Modelo 3 · B2 First: Use of English completo (partes 1 a 4)

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Tercer examen completo de Use of English con el formato del B2 First: textos nuevos, las cuatro partes seguidas y treinta preguntas. Se corrige solo aquí y te lo puedes descargar en PDF, con soluciones o sin ellas.

Parte 1 · Multiple choice cloze

Elige la palabra que encaja en cada hueco. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

The library of things

In a converted garage in Sheffield you can borrow a carpet cleaner, a tent, a sewing machine and a cement mixer. What you cannot borrow is a book. The Library of Things opened in 2016 with a (1) ___ premise: most households own several expensive objects that they use for a total of about two hours a year.

The numbers (2) ___ this out. The average domestic drill, a statistic much quoted by people who run these places, is used for thirteen minutes in its entire life. Ownership, in those cases, is not convenience but storage.

Getting people through the door (3) ___ out to be harder than expected. Borrowing a drill requires planning, and planning is precisely what somebody who needs a drill at nine on a Sunday evening has not (4) ___ . The library responded by extending its hours rather than by arguing, which is (5) ___ more sensible than it sounds.

What finally made the difference was repairs. Objects come back broken, and the volunteers who fix them began running sessions where members could watch. Attendance at those sessions is now higher than at any other activity, and a third of the people who come do not (6) ___ anything at all. They come to see somebody take a kettle apart.

The model has spread, though not evenly. It works in dense neighbourhoods where people walk past the door, and it (7) ___ almost everywhere else. That limitation is not a small one, and the founders are the first to (8) ___ it.

  1. 1. opened with a ___ premiseplaineasysimplelightsimple. A simple premise es una idea de partida sencilla. Easy se refiere a lo que cuesta poco esfuerzo hacer, no a lo poco complicado de una idea.
  2. 2. The numbers ___ this outtakecarryholdbearbear. Bear something out es confirmar algo con pruebas. Con carry out estarías realizando algo, que es otra cosa.
  3. 3. Getting people through the door ___ out to be harderturnedfoundcameworkedturned. Turn out to be es resultar ser. Work out significaría salir bien o calcularse.
  4. 4. is precisely what somebody who needs a drill has not ___takengothadmadegot. Retoma el has not con have got, que en inglés británico es tener. Es la forma más natural de cerrar la frase sin repetir planning.
  5. 5. which is ___ more sensible than it soundsfarverysotoofar. Delante de un comparativo se usa far, much o a lot, nunca very.
  6. 6. a third of the people who come do not ___ anything at allhirelendrentborrowborrow. Es quien coge prestado. Lend lo hace quien presta, y aquí el sujeto es la gente que va.
  7. 7. and it ___ almost everywhere elsesuffersstrugglesbattlesfightsstruggles. Struggle es costarle a algo funcionar. Los otros tres implican un enfrentamiento con alguien.
  8. 8. the founders are the first to ___ itdeclareconfessadmitrecogniseadmit. Be the first to admit something es una expresión hecha: reconocer una pega de lo tuyo antes de que te la digan.

Parte 2 · Open cloze (una palabra en cada hueco)

Escribe UNA sola palabra en cada hueco. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

Why nobody reads the terms and conditions

It has been calculated that reading every privacy policy a normal person agrees to in a year would take around seventy-six working days. Nobody has that time, and (9) everybody clicks accept.

The usual response is to blame the reader. That is comfortable but wrong. A document that nobody reads is not a badly read document; it is a badly designed one, and the design is deliberate (10) often as not. Length is a way of hiding things in plain sight.

Some countries have tried to legislate. The results have been mixed, largely (11) a rule that says a policy must be clear tends to produce a policy that is clear (12) also longer, with the plain-English version added to the legal one rather than replacing it.

What does seem to work is (13) smaller: requiring the two or three decisions that actually matter to be presented separately, at the moment they matter, in a form that can be refused as easily (14) accepted. That is harder to write into law than a rule about font size, which may be (15) it has taken so long.

In the meantime the honest advice is unsatisfying. Read nothing, assume the worst, and pay attention only (16) the box is already ticked.

