Examen de Anglès de selectivitat — Catalunya 2025

2025

Proves d’accés a la universitat

Llengua estrangera
Anglès

Sèrie 3 - A

Qualificació Comprovació 2a correcció
Comprensió oral
Comprensió escrita
Expressió escrita
Suma de notes parcials
Qualificació final

Etiqueta de l’estudiant Ubicació del tribunal ..................................................................................
Etiqueta de qualificació Número del tribunal ....................................................................................

Etiqueta de correcció
The exam consists of THREE mandatory parts.
In the first part, listening comprehension is assessed through 8 multiple choice questions. It

is worth 3 points.
In the second part, reading comprehension is assessed through 6 open-ended questions. It is

worth 3 points.
In the third part, written expression is assessed. Here, you may choose ONE of the two given

options. It is worth 4 points.

Ejercicio 1

Part 1: Listening comprehension

SUBTITLING AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOL
In this radio programme you are going to hear a new word. Read and listen to it. Make sure
you know what it means.

daunting: aclaparador, -a / abrumador, -a

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

[Now listen to the interview.]

2
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 a la correcció

Correcta Incorrecta No
contestada

1. What was the aim of the “School in Town” project?
   ■ To show students how the town provides unexpected learning
   opportunities.
   ■ To help students improve their German while doing activities in town.
   ■ To give students a taste of university life.
   ■ To encourage students to do cultural activities.

2. Why did Margarita focus on German instead of English?
   ■ Germany is geographically closer to Poland than the UK.
   ■ Polish students are not as exposed to German as they are to English.
   ■ Students are not aware that German translation is closer to Polish
   than to English.
   ■ Schools provide better resources for learning English.

3. How did Margarita initially engage students with the video?
   ■ By showing the technical aspects of subtitling immediately.
   ■ By providing them with the subtitles in both German and Polish.
   ■ By asking them to analyze the protagonists and the overall mood.
   ■ By translating the first part of the video for them.

4. What strategy did Margarita use to help students given their low German
   proficiency?
   ■ She provided a list of common German phrases which appeared
   underlined.
   ■ She placed them in teams to work on different scenes.
   ■ She asked them very easy questions in German, so they felt
   immediately confident.
   ■ She selected a short video with simple dialogue and underlined
   the difficult parts.

5. What was the main purpose of underlining certain phrases in the subtitles?
   ■ To encourage students to translate individual words.
   ■ To emphasize the importance of context in translation.
   ■ To make the subtitles easier to read.
   ■ To provide examples of Polish idioms.

6. How did the students react when they saw their names in the credits?
   ■ They felt satisfied and excited.
   ■ They couldn’t believe their eyes.
   ■ They felt anxious and uneasy.
   ■ They boasted about their work.

7. According to Margarita, why are audiovisual materials attractive for students?
   ■ They help students interact with other people.
   ■ They are familiar with this kind of content.
   ■ They provide a relaxed learning environment.
   ■ They offer more learning opportunities than traditional materials.

8. What does Margarita hope students share with their parents?
   ■ That subtitling in German can be as fun as in English but you also
   need technical skills.
   ■ The importance of being able to translate and convey ideas in multiple
   languages.
   ■ That subtitling involves translating concepts and that it is enjoyable.
   ■ That learning unfamiliar foreign languages such as German is easier
   through subtitles.

Correctes Incorrectes No contestades

Recompte de les respostes

Nota de comprensió oral 3

Ejercicio 2

Part 2: Reading comprehension

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK: WHY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
NEED TO REGAIN A SENSE OF BALANCE

If we are honest, most of us could use a little more balance at some points in our busy lives.
Getting the right mix between work and leisure time can have benefits for our physical and
mental health. It can also improve the performance of a business, research has suggested. The
pandemic saw the biggest change in working patterns for decades, perhaps centuries. There
5 was a surge in home working and flexible, “hybrid” working, blending work in the office with
remote work. But despite this increased flexibility, work-life balance is far from standard. This is
especially true among small business owners, who often feel compelled to check emails outside
traditional work hours or work over the weekend.

