-

Professor" s Name

Exercise N
1. Reading
2. Paraphrasing.
3.Cloze

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Total Part 1 (Min. 32)

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CARRERA DE TRADUCTOR PBLICO
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION - MAYO 2011

NOMBRE Y APELLIDO,

N de ORDEN

READING

........................
........................
........................
........................

4. Listening
5. Essay
5.!....EssayRecrrec.
5. Essay Average
(do NOT fill in)

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Total Part II (Min. 31)

... ./20
... ./27
... ./27
... ./27
.... ./47

PAPER 1

Why blame me? It was all my brain's fault

Mark
... ./20
... ./18
... ./15
...../53

(British News Report).

Imagine this futuristic courtroom scene. The defence barrister stands up, and pointing to his client in the
dock, makes this plea: "The case against Mr X must be dismissed.

He cannot be held responsible for

smashing Mr Y's face into a pulp. He is not guilty, it was his brain that did it. Blame not Mr X, but his
overactive amygdala."
The legal profession

in America is taking an increasing interest in neuroscience.

There is a flourishing

academic discipline of "neurolaw", and neurolawyers are penetrating the legal system. In the courts, as in
the trial of serial rapist and murderer Bobby Long, brain-scan evidence is being invoked in support of
pleas of diminished

responsibility.

Developments

in neuroscience

- in particular

the observation

of

activity in the living brain, using techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging or f.M.RI.have shown us that we are not as free, or as accountable for our actions, as we traditionally thought.
Defence lawyers are licking their lips at the possibility of placing "the brain on the stand" to take the rap
on behalf of the client. Arguments that blame lies not with the defendant but with his overactive amygdala
(supposedly

responsible

for

aggressive

emotions)

or

his

underactive

frontal

lobes

(supposedly

responsible for inhibiting the expression of such emotions) are being deployed with increasing frequency.
If our brains are in charge, and bad behaviour is due to them, our attitude to criminal responsibility and to
punishment may all have to chanqe,
There is, however, a contradiction

built into the plea of neuromitigation.

The claim "my brain made me do

it" suggests that I am not my brain, which contradicts the founding notion of neurolaw, namely that the
person is the brain.

The brain is the final common pathway of all actions. You can't do much without a

brain.
Furthermore,

deciding on the boundaries

cannot be handed over to neuroscientists

of our responsibility

for events in which we are implicated

examining the activity of the isolated brain in the laboratory. As

Stephen Morse, a professor of law, has remind d us, it is people, not brains, who commit crimes and
"neuroscience
responsibility

...

can never

identify the mysterious

point at which

people

should

be excused

for their actions". That moral, legal question must be answered not in laboratories

but in

courtrooms and legislatures.

The neuromitigation

of blame should therefore be treated with suspicion except in those instances where

there is unambiguous

evidence

of grossly abnormal

brain function

due to clear-cut

iIIness that may

originate in brain disease. Our knowledge of the relationship between brain and consciousness
and self is so weak and so conceptually
poi ice station or anywhere
neuromythology.

confused that the appeal to neuroscience

else is premature

and inappropriate.

Neurolaw

or brain

in the law courts, the

is just another branch of

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PAPER 1

PART I (Minimum Passing mar!<: 32 points)

In your own words,

1. READING COMPREHENSION
answer the following questions about the passage above.

a. The author
uses the terms "neurolaw",
"neuroscience",
"neuromitigation"
and
"neuromythology". What do they refer to and how are they related?
b. How do defence lawyers feel about the possibility of "placing the brain on the stand"?
Explain the implications for the prosecutor and society in general

2. USE OF ENGlISH: PARAPHRASING

Use the words given and rewrite these sentences by adding 2 or more words.
DO NOT change the meaning
Why blame me? It was my brain's fault

a.

I am
b.

Blame

Our knowledge of the relationship between brain and self is so weak that the appeal to
neuroscience in the courts is premature
Had we gained

c.

