Convocatòria 2018

Proves d’accés a la universitat

Llengua estrangera
Anglès
Sèrie 3 - A

Qualificació

Comprensió escrita

Redacció

Comprensió oral

Suma de notes parcials

Qualificació final

Etiqueta de l’alumne/a

Ubicació del tribunal ...................................................................................

Número del tribunal .....................................................................................

Etiqueta de qualificació Etiqueta del corrector/a

 HOW THE COLOUR RED WARPS THE MIND

We can never know what was going through our ancestors’ minds, tens of thousands of years
ago, when they first picked up natural crayons and began painting their bodies. But it is perhaps
significant that they chose a rich, red colour—the colour of our blood and a vivid reminder of life,
and death. 
Today, shades of red are linked with power, aggression, and sex. And those associations may not
be coincidence. A new branch of science called “colour psychology” has found that red can have a
profound influence on our mood, perceptions and actions.
Wearing red can even change your physiology and balance of hormones. So what is it about the
shades of red that makes them so potent? There is no doubt that our appreciation of red coincides
with one of the most important events in our evolutionary history. Red skin is an important sign of
dominance for many primates. Mandrill monkeys are perhaps the most famous example, with vivid
markings on their face and bottom that signal their position in the group’s strict hierarchy; the fitter,
and more dominant an individual is, the redder he appears.
It was only in 2004 that two psychologists—Russell Hill and Robert Barton at the University of
Durham—began to wonder whether humans might react in the same way. Although we don’t tend
to flush a vivid, inflamed red like a mandrill, we do sometimes burn up with anger. So the sight of
red clothes could perhaps carry associations of aggression and dominance. The exact reason for these
associations still remains a matter of debate. Researchers point to studies showing that people who
wear red often feel more dominant themselves. Or perhaps the red intimidates the competitor: if you
see red, you’ll feel fear and be aware of your difficult situation, and as a result your testosterone drops.
Perhaps the most studied effect concerns the association of the colour with desire, seduction,
and sin. A series of experiments, by Andrew Elliot and other colleagues at the University of Rochester
in New York State, have all confirmed that men and women are both considered as being more
attractive when wearing red compared to other colours. A possible explanation is that slightly redder
skin seems to signal health and fitness; perhaps, by extension, we read the same from the clothes that
we wear. Otherwise, not all the findings of colour psychology are robust enough to be fully trusted
just yet. “I think the investigation is at a very early stage of development,” says Elliot. “Eventually we
might be able to use colour psychology to create a more productive working environment, but we’re
far from that point.”
Elliot would also like to see more work investigating the rest of the rainbow. He has found that
while red may hinder performance, green and blue can encourage creativity in certain kinds of word
games. Even so, Elliot suspects that their influence will be fairly limited, compared to the potent effect
that red has over our behaviour.
“The perception of red will always be associated with connotations and influences that run as
deep as the blood in our veins. Perhaps we are only confirming what our ancestors realised when they
first started painting their bodies: there is no other colour like it.”
Text adapted from an article by
David Robson. BBC.com [online] (September 1, 2014)
to warp: torçar / torcer
crayon: llapis de color / lápiz de color
vivid: intens / intenso
branch: branca / rama
to flush: enrogir / enrojecer
to hinder: impedir

2
Part 1: Reading comprehension

Choose the best answer according to the text. Only ONE answer is correct.
[3 points: 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points. There is no
penalty for unanswered questions.]

