Questões de Inglês

TEXTO:

  We should eat at least two portions of fish, one
oily, a week according to the Department of Health
guidelines first issued in 1994. This was based on a
review of scientific evidence that related fish
[5] consumption inversely to coronary heart disease.
  The focus on oily fish and omega 3s is thought to
date back to the Seventies when researchers observed
that Inuit and Eskimo populations ate a lot of fish and
also had among the lowest rates of heart attacks, says
[10] Professor Sanders. The theory was that diets high in
omega 3 could block the effects of thromboxane, a
hormone in the blood, reducing the risk of clots. The
Inuits and Eskimos were also found to get a lot of
nosebleeds, suggesting their blood clotted less readily.
[15]   No studies have proven clearly that we need one
portion of oily fish a week. One of the few studies to do
so, the DART study in 1989, concluded that two or three
portions of fatty fish a week may reduce mortality in
men after a heart attack. But when they tried to test
[20] this finding in a larger study, it couldn’t be replicated.
“Eating oily fish once a week is associated with a lower
risk of cardiovascular disease, but it is difficult to
attribute this to the relatively small amounts of omega
3 provided by a single serving,” says Professor Sanders.
[25]   And a Cochrane Review in 2004 that looked at
heart benefits concluded: “It is not clear that dietary or
supplemental omega 3 alter total mortality, combined
cardiovascular events or cancers in people with, or at
high risk of, cardiovascular disease or in the general
[30] population.”

WE SHOULD EAT...Disponível em: www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ article-4287222/Exposed-truth-great-health-myths.html. Acesso em: 13 jun. 2018.

TEXTO:

  We should eat at least two portions of fish, one
oily, a week according to the Department of Health
guidelines first issued in 1994. This was based on a
review of scientific evidence that related fish
[5] consumption inversely to coronary heart disease.
  The focus on oily fish and omega 3s is thought to
date back to the Seventies when researchers observed
that Inuit and Eskimo populations ate a lot of fish and
also had among the lowest rates of heart attacks, says
[10] Professor Sanders. The theory was that diets high in
omega 3 could block the effects of thromboxane, a
hormone in the blood, reducing the risk of clots. The
Inuits and Eskimos were also found to get a lot of
nosebleeds, suggesting their blood clotted less readily.
[15]   No studies have proven clearly that we need one
portion of oily fish a week. One of the few studies to do
so, the DART study in 1989, concluded that two or three
portions of fatty fish a week may reduce mortality in
men after a heart attack. But when they tried to test
[20] this finding in a larger study, it couldn’t be replicated.
“Eating oily fish once a week is associated with a lower
risk of cardiovascular disease, but it is difficult to
attribute this to the relatively small amounts of omega
3 provided by a single serving,” says Professor Sanders.
[25]   And a Cochrane Review in 2004 that looked at
heart benefits concluded: “It is not clear that dietary or
supplemental omega 3 alter total mortality, combined
cardiovascular events or cancers in people with, or at
high risk of, cardiovascular disease or in the general
[30] population.”

WE SHOULD EAT...Disponível em: www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ article-4287222/Exposed-truth-great-health-myths.html. Acesso em: 13 jun. 2018.

TEXTO:

  Japanese researchers have created a stretchy,
ultrathin electric “skin” that can read and display the
wearer’s heartbeat. Using built-in electrode sensors and
wireless communication, the breathable nanomesh
[5] sensor fits flush against the wearer’s skin and records
information (like the waveforms of an echocardiogram,
for example). It then sends the information it has
gathered directly to a smartphone, external storage
device, or even syncs with the cloud.
[10]   As semiconductor technology has improved, so
too have applications for wearables that can track vital
signs and other health information on the wearer,
syncing it up with their smart devices in real time. The
display created by the team of researchers in Japan is
[15] a 16 x 24 array of micro LEDs combined with elastic
wiring attached to a rubber sheet. Designed for flexibility,
it can stretch to 45 percent of its original length. “Our
skin display exhibits simple graphics with motion,”
Professor Someya said. “Because it is made from thin
[20] and soft materials, it can be deformed freely.”
  In terms of what it can monitor, the skin display
isn’t wildly more advanced than existing technologies,
but its seamless nature and interconnectivity make it
extremely easy to use. Patients who need constant
[25] monitoring of vital signs could use the tech to make
sure the information is sent directly from the device to
their doctor, but in a way that’s noninvasive, convenient,
and reliable.
  For patients with limited mobility, being able to have
[30] accurate, real-time, remote monitoring that keeps them
connected to those overseeing their care, all without
the stress of scheduling and getting to an appointment,
wearables can be life-changing. Or, at the very least, a
lot more comfortable.

