Questões de Inglês

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Amazon rainforest

Jonathan Watts @jonathanwatts - Fri 23 Aug 2019 10.56

 

Amazon rainforest fires: global leaders urged to divert Brazil from 'suicide' path. Experts say international pressure may be only way to sway Bolsonaro government

 

International pressure may be the only way to stop the Brazilian government from taking a “suicide” path in the Amazon, one of the country’s most respected scientists has said, as the world’s biggest rainforest continues to be ravaged by thousands of deliberate fires. The large number of conflagrations – set illegally to clear and prepare land for crops, cattle and property speculation – has prompted the state of Amazonas to declare an emergency, created giant smoke clouds that have drifted hundreds of miles, and sparked international concerns about the destruction of an essential carbon sink. “Our house is burning,” tweeted the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who called for emergency talks on the subject at this week’s G7 summit.

Excerpt from the site: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/23/ amazon-fires-global-leaders-urged-divert-brazil-suicidepath.

Check the CORRECT idea from the text:

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Simpler spelling may be more relevant than ever

The complexity of English spellings has been bothering people for nearly as long as English has been written down. They argue that inconsistent spellings make English unnecessarily hard to learn. The English Spelling Society, a UK organisation pushing for easier spellings, even argues that there’s a link between difficult spelling and higher crime, with illiteracy pushing people into a life of illegality. While that argument might be a stretch, it’s clear that non-traditional spelling does create a bad impression.
Compared to the UK variants, US spellings are easier for non-native speakers to learn, being shorter and slightly more phonetic. These US spellings are a legacy of dictionary pioneer Noah Webster’s movement for simplified spelling. This movement sought to cleanse English of double and silent letters, as well as other inefficiencies related to orthography (the system of writing and spelling words).
There was a practical as well as a political element to this. Not only would learners find it easier to master simplified spellings, Webster reasoned, but humbler spellings were actually more democratic, and would help differentiate the Americans from their recent colonial masters across the pond.
Webster’s ideas led to the proliferation in the US of “labor” over “labour” and “center” over “centre”, even if not all his ideas have become the “fashon”. For one thing, English is such an irregular language that it’s impossible to iron out all the kinks. No form of English is written out completely phonetically, as anybody with a tough cough (tuf cawf?) will know. Any new spelling rules would need plenty of exceptions.
Overall, English’s erratic spellings bear witness to the many words it has absorbed from other languages. Like the wealth of accents among English speakers, this feature both enriches the language and poses a challenge to standardised simplified spellings.
English spellings and dyslexia
One group that might be helped by simpler spellings is people with dyslexia. In linguistic terms, English is opaque, meaning that there’s little correlation and consistency between its spoken and written forms. What you read and what you say can seem very different. Finnish and Spanish, in contrast, are more transparent. So “kids learn to read English slower than kids who learned transparent languages like Spanish, Italian, Czech, German”, says Liory Fern-Pollak, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London.

As dyslexia has a neurological basis, an affected person would have dyslexia regardless of whether they were born in Finland or England. But Fern-Pollak explains that it would be easier to diagnose them in England, as they grapple with the idiosyncratic spellings of English.
English in the internet age

Webster’s ideas are perhaps newly relevant, as the language of IT and the internet increasingly influences how English is written. Globally, Google returns more results for US spellings. In computing, “program” is generally accepted over “programme”. Shorter words are more versatile in text messages and social media posts, and search engine optimisation often favours US spellings. The Googlelisation (or “Googlization”) of the internet is one reason that Thai learners, for instance, prefer American spellings.

But the internet is also exposing people to a large variety of spellings. So “people are representing their spoken dialects more through spelling in spaces like Twitter and Instagram”, says Lauren Squires, a linguist at Ohio State University. She believes that “people are becoming more comfortable with spelling variation”, even though there’s a strong and enduring idea that only one spelling can be correct.

RO, Christine. Simpler spelling may be more relevant than ever. BBC Worklife. 13th June 2019.