Espai per al corrector/a

No
Correcta Incorrecta contestada

1. The reason why our ancestors picked up on the colour red is

because it made them more aggressive.
because it was a vivid colour.
still a mystery to the experts.
because it is the colour of our blood.
2. “Colour psychology” has found that red
was the favourite colour of our ancestors.
can affect the way people behave.
is a vivid reminder of life and death.
was the first colour our ancestors used.
3. Which of these statements is NOT true?
For many primates, red is a sign of power.
In the primate world red shows who the leader is.
Mandrill monkeys’ social order is marked by the colour red.
Red only appears on the strongest primates.
4. Russell Hill and Robert Barton
affirm that humans don’t follow the same pattern as monkeys.
think that humans act with anger whenever they see red.
want to know if the reactions of humans and monkeys to red
are identical.
doubt that humans could behave like mandrills right now.
5. A series of experiments led by Professor Elliot have confirmed that
people who
wear red are considered more desirable.
wear colours other than red are not attractive.
wear red are more intelligent.
choose red clothes are healthier.
6. Professor Andrew Elliot says that colour psychology
is not far from being fully developed.
is now ready to create better conditions at work.
is still in a premature phase.
will soon create a productive working atmosphere.
7. Professor Elliot has observed that
red is the perfect colour for creativity in word games.
red doesn’t help in some word games.
blue is worse than red in some word games.
blue and green are not useful for word games.
8. What is Professor Elliot’s final conclusion about the perception of red?
It has changed over the years.
It is constantly in progress.
It is related to blood.
It has been the same throughout history.

Correctes Incorrectes No contestades

Recompte de les respostes

Nota de comprensió escrita 3

 Part 2: Writing

Choose ONE topic. Write about number 1 or 2. Minimum length: 100 words.
[4 points]

1. Can we judge others by the way they look? Does a person’s appearance influence his or
her character? Write an opinion essay.

2. Next academic year you may be living in a shared flat with other students or in a
university residence, or maybe you’ll be staying in your own house with your family.
Write a ‘for and against’ essay explaining the advantages and disadvantages of living
away from home while you’re a university student. Make sure you do NOT use your own
name in your essay.

Grammar
Vocabulary
Text
Maturity
Total
Nota de la redacció
4
5
 Part 3: Listening comprehension

U.S. NATIONAL PARKS: YELLOWSTONE

In this radio programme you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them.
Make sure you know what they mean.
geyser: guèiser / géiser
bison: bisó americà / bisonte americano
elk: cérvol canadenc / ciervo canadiense
browse: pasturar / pacer
beaver: castor
dam: dic / dique
endangered species: espècie en perill d’extinció / especie en peligro de extinción
to thrive: prosperar
carcasses: carronya / carroña

Ready?
Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to
the radio programme.

Presenter (Christopher Brown): Hello and welcome to The real world, our weekly
programme about nature. My name is Christopher Brown, and today we travel to the
western United States, to Yellowstone National Park. With me today is Dr. Catherine Smith,
a professor at Montana State University and an expert on the history and development of
Yellowstone.

[Now listen to the interview.]

6
 QUESTIONS

Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct.
[3 points: 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points. There is no
penalty for unanswered questions.]

Espai per al corrector/a

No
Correcta Incorrecta contestada

1. When was Yellowstone National Park created?

Right before the Civil War.
Soon after the Civil War.
At the beginning of the 19th century.
At the turn of the 20th century.
2. By 1930, the number of wolves in Yellowstone was
high (> 150).
low (< 20).
zero.
unknown.
3. In the 1950s, the number of elk in Yellowstone
increased.
decreased.
remained stable.
was unknown.
4. In the winter, the elk in Yellowstone feed on
beavers.
birds.
branches.
nothing because they hibernate.
5. One result of the presence of wolves in Yellowstone is
fewer eagles in the park.
fewer trees in the park.
more elk in the park.
more plants in the park.
6. The wolves that were taken to Yellowstone in the 1990s were brought from
Alaska.
Canada.
Montana.
Wyoming.
7. Why has the wolf population in Yellowstone gone down from 174 to
about 100 in the past ten years?
Because there was not enough food for the wolves in the park.
Because the winters were especially hard and as a result,
many wolves died.
Because some wolves were killed by hunters.
Because some wolves were poisoned by ranchers.
8. Catherine Smith believes that the Yellowstone Wolf Project
is a successful wildlife restoration project.
is a terrible idea of the U.S. government.
proves that wolves are a danger for cattle ranches.
has had few effects on the park.

Correctes Incorrectes No contestades

Recompte de les respostes

Nota de comprensió oral 7

 Etiqueta de l’alumne/a

L’Institut d’Estudis Catalans ha tingut cura de la correcció lingüística i de l’edició d’aquesta prova d’accés