Questões de Inglês

World Cup 2014: Brazil still facing problems with 100 days to go

Published by The Guardian (The text below has been slightly modified to better suit the exam)

The Arena de São Paulo will not be delivered until mid-May leaving FIFA with a race against time for the required fitting.

In 100 days, Brazil will kick off the World Cup against Croatia in the gleaming new Arena de São Paulo. Assuming, that is, the stadium is finished in time.

Amid growing excitement at the World Cup returning to the home of the beautiful game, there is concern at the extent to which deadlines have been repeatedly missed before being torn up altogether. "I am not a World Cup specialist but I will say this has not been easy, for sure," said the FIFA secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, one man who you might hope would be exactly that, in Zurich this weekend.

"I think things will work well but it is also true that whenever you receive something late it becomes a  challenge to make it ready in time."

Every major sporting event has to face down doomsday predictions that typically reach a crescendo around 100 days out before being drowned out by sporting drama and emotion. But Brazil faces a unique cocktail of serious issues that have left FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter, claiming he was praying to "God or Allah" that nothing else goes wrong.

The biggest outstanding concern remains the readiness of four of the twelve stadiums that are scattered throughout the vast country. Despite being awarded the World Cup in 2007, host cities were not decided until two years later amid political wrangling.

A series of delays followed, as Valcke and other FIFA executives attempted to hurry things along. Even so, the stadiums in São Paulo – where work was delayed by the deaths of two construction workers – and Curitiba will not be delivered until mid-May. Even some of those that are finished appear to be falling apart – chunks of the roof fell into the stands in a storm-lashed Belo Horizonte at the weekend, hours before a match. That will leave FIFA and organisers facing a race against time to fit them out with the necessary IT, media, catering and ticketing facilities required. And that is before the debate over what will happen to them afterwards begins in earnest.

Driverless automobiles - The car that parks itself

[1] CARS that need no driver are just around the

corner according to researchers who have been

testing vehicles bristling with aerials and cameras

on public roads in America. However, researchers

[5] do not make cars, so it will be up to firms that do

to bring the technology to market. And carmakers

are a conservative bunch. Still, slowly and steadily

the autonomous car will arrive, with the help of an

increasing number of automated driving aids. A

[10] Swedish carmaker has recently demonstrated one

such feature: a car that really does park itself.

Some cars already have systems that assist with

parking, but these are not completely autonomous.

They can identify an empty parallel-parking space

[15] and steer into it while the driver uses the brake. The

Swedish system, however, lets the driver get out and

use a smartphone application to instruct the vehicle

to park. The car then trundles off, manoeuvres into

a parking place and sends a message to the driver

[20] to inform him where it is. The driver can collect the

car in person or use his phone to call it back to where

he dropped it off. Autonomous parking could thus be

provided at places like shopping centres and airports,

which are controlled areas in which automated

[25] vehicles can be managed more easily than on open

highways.

In the past, designs for doing this have relied

on car parks being fitted with buried guide wires

that a vehicle can follow to an empty bay. That,

[30] though, creates a chicken-and-egg problem: car-park

operators will not invest in such infrastructure until

there is a sufficient number of suitably equipped cars

on the road. Drivers, conversely, will not want to buy

self-parking cars if there is nowhere to use them.

[35] This means, as a safety engineer working on

the project observes, that for autonomous parking

to work most of the technology will have to be in the

car itself. The test car, which looks like a normal car,

therefore uses on-board GPS mapping, cameras with

[40] image-recognition software, and radar sensors to find

its own way around a car park and avoid pedestrians

and non-autonomous vehicles. The same engineer

says the system is five to ten years from commercial

deployment. If it proves a success then infrastructure

[45] might adapt to it, for instance by packing cars into

tighter spaces. If there is no one in them there is no

need to make room for their doors to open.

Driverless cars would also need to communicate

with one another, to enhance safety. That, too, is

[50] coming. A number of carmakers are developing

wireless networking systems through which vehicles

can exchange data, such as their speed, their steering

angle and even their weight, to forewarn anti-collision

systems and safety devices if an accident looks likely

[55] In the USA, for example, a carmaker recently

tested a brake light that can provide an early warning

to other motorists. If the brakes are applied hard in an

emergency, a signal is broadcast. This illuminates a

warning light in the dashboard of suitably equipped

[60] following vehicles, even if they are out of sight around

a bend or not immediately behind the vehicle doing

the braking.

The American company has been testing this

system as part of a collaborative research project

[65] with several European carmakers. They have put a

fleet of 150 experimental vehicles on the roads. When

they tested a group of these, the Americans found

the technology let drivers brake much earlier, helping

avoid collisions. A driverless car would be able to

[70] react even faster.

