Questões de Inglês

Phonetic Clues Hint Language Is Africa-Born

 

A researcher analyzing the sounds in languages spoken around the world has detected an ancient signal that points to southern Africa as the place where modern human language originated. 

 

The finding fits well with the evidence from fossil skulls and DNA that modern humans originated in Africa. It also implies, though does not prove, that modern language originated only once, an issue of considerable controversy among linguists.

 

 

The detection of such an ancient signal in language is surprising. Because words change so rapidly, many linguists think that languages cannot be traced very far back in time. The oldest language tree so far reconstructed, that of the Indo-European family, which includes English, goes back 9,000 years at most. 

 

Quentin D. Atkinson, a biologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, has shattered this time barrier, if his claim is correct, by looking not at words but at phonemes - the consonants, vowels and tones that are the simplest elements of language. Dr. Atkinson has found a simple but striking pattern in some 500 languages spoken throughout the world: a language area uses fewer phonemes the farther that early humans had to travel from Africa to reach it

(Adaptado de: . Acesso em: 1 ago. 2011.)

 

De acordo com o texto, é correto afirmar:

 

I. Até onde se sabe, a língua inglesa pertence ao ramo de uma língua mais antiga, o Indo-Europeu.

II. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida através do estudo dos elementos mais simples da língua.

III. A pesquisa indica o sul do continente africano como o local de origem da linguagem moderna.

IV. A pesquisa baseou-se em quinhentos manuscritos produzidos nas línguas investigadas.

 

Assinale a alternativa CORRETA

Cool beans, rents! Mothers and fathers are finally being given a chance to understand ‘Teenglish’. They can study a new glossary of baffling vocabulary to prevent them looking like a ‘fudge’ in front of their offspring.

The guide, Pimp Your Vocab, aims to demystify the jargon used by teenagers and young people. It translates words they regularly use including ‘cool beans’ which means something is great.

‘Rents’ means parents, combining the last half of the word with the fact they often provide rent-free accommodation. A ‘fudge’ is an idiot. 

Author Lucy Tobin said she got the idea during her English degree course when a tutor was confused by a student declaring: ‘I was IM-ing ...’ She added: ‘After we students explained IM-ing - when you talk to friends online via instant messaging – I wrote a guide to the language kids use’. Miss Tobin believes that the guide could help improve staff-student communication

She said: ‘In communicating with a Teenglish-speaking randomer (an outsider to your social group) their words can seem like a new language’. Teachers and academics have already complained that Teenglish and ‘text message speak’ are creeping into exam answers. 

But last year, John Wells, president of the Spelling Society, claimed that the informal language of texts, chat rooms and emails were the ’way forward’. 

He said that people should stop worrying about ‘text message speak’ creeping into general usage and called for the apostrophe to be abolished.

Professor Wells said: ‘Let’s stop worrying if people sometimes spell ‘you’ as ‘u’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ both as ‘ur’; and ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ both as ‘whos’.

‘Nowadays we often see ‘light’ written as ‘lite’ and ‘through’ as ‘thru’.’

(Adaptado de: HARRIS, S. Teenglish: From Frape to Neek - the words used by teenagers that baffle adults. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 13 jul. 2011.)

 

Sobre o Teenglish, considere as afirmativas a seguir.

 

I. Pode parecer uma língua estranha a quem não pertence ao grupo de jovens e adolescentes que a utiliza.

II. Facilita a comunicação entre jovens e adolescentes falantes de diferentes línguas que se relacionam no ambiente escolar norte-americano.

III. É uma linguagem que deve desaparecer à medida que os jovens e adolescentes forem se habituando a utilizar o inglês padrão.

IV. Tem sido motivo de preocupação de professores e acadêmicos, que já veem sinais dessa linguagem em provas e trabalhos escolares.

 

Assinale a alternativa CORRETA.

Cool beans, rents! Mothers and fathers are finally being given a chance to understand ‘Teenglish’. They can study a new glossary of baffling vocabulary to prevent them looking like a ‘fudge’ in front of their offspring.

The guide, Pimp Your Vocab, aims to demystify the jargon used by teenagers and young people. It translates words they regularly use including ‘cool beans’ which means something is great.

‘Rents’ means parents, combining the last half of the word with the fact they often provide rent-free accommodation. A ‘fudge’ is an idiot. 

Author Lucy Tobin said she got the idea during her English degree course when a tutor was confused by a student declaring: ‘I was IM-ing ...’ She added: ‘After we students explained IM-ing - when you talk to friends online via instant messaging – I wrote a guide to the language kids use’. Miss Tobin believes that the guide could help improve staff-student communication

She said: ‘In communicating with a Teenglish-speaking randomer (an outsider to your social group) their words can seem like a new language’. Teachers and academics have already complained that Teenglish and ‘text message speak’ are creeping into exam answers. 

But last year, John Wells, president of the Spelling Society, claimed that the informal language of texts, chat rooms and emails were the ’way forward’. 

He said that people should stop worrying about ‘text message speak’ creeping into general usage and called for the apostrophe to be abolished.

Professor Wells said: ‘Let’s stop worrying if people sometimes spell ‘you’ as ‘u’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ both as ‘ur’; and ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ both as ‘whos’.

‘Nowadays we often see ‘light’ written as ‘lite’ and ‘through’ as ‘thru’.’

(Adaptado de: HARRIS, S. Teenglish: From Frape to Neek - the words used by teenagers that baffle adults. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 13 jul. 2011.)

 

De acordo com o texto, na visão de John Wells,

Cool beans, rents! Mothers and fathers are finally being given a chance to understand ‘Teenglish’. They can study a new glossary of baffling vocabulary to prevent them looking like a ‘fudge’ in front of their offspring.

The guide, Pimp Your Vocab, aims to demystify the jargon used by teenagers and young people. It translates words they regularly use including ‘cool beans’ which means something is great.

‘Rents’ means parents, combining the last half of the word with the fact they often provide rent-free accommodation. A ‘fudge’ is an idiot. 

Author Lucy Tobin said she got the idea during her English degree course when a tutor was confused by a student declaring: ‘I was IM-ing ...’ She added: ‘After we students explained IM-ing - when you talk to friends online via instant messaging – I wrote a guide to the language kids use’. Miss Tobin believes that the guide could help improve staff-student communication

She said: ‘In communicating with a Teenglish-speaking randomer (an outsider to your social group) their words can seem like a new language’. Teachers and academics have already complained that Teenglish and ‘text message speak’ are creeping into exam answers. 

But last year, John Wells, president of the Spelling Society, claimed that the informal language of texts, chat rooms and emails were the ’way forward’. 

He said that people should stop worrying about ‘text message speak’ creeping into general usage and called for the apostrophe to be abolished.

Professor Wells said: ‘Let’s stop worrying if people sometimes spell ‘you’ as ‘u’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ both as ‘ur’; and ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ both as ‘whos’.

‘Nowadays we often see ‘light’ written as ‘lite’ and ‘through’ as ‘thru’.’

(Adaptado de: HARRIS, S. Teenglish: From Frape to Neek - the words used by teenagers that baffle adults. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 13 jul. 2011.)

 

De acordo com o texto, o livro Pimp Your Vocab objetiva

The anti-social network: avoiding online darkness

By Michael Millar Business reporter, BBC News

 

A 75-year-old Georgian woman who says she has never even heard of the internet is facing a possible prison sentence for single-handedly cutting off the web to an entire country. Georgian police arrested Hayastan Shakarian after she allegedly hacked through a fibre optic cable that runs through Georgia to Armenia, while digging for copper.

With one stroke, the pensioner plunged 90% of internet users in Armenia into online darkness for nearly 12 hours.

The episode is a timely reminder that all it takes in our hi-tech world to shut down thousands of companies for a day is a determined old lady with a spade. Research carried out in October 2010 by Avanti Communications offered a snapshot of just how fundamental the internet had become to businesses. The survey of companies worldwide suggested only 1% could function adequately without the internet.More than a quarter (27%) of those surveyed said they could not function at all if the internet went down, and one in five said a week without being online would be the death of their company. Some solutions on offer are quite straightforward. One network provider, Geo, runs all its cable through the Victorian sewers in London. This solves one of the major problems that makes telecoms lines in many countries susceptible to being cut - they are laid on top of utility pipes. Not only does this mean they are mere centimetres under the ground - but whenever repairs are done to utilities, the workmen have to get past the fibre optic wires first, meaning inevitable incidences of cuts. Other technologies on offer to providers - which will in turn help their customer stay connected - are mindboggling. For example, a company called OptaSense offers to stop potential breaks in service by listening to any threats as they approach.Using advanced sonar techniques, the company converts the fibre optic cable carrying the precious internet signal into an acoustic microphone.It can then tell the network provider exactly what is getting too close for comfort - be it a vehicle, human footsteps, digging or drilling. Avanti Communications is one of a handful of companies that offer 24-hour instantaneous back-up via a dedicated satellite.It launched its first satellite in November, which covers Europe, and plans to launch one covering the Middle East and India next year. Chief executive David Williams says satellite technology will play an ever more important role in communications networks. "Fibre optic cable costs around £150 per metre to dig, so building cable networks is incredibly expensive," he says."But one satellite can cover the whole of Europe - so wherever you are, it can get to you."

