Questões de Inglês

  You know the exit is somewhere along this stretch of highway, but you have never taken it before and do not want to miss it. As you carefully scan the side of the road for the exit sign, numerous distractions intrude on your visual field: billboards, a snazzy convertible, a cell phone buzzing on the dashboard. How does your brain focus on the task at hand? 

  To answer this question, neuroscientists generally study the way the brain strengthens its response to what you are looking for – jolting itself with an especially large electrical pulse when you see it. Another mental trick may be just as important, according to a study published in April in the Journal of Neuroscience: the brain deliberately weakens its reaction to everything else so that the target seems more important in comparison.

  Such research may eventually help scientists understand what is happening in the brains of people with attention problems, such as attentionͲdeficit/hyperactivity disorder. And in a world increasingly permeated by distractions – a major contributor to traffic accidents – any insights into how the brain pays attention should get ours.

Scientific American, July 2014. Adaptado.

Segundo estudo publicado no Journal of Neuroscience, mencionado no texto,   

We can say the cartoon’s author sounds:

What is the best title for the campaign of Text II poster?

TEXT II

The biggest stars on the planet are emerging from our screens, but not the ones you first imagine, TV or cinema -- they're coming from YouTube. YouTubers, those producing content solely on the video sharing site and Vloggers, bloggers but on video, are the talking heads of the global social phenomenon and command a fan base into the tens of millions. Their video views have now reached well into the billions -- a number most business people can only dream about. While vlogging may have once been thought of as a fad for Millennials, many business people and leaders could benefit by taking tips from successful vloggers whose reach seems unstoppable. Here are a few pointers from managers of the most influential stars:

• Be authentic and unique: The key to being successful online is doing something that you're passionate about. Most bloggers began by sharing their own views in their own way, focusing on what they're good at rather than taking over the world.

• Rome wasn't built in a day: Smales hasn't seen any overnight successes. He believes it's something that's been built up over time, several years in some cases.

• Work with the competition: Business leaders may think it's counter-productive to work with their competitors and promote their products, but that's exactly what vloggers have done and it's helped their followings grow.

• Engage with your followers: YouTubers are in constant contact with their followers. Instant feedback and the close contact allows them to tailor output to what their fans want.

• Content is king: It's a cliche but the content created by the vloggers is what is behind their success and it has nothing to do with the growth of YouTube.

(Adapted from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/20/business/)

According to text, what do vloggers mainly use to publish their work?

Politicians face investigation in Brazil's biggest ever corruption scandal 

Saturday 7 March 2015 04.00 GMT 

The Guardian

Brazil’s supreme court has approved the investigation of dozens of senior politicians, including a former president and leaders of congress, for alleged connections to what prosecutors call the country’s biggest ever corruption scandal.

In total, 54 people are to be investigated by the attorney general, including 21 federal deputies and 12 senators — though that figure is expected to grow as evidence is gathered on corruption involving the state energy company Petrobras.

The investigations and any possible trials will take years to play out, but the action announced on Friday throws the second term of president Dilma Rousseff into further disarray as she faces dueling political and economic crises. She is not being investigated despite serving as chair of the Petrobras board for several years as the kickback scheme played out.

Experts say the investigations could create further gridlock in congress just as Brazil and its sputtering economy desperately need fiscal and political reform measures passed.

But the investigation is widely viewed as necessary for the nation’s democracy to advance and shake off deep-rooted impunity for the rich and powerful.

“You can’t put this genie back in the bottle. People are going to have to face the consequences,” said Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “There used to be the idea that people in positions of power in Brazil were untouchable. They’re no longer untouchable.”

Federal investigators revealed a year ago that they had started an investigation into the scheme, and efforts until now focused efforts on big construction and engineering firms that allegedly paid over $800m in bribes and other funds. The money purportedly won them inflated contracts with Petrobras, and prosecutors say some of that cash flowed into the campaign coffers of the president’s Workers’ Party and its allies. (…)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/07/brazilian-court-approves-investigation-into-politicians-in-petrobras-scanda

According to the reporting, who was investigated in the corruption scandal?

Wearable tech for kids coming from LeapFrog

By Doug Gross, CNN

updated 12:57 PM EDT, Thu May 1, 2014

 

(CNN) – The wearable technology movement is in full effect, and exercise-based activity trackers lead the way. Now, it’s becoming child’s play.

  LeapFrog, the maker of education-oriented tablets and apps for children, has unveiled1 LeapBand, a wearable activity tracker designed with kids in mind.

  The band fits around the user’s wrist and looks a lot like a kids version of a smartwatch. By performing actions like “walk like a crab,” “spin like a helicopter” or “pop like popcorn,” kids can unlock new games and a group of Pokemon-like “digital pets” on the device.

  The band connects to a website or app that lets parents monitor their children’s activities and choose which challenges they can select, and which they can’t.

  Moving past smartphones and tablets, wearable tech has become arguably the hottest digital trend in the past year or so.

(http://tinyurl.com/noswsfc Acesso em: 20.07.2014. Adaptado)

Glossário

¹ unveil: revelar, apresentar.

Assinale a alternativa que apresenta o termo like usado como uma conjunção, tal qual em “walk like a crab”, “spin like a helicopter” , “pop like popcorn”.