Questões de Inglês

TEXT 

 

  RIO DE JANEIRO — Pope Francis on Thursday delivered some of his most politically provocative remarks since his papacy began this year, hopping from his popemobile to walk through a slum in this city before urging young people to fight against corruption, a leading grievance behind the huge street protests that shook dozens of Brazilian cities in June. 

  “Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it,” Francis said at the favela, or slum, of Varginha, in an area that has commonly been known here as the Gaza Strip for its gun battles and drug trafficking in the past. “Do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be extinguished,” he added, acknowledging that it was common for some to “grow disillusioned with news of corruption.” 

  By singling out corruption in a folksy visit to a Brazilian favela on his first trip abroad as pope, Francis, an Argentine-born Jesuit, emphasized his aim to refocus the Roman Catholic Church on the neglected margins of society, especially in Brazil and other parts of Latin America where the popularity of evangelical churches has surged among the poor in recent decades.

  In a nod to the Brazilian political authorities who have warmly welcomed him, Francis also praised the government’s antipoverty programs and did not specifically mention the anti-establishment protests in Brazil. But he did critique Rio de Janeiro’s so-called pacification project in the city’s slums, in which security forces assert control over lawless areas. 

  “No amount of pacification will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins or excludes a part of itself,” the pope said in Varginha, a slum that has recently been subjected to pacification. In a remark that could resonate in Latin America and in the United States, which is also grappling with the widening disparity between the haves and the have-nots, Francis said that a society “impoverishes itself” by perpetuating such inequality. 

  Care for the poor and marginalized is an integral part of Catholic teaching, and a concern of many popes and encyclicals, including those by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI. But Francis has made it a hallmark of his young papacy, telling journalists in Rome days after his election, “How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor.” He has demonstrated that ideal by living relatively humbly as pope: in a communal guesthouse rather than the opulent papal apartment, wearing a pectoral cross of iron instead of gold, flying commercial. He recently told priests that they should not drive fancy cars, and he has traveled around Rio this week in a compact Fiat. 

  “He is helping to wake people up,” said Natalia Morais, 21, a nursing student from Minas Gerais State who traveled to Rio to see the pope as part of World Youth Day, a conference attended by hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth. “When the pope talks, political leaders listen, and that’s what’s needed in Brazil, where our protests are about their corruption,” Ms. Morais said. 

  Reaching beyond Brazil, Francis told Argentines who came here for the conference that “the church must be taken into the streets” in a struggle against complacency. “Stir things up, cause confounding, but do not diminish faith in Jesus Christ,” he said in Spanish. 

  In each of Francis’ public appearances, he has been accorded a rock-star reception. On an uncommonly cold and rainy morning, hundreds of residents lined the narrow, muddy sidewalks of the Varginha favela to glimpse the first pope from the Americas, who obliged by stopping often to touch and bless people. 

  Many onlookers had made their own shirts to commemorate the event, with a photo of Francis. Others draped themselves in Brazilian flags and waved banners bearing his image. Residents darted in and out of their homes, checking their televisions and radios to learn the pope’s whereabouts and calling the information out to their neighbors standing on wet rooftops to get a better view. 

  Sônia Curato, 48, a manicurist, said the pope’s visit was different from that of other leaders. “Politicians come all the time. They make promises and leave,” she said. “He is a very simple person. You can tell that. He has charisma. He speaks to the people, doesn’t like going around in an armored car.” 

By Simon Romero and Taylor Barnes Published: July 25, 2013 www.nytimes.com 

 

Pope Francis criticized the pacification project because he believes

TEXT 

 

  RIO DE JANEIRO — Pope Francis on Thursday delivered some of his most politically provocative remarks since his papacy began this year, hopping from his popemobile to walk through a slum in this city before urging young people to fight against corruption, a leading grievance behind the huge street protests that shook dozens of Brazilian cities in June. 

  “Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it,” Francis said at the favela, or slum, of Varginha, in an area that has commonly been known here as the Gaza Strip for its gun battles and drug trafficking in the past. “Do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be extinguished,” he added, acknowledging that it was common for some to “grow disillusioned with news of corruption.” 

