Questões de Inglês - Artigos | Articles para Concurso
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Text for the questions from 38 to 50.
Sound Advice for Language Learners
1 A recent issue of a language learning magazine has
consulted a number of experts in the field of second
language acquisition. Their advice may prove invaluable for
4 those considering a language course. Ask yourself some
basic questions, they suggest. Did you enjoy studying
languages at school, for example? Can you really afford the
7 time to learn a language?
First and foremost, you have to be realistic in your
goals. If you fail to set achievable aims you are likely to give
10 up. Besides, it is worth knowing that the most expensive
courses are not necessarily the best. You should also bear in
mind that the quicker you learn a language the more quickly
13 you forget it. Sue Miller, a French teacher, attempted to
teach herself German by enrolling on a crash course.
Already fluent in three languages, her chances of making
16 progress were high. Two years on she hardly remembers
anything. “I should have chosen a regular course in order to
have more time for practice and consolidation.”
19 Sue’s comment is certainly a good piece of advice.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.uk> (adapted).
Consider the sentence “Can you really afford the time to learn a language?” (lines 6 and 7) and say which of the following sentences using “afford” is not correct.
Text for the questions from 38 to 50.
Sound Advice for Language Learners
1 A recent issue of a language learning magazine has
consulted a number of experts in the field of second
language acquisition. Their advice may prove invaluable for
4 those considering a language course. Ask yourself some
basic questions, they suggest. Did you enjoy studying
languages at school, for example? Can you really afford the
7 time to learn a language?
First and foremost, you have to be realistic in your
goals. If you fail to set achievable aims you are likely to give
10 up. Besides, it is worth knowing that the most expensive
courses are not necessarily the best. You should also bear in
mind that the quicker you learn a language the more quickly
13 you forget it. Sue Miller, a French teacher, attempted to
teach herself German by enrolling on a crash course.
Already fluent in three languages, her chances of making
16 progress were high. Two years on she hardly remembers
anything. “I should have chosen a regular course in order to
have more time for practice and consolidation.”
19 Sue’s comment is certainly a good piece of advice.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.uk> (adapted).
Identify the word in which the pronunciation of “s” is the same as in “basic” (line 5).
Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius
1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.co.uk> (adapted).
The word “felt” (line 11) is the
Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius
1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.co.uk> (adapted).
In “Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to him” (lines 11 and 12), the conjunction “as” is used in order to introduce a clause containing a
Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius
1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.co.uk> (adapted).
Identify the word in which the “s” of the plural is pronounced as in “rewards” (line 10).
Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius
1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.co.uk> (adapted).
Choose the correct alternative to “However” (line 9).
Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius
1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: <www.flo‐joe.co.uk> (adapted).
Which adjective can adequately replace “exceptional” (line 2)?
Atenção: As questões de números 26 a 28 referem-se ao texto abaixo.
Judges Push Brevity in Briefs, and Get a Torrent of Arguments
By ELIZABETH OLSON
OCT. 3, 2016
The Constitution of the United States clocks in at 4,543 words. Yet a number of lawyers contend that 14,000 words are barely enough to lay out their legal arguments.
That’s the maximum word count for briefs filed in federal appellate courts. For years, judges have complained that too many briefs are repetitive and full of outmoded legal jargon, and that they take up too much of their time.
A recent proposal to bring the limit down by 1,500 words unleashed an outcry among lawyers.
Lawyers in criminal, environmental and securities law insisted that briefs’ lengths should not be shortened because legal issues and statutes are more complex than ever.
As a result, the new word limit − which takes effect on Dec. 1 − will be 13,500 words, a reduction of only 500 words. And appellate judges will have the freedom to opt out of the limits.
The new limit may not provide much relief for judges deluged with verbose briefs.
While workloads vary, according to federal court data, the average federal appeals court judge, for example, might need to read filings for around 1,200 cases annually.
That amount of reading − especially bad reading − can thin the patience of even the most diligent judge.
