TEC THE English College - Gijón

Pruebas de Aptitud para el Acceso a la Universidad (4)

Read the text and then answer the questions:

A robot that was suppossed to serve wine in a restaurant ran crazy instead, destroying furniture and frightening customers, until eventually its head fell off into a customer’s legs, the Court of Justice in Edinburgh was told yesterday. The court was also told that during its career at a restaurant in Leith, Edinburgh, the robot spilled a glass of wine on its first test run and became uncontrollable after 30 minutes, destroying all the furniture around. It was said to have been erratic and uncontrollable again during tests the next day, when it spilled more glasses of wine and ended dropping its head into a customer’s legs. The engineer who demonstrated the robot at the restaurant and showed another person how to use it, told the court: “It just needed practice and in time you can perfect it”. But he also said that if the batteries were undercharged (he guessed this could have happened), “the results would be catastrophic, because the radio-controlled signal would be too weak.”. The robot stood in court wearing a black hat. It looked in a sorry state, incapable of speech or movement. When the case ended, it was taken from the court and its internal wires were detached.

Questions

Answer the following questions. Do not copy literally from the text:

1.- What did the Court decide concerning the robot when the case was over? (1 punto)

2.- Give at least two reasons why the robot became uncontrollable during the tests? (1punto)

3.- Did the robot say or do something in its own defense while it was in court? Why? Why not? (1 punto)

4.- Find synonyms in the text for each of the following words or expressions:
mad / taught / client / following / handle / pitiable (1’5 puntos)

5.- A: Put the following sentence into reported speech: The engineer said: “The person in charge needs a lot of practice. In time the movements of the robot can be perfect.” (0’5 puntos)
B: Put these two sentences in the passive voice:
-The robot wore a black hat
-The engineer was informing the judge when an accident happened (1 punto)

6.- What were your favourite toys when you were a child? Why? (100-120 words) (4 puntos)