  By singling out corruption in a folksy visit to a Brazilian favela on his first trip abroad as pope, Francis, an Argentine-born Jesuit, emphasized his aim to refocus the Roman Catholic Church on the neglected margins of society, especially in Brazil and other parts of Latin America where the popularity of evangelical churches has surged among the poor in recent decades.

  In a nod to the Brazilian political authorities who have warmly welcomed him, Francis also praised the government’s antipoverty programs and did not specifically mention the anti-establishment protests in Brazil. But he did critique Rio de Janeiro’s so-called pacification project in the city’s slums, in which security forces assert control over lawless areas. 

  “No amount of pacification will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins or excludes a part of itself,” the pope said in Varginha, a slum that has recently been subjected to pacification. In a remark that could resonate in Latin America and in the United States, which is also grappling with the widening disparity between the haves and the have-nots, Francis said that a society “impoverishes itself” by perpetuating such inequality. 

  Care for the poor and marginalized is an integral part of Catholic teaching, and a concern of many popes and encyclicals, including those by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI. But Francis has made it a hallmark of his young papacy, telling journalists in Rome days after his election, “How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor.” He has demonstrated that ideal by living relatively humbly as pope: in a communal guesthouse rather than the opulent papal apartment, wearing a pectoral cross of iron instead of gold, flying commercial. He recently told priests that they should not drive fancy cars, and he has traveled around Rio this week in a compact Fiat. 

  “He is helping to wake people up,” said Natalia Morais, 21, a nursing student from Minas Gerais State who traveled to Rio to see the pope as part of World Youth Day, a conference attended by hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth. “When the pope talks, political leaders listen, and that’s what’s needed in Brazil, where our protests are about their corruption,” Ms. Morais said. 

  Reaching beyond Brazil, Francis told Argentines who came here for the conference that “the church must be taken into the streets” in a struggle against complacency. “Stir things up, cause confounding, but do not diminish faith in Jesus Christ,” he said in Spanish. 

  In each of Francis’ public appearances, he has been accorded a rock-star reception. On an uncommonly cold and rainy morning, hundreds of residents lined the narrow, muddy sidewalks of the Varginha favela to glimpse the first pope from the Americas, who obliged by stopping often to touch and bless people. 

  Many onlookers had made their own shirts to commemorate the event, with a photo of Francis. Others draped themselves in Brazilian flags and waved banners bearing his image. Residents darted in and out of their homes, checking their televisions and radios to learn the pope’s whereabouts and calling the information out to their neighbors standing on wet rooftops to get a better view. 

  Sônia Curato, 48, a manicurist, said the pope’s visit was different from that of other leaders. “Politicians come all the time. They make promises and leave,” she said. “He is a very simple person. You can tell that. He has charisma. He speaks to the people, doesn’t like going around in an armored car.” 

By Simon Romero and Taylor Barnes Published: July 25, 2013 www.nytimes.com 

 

One of the ways through which Pope Francis has shown he is not like his predecessors is the fact that he defends that

Could a commonly prescribed antidepressant slow onset of Alzheimer's?

Thursday 15 May 2014 - 8am PST 

 

New research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and the University of Pennsylvania finds that a commonly prescribed antidepressant may be effective at slowing onset of Alzheimer's disease.

 

The problems with memory and cognition caused by Alzheimer's are strongly influenced by a build-up of plaques in the brain. The plaques consist of amyloid beta - a protein that is produced as part of normal brain activity. Patients with Alzheimer's disease, however, have elevated levels of amyloid beta, which results in the protein clumping together as plaques. 

 

A previous study by senior author John Cirrito, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University, suggested that the production of amyloid beta can be reduced by the chemical messenger serotonin.

 

Most antidepressants work by stimulating the flow of serotonin in the brain, which prompted Cirrito and first author Dr. Yvette Sheline to investigate antidepressants as a tool to control amyloid beta production. 

 

As part of a 2011 study, they tested a range of antidepressants in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's as they age. The mice in the trial were young and had not yet developed the brain plaques that characterize the disease. The researchers found that the antidepressants successfully reduced amyloid beta production in the mice by an average of 25% after 24 hours.