JAPANESE RESEARCHERS...Disponível em: <www.biocenter.kz/en/ news/scientific-news/654>. Acesso em: 13 jun. 2018.

Text - ‘Noah's Ark’ seed vault chalks up a million crop varieties

A special vault storing the world's most precious seeds has now amassed over one million different plant varieties. It recently took delivery of a consignment of seeds from 70,000 different crops. Global Seed Vault is buried deep in an icy mountain in the Arctic Circle area of Svalbard, Norway. It was started ten years ago to safeguard the future of the world's food supply. Climate change is causing more and more droughts around the world, which are threatening different species of plants. The vault holds back-ups of seed samples stored in other seed banks around the world. Hannes Dempewolf, a senior scientist at the Crop Trust, said: “Hitting the million mark is really significant.” Workers at the vault were not sure they would reach the million mark so soon. The crisis in Syria meant there was a shortfall of 90,000 seeds at the vault. The latest delivery to the vault included cereal staples. There were also more unusual crops like the onion potato from Estonia and the Bambara groundnut, which is being developed as a drought tolerant crop in Africa. Marie Haga, executive director of the Crop Trust, spoke about the importance of the vault. She said: “Safeguarding such a huge range of seeds means scientists will have the best chance of developing nutritious and climate-resilient crops that can ensure future generations don't just survive, but thrive.”

https://noah ‘s ark (adapted)

Text - Kids must start learning foreign languages by TEN to be able to speak like a native

New research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggests that if people want to achieve native-like proficiency in a new language, they should start learning that language before the age of ten. The researchers added that children up to the age of 17 or 18 remain adept at learning grammar. There is bad news for those who want to pick up a new language beyond their late teens. The researchers say this is past the “critical period” when language-learning ability starts to decline. Researcher Joshua Hartshorne said: “As far as a child is concerned, it's quite easy to become bilingual... That's when you're best at learning languages. It's not really something that you can make up later”. The research was based on an analysis of results from a 10-minute online grammar quiz. Over 670,000 language learners of all ages participated in the test. Researchers measured the grammatical ability of people who started learning a language at different ages in their life. Professor Hartshorne focused on grammar rules that were most likely to confuse a non-native speaker as a measure of that person's proficiency. MIT researcher Josh Tenenbaum suggested people simply might be too busy to learn a language later in life. He said: “After 17 or 18, you leave home, you work full time, or you become a specialized university student. All of these might impact your learning rate for any language”.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk (adapted)

Text - Facebook boss apologizes in UK and US newspaper ads

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the data breach that was revealed last week. Mr. Zuckerberg took out fullpage advertisements in broadsheet newspapers in the UK and US to make his apology for the data privacy scandal. Zuckerberg was being criticized for being too slow to respond to the news. Personal data on up to 50 million users was used by a U.S. political consultancy called Cambridge Analytica. This company is accused of using the leaked data to benefit Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Zuckerberg said: “This was a breach of trust, and I am sorry... We’re now taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again.” The apology made no mention of Cambridge Analytica. Mr. Zuckerberg agreed that Facebook could and should have done more to protect user data and to stop it being exploited. Reports are now circulating that Facebook was warned its data protection was too weak back in 2011. Mr. Zuckerberg delineated the actions Facebook would take going forward. He said: “We're investigating every single app that had access to large amounts of data before we fixed this. We expect there are others. And when we find them, we will ban them and tell everyone affected.” The value of Facebook has fallen by $75 billion this week; Zuckerberg's wealth fell by $10 billion. There has also been a surge in users abandoning their Facebook pages, in online calls to #deletefacebook.

Source: http://www.bbc.com (adapted)