Another member of the research group has been

testing driverless cars on roads around Munich—

including belting down some of Germany’s highspeed

autobahns. The ordinary-looking models use

[75] a variety of self-contained guidance systems. These

include cameras mounted on the upper windscreen,

which can identify road markings, signs and various

obstacles likely to be encountered on roads.

The German cars also use a radar, to gauge

[80] how far the vehicle is from other cars and potential

obstacles, and a lidar, which works like a radar but

at optical frequencies. The lidar employs laser beams

to scan the road ahead and builds up from the

reflections a three-dimensional image of what this

[85] looks like. The image is processed by a computer in

the vehicle, which also collects and compares data

from a high-accuracy GPS unit. A series of ultrasonic

sonars similar to those used in vehicles to provide

parking assistance are placed around the car to add

[90] to the virtual picture. And just to make sure, a set of

accelerometers provide an inertial navigation system

that double-checks the vehicle’s position on the road.

Although these cars can be switched to an

autonomous driving mode, they are still required to

[95] have someone in the driving seat who can take over

in the event of any difficulty. Some cars can steer

themselves, slow down, brake and accelerate, even

changing lanes to overtake slower vehicles.

From the print edition: Science and Technology Jun 29th 2013

Driverless automobiles - The car that parks itself

[1] CARS that need no driver are just around the

corner according to researchers who have been

testing vehicles bristling with aerials and cameras

on public roads in America. However, researchers

[5] do not make cars, so it will be up to firms that do

to bring the technology to market. And carmakers

are a conservative bunch. Still, slowly and steadily

the autonomous car will arrive, with the help of an

increasing number of automated driving aids. A

[10] Swedish carmaker has recently demonstrated one

such feature: a car that really does park itself.

Some cars already have systems that assist with

parking, but these are not completely autonomous.

They can identify an empty parallel-parking space

[15] and steer into it while the driver uses the brake. The

Swedish system, however, lets the driver get out and

use a smartphone application to instruct the vehicle

to park. The car then trundles off, manoeuvres into

a parking place and sends a message to the driver

[20] to inform him where it is. The driver can collect the

car in person or use his phone to call it back to where

he dropped it off. Autonomous parking could thus be

provided at places like shopping centres and airports,

which are controlled areas in which automated

[25] vehicles can be managed more easily than on open

highways.

In the past, designs for doing this have relied

on car parks being fitted with buried guide wires

that a vehicle can follow to an empty bay. That,

[30] though, creates a chicken-and-egg problem: car-park

operators will not invest in such infrastructure until

there is a sufficient number of suitably equipped cars

on the road. Drivers, conversely, will not want to buy

self-parking cars if there is nowhere to use them.

[35] This means, as a safety engineer working on

the project observes, that for autonomous parking

to work most of the technology will have to be in the

car itself. The test car, which looks like a normal car,

therefore uses on-board GPS mapping, cameras with

[40] image-recognition software, and radar sensors to find

its own way around a car park and avoid pedestrians

and non-autonomous vehicles. The same engineer

says the system is five to ten years from commercial

deployment. If it proves a success then infrastructure

[45] might adapt to it, for instance by packing cars into

tighter spaces. If there is no one in them there is no

need to make room for their doors to open.

Driverless cars would also need to communicate

with one another, to enhance safety. That, too, is

[50] coming. A number of carmakers are developing

wireless networking systems through which vehicles

can exchange data, such as their speed, their steering

angle and even their weight, to forewarn anti-collision

systems and safety devices if an accident looks likely

[55] In the USA, for example, a carmaker recently

tested a brake light that can provide an early warning

to other motorists. If the brakes are applied hard in an

emergency, a signal is broadcast. This illuminates a

warning light in the dashboard of suitably equipped

[60] following vehicles, even if they are out of sight around

a bend or not immediately behind the vehicle doing

the braking.

The American company has been testing this

system as part of a collaborative research project

[65] with several European carmakers. They have put a

fleet of 150 experimental vehicles on the roads. When

they tested a group of these, the Americans found

the technology let drivers brake much earlier, helping

avoid collisions. A driverless car would be able to

[70] react even faster.

Another member of the research group has been

testing driverless cars on roads around Munich—

including belting down some of Germany’s highspeed

autobahns. The ordinary-looking models use

[75] a variety of self-contained guidance systems. These

include cameras mounted on the upper windscreen,

which can identify road markings, signs and various

obstacles likely to be encountered on roads.