Briefs “are too long to be persuasive,” said Laurence H. Silberman, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In arguing against a reduction of words, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers urged singling out “bad briefs” rather than only lengthy ones. It advised courts to “post on their court websites short videos outlining how to write a decent brief.”
Robert N. Markle, a federal appellate lawyer, has argued − in his own personal view, not the government’s − that the limit should be reduced to 10,000 words. In a typical case, he said, “nothing justifies even approaching, much less reaching or exceeding 14,000 words.”
Still, he acknowledged that the cut of 500 words “was at least a start.”
(Adapted from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/business/dealbook/judges-push-brevity-in-briefs-and-get-a-torrent-of-arguments. html?_r=0)
No trecho they take up too much of their time, os pronomes they e their referem-se, respectivamente, a
As people talk more frequently through text messages, words and expressions are changing to make the communication process faster.
Therefore, LOL, BTW, ASAP, OMG, FYI are a type of
Read the text to answer 39 and 40.
One day an Indian gentleman, a snake charmer, arrived in England by plane. He was coming from Bombay with two pieces of luggage. The big of them contained a snake. A man and a little boy was watching him at the customs area. The man said to the little boy “Go and speak to the gentleman”. When the little boy was speaking with the traveller, the thief took the big suitcase and went out quickly. When the victim saw that he cried, “Help me! Help me! A thief!” A police officer was in this corner whistle but it was too late. The thieves escaped with the big suitcase, took their car and went in the traffic. Later they had a big surprise because the suitcase contain a snake.
(ELLIS, Rod. Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press. Pag. 15-16.)
The use of “contained” (L 2) and “contain” (L 6) indicates:
Read the text to answer 39 and 40.
One day an Indian gentleman, a snake charmer, arrived in England by plane. He was coming from Bombay with two pieces of luggage. The big of them contained a snake. A man and a little boy was watching him at the customs area. The man said to the little boy “Go and speak to the gentleman”. When the little boy was speaking with the traveller, the thief took the big suitcase and went out quickly. When the victim saw that he cried, “Help me! Help me! A thief!” A police officer was in this corner whistle but it was too late. The thieves escaped with the big suitcase, took their car and went in the traffic. Later they had a big surprise because the suitcase contain a snake.
(ELLIS, Rod. Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press. Pag. 15-16.)
All items about the text are correct, EXCEPT:
Mark the item which contains an inconsistency and its corresponding correction.
For questions 43 to 47, refer to the following text:
Time for global business to stop profiting from Amazon destruction by Tica Minami - 13 April, 2016 Huge hydropower dams in the Amazon rainforest aren't just bad for Indigenous communities, biodiversity and the climate – they're bad for the companies involved. Here's why. The Amazon is the world's largest remaining area of tropical rainforest, but every day it gets a little smaller – while big business profits get a little bigger. Over 750,000 km² of Amazon rainforest (an area larger than all of France) has already been destroyed by industrial agriculture, cattle ranching, illegal logging and infrastructure projects. And new threats keep coming: this time in the Tapajós River basin. What's happening in the Tapajós? The Brazilian government is planning a massive hydropower project for the Tapajós basin – over 40 medium or large dams, including one 7.6 km wide mega-dam. This dam alone would flood an area of rainforest the size of New York City, threatening the livelihoods of the Indigenous Munduruku People who have lived along the Tapajós River for centuries. The mega-dam – called São Luiz do Tapajós – doesn't just threaten local communities and ecosystems. It also harms the climate. Building the massive structure produces substantial emissions, as does the decay of flooded rainforest vegetation and soil. Figure 1 So who would want to help build the São Luiz do Tapajós dam? It takes huge amounts of capital and technology from companies all over the world to build a hydropower dam. Greenpeace Brazil has been investigating who might want to profit from this destructive project and released a new report on their findings – and on the risky nature of Amazon hydropower – today. So far, Greenpeace Brazil has found that the São Luiz do Tapajós dam is attracting the interest of a number of Brazilian and foreign energy companies. None of these companies have announced their intentions publicly yet, though. What's at stake for companies who get involved with São Luiz do Tapajós dam? The banks, insurers, suppliers and contractors that become involved in Amazon hydropower projects face serious financial and reputational risks. Hydropower dams attract international attention for their destruction to the environment and impacts on local communities. Moreover, these dams and other large government infrastructure projects have also recently been tied to corruption. Amazon destruction impacts all of us. People must act globally to stop this global project. Brazil's dash for Amazon hydropower is destined to fail its people while enriching a few. Wherever you are in the world, your voice matters. Add your name to help keep the Tapajos alive! |
Disponível em: <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/amazonrainforest-hydropower-tapajos-dam-belo-monte/blog/56142/>. Acesso em: 3 abr. 2016. [Adaptado].
