Questões de Inglês

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What night lights can tell us

    Are night lights on earth captured by satellites from outer space a good way to measure inequality? Economists Praveen Chakravarty and Vivek Dehejia, from the Mumbai-based think tank IDFC Institute, certainly believe so. They acquired images grabbed by satellites from the US Air Force Defence Meteorological Satellite Programme. These satellites circle the earth 14 times a day and record lights from the earth’s surface at night with sensors.

    Using data generated by the night lights, they studied 387 of 640 districts in 12 states in India. These districts account for 85% of India’s population and 80% of its GDP1 . Some 87% of parliamentary seats are in these districts. Using the novel methodology, the economists documented income divergence in India.

    Most of India is dark at night because there is little economic activity going on. But the delicate tracery of lights as seen from space also showed that the states are becoming more unequal between and within them. And the ratio has worsened between 1992 – a year after India embraced economic reforms – and 2013.

    While the pre-1991 years show a modest trend towards convergence of income between different states, the years after show widening divergence. “What we find is that both across states and across districts within each state, this is a wide, and widening disparity in economic activity. No, it is not that the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but that the poor are not getting richer fast enough to close the gap with the already rich,” says Dr Dehejia. So why are disparities within India rising even as standards of living are going up? Some economists believe it could be due to poor governance and lack of adequate skills for jobs in poorer areas. But, in the end, it remains a puzzle.

(Soutik Biswas. www.bbc.com, 27.05.2018. Adaptado.)

 

¹ GDP: Gross Domestic Product, one of the primary indicators of the state of a country’s economy.

In the first sentence of the fourth paragraph “the pre-1991 years show a modest trend towards convergence of income”, the expression underlined means

Read the text to answer question.

 

What night lights can tell us

    Are night lights on earth captured by satellites from outer space a good way to measure inequality? Economists Praveen Chakravarty and Vivek Dehejia, from the Mumbai-based think tank IDFC Institute, certainly believe so. They acquired images grabbed by satellites from the US Air Force Defence Meteorological Satellite Programme. These satellites circle the earth 14 times a day and record lights from the earth’s surface at night with sensors.

    Using data generated by the night lights, they studied 387 of 640 districts in 12 states in India. These districts account for 85% of India’s population and 80% of its GDP1 . Some 87% of parliamentary seats are in these districts. Using the novel methodology, the economists documented income divergence in India.

    Most of India is dark at night because there is little economic activity going on. But the delicate tracery of lights as seen from space also showed that the states are becoming more unequal between and within them. And the ratio has worsened between 1992 – a year after India embraced economic reforms – and 2013.

    While the pre-1991 years show a modest trend towards convergence of income between different states, the years after show widening divergence. “What we find is that both across states and across districts within each state, this is a wide, and widening disparity in economic activity. No, it is not that the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but that the poor are not getting richer fast enough to close the gap with the already rich,” says Dr Dehejia. So why are disparities within India rising even as standards of living are going up? Some economists believe it could be due to poor governance and lack of adequate skills for jobs in poorer areas. But, in the end, it remains a puzzle.

(Soutik Biswas. www.bbc.com, 27.05.2018. Adaptado.)

 

¹ GDP: Gross Domestic Product, one of the primary indicators of the state of a country’s economy.

The “novel methodology” mentioned in the article consists of

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    Is owning a dog good for your health?

 

    Dogs really are our best friends, according to a Swedish study that says canine ownership could reduce heart disease. A study of 3.4 million people between the ages of 40 and 80 found that having a dog was associated with a 23% reduction in death from heart disease and a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause over the 12 years of the study.

    Previous studies have suggested dogs relieve social isolation and depression – both linked to an increased risk of heart disease and early death. Dog owners show better responses to stress, their blood pressure and pulse rates don’t soar, have higher levels of physical activity and slightly lower cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association was sufficiently swayed by a review of dozens of studies to release a statement in 2013 saying that owning a dog “was probably” associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Their reluctance to more strongly endorse dog ownership is because most studies are what is called observational – researchers note an association, but can’t prove causation. This means that other factors might explain why dog owners are healthier than, say, goldfish owners – for example, perhaps only people who are fit in the first place buy pets that need daily walks.

