TEC THE English College - Gijón

Pruebas de Aptitud para el Acceso a la Universidad (11)

I N G L É S


All women who were under forty-five and who were free of family ties, such as young children or ill relatives, were under obligation to register for work in wartime England. All types of work were considered to be war service. In the spring of 1944 I went to London to find a job. Believe it or not, I chose London rather than peaceful Edinburgh because I wanted to `experience' the war. This ambition was amply fulfilled on my first night in the city. The train got in after dark and I stayed at the Station hotel. It was not long before the sirens wailed. I had so far only heard them on the news. It went on all night. Many people in the hotel congregated in the basement, but I decided to stay in my room. I was too lazy to move, but I moved quickly enough when a bomb fell nearby breaking my window. Glass flew all over the room but I was not hurt. Until well after the war food was rationed and we had ration books, with which we could get sausages, dried milk, eggs, canned meat and apples. Imported food, like oranges, lemons or bananas, was not available. But we did not think about food, that I remember, since lives were being lost everywhere. I had extraordinary luck in finding a job, and soon after arriving in London I was working in the Foreign Office.


Questions

1. When had women to register for work in wartime England? (1 punto)

2. How does the speaker `experience´ war in the text? (1 punto)

3. What were ration books for? (1 punto)

4. Complete the following sentence with the information given in the text: (2 puntos)

If I had not been too lazy to move ....


5. Find synonyms in the text for each of the following words: (1 punto)

infirm powder milk met indolent


6. Give an account of a shocking or terrifying experience you might have had. (70-80 words)

(4 puntos)