Questões de Inglês

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Lembrando e pensando a TV

 

    Houve um tempo em que a TV − acreditem, ó jo-

vens! − ainda não existia. Ouvia-se rádio, ia-se ao cine-

ma. Mas um dia chegou às casas das pessoas um apa-

relho com o som vivo do rádio acoplado a vivas ima-

[5] gens, diferentes das do cinema, imagens chegadas de
algum lugar do presente, “ao vivo”. Logo saberíamos
que todas as imagens do mundo, inclusive os filmes do
cinema, poderiam estar ao nosso alcance, naquela
telinha da sala. Modificaram-se os hábitos das famílias,
[10] seus horários, sua disponibilidade, seus valores. A TV
chegou para reinar. 

    A variedade da programação já indicava o amplo
alcance do novo veículo: notícias, reportagens, musi-

cais, desenhos animados, filmes, propagandas, seria-

[15] dos, esportes, programas humorísticos, peças de teatro
− tudo desfilava ali, diante dos nossos olhos, ainda no
tubo comandado por grandes válvulas e com imagem
em preto e branco. Boa parte dos primeiros aparelhos
de TV tinham telas de 16 a 21 polegadas, acondicio-

[20] nadas numa enorme e pesada caixa de madeira. Havia
uns três ou quatro canais, com alcance bastante limitado
e programação restrita a cinco ou seis horas por dia.
Mais tarde as transmissões passariam a ser via satélite
e ocupariam as 24 horas do dia.

[´25]    Os custos da programação eram pagos pela publi-

cidade, que tomava boa parte do tempo de transmissão.
Vendia-se de tudo, de automóveis a margarina, de xaro-

pes para tosse a apartamentos. Filmetes gravados e
propagandas ao vivo sucediam-se e misturavam-se a
[30] notícias sobre exploração espacial, enquanto docume-

ntários estrangeiros falavam da revolução russa, da
II Guerra, do nazismo e do fascismo, das convicções
pacifistas de Ghandi, das ideias do físico Einstein sobre
a criação e a legitimação da ONU etc. etc. Já as incur-

[35] sões históricas propiciadas pelos filmes nos levavam ao
tempo de Moisés e do Egito Antigo, ao Império Romano
e advento do Cristianismo, tudo entremeando-se ao
humor de Chaplin, às caretas de Jerry Lewis e às trapa-

lhadas das primeiras comédias nacionais do gênero
[40] chanchada. Houve também o tempo em que as famílias
se agrupariam diante dos festivais da canção, torcendo
por músicas de protesto, baladas românticas ou de
ritmos populares “de raiz”. Enfim, a TV oferecia a um pú-

blico extasiado um espetáculo variadíssimo, tudo nas
[45] poucas polegadas do aparelho, que não tardou a incor-

porar outras medidas, outros sistemas de funcioname-

nto, projeção em cores e controle remoto. 

    As telas de plasma, o processo digital e a interface
com a informática foram dotando a TV de muitos outros
[50] recursos, até que, bem mais tarde, tivesse que enfrentar
a concorrência de outras telas, muito menores, portáteis,
disponíveis nos celulares, carregados de aplicativos e
serviços. Apesar disso, nada indica que a curto prazo
desapareçam da casa os aparelhos de TV, enriquecidos
[55] agora por incontáveis dispositivos.

    No plano da cultura e da educação, a televisão
teve e tem papel importante. Os telecursos propiciam
informação escolar específica nas áreas de Matemática,
Física, História, Química, Língua e Literatura, fazendo
[60] as vezes da educação formal por meio de incontáveis
dispositivos pedagógicos, inclusive a dramatização de
conteúdos. Aqui e ali há entrevistas com artistas, polí-

ticos, pensadores e personalidades várias, atualizando
ideias e promovendo seu debate. No campo da política,
[65] é relevante, às vezes decisivo, o papel que a TV tem na
formação da opinião pública. A ecologia conta, também,
com razoável cobertura, informando, por exemplo, sobre
os benefícios da reciclagem de lixo, da cultura de pro-

dutos orgânicos e da energia solar. 

[70]    Seja como forma de entretenimento, veículo de
informação, indução aos debates e repercussão atuali-

zada dos grandes temas de interesse social, a TV vem
garantindo seu espaço junto a bilhões de pessoas no
mundo todo. Por meio dela, acompanhamos ao vivo mo

[75] mentos agudos da política internacional, a divulgação
de um novo plano econômico do governo, a escalada da
violência urbana. Ao toque de uma tecla do controle re-

moto, você pode se transferir, aleatoriamente, do palco
de um ataque terrorista para o final meloso de uma co-

[80] média romântica.

    Numa espécie de espelhamento multiplicativo e
fragmentário da nossa vida e dos poderes da nossa
imaginação, a TV vem acompanhando os passos da
vida moderna e ditando, mesmo, alguns deles, sem dar
[85] sinal de que deixará tão cedo de nos fazer companhia.

(Percival de Lima e Souto, inédito)

According to the main text,

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Brazilian doctors use fish skin to treat burn victims

 

    Researchers in Brazil are experimenting with a new treatment for severe burns using the skin of tilapia fish, an unorthodox procedure they say can ease the pain of victims and cut medical costs. Frozen pig skin and even human tissue have long been placed on burns to keep them moist and allow the transfer of collagen, a protein that promotes healing.

