Inglés PAU 2026

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2026 Proves d’accés a la universitat

Llengua estrangera Anglès Sèrie 1 - A

Espai per a la correcció Qualificació

Espai per a la revisió Comprovació

2a correcció

Comprensió oral Comprensió escrita Expressió escrita Suma de notes parcials Qualificació final

Etiqueta de qualificació

Etiqueta de correcció

Etiqueta de l’estudiant

Ubicació del tribunal ..................................................................................

Número del tribunal ....................................................................................

The exam consists of THREE mandatory parts.

In the first part, listening comprehension is assessed through 8 multiple choice questions. It is worth 3 points.

In the second part, reading comprehension is assessed through 6 open-ended questions. It is worth 3 points.

In the third part, written expression is assessed. Here, you may choose ONE of the two given options. It is worth 4 points.

Part 1: Listening comprehension

AN INTERVIEW WITH GOTCHA, THE MUSICAL FORCE In this podcast you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them. Make sure you know what they mean.

to quote: citar textualment / citar textualmente prone: propens / propenso bouts: períodes / períodos harp: arpa

Ready?

Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to the podcast.

[Now listen to the interview.]

QUESTIONS Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct.

[3 points: 0.375 points for each correct answer. Wrong answers will be penalized by deducting 0.125 points. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.]

Espai per a la correcció

Correcta

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Incorrecta

No contestada

When Gotcha explains what inspired “Turning a Blind Eye”, what does she say is behind the feeling of defeat?

■ The pressure of competing with other contemporary Australian musicians.

■ Her inability to adapt to present-day Australian lifestyle.

■ Her awareness of how everyday habits lead to overconsumption.

■ A disappointment about how little artists care about technology.

Gotcha finds it difficult to change her environmental habits because ■ it’s hard to know what really helps.

■ there is too much information, she feels overwhelmed.

■ she thinks no one else is making an effort.

■ it’s difficult to change long-established habits.

How does Gotcha describe the way she sees the future?

■ She is idealistic most of the time, so her songs are optimistic despite her negative thoughts.

■ She alternates idealism and deep pessimism about the future, which is reflected in her songs.

■ She feels the world is as pessimistic as she is, though some people do want to change the world.

■ She is indifferent about the future, so her songs are never influenced by her emotions.

What does touring make Gotcha aware of?

■ The contrast between her environmentally friendly lifestyle and that of other musicians.

■ How travelling constantly increases her environmental impact.

■ How certain hotels contribute to the overall carbon footprint.

■ How each culture approaches environmental problems differently.

How does Gotcha feel about her growing success?

■ She thinks success always brings joy to anyone.

■ She fears larger projects will feel less meaningful to her.

■ She is afraid that fans will expect her to keep things as personal as they have been so far.

■ She believes enjoying fame will fix her environmental worries.

What challenges does Gotcha mention regarding communication on social media as her audience grows?

■ She now posts more often because she feels she owes it to her new followers.

■ She is more aware of the diversity of her audience and how that affects her communication.

■ She prefers to post less because communication with her listeners has become less sustainable.

■ She feels that social media makes followers focus on what she says rather than on her music.

What happens when Gotcha records an acoustic instrument note by note?

■ The instrument sounds the same as usual.

■ The resulting sound is amazing.

■ The instrument as such does not appear in the resulting album.

■ The sound of the instrument becomes angelic.

Gotcha enjoys experimenting with unusual objects to create sounds because ■ all other artists use traditional instruments, which is uninteresting.

■ they help her explore a new way to make music and create more original musical stories.

■ it takes less time than recording traditional instruments.

■ avoiding experimentation makes her music sound like everybody else’s.

Correctes Incorrectes No contestades

Recompte de les respostes Nota de comprensió oral

Part 2: Reading comprehension WHAT’S AFTER UMAMI? SCIENTISTS ARE HUNTING FOR THE SIXTH BASIC TASTE

In 1908, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda was studying the active substances in seaweed, when he made a discovery that would change food science forever. Ikeda realized that a compound called glutamic acid was what gave seaweed its distinctive taste—nothing like the existing basic tastes of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. He named that taste umami.

Yet even though people have been eating seaweed, mushrooms, miso, cheese, and fermented foods for ages, it took nearly a century of scientific debate for umami to be recognized worldwide as the fifth basic taste. It wasn’t until the 1990s that it gained universal recognition, and only after extensive scientific studies confirmed that it was unlike any other existing taste.

Is it time to add a sixth taste to the list? Some scientists argue that the answer is yes, though there is still debate about what it should be. Scientists have not been intentionally searching for a sixth taste. Rather, “there’s a fundamental science-based search for different ways we can experience the world in terms of taste and how it’s detected,” explains neuroscientist Emily Liman.

Advances in understanding the science of taste would allow food scientists to create more delicious foods—and could also help doctors diagnose and treat related disorders that involve a loss of your sense of taste. But getting the scientific community to agree on a sixth sense is not easy. To qualify as a basic taste, any competitor must be proven to be as distinct as the sweetness of berries or the bitterness of kale.

First, it’s important to note that “there’s a difference between taste and flavor,” says Marisa Moore, a dietitian in culinary nutrition from Atlanta. “Taste begins on the tongue when food molecules we eat mix with saliva and activate our taste buds, which then send signals to the brain and cause the perception of distinct tastes.” Contrary to popular belief, the tongue does not have specific areas that detect each type of taste. Instead, basic tastes can be picked up by taste buds on various parts of the tongue, though different cells may have varying levels of sensitivity to sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

While taste begins in the mouth, flavor is what registers in the brain when it combines the entire experience of taste, texture, temperature, and aroma. “Taste and other senses do interact in the brain to put together flavor,” says Richard Mattes, professor of nutrition science at Purdue University, “but that’s different from taste.” Various criteria have been proposed over the years to define a new taste. For starters, a taste needs to have a “chemical signature”—a set of chemical components that are distinct from that of other substances. Then, Mattes says, “you need to have a receptor anywhere on the tongue, palate, or throat where the chemical component can interact with a cell in a taste bud.” That cell in the taste bud must then have a mechanism “to change the component’s chemical signal to an electrical signal that is then transmitted through nerves to the brain,” Mattes adds. The electrical signal carried by taste nerves must activate regions in the brain that are associated with taste, and it needs to generate a unique taste perception in the brain that is independent from other tastes.

Finally, there needs to be a response in the body that results from these effects. For example, Mattes says, “the perception of sweetness triggers the release of insulin throughout the body.” In short, a major challenge to getting the scientific community to accept a new taste has to do with the complexity of the research that needs to be conducted. “You have to go through a lot to prove a taste exists,” says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a dietitian nutritionist in Chicago. None of the candidates for a sixth basic taste have passed all experimental tests yet—but some of them are closer to doing so than others. Despite all these complications, scientists continue to study taste—and debate what the next big one might be—because taste is important, as it is about what we crave, how we cook, and how satisfied we feel after eating.

Text adapted from an article by Stacey Colino. National Geographic [online] (November 25, 2025)

seaweed: alga taste bud: papiŀla gustativa / papila gustativa palate: paladar crave: tenir desig de / tener antojo de

QUESTIONS Answer the questions below using complete sentences. You may use fragments from the text unless specified not to do so.

[3 points: 0.5 points for each correct answer. Up to 0.3 points might be deducted from the total mark for lack of intelligibility in the answers provided.]

1. How did umami become recognized as the fifth basic taste? USE YOUR OWN WORDS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION. You may keep the words in the question.

2. Complete the following sentence:

Improving the diagnosis of taste-related illnesses and permitting researchers to make food tastier are…

3. Find a phrase in the text that means the following: “Unlike what people usually think”.

4. According to the text, what is flavor the result of?

5. Name TWO of the different criteria that have been proposed over the years to define a new taste.

6. In what sense does the study of taste continue to be important? In your answer, mention the THREE reasons given in the text. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Deduction for lack of intelligibility (up to 0.3 points) Reading comprehension score

Part 3: Writing Choose ONE topic. Your answer should be 125-150 words in length. There is no specific penalty for exceeding 150 words in length.

