Question

Después de leer atentamente el texto y las cuestiones siguientes, el alumno deberá responder en INGLÉS a las cuestiones proporcionadas

TEXTO

Women and Sustainability

According to professor McElhaney, founder of the Centre for Responsible
Business at the University of California, companies that empower women are
more likely to act sustainably. It has been found that businesses with more
women on their board of directors are more likely to manage and improve their
energy efficiency, invest in renewable power, measure and reduce their carbon
emissions, improve access to healthcare in developing countries and have anticorruption
policies. What is more important, women have strong partnerships
with local communities.

But why is this? Do men have by nature unsustainable ways of acting in the
world? Does testosterone fuel the exploitation of our planet and its people? Are
women our best hope for creating a sustainable future?

Elle Carberry, co-founder of China G. Initiative, believes that women may be
drawn to sustainability because of its social angle. “From all my 20 years in
business, I have met more women working in this area than in others,” she says.
In China, women appear to be playing an increasingly important role in
sustainability and for one Chinese woman in particular, it turned her into the
wealthiest self-made woman in the world. Zhang Yin is the founder of a
recycling company that buys scrap paper from the US, imports it into China, and
turns it mainly into cardboard for use in boxes to export Chinese goods.

However, despite this and many other role models, millions of women are still
under-represented, but the hope is that more will be empowered to join the
sustainability revolution.

QUESTIONS

1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No
marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.

a) One of the reasons why women succeed in the sustainability sector is because they
maintain close contacts with the locals.

b) Elle Carberry’s experience reveals that there is a higher proportion of women in the
sustainability sector as compared to others.
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do
not copy from the text.

a) Name three advantages of having female top executives in this sector.

b) Why has Zhang Yin become so successful?
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

3.- Find the words in the text that mean:

a) give authority to (paragraph 1)

b) attracted (paragraph 3)

c) seem (paragraph 3)

d) products (paragraph 3)
(Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when
given.

a) Nick: How _____ do top executives attend conferences on recycling?
Sue: Once a year.

b) Zhang Yin's recycling company invested in _____ (buy) new equipment for special
services. In 2006, she topped the list of the wealthiest people _____ China and by 2010
her fortune was _____ (great) than that of J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter.

c) A few years ago, I _____ (invite) to speak to an organisation in Shanghai called
“Women in Sustainability Action”, _____ was set up in 2000.

d) Albert studied at a very prestigious university. If he _____ (not obtain) good marks, he
_____ (not get) such a good job.
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

5. Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic.

Are there some jobs which are more appropriate for men than for women? State your
opinion and give specific reasons and examples.
(Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)

Prueba de selectividad para la comunidad de Madrid. Convocatoria Jun 2012-2013. Inglés.

Answer 1

1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.

a) One of the reasons why women succeed in the sustainability sector is because they maintain close contacts with the locals.

True.  “It has been found that businesses with more women on their board of directors are more likely to manage and improve their energy efficiency, invest in renewable power, measure and reduce their carbon emissions, improve access to healthcare in developing countries and have anticorruption policies. What is more important, women have strong partnerships with local communities”.

b) Elle Carberry’s experience reveals that there is a higher proportion of women in the sustainability sector as compared to others. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

True. “Elle Carberry, co-founder of China G. Initiative, believes that women may be drawn to sustainability because of its social angle. “From all my 20 years in business, I have met more women working in this area than in others” “.

2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.

a) Name three advantages of having female top executives in this sector.

-Women tend to act in a more sustainable way in all aspects of life.

-Women think about the consequences of every single action so when it comes to energy consumption and resource exploitation, it is better to have women on board when it comes to making decisions about which ones are the best ways to act sustainably.

-When dealing with communities, specially forming partnerships to take care of the environment and create new jobs, women tend to be seen as more trustworthy and understanding than men.


b) Why has Zhang Yin become so successful? (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

Zhang Yin has become the wealthiest woman in the world thanks to her own merits because she thinks in a sustainable way, looking for ways to attack environmental problems and make profit out of them.

3.- Find the words in the text that mean:


a) give authority to (paragraph 1) - Empower
To give someone the legal or accepted power to do something.

b) attracted (paragraph 3) - Drawn
To attract is to cause to come to a place or participate in a venture by offering something of interest, favorable conditions, or opportunities.

c) seem (paragraph 3) Appear
To look a certain way.

d) products (paragraph 3) (Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)  - Goods
Anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need.

4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when given.

a) Nick: How __often___ do top executives attend conferences on recycling? Sue: Once a year.

b) Zhang Yin's recycling company invested in ___buying__ (buy) new equipment for special services. In 2006, she topped the list of the wealthiest people _ in__ China and by 2010 her fortune was _greater__ (great) than that of J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter. 

c) A few years ago, I _was invited_ (invite) to speak to an organisation in Shanghai called “Women in Sustainability Action”, __it___ was set up in 2000. 

d) Albert studied at a very prestigious university. If he __hadn’t obtained___ (not obtain) good marks, he __ wouldn’t have gotten___ (not get) such a good job. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

5. Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic. Are there some jobs which are more appropriate for men than for women? State your opinion and give specific reasons and examples. (Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)

I believe that with the same training and opportunities, men and women can perform the same tasks in activities. While it is true that men are physically stronger than women, that’s as far as it gets. Women to physically train themselves to be stronger, succeed and become stronger than many men. But if we take the point of view that most women don’t physically train themselves to be stronger, then jobs that require physical strength like construction work, are more suited for men. But not exclusively so. We live in a society that still thinks that men are the ones that are supposed to lead every single aspect of life, underestimating women and making them out to be inferior, which is a completely archaic idea.



Prueba de selectividad para la comunidad de Madrid. Convocatoria Jun 2012-2013. Inglés.