Questões de Inglês

T E X T

    Researchers used genetic
information from Zika virus to follow its
spread among affected regions in South
and Central America and the Caribbean.
[5]    The Zika virus probably arrived in
the Western Hemisphere from
somewhere in the Pacific more than a
year before it was detected, a new
genetic analysis of the epidemic shows.
[10] Researchers also found that as Zika
fanned outward from Brazil, it entered
neighboring countries and South Florida
multiple times without being noticed.
    Although Zika quietly took root in
[15] northeastern Brazil in late 2013 or early
2014, many months passed before
Brazilian health authorities received
reports of unexplained fever and skin
rashes. Zika was finally confirmed as the
[20] culprit in April 2015.
    The World Health Organization did
not declare the epidemic a public health
emergency until February 2016, after
babies of Zika-infected mothers began to
[25] be born with severe neurological
problems. Zika, which is carried by
mosquitoes, infected an estimated 1
million people in Brazil alone in 2015, and
is now thought to be transmitted in 84
[30] countries worldwide.
    Although Zika’s path was
documented starting in 2015 through
records of human cases, less was known
about how the virus spread so silently
[35] before detection, or how outbreaks in
different parts of Central and South
America were connected. Now two groups
working independently, reporting online
May 24 in Nature, have compared
[40] samples from different times and
locations to read the history recorded in
random mutations of the virus’s 10
genes.
    One team, led by scientists in the
[45] United Kingdom and Brazil, drove more
than 1,200 miles across Brazil — “a Top
Gear–style road trip,” one scientist
quipped — with a portable device that
could produce a complete catalog of the
[50] virus’s genes in less than a day. A second
team, led by researchers at the Broad
Institute of MIT and Harvard, analyzed
more than 100 Zika genomes from
infected patients and mosquitoes in nine
[55] countries and Puerto Rico. Based on
where the cases originated, and the
estimated rate at which genetic changes
appear, the scientists re-created Zika’s
evolutionary timeline. Together, the
[60] studies revealed an epidemic that was

silently churning long before anyone
knew. “We found that in each of the
regions we could analyze, Zika virus
circulated undetected for many months,
[65] up to a year or longer, before the first
locally transmitted cases were reported,”
says Bronwyn MacInnis, an infectious
disease geneticist at the Broad Institute,
in Cambridge, Mass. “This means the
[70] outbreak in these regions was under way
much earlier than previously thought.”
    Although the epidemic exploded out
of Brazil, the scientists also found a
remote possibility of early settlement in
[75] the Caribbean. “It’s not immediately clear
whether Zika stopped off somewhere else
in the Americas before it got to northeast
Brazil,” said Oliver Pybus, who studies
evolution and infectious disease at the
[80] University of Oxford in England.
    In a third study reported in Nature,
researchers from 30 different institutions
followed a trail of genetic clues to
determine when and how Zika made its
[85] way to Florida. Those researchers
concluded that Zika was introduced
multiple times into the Miami area, most
likely from the Caribbean, before local
mosquitoes picked it up. The number of
[90] human cases increased in step with the
rise in mosquito populations, said Kristian
Andersen, an infectious disease
researcher at the Scripps Research
Institute in La Jolla, Calif. “Focusing on
[95] getting rid of mosquitoes is an effective
way of preventing human cases,” he
says.
    Previous studies have found traces
of the virus’s footprints across the
[100] Americas, but none included so many
different samples, says Young-Min Lee of
Utah State University, who has also
studied Zika’s genes. The current studies
provide a higher-resolution look at the
[105] timing of the epidemic’s spread, he says,
but in terms of Zika’s origins and
progression from country to country,
“overall the big picture is consistent with
what we suspected.”
[110]    In addition to revealing Zika’s
history, genetic studies are also valuable
in fighting current and future disease
outbreaks. Since diagnostic tests and
even vaccine development are based on
[115] Zika’s genetics, it’s important to monitor
mutations during an outbreak.
Researchers developed quick-turnaround
genomic analyses for Ebola in recent
years, for example, that could aid a
[120] faster response during the next
outbreak.
    In the future, faster analysis of viral
threats in the field might improve the
odds of stopping the next epidemic, Lee
[125] says. It’s possible for a single infected 

traveler stepping off a plane to spark an
epidemic long before doctors notice. “If
one introduction [of a virus] can cause an
outbreak, you have a very narrow
window to try to contain it.”