The future of networks is causing sleepless nights for IT professionals and policy makers alike.

The appetite for data across the globe is growing at an extraordinary rate and is putting an immense strain on the system. "A lot of the basis of the internet today was invented 30 years ago," says Tim Fritzley, InTune Networks chief executive. "In the 90's when people were envisioning the first part of the web even the most optimistic ones never saw anything like social networking." "They didn't see 10% of what is going on now," he says. InTune is working with the Irish government to vastly increase network capability worldwide by enabling a single strand of fibre to carry not just one signal from one operator, but data from up to 80 telecoms and TV companies at once. Developers are working furiously to make sure our increasing hunger for data does not mean a collapse of the system. But whether this will protect users from marauding pensioners looking for copper remains to be seen.

Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/, 21 April 2011.

Based on the text it is possible to affirm that some of the following statements are true. Select the correct alternatives:

 

I. Only 1% of the Armenian companies could function adequately without the internet.

II. Geo, a cable provider, runs all its cable through the Victorian sewers in London.

III. Avanti Communications launched its first satellite in November.

IV. Tim Fritzley said when people were envisioning the first part of the web they could never imagine it would become as important as it is today.

The anti-social network: avoiding online darkness

By Michael Millar Business reporter, BBC News

 

A 75-year-old Georgian woman who says she has never even heard of the internet is facing a possible prison sentence for single-handedly cutting off the web to an entire country. Georgian police arrested Hayastan Shakarian after she allegedly hacked through a fibre optic cable that runs through Georgia to Armenia, while digging for copper.

With one stroke, the pensioner plunged 90% of internet users in Armenia into online darkness for nearly 12 hours.

The episode is a timely reminder that all it takes in our hi-tech world to shut down thousands of companies for a day is a determined old lady with a spade. Research carried out in October 2010 by Avanti Communications offered a snapshot of just how fundamental the internet had become to businesses. The survey of companies worldwide suggested only 1% could function adequately without the internet.More than a quarter (27%) of those surveyed said they could not function at all if the internet went down, and one in five said a week without being online would be the death of their company. Some solutions on offer are quite straightforward. One network provider, Geo, runs all its cable through the Victorian sewers in London. This solves one of the major problems that makes telecoms lines in many countries susceptible to being cut - they are laid on top of utility pipes. Not only does this mean they are mere centimetres under the ground - but whenever repairs are done to utilities, the workmen have to get past the fibre optic wires first, meaning inevitable incidences of cuts. Other technologies on offer to providers - which will in turn help their customer stay connected - are mindboggling. For example, a company called OptaSense offers to stop potential breaks in service by listening to any threats as they approach.Using advanced sonar techniques, the company converts the fibre optic cable carrying the precious internet signal into an acoustic microphone.It can then tell the network provider exactly what is getting too close for comfort - be it a vehicle, human footsteps, digging or drilling. Avanti Communications is one of a handful of companies that offer 24-hour instantaneous back-up via a dedicated satellite.It launched its first satellite in November, which covers Europe, and plans to launch one covering the Middle East and India next year. Chief executive David Williams says satellite technology will play an ever more important role in communications networks. "Fibre optic cable costs around £150 per metre to dig, so building cable networks is incredibly expensive," he says."But one satellite can cover the whole of Europe - so wherever you are, it can get to you."

The future of networks is causing sleepless nights for IT professionals and policy makers alike.

The appetite for data across the globe is growing at an extraordinary rate and is putting an immense strain on the system. "A lot of the basis of the internet today was invented 30 years ago," says Tim Fritzley, InTune Networks chief executive. "In the 90's when people were envisioning the first part of the web even the most optimistic ones never saw anything like social networking." "They didn't see 10% of what is going on now," he says. InTune is working with the Irish government to vastly increase network capability worldwide by enabling a single strand of fibre to carry not just one signal from one operator, but data from up to 80 telecoms and TV companies at once. Developers are working furiously to make sure our increasing hunger for data does not mean a collapse of the system. But whether this will protect users from marauding pensioners looking for copper remains to be seen.

Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/, 21 April 2011.

In the text “The anti-social network: avoiding online darkness” there is the sentence “Avanti Communications is one of a handful of companies”. The expression a handful of is similar in meaning to:

 

I. Some.

II. A lot of.

III. A large quantity.

IV. A small quantity.

 

Mark the correct option: