Questões de Concurso Comentadas sobre artigos | articles em inglês

O texto a seguir refere-se às questões 29, 30, 31 e 32.

Learning to quit

Jodi Hall started smoking at age 9.

By the time she was 16, she was up to a pack a day – and she wanted to quit. A couple of reasons: one, her health; two, a guy named Mony. “He said that when he kissed me, it was like kissing an ashtray”, Jodi says.

Earlier this year, Jodi, along with 25 of her classmates at Johnson High School, in Savannah, GA, enrolled in the school’s first stop-smoking class. During the eight-week Tobacco Free Teen class, they learned what smoking can do to their body, their wallet and their grades (some kids end up cutting class to satisfy their nicotine cravings). But it wasn’t just about scare tactics. The goal is behavior modification, not punishment, so students are taught techniques for handling stress and resisting the urge to light up even when friends or parents do.

According to the American Lung Association (ALA), which sponsors the class, about half the adults who smoke were regular smokers by age 18. “Theses numbers are only going to get worse,” says Kristine Lewis of the ALA. “The tobacco industry is turning to teens.”

How did the students do? Jodi has been cigaretteless for three months. But she’s the only one. Her classmate Adam Cushman is slowly putting his way back to three packs a day. The 16-year-old says he wants to stop, “but the way things are going, I doubt I’ll be able to.”

Seventeen, June 1996.

This text refers to questions from 35 through 37

Letters to the editor

1 Dear Editor:

I’m sick and tired of the traffic in this city! It is so bad

that I can never get anywhere on time. There are too many

4 cars on the road, and most of them have only one person in

them. Another problem is the buses. They are so old and slow

that nobody wants to take them. They are noisy and very dirty.

7 You can’t even see out the windows! Also, the taxi drivers are

rude. They never know where they are going, and they take a

long time to get someplace. Taxis are expensive, too. And the

10 subway is just too crowded and dangerous. What are we going

to do?

Jack C. Richards In: New Interchange 2. Interchange activities 2, Cambridge University Press (adapted).

This text refers to questions from 30 through 34

Choosing an ecodestination

1 Imagine visiting an uncrowded, beautifully preserved

coastline or rain forest. A local guide is ready and able to

explain the natural wonders before you. Imagine relaxing

4 among local people who are genuinely happy to meet you and

share their world. This vision is no fantasy. Vacations for

environmentally and culturally aware travelers are available

7 in many locations around the world.

In Brazil, an ecoresort on the coast of Bahia helps to

save the Atlantic rain forest, one of the most endangered on

10 earth. Visitors can explore the forest with “mini guides”, local

children who take great pride in the beauty of their forest.

Visitors can also spend time at a sea turtle breeding facility

13 next to the resort. Here they can learn how villagers protect

the nesting sea turtles every night on the beach in front of the

tourists’ hotel.

16 Off the coast of Western Samoa — a Pacific island

known for its unique culture and exotic scenery — lies a very

special small island. On this island, local villagers still fish in

19 the early morning hours and weave their nets during the day.

Villagers warmly welcome visitors by preparing meals of

fresh, local seafood. Later, guests are invited to take part in a

22 ceremonial dance on the beach under the stars. After the

ceremony, guests retire to a locally owned hotel and enjoy the

sounds of the South Sea.

Jack C. Richards e Samuela Eckstut-Didier. In: Strategic Reading 1, Cambridge University Press (adapted).

THERE ARE 10 QUESTIONS OF MULTIPLE CHOICE IN YOUR TEST. EACH QUESTION HAS 4 ALTERNATIVES (A, B, C, AND D) FROM WHICH ONLY ONE IS CORRECT. CHECK THE CORRECT ONE.

Instruções: Considere o texto a seguir para responder às questões de números 37 a 44.

After nearly a decade of trying, Wal-Mart never cracked the country – failing to become the all-in-one shopping destination for Germans that it is for so many millions of Americans. Wal-Mart's problems are not limited to Germany. The retail giant has struggled in countries like South Korea and Japan as it discovered that its formula for success – low prices, zealous inventory control and a large array of merchandise – did not translate to markets with their own discount chains and shoppers with different habits.

Some of Wal-Mart's problems stem from being a uniquely powerful American enterprise trying to impose its values around the world. At Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., however, the message from these missteps is now registering loud and clear.

Among other things, Wal-Mart now cares (37) whether its foreign stores carry the name derived from its founder, Sam Walton, as the German Wal-Marts do. Seventy percent of WalMart's international sales come from outlets with names like Asda in Britain, Seiyu in Japan or Bompreço in Brazil. Far from being chastened by its setbacks, Wal-Mart is forging ahead with an aggressive program of foreign acquisitions. In a single week last fall, Wal-Mart completed the purchase of the Sonae chain in Brazil, bought a controlling stake in Seiyu of Japan, and became a partner in the Carcho chain in Central America.

Starting from scratch 14 years ago, Wal-Mart International [TO GROW] into a $63 billion business. It is the fastest-growing part of Wal-Mart, with nearly 30 percent sales growth in June, compared with the same month last year. Even subtracting one-time gains from acquisitions, it grew at nearly 12 percent, about double the rate of Wal-Mart's American stores.

Sustaining that pace is critical for Wal-Mart, because high fuel prices have helped sap the buying power of Americans. In June, store traffic in its home market declined. Wal-Mart estimated that its sales in the United States in stores open at least one year would increase only 1 percent to 3 percent in July.

Another problem that has afflicted Wal-Mart in several countries is its inability to compete with established discounters. The obvious lesson is to try to bulk up. In Brazil, Wal-Mart opened only 25 stores in its first decade there and struggled to compete against bigger local rivals. Then, in 2004, it bought Bompreço, giving it a presence in the country's poor, but fastgrowing, northeast.

Wal-Mart did not change the names of the stores, which range from neighborhood grocers to large American-style hypermarkets. But with 295 stores in Brazil, Wal-Mart now ranks third in the market, after Carrefour of France and the market leader, Companhia Brasileira de Distribução.

(Adapted from an article by Mark Landler and Michael Barbaro published in the New York Times, August 2, 2006)