Sobre as colocações do texto a respeito da língua inglesa e a era da Internet, considere as afirmativas a seguir.

 

I. Desde seu surgimento, a Internet tem contribuído para a padronização da ortografia da língua inglesa em todo o mundo.
II. Uma pesquisa feita no Google com palavras em inglês escritas com a ortografia norte-americana retorna mais resultados.
III. O Twitter e o Instagram são espaços onde a variação ortográfica é uma forma de representação de como as pessoas falam.
IV. A preferência dos alunos tailandeses pela ortografia norte-americana ilustra a influência da Internet na aprendizagem do inglês.

Assinale a alternativa correta.

CAN A SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE WEATHER AFFECT YOUR HEALTH?

 

Can a sudden shift in the weather trigger certain illnesses? Absolutely, says Vikash Modi, M.D., a Piedmont
family medicine physician. In fact, climate change is one of the environmental risk factors most doctors
consider when assessing their patients for certain conditions. “Changes in weather are basically challenges
to our immune system and to our musculoskeletal system,” Dr. Modi says. “Our bodies get used to a certain
[5] climate, and when those things change suddenly, our body has to try to adapt. Unfortunately, sometimes
our bodies have a difficult time adjusting, which can trigger an illness.” Here are six health conditions that
can be triggered by a sudden change in the weather:

“Often we’ll discover that patients are dressing inappropriately,” Dr. Modi says. “They’re not wearing
enough layers or they’re wearing too many layers, and so their bodies get overheated or too cold. That
[10] can affect their immune response and can trigger upper respiratory infections.” When temperatures are
fluctuating, Dr. Modi recommends dressing in light layers. “Dressing in light layers is incredibly important
to protect from cold temperatures in the morning and at night, and you’re still able to shed those layers in
the warm mid-days or indoor settings,” Dr. Modi says.

Heating and air systems struggle to keep up with fluctuating temperatures, and rapidly alternating heating
[15] and cooling systems can dehumidify air. Dehumidified air filled with pollen, dust, mold and mildew is a
perfect storm for severe and chronic sinus and throat issues. So, it’s important to change heating and
air filters every six months. “If your filters haven’t been changed in more than six months, they are likely
blowing dust, mold and mildew-ridden air on you and your family while you are at home or work,” Dr.
Modi says. Dr. Modi also recommends purchasing a humidifier to add moisture to the air.

[20] Cold air can trigger seasonal asthma or bronchitis. People who have these conditions should be prepared
to use an inhaler seasonally to avoid severe and chronic coughing episodes. “There is a physiological
response to cold air that causes your airways to close down and tighten up,” Dr. Modi says. “If you have
asthma, that response can be dangerous. You’ll see a lot of people who have bronchitis, coughing, wheezing
and shortness of breath throughout cold temperatures. So, we need to be a little more aggressive with
[25] the control of their lung health.”

“Plants get just as confused as people do with the changing weather patterns,” Dr. Modi says. “This means
flowers bloom early and release pollen, which can aggravate people with seasonal allergies.”

As the weather temporarily improves, it is common for families, co-workers, and school children to gather
for group activities. If one person is sick with a cold or the flu, you may see a minor “outbreak” of illness
[30] following those gatherings. “When large groups gather together, we all need to be a little more careful
about hand hygiene and covering our mouths and noses with coughing and sneezing,” Dr. Modi says. “It’s
also important to frequently clean shared spaces to control the spread of infections.”

When the weather warms up, people are eager to head outdoors. But being extremely active on muscles
and joints that have been hibernating during the cold winter months can lead to injuries. “A good rule to
[35] remember before jumping into those fun physical activities is to start low and go slow, at least initially,” Dr.
Modi says. “It might take a few weeks to shake the rust off. But it will be worth the wait.”

piedmont.org, acesso em 20/09/2019.

In the original text, each paragraph, except the first, had a heading.

 

The paragraph that can receive the heading Chronic Illnesses is the following:

(Disponível em: https://www.bing.com/images/. Acesso em: 3 set. 2018.)