[4 points: 1 point for grammar, 1 point for vocabulary and spelling, 1 point for cohesion, and 1 point for adequacy and coherence]

1. You recently attended an international online workshop on cooking healthy food. You want to thank the workshop coordinator for how useful this workshop has been to you.

Write a formal email to the workshop coordinator in which you highlight the quality of the workshop, explain what you learned, and suggest improvements for future workshops.

2. Over the last few years, the number of teenagers suffering from stress and anxiety has increased significantly in many developed countries. Schools, parents, and health organisations are debating possible solutions to improve students’ well-being and reduce pressure. Some experts believe that schools should not give homework or hold traditional exams, while others argue that it is necessary for academic progress. Write an opinion essay on whether homework and/or exams should be limited or abolished for secondary school students, giving reasons and examples to support your view.

Grammar Vocabulary and spelling Cohesion Adequacy and coherence Writing score

Comprovació i 2a correcció:

3a correcció:

Etiqueta de l’estudiant

L’Institut d’Estudis Catalans ha tingut cura de la correcció lingüística i de l’edició d’aquesta prova d’accés.

Pàgina 1 de 7 Anglès Proves d’accés a la Universitat 2026, convocatòria ordinària. Criteri específic d'avaluació

SÈRIE 1 I. Listening comprehension (3 points) “AN INTERVIEW WITH GOTCHA, THE MUSICAL FORCE!” In this podcast you are going to hear some new words. Read and listen to them. Make sure you know what they mean.

to quote: citar textualment / citar textualmente prone: propens/propenso bouts: período/período harp: arpa/arpa Ready? Now read the questions on the following page. Read them carefully before listening to the podcast. [Now listen to the interview.] Interviewer (I): You are Gotcha, the musical force!

Gotcha (G): Haha, from now on I’m going to introduce myself as Gotcha, the musical force. My real name is Margot Chapman, but I guess I’ve got used to being called Gotcha more often now.

I: Right, I got you. That song we’ve just listened to, ‘Turning a Blind Eye’, is the first Australian single from your latest record, Making Miracles. It's a song that you say describes your feelings of being completely defeated, I'm quoting you, “by the realities of living in contemporary Australia.” What's been difficult about life there?

G: Oh, it's not specifically about living in contemporary Australia, although I’m American. It comes from a place of defeat, I guess, in the sense of being someone who is concerned, maybe a bit more aware than some people, in terms of how things I do in my regular life, in terms of use of materials, driving cars, using so much disposable technology to make music, how that is so implicitly involved in so much... use, maybe overuse of resources?

I: Your carbon footprint.

G: Yeah. And I feel very conflicted about the reliability of the information available.

When I try to research it and make changes, it’s incredibly hard to find a clear basis for making informed judgments or decisions. It’s hard to feel like anything I do makes a difference, even in my own life. Whether or not it sets an example for my fans or helps spread a more environmental message, sometimes it just feels like I’m making changes simply to avoid feeling completely defeated.

Pàgina 2 de 7 Anglès Proves d’accés a la Universitat 2026, convocatòria ordinària. Criteri específic d'avaluació

I: But the feeling of being “completely defeated” when you were writing this song suggests that you're quite pessimistic about our future. Are you?

G: I have moments like that, yeah. I sometimes change my mind a lot when I compose.

You know, I think I'm an idealist a lot of the time, but often prone to bouts of very depressive cycles of thought and pessimism about the potential for really fundamental change in the way humans live on earth, at least. It's those moments when I feel like that really prompted the lyrics to ‘Turning a Blind Eye’.

I: And what about the fact that now that you’re touring, you’re inevitably traveling more and experiencing not just different countries, but different cultures and different ways people are trying to deal with issues like the environment and ecological change? Does that make you feel more defeated, or do you find things on those travels that inspire you?

G: You know, touring for a music career does involve seeing a lot of airports, hotel rooms, cars, buses, et cetera, though some artists do it more than I do. Even so, I'm probably more in touch with the reality of having an ever-increasing carbon footprint, at …