In the sentence “Brazil's dash for Amazon hydropower is destined to fail its people while enriching a few”, dash might be properly replaced by
In the sentence “Oh, dear, you must have heard my mantelpiece story, almost everyone ______”, the appropriate verb form for the ellipsis is
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions 34 to 40.
- The transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States formed one of those unbelievable incidents of
- history because by 1867, Russia was nervously eager to get rid of it, while the United States still
- recovering from the Civil War and immersed in the impending impeachment of President Johnson,
- refused to accept it on any terms.
- At this impasse an extraordinary man monopolized center stage. He was not a Russian, a fact which
- would become important more than a century later, but a soi-disant baron of dubious background; half
- Austrian, half Italian, and a charmer who was picked up in 1841 for temporary duty representing Russia in
- the United States and who lingered there till 1868. In that time, Edouard de Stoeckl, parading himself as a
- nobleman, although no one could say for sure how or when or even if he had earned his title, became
- such an ardent friend of America that he married an American heiress and took upon himself the task of
- acting as marriage broker between Russia, which he called homeland, and the United States, his adopted
- residence.
- He faced a most difficult task, for when the United States showed hesitancy about accepting Alaska,
- support for the sale withered in Russia, and later when Russia wanted to sell, half a dozen of the most
- influential American politicians led by Secretary of State William Seward of New York looked far into the
- future and saw the desirability of acquiring Alaska to serve as America's artic bastion, yet the hard-
- headed businessmen in the Senate, the House and the general public opposed the purchase with all the
- scorn they could summon. 'Seward's Icebox' and 'Seward's Folly' were two of the gentler jibes. Some
- critics accused Seward of being in the pay of the Russians; others accused De Stoeckl of buying votes in
- the House. One sharp satirist claimed that Alaska contained nothing but polar bears and Eskimos, and
- many protested that America should not accept this useless, frozen domain even if Russia wanted to give
- it away.
- Many pointed out that Alaska had no wealth of any kind, not even reindeer, which proliferated in other
- northern areas, and experts affirmed that an arctic area like this could not possibly have any minerals or
- other deposits of value. On and on went the abuse of this unknown and somewhat terrifying land, and the
- castigations would have been comical had they not influenced American thinking and behavior and
- condemned Alaska to decades of neglect.
- But an ingenious man like Baron de Stoeckl was not easily diverted from his main target, and with
- Seward's unflinching support and admirable statesmanship, the sale squeaked by with a favorable margin
- of one vote. By such a narrow margin did the United States come close to losing one of her potentially
- valuable acquisitions, but of course, had one viewed Alaska from the vantage point of frozen Fort Nulato
- in 1867, with the thermometer at minus-fifty-seven and about to be attacked by hostile Athapascans, the
- purchase at more than $7,000,000 would have seemed a poor bargain.
