PAU Anglès 2014 · Setembre · Sèrie 5 · Part 3 · Listening comprehension

Part 3: Listening comprehension THE BEST ADVICE In the following conversation you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them. Make sure you know what they mean. flecked: esquitxat / salpicado lovelorn: ferit d’amor / herido de amor uneventful: sense sobresalts, normal / sin sobresaltos, normal slightest: mínim / mínimo blessing: benedicció / bendición arise (to arise): despertar, iniciar accurate: precís / preciso Ready? Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to the conversation. Anthony Marra is a young American writer who grew up in Washington DC, and has lived and studied in Russia. His work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012. In 2013 Marra received the prestigious Whiting Writers’ Award. His debut novel is entitled A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (2013). His story “Chechnya” won First Place in Narrative’s Spring 2009 Story Contest and has received many prizes since then. In today’s programme, Bertha Morris talks with Mr Marra about his work and his career. [Now listen to the interview.] QUESTIONS Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct. [2 points: 0.25 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.08 points. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.] Look at number 0 as an example. 0. Anthony Marra is a young American writer who was born in Russia. who was born in Washington. × who has been awarded several prizes. who has written many novels. 1. In the conversation we hear that Anthony Marra looks young although he has quite a lot of gray hair. and yet he is already a classical writer. and old at the same time. although he has not finished school yet. 2. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a novel about the author’s personal experience. is based on the life of the author’s family. is based both on research and fiction. was inspired by the author’s first love. 3. Why isn’t Anthony Marra interested in writing autobiography? It would have no literary interest. It would cause a trauma to his family. He wants to keep his life private. His parents would not like to read about it. 4. In the interview we hear that Anthony Marra’s father was a professional geologist. convinced his son to become a geologist. became an amateur geologist. collected shark teeth and kept them by his desk. 5. In which way was the writer influenced by his father’s advice? He never followed his father’s advice. He remembers his father’s words as encouragement. He decided to choose a very different route. He always felt lucky enough without his father’s help. 6. Which of the following statements about the author’s interest on Chechnya is FALSE? It arose during a visit in Russia as an undergraduate student. It was inspired by watching Russian veterans beg for money in the streets. It came after watching the Boston Marathon bombings. It was influenced by reading about the Russian actions in the Chechen wars. 7. According to Anthony Marra, what is most important in order to make his books convincing? To have the exact details about the trees and the place. To be able to make the story ring true. To make the setting as realistic as possible. To be able to capture the character’s feelings. 8. The interviewer thinks that Marra has succeeded in his novel because of the humanity in his characters. Sarah Jessica Parker liked the book. the critics praised its intellectual ambition. many readers were identified with the story. Correctes Incorrectes No contestades