Science News, Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public. The Zica epidemic began long before anyone noticed. Vol.191, No.12, May 24, 2017, p. 12.

T E X T

    Researchers used genetic
information from Zika virus to follow its
spread among affected regions in South
and Central America and the Caribbean.
[5]    The Zika virus probably arrived in
the Western Hemisphere from
somewhere in the Pacific more than a
year before it was detected, a new
genetic analysis of the epidemic shows.
[10] Researchers also found that as Zika
fanned outward from Brazil, it entered
neighboring countries and South Florida
multiple times without being noticed.
    Although Zika quietly took root in
[15] northeastern Brazil in late 2013 or early
2014, many months passed before
Brazilian health authorities received
reports of unexplained fever and skin
rashes. Zika was finally confirmed as the
[20] culprit in April 2015.
    The World Health Organization did
not declare the epidemic a public health
emergency until February 2016, after
babies of Zika-infected mothers began to
[25] be born with severe neurological
problems. Zika, which is carried by
mosquitoes, infected an estimated 1
million people in Brazil alone in 2015, and
is now thought to be transmitted in 84
[30] countries worldwide.
    Although Zika’s path was
documented starting in 2015 through
records of human cases, less was known
about how the virus spread so silently
[35] before detection, or how outbreaks in
different parts of Central and South
America were connected. Now two groups
working independently, reporting online
May 24 in Nature, have compared
[40] samples from different times and
locations to read the history recorded in
random mutations of the virus’s 10
genes.
    One team, led by scientists in the
[45] United Kingdom and Brazil, drove more
than 1,200 miles across Brazil — “a Top
Gear–style road trip,” one scientist
quipped — with a portable device that
could produce a complete catalog of the
[50] virus’s genes in less than a day. A second
team, led by researchers at the Broad
Institute of MIT and Harvard, analyzed
more than 100 Zika genomes from
infected patients and mosquitoes in nine
[55] countries and Puerto Rico. Based on
where the cases originated, and the
estimated rate at which genetic changes
appear, the scientists re-created Zika’s
evolutionary timeline. Together, the
[60] studies revealed an epidemic that was

silently churning long before anyone
knew. “We found that in each of the
regions we could analyze, Zika virus
circulated undetected for many months,
[65] up to a year or longer, before the first
locally transmitted cases were reported,”
says Bronwyn MacInnis, an infectious
disease geneticist at the Broad Institute,
in Cambridge, Mass. “This means the
[70] outbreak in these regions was under way
much earlier than previously thought.”
    Although the epidemic exploded out
of Brazil, the scientists also found a
remote possibility of early settlement in
[75] the Caribbean. “It’s not immediately clear
whether Zika stopped off somewhere else
in the Americas before it got to northeast
Brazil,” said Oliver Pybus, who studies
evolution and infectious disease at the
[80] University of Oxford in England.
    In a third study reported in Nature,
researchers from 30 different institutions
followed a trail of genetic clues to
determine when and how Zika made its
[85] way to Florida. Those researchers
concluded that Zika was introduced
multiple times into the Miami area, most
likely from the Caribbean, before local
mosquitoes picked it up. The number of
[90] human cases increased in step with the
rise in mosquito populations, said Kristian
Andersen, an infectious disease
researcher at the Scripps Research
Institute in La Jolla, Calif. “Focusing on
[95] getting rid of mosquitoes is an effective
way of preventing human cases,” he
says.
    Previous studies have found traces
of the virus’s footprints across the
[100] Americas, but none included so many
different samples, says Young-Min Lee of
Utah State University, who has also
studied Zika’s genes. The current studies
provide a higher-resolution look at the
[105] timing of the epidemic’s spread, he says,
but in terms of Zika’s origins and
progression from country to country,
“overall the big picture is consistent with
what we suspected.”
[110]    In addition to revealing Zika’s
history, genetic studies are also valuable
in fighting current and future disease
outbreaks. Since diagnostic tests and
even vaccine development are based on
[115] Zika’s genetics, it’s important to monitor
mutations during an outbreak.
Researchers developed quick-turnaround
genomic analyses for Ebola in recent
years, for example, that could aid a
[120] faster response during the next
outbreak.
    In the future, faster analysis of viral
threats in the field might improve the
odds of stopping the next epidemic, Lee
[125] says. It’s possible for a single infected 

traveler stepping off a plane to spark an
epidemic long before doctors notice. “If
one introduction [of a virus] can cause an
outbreak, you have a very narrow
window to try to contain it.”

