UNIVERSIDAD DE ANDALUCÍA
Prueba de acceso de septiembre de 2003
SAYING GOODBYE AFTER 30 MONTHS?
Forget the traditional Valentine card message; love is not forever. In fact, for most people, it lasts no more than 30 months. After that, according to research on the nature of romance, couples have to choose between breaking up and deciding that they are easy enough with each other to stay together.
The conclusions of Professor Cindy Hazan, Cornell University, based on 5,000
interviews across 37 cultures and medical tests on couples challenge the romantic
ideal, suggesting instead that men and women are biojogically and mentally predisposed
to be "in love" for only 18-30 months. That is just long enough for
a couple to meet, mate, and produce a child.
There is evidence that what we call love is created by a chemical cocktail in
the brain. Some chemicals are registered together only during the initial stages
of a relationship. But even the most ardent lovers develop a tolerance to the
effects of these chemicals, as a drunk person becomes immune to a single glass
of alcohol. Love becomes a habit, especially if there are children.
The study also indicates that most men fall in love more quickly and easily
than women and most relationships are terminated by women. This suggests that
women are less addicted to the cocktail of love.
Read
the complete text from the Sunday Times
(A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)
a) ANSWER QUESTIONS 1 -2 ACCORDING TO THE I NFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT.
USE
YOUR OWN WORDS. (1 point per answer)
1) How was the evidence for this study obtained?
2) Why does love only last between 18 and 30 months?
b) ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR
PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points per answer)
3) All couples break up after 30 months.
4) Men and women always decide when to fall in love.
5) The cocktail of love is more effective if there are children.
6) Women fall in love more slowly than men.
(B) USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)
7) Find in the text the word which has the following definition: (0.25
points)
"that cannot be affected by a particular illness" (adjective)
8) Find in the text one opposite for COLD (adjective). (0.25 points)
9) Which word is not an ADVERB? (0.25 points) QUICKL y FAST -LONEL y
EASILY
10) Give an adjective with the same root as FORGET (verb) (line 1). (025
points)
11) Turn the following sentence into reported speech: (0.5 points)
The film star said: "I fell in love last summer."
12) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice: (0.5 points)
Many adults are reading Harry Potter's books
13) Complete the following conditional sentence. (0.5 points)
If I had studied psychology ...
14) Join the following sentences using a relative pronoun. Make changes
if necessary. (0.5 points)
Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime. His works are worth millions.
14) WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS.
SPECIFY YOUR OPTION.
a) Different attitudes of men and women towards love.
b) Do you think your love will last longer than 30 months? Why?
Webmaster Isabel Pérez Torres