Questões de Inglês

TEXTO:

Polar bears will be protected in Alaska

    The US government says land that oil and gas

companies want to drill in Alaska is a crucial home for

polar bears. Environmentalists hope this announcement

will help save the endangered animals.

[5]    Right now in an icy den in the Arctic, a polar bear

is giving birth to cubs, or is about to. But the very survival

of this fearsome, majestic species concerns many

humans.

    Polar bears live and hunt on sea ice, but the frozen

[10] Arctic Ocean is melting at an increasing rate, a result,

scientists say, of global warming caused by greenhouse

gases.

    Now the US government has designated nearly

500,000 km2 in Alaska as critical habitats for the polar

[15] bear. It covers an area of roughly twice the size of the

United Kingdom, and it means any proposed economic

activity there, must be weighed against its impact on

the bears’ habitat. It includes some of the Chukchi and

Beaufort Seas, exactly where the oil company, Shell,

[20] wants to drill.

    The designation itself doesn’t ban oil exploration,

but it adds extra obstacles that opponents say will harm

the economy. Environmentalists welcome the move,

saying now they can write a recovery plan for polar bears,

[25] not an obituary.

MIRCHANDANI, Rajesh. Polar bears will be protected in Alaska. Disponível em:<. Acesso em: 2 dez. 2010. 

TEXTO:

BlackBerry announces iPad rival

29 September 2010

    The company that makes BlackBerry mobile

phones has announced plans for a new, touchscreen,

tablet-style computer to rival the Apple iPad. The

PlayBook goes on sale next year.

[5]    BlackBerry’s equivalent to the iPad has a smaller

screen and is lighter than Apple’s device. That’s meant

to make it appealing to business people on the move,

the kind of people who already buy BlackBerry phones.

    Nearly six million iPads were sold in the first six

[10] months, so it’s easy to see why Research in Motion,

the Canadian firm behind the BlackBerry, wants a bite of

Apple’s market. One key selling point for RIM’s product

is, unlike the iPad, it runs Flash video, the most popular

software for showing moving images online.

[15]    Apple devices don’t run Flash, thanks to a

well-publicized disagreement between the company and

Adobe, the firm behind the video technology.

    Analysts say the BlackBerry tablet device is better

placed than many rivals to mount an effective challenge

[20] to Apple. But it’s seen as more likely to find a niche in

the market than to be an outright iPad-killer.

GREGORY, Mark. BlackBerry announces iPad rival. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 2 dez. 2010. 

TEXTO:

BlackBerry announces iPad rival

29 September 2010

    The company that makes BlackBerry mobile

phones has announced plans for a new, touchscreen,

tablet-style computer to rival the Apple iPad. The

PlayBook goes on sale next year.

[5]    BlackBerry’s equivalent to the iPad has a smaller

screen and is lighter than Apple’s device. That’s meant

to make it appealing to business people on the move,

the kind of people who already buy BlackBerry phones.

    Nearly six million iPads were sold in the first six

[10] months, so it’s easy to see why Research in Motion,

the Canadian firm behind the BlackBerry, wants a bite of

Apple’s market. One key selling point for RIM’s product

is, unlike the iPad, it runs Flash video, the most popular

software for showing moving images online.

[15]    Apple devices don’t run Flash, thanks to a

well-publicized disagreement between the company and

Adobe, the firm behind the video technology.

    Analysts say the BlackBerry tablet device is better

placed than many rivals to mount an effective challenge

[20] to Apple. But it’s seen as more likely to find a niche in

the market than to be an outright iPad-killer.

GREGORY, Mark. BlackBerry announces iPad rival. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 2 dez. 2010. 

TEXTO:

Germany to invest in more electric cars

    The German government has approved more money

to help companies that build electric cars. There are

only around 2,500 electric vehicles registered on German

roads at present. The plan is to increase this figure to a

5 million by 2020.

    Germany plans to double financial aid, particularly

to develop better, lighter batteries, which remain the brake

on the technology’s mass appeal. Cars which emit

virtually no carbon dioxide will be exempt from tax.

10 Despite its green reputation, Germany has been slower

than other countries, like Japan, to develop electric cars.

It now aims to change this, but attitudes may be hard to

change. It is a country where ‘no speed limits on the

motorway’ is seen as sacrosanct.

15    And it is the country of the BMW (car), though the

luxury car-maker is now trying to develop lighter materials

to make its vehicles greener.

EVANS, Stephen. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 2 jun. 2011. 

TEXTO:

    William Ellis Green, 82, was making his breakfast

when he heard somebody in his garden. “I went out the

back door, and suddenly I saw this guy running toward

me. He pushed me out of the way and took my bicycle

5 from the garden shed.” Mr. Green did not resist, as he

knew he would end up second-best in a fight with the

intruder. The burglar tried to cycle away, but the tires on

the bike were flat, making it difficult to ride. “He kept

falling off the bicycle,” said Mr. Green, “at least three or

10 four times.” After the man fled, Mr. Green called the local

police.

    When they arrived, officers asked him to describe

the man, but instead he offered to draw them a picture.

“When Mr. Green started drawing,” said one of the police

15 officers, “I knew right away who the burglar was.” Actually,

Mr. Green had worked for more than 20 years in daily

newspapers doing caricatures of Australian soccer

players. “I had no difficulty in remembering the man’s

face because he was so close to me,” he said.

20    Police cruised the neighborhood in a patrol car with

the sketch in search of the alleged burglar and found

him within half an hour. “The cartoon was a perfect

likeness of the burglar,” said another police officer.

    The police believe that this is the first time they

25 have ever caught a suspect by using a cartoon sketch.

Phil Rushford, a senior police officer, said that in the

past some victims had used their cell phones to take

photographs at crime scenes, but they had not been as

effective.

30    A 34-year-old man is expected to be charged with

theft, burglary, and assault. The missing bike was later

found on a nearby street.

OXENDEN, Clive; LATHAM-KOENIG, Christina American English File, MultiPack 4A, 2010. p.51 

TEXTO:

    William Ellis Green, 82, was making his breakfast

when he heard somebody in his garden. “I went out the

back door, and suddenly I saw this guy running toward

me. He pushed me out of the way and took my bicycle

5 from the garden shed.” Mr. Green did not resist, as he

knew he would end up second-best in a fight with the

intruder. The burglar tried to cycle away, but the tires on

the bike were flat, making it difficult to ride. “He kept

falling off the bicycle,” said Mr. Green, “at least three or

10 four times.” After the man fled, Mr. Green called the local

police.

    When they arrived, officers asked him to describe

the man, but instead he offered to draw them a picture.

“When Mr. Green started drawing,” said one of the police

15 officers, “I knew right away who the burglar was.” Actually,

Mr. Green had worked for more than 20 years in daily

newspapers doing caricatures of Australian soccer

players. “I had no difficulty in remembering the man’s

face because he was so close to me,” he said.

20    Police cruised the neighborhood in a patrol car with

the sketch in search of the alleged burglar and found

him within half an hour. “The cartoon was a perfect

likeness of the burglar,” said another police officer.

    The police believe that this is the first time they

25 have ever caught a suspect by using a cartoon sketch.

Phil Rushford, a senior police officer, said that in the

past some victims had used their cell phones to take

photographs at crime scenes, but they had not been as

effective.

30    A 34-year-old man is expected to be charged with

theft, burglary, and assault. The missing bike was later

found on a nearby street.

OXENDEN, Clive; LATHAM-KOENIG, Christina American English File, MultiPack 4A, 2010. p.51