- Now the comedy intensified, became burlesque, for although the U.S Senate had bought the place,
- the U.S. House refused to appropriate the money to pay for it, and for many tense months the sale hung
- in the balance. When a favorable vote was finally taken, it was almost negated by the discovery that
- Baron de Stoeckl had disposed of $125,000 in cash for which he refused to give an accounting. Widely
- suspected of having bribed congressmen to vote for land that was obviously worthless, the baron waited
- until the sale was completed, then quietly slipped out of the country, his life's ambition having been
- achieved.
- One congressman with a keen sense of history, economics and geopolitics said of the whole affair:
- 'If we were so eager to show Russia our appreciation of the help she gave us during the Civil War, why
- didn't we give her the seven million and tell her to keep her damned colony? It'll never be of any use to
- us.'
Excerpt from: MICHENER, James A. Alaska. Fawcett Books: New York, 1988, p. 369 - 370.
Consider the statements below:
I. The verbs 'claimed' (line 20), 'pointed out' (line 23), and 'affirmed' (line 24) are verbs of saying;
II. The sentence 'Alaska contained nothing' (line 20) can be rewritten as 'Alaska did not contain anything';
III. The sentence 'Baron de Stoeckl had disposed of $125,000 in cash' (lines 37) means that the Baron won that sum of money only after the negotiations were finished.
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions 34 to 40.
- The transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States formed one of those unbelievable incidents of
- history because by 1867, Russia was nervously eager to get rid of it, while the United States still
- recovering from the Civil War and immersed in the impending impeachment of President Johnson,
- refused to accept it on any terms.
- At this impasse an extraordinary man monopolized center stage. He was not a Russian, a fact which
- would become important more than a century later, but a soi-disant baron of dubious background; half
- Austrian, half Italian, and a charmer who was picked up in 1841 for temporary duty representing Russia in
- the United States and who lingered there till 1868. In that time, Edouard de Stoeckl, parading himself as a
- nobleman, although no one could say for sure how or when or even if he had earned his title, became
- such an ardent friend of America that he married an American heiress and took upon himself the task of
- acting as marriage broker between Russia, which he called homeland, and the United States, his adopted
- residence.
- He faced a most difficult task, for when the United States showed hesitancy about accepting Alaska,
- support for the sale withered in Russia, and later when Russia wanted to sell, half a dozen of the most
- influential American politicians led by Secretary of State William Seward of New York looked far into the
- future and saw the desirability of acquiring Alaska to serve as America's artic bastion, yet the hard-
- headed businessmen in the Senate, the House and the general public opposed the purchase with all the
- scorn they could summon. 'Seward's Icebox' and 'Seward's Folly' were two of the gentler jibes. Some
- critics accused Seward of being in the pay of the Russians; others accused De Stoeckl of buying votes in
- the House. One sharp satirist claimed that Alaska contained nothing but polar bears and Eskimos, and
- many protested that America should not accept this useless, frozen domain even if Russia wanted to give
- it away.
- Many pointed out that Alaska had no wealth of any kind, not even reindeer, which proliferated in other
- northern areas, and experts affirmed that an arctic area like this could not possibly have any minerals or
- other deposits of value. On and on went the abuse of this unknown and somewhat terrifying land, and the
- castigations would have been comical had they not influenced American thinking and behavior and
- condemned Alaska to decades of neglect.
- But an ingenious man like Baron de Stoeckl was not easily diverted from his main target, and with
- Seward's unflinching support and admirable statesmanship, the sale squeaked by with a favorable margin
- of one vote. By such a narrow margin did the United States come close to losing one of her potentially
- valuable acquisitions, but of course, had one viewed Alaska from the vantage point of frozen Fort Nulato
- in 1867, with the thermometer at minus-fifty-seven and about to be attacked by hostile Athapascans, the
- purchase at more than $7,000,000 would have seemed a poor bargain.
- Now the comedy intensified, became burlesque, for although the U.S Senate had bought the place,
- the U.S. House refused to appropriate the money to pay for it, and for many tense months the sale hung
- in the balance. When a favorable vote was finally taken, it was almost negated by the discovery that
- Baron de Stoeckl had disposed of $125,000 in cash for which he refused to give an accounting. Widely
- suspected of having bribed congressmen to vote for land that was obviously worthless, the baron waited
- until the sale was completed, then quietly slipped out of the country, his life's ambition having been
- achieved.