The neuromitigation

of blame should therefore be treated with suspicion

It is recommended

3. USE OF ENGlISH: CLOZE EXERCISE

FiII in the blanks with ONL Y ONE WORD
A Iittle-noticed case from the early 1990s marked the beginning of neuroscience. The case (1)
......................
..................

Herbert Weinstein, a 65- (2)

executive who was charged with (3)

his wife, Barbara, to death and then, in an effort to (4)

the murder

look Iike a suicide, throwing her body out the window of their 12th-floor apartment in Manhattan.
Before the trial began, Weinstein's

lawyer (5)

responsible for his actions because (6)

cyst in his arachnoid

that his client should not be he Id

a mental defect -

membrane, which (7)

American law holds people criminally responsible (8)

with a gun (9)

the brain like a spider web. Today,

they act under duress, (e.g.,

at the head) or if they suffer from a serious defect in rationality -

not being able to (10)

(12)

Thatcriminals

anyone (14)

the courts' (15)

like

right from wrong. But in the latter case, the law generally

doesn't care (11)

..................

namely, an abnormal

whether it's an unhappy childhood or an arachnoid cyst or

could be excused because their brains made them do it (13)
brain isn't functioning properly could be excused. Is it

to define the "normal" brain?

PART 11(Minimum Passing Mark 31)

'-

4. LlSTENING COMPREHENSION

Listen to the passage called "Can your genes make you kil/?" and then summarize it
Include as much information as possible (150-200 words)

SUMMARY: Can your genes make you kill?

5. ESSAY WRITING (300-350 words)

Write an essay on the following topic:

Use both the ideas and structures below

Be tidy and orderly throughout
Write the total word count at the end

"Scientific advances may generate moral dilemmas"

Include the following ideas (in any arder):

1. The moral dilemmas that accompany scientific advances
2. Latest advances and their impact: cloning, gene manipulation, sex selection,
"designed" babies, neuroscience, cryopreservation, nuclear plants, atomic bombs.
3. The moral values of the 21st century. Bioethics.
Use and underline:
1. A sentence starting with "Only when
2. A sentence starting with "If only
3. A 2nd conditional
Plus a wide range of connectors and vocabulary

ESSAY: SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES

"
"

MAY GENERATE MORAL DILEMMAS

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KEY
ENTRANCEEXAMINATIONMAY 2011
Listening
(Adapted from a news report, AMERICAN ENGLlSH)

Summary of the Listening

20points

When the police arrived at Brad Wald's trailer home in the mountains of Tennessee,
they found a war zone. There was blood on the walls, on the carpet, on the truck
outside, even blood on the Bible that Wald had been reading before the tragedy. On
Oct. 16, 2006, Wald was waiting for his wife to arrive with their four kids for the
weekend. He had been drinking, and ~when his wife said she was leaving with her
friend, Leslie, they began to fight. Soon, Wald had shot Leslie eight times and sliced her
head open with a sharp object. When he was finished with her, he chased after his wife,
Penny, with a machete, chopping off her finger and cutting her over and over.
During the trial, the defense* team did not try to dismantle the graphic evidence but
rather sought to give a broader picture. How did they do that?
The answer lay in Brad Wald's genes. A psychiatric evaluation found that Wald carried
the high-risk version of the "warrior gene", a gene connected with violence and anger.
His genetic makeup, combined with his history of child abuse, together created a
vulnerability that he would be a violent adult. It turned out to be a dangerous cocktail.
The jurors concluded that his actions were not premeditated, that he was incapable of
making the right choices and agreed with the defense argument that Wald just
exploded.
After 11 hours of deliberation, the jury ruled out the death penalty.
This case signals the beginning of a revolution in the courtroom.
Neuroscience and neuroimaging is going to change the whole philosophy about how we
punish and how we decide how to deal with people.
An important question is where to draw the line in considering neuroscience evidence
as a legal mitigation or excuse.
Should someone be executed for a condition that he was born with? Is it his fault?
There are plenty of examples of an abnormality. Do we give alcoholics a pass if they kill
someone while driving drunk? Should depressed individuals be entitled to an excuse
under the law? Should adolescents be excused because they are less able to control
their impulses as a result of underdevelopment in the prefrontal cortex of the brain?
Neuroscience, it seems, points two ways: it can absolve individuals of responsibility for
acts they have committed, but it can also place individuals in jeopardy for acts they
haven't committed yet - but might someday. This opens up a Pandora's box in
civilized society.
*defense: American English

VS.

defence, British English (used in Reading text). Both OK.