"Until we can more definitively prove that these drugs help slow or stop Alzheimer's in humans, the risks aren't worth it," says Cirrito.

 

In their new study - published in the journal Science Translational Medicine - the researchers administered the antidepressant citalopram to older mice who already had plaques in their brain. They then tracked the growth of plaques in the mice for 28 days using a technique called "two-photon imaging." 

 

They found that citalopram halted the growth of the existing plaques, while formation of new plaques was reduced by 78%. 

 

In a second phase of the experiment, 23 human subjects between the ages of 18 and 50 received a single dose of citalopram. The participants were not cognitively impaired or depressed. Over the 24 hours following the administration of the citalopram, samples of spinal fluid were taken from the participants.

 

The spinal fluid samples showed that amyloid beta production had dropped in the human participants by 37%.

 

"Antidepressants appear to be significantly reducing amyloid beta production, and that's exciting," says Cirrito. 

 

'There is still much more work to do' 

 

"But while antidepressants generally are well tolerated," he continues, "they have risks and side effects. Until we can more definitively prove that these drugs help slow or stop Alzheimer's in humans, the risks aren't worth it. There is still much more work to do." 

 

The next step for the team is to use mouse models again in an attempt to understand the molecular process that causes serotonin to halt the production of amyloid beta.

 

Dr. Sheline says the team also plans to study older adults who will be treated for 2 weeks with antidepressants. 

 

"If we see a drop in levels of amyloid beta in their spinal fluid after 2 weeks," she explains, "then we will know that this beneficial reduction in amyloid beta is sustainable."

 

Last year, a study published in JAMA suggested that poor sleep quality may contribute to an increased build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brains of older people. Meanwhile, a study published around the same time in the journal Neurology found an association between hardening of the arteries and the build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brain. 

Written by David McNamee http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276838.php (Accessed May 16, 2014) 

 

The first tests of this new research were made

Could a commonly prescribed antidepressant slow onset of Alzheimer's?

Thursday 15 May 2014 - 8am PST 

 

New research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and the University of Pennsylvania finds that a commonly prescribed antidepressant may be effective at slowing onset of Alzheimer's disease.

 

The problems with memory and cognition caused by Alzheimer's are strongly influenced by a build-up of plaques in the brain. The plaques consist of amyloid beta - a protein that is produced as part of normal brain activity. Patients with Alzheimer's disease, however, have elevated levels of amyloid beta, which results in the protein clumping together as plaques. 

 

A previous study by senior author John Cirrito, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University, suggested that the production of amyloid beta can be reduced by the chemical messenger serotonin.

 

Most antidepressants work by stimulating the flow of serotonin in the brain, which prompted Cirrito and first author Dr. Yvette Sheline to investigate antidepressants as a tool to control amyloid beta production. 

 

As part of a 2011 study, they tested a range of antidepressants in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's as they age. The mice in the trial were young and had not yet developed the brain plaques that characterize the disease. The researchers found that the antidepressants successfully reduced amyloid beta production in the mice by an average of 25% after 24 hours.

"Until we can more definitively prove that these drugs help slow or stop Alzheimer's in humans, the risks aren't worth it," says Cirrito.

 

In their new study - published in the journal Science Translational Medicine - the researchers administered the antidepressant citalopram to older mice who already had plaques in their brain. They then tracked the growth of plaques in the mice for 28 days using a technique called "two-photon imaging." 

 

They found that citalopram halted the growth of the existing plaques, while formation of new plaques was reduced by 78%. 

 

In a second phase of the experiment, 23 human subjects between the ages of 18 and 50 received a single dose of citalopram. The participants were not cognitively impaired or depressed. Over the 24 hours following the administration of the citalopram, samples of spinal fluid were taken from the participants.

 

The spinal fluid samples showed that amyloid beta production had dropped in the human participants by 37%.

 

"Antidepressants appear to be significantly reducing amyloid beta production, and that's exciting," says Cirrito. 

 

'There is still much more work to do' 

 

"But while antidepressants generally are well tolerated," he continues, "they have risks and side effects. Until we can more definitively prove that these drugs help slow or stop Alzheimer's in humans, the risks aren't worth it. There is still much more work to do." 