- One congressman with a keen sense of history, economics and geopolitics said of the whole affair:
- 'If we were so eager to show Russia our appreciation of the help she gave us during the Civil War, why
- didn't we give her the seven million and tell her to keep her damned colony? It'll never be of any use to
- us.'
Excerpt from: MICHENER, James A. Alaska. Fawcett Books: New York, 1988, p. 369 - 370.
The clauses 'the castigations would have been comical' and 'had they not influenced American thinking...' present the same grammatical relation as in:
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions 34 to 40.
- The transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States formed one of those unbelievable incidents of
- history because by 1867, Russia was nervously eager to get rid of it, while the United States still
- recovering from the Civil War and immersed in the impending impeachment of President Johnson,
- refused to accept it on any terms.
- At this impasse an extraordinary man monopolized center stage. He was not a Russian, a fact which
- would become important more than a century later, but a soi-disant baron of dubious background; half
- Austrian, half Italian, and a charmer who was picked up in 1841 for temporary duty representing Russia in
- the United States and who lingered there till 1868. In that time, Edouard de Stoeckl, parading himself as a
- nobleman, although no one could say for sure how or when or even if he had earned his title, became
- such an ardent friend of America that he married an American heiress and took upon himself the task of
- acting as marriage broker between Russia, which he called homeland, and the United States, his adopted
- residence.
- He faced a most difficult task, for when the United States showed hesitancy about accepting Alaska,
- support for the sale withered in Russia, and later when Russia wanted to sell, half a dozen of the most
- influential American politicians led by Secretary of State William Seward of New York looked far into the
- future and saw the desirability of acquiring Alaska to serve as America's artic bastion, yet the hard-
- headed businessmen in the Senate, the House and the general public opposed the purchase with all the
- scorn they could summon. 'Seward's Icebox' and 'Seward's Folly' were two of the gentler jibes. Some
- critics accused Seward of being in the pay of the Russians; others accused De Stoeckl of buying votes in
- the House. One sharp satirist claimed that Alaska contained nothing but polar bears and Eskimos, and
- many protested that America should not accept this useless, frozen domain even if Russia wanted to give
- it away.
- Many pointed out that Alaska had no wealth of any kind, not even reindeer, which proliferated in other
- northern areas, and experts affirmed that an arctic area like this could not possibly have any minerals or
- other deposits of value. On and on went the abuse of this unknown and somewhat terrifying land, and the
- castigations would have been comical had they not influenced American thinking and behavior and
- condemned Alaska to decades of neglect.
- But an ingenious man like Baron de Stoeckl was not easily diverted from his main target, and with
- Seward's unflinching support and admirable statesmanship, the sale squeaked by with a favorable margin
- of one vote. By such a narrow margin did the United States come close to losing one of her potentially
- valuable acquisitions, but of course, had one viewed Alaska from the vantage point of frozen Fort Nulato
- in 1867, with the thermometer at minus-fifty-seven and about to be attacked by hostile Athapascans, the
- purchase at more than $7,000,000 would have seemed a poor bargain.
- Now the comedy intensified, became burlesque, for although the U.S Senate had bought the place,
- the U.S. House refused to appropriate the money to pay for it, and for many tense months the sale hung
- in the balance. When a favorable vote was finally taken, it was almost negated by the discovery that
- Baron de Stoeckl had disposed of $125,000 in cash for which he refused to give an accounting. Widely
- suspected of having bribed congressmen to vote for land that was obviously worthless, the baron waited
- until the sale was completed, then quietly slipped out of the country, his life's ambition having been
- achieved.
