English Test
Reading Comprehension, 60 p, 1hText A: Insert each word from the box in its corresponding place in the text. Only one answer is correct.
hope / reason / granted / probably / transmit / limits / colleagues / question / theological / principles
First of all, I do not think there can exist a so-called ‘ethic of virtual communication’. The world of today stands globally under the sign of disorientation. We have to take it for (1) ______. Also we have to seek some ethical (2) ______, knowing in advance that they will not be permanent. They will only be provisional principles. Principles are bridges between responsibility and hope: responsibility to assume the choices we have made,(3) ______that gives the courage of being and acting.
In terms of responsibility, as Christian communicators, we have the responsibility to (4) ______something of the Gospel for today. Or, at least, to translate it in a less proselytizing way, to transmit something of the Christian story in order to help people of today build their own stories. Speaking about transmission, we touch here on the (5) ______of virtual communication.
Some years ago, when the Internet was developing very rapidly, even in the Church, one of my (6) ______argued that the Internet would be the next and best medium for dealing with laity training and (7) ______adult education. I was never convinced. When I see the little dialogue and few questions I receive by virtual communication, I feel that I was right. For me the (8) ______is very simple: when something of the Gospel has to be given, it is not a (9) ______of communication, not even a question of transmission. It is a question of initiation. I know that the term is not very much loved, especially in Protestant circles. Too old, too catholic, too esoteric… but I do think that it is (10) ______the way of religious communication to come.
Text B: Read the following paragraphs carefully. Write the letter corresponding to each paragraph next a number in the provided table , so that you put the text into the correct order. Only one answer is correct.A. The poll, by ComRes for Theo, found that just 30 per cent of Brits accept the traditional Christian belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ. Almost the same again believe he rose in spirit.More than half of respondents said they believe in some kind of existence after death. Only 9 per cent said they believe in a personal physical resurrection.Two in five said they believe that Jesus was the son of God and nearly half that he was a holy prophet. More than one in eight (13 per cent) believe he never existed.On the question of Easter’s significance, 43 per cent of the public believe that the Easter story is about Jesus dying for the sins of the world while 26 per cent think it has no meaning.
B. He said that unlike 30 years ago, religion was no longer “one size fits all”. Professor Larry Hurtado, of Glasgow University’s school of divinity, said religion had gone through phases of popularity, with atheism common in the 17th century, followed by a major resurgence of faith in the 19th century.“Now we seem to be heading back into another trough period,” he said.“Among the chattering classes, religion is passé, except for getting your kid done or getting a church when you want to get wedded, but in other areas of society you’ll find fairly significant pockets of quite intensive religious faith and activity.”He added: “Religion is very much a part of the official culture - bishops in the House of Lords and so on.”
C. The Scottish Atheist Council welcomed the Theos findings and said they showed being a non-believer was no longer socially unacceptable.A leading theology professor said they reflected previous research which showed that in countries where religion was part of public life, such as Britain, it was less a feature of personal lives.The survey found that 23 per cent of Britons, and 19 per cent of Scots, considered themselves atheists. And 25 per cent of Britons and 32 per cent of Scots are not sure if they believe in God.The Church of Scotland claimed the sample north of the Border was too small to draw conclusions.
D. The vocal majority in religious groups tends to be the extreme element.” A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: “In reality twice as many Scots go to Church each weekend as go to the cinema, and five times as many as attend a football match.”He said that each week an average of 600,000 attended church, of whom 200,000 were Catholic. The current number of communicant members of the Church of Scotland is 504,000 - down from more than 1 million in 1976.
E. Almost half of Britons doubt the existence of God or are confirmed atheists, research has found.The think-tank, Theos, has found that most of those who say they are Christians do not practise their religion. And as the country’s supermarkets fill up with chocolate eggs, it appears that many do not believe in the fundamentals of the Easter story
F. However, Fred Drummond, the Evangelical Alliance’s national director for Scotland, said he thought it was “a fair reflection of the nation” and that society was becoming increasingly spiritual but not necessarily religious.He said: “It’s encouraging that churches are much more open to looking for some meaning to life, but not always equating that to Christian faith.”“It’s a general discussion about spirituality and spiritual life, and it must be more than what we have at present, but it doesn’t necessarily relate to a firm belief in religion. ”He said the modern world’s problems were a factor in declining faith, with individuals holding far fewer certainties.