KEY
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION
PART 1 (EX 1

MAY 2011

+ 2 + 3) - MINIMUM passing Mark: 32 POINTS

1. Reading comprehension (20 points, 2 x 10 each). ORIENTATIVE ANSWERS

PAPER 1
A. Neurolaw: new approach that focuses on the brain and its activity, rather than on the
actlcrime itself to adjudge responsibility and punish the offender. Neuroscience: scientific
approach to understand how the brain works and what areas are more or less active when an
individual acts. Uses imagery and special techniques. Neurolawyers and ne.uroscientists are on
the rise. Neuromitigation:
The neurolaw approach mitigates punishment and diminishes
responsibility. Neuromythology: a wrong belief, a myth, an excuse to explain mental behaviour.
B. Attorneys for the defence relish the idea of placing the brain, rather than the person, on the
stand. They are looking forward to it as it is likely that the defendant is acquitted or given a
lesser penalty if brain abnormality is confirmed. Rest: FREE. (Orientative: Implications: a serial
killer may be set free on account of a troubled childhood or an abnormal brain. Society will not
always see justice be done. The law will ultimately understand and excuse violence and rage)
PAPER 2
,
A. It means to examine the brain as if it were a witness. The brain is "separated" from the
person, as a distinct entity. Attorneys for the defence love the idea of placing the brain, rather
than the person, on the stand as it is more likely that the defendant is acquitted or given a
lesser penalty if any abnormality is confirmed. Implications: a serial killer may be set free on
account of a troubled chitdhood or an abnormal brain. Society will not always see justice be
done. The law will ultimately understand and excuse violence and rage.
B. The writer explains the advent of neurolaw and neuroscience. He warns us of how
courtrooms and trials will change in the future with the admission of neuroscientific evidence
(for ex fMRI) to prove abnormality of the mind. However, he believes neuroscience is not fully
reliable: 1) the mind should not be fully separated from the person, 2) scientists cannot decide
moral and legal issues in the laboratory 3) it is premature and dangerous to use it if we do not
have a complete insight of how the brain relates to consciousness or self.
2. Paraphrasing (18 points - 3 x 6 points each) (Orientative answers)
A. I am not to blame/not accountable. Blame it on my brain. Blame my brain
B. Had we gained more knowledge about the relationship between .... and .... it would not be
premature to appeal to neuroscience in the courts. OR the appeal to neuroscience would be
timely/appropriate (MIXED Conditional WITH INVERSION!!)
C. It is recornrnended that the neuromitigation of blame (should) be treated with suspicion
A. Owing to our brains we behave badly/aggressively (baG ADVERBS must be used)
B. Not until our knowledge of the relationship between .. , and ... Js stronger w;}} the appea} to
neuroscence be appropriateltime(y ((NVERSION OF ORDER in the 2nd clause)
C. Blarne is wrongly attributed tol placed withl laid upon the defendant, instead of his
overactive amygdala or his underactive frontal lobes
3. Cloze exercise (15 points - 1 each)
,

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9. oointed/oointina
10. tell/dlstinquish
11. whv
12. both
13. implies/rneans entails (or similar)

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PART II (EX 4
4. Listening

+ 5)

- MINIMUM passinq Mark: 31 POINTS

exercise

S. Essay Writing

(Summary

- 20 points)

(27 points)

NEW TIPS FOR EXAM CORRECTION

Exams should be corrected IN FULL ( exercises 1 to 5)

Printouts are now either Paper 1 or Paper 2. Check key accordingly

Write your name in the blank provided on the top right corner, first page

Use red, green or any colour pens to correct. DO NOT use black or blue; students do.

Bilingual dictionaries are NO LONGER allowed.

In the paraphrasing exercise, students may but need not change content words.