 

The next step for the team is to use mouse models again in an attempt to understand the molecular process that causes serotonin to halt the production of amyloid beta.

 

Dr. Sheline says the team also plans to study older adults who will be treated for 2 weeks with antidepressants. 

 

"If we see a drop in levels of amyloid beta in their spinal fluid after 2 weeks," she explains, "then we will know that this beneficial reduction in amyloid beta is sustainable."

 

Last year, a study published in JAMA suggested that poor sleep quality may contribute to an increased build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brains of older people. Meanwhile, a study published around the same time in the journal Neurology found an association between hardening of the arteries and the build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brain. 

Written by David McNamee http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276838.php (Accessed May 16, 2014) 

 

The effect of most antidepressants is to 

DISTANT PEAK CAR

Carmakers worry that one day demand for cars will stop rising. But that is a long way off.  

 

[1]   IN 1924 FORD ran an advertisement headlined “His First Car”, urging fathers to buy their teenage sons their  

first set of wheels. The idea caught on. For boys, especially, learning to drive became an essential part of growing up.  

By the late 1970s 86% of American 18-year-olds—of both sexes—had a driving licence. But then the trend went into 

reverse: researchers at the University of Michigan found that in 2010 only 61% of 18-year-old Americans had licences. 

[5] Other rich countries are going the same way. Teenagers are showing less interest in cars as they turn their attention  

to smartphones and social networking.  

  This is a worry for carmakers, who are wondering where their future customers are going to come from. In the  

two decades to 2008 the number of miles driven by Americans in their 20s fell by 8%. In Britain a study for the RAC  

Foundation, a transport-research body, found a 30% drop among men in the same age group between 1996 and  

[10] 2006.  

  One reason for concern is that half the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, which have only so  

much space for cars. Even in rapidly growing car markets such as China, city governments in the more prosperous  

parts of the country are beginning to restrict new car registrations and invest heavily in public transport.  

  Young urban residents may also be meeting up less often in person, thanks to social-networking sites that let  

[15] them keep in touch digitally. So they have less need for a car, and when they do need one they turn to car clubs,  

which offer rental by the hour in their neighbourhood, and to car-sharing schemes. In particular, the generation who  

came of age after 2000, the so-called “millennials”, express a preference for having access to rather than owning cars.  

But some of that may be just talk. In a survey by McKinsey, American millennials said they expected to use car clubs  

in the future, but when asked if owning a car would remain an important status symbol, they were much more likely to  

[20] answer “yes” than older consumers.  

  Economic factors, too, work against car ownership. Sheryl Connelly, Ford’s “global trends and futuring”  

manager, notes that a few decades ago teenagers in America often got free driving lessons at school, but now they  

may have to pay up to $800 for them before they can sit their test. The cost of adding a young driver to the family’s  

car-insurance policy too has risen sharply, she says. In Britain the RAC Foundation study found that fewer young men  

[25] are driving because their employers have cut back on providing company cars.  

  However, studies also show a marked rise in the proportion of elderly people with driving licences. Baby

boomers pretty much all learned to drive, and now that they are beginning to retire they expect to continue motoring. 

The development of assisted driving, followed one day by fully automated cars, will allow them to stay mobile for much  

longer.  

[30]   What may be happening in rich countries is a one-off shift in the timing of people’s driving careers, so that they  

start later but then continue well into old age. This may be no bad thing for carmakers. It has long been an open secret  

in the business that cars are advertised as being for the young but are bought mainly by the middle-aged with the  

necessary disposable income. In America the average Mercedes buyer is in his late 50s, and even the supposedly  

youth-oriented MINI Cooper is typically bought by people in their early 40s. The world’s biggest car markets—China,  

[35] North America and Europe—are all greying.  

  So it is not clear that declining car ownership among young urbanites will have more than a marginal effect on  

overall car sales. Besides, argues Renault-Nissan’s Mr Ghosn, for most people “their car is more than an object.” For  

some it is an extension of their home, he says, and most people would rather not share their home. For others it is  

their pet, and who wants to share their pet?  

