Examen de Inglés de selectividad — Aragón 2026

PRUEBA DE ACCESO A LA UNIVERSIDAD
CONVOCATORIA ORDINARIA DE 2026

EJERCICIO DE: INGLÉS II
TIEMPO DISPONIBLE: 1 hora 30 minutos

PUNTUACIÓN QUE SE OTORGARÁ A ESTE EJERCICIO: (véanse las distintas partes del examen)

This exam consists of 6 exercises divided into 3 parts. All the exercises must be answered in English.
You must do all the exercises. The marks assigned to each exercise are given between brackets at the
beginning of the exercise.
Exercises 1 and 2 (Part 1), and 3 (Part 2), are based on the text given below. The text you have to produce
for exercise 6 (Part 3) can be drafted on the last sheet of the exam answer sheets, but please remember
to give a clean version of it on another sheet (but first cross the draft out and insert the word “DRAFT”
immediately before the draft).

TEXT

HOW VIDEO GAMES CAN INSPIRE A GREEN NEW WORLD

In September 2014, over 300,000 people packed the streets of New York for the People’s Climate March. One of
the demonstration’s leaders, Sam Barratt, has cofounded Playing for the Planet, an initiative that aims to inspire
environmental change in and through the video game industry. Barratt described video games as a precious
medium, one that is so social and goal-oriented that it can raise awareness more successfully than movies, music,
or even social media platforms.

Barratt sees video games as a perfect forum for climate discourse because they can engage large crowds in new
kinds of conversations. Playing for the Planet has organised four “green game jams”, remote workshops in which
game companies discuss sustainable themes and design gameplay mechanics. These efforts ultimately rest on
the idea that the medium might help create a new generation of ecologically minded citizens.

Along with these top-down initiatives, players themselves have proven more than capable of playing “sustainably”
and “eco-critically”, particularly within open-world games based on free exploration. The genre often employs
natural landscapes which facilitate extensive player choice. Michelle Westerlaken, a researcher at the University
of Cambridge, decided to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a vegan, avoiding the use of animal
products. As part of a discussion about the topic on Reddit, she explained that she was able to follow the rules of
veganism more strictly than in the actual world. Even though gaming is so often thought of as a lonely experience,
a new kind of conversation was being created.

Games give players the chance to try new roles. For Nicholas Lund, the open-world Western called Red Dead
Redemption 2 offered a space in which to express his real-life passion for birds. He exchanged physical binoculars
for virtual ones, making the game’s protagonist pass the time birdwatching. This was the perfect game to do so,
overflowing with so much wildlife that researchers say it improves knowledge of natural phenomena. “I really felt
that I was transported to a place where the world was different”, Lund said. “We don’t feel the presence of nature
like that anymore”.

These video games and their stories are spaces of possibility that ask us to experiment and act, all while
encouraging a healthy, and perhaps underrated, sense of adventure. Such qualities are vital as we collectively
consider what it means to live through devastating environmental change and imagine a greener world.

(Adapted from “From pixels to politics”, Atmos)

PART 1. Reading Comprehension (3.9 points)

Ejercicio 1

1.1. (1.5 points). Add True or False, quoting the relevant information from the text to justify your answer.
Only "T" or "F" or the full words "True" or "False" will be accepted as valid answers. Their translation into Spanish
or another language will never be accepted, but if the justification is correct, 0.25 points will be awarded for each
sentence. No points will be given for answers without their corresponding justification or if the justification is
incorrect. Likewise, answers in which the justification is not a direct quote from the text or only consist of line
numbers will not be scored. The use of quotation marks in the justification is not obligatory. Ellipses in
parentheses, (…), may be used to indicate that parts of the original text have been omitted in the justification, but
make sure those parts do not contain essential information for the justification.

1.1.1. Open-world games aim to limit players’ freedom to make the experience more challenging.
1.1.2. The hero of the Zelda games is a vegan character.
1.1.3. Researchers suggest that some video games can increase knowledge about nature.

CONTINÚA AL DORSO

Ejercicio 2

1.2. (2.4 points). Choose THREE of the following questions and answer them according to the information
given in the text. Use your own words.

