90 PAGS MOCK EXAM: SIMULACRO V.90 - SUCESOS Y REPORTAJES Tu Pasaporte al Grado Superior Versión 90: La tragedia ferroviaria de Adamuz, fallos de infraestructura y mantenimiento.

English for Adults Official Exam Preparation 2025/2026

Simulacro V.90 - Sucesos y Reportajes

Tu Pasaporte al Grado Superior

Versión 90: La tragedia ferroviaria de Adamuz, fallos de infraestructura y mantenimiento.

Examen Interactivo N.º 90

45 Minutos Recomendados

TEXT 1: The Tragedy of Adamuz

The Adamuz train accident, which occurred on January 18, 2026, in the province of Córdoba, was one of the worst recent railway tragedies in Spain, leaving a final toll of 46 dead and more than 150 injured. The disaster happened when the rear carriages of an Iryo high-speed train, traveling from Málaga to Madrid, violently derailed near the Adamuz technical station.

El accidente ferroviario de Adamuz, ocurrido el 18 de enero de 2026 en la provincia de Córdoba, supuso una de las mayores tragedias ferroviarias recientes en España, con un balance final de 46 fallecidos y más de 150 heridos. El siniestro se produjo cuando los últimos vagones de un tren de alta velocidad de la compañía Iryo, que cubría la ruta Málaga-Madrid, descarrilaron violentamente cerca de la estación técnica de Adamuz.

1. Based on the text, what was the final casualty count of the Adamuz train disaster?

El texto detalla: "46 dead" (fallecidos) y "more than 150 injured" (heridos). Revisa bien las opciones para no confundir las cifras.

a. 46 people were injured and 150 were dead. b. Nobody was seriously injured, only the train was damaged. c. 46 people died and more than 150 people were injured. d. 150 people died and 46 went missing.

TEXT 2: The Fatal Collision

Upon derailing, these rear carriages invaded the adjacent track just seconds before a Renfe Alvia train, which was traveling in the opposite direction towards Huelva, passed by. The impact was completely unavoidable due to the incredibly short reaction time. This brutal collision caused several carriages from both trains to violently fall down a steep embankment.

Al descarrilar, estos vagones invadieron la vía contigua apenas unos segundos antes de que pasara un tren Alvia de Renfe que circulaba en sentido inverso hacia Huelva. El impacto fue inevitable debido al escaso margen de tiempo de reacción, provocando el choque y la caída de varios vagones a un terraplén (embankment).

2. According to the text, why was the collision between the two trains unavoidable?

El texto responde a esto después de "due to" (debido a): "due to the incredibly short reaction time" (tiempo de reacción increíblemente corto).

a. Because both train drivers had fallen asleep at the same time. b. Because the reaction time was extremely short when the carriages invaded the track. c. Because the brakes on the Renfe Alvia train were completely broken. d. Because it happened at night and there were no lights on the trains.

3. Message Interpretation: Read the following urgent notice from the Transport Ministry carefully and decide what it means for passengers.

"URGENT NOTICE: Due to the severe incident near Adamuz, all high-speed railway services between Madrid and Andalusia are suspended indefinitely. Passengers should seek alternative road transportation."

"AVISO URGENTE: Debido al grave incidente cerca de Adamuz, todos los servicios ferroviarios de alta velocidad entre Madrid y Andalucía quedan suspendidos indefinidamente. Los pasajeros deben buscar transporte alternativo por carretera."

"Suspended indefinitely" (suspendidos sin fecha). La alternativa que dan es clara: "seek alternative road transportation" (transporte por carretera, es decir, autobús o coche).

a. Wait at the station for a few hours until the trains restart today. b. Buy a new, more expensive train ticket for the next day. c. Travel on the local commuter trains (Cercanías) instead. d. Find a different way to travel using buses or cars instead of trains.

4. Grammatical Transformation: Choose the option that correctly transforms the following active sentence into the PASSIVE VOICE while maintaining the original past tense: "Emergency teams rescued the trapped passengers from the train wreckage."

Transformación gramatical: Elige la voz pasiva correcta de: "Los equipos de emergencia rescataron a los pasajeros atrapados de los restos del tren."

El verbo "rescued" está en pasado. "The trapped passengers" es plural. Por tanto, necesitas el verbo "to be" en pasado plural: "were rescued".

a. The trapped passengers are rescued from the train wreckage by emergency teams. b. The trapped passengers have been rescued from the train wreckage by emergency teams. c. The trapped passengers were rescued from the train wreckage by emergency teams. d. Emergency teams were rescued by the trapped passengers from the wreckage.

5. Formal Register: Choose the best formal phrase to INTRODUCE an academic essay discussing the lack of infrastructure maintenance in Spain.

