SELECTIVIDAD: THE BIG BOTTLE

“THE BIG BOTTLE”

In Spanish cities, at night, crowds of young people wander the streets in search of a party, meeting their friends and stopping to drink. When a large mass of people get together, a party spontaneously breaks out. This phenomenon, translated into English as booze-up or binge-drinking, is perceived by local governments as a social problem because it is impossible to predict where it will take place and because drinkers are as young as 12.

In addition, now it has become fashionable to complete for the biggest national

drinking party, as cities from Malaga to Madrid and Barcelona to Bilbao try to outdo one another by organizing the largest gathering. Word is spread by e-mail and text messages, and teenagers crowd into city centres, armed with bottles of soft drinks generously mixed with alcohol.

City councils are very cautious about calling in the police for fear that drunken youths will turn to violence. The Government has tried do introduce emergency legislation but this is unlikely to have much impact, because, across Spain, regional authorities have set different minimum ages to buy alcohol.

Despite Spain’s reputation for civilised Mediterranean drinking habits, “the big

bottle” leaves city centres full of rubbish, and residents, who have been kept up all night, furious. Under-age drinkers claim that this way they can enjoy a night out for as little as 6 euros a night, whereas bars are too expensive.

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- Why is “the big bottle” an informal party? (Give two reasons)

   2- How do these parties affect residents? (Name two ways)

b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE

     WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.

   3) Local authorities think very favourably of “the big bottle”.

   4) Drinking parties of this type have been organized by Spanish cities for many years.

   5) The police are afraid teenagers will become violent.

   6) There is a single policy regarding “the big bottle” in Spain.

B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 POINTS)

   7) Find in the text the word which has the following definition:

             “to walk around without a particular destination” (verb) (0.25 points)

   8) Give one opposite for BREAK (verb) (l.2.) (0.25 points)

   9) Find in the text one synonym for LITTER (noun) (0.25 points)

 10) Complete the series with another word of the same semantic group (0.25 points)

               CROWD, PARTY, GATHERING, …

 11) Join the following sentences using an appropriate linker (do not use AND or BUT).   

       Make changes if necessary. (0.5 points)

              The Government has a good reputation. It has not solved the problem yet.

 12) Fill in the gap with a correct form of the verb in brackets.

           He shouldn’t (go) ____________________to that party yesterday.

13) Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning. Begin as indicated.

       It is quite unlikely that she will pay for the drinks.

       It is not…

14) Give a question for the underlined words.

           My friend drank three beers last night.

C) PRODUCTION (3 POINTS)

15) WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS. SPECIFY

         YOUR OPTION.

          a) Are you for or against “the big bottle”? Why?

          b) What alternatives can the Government offer young people to encourage a

               healthy life?

Solucionario

A) COMPREHENSION (4 POINTS)

1- Why is “the big bottle” an informal party? (Give two reasons)

It is an informal party (It is informal) because young people wander the streets in

search of a party, and because these parties break out spontaneously.

Other possible answers: Because it is impossible to predict where it will take place; because drinkers are as young as 12.

2- H ow do these parties affect residents? (Name two ways)

These parties/They affect residents because they leave city centres full of rubbish,

and residents are kept up all night, furious/ can’t sleep.

3) Local authorities think very favourably of “the big bottle”.

It is false because the text clearly states on line 3 that the big bottle ‘is perceived by local governments as a social problem`.

4) Drinking parties of this type have been organized by Spanish cities for many years.

It is false, since the text literally says on line 5 that `now, it has become fashionable to compete for the biggest national drinking party`.

5) The police are afraid teenagers will become violent.

It is false; the text states on line 9 that the city councils and not the police are afraid teenagers will “turn to violence”.

6) There is a single policy regarding “the big bottle” in Spain.

It is false, because, according to line 11 in the text, “regional authorities have set different minimum ages to buy alcohol”.

B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 POINTS)

7) Find in the text the word which has the following definition:

“to walk around without a particular destination” (verb) (0.25 points) to wander

8) Give one opposite for BREAK (verb) (l.2.) (0.25 points) Get together

9) Find in the text one synonym for LITTER (noun) (0.25 points) Rubbish

10) Complete the series with another word of the same semantic group (0.25 points)

    CROWD, PARTY, GATHERING, … MASS

11) Join the following sentences using an appropriate linker2

( do not use AND or BUT). Make changes if necessary. (0.5 points)

The Government has a good reputation. It has not solved the problem yet.

-Although the Government has a good reputation, it has not solved the problem yet.

- The Government has a good reputation, nevertheless/ still it has not solved the problem yet.

-Despite/ in spite of/ having a good reputation, the Government has not solved the problem yet.

12) Fill in the gap with a correct form of the verb in brackets.

He shouldn’t (go) have gone to that party yesterday.

13) Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning. Begin as indicated.

It is quite unlikely that she will pay for the drinks.

It is not… very likely that she will pay for the drinks.

14) Give a question for the underlined words.

My friend drank three beers last night.

How many beers/ How much beer did your friend drink last night?

C) PRODUCTION (3 POINTS)

15) WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS. SPECIFY

YOUR OPTION.

a) Are you for or against “the big bottle”? Why?

b) What alternatives can the Government offer young people to encourage a

healthy life?

Any composition is acceptable as far as it is grammatically, lexically and orthographically correct. It is important to use paragraphs, and to include connectors, links, or linkers, to relate paragraphs with logical connections among themselves, and to end with a clear conclusion.