Each answer will be awarded 0.8 points. Provide only the number of answers requested; if you don’t, only the first
three answers you give will be corrected. The aim of this exercise is to evaluate both comprehension (up to 0.5
points) and linguistic accuracy (up to 0.3 points); in other words, the ability to communicate information inferred
from the reading. Therefore, the literal reproduction of expressions from the text should be avoided. Points will be
deducted if the response is incomplete or includes information that does not appear in the text.

1.2.1. What is the purpose of a “green game jam”?

1.2.2. What does Michelle Westerlaken’s experience suggest about video games as spaces for
experimentation?

1.2.3. How did Red Dead Redemption 2 allow Nicholas Lund to express his interest in nature?

1.2.4. Why are video games important when thinking about environmental change?

PART 2. Use of English (2.1 points)

Ejercicio 3

2.1. (1 point). Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the ones below.

0.25 points will be awarded for each answer, with four answers in total. This exercise aims to assess the
comprehension of the text and the semantic value of certain terms that appear in it. Therefore, the answer can
never be, for example, a hypernym, or have a different grammatical form.

2.1.1. chose, resolved:

2.1.2. obey, stick to:

2.1.3. taken, delivered:

2.1.4. promoting, fostering:

Ejercicio 4

2.2. (0.5 points). Fill in the gap in TWO of the following sentences using ONE of the four options (a, b, c,
d) given in each.

0.25 points will be awarded for each correct answer. Provide only the number of answers requested; if you don’t,
only the first two sentences you use for answering will be corrected. In the answer sheet you can rewrite the whole
sentence with the word or phrase of the option chosen or just give the letter of the option chosen (e.g., 4.x — c).

2.2.1. _______ generating billions of dollars annually, the gaming industry is less prestigious than the film
industry.

a) Despite of b) Despite c) In spite of the fact that d) Although

2.2.2. I sold all my games after my grandma threw ____________ my Nintendo Switch.

a) away b) up c) down d) under

2.2.3. How long ___________ video games?

a) since you play b) have you being playing c) did you used to play d) have you been playing

Ejercicio 5

2.3. (0.6 points). Rewrite TWO of the following sentences using the word or phrase given below each of
them.

0.30 points will be awarded for each correct answer, which must not alter the meaning of the original sentence.
Provide only the number of answers requested; if you don’t, only the first two answers you give will be corrected.

2.3.1. You shouldn’t play games on school nights.

If I …

2.3.2. My brother asked me, “Can you help me beat this game?”

My brother asked …

2.3.3. The invention of virtual reality is transforming video game companies.

Video game companies …

PART 3. Written Production (4 points)

Ejercicio 6

3. (4 points). Choose ONE of the following tasks and write between 120 and 160 words:

Up to 1 point will be awarded to answers that comply with the genre, topic, and communicative goal requested.
Up to 1.5 points will be awarded to aspects of cohesion, coherence, and quality of presentation. The remainder
1.5 points will cover aspects of lexis (form, including orthography, and variety), grammar, syntax included, and,
where appropriate, variety in the linguistic repertoire. If the answer does not comply with the genre (email, essay,
review) and the topic requested, the answer will score 0 points.

3.1. Your name is Susan, and playing video games is an important part of your life. Write an email to your
favourite video game company. Suggest one or two ways they could make their games more environmentally
friendly or educational.

3.2. Write an opinion essay on the following statement: “Video games have the power to change the way
people think about the real world”.
PRUEBA DE ACCESO A LA UNIVERSIDAD

CONVOCATORIA ORDINARIA DE 2026

CRITERIOS ESPECÍFICOS DE CORRECCIÓN
EJERCICIO DE: INGLÉS II

CRITERIOS ESPECÍFICOS DE CORRECCIÓN

This exam consists of 6 exercises divided into 3 parts. All the exercises must be answered in English.
You must do all the exercises. The marks assigned to each exercise are given between brackets at the
beginning of the exercise.
Exercises 1 and 2 (Part 1), and 3 (Part 2), are based on the text given below. The text you have to
produce for exercise 6 (Part 3) can be drafted on the last sheet of the exam answer sheets, but please
remember to give a clean version of it on another sheet (but first cross the draft out and insert the
word “DRAFT” immediately before the draft).