[40]   All in all, “peak car”—the point at which worldwide demand for cars will stop rising—still seems quite a long way  

off. In the rich world some of the economic factors that have deterred young people from taking up driving will fade  

away: as cars become increasingly self-piloting and accident rates fall, insurance costs should decrease, and in time  

there will be little or no need to take expensive lessons.  

The Economist, April 20th, 2013.

 

A expressão “this is a worry for carmakers” (linha 7) resgata o(a)

DISTANT PEAK CAR

Carmakers worry that one day demand for cars will stop rising. But that is a long way off.  

 

[1]   IN 1924 FORD ran an advertisement headlined “His First Car”, urging fathers to buy their teenage sons their  

first set of wheels. The idea caught on. For boys, especially, learning to drive became an essential part of growing up.  

By the late 1970s 86% of American 18-year-olds—of both sexes—had a driving licence. But then the trend went into 

reverse: researchers at the University of Michigan found that in 2010 only 61% of 18-year-old Americans had licences. 

[5] Other rich countries are going the same way. Teenagers are showing less interest in cars as they turn their attention  

to smartphones and social networking.  

  This is a worry for carmakers, who are wondering where their future customers are going to come from. In the  

two decades to 2008 the number of miles driven by Americans in their 20s fell by 8%. In Britain a study for the RAC  

Foundation, a transport-research body, found a 30% drop among men in the same age group between 1996 and  

[10] 2006.  

  One reason for concern is that half the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, which have only so  

much space for cars. Even in rapidly growing car markets such as China, city governments in the more prosperous  

parts of the country are beginning to restrict new car registrations and invest heavily in public transport.  

  Young urban residents may also be meeting up less often in person, thanks to social-networking sites that let  

[15] them keep in touch digitally. So they have less need for a car, and when they do need one they turn to car clubs,  

which offer rental by the hour in their neighbourhood, and to car-sharing schemes. In particular, the generation who  

came of age after 2000, the so-called “millennials”, express a preference for having access to rather than owning cars.  

But some of that may be just talk. In a survey by McKinsey, American millennials said they expected to use car clubs  

in the future, but when asked if owning a car would remain an important status symbol, they were much more likely to  

[20] answer “yes” than older consumers.  

  Economic factors, too, work against car ownership. Sheryl Connelly, Ford’s “global trends and futuring”  

manager, notes that a few decades ago teenagers in America often got free driving lessons at school, but now they  

may have to pay up to $800 for them before they can sit their test. The cost of adding a young driver to the family’s  

car-insurance policy too has risen sharply, she says. In Britain the RAC Foundation study found that fewer young men  

[25] are driving because their employers have cut back on providing company cars.  

  However, studies also show a marked rise in the proportion of elderly people with driving licences. Baby

boomers pretty much all learned to drive, and now that they are beginning to retire they expect to continue motoring. 

The development of assisted driving, followed one day by fully automated cars, will allow them to stay mobile for much  

longer.  

[30]   What may be happening in rich countries is a one-off shift in the timing of people’s driving careers, so that they  

start later but then continue well into old age. This may be no bad thing for carmakers. It has long been an open secret  

in the business that cars are advertised as being for the young but are bought mainly by the middle-aged with the  

necessary disposable income. In America the average Mercedes buyer is in his late 50s, and even the supposedly  

youth-oriented MINI Cooper is typically bought by people in their early 40s. The world’s biggest car markets—China,  

[35] North America and Europe—are all greying.  

  So it is not clear that declining car ownership among young urbanites will have more than a marginal effect on  

overall car sales. Besides, argues Renault-Nissan’s Mr Ghosn, for most people “their car is more than an object.” For  

some it is an extension of their home, he says, and most people would rather not share their home. For others it is  

their pet, and who wants to share their pet?  

[40]   All in all, “peak car”—the point at which worldwide demand for cars will stop rising—still seems quite a long way  

off. In the rich world some of the economic factors that have deterred young people from taking up driving will fade  

away: as cars become increasingly self-piloting and accident rates fall, insurance costs should decrease, and in time  

there will be little or no need to take expensive lessons.  

The Economist, April 20th, 2013.

 

Assinale a opção em que o emprego sintático do item lexical that é diferente dos demais.