Questões de Inglês

What Daniel Kish does, astonishingly, elegantly, makes you wonder how much untapped potential lies within the human body. Kish was born with retinal cancer, and to save his life, both eyes were removed by the time he was 13 months old. He soon started making a clicking noise with his tongue. It seemed to help him get around. Now 47, he navigates primarily using echolocation. Yes, like a bat. He’s so good, he can ride a bicycle in traffic. His group, World Access for the Blind, teaches others the art of the click.

He was interviewed by Michael Finkel.

How does echolocation work?

Sound waves are produced by every tongue click. These waves bounce off surfaces all around and return to my ears as faint echoes. My brain processes the echoes into dynamic images. It’s like having a conversation with the environment.

What do you see in your mind’s eye as you click?

Each click is like a dim camera flash. I construct a three-dimensional image of my surroundings for hundreds of feet in every direction. Up close, I can detect a pole an inch thick. At 15 feet, I recognize cars and bushes. Houses come into focus at 150 feet. But you still use a long white cane. I have difficulty in detecting small items at low level or places where the ground drops off.

What is it like riding a bike using echolocation?

It’s thrilling but requires very focused and sustained concentration on the acoustics of the environment. I click as much as twice per second, way more than I usually do.

Is it dangerous to explore the world this way?

Much of the world lives in fear of threats to life and limb that are largely imagined. Despite my insatiable habit of climbing anything and everything, I never broke a bone as a kid.

How challenging is it to teach other blind people echolocation?

World Access has taught nearly a thousand blind students in over 30 countries. Many students are surprised how quickly results come. I believe echolocation capacity is latent within us – early man may have used it when artificial lighting was nonexistent. The neural hardware seems to be there; I’ve developed ways to activate it. Vision isn’t in the eyes; it’s in the mind. Our students say they’ve discovered a freedom they never imagined.

(In: The New Age of Exploration. National Geographic, vol. 224, p. 105. July, 2013. Adaptado.)

 

De acordo com o texto, Daniel Kish

 

I. é um homem com poderes sobrenaturais, pois, mesmo sem enxergar, consegue locomover-se com rapidez surpreendente, além de praticar alguns esportes com desenvoltura, tendo já obtido premiações importantes.

II. mesmo tendo perdido a visão muito cedo, conseguiu desenvolver uma maneira surpreendente de deslocar-se sozinho, orientando-se a partir de ondas sonoras produzidas por estalidos feitos com a própria língua.

III. usa uma técnica para deslocar-se cujos resultados são surpreendentes, o que vem gerando interesse por parte de pesquisadores de vários países, pois há evidência de que os humanos têm potenciais ainda não explorados.

IV. conseguiu avanços tão importantes com sua técnica que hoje há muitos outros beneficiados e explica que os resultados chegam rapidamente, conforme tem ouvido de estudantes que estão sendo ensinados a usá-la.

V. é conhecido como Bat Man, pois tem hábitos noturnos estranhos e orienta-se muito mais pelo som que pela visão e tato, sendo, por isso, algumas vezes confundido com uma pessoa de maus costumes.

 

Estão CORRETAS, apenas, as afirmativas

The Vestibular (from Portuguese: vestíbulo, "entrance hall") is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread entrance system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold it every semester. The exams often span several days, usually three, with different disciplines being tested each day. Origin

The Vestibular was implanted primarily as a way to prevent nepotism or some other form of unfair or beneficial selection of candidates. It was considered by law the only authorized selection method until 1996, when the new Education Law was passed.

Criticism

While the Vestibular is generally considered to be a fair and unbiased system to select students, there are controversies.

There is some criticism to the alleged standardization of the high school curriculum for the whole country to match the Vestibular agenda. As most types of academic evaluation, the vestibular suffers from the same limitations as a regular test; that is, factors such as stress come into play. It also seems to favor candidates that come from a wealthier background, who had access to better and deeper education in private schools, as opposed to the comparatively poor public high school educational system, although many university boards claim that it doesn\'t matter which background the candidates have, since their Vestibular aims to select the best students based solely on their knowledge. To ease this problem, some universities such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais, provide a 10– 15% bonus for students who received their middle and high education in public schools. There is also the alternative of taking classes at cram schools called cursinhos. Those are revisions of Vestibular subjects, given through periods of 9 months (the regular year-long one), 6 months (the semi-intensive one), and 3 months (known as intensive). These "cursinhos" are given usually for the most prestigious schools and can be done after concluding high school or as a complement of the last year of it.

(Disponível em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular)

The word “their” (first paragraph) is related to

The Vestibular (from Portuguese: vestíbulo, "entrance hall") is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread entrance system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold it every semester. The exams often span several days, usually three, with different disciplines being tested each day. Origin

The Vestibular was implanted primarily as a way to prevent nepotism or some other form of unfair or beneficial selection of candidates. It was considered by law the only authorized selection method until 1996, when the new Education Law was passed.

Criticism

While the Vestibular is generally considered to be a fair and unbiased system to select students, there are controversies.

There is some criticism to the alleged standardization of the high school curriculum for the whole country to match the Vestibular agenda. As most types of academic evaluation, the vestibular suffers from the same limitations as a regular test; that is, factors such as stress come into play. It also seems to favor candidates that come from a wealthier background, who had access to better and deeper education in private schools, as opposed to the comparatively poor public high school educational system, although many university boards claim that it doesn\'t matter which background the candidates have, since their Vestibular aims to select the best students based solely on their knowledge. To ease this problem, some universities such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais, provide a 10– 15% bonus for students who received their middle and high education in public schools. There is also the alternative of taking classes at cram schools called cursinhos. Those are revisions of Vestibular subjects, given through periods of 9 months (the regular year-long one), 6 months (the semi-intensive one), and 3 months (known as intensive). These "cursinhos" are given usually for the most prestigious schools and can be done after concluding high school or as a complement of the last year of it.

