Universidad del Norte – Instituto de Idiomas Name: ___ _____________________

Level 5
Midterm Exam Date:___
Total 40 points
Class:______English
____________________

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 For the listening task please find the audio on Blackboard ‘Contenido’
 For both the listening and the reading sections, you need to answer the questions
using your own words. Each question can be answered in one or two sentences
 You have two hours to complete the exam. Send the exam once you finish
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Part One: Listening SLO 1, 2, 4 Total: ________(10 points, 2 each)

Listen to a woman talking about aid work. Then read the questions and select the best
answer. You will listen twice.

1. What’s the main idea of the talk? (type your answer below)
the arrival of technology can benefit the poorest people, specifically, when we can donate
money directly to the poorest families in the world, to improve their own lives, with no
intermediaries, thanks to the foundation that is mentioned in the audio.

2. Studies found that when money was given to the poor…

People used cash tranfers to improve their own lives, buying the essential items to live, like
food, water, etc.

3. What method does this charity use to giving cash transfers directly to the poor ? (type your
answer below
The method this charity used is that the person who want to help or donate money, could
send directly to the families, with no intermediaries. The benefits of it, is that they are having
direct contact with poor families, avoiding possible corruption that may exist

4. Who is the intended audience of this talk? A general public because the charity tries to
encourage all people to participate and start using this method that may help individual
families improves their lives.
5. What is the speaker’s attitude towards charity in general? (type your answer below)
She is being very critical with the other charities, because, she said that most of the donated
money by people, is used by foundations for personal gain, showing the corruption that exist
on them.

Part Two: Writing, SLO 7 Total: _______ (10 points)

Write a short paragraph about a person who has made a big impact on your life. What did
they do to make an impact on you? How has it helped you overcome problems in your life?
(The use of translators will be penalized) Write a paragraph of eight to ten sentences:

GRAMMAR X3 VOCABULARY X2 CONTENT X3 STRUCTURE X2

Uses mixed tenses Uses vocabulary words from Has clear and coherent idea Follows the pharaoh structure
correctly the units modelled in class
Part Three: Reading SLO 1 Total: _________ (10 points, 2 points each)

Read the article and answer the questions below.

Elderly people often complain of having a bad memory. They can’t find their keys or remember
all their grandchildren’s names. It’s a fact of life that as we get older, our brains fire neurons,
or “send messages”, more slowly. This results in memory loss. Scientist Amy Arnsten is hoping
to help improve elderly people’s memories. She believes a drug, guanfacine, can stop the brain
from slowing down.

Arnsten and a team of scientists did an experiment on rhesus macaques (a species of monkey).
They compared the brain activity of younger monkeys with older monkeys. They found,
unsurprisingly, that there was less activity in the older monkeys’ brains. However, when they
gave the elderly monkeys a dose of guanfacine, the monkeys’ brains immediately became
more active.

Arnsten believes the drug might have a similar effect on human brains. Guanfacine could
speed up the activity in elderly human brains and improve their ability to remember
information. But Arnsten warns, “we can’t say it [would] bring you back to being a 30-year-
old.” Further tests have to be done to find out how much memory improvement a person
could expect.

Some scientists question the need for such a drug. “Is it so important to improve people’s
memory as they get older?” they wonder. Arnsten would argue that, yes, it is important. A
person’s memory helps them be independent. They can make good decisions about their
health care, remember where they are when they are driving, and take better care of their
finances. Although more research is needed, Arnsten’s monkey study shows us how the aging
process can be slowed down—or in this case, the brain can be sped up—to help improve the
quality of life for the elderly.

1. What is the main idea of this article?

A drug called Guanfacine has been created that seeks to improve the brain capacity of older
people.

2. Which drug may be able to help prevent memory loss?

The Guanfacine, which is a drug that could improve elderly people’s memories.

3. In her study, what did Arnsten find happened in older monkeys when given this drug?
When she gave the drug to them, their brains became to work more actively.

4. What is the purpose of the article?

This article has the purpose to inform about the appearance of a new drug that could
revolutionize the everyday life of the elderly people. The author tries to expose all the benefits
that this drug can provide to the world.

6. Who is the intended audience?

A general public, because we can conclude that the articles is written in everyday language
that everyone can understand. Maybe, the author want to specially focus on the older
audience, but I think that the article concern us all.

Part Four: Speaking Total:__________(10 points)

SLO 6

Answer the following questions for about one minute and record an audio with your answer
and upload it to Flipgrid. Please find the link in your email.

Think of any technology or application for your phone that can be used to monitor or to
improve your health. Then answer these questions:

-How does it work? (describe it)

-Why is it useful? (explain your reasons)
-How has technology improved people´s health? (give examples)

Holistic Rubric for Speaking Component of Exam

10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points

Excellent Good responses Adequate Poor responses Very poor

responses to to the responses to to the responses to
the questions. questions. the questions. questions. the questions.
Expresses ideas Expresses ideas Ideas unclear at Questions not Irrelevant
clearly. clearly. times. fully answered information.
or ideas unclear.
Excellent Good Adequate Very poor
vocabulary and vocabulary and vocabulary and Poor vocabulary vocabulary and
grammar for the grammar for the grammar for the and grammar grammar for the
level. level. level. for the level. level. Frequent
Interference interference
with with
understanding understanding.
at times.