Questões de Inglês

The Amazon is the greatest river in the world, although not the longest. It has the greatest volume of water of any river, and also the ___12___ drainage basin – the area where it flows. The streams that feed it start near the Pacific, in the icy heights of the Andes Mountains in Peru. They flow eastwards, across Brazil, joining into bigger and bigger rivers. Eventually, they all unite in the gigantic Amazon, which meets the Atlantic at the equator. Its total length is 6,437 kilometres and it flows through about one-third of South America.

Passengers on an ocean liner heading for the mouth of the Amazon might actually meet the river about 320 kilometres from the coast, because the great force of the Amazon sends its waters right out into the Atlantic. Seen from the air, these waters make a long, muddy stain in the sea.

(Children’s Britannica, vol. 1, 1973. Adaptado.)

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS IN A THIRD WORLD CRISIS

By Elliott Leyton and Greg Locke

When the rapes and massacre, the plagues, the famines, the floods, or droughts erupt in far off places, the world stands still but MSF does not.

While others are stymied or delayed by bureaucratic red tape, the men and women of

Medicine sans Frontiers (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) move in. They provide food and clean water. They dig latrines. They set up first aid stations and field hospitals. They are often the last to remain in situations abandoned by others as too dangerous.

The risks they take are moral and ethical as well as mortal. They are acutely aware that giving aid is controversial. Does it really do any good to save a child from murder one day when it will probably starve in the weeks ahead? Is it appropriate to bring expensive western medicine into a country that, in the long run, can’t afford it? Should relief be given to civilians who are being starved on purpose, as part of a cynical political game, by a local warlord?

Elliott Leyton and Greg Locke saw something of the implications of these questions when they travelled to Rwanda in 1996. There they found themselves plunged into a humanitarian crises of epic proportions. Hundreds of thousands of people were on the move.

Armed militias and hostiles armies lurked in the background, mass starvation, plague, and an eruption into civil and criminal violence were immediate possibilities. The two Canadians, one an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of killing, the other, and experienced international photojournalist , had the rare opportunity to observe MSF in action.

They watched and listened, to the perpetrators of violence and their victims, to survivors and those who gave them assistance, and, above all, the people of MSF who dedicate themselves to save lives because, in the words of one MSFer, “The world can afford a humanitarian idea.”

The result of Leyton and Locke’s research is and extraordinary written and visual record of small miracles performed in the midst catastrophe.

(Match Point – Teacher’s Edition – Cleide Silva and Roberto Lobo. Longman, New York, 2003. Adapted.)

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

   In TV shows and movies, teenagers are often angry and unhappy. But according to a recent survey, most of today’s young people are affectionate, reasonable, and happy. In other words, teenagers are not so bad after all.

   The survey says that most teenagers get along well with their parents. Though teens go to their friends for advice on music and clothes, they go to their parents when they have a problem. They ask their parents for advice on college and careers. Most teenagers think that their parents understand and love them. Many even think that their parents are cool!

   Of course, teenagers keep secrets from their parents, but these are usually just teen items such as diaries, CDs, and magazines.

    And who do teenagers choose for their heroes? Many teens choose a family member, not a singer or an actor. Most teens say they like spending time with both parents and friends.

     In short, today’s teenagers are very nice kids. As the band The Who used to sing, the kids are all right.

Teacher’s Edition – Brian Abbs, Chris Barker, Ingrid Freebairn – Longman, New York, 2003. Adapted from Postcards 1

Turning Brown

A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, "Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?"

  "Because," his dad explained, "after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple carne into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color."

  There was a long silence. Then the son asked softly, "Daddy, are you talking to me?"   

Disponível em: http://hayspost.com. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2011.

I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans carne in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list ... That didn't look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And a man on a bicycle blew the condor away. That's what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.   JOBS, S. Disponível em: www.msnbc.msn.com. Acesso em: 28 fev. 2012 (adaptado).

Tennesse Mountain Properties

Description

  Own a renovated house for less than $290 per monthwifill New windows, siding, flooring (laminate throughout and tile in entry way and bathroom), kitchen cabinets, counter top, back door, fresh paint and laundry on main floor. Heat billsare very low due to a good solid house and an energy efficient furnace.   

Disponível em: www.freerealestaeads.net . Acesso em: 30 nov. 2011(adaptado).