Science News, Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public. The Zica epidemic began long before anyone noticed. Vol.191, No.12, May 24, 2017, p. 12.

TEXT

The Pirarucu Legend

    Pirarucu was an Indian who belonged to the Uaiás

tribe that lived around the Lábrean plains in the

Southwestern Amazon. He was a brave, but heartless 
warrior, even though Pindarô, his father and chief 
[5] of the tribe, was a good man. Pirarucu was full of

vanities, egoism and excessively proud of his power. 
While his father visited friendly neighboring tribes, 
Pirarucu took advantage of his absence to take village 
people hostage and execute them for any reason. He 
[10] also criticized the gods.

    Tupã, the god of the gods, observed Pirarucu for a 
long time, until, tired of the man’s behavior, he decided 
to punish Pirarucu. Tupã called Polo and demanded 
that he spread his most powerful lightening in the 
[15] whole area. He also called Iururaruaçu, the goddess of 
torrents, and demanded that she provoke the strongest 
torrents of rain over Pirarucu, who was fishing along 
with other Indians on the margins of the Tocantins river, 
not so far from the longhouse.
[20] The fires of Tupã were seen throughout the forest. When 
Pirarucu saw the wild waters of the river, and heard the 
voice and felt the hate of Tupã, he just ignored them with 
a laugh and crazy words. Then, Tupã sent Xandoré, the 
demon that hates men, who threw lightening and thunder 
[25] that filled the air and cut it with sparks. Pirarucu tried to 
escape, but while he ran among the falling branches and 
trees, a lightening bolt sent by Xandoré, struck into the 
heart of the warrior who refused to ask for forgiveness.
     All of those who were with Pirarucu ran from the 
[30] jungle in total fright, while the body of Pirarucu, still 
alive, was taken to the depths of the Tocantins river 
and transformed into a giant and dark fish. Pirarucu 
remained there and for a long time he was the terror of 
the region.

Disponível em: < http://www.sumauma.net/amazonian/legends/ legends-pirarucu.html> CELEMENT, Rosa. Acesso em: 31 jul. 16 (Adaptado).

TEXT

The Pirarucu Legend

    Pirarucu was an Indian who belonged to the Uaiás

tribe that lived around the Lábrean plains in the

Southwestern Amazon. He was a brave, but heartless 
warrior, even though Pindarô, his father and chief 
[5] of the tribe, was a good man. Pirarucu was full of

vanities, egoism and excessively proud of his power. 
While his father visited friendly neighboring tribes, 
Pirarucu took advantage of his absence to take village 
people hostage and execute them for any reason. He 
[10] also criticized the gods.

    Tupã, the god of the gods, observed Pirarucu for a 
long time, until, tired of the man’s behavior, he decided 
to punish Pirarucu. Tupã called Polo and demanded 
that he spread his most powerful lightening in the 
[15] whole area. He also called Iururaruaçu, the goddess of 
torrents, and demanded that she provoke the strongest 
torrents of rain over Pirarucu, who was fishing along 
with other Indians on the margins of the Tocantins river, 
not so far from the longhouse.
[20] The fires of Tupã were seen throughout the forest. When 
Pirarucu saw the wild waters of the river, and heard the 
voice and felt the hate of Tupã, he just ignored them with 
a laugh and crazy words. Then, Tupã sent Xandoré, the 
demon that hates men, who threw lightening and thunder 
[25] that filled the air and cut it with sparks. Pirarucu tried to 
escape, but while he ran among the falling branches and 
trees, a lightening bolt sent by Xandoré, struck into the 
heart of the warrior who refused to ask for forgiveness.
     All of those who were with Pirarucu ran from the 
[30] jungle in total fright, while the body of Pirarucu, still 
alive, was taken to the depths of the Tocantins river 
and transformed into a giant and dark fish. Pirarucu 
remained there and for a long time he was the terror of 
the region.

Disponível em: < http://www.sumauma.net/amazonian/legends/ legends-pirarucu.html> CELEMENT, Rosa. Acesso em: 31 jul. 16 (Adaptado).

