Questões de Inglês - Interpretação de texto
Texto para a questão.
When one of the most important e-mail messages of his life landed in his in-box a few years ago, Kord Campbell overlooked it.
By
MATT RICHTEL
SAN FRANCISCO — When one of the most important e-mail messages of his life landed in his in-box a few years ago, Kord Campbell overlooked it.
Not just for a day or two, but 12 days. He finally saw it while sifting through old messages: A big company wanted to buy his Internet start-up.
The message had slipped by him amid an electronic flood: two computer screens alive with e-mail, instant messages, online chats, a Web browser and the computer code he was writing.
While he managed to salvage the $1.3 million deal after apologizing to his suitor, Campbell continues to struggle with the effects of the deluge of data. Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets. He forgets things like dinner plans, and he has trouble focusing on his family.
His wife, Brenda, complains, “It seems like he can no longer be fully in the moment.” This is your brain on computers.
Disponível em: https://www.seattletimes.com/. Acesso em: 14 ago. 2023. (Adaptado).
O motivo de Kord Campbell não ter visto o e-mail de grande importância foi por causa
Vinicius Jr case opens wider racism debate in Spain
Insults aimed at Real Madrid soccer player Vinicius Jr have triggered a fierce debate about racism in sport and whether Spanish society has a problem with the issue.
Spanish police have arrested three people in connection with racist abuse directed at Vinicius Jr, who confronted fans of Valencia football club in the Mestalla stadium who he accused of directing monkey chants at him. After the match, the Brazilian international said the Spanish football league “belongs to racists”. […]
Disponível em: https//: bbc.com. Acesso em: 16 nov. 2023.
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Discoveries of aquifers — underground earth formations that hold water — often create excitement around their ability to ease water scarcity in a region. The United States recently announced the discovery of five aquifers in Niger, one of Africa’s most water scarce countries, containing over 600 billion cubic metres of water. To put it into perspective, Egypt’s current water demand is 114 billion cubic metres of water per year.
These are welcome announcements. Due to a changing climate and the increasing demands of a growing population, many of Africa’s surface water resources — such as dams and rivers — are facing serious risks. They’re being overused and slowly decreasing.
Alternative water sources, like aquifers, need to be explored. They are highly prevalent across the African continent, but they’re not always going to help address water scarcity. For instance, early research findings deemed Kenya’s Turkana aquifer water unfit for use due to high salinity. It’s important to bear these challenges in mind so that expectations can be managed. It is also useful for planners and governments, as they need to think of other ways around the water scarcity problem.
(Gaathier Mahed. https://theconversation.com, 21.03.2023. Adaptado.)
A frase do texto que expressa ideia de causa é:
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Some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) researchers are calling for a pause on research into AI, claiming that safety issues must first be urgently addressed. If not, the outcomes could be devastating for humanity. Others say any pause in development would not only be impractical to enforce on a global scale, but could also stand in the way of advances that could both improve and save lives.
The AI that is currently available already has the power to radically alter society, in new ways that we are seeing every day. So how might it progress over the coming years? Are we on the brink of an artificial intelligence-powered utopia or dystopia?
Firstly, technology has been automating jobs since the Industrial Revolution, though never before has it happened on this scale. Everyone from truck drivers to voice over artists are at risk of being replaced by AI. A recent study found that just over 30 jobs are considered safe from automation in the near future. They range from mechanics to athletes, though they represent just a sliver of the current labour market. While new jobs will be created, there is a significant chance that the majority of the population will be left jobless. This could either lead to:
Utopia: A new leisure class emerges, living off a universal basic income funded by taxes on robots and the companies that operate them.
Dystopia: Mass unemployment results in social unrest, similar to the way laid off factory workers trashed the machines that replaced them. With so many jobs at risk and the potential for huge wealth inequality, some fear it could ultimately result in societal collapse.
Secondly, artificial intelligence is already contributing to major scientific advances, dramatically accelerating the time it takes to make discoveries. It has been used to invent millions of materials that did not previously exist, find potential drug molecules 1,000 times faster than previous methods, and improve our understanding of the universe. This could either lead to:
Utopia: Cancer and all other life-threatening diseases are cured, leading to a new age of health and prosperity. Scientists are already using AI tools to make breakthroughs in longevity medicine, which aims to end or even reverse ageing.
Dystopia: The same AI-enabled technology could be used for malevolent purposes, creating entirely new diseases and viruses. These could be used as bioweapons, capable of devastating populations that don’t have access to cures or the tech needed to develop them.
(Anthony Cuthbertson. www.independent.co.uk, 03.05.2023. Adaptado.)
In the excerpt from the seventh paragraph “which aims to end or even reverse ageing”, the underlined word refers to
TEXTO
Ovid on climate change
(Eliza Griswold)
Bastard, the other boys teased him,
till Phaethon unleashed the steeds
of Armageddon. He couldn’t hold
their reins. Driving the sun too close
to earth, the boy withered rivers,
torched Eucalyptus groves, until the hills
burst into flame, and the people’s blood
boiled through the skin. Ethiopia,
land of burnt faces. In a boy’s rage
for a name, the myth of race begins.
Disponível em: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/55952/ovidon-climate-change. Acesso em: 18 set. 2023.
O poema faz alusão ao mito de Ovídio para abordar a questão da mudança climática.
A narrativa prioriza o uso: