SECOND LIFE. SELECTIVIDAD L.

I am a cardiac surgeon in a big hospital. Several years ago, I performed a high-risk heart operation on an elderly gentleman who was in his mid-seventies. The surgery appeared to be a success, but three days later the patient’s heart stopped beating. We performed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him for three hours and, amazingly, he was able to come back to life. In the process, however, the man suffered a brain injury. The symptoms were very unusual: he now thought he was fifty years old. During the resuscitation process he had lost more than twenty years of his life.

I followed the patient for two months, and during that time he seemed to regain about ten of those years. When I lost track of him, he was convinced that he was sixty years old. He had the strength and energy of a man twenty years younger than his chronological age.

About a year and a half later, I was playing golf with a good friend of mine. He had brought along a friend of his, and, to my surprise, he was the patient’s son-in-law. He told me that his father-in-law had died earlier that month, and he proceeded to tell me a story that I will never forget.

Before his heart surgery, my patient had been an alcoholic, a wife-abuser, and impotent for about twenty years. After his cardiac arrest and resuscitation —and the loss of twenty years of memory— he had forgotten all these things about himself. He stopped drinking. He began sleeping with his wife again and became a loving husband. This lasted for more than a year. And then, one night, he died in sleep.

I * COMPREHENSION (This section consists of six items combining ‘True/False’ and/or ‘Multiple Choice’ questions) (3 points)

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

1.After the resuscitation process the patient...

(a) thought he was much younger.

 (b) thought he was back in the 1920’s.

(c) could not remember anything at all. 

(d) looked younger.

2. After his loss of memory, the elderly man...

(a) became sleepless.

 (b) turned forgetful. 

(c) was impotent. 

(d) gave up alcohol.

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT (0.5 points each)

3. During the surgery the patient’s brain got damaged. TRUE: "In the process, however, the man suffered a brain injury."

4. After the whole incident the patient was physically stronger. TRUE: "He had the strength and energy of a man twenty years younger than his chronological age."

5. The narrator’s friend met the patient while playing golf. FALSE "he was the patient’s son-in-law"

6. A patient’s relative told the surgeon that he had recently died.TRUE "He told me that his father-in-law had died earlier that month, and he proceeded to tell me a story that I will never forget."

II * USE OF ENGLISH (4 points; questions 7-12, 0.25 points each; 13-17, 0.5 points each)

7. FIND IN THE TEXT ONE SYNONYM FOR “damage” (noun). 

INJURY (L.4)

8. GIVE ONE OPPOSITE FOR “strength” (noun) AS IT IS USED IN THE TEXT (line 8). 

WEAKNESS

9. GIVE A NOUN WITH THE SAME ROOT AS “perform” (verb) (line 1).

  PERFORMANCE, PERFORMER.

10. FILL IN THE GAP WITH A CORRECT PREPOSITION: 

“I have always dreamed ... becoming a doctor.”  ABOUT / OF

11. FIND IN THE TEXT THE WORD THAT HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION:

 “a sign or an indication of disease.” SYMPTOMS (L.5)

12. FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT OPTION:

 “I had never seen ... beautiful painting!” so / such /SUCH A / rather

13. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONAL SENTENCE:

 “If she had known it was your birthday,” ... SHE WOULD HAVE BOUGHT A PRESENT

14. TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE: 

“They didn’t tell us that she arrived yesterday.” 

 WE WEREN´T TOLD THAT SHE ARRIVED YESTERDAY

15. TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE INTO REPORTED SPEECH:

 He told his daughters: "Don't talk aloud because your little brother is sleeping."

HE ORDERED HIS DAUGHTERS NOT TO TALK ALOUD BECAUSE THEIR LITTLE BROTHER WAS SLEEPING. 

16. GIVE A QUESTION FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS:

 “Amy was thinking about his story for an hour.” 

WHAT WAS AMY THINKING ABOUT FOR AN HOUR?

ABOUT WHAT WAS AMY THINKING FOR AN HOUR?

17.JOIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING AN APPROPRIATE LINKER (DO NOT USE AND, BUT OR BECAUSE). MAKE CHANGES IF NECESSARY. 

“Sarah didn’t miss the wedding reception. She was ill” 

ALTHOUG SHE WAS ILL, SARAH DIDN´T MISS THE WEEDING RECEPTION.

SARAH DIDN´T MISS THE WEEDING RECEPTION ALTHOUG SHE WAS ILL.