Questões de Inglês

Most people can remember a phone number for

up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time

elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the

memory. How did the information get there in the

first place? Information that makes its way to the

short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory

storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows

stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the

STM, also known as the working memory.

There is much debate about the capacity and

duration of the short term memory. The most

accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a

cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans

can remember approximately seven chunks of

information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit

of information, such as a word or name rather than

just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that

one can increase the capacity of the short term

memory by chunking, or classifying similar

information together. By organizing information,

one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances

of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

When making a conscious effort to memorize

something, such as information for an exam, many

people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating

something over and over again, one is able to keep a

memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory

maintenance only succeeds if there are no

interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing

the information, it has the tendency to disappear.

When a pen and paper are not handy, people often

attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it

aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come

in before a person has the opportunity to make a

phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.

Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to

pass information from the short term to long term

memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate

rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic

meaning to a piece of information so that it can be

filed along with other pre-existing long term

memories.

Encoding information semantically also makes it

more retrievable. Retrieving information can be

done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily

recall memories that are stored in the long term

memory and used often; however, if a memory seems

to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by

prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as

pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.

This is why multiple choice tests are often used for

subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado) 

Most people can remember a phone number for

up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time

elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the

memory. How did the information get there in the

first place? Information that makes its way to the

short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory

storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows

stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the

STM, also known as the working memory.

There is much debate about the capacity and

duration of the short term memory. The most

accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a

cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans

can remember approximately seven chunks of

information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit

of information, such as a word or name rather than

just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that

one can increase the capacity of the short term

memory by chunking, or classifying similar

information together. By organizing information,

one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances

of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

When making a conscious effort to memorize

something, such as information for an exam, many

people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating

something over and over again, one is able to keep a

memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory

maintenance only succeeds if there are no

interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing

the information, it has the tendency to disappear.

When a pen and paper are not handy, people often

attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it

aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come

in before a person has the opportunity to make a

phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.

Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to

pass information from the short term to long term

memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate

rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic

meaning to a piece of information so that it can be

filed along with other pre-existing long term

memories.

Encoding information semantically also makes it

more retrievable. Retrieving information can be

done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily

recall memories that are stored in the long term

memory and used often; however, if a memory seems

to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by

prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as

pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.

This is why multiple choice tests are often used for

subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado) 

Most people can remember a phone number for

up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time

elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the

memory. How did the information get there in the

first place? Information that makes its way to the

short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory

storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows

stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the

STM, also known as the working memory.

There is much debate about the capacity and

duration of the short term memory. The most

accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a

cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans

can remember approximately seven chunks of

information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit

of information, such as a word or name rather than

just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that

one can increase the capacity of the short term

memory by chunking, or classifying similar

information together. By organizing information,

one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances

of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

When making a conscious effort to memorize

something, such as information for an exam, many

people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating

something over and over again, one is able to keep a

memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory

maintenance only succeeds if there are no

interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing

the information, it has the tendency to disappear.

When a pen and paper are not handy, people often

attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it

aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come

in before a person has the opportunity to make a

phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.

Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to

pass information from the short term to long term

memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate

rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic

meaning to a piece of information so that it can be

filed along with other pre-existing long term

memories.

Encoding information semantically also makes it

more retrievable. Retrieving information can be

done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily

recall memories that are stored in the long term

memory and used often; however, if a memory seems

to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by

prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as

pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.

This is why multiple choice tests are often used for

subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado) 

Most people can remember a phone number for

up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time

elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the

memory. How did the information get there in the

first place? Information that makes its way to the

short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory

storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows

stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the

STM, also known as the working memory.

There is much debate about the capacity and

duration of the short term memory. The most

accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a

cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans

can remember approximately seven chunks of

information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit

of information, such as a word or name rather than

just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that

one can increase the capacity of the short term

memory by chunking, or classifying similar

information together. By organizing information,

one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances

of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

When making a conscious effort to memorize

something, such as information for an exam, many

people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating

something over and over again, one is able to keep a

memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory

maintenance only succeeds if there are no

interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing

the information, it has the tendency to disappear.

