaning; a) pronouns
c) sometimes change its original meaning. b) adverbs
c) adjectives
3. The meaning of get on with is:
a) make progress;
8. The sound // can be written as
b) pass an examination;
c) to have a friendly relationship; a) x
d) none of the previous is correct. b) ss

c) t
4. One of these adjectives changes its meaning as an adverb. Which? d) all of the previous are correct
a) hard e) a) and b) are correct.
b) true
9. The passive voice is used
c) good
a) when the focus is on what is done.
d) mad
b) when the focus is on who does the action.

5. In the sentence: Love is important for teens the word in

10. Which is correct?
bold describes:
a) The Portuguese Red Cross is provided shelter for
a) how teens love;
the homeless.
b) love;
b) The Portuguese Red Cross provides shelter for the
c) teens;
homeless.
d) none of the previous options is correct.

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IV. WRITING (COMPOSITION) SECTION

Write about 100 words on the following: 40

The teenage years are the best years of your life, so everyone says. But are they?
What do you think are the good and bad things about being your age? Justify your
views.

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