ABAU Practice Examination (Galiza)
Read the text and the instructions to the questions very carefully. Answer all the questions
in English.
Shark Fever
In 1975, the film Jaws came out and, at that time, it was the most successful film that had ever
been made. It was based on a novel about a giant shark which terrorised the beaches of a
fictional American resort town in the New England area. Jaws T-shirts are still a popular
souvenir in these areas and the film is shown regularly during the summer season. Now,
however, the film’s storyline is dangerously becoming a reality.
In 2017, shark expert George Burgess forecast that a fatal shark attack would take place in
New England within five years. The main reason was because of the local seal population.
Seals are the sharks’ main source of food and have always been native to the area. However,
they were endangered until 1972, when the Marine Mammal Protection Act banned people
from hunting them. Gradually, the seal population recovered, attracting sharks back to the area.
Researchers have noticed more and more young sharks, a sure sign that the sharks are
returning to the area in groups. Due to the fact that adult sharks are very aggressive while
looking for prey, the younger sharks end up searching in other areas, including the shallow
waters off the main tourist beaches. Sharks don’t usually eat humans but they may attack them
by accident, thinking they are seals.
George Burgess was proved correct very quickly. In August 2018, a man was attacked while
swimming off one of the beaches in New England. He survived but, a month later, a surfer a
few kilometres to the south was not so lucky and he became the first fatality in the area in over
80 years.
After the attack, emergency landline phones were installed on beaches with a poor mobile
phone signal. Drones now patrol the shores, spotting and filming sharks, and there is an app
which shows if there are any sharks in their particular area.
How will the attacks affect tourism? Will the shark attacks reduce tourist numbers or, as in the
film, will they attract people eager to spot a ‘monster of the deep’ in real life and to take a
selfie in front of one of the ‘Danger’ signs now found on every beach?
Questions
1. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points, using
your own words. (approximately 50 words; 1 point)
2. Indicate whether the following sentences are true or false (T/F) according to the
text. Copy that part (and ONLY that part) of the text which justifies your answer.
(1 point; 0.25 each)
a. The film Jaws is based on a true story.
b. Seals have always lived in areas of New England.
c. The seal population recovered because they were no longer prey for sharks.
d. In September 2018, a surfer was killed by a shark.
3. Find words and phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and
definitions given here. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a. small gift bought on a holiday
b. predicted
c. an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal
d. not deep
IH-014-960 1/2
4. Pronunciation. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a. In which of the following words is the consonant “g” silent, not pronounced?
sign, regularly, groups, gradually
b. In which of the following words is the stress on the second syllable?
tourism, selfie, patrol, native
c. Write the word in which the underlined letter(s) are pronounced /eɪ/ as in “make”.
prey, attack, humans, area
d. Write the word whose underlined letter is pronounced differently.
phone, mobile, proved, noticed
5. Complete the second sentence in each pair so that it has the same meaning as the
first one. You must use the words or expression in italics. (1.5 points; 0.5 points each)
a. The main reason was the local seal population.
This was mainly …
b. Sharks don’t usually eat humans but they may attack them by accident, thinking they
are seals.
Despite not …
c. In August 2018, a man was attacked while swimming off a New England beach.
In August 2018, …
6. In your opinion, should swimmers and surfers be banned from using beaches that
aren’t patrolled by lifeguards and where there is a risk of a shark attack? Give
reasons for your answer.
(Approximately 120 words; 3 points)
ABAU Galiza – Shark Fever 2/2