When a pen and paper are not handy, people often

attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it

aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come

in before a person has the opportunity to make a

phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.

Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to

pass information from the short term to long term

memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate

rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic

meaning to a piece of information so that it can be

filed along with other pre-existing long term

memories.

Encoding information semantically also makes it

more retrievable. Retrieving information can be

done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily

recall memories that are stored in the long term

memory and used often; however, if a memory seems

to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by

prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as

pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.

This is why multiple choice tests are often used for

subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado) 

Most people can remember a phone number for

up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time

elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the

memory. How did the information get there in the

first place? Information that makes its way to the

short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory

storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows

stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the

STM, also known as the working memory.

There is much debate about the capacity and

duration of the short term memory. The most

accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a

cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans

can remember approximately seven chunks of

information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit

of information, such as a word or name rather than

just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that

one can increase the capacity of the short term

memory by chunking, or classifying similar

information together. By organizing information,

one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances

of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

When making a conscious effort to memorize

something, such as information for an exam, many

people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating

something over and over again, one is able to keep a

memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory

maintenance only succeeds if there are no

interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing

the information, it has the tendency to disappear.

When a pen and paper are not handy, people often

attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it

aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come

in before a person has the opportunity to make a

phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.

Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to

pass information from the short term to long term

memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate

rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic

meaning to a piece of information so that it can be

filed along with other pre-existing long term

memories.

Encoding information semantically also makes it

more retrievable. Retrieving information can be

done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily

recall memories that are stored in the long term

memory and used often; however, if a memory seems

to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by

prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as

pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.

This is why multiple choice tests are often used for

subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado) 

Right now, I am looking at a shelf full of relics, a collection of has-beens, old-timers, antiques, fossils. Right now I am looking at a shelf full of books. Yes, that's right. If you have some spare cash (the going rate is about $89) and are looking to enhance your reading experience, then I highly suggest you consider purchasing an e-reader. Ereaders are replacing the books of old, and I welcome them with open arms (as you should). 

If you haven’t heard of an e-reader and don’t know what it is, then please permit the following explanation. An e-reader is a device that allows you to read e-books. An e-book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as an electronic version of a printed book, but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. 

So now you know what an e-reader is. But you still may be wondering why they put printed books to shame. E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space, are environmentally friendly, and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. 

E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space. The average e-reader can store thousands of digital books, providing a veritable library at your fingertips. What is more, being the size and weight of a thin hardback, the ereader itself is relatively petite. It is easy to hold and can fit in a pocketbook or briefcase easily. This makes handling ponderous behemoths such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Les Misérables a breeze. Perhaps the only drawback to the spacesaving aspect of an e-reader is that it requires you to find new things to put on your shelves. 

In addition, e-readers are superior to books because they are environmentally friendly. The average novel is about 300 pages long. So, if a novel is printed 1000 times, it will use 300,000 pieces of paper. That’s a lot of paper! If there are about 80,000 pieces of paper in a tree, this means it takes almost 4 trees to make these 1000 books. Now, we know that the average bestseller sells about 20,000 copies per week. That means that it takes over 300 trees each month to sustain this rate. And for the super bestsellers, these figures increase dramatically. For example, the Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies. That’s about 2 million trees! Upon viewing these figures, it is not hard to grasp the severe impact of printed books on the environment. Since e-readers use no trees, they represent a significant amount of preservation in terms of the environment and its resources. 

Finally, e-readers are superior to books because they provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. The typical e-reader allows its user to customize letter size, font, and line spacing. It also allows highlighting and electronic bookmarking. Furthermore, it grants users the ability to get an overview of a book and then jump to a specific location based on that overview. While these are all nice features, perhaps the most helpful of all is the ability to get dictionary definitions at the touch of a finger. On even the most basic e-reader, users can conjure instant definitions without having to hunt through a physical dictionary. 

It can be seen that e-readers are superior to pr int ed books . They save space , are environmentally friendly, and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. So what good are printed books? Well, they certainly make nice decorations. © 

Adapted from: http://www.englishforeveryone.org