Future Glaciation: Scientific Predictions and Linguistic Challenges

Model Test Context

This document presents a model test for college access, focusing on Castilian (Spanish Language) skills, drawing on over 25 years of experience in academic assessment.

Article Excerpt: The Coming Ice Age

A glaciation will arrive in the not-too-distant future in geological terms, a few thousand years from now – perhaps in one or two millennia. So states the team of scientists from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in its latest study, conducted and coordinated by scientist Joan Grimalt. A future Ice Age is one of the conclusions of this study, which has examined our climate over the past 250,000 years. The Alboran Sea, which separates the Iberian Peninsula from Africa, has provided significant clues about how Earth's climate has behaved during this period. Analysis of its waters and microfossil samples, taken from about 3,000 meters deep, also helps decipher how the climate will evolve in the future. Grimalt asserts that the new ice age is not merely a hypothesis but an inevitable event, though it is still thousands of years away. (ABC, King Jaime I Awards, 23/11/2005)

Linguistic and Grammatical Questions

1. "New Ice Age" & Glacial vs. Glacier

Is the expression correct the new ice age (line 11), or should we say the new glacial age? Are there two distinct words, glacial and glacier? If so, what is the meaning of each?

2. Usage of "H" in Verb Forms

In line 5, the expression has looked back appears, and in the previous line, conducted and coordinated. Explain the rules for using the letter 'h' in these verb forms.

3. Word Analysis: Microfossils, Decrypt, Hypotheses

Analyze the terms microfossils, decrypt, and hypotheses by breaking them down into their constituent parts. State the meaning or value of each part. Then, provide three words that contain the derivative macro-, three words with the derivative hyper-, and three words with the derivative in-.

4. "Scientists" & "Científicas": Parts of Speech

In line 3, the words scientists and Científicas appear. Indicate the part of speech (word class) to which each belongs, providing a reasoned explanation for your answer.

5. Analyzing "Them" in Context

In line 7, the statement '...have been given the key factors...' is referenced. What kind of word is 'them' in this context, and what is its significance?

6. "Waters": Usage and Context

In line 9, the word waters is used. Discuss the correct usage of 'water' versus 'waters' in English. For example, when referring to potability, would one say 'drink this water' or 'drink these waters'?

7. "That" in "Has Looked Back"

What part of speech does the word that play in the text, specifically in relation to the fragment 'has looked back'? Is it equivalent to a particular word class, and if so, which one?

8. Derivational Analysis: Peninsula, Coordinated, Decrypt

The words peninsula, coordinated, and decrypt are formed through derivation. Explain the meaning of these terms and identify the derivational elements within them, indicating the value or function of each element.

9. Synonyms in Context

Provide a contextual synonym for each of the following terms:

• distant (line 1)
• a few (line 1)
• team (line 2)
• conclusions (line 5)
• decipher (line 8)

10. Antonyms in Context

Provide a contextual antonym for each of the following terms:

• latest (line 3)
• major (line 7)
• progress (line 8)
• new (line 11)