TEXT

The Pirarucu Legend

    Pirarucu was an Indian who belonged to the Uaiás

tribe that lived around the Lábrean plains in the

Southwestern Amazon. He was a brave, but heartless 
warrior, even though Pindarô, his father and chief 
[5] of the tribe, was a good man. Pirarucu was full of

vanities, egoism and excessively proud of his power. 
While his father visited friendly neighboring tribes, 
Pirarucu took advantage of his absence to take village 
people hostage and execute them for any reason. He 
[10] also criticized the gods.

    Tupã, the god of the gods, observed Pirarucu for a 
long time, until, tired of the man’s behavior, he decided 
to punish Pirarucu. Tupã called Polo and demanded 
that he spread his most powerful lightening in the 
[15] whole area. He also called Iururaruaçu, the goddess of 
torrents, and demanded that she provoke the strongest 
torrents of rain over Pirarucu, who was fishing along 
with other Indians on the margins of the Tocantins river, 
not so far from the longhouse.
[20] The fires of Tupã were seen throughout the forest. When 
Pirarucu saw the wild waters of the river, and heard the 
voice and felt the hate of Tupã, he just ignored them with 
a laugh and crazy words. Then, Tupã sent Xandoré, the 
demon that hates men, who threw lightening and thunder 
[25] that filled the air and cut it with sparks. Pirarucu tried to 
escape, but while he ran among the falling branches and 
trees, a lightening bolt sent by Xandoré, struck into the 
heart of the warrior who refused to ask for forgiveness.
     All of those who were with Pirarucu ran from the 
[30] jungle in total fright, while the body of Pirarucu, still 
alive, was taken to the depths of the Tocantins river 
and transformed into a giant and dark fish. Pirarucu 
remained there and for a long time he was the terror of 
the region.

Disponível em: < http://www.sumauma.net/amazonian/legends/ legends-pirarucu.html> CELEMENT, Rosa. Acesso em: 31 jul. 16 (Adaptado).

TEXT

‘500 Years of Brazil’s Discovery’

By GAIL FINEBERG

    Our territory was already inhabited before 1500 A.D., by a large population, estimated in the 1500s at 3 million Indians, with their own communal organization and traditions.

    The encounter occurred on April 22, 1500, when Pedro Álvares Cabral, commander of a Portuguese armada, sighted the South American mainland and staked a claim for Portugal.

    The Portuguese found Brazil attractive, as did the French, Dutch and Spanish. The first agreement between Spain and Portugal on frontiers was not reached until 1750.

    The Jesuits were enterprising, and their missionary efforts spread throughout the country between 1625 and 1759.

    The religious influence was responsible for an extraordinarily beautiful Brazilian baroque architecture.

    Thoughts of independence began to take root in the late 18th century. Revolutionary events in Europe had a profound effect on Brazil. Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal prompted the Portuguese prince regent, Dom João, to move the Portuguese court to Brazil in 1808.

    Brazil matured quickly as the seat of the Portuguese empire. The prince opened Brazilian ports to trade with friendly nations, including Great Britain, and also government offices in Rio de Janeiro, a supreme court, a bank, the royal treasury, mint, printing office, a national library with holdings from the Portuguese National Library and other academic institutions.

    With the death of Portugal’s queen, Maria I, in 1816, the regent became King João VI. He returned to Portugal in 1821 to contain a revolution there and appointed his son, Dom Pedro, as regent in Brazil. Dom Pedro refused orders a few months later to return to Lisbon, established a legislative assembly in São Paulo and proclaimed Brazil’s independence from Portugal on Sept. 7, 1822.

    Dom Pedro I was crowned emperor in 1822, but after a troubled reign marked by conflict with the assembly, he abdicated in favor of 5-year- old Dom Pedro de Alcântara in 1831. For the next nine years, Brazil seethed with civil unrest until both houses of parliament declared the young regent had reached majority in 1840. The Brazilian Empire lasted to 1889.

    Dom Pedro II proved to be an enlightened leader. Brazil grew and prospered under his reign, and the country enjoyed a great deal of stability. (The country’s population grew from 4 million to 14 million; railroads built 5,000 miles of track; and public revenues and products multiplied.) However, support for a republic grew, and the empire finally collapsed in 1889, when the royal family went to exile in Europe.

    The country’s 19th century economy relied on slave-based agriculture. Slave trade with Africa did not cease until 1853. At the dawn of the 21st century, Brazil, with an economy that is the eighth largest in the world, is a contributor of music, painting, literature and other arts to the world’s culture.

 https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0006/brazil.html