1. 2nd
Batx test number 5: Education
Name_________________________________________________Date______________ Group______ Final Mark____
Reading (2'50 marks) Mark________/2'5
When you look back on your school days, doesn't it seem like you studied all the time? However, most of us seem to have
retained almost nothing from our early immersion in math, history, and foreign language. Were
we studying the wrong way during all those hours? Well, as it turns out we may have been.
Psychologists have been assessing how well various study strategies produce long-term learning,
and it appears that some strategies really do work much better than others.
Consider "overlearning." That's the term learning specialists use for studying material
immediately after you've mastered it. Say you're studying new vocabulary words, flash-card style,
and you finally run through the whole list error-free; any study beyond that point is overlearning.
Is this just a waste of valuable time, or does this extra effort embed the new memory for the long
haul?
University of South Florida psychologist Doug Rohrer decided to explore this question
scientifically. He had two groups of students study new vocabulary in different ways. One group
ran through the list five times; these students got a perfect score no more than once. The others
kept drilling, for a total of ten trials; with this extra effort, the students had at least three perfect run-throughs. Then the
psychologists tested all the students, some one week later and others four weeks later. The results were interesting. For students
who took the test a week later, those who had done the extra drilling performed better. But this benefit of overlearning
completely disappeared by four weeks. In other words, if students are interested in learning that lasts, that extra effort is really a
waste. They should instead spend this time looking at material from last week or last month or even last year. "Massing" all the
study on a single topic into a single session reduces long-term retention. It's better to leave it alone for a while and then return to
it.
Rohrer also wanted to see if the duration of study breaks might make a difference in learning. It did. When two study sessions
were separated by breaks ranging from five minutes to six months, with a final test given six months later, students did much
better if their break lasted at least a month. So, rather than distribute their study of some material across just a few days, as
millions of school children do when given a different list of vocabulary or spelling words each week, students would be better
off seeing the same words throughout the school year
I) Find in the text words or expressions synonyms for the following. Verbs are shown in the infinitive and might not
correspond to the tense/form they appear in the text. You must provide the infinitive form of the verb.
(0.7 marks)
1. to evaluate _________________________
2. to become proficient in ________________________
3. a relatively long period of time ________________________
4. results, performance on an examination ________________________
5. to perform a repetitive exercise ________________________
6. intervals ________________________
II) Say whether the following statements are True or False. Provide evidence from the text. (0´80 marks)
1. “overlearning” increases long term retention
T/F ___________________________________________________________
2. longer breaks between study sessions lead to better results
T/F ___________________________________________________________

2. III) Answer the following questions drawing on the ideas of the text and using your own words . Copying literally from
the text will not be given any marks. ( 1 mark)
1. What aspects of learning were the aim of the research?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. What did the experiment consist on?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
GRAMMAR (2 marks) Mark____/2
I) Fill in the gaps 1-4 and 6 with an appropriate modal verb and put he verb in brackets into the correct form. Fill in
gap 5 with an appropriate word. (0'60 marks. 0'10 each correct answer)
Jay: Did you do well in the exam?
Sue: No, I didn't! In fact, I'm sure that I (1 )________________ failed it.
Jay: Why are you so convinced?
Sue: I (2)____________________ answer half the questions: they were impossible! So I (3)_________________ leave them
unanswered, because you get negative marks for the wrong answer.
Jay: Oh dear! You(4)________________________ passed, you never know.
Sue: I really don't think so. I (5) _________________________________ to pass the next exam. It is my last chance, or I
(6)____________________ go to university in September.
II)Complete the sentences using modal perfect tenses so as they have the same meaning as the original sentence. (0'75
marks. 0'15 each correct answer)
1. It was stupid of him to cheat in the exam.
He…………………………………………………………in the exam. It was stupid.
2. It's possible that Jane missed his train.
She …………………………………………………………her train.
3. Mrs. Blake hasn’t left the school yet because her coat is still here.
Mrs. Blake…………………………………………………………school yet because her coat is still here.
4. I’m sure Mr. Jones was not very happy when he saw his broken window.
Mr. Jones …………………………………………………………very pleased when he saw his broken window.
5. Look at Peter. He’s so pale. I’m sure he has seen a ghost.
Peter …………………………………………………………a ghost. He’s so pale.
III)Rephrase: Rewrite the sentenses so that they mean exactly the same starting with the word given. (0'45 marks. 0'15
each correct answer)
6. Yesterday I had a leak in the ceiling due to heavy rain so I had to call the plumber to fix it.
Yesterday I …......................................................................................................................... by the plumber.

3. 7. They say that Obama is going to spend his summer holidays in Majorca.
It …............................................................................................................
8. The teacher saw her cheating. She didn't get away with it and failed.
If …................................................................................................................
Phonetics
Circle the odd one out. (0'20 marks. 0'05 each correct answer)
choir admire hire prey
pear pier peer here
played talked stopped matched
cow south saw plough
LISTENING (1mark) 0'20 each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalised -0'10
Jana and Peter are two university teachers. They bring up the issue of homework and testing. Listen to their conversation and
say whether the following statements are True or False. Wrong answers will be penalized. ELLLO
http://www.elllo.org/english/1151/T1159-Jana-Tests.html
1) What does Jana think about homework now?
a) It makes you want to study
b) It makes you suffer
c) It doesn't help much
2) What does Peter think is important about homework?
a) getting good scores
b) remembering new ideas
c) showing what you have learnt
3) Both think tests are good because _____
a) Teachers love them.
b) Students like them.
c) They provide information
4) According to Peter, what is the purpose of tests?
a) To give grades
b) To rank students
c) To show learning
5) What tests did Jana hate as students?
a) All tests
b) Big final tests
c) Written tests