De acordo com o infográfico, considere as afirmativas a seguir.

 

I. Os pobres e os marginalizados são maioria quando se trata de falta de habilidade de leitura e escrita.
II. Mais da metade dos analfabetos em idade adulta são mulheres.
III. 30% das crianças não completam o ensino primário em países desenvolvidos.
IV. 250 milhões de crianças frequentam a escola primária.

 

Assinale a alternativa correta.

Em relação às atitudes dos homens que participam da palestra, é possível inferir do texto que existe

’Hitting women isn’t normal’: tackling male violence in Brazil

 

A rehabilitation programme for violent men in Espírito Santo is cutting reoffending rates

In the state of Espírito Santo, violence against women is rampant. From 2005 to 2012, the state had the highest rate of murders of women in the country. In the years since, it has been in the top five. Nationwide, almost a third of girls and women said in a 2017 survey that they had suffered violence -– ranging from threats and beatings to attempted murder – during the previous year.

The problem permeates all levels of society and it is a huge challenge, says Gracimeri Gaviorno, chief officer of the civil police in Espírito Santo. Gaviorno saw many men reoffend while they waited -– in some cases for years — for their trial, so she decided to do something about it. “You can’t just wait with your arms folded while the justice system takes its time to do something,” she says. In 2016, she worked with psychologists, social workers and other police departments to develop the Homem que é Homem programme to rehabilitate aggressive men.

The programme is voluntary and offered to all men who come into contact with the police for violence against women. For those who complete it, there is no reduction in sentencing, but it can be presented to the judge as a kind of character witness. There are seven courses a year, with four 90-minute sessions a week for five weeks. Everyone arrested for violence against women must attend an introductory lecture.

Ana Paula Milani, a police psychologist involved in running the programme, says: “I start off explaining that hitting a woman isn’t normal and is a crime, and that there is a programme to help them. The majority of men don’t know why they are there, and even after my lecture, some still think it was the woman’s fault.” For every course, around 60 men will come to the first lecture; around 20 agree to participate in the programme and 15 complete it.

Group sessions are run like an AA group. Participants sit in a circle and discussions revolve around gender roles in society. They examine the concept of masculinity -– machismo is rife in Brazil -– and talk about why men are more likely to take drugs and why the male suicide rate is higher. They then discuss how to manage and resolve conflict without resorting to violence. The last meeting is about how to return to having a relationship and how to regain trust. The programme, run by police professionals, has been successful. In its first year, 6% of attendees reoffended; the number fell to 3% in its second year and in 2017, when 73 men completed the course, 2% reoffended. The project has been replicated in three other areas of the state, and there are plans to launch it in two other municipalities.

Gaviorno, who was a finalist in the first awards in Brazil to recognise outstanding contributions to the public sector, is aware that the project plays only a small part in tackling violence against women, which she says continues to be “a huge challenge”. “From the female lawyer who asks for something from the judge and gets it because she is pretty, to the woman who is murdered by her husband, there are a lot of layers of sexism in Brazil,” she says. Until this changes, Gaviorno and her colleagues will have their work cut out.

(Adaptado de: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/23/hitting-women-isnt-normal-tackling-male-violence-brazil. Acesso em: 19 jul. 2018.)

Em relação aos recursos linguístico-semânticos do texto, relacione as colunas de modo a identificar a função dos termos em destaque.

 

(I) Until this changes, Gaviorno and her colleagues will have their work cut out.

(II) From the female lawyer who asks for something from the judge and gets it because she is pretty, to the woman who is murdered by her husband. . .

(III) Everyone arrested for violence against women must attend an introductory lecture.

(IV) “You can’t just wait with your arms folded while the justice system takes its time to do something,”

(V) Group sessions are run like an AA group.

 

(A) Demonstra obrigatoriedade de uma ação.

(B) Aponta “limite” de algo.

(C) Demonstra que duas ações acontecem ao mesmo tempo.

(D) Aponta “origem e limite” de algo.

(E) Compara duas ideias.

 

Assinale a alternativa que contém a associação correta.