    Brazil’s public hospitals, however, lack human and pig skin supplies and the artificial alternatives easily available in Western countries. Instead, gauze bandage, which needs regular changing – often painfully – is the norm. Tilapia is abundant in Brazil’s rivers and fish farms, which are expanding rapidly as demand grows for the mildly flavored freshwater fish.

    Scientists at the Federal University of Ceara in northern Brazil have found that tilapia skin has moisture, collagen and disease resistance at levels comparable to human skin, and can aid in healing. In China, researchers have tested tilapia skin on rodents to study its healing properties, but scientists in Brazil say their trials are the first on humans.

    “The use of tilapia skin on burns is unprecedented,” said Odorico de Morais, a professor at Ceara University. “The fish skin is usually thrown away, so we are using this product to convert it into something of social benefit.” The tilapia treatment can speed up healing by several days and reduces the need for pain medication, the Brazilian researchers say

    The fish skin has high levels of collagen type 1, stays moist longer than gauze, and does not need to be changed frequently. Morais said that the tilapia skin treatment costs 75 percent less than the sulfadiazine cream typically used on burn patients in Brazil, as it is a cheap fish-farming waste product. The researchers hope the treatment will prove commercially viable and encourage businesses to process tilapia skin for medical use.

(Paulo Whitaker e Pablo Garcia. www.reuters.com, 25.05.2017. Adaptado.)

O trecho do terceiro parágrafo “can aid in healing” pode ser entendido como:

    Read the text below to answer question.

 

Is bad luck the leading cause of cancer?

 

"Most cancers are caused by random mistakes in the genetic code when cells divide out of the blue, new research shows," the Daily Mail reports. But this is an oversimplification of research that looked at the role spontaneous random mutations play in the development of certain cancers.

It's well known that environmental and hereditary factors are the cause of many cancers. This study looked at the influence of a third factor: random genetic mutations that occur by chance as the body's cells repeatedly divide.

Researchers analysed cancer registry data from 69 countries worldwide to estimate the proportion of cancers that could be down to chance. They estimated just over a third of cancers worldwide could be down to chance mutations.

But the research has two key limitations, both of which the researchers openly acknowledge. First, these figures are only estimates and may not be accurate. And second, it would be a mistake to think cancers can only have one cause. A combination of all three factors – environmental, hereditary and luck – could all contribute towards a specific cancer risk.

(Source: www.nhs.uk)

It is possible to infer based on the text:

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Loneliness can be deadly for elders

 

    The circle shrinks. As the years pass, older people attend too many funerals. Friendships that sustained them for decades lapse when companions and confidants retire or move away or grow ill.

    The way we prioritize friendships may evolve. Laura Carstensen, a Stanford University psychologist, developed an influential theory called “socioemotional selectivity”: As people sense their remaining time growing brief, they shed superficial relationships to concentrate on those they find most meaningful.

    “They invest more in their remaining connections,” said Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center. “They optimize friendships, rather than try to maximize them.”

    A tide of recent research underscores the importance of such bonds. Social isolation and loneliness can take a serious toll on elders, psychologically and physically. They also suffer higher mortality rates and increased risk of depression, cognitive decline and illnesses like coronary artery disease.

    Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, followed 1,600 participants (average age: 71) and found that those who reported loneliness were more likely to develop difficulties with activities of daily living. Even when the study controlled for socioeconomic status and health, the lonely had higher mortality: Nearly 23 percent died within six years, compared with 14 percent of those who weren’t lonely.

    With strong evidence that friendship does, indeed, help save lives and promote health, social workers and researchers wish we could pay more attention to its central role. Activity directors, senior center staff members and family caregivers: Are there better ways to help elders stay in touch with the friends they care about, or meet new ones? We’re all willing to drive relatives to doctors’ appointments; driving them to spend time with friends may matter as much.

(Paula Span. www.nytimes.com, 30.12.2016. Adaptado.)

In the excerpt from the sixth paragraph “to its central role”, the word in bold refers to

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Loneliness can be deadly for elders

 

    The circle shrinks. As the years pass, older people attend too many funerals. Friendships that sustained them for decades lapse when companions and confidants retire or move away or grow ill.

    The way we prioritize friendships may evolve. Laura Carstensen, a Stanford University psychologist, developed an influential theory called “socioemotional selectivity”: As people sense their remaining time growing brief, they shed superficial relationships to concentrate on those they find most meaningful.

    “They invest more in their remaining connections,” said Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center. “They optimize friendships, rather than try to maximize them.”

    A tide of recent research underscores the importance of such bonds. Social isolation and loneliness can take a serious toll on elders, psychologically and physically. They also suffer higher mortality rates and increased risk of depression, cognitive decline and illnesses like coronary artery disease.

    Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, followed 1,600 participants (average age: 71) and found that those who reported loneliness were more likely to develop difficulties with activities of daily living. Even when the study controlled for socioeconomic status and health, the lonely had higher mortality: Nearly 23 percent died within six years, compared with 14 percent of those who weren’t lonely.

    With strong evidence that friendship does, indeed, help save lives and promote health, social workers and researchers wish we could pay more attention to its central role. Activity directors, senior center staff members and family caregivers: Are there better ways to help elders stay in touch with the friends they care about, or meet new ones? We’re all willing to drive relatives to doctors’ appointments; driving them to spend time with friends may matter as much.

(Paula Span. www.nytimes.com, 30.12.2016. Adaptado.)

No trecho do primeiro parágrafo “Friendships that sustained them for decades lapse”, o termo em destaque pode ser substituído, sem alteração de sentido, por

The news we received from our father last night                  very bad.