The German cars also use a radar, to gauge

[80] how far the vehicle is from other cars and potential

obstacles, and a lidar, which works like a radar but

at optical frequencies. The lidar employs laser beams

to scan the road ahead and builds up from the

reflections a three-dimensional image of what this

[85] looks like. The image is processed by a computer in

the vehicle, which also collects and compares data

from a high-accuracy GPS unit. A series of ultrasonic

sonars similar to those used in vehicles to provide

parking assistance are placed around the car to add

[90] to the virtual picture. And just to make sure, a set of

accelerometers provide an inertial navigation system

that double-checks the vehicle’s position on the road.

Although these cars can be switched to an

autonomous driving mode, they are still required to

[95] have someone in the driving seat who can take over

in the event of any difficulty. Some cars can steer

themselves, slow down, brake and accelerate, even

changing lanes to overtake slower vehicles.

From the print edition: Science and Technology Jun 29th 2013

Driverless automobiles - The car that parks itself

[1] CARS that need no driver are just around the

corner according to researchers who have been

testing vehicles bristling with aerials and cameras

on public roads in America. However, researchers

[5] do not make cars, so it will be up to firms that do

to bring the technology to market. And carmakers

are a conservative bunch. Still, slowly and steadily

the autonomous car will arrive, with the help of an

increasing number of automated driving aids. A

[10] Swedish carmaker has recently demonstrated one

such feature: a car that really does park itself.

Some cars already have systems that assist with

parking, but these are not completely autonomous.

They can identify an empty parallel-parking space

[15] and steer into it while the driver uses the brake. The

Swedish system, however, lets the driver get out and

use a smartphone application to instruct the vehicle

to park. The car then trundles off, manoeuvres into

a parking place and sends a message to the driver

[20] to inform him where it is. The driver can collect the

car in person or use his phone to call it back to where

he dropped it off. Autonomous parking could thus be

provided at places like shopping centres and airports,

which are controlled areas in which automated

[25] vehicles can be managed more easily than on open

highways.

In the past, designs for doing this have relied

on car parks being fitted with buried guide wires

that a vehicle can follow to an empty bay. That,

[30] though, creates a chicken-and-egg problem: car-park

operators will not invest in such infrastructure until

there is a sufficient number of suitably equipped cars

on the road. Drivers, conversely, will not want to buy

self-parking cars if there is nowhere to use them.

[35] This means, as a safety engineer working on

the project observes, that for autonomous parking

to work most of the technology will have to be in the

car itself. The test car, which looks like a normal car,

therefore uses on-board GPS mapping, cameras with

[40] image-recognition software, and radar sensors to find

its own way around a car park and avoid pedestrians

and non-autonomous vehicles. The same engineer

says the system is five to ten years from commercial

deployment. If it proves a success then infrastructure

[45] might adapt to it, for instance by packing cars into

tighter spaces. If there is no one in them there is no

need to make room for their doors to open.

Driverless cars would also need to communicate

with one another, to enhance safety. That, too, is

[50] coming. A number of carmakers are developing

wireless networking systems through which vehicles

can exchange data, such as their speed, their steering

angle and even their weight, to forewarn anti-collision

systems and safety devices if an accident looks likely

[55] In the USA, for example, a carmaker recently

tested a brake light that can provide an early warning

to other motorists. If the brakes are applied hard in an

emergency, a signal is broadcast. This illuminates a

warning light in the dashboard of suitably equipped

[60] following vehicles, even if they are out of sight around

a bend or not immediately behind the vehicle doing

the braking.

The American company has been testing this

system as part of a collaborative research project

[65] with several European carmakers. They have put a

fleet of 150 experimental vehicles on the roads. When

they tested a group of these, the Americans found

the technology let drivers brake much earlier, helping

avoid collisions. A driverless car would be able to

[70] react even faster.

Another member of the research group has been

testing driverless cars on roads around Munich—

including belting down some of Germany’s highspeed

autobahns. The ordinary-looking models use

[75] a variety of self-contained guidance systems. These

include cameras mounted on the upper windscreen,

which can identify road markings, signs and various

obstacles likely to be encountered on roads.

The German cars also use a radar, to gauge

[80] how far the vehicle is from other cars and potential

obstacles, and a lidar, which works like a radar but

at optical frequencies. The lidar employs laser beams

to scan the road ahead and builds up from the

reflections a three-dimensional image of what this

[85] looks like. The image is processed by a computer in

the vehicle, which also collects and compares data

from a high-accuracy GPS unit. A series of ultrasonic

sonars similar to those used in vehicles to provide

parking assistance are placed around the car to add

[90] to the virtual picture. And just to make sure, a set of

accelerometers provide an inertial navigation system

that double-checks the vehicle’s position on the road.