G. Alan Holmes, of the Scottish Atheist Council, said it was positive that so many respondents admitted having doubts. “It’s saying it’s OK to not subscribe to previous beliefs of the culture,” he said. “Looking at the news, traditionally, the religious minorities have had absolutely disproportionate influence.
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10Text C: Read the following text carefully then decide which one of the given words best completes each sentence according to the text and write the corresponding letter (A,B, or C) in the boxes on the right. Only one answer is correct.
When Jesus was caught by the Spirit in the desert to be tempted, the original text of the Scripture actually says that he underwent an experience: to be tempted actually means to undergo an experience, to go through an ordeal in an existential sense. Virtual communication also has its temptations, and as virtual users we are, so to speak, forced to go through the ordeals of temptation.
One of these temptations is to imagine that we are obliged to communicate or that we cannot escape the progress of virtual communication. On the one hand it is indeed true: whether we want it or not, virtual communication belongs to our environment. On the other hand, the very fact that people gather to speak about it, is a sign that as soon as the process of interpretation begins, we escape from total domination: the domination of the spirit as well as the domination of the economy, on a local or a global scale (because one of the many temptations of the virtual network is the commercial one, the merchandising one, the quest for more and more benefits). The other would be the domination of the spirit, as is well shown in the movie Matrix, which depicts a world close to the one of George Orwell, where people are surrounded by an electronic matrix which evacuates from their brain even the human task of thinking and interpreting reality. It is not surprising that the movie, having set the scene of a post-modern nightmare of an anonymous and sordid world, introduces the figure of the Messiah, a modern representation of the antique hero of all the salvation’s stories of the world.
After some qualifying steps, and non-recognition of the official priests as well as recognition of some faithful disciples, the hero will face the forces of evil and after a passage through death and darkness, he will rise again, discovering in himself the energy to transcend gravity, reality, which has been manipulated by the matrix. If one were to try a psychoanalytical reading of the movie, one could argue that, at the end, the hero needed to escape from the feminine womb of the matrix, as well as needing to kill the masculine opponent to do so. At the end of the film, resurrected and having abandoned the pre-modern pattern of unique love, family and friendship, he takes flight - a kind of ascension - and leaves the earth, liberated and free from any spiritual and economical domination.
In one sense, regarding virtual communication, we are all heroes of our own salvation story. We are all able to take the qualifying steps, avoiding recognition and non-recognition because the important task here is not to be recognized by the other, but to confront the possible forces of the evil of domination. We have the energy and power to encounter them, to confront them and to gain the only possible price, which is our freedom.
1. / To be tempted actually means to go through an ……… in an existential senseA. / ideal / B. / deal / C. / ordeal
2. / The very fact that people gather to speak about it, is a sign that we ……… from total domination.
A. / escape / B. / elude / C. / erase
3. / It is not surprising that the movie introduces the ……… of the Messiah.
A. / shape / B. / figure / C. / face
4. / He will rise again, discovering in himself the ……… to transcend reality.
A. / necessity / B. / will / C. / power
5. / The important task here is to confront the ……… forces of the evil of domination.
A. / impossible / B. / possible / C. / probable
Writing skills, 40 p, 30minutes
Write a brief presentation (no more than 250 words) on a research topic in your field.
Key:
Text A
(1) granted
(2) principles
(3) hope
(4) transmit
(5) limits
(6) colleagues
(7) theological
(8) reason
(9) question
(10) probably
Text B
1 / E2 / C
3 / F
4 / B
5 / G
6 / D
7 / A
Text C
1 C
2 A
3 B
4 C
5 B
3