Upon re-correction of the essay do not let the mark given previously influence you.

DO NOT write an average for Exercise N5. A revision team will.

DO NOT sum up the partial or final score. A revision team will.

DO NOT cross out anything written by students unless you have checked the mistake against a
reliable dictionary.

DO NOT simply underline or circle words. Use the margins and the Correction Code below to signal
the type of mistake.

Complete the grid at the end of the essay. Put a cross in the appropriate square(s). The completed
grid should help you make a decision about the mark

MINIMUM passing Mark for Part 1: 32

MINIMUM passing .Mark for Part 11: 31.

Do not give the student O if he has answered questions in part though wrongly. O should be
used when the student has written nothing at all.

The listening exercise consists in writing a sumrnarv, They do not need to change words to write the
summary of the listening exercise

ESSAY
27 POINTS
Evaluate coherence and cohesion, use of vocabulary, ideas given, and use of language.
Check they write about the 3 ideas given to ensure they have not prepared and studied by heart
the topic of the composition
Check they use and underline the structures requested. Lower marks if they don't
Students ask for explanations on revision date so all corrections must be well accounted for.
Mistakes of "Choice" are not as serious as "Meaning" or Poor Language mistakes.
Use 0 to reward the student for good use of language/vocabulary/patterns,
etc
GUIDELlNES
The following are signs of a poor command of the language:
o
People IS; news ARE
o
Subject missing in any sentence. (1 wont go because is cold outside)
o
Mistakes in the use of anticipatory it (for ex. lt's nice the day)
o
Spelling mistakes of ordinary words
o
Pluralisation of adjectives
o
Wrong use of a pattern (He suggested to go; I wish he comes)
o
Wrong use of other/another/the other
o
THISITHAT instead of THESEITHOSE
o
Wrong use of the article
o
Wrong use of connectors or linkers
o
Wrong use of referential/cohesive devices
o
Wrong use of conditional sentences
o
Wrong use of tenses
o
Wrong use of modal auxiliaries
o
Wrong use of the passive voice (for ex, ... will be hold)
o
Spanish transfers
o
Wrong or no paragraph division
ESSAYS CONTAINING

ANY 4 SERIOUS MISTAKES OF THIS KIND SHOULD BE AWARDED A FAIL

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Str or
Strue.
VT

Structure

Conc.ur
Agmt,

Concord or Agreement

W.O.

Word Order

Meaning

M?

What do you mean?

Ch

Choice

P,or
PUNC.
Sp
Coll.
L or

Verb Tense

Punctuation
Spelling
Collocation
Language

LaD~.
R

Register

Ref.

Reference

Cap.

Capital Letters

lwe.
P7M

Lower case
Punctuation Leading
to Meaning Mistake

~ or //

New Paragraph
The two paragraphs should
be come one
Mistake

Serious Mistake

Very Serious Mistake !!!

WELL DONE!!!

I'm looking forward to ge on holiday.

(..going. ..)
He just graduated when he got his
firstjob. (..hadjust graduated. ..)
tffis books (these)
It's an orange e}{quisite blossom. (exquisite
orange)
He's so big headed that he'll do whatever
he wants in spite of your warning. (. .pigheaded. ..)
What made me fall in love with him was the
fact that he was so 5ffiaFt? (intelligent or
elegant?)
1just can't stand the
continuous ringing of the
phone! (..continua!...)
Having finished his lecture he left the room.
(.. his lecture, he...)
It's writen in French. (.. written. ..)
glowing diamonds (sparkling. ..)
God raises themand they get together.
(Birds of a feather jlock together.)
Upon inappropriately displaying his anger,
he raised to his feet and got the hell out of
theI:&.-(. .left the room at a brisk pace)
Both Tom and John decided to accept the
invitation, but he soon regretted it. (the
former or the latter?)
One of the things 1 do to improve my english
is ... (..English. ..)
He is but an ordinary Glefk:. (.. clerk)
His mother \vho sent him to the best schools
had to turn to food stamps. (His mother, who
sent him (o (he best schools, had..')

II