  1. 9. Nobody has that time, and ___ everybody clicks acceptso. Consecuencia: como nadie tiene ese tiempo, todo el mundo acepta. Es la palabra que enlaza causa y efecto en una misma frase.
  2. 10. the design is deliberate ___ often as notas. As often as not es una expresión hecha: la mitad de las veces o más. La segunda mitad ya viene dada.
  3. 11. The results have been mixed, largely ___ a rule that saysbecause. Introduce la causa y detrás viene una frase completa. Due to pediría un sustantivo.
  4. 12. a policy that is clear ___ also longerbut. Contraste: claro pero además más largo. Es la gracia del párrafo, que la solución empeora una parte.
  5. 13. What does seem to work is ___ smallersomething. Something smaller: algo más pequeño. Con anything la frase sería negativa o interrogativa, y no lo es.
  6. 14. in a form that can be refused as easily ___ acceptedas. Comparación de igualdad as… as. La primera mitad, as easily, ya está puesta.
  7. 15. which may be ___ it has taken so longwhy. That may be why introduce la explicación de un retraso. Con because la frase se quedaría coja después de may be.
  8. 16. pay attention only ___ the box is already tickedwhen. Marca el momento en que hay que fijarse: cuando la casilla ya viene marcada. If también se entendería, pero el consejo es sobre cuándo mirar.

Parte 3 · Word formation

Escribe la palabra que falta, formada a partir de la palabra en mayúsculas. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

The rise of the second-hand shop

Buying used clothes was, for a long time, a sign of (17) ___ (POOR). Today the same shops are full of people who could easily afford new ones, and the change has happened with surprising (18) ___ (SPEED).

Part of the explanation is (19) ___ (ENVIRONMENT): a jumper that already exists costs the planet nothing. Part of it is simply that clothes are made (20) ___ (BAD) now than they were, so a coat from 1985 outlasts one bought last year.

Shop owners report a (21) ___ (NOTICE) change in who comes through the door, and also in what they ask. Customers want to know where a garment came from, and are (22) ___ (WILLING) to buy something with no story attached.

The trend has its critics. Some argue that the (23) ___ (POPULAR) of second-hand shops has pushed prices beyond what the people who depended on them can pay, which would be an (24) ___ (FORTUNE) outcome for a movement that began as an ethical one.

  1. 17. a sign of ___ (POOR)poverty. Sustantivo irregular: de poor sale poverty, no poorness. Detrás de of hace falta un nombre.
  2. 18. with surprising ___ (SPEED)speed. Aquí la palabra no cambia: speed ya es sustantivo y encaja detrás del adjetivo surprising. Este tipo de hueco existe para que no cambies por cambiar.
  3. 19. Part of the explanation is ___ (ENVIRONMENT)environmental. Adjetivo detrás del verbo is. Ojo con la n del medio, que casi todo el mundo se come.
  4. 20. clothes are made ___ (BAD) now than they wereworse. El comparativo pide el irregular de bad. La pista es el than que viene detrás.
  5. 21. report a ___ (NOTICE) changenoticeable. Adjetivo con -able, y aquí la e de notice se mantiene, al contrario que en la mayoría de los verbos.
  6. 22. and are ___ (WILLING) to buy something with no storyunwilling. El sentido del párrafo es que quieren saber la procedencia, así que no están dispuestos a comprar sin ella. Hace falta el prefijo negativo.
  7. 23. the ___ (POPULAR) of second-hand shopspopularity. Sustantivo con -ity. El artículo the delante ya te dice que no puede ser el adjetivo.
  8. 24. which would be an ___ (FORTUNE) outcomeunfortunate. Adjetivo negativo: el resultado sería malo, no afortunado. El an delante confirma vocal inicial.

Parte 4 · Key word transformation

Completa la segunda frase con entre dos y cinco palabras, usando la palabra en mayúsculas sin cambiarla. Seis preguntas, dos puntos cada una.

  1. 25. I have not been to the cinema for two years. LAST
    The ___ was two years ago.last time I went. Cuatro palabras. The last time… was convierte una frase con for en una fecha concreta. Fíjate en que el verbo pasa a pasado simple, porque ya hablamos de un momento cerrado.
  2. 26. Somebody stole my bike last night. HAD
    I ___ last night.had my bike stolen. Cuatro palabras. Causativa con sentido pasivo: no lo pediste, te pasó. El orden es have más objeto más participio.
  3. 27. It is not necessary to bring your own laptop. NEED
    You ___ your own laptop.do not need to bring. Cinco palabras. Ausencia de obligación. Con must not estarías prohibiéndolo, que es lo contrario.
  4. 28. They say the museum is the oldest in Europe. SAID
    The museum ___ the oldest in Europe.is said to be. Cuatro palabras. Pasiva impersonal, porque no decimos quién lo dice. Como lo que se afirma es del presente, va infinitivo simple y no perfecto.
  5. 29. I regret buying that phone. WISH
    I ___ that phone.wish I had not bought. Cinco palabras. Arrepentimiento sobre el pasado: wish más past perfect, y en negativo porque te arrepientes de haberlo hecho.
  6. 30. Ana was the only one who understood the problem. APART
    ___ Ana, nobody understood the problem.Apart from. Dos palabras. Apart from es salvo o aparte de. Es de las transformaciones más cortas que caen en el B2.

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