Elige la mejor frase formal para INTRODUCIR un ensayo académico sobre la falta de mantenimiento de la infraestructura en España.

"It is essential to carefully examine..." (Es esencial examinar detenidamente...) es una apertura neutra, analítica y perfecta para un registro formal y académico.

a. It is essential to carefully examine the current deficit in railway maintenance. b. It's terrible how the government ignores the broken train tracks. c. Let's talk about why the trains in Spain are crashing lately. d. I am writing to complain about the bad roads and train lines in my city.

6. Advanced Linking Words: Fill in the blank with the correct connector to express a CONSEQUENCE: "The accident occurred on a straight, recently renovated section of track; __________, investigators quickly ruled out human error caused by speeding."

Conectores avanzados: Rellena el espacio para expresar una CONSECUENCIA: "El accidente ocurrió en un tramo recto y recientemente renovado; __________, los investigadores descartaron rápidamente el error humano por exceso de velocidad."

Si es una recta y está renovada, *como consecuencia/por lo tanto*, no fue culpa del maquinista por correr demasiado. "Therefore" significa "Por lo tanto".

a. despite b. however c. although d. therefore

TEXT 3: The Investigation

Initial investigations by the Civil Guard focused heavily on the physical infrastructure rather than the drivers. Experts pointed to a broken rail or a failure in a recently applied welding joint as the primary cause of the derailment. Because the accident occurred on a straight stretch of track that had supposedly been renovated, authorities initially discarded human error, placing the spotlight firmly on a technical failure due to poor maintenance.

Las primeras investigaciones de la Guardia Civil se centraron en gran medida en la infraestructura física en lugar de en los conductores. Los expertos apuntaron a la rotura de un carril o a un fallo en una junta de soldadura reciente como causa principal del descarrilamiento... Las autoridades descartaron inicialmente el error humano, poniendo el foco firmemente en un fallo técnico debido a un mantenimiento deficiente.

7. What did the Civil Guard identify as the probable main cause of the derailment?

"Experts pointed to a broken rail or a failure in a recently applied welding joint". Fue un fallo técnico de la infraestructura, no del clima ni de personas.

a. The driver was speeding on a dangerous curve. b. A technical failure, specifically a broken rail or a faulty welding joint. c. The heavy rain and bad weather conditions that day. d. An intentional sabotage by a group of criminals.

8. Formal Correspondence: You are writing to the train company to demand a refund for a ticket that was cancelled due to the Adamuz crash. Which phrase is the most appropriate for a formal email?

Correspondencia formal: Escribes a la compañía de trenes para exigir un reembolso por un billete cancelado debido al accidente de Adamuz. ¿Qué frase es la más apropiada?

"Refund" es reembolso. "Formally request" eleva el tono al nivel oficial. Exigir ("Give me my money back" o "You owe me") es inaceptable en un escrito formal.

a. Give me my money back right now because my train was cancelled. b. You owe me a lot of money for ruining my trip to Huelva. c. I am writing to formally request a full refund for my cancelled journey. d. Send me the cash for the ticket since the trains aren't working.

TEXT 4: The Rescue Efforts

This tragic event generated massive national shock and grief. Following the crash, emergency services, including firefighters, paramedics, and the military, mobilized immediately. They worked tirelessly for over 24 hours to rescue victims trapped inside the twisted metal. The rescue operation was exceptionally complicated because the trains had fallen into a deep ravine in a rural area, with very difficult physical access for heavy machinery like cranes.

Este trágico suceso generó una gran conmoción nacional... Los servicios de emergencia, incluidos bomberos, paramédicos y militares, se movilizaron de inmediato. Trabajaron sin descanso durante más de 24 horas... La operación de rescate fue excepcionalmente complicada porque los trenes habían caído en un profundo barranco en una zona rural, con muy difícil acceso físico para maquinaria pesada.

9. What made the rescue operation particularly difficult for the emergency teams?

El texto detalla que "the trains had fallen into a deep ravine in a rural area, with very difficult physical access". El terreno (barranco/ravine) fue el gran obstáculo.

a. The fact that the accident happened in a ravine with difficult access for machinery. b. The absolute lack of available firefighters in the province of Córdoba. c. The extreme snowstorms that were covering the region that specific day. d. The passengers refused to leave the train carriages when asked.

10. Identify the "False Friend": If a British news reporter talks about the "casualties" of the train accident, what does the word "casualty" mean?

Identifica el Falso Amigo: Si un reportero británico habla de las "casualties" del accidente, ¿qué significa la palabra 'casualty'?

¡Peligro! Casualties NO significa "Casualidades" (que en inglés sería coincidences). En periodismo y medicina, "Casualty" significa VÍCTIMA (herido o fallecido).

a. Casualidades (Coincidences or random events). b. Causas (The technical causes of the accident). c. Víctimas (People who have been killed or injured). d. Ambulancias (The vehicles used for the rescue).