(Disponível em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular)

Considering the context, what does the word “widespread” mean in Portuguese?

The Vestibular (from Portuguese: vestíbulo, "entrance hall") is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread entrance system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold it every semester. The exams often span several days, usually three, with different disciplines being tested each day. Origin

The Vestibular was implanted primarily as a way to prevent nepotism or some other form of unfair or beneficial selection of candidates. It was considered by law the only authorized selection method until 1996, when the new Education Law was passed.

Criticism

While the Vestibular is generally considered to be a fair and unbiased system to select students, there are controversies.

There is some criticism to the alleged standardization of the high school curriculum for the whole country to match the Vestibular agenda. As most types of academic evaluation, the vestibular suffers from the same limitations as a regular test; that is, factors such as stress come into play. It also seems to favor candidates that come from a wealthier background, who had access to better and deeper education in private schools, as opposed to the comparatively poor public high school educational system, although many university boards claim that it doesn\'t matter which background the candidates have, since their Vestibular aims to select the best students based solely on their knowledge. To ease this problem, some universities such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais, provide a 10– 15% bonus for students who received their middle and high education in public schools. There is also the alternative of taking classes at cram schools called cursinhos. Those are revisions of Vestibular subjects, given through periods of 9 months (the regular year-long one), 6 months (the semi-intensive one), and 3 months (known as intensive). These "cursinhos" are given usually for the most prestigious schools and can be done after concluding high school or as a complement of the last year of it.

(Disponível em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular)

According to the text,

 

I. vestibular also doesn’t make people to get stressed.

II. all the students have the same background.

III. it doesn’t matter if students come from public or private schools.

IV. students that come from public schools have a bonus.

V. “cursinhos” can be done after concluding high school.

 

The CORRECT alternative is

The Vestibular (from Portuguese: vestíbulo, "entrance hall") is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread entrance system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold it every semester. The exams often span several days, usually three, with different disciplines being tested each day. Origin

The Vestibular was implanted primarily as a way to prevent nepotism or some other form of unfair or beneficial selection of candidates. It was considered by law the only authorized selection method until 1996, when the new Education Law was passed.

Criticism

While the Vestibular is generally considered to be a fair and unbiased system to select students, there are controversies.

There is some criticism to the alleged standardization of the high school curriculum for the whole country to match the Vestibular agenda. As most types of academic evaluation, the vestibular suffers from the same limitations as a regular test; that is, factors such as stress come into play. It also seems to favor candidates that come from a wealthier background, who had access to better and deeper education in private schools, as opposed to the comparatively poor public high school educational system, although many university boards claim that it doesn\'t matter which background the candidates have, since their Vestibular aims to select the best students based solely on their knowledge. To ease this problem, some universities such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais, provide a 10– 15% bonus for students who received their middle and high education in public schools. There is also the alternative of taking classes at cram schools called cursinhos. Those are revisions of Vestibular subjects, given through periods of 9 months (the regular year-long one), 6 months (the semi-intensive one), and 3 months (known as intensive). These "cursinhos" are given usually for the most prestigious schools and can be done after concluding high school or as a complement of the last year of it.

(Disponível em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular)

 

According to the text, the vestibular

 

I. is a system to select students to enter the university.

II. has its origin in Brazil.

III. just takes place in February or March.

IV. was implanted as a fair way of entering the university.

V. doesn’t show any limitations to select students for the university.

 

The CORRECT alternative is

Levi’s jeans launched a new advertising campaign in Europe. Like most ads, these used music.

And what did the advertising agency choose? Handel’s “Sarabande in D minor”.

 

Most bands and groups are really happy to record music for ads. People associate their name with specific products — cellphones, jeans, and so on. This helps them to become famous. It also makes it easier to sell their other things – CDs and tickets for their concerts. Of course, they prefer to provide music for “cool” products. And there can be ethical problems. Will a vegetarian group provide music for a hamburger ad?

Words or emotions?

In the past, most ads used “jingles” — special words and music written about the product. But now these soundtracks are more like movie music. They express a mood, which reinforces the visual message. Often, people remember the music, and want to know who performed it — and wrote it. Then the sales of other music by the same composer usually increase dramatically. Movie music – the new classics?

The sales of movie music can be enormous. Soundtracks like “Gladiator”, “Apocalypse Now” and “Titanic” are really popular. And their success can be worldwide, too, just like the movies. “Gladiator” sold more than a million copies.

For more composers, writing movie soundtracks compensates for the difficulty of making money from their “serious” work. But what’s the difference? Pop music, dance music, classical… Perhaps it’s just music.

HOLDEN, Susan. Macmillan Portfolio / Susan Holden. São Paulo: Macmillan, 2004. Adaptado.

Complete the definitions with the words or expressions from the box.

• Launch • Campaign • Mood • Ad • Soundtrack

 

• ………… - the way you feel (happy, sad, etc.).

• ………… - to start a new activity or product.

• ………… - a series of ads for a product.

• ………… - the music played during a movie or a TV program.

• ………… - public communication about causes, goods and services, ideas, places, etc. through means such as print, radio, television, and internet.

 

The CORRECT sequence of words that complete the gaps is