TEXT
HOW VIDEO GAMES CAN INSPIRE A GREEN NEW WORLD

In September 2014, over 300,000 people packed the streets of New York for the People’s Climate March. One
of the demonstration’s leaders, Sam Barratt, has cofounded Playing for the Planet, an initiative that aims to
inspire environmental change in and through the video game industry. Barratt described video games as a
precious medium, one that is so social and goal-oriented that it can raise awareness more successfully than
movies, music, or even social media platforms.

Barratt sees video games as a perfect forum for climate discourse because they can engage large crowds in
new kinds of conversations. Playing for the Planet has organised four “green game jams”, remote workshops
in which game companies discuss sustainable themes and design gameplay mechanics. These efforts
ultimately rest on the idea that the medium might help create a new generation of ecologically minded citizens.

Along with these top-down initiatives, players themselves have proven more than capable of playing
“sustainably” and “eco-critically”, particularly within open-world games based on free exploration. The genre
often employs natural landscapes which facilitate extensive player choice. Michelle Westerlaken, a researcher
at the University of Cambridge, decided to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a vegan, avoiding
the use of animal products. As part of a discussion about the topic on Reddit, she explained that she was able
to follow the rules of veganism more strictly than in the actual world. Even though gaming is so often thought
of as a lonely experience, a new kind of conversation was being created.

Games give players the chance to try new roles. For Nicholas Lund, the open-world Western called Red Dead
Redemption 2 offered a space in which to express his real-life passion for birds. He exchanged physical
binoculars for virtual ones, making the game’s protagonist pass the time birdwatching. This was the perfect
game to do so, overflowing with so much wildlife that researchers say it improves knowledge of natural
phenomena. “I really felt that I was transported to a place where the world was different”, Lund said. “We don’t
feel the presence of nature like that anymore”.

These video games and their stories are spaces of possibility that ask us to experiment and act, all while
encouraging a healthy, and perhaps underrated, sense of adventure. Such qualities are vital as we collectively
consider what it means to live through devastating environmental change and imagine a greener world.

(Adapted from “From pixels to politics”, Atmos)

PART 1. Reading Comprehension (3.9 points)
1.1. (1.5 points). Add True or False, quoting the relevant information from the text to justify your
answer.
Only "T" or "F" or the full words "True" or "False" will be accepted as valid answers. Their translation into
Spanish or another language will never be accepted, but if the justification is correct, 0.25 points will be
awarded for each sentence. No points will be given for answers without their corresponding justification or if
the justification is incorrect. Likewise, answers in which the justification is not a direct quote from the text or
only consist of line numbers will not be scored. The use of quotation marks in the justification is not obligatory.
Ellipses in parentheses, (…), may be used to indicate that parts of the original text have been omitted in the
justification, but make sure those parts do not contain essential information for the justification.

1.1.1. Open-world games aim to limit players’ freedom to make the experience more challenging.
F: “… open-world games based on free exploration. The genre often employs natural landscapes
which facilitate extensive player choice”.
1.1.2. The hero of the Zelda games is a vegan character.
F: “Michelle Westerlaken, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, decided to play The Legend
of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a vegan”.
1.1.3. Researchers suggest that some video games can increase knowledge about nature.
T: “This [Red Dead Redemption 2] was the perfect game to do so, overflowing with so much
wildlife that researchers say it improves knowledge of natural phenomena”.
1.2. (2.4 points). Choose THREE of the following questions and answer them according to the
information given in the text. Use your own words.

Each answer will be awarded 0.8 points. Provide only the number of answers requested; if you don’t, only the
first three answers you give will be corrected. The aim of this exercise is to evaluate both comprehension (up
to 0.5 points) and linguistic accuracy (up to 0.3 points); in other words, the ability to communicate information
inferred from the reading. Therefore, the literal reproduction of expressions from the text should be avoided.
Points will be deducted if the response is incomplete or includes information that does not appear in the text.

1.2.1. What is the purpose of a “green game jam”?

In a “green game jam”, companies try to find new ways to devise products where sustainability is
important, regarding

both the narrative of the game and the way it is played.

1.2.2. What does Michelle Westerlaken’s experience suggest about video games as spaces for
experimentation?

That video games may provide players with more chances than real-world societies to experiment
with practices such as veganism.

1.2.3. How did Red Dead Redemption 2 allow Nicholas Lund to express his interest in nature?

RDR 2 gave Lund the opportunity to explore the rich birdlife offered by the world of the game.