Although these cars can be switched to an

autonomous driving mode, they are still required to

[95] have someone in the driving seat who can take over

in the event of any difficulty. Some cars can steer

themselves, slow down, brake and accelerate, even

changing lanes to overtake slower vehicles.

From the print edition: Science and Technology Jun 29th 2013

BLUEBERRIES: ONE OF NATURE’S BEST FOODS

[1] Native to North America, blueberries have been part of the human diet for more than 13,000 years, long

before being formally recognized for their healthy and anti-cancer effects. Blueberries are among the best

foods you can eat, and I recommend eating them every day. I have created easy healthy recipes, diet

recipes, smoothie recipes – using blueberries, soy milk, ground flax seed, and other natural foods — that

[5] give my patients a variety of ways to enjoy this wonderful fruit.

Since blueberries contain flavonoids and other specific phytochemicals that help protect against vascular

instability, I instruct my diabetes and heart disease patients to eat fresh blueberries every day and to eat

frozen blueberries in the wintertime.

In general, my food recommendations are based on the nutrient per calorie ratio in a particular food.

[10] More precisely, I am concerned with a food’s micro nutrient per macro nutrient ratio. There are three

macro nutrients — fat, carbohydrate and protein. All foods contain some mix of all three. Macro nutrients

are the source of all calories.

One cup of blueberries contain 80 calories and a whole pint gives you about 225 calories. Like all other

foods, the calories in blueberries come from its macro nutrients — 56 grams of carbohydrate, 1.5 grams

[15] of fat and 2.7 grams of protein. But it is blueberries’ micro nutrient content that packs the most

impressive wallop. Blueberries are packed with tannins, anthocyanins that have been linked to prevention

— and even reversal — of age related mental decline and anti-cancer effects.

Blueberries are the only food so far that has been shown not just to prevent, but actually to reverse

abnormal physical and mental decline, including coordination and balance, in aged animals. The

[20] flavonoids in blueberries — catechin, epicatechin, myricetin, quercetin, ankaempferol — are a mouthful of

strangely spelled words, but more importantly, they are extremely valuable for superior health. And

remember, phytochemicals are not optional nutrients; they are essential for normal function of your

immune system.

Slightly adapted from http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article12.aspx

SARA STULAC is a paediatrician, but doctors in Rwanda

must be adaptable. One of her first patients after arriving from

America in 2005 was a young girl with a tumour the size of a

cauliflower on her face. The girl´s father had tried traditional

[5]  healers and local doctors, but the tumour had grown, along

with expenses. An oncologist was needed. If only the country

had one. Eventually Dr Stulac called one in America who talked

her through the treatment that would save the girl´s life.

Residents of poor countries have long suffered from

[10]cancers, such as those of the liver and cervix, that are

associated with infections. But as they have grown richer,

drinking, smoking and fatty foods have led to more breast,

colorectal and lung cancer.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), low

[15]  and middle-income countries accounted for 57% of the 14m

people diagnosed with cancer worldwide in 2012 – but 65% of

the deaths. Many developing countries do not have a treatment

centre. Even when it is available, the sick often delay because

they are poor or do not know that treatment is urgent. Besides

[20]  although cancer claims more victims, it receives a tiny fraction

of the aid that goes to fighting HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.

Spotting cancer cases earlier would be a significant help.

About 90% of the patients at the Uganda Cancer Institute were

first seen with illnesses so advanced that they would have been

[25]  hard to treat anywhere, says Corey Casper, an American

oncologist who works with the clinic. Also low-tech approaches

to screening can help. Some countries, including India and

Thailand, are testing for cervical cancer using vinegar instead of

doing Pap smears, and removing precancerous lesions with

[30]  liquid nitrogen instead of pricier options. Such successes have

an unexpected benefit, too: the more that cancer is seen as

survivable, the more readily sufferers will seek timely

treatment.

A big worry is whether health-care systems designed to

[35]  treat acute illnesses would be able to handle the increased

caseload. Rwanda provides a model. It now treats several

chronic illnesses, including cancer based on the system it used

for HIV, now itself a chronic disease. Young girls receive the HPV

vaccine, data on cancer cases are stored and doctors can

[40]  consult oncologists in America as needed. In 2012 its first

modern cancer centre was opened. More young girls with

tumours are surviving as a result.

(From Worse than AIDS in The Economist, March 1st-7th 2014)