Given the fact that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) account for 99 % of all UK
10 businesses, that’s a lot of people who aren’t switching off when perhaps they should. However,

there is some encouraging news here. According to a recent survey of UK small business leaders
by American Express, there is certainly a widespread understanding of the importance of work-
life balance and a desire to improve it. The research is based on responses from 500 business
leaders in companies with fewer than 50 employees. Eight in 10 of the executives agree that
15 regular time off from work is important to their wellbeing. However, there is often a gap between
intention and action, the research found. Almost half of those surveyed admit to feeling guilty
about not spending enough time with family or friends. And one-third say that they stopped
their hobbies altogether when they started running their own business. While small business
owners recognise the importance of frequent breaks in improving their work-life balance and the
20 success of their business, many of them struggle to find room for downtime.

Someone who is well aware of this pressure is Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business
Saturday UK, a campaign to celebrate small business success and encourage consumers to “shop
local” to support businesses in their communities. People often start a business because they
want more freedom and flexibility, she says, but that freedom can be reduced by them trying to
25 do everything in the business and running out of time in the day and gas in the tank.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a good work-life blend. Some may need to spend
more time supporting elderly parents or young children, for example. Others may want more
time for hobbies. There are also benefits for the business itself. The American Express survey
found that almost eight in 10 respondents agree that regular breaks are important to being a
30 good leader and more than half think they and their business would benefit from them spending
more time away from the workplace. Time away, especially travelling abroad or getting a change
of scenery, can even offer new and different perspectives that entrepreneurs can bring back to
their businesses. Tips for improving your work-life balance? Set firm boundaries between work
and leisure time; for yourself, colleagues, suppliers and customers. Also, book time off work to
35 recharge your batteries and reduce the risk of “burnout”.

Ultimately, however, what constitutes the right work-life balance will vary over time and be
different for each small business owner. There isn’t a magic formula and therefore we shouldn’t
be too hard on ourselves if our messy lives fall short of our ideals. Balance in life is a constant
work in progress. It might mean work sometimes; sometimes it might mean sport, or family, or
40 community, or rest. The key thing is to give yourself a break—we are all a work in progress here.

Text adapted from an article by
Nick Huber. The Guardian [online] (September 19, 2023)

surge: augment / aumento
compelled: obligat / obligado
struggle: lluitar, esforçar-se / luchar, esforzarse
downtime: temps per a desconnectar / tiempo para desconectar
supplier: proveïdor / proveedor

4
QUESTIONS
Answer the questions below using complete sentences. You may use fragments from the text
unless specified not to do so.

[3 points: 0.5 points for each correct answer. Up to 0.3 points might be deducted from the total mark for lack of intelligibility
in the answers provided.]

1. Using information from the first paragraph, complete the following sentence IN YOUR
   OWN WORDS. You can keep the word business.
   Balancing work and leisure time…

2. Why does the author say there is a gap between intention and action?

3. What seems to be the paradox in setting up one’s own business?

4. Find a sentence in the text that means the following: “Everyone has their own way of
   finding how to balance work and personal life.”

5. How can businesses benefit from leaders spending time away from work?

6. Explain the message in the last paragraph of the article IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

Deduction for lack of intelligibility
(up to 0.3 points)

Reading comprehension score

5

Ejercicio 3

Part 3: Writing
Choose ONE topic. Your answer should be 125-150 words in length. There is no specific
penalty for exceeding 150 words in length.

[4 points: 1 point for grammar, 1 point for vocabulary and spelling, 1 point for cohesion and 1 point for adequacy and
coherence.]

1. Turning 18 entails making many decisions in life, such as deciding who to vote for,
   choosing your future education or looking for a job to pay for your education, among
   many others. Write an email to a friend or family member reflecting on your latest
   life-changing decisions, including your plans or goals. It could be related to career aspi-
   rations, travel plans, or personal development. Share your thoughts with this person and
   finish by asking for their input or experiences.

2. As part of a project on housing, your school has invited a group of interior designers and
   architects. They are interested in how spaces influence emotions and wellbeing. They say
   home is where your heart is and a place where you feel most comfortable and at peace.
   Write a description of this place that is home to you. It could be a physical location, like
   your childhood bedroom, a favorite park, a family gathering spot, or even a corner of
   a cafe. Use vivid sensory details (sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes) to help the
   designers experience the place as you do.

Grammar
Vocabulary and spelling
Cohesion
Adequacy and coherence

Writing score

6
7
Comprovació:
2a correcció:
3a correcció:

Etiqueta de l’estudiant

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