11. Public Notice Interpretation: Imagine you see the following sign on a screen in Córdoba during the day of the accident. What is the main purpose of this notice?

"BLOOD DONATIONS URGENTLY NEEDED. Type O- Negative donors please proceed to Córdoba General Hospital immediately."

Aviso público: "SE NECESITAN DONACIONES DE SANGRE URGENTEMENTE. Donantes de tipo O- Negativo, por favor diríjanse al Hospital General de Córdoba inmediatamente."

"Blood donations" es donar sangre. El mensaje es una llamada urgente para que gente sana acuda a ayudar a los heridos en el hospital.

a. To tell people that the hospital is completely closed to visitors. b. To urgently ask specific people to go to the hospital to donate blood. c. To warn people that the hospital has run out of basic medicine. d. To ask all the doctors to return from their holidays to work.

12. Identify the sentence that uses a CLEFT structure to emphasize exactly WHAT caused the accident:

¿Qué frase usa una estructura hendida (Cleft Sentence) para enfatizar QUÉ causó el accidente?

Las estructuras hendidas sirven para recalcar. Si queremos destacar la vía rota, diremos: "It was a broken rail that...".

a. It was a broken rail that caused the tragic derailment. b. A broken rail directly caused the tragic train derailment. c. The tragic train derailment was caused by a broken rail. d. What caused the tragic derailment? It was obviously a broken rail.

TEXT 5: The Need for Maintenance

The Adamuz disaster has sparked a fierce national debate regarding the chronic underfunding of railway maintenance. While Spain boasts one of the largest high-speed networks in the world, critics argue that the government has prioritized building new lines for political prestige while neglecting the basic upkeep of existing tracks. Experts are now demanding an independent, comprehensive audit of the entire rail system to prevent future tragedies caused by technical deterioration.

El desastre de Adamuz ha provocado un feroz debate nacional sobre la falta crónica de fondos para el mantenimiento ferroviario. Aunque España cuenta con una de las redes de alta velocidad más grandes del mundo, los críticos argumentan que el gobierno ha priorizado la construcción de nuevas líneas por prestigio político mientras descuidaba el mantenimiento básico... Los expertos exigen ahora una auditoría independiente.

13. What do critics believe the government has prioritized over the years?

Los críticos afirman: "the government has prioritized building new lines... while neglecting the basic upkeep" (priorizaron construir líneas nuevas y descuidaron el mantenimiento básico).

a. Buying newer, much faster trains from foreign countries. b. Paying incredibly high salaries to train drivers and station staff. c. Closing down all the local commuter train routes to save money. d. Building new railway lines for political prestige instead of maintaining old ones.

14. Language Interference (Spanglish): In Spanish, we use the verb "tener" (Tener la culpa). In English, we use "to be to blame" or "to be someone's fault". Which sentence contains a GRAMMATICAL ERROR based on direct translation from Spanish?

Identificación de errores: En español decimos "Tener la culpa". En inglés se usa el verbo Ser/Estar ("to be to blame"). ¿Qué frase contiene un ERROR por traducir literalmente del español?

Nunca digas "He HAS the blame". El error típico es usar el verbo *To Have*. Lo correcto es "He IS to blame" o "It IS his fault". Busca la opción incorrecta que usa *Have*.

a. The government is to blame for the lack of maintenance. b. The government has the blame for the terrible accident. c. It is completely the government's fault. d. We certainly cannot blame the train driver for this.

15. Professional Communication: Select the most polite and professional way to DISAGREE with a colleague who mistakenly thinks human error caused the crash.

Comunicación profesional: Selecciona la forma más educada y profesional de DISCREPAR con un compañero que piensa equivocadamente que un error humano causó el accidente.

Para llevar la contraria en inglés formal de forma impecable usa "I respectfully disagree" (Discrepo respetuosamente) y luego presenta tu argumento u evidencia ("the evidence points towards...").

a. I respectfully disagree; the evidence clearly points towards an infrastructure failure. b. You are completely wrong, you should read the news before talking. c. That's a stupid thing to say, it was obviously the broken track. d. I don't care what you think at all, the driver did absolutely nothing wrong.

16. Listening Comprehension Tasks

National News Report: Adamuz Tragedy (Audio Simulation - 1:30 min)

Full Audio Script:

Good evening. Tonight, Spain mourns the victims of the Adamuz train disaster. At 4:15 PM yesterday, an Iryo high-speed train derailed, colliding with an oncoming Renfe Alvia. The final toll is devastating: 46 people have lost their lives, and over 150 remain hospitalized. Rescue operations, heavily complicated by the steep terrain of the ravine, concluded this morning. Civil Guard investigators have discarded human error, focusing entirely on a technical failure. They have discovered a broken rail at a recently welded joint. This tragedy has ignited public outrage over the lack of proper track maintenance across the country. The Transport Minister is scheduled to face questions in Parliament tomorrow regarding the chronic underfunding of railway infrastructure.

