There were certain nerves in the first test of the Selectivity in Catalonia (Spanish language and literature), but for many that kind of anxiety has dissipated as soon as they see the exam. The Foundation by Antonio Buero Vallejo and Nada by Carmen Laforet have been the leading works in this initial session of the EBAU, together with a text by Javier MarÃas, questions about rhetorical figures and an essay on the importance of the survival of books as well as an essay on whether they share Thomas Nevinson’s view of the human condition. A good part of the students who were taking exams this Wednesday at the Biology Faculty of the University of Barcelona (UB) consulted by La Vanguardia have jumped headlong at option A. It was easier, they explained. But with this option they also avoided the feared rhetorical figures. Elections aside, the general feeling of this first test was that it had been affordable.
Option A of the exam dealt with issues around a fragment by Tomás Nevinson, by Javier MarÃas, as well as an exercise in the substitution of words such as voracious and inaudible. The students were also asked questions about La Fundación, by Antonio Buero Vallejo, Option B asked questions of reading comprehension around El infinito en un junco, by Irene Vallejo, and included one on rhetorical figures in which puns, hyperbatons appeared , oxymoron and personification, as well as questions about the novel Nada, by Laforet. The essay proposed to the students who have chosen this option was about writing an expository text about the importance of the survival of books.
“Nada’s questions?! Are we crazy?” A young student blurted out as she left the classroom.The first student to finish the Spanish Language and Literature test, Pau Casellas, has also opted for option A or despite acknowledging that the text has been read several times because “it was not I understood”. But in B appeared the rhetorical figures that “I had not studied”, confesses this young man who aspires to study International Trade and who explained that he had entered the test “worried”, but that he was very optimistic when leaving. ” It was quite affordable.”
“I was calm and when I saw the exam I relaxed moreâ€, explains Albert GarcÃa, 17 years old. He wants to study Biology and recognizes that he has opted for Option A because, like Pau, he had not looked at the rhetorical figures in the previous days. After passing the first exam, he claims to be “very motivated.”
Although they were a minority, some brave ones have opted for option B, which included a fragment of Nada by Carmen Laforet. This is the case of Carlota Herrero and Sandra Cortés, 18 years old. Both aspire to be able to study law and explained to the rest of the classmates one of the rhetorical figures of the text: personification.
David Pop (18) has been lucky. He confesses that just yesterday he searched YouTube for a summary of the mandatory readings and decided to watch only the shortest one, which, coincidentally, was La Fundación de Buero Vallejo. And that has been his chosen option. On the other hand, her friend MarÃa Morera (17), who wants to be a geneticist, has opted for option B because the reading questions seemed easier to her.
The first day of selectivity had started punctually at 9 in the morning at the Faculty of Biology of the UB of Barcelona. Although some have rushed and even a couple of students have arrived 20 minutes after all the classroom doors were closed and the exams were underway. One of them had mistaken the faculty. Most have religiously waited to be called in scrupulous order of list. There weren’t many nerves up to that point, but this final wait always creates a bit of trepidation.
Many talk, some check Instagram and others -few- do a final review of the notes or test exams. This is the case of Ariadna Cortés, who at the age of 24 presents herself for selectivity after preparing it in an academy. “I have reviewed it 20 times,” explains this young woman who aspires to study journalism. She is a little scared of the Catalan exam and also history, the test most feared by all those asked.
Carla González (18) is the second time she has appeared. Catalan and the fundamentals of art played a trick on her last year and now she is trying again confident that the preparation this year and especially the last month will bear fruit. She wants to study musicology. Daniel Salazar has also had a nervous itch for a while because of “the environment”, but he is confident and has slept well, although he admits that it took him a while to fall asleep. He is one of those who thinks that if you have taken a good course you can rest easy even though he wants to study a double degree in Mathematics and Data Science and Engineering. Precisely for choosing this study option, he has already had to take a specific test that he believes has served him even more in preparation. Edim Salvatella also enters confidently, who wants to study architecture. “I’ve slept well and I’m safe.” At the end of the test he is optimistic: “they have behaved very well”.
Card in hand, students sit at their desks. They can only have pencil and rubber and pen and a bottle of water without labels and the labels of the test. The mobiles in the backpack and is away from them. Some member of the court even checks that they do not wear headphones or anything strange in their ears. In general there are faces of tranquility and silence, except in the last rows where, to follow the tradition, he has turned into a chicken coop. The first row is reserved for students with special needs such as dyslexia. They have the option of 30 more minutes of testing and only 30% of the faults will be counted.
After the noise, there is silence to listen to the rules and then the doors are closed. Selection is underway.