    Tove Fall, an epidemiologist and the lead author of this latest study, says they tried their best to allow for any differences in education, existing ill-health and lifestyles between those with and without dogs. The study found the biggest positive impact of having a dog was on people living alone. “It seems that a dog can be a substitute for living with other people in terms of reducing the risk of dying,” says Fall. “Dogs encourage you to walk, they provide social support and they make life more meaningful. If you have a dog, you interact more with other people. If you do get ill and go into hospital and you have a dog, there’s a huge motivation to try to get back home.” Of course, getting a dog and watching it from your sofa while you eat fatty food is not going to reduce your risk of heart disease.

(Luisa Dillner. www.theguardian.com, 04.12.2017. Adaptado.)

In the excerpt from the last paragraph “the lead author of this latest study”, the underlined word expresses an idea of

Leia o texto para responder a questão.

 

    Is owning a dog good for your health?

 

    Dogs really are our best friends, according to a Swedish study that says canine ownership could reduce heart disease. A study of 3.4 million people between the ages of 40 and 80 found that having a dog was associated with a 23% reduction in death from heart disease and a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause over the 12 years of the study.

    Previous studies have suggested dogs relieve social isolation and depression – both linked to an increased risk of heart disease and early death. Dog owners show better responses to stress, their blood pressure and pulse rates don’t soar, have higher levels of physical activity and slightly lower cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association was sufficiently swayed by a review of dozens of studies to release a statement in 2013 saying that owning a dog “was probably” associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Their reluctance to more strongly endorse dog ownership is because most studies are what is called observational – researchers note an association, but can’t prove causation. This means that other factors might explain why dog owners are healthier than, say, goldfish owners – for example, perhaps only people who are fit in the first place buy pets that need daily walks.

    Tove Fall, an epidemiologist and the lead author of this latest study, says they tried their best to allow for any differences in education, existing ill-health and lifestyles between those with and without dogs. The study found the biggest positive impact of having a dog was on people living alone. “It seems that a dog can be a substitute for living with other people in terms of reducing the risk of dying,” says Fall. “Dogs encourage you to walk, they provide social support and they make life more meaningful. If you have a dog, you interact more with other people. If you do get ill and go into hospital and you have a dog, there’s a huge motivation to try to get back home.” Of course, getting a dog and watching it from your sofa while you eat fatty food is not going to reduce your risk of heart disease.

(Luisa Dillner. www.theguardian.com, 04.12.2017. Adaptado.)

In the excerpt from the second paragraph “other factors might explain”, the underlined word expresses

Leia o texto para responder a questão.

 

    Is owning a dog good for your health?

 

    Dogs really are our best friends, according to a Swedish study that says canine ownership could reduce heart disease. A study of 3.4 million people between the ages of 40 and 80 found that having a dog was associated with a 23% reduction in death from heart disease and a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause over the 12 years of the study.

    Previous studies have suggested dogs relieve social isolation and depression – both linked to an increased risk of heart disease and early death. Dog owners show better responses to stress, their blood pressure and pulse rates don’t soar, have higher levels of physical activity and slightly lower cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association was sufficiently swayed by a review of dozens of studies to release a statement in 2013 saying that owning a dog “was probably” associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Their reluctance to more strongly endorse dog ownership is because most studies are what is called observational – researchers note an association, but can’t prove causation. This means that other factors might explain why dog owners are healthier than, say, goldfish owners – for example, perhaps only people who are fit in the first place buy pets that need daily walks.

    Tove Fall, an epidemiologist and the lead author of this latest study, says they tried their best to allow for any differences in education, existing ill-health and lifestyles between those with and without dogs. The study found the biggest positive impact of having a dog was on people living alone. “It seems that a dog can be a substitute for living with other people in terms of reducing the risk of dying,” says Fall. “Dogs encourage you to walk, they provide social support and they make life more meaningful. If you have a dog, you interact more with other people. If you do get ill and go into hospital and you have a dog, there’s a huge motivation to try to get back home.” Of course, getting a dog and watching it from your sofa while you eat fatty food is not going to reduce your risk of heart disease.

(Luisa Dillner. www.theguardian.com, 04.12.2017. Adaptado.)

No trecho do segundo parágrafo “their blood pressure and pulse rates don’t soar”, a palavra sublinhada refere-se a

Humor in the cartoon derives from the fact that