8/6/2019 PAEGstyle Exam

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UNHEARD SOUNDS

For centuries, teenagers have looked for creative and original ways to rebel against their

parents and teachers. Recently, teenagers have found a new weapon that is aimed at irritating

parents and teachers alike: a ringtone that many adults cannot hear.

Since the advent of the mobile phone, teachers have battled with students attempting to

receive calls and text messages in class. The new ringtone, which cannot be heard by most

people over the age of 20, signals to a student that he or she has got a text message. He or she

is then able to receive the message without the fear of being detected by the teacher. The

ringtone is based on an invention called the Mosquito, a sound system which was originally

developed to annoy teenagers and satisfy adults, not the other way around. The technology

relied on the fact that adults gradually lose the ability to hear high frequencies of sound. As a

result, the system used an annoying high-pitched sound, which many adults can´t hear, but

most young people can. It was intended to help shopkeepers get rid of teenagers standing in

front of their shops, while leaving adults unaffected. Now, teenagers have reinvented the

Mosquito as a ringtone.

The craze started a few months after the Mosquito was launched, when the high-pitched tone

was downloaded to a mobile phone. The ringtone was then passed on via text messages and

“Teen Buzz”, as it was affectionately named by teenagers, quickly caught on, spreading from

teenage phone to teenage phone. Yet, despite its popularity, the new technology has got its

limitations. Most importantly, not all adults are unable to hear the high-pitched tone. Some

adults claim that they can hear the sound, though apparently not as piercingly as students can.

It would appear, however, that “Teen Buzz” is here to stay. The new ringtone allows students

to get pleasure from the fact that the whole class is able to hear their phones ringing while the

teacher has got no idea what´s going on. Technology may be changing, but evidently human

nature is not!

QUESTIONS

I.- READING COMPREHENSION: Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to

support your answer (2 points)

1.- The new ringtone is inaudible for teenagers

2.- The Mosquito was invented based on the ringtone

3.- The new ringtone takes advantage of the fact that many adults cannot hear certain sounds

4.- The tone can be downloaded to a mobile phone

II A.- LEXICON: Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given(1pt)

a.- discovered

b.- slowly

c.- lovingly

d.- clearly

8/6/2019 PAEGstyle Exam

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II B.- PHONETICS:

a.- Write two words from the text with the same sound as teenagers / i : /and underline it

b.- Which of these words contain the diphthong /ai /: “alike”, “ways”, “message”? 

c.- Find three words with the sound / ŋ / 

III.- USE OF ENGLISH: Rewrite these sentences starting with the words given(3p)

1.- Teenagers have looked for creative and original ways to rebel against the adults

Creative…………………………………………………………………………. 

2.- I couldn´t read the message because I didn´t take the mobile phone

I wish……………………………………………………………… 

3.- “Can you lend me your car”? Steve asked his father 

Steve asked his father……………………………………………… 

4.- Although the text was difficult, we passed the exam

Despite the fact that………………………………………….. 

5.- I don´t earn much money. I can´t buy a new MP4

If …………………………………………………………………. 

6.- Your bag is nice, but mine is nice too

Your bag…………………………………………………………… 

IV.- COMPOSITION(3 points)

1.- Why do you think teenagers have always looked for ways to rebel against adults?

2.- Is it appropriate for mobile phones to be used in public places such as restaurants and

shops, and on public transport? What do you usually do?