1.2.4. Why are video games important when thinking about environmental change?

Because they help us experiment with more sustainable ways of life and appreciate the natural
world as part of an engrossing adventure.

PART 2. Use of English (2.1 points)

2.1. (1 point). Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the ones below.

0.25 points will be awarded for each answer, with four answers in total. This exercise aims to assess the
comprehension of the text and the semantic value of certain terms that appear in it. Therefore, the answer can
never be, for example, a hypernym, or have a different grammatical form.

2.1.1. chose, resolved: decided

2.1.2. obey, stick to: follow

2.1.3. taken, delivered: transported

2.1.4. promoting, fostering: encouraging

2.2. (0.5 points). Fill in the gap in TWO of the following sentences using ONE of the four options (a, b,
c, d) given in each.

0.25 points will be awarded for each correct answer. Provide only the number of answers requested; if you
don’t, only the first two sentences you use for answering will be corrected. In the answer sheet you can rewrite
the whole sentence with the word or phrase of the option chosen or just give the letter of the option chosen
(e.g., 4.x — c).

2.2.1. _______ generating billions of dollars annually, the gaming industry is less prestigious than the film

industry.

a) Despite of b) Despite c) In spite of the fact that d) Although

2.2.2. I sold all my games after my grandma threw ____________ my Nintendo Switch.

a) away b) up c) down d) under

2.2.3. How long ___________ video games?

a) since you play b) have you being playing c) did you used to play d) have you been

playing

2.3. (0.6 points). Rewrite TWO of the following sentences using the word or phrase given below each

of them.

0.30 points will be awarded for each correct answer, which must not alter the meaning of the original sentence.

Provide only the number of answers requested; if you don’t, only the first two answers you give will be

corrected.

2.3.1. You shouldn’t play games on school nights.

If I … were you, I wouldn’t play games on school nights.

2.3.2. My brother asked me, “Can you help me beat this game?”

My brother asked … me if I could help him beat that game.

2.3.3. The invention of virtual reality is transforming video game companies.

Video games companies … are being transformed by the invention of virtual reality.
PART 3. Written Production (4 points)

3. (4 points). Choose ONE of the following tasks and write between 120 and 160 words:

Up to 1 point will be awarded to answers that comply with the genre, topic, and communicative goal requested.
Up to 1.5 points will be awarded to aspects of cohesion, coherence, and quality of presentation. The remainder
1.5 points will cover aspects of lexis (form, including orthography, and variety), grammar, syntax included, and,
where appropriate, variety in the linguistic repertoire. If the answer does not comply with the genre (email,
essay, review) and the topic requested, the answer will score 0 points.

3.1. Your name is Susan, and playing video games is an important part of your life. Write an email to your
favourite video game company. Suggest one or two ways they could make their games more environmentally
friendly or educational.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Susan and I have been playing video games for most of my life. I wish to thank you for
designing some of my favourite games of all time. Your work is so important to me that I wanted to
share a couple of ideas to make your games even more meaningful, especially for younger gamers.

Firstly, there are not many games out there that raise awareness of sustainability issues. If games
introduced missions related to recycling or building sustainable cities, players would reflect on the
consequences of their choices in an interactive way.

Secondly, games can be fun and educational at the same time. Learning can be integrated through
puzzles and challenges based on history, science, or mathematics.

I truly believe that video games can inspire positive change, and your company has the experience,
talent, and means to make this possible.

Thank you for considering my ideas.

Kind regards,

Susan

3.2. Write an opinion essay on the following statement: “Video games have the power to change the way
people think about the real world”.

For decades, video games have been seen by many as a worthless form of entertainment with no
connection to reality. Nevertheless, I wish to argue that video games can also inspire positive change
in the real world.

To begin with, the decisions we make in a game have consequences. Therefore, players learn about
critical thinking, co-operation, and problem-solving, all of which are fundamental skills in
professional and educational settings.

Furthermore, newer video games tend to emphasise narrative and character development. If gamers
identify with characters and experience their struggles, they will develop greater empathy and
understanding. This can only lead to better social relations beyond the screen.

In conclusion, it is very simplistic to see video games as no more than leisure activities. When
companies challenge assumptions and employ thoughtful artists to design their projects, they
ultimately encourage players to face real-world problems.