Audio Summary (Español): El telediario nocturno informa sobre la tragedia de Adamuz. Ayer a las 16:15 un Iryo descarriló chocando contra un Alvia. El balance: 46 muertos y más de 150 hospitalizados. El rescate fue complicado por el terreno escarpado (barranco). La Guardia Civil descartó el error humano tras descubrir un raíl roto en una soldadura. Hay indignación pública por el mantenimiento, y el Ministro de Transportes dará explicaciones mañana en el Parlamento.

16.1 How many people lost their lives in the disaster according to the news report?

a. Exactly 150 people. b. 46 people. c. Just a few, it was mostly material damage. d. 415 people.

16.2 At what exact time did the accident occur?

a. At midnight. b. Early in the morning. c. At 4:15 PM yesterday. d. At 8:00 PM tonight.

16.3 What have the Civil Guard investigators definitively discarded as the cause?

a. Human error. b. A technical failure. c. A broken rail. d. The bad weather.

16.4 What is the Transport Minister scheduled to do tomorrow?

a. Visit the hospital to talk to the victims. b. Resign from his job completely. c. Arrest the train drivers. d. Face questions in Parliament regarding the underfunding of infrastructure.

Good evening. Tonight, Spain mourns the victims of the Adamuz train disaster. At 4:15 PM yesterday, an Iryo high-speed train derailed, colliding with an oncoming Renfe Alvia. The final toll is devastating: 46 people have lost their lives, and over 150 remain hospitalized. Rescue operations, heavily complicated by the steep terrain of the ravine, concluded this morning. Civil Guard investigators have discarded human error, focusing entirely on a technical failure. They have discovered a broken rail at a recently welded joint. This tragedy has ignited public outrage over the lack of proper track maintenance across the country. The Transport Minister is scheduled to face questions in Parliament tomorrow regarding the chronic underfunding of railway infrastructure.

Preguntas de Reserva (Ampliadas)

TEXT 6: The Political Fallout

Following the Adamuz railway catastrophe, public outrage has reached unprecedented levels. Citizens and opposition parties are furiously demanding the immediate resignation of the Transport Minister, accusing the administration of severe negligence. In response to the crisis, the government has urgently promised to inject an emergency budget of 500 million euros into the national railway network for immediate repairs.

Tras la catástrofe ferroviaria de Adamuz, la indignación pública ha alcanzado niveles sin precedentes. Los ciudadanos y los partidos de la oposición exigen furiosamente la dimisión inmediata del Ministro de Transportes, acusando a la administración de negligencia grave. En respuesta a la crisis, el gobierno ha prometido urgentemente inyectar un presupuesto de emergencia de 500 millones de euros en la red ferroviaria nacional para reparaciones inmediatas.

17. What are citizens and opposition parties furiously demanding?

Busca la palabra "demanding" (exigiendo). El texto dice: "demanding the immediate resignation of the Transport Minister" (la dimisión inmediata del Ministro).

a. They want the government to cancel all trains in Spain forever. b. They are demanding the immediate resignation of the Transport Minister. c. They want the train drivers to be sent to prison. d. They are demanding a new highway to be built near Adamuz.

18. Grammatical function: What does the linking phrase "In response" indicate in the last sentence of the text?

Gramática aplicada: ¿Qué indica la frase de enlace "In response" (En respuesta) en la última frase del texto?

"In response" (En respuesta a) sirve para mostrar qué medida, reacción o contestación se toma después de que ocurra otra acción previa (la crisis/las quejas).

a. It adds completely unrelated information to the paragraph. b. It expresses a strong contrast to the first idea. c. It indicates a reaction, consequence or answer to a previous action. d. It indicates the exact time the emergency budget will be spent.

Glosario (Tema Accidentes y Transportes)

Term	Meaning
Toll (casualty toll)	Balance de víctimas / Saldo
Derailed	Descarriló
Embankment / Ravine	Terraplén / Barranco
Welding joint	Junta de soldadura
Track / Rail	Vía / Carril
Upkeep / Maintenance	Mantenimiento / Conservación
Casualties	Víctimas (Falso amigo)
Resignation	Dimisión / Renuncia

CLAVE DE RESPUESTAS V.90

01. C

02. B

03. D

04. C

05. A

06. D

07. B

08. C

09. A

10. C

11. B

12. A

13. D

14. B

15. A

16.1 B

16.2 C

16.3 A

16.4 D

17. B

18. C