- One congressman with a keen sense of history, economics and geopolitics said of the whole affair:
- 'If we were so eager to show Russia our appreciation of the help she gave us during the Civil War, why
- didn't we give her the seven million and tell her to keep her damned colony? It'll never be of any use to
- us.'
Excerpt from: MICHENER, James A. Alaska. Fawcett Books: New York, 1988, p. 369 - 370.
The sequence 'was not easily diverted' (line 28) presents the same passive voice structure in all of the following, EXCEPT for:
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions 34 to 40.
- The transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States formed one of those unbelievable incidents of
- history because by 1867, Russia was nervously eager to get rid of it, while the United States still
- recovering from the Civil War and immersed in the impending impeachment of President Johnson,
- refused to accept it on any terms.
- At this impasse an extraordinary man monopolized center stage. He was not a Russian, a fact which
- would become important more than a century later, but a soi-disant baron of dubious background; half
- Austrian, half Italian, and a charmer who was picked up in 1841 for temporary duty representing Russia in
- the United States and who lingered there till 1868. In that time, Edouard de Stoeckl, parading himself as a
- nobleman, although no one could say for sure how or when or even if he had earned his title, became
- such an ardent friend of America that he married an American heiress and took upon himself the task of
- acting as marriage broker between Russia, which he called homeland, and the United States, his adopted
- residence.
- He faced a most difficult task, for when the United States showed hesitancy about accepting Alaska,
- support for the sale withered in Russia, and later when Russia wanted to sell, half a dozen of the most
- influential American politicians led by Secretary of State William Seward of New York looked far into the
- future and saw the desirability of acquiring Alaska to serve as America's artic bastion, yet the hard-
- headed businessmen in the Senate, the House and the general public opposed the purchase with all the
- scorn they could summon. 'Seward's Icebox' and 'Seward's Folly' were two of the gentler jibes. Some
- critics accused Seward of being in the pay of the Russians; others accused De Stoeckl of buying votes in
- the House. One sharp satirist claimed that Alaska contained nothing but polar bears and Eskimos, and
- many protested that America should not accept this useless, frozen domain even if Russia wanted to give
- it away.
- Many pointed out that Alaska had no wealth of any kind, not even reindeer, which proliferated in other
- northern areas, and experts affirmed that an arctic area like this could not possibly have any minerals or
- other deposits of value. On and on went the abuse of this unknown and somewhat terrifying land, and the
- castigations would have been comical had they not influenced American thinking and behavior and
- condemned Alaska to decades of neglect.
- But an ingenious man like Baron de Stoeckl was not easily diverted from his main target, and with
- Seward's unflinching support and admirable statesmanship, the sale squeaked by with a favorable margin
- of one vote. By such a narrow margin did the United States come close to losing one of her potentially
- valuable acquisitions, but of course, had one viewed Alaska from the vantage point of frozen Fort Nulato
- in 1867, with the thermometer at minus-fifty-seven and about to be attacked by hostile Athapascans, the
- purchase at more than $7,000,000 would have seemed a poor bargain.
- Now the comedy intensified, became burlesque, for although the U.S Senate had bought the place,
- the U.S. House refused to appropriate the money to pay for it, and for many tense months the sale hung
- in the balance. When a favorable vote was finally taken, it was almost negated by the discovery that
- Baron de Stoeckl had disposed of $125,000 in cash for which he refused to give an accounting. Widely
- suspected of having bribed congressmen to vote for land that was obviously worthless, the baron waited
- until the sale was completed, then quietly slipped out of the country, his life's ambition having been
- achieved.
- One congressman with a keen sense of history, economics and geopolitics said of the whole affair:
- 'If we were so eager to show Russia our appreciation of the help she gave us during the Civil War, why
- didn't we give her the seven million and tell her to keep her damned colony? It'll never be of any use to
- us.'
Excerpt from: MICHENER, James A. Alaska. Fawcett Books: New York, 1988, p. 369 - 370.
The feature voiceless for the 'th' sound in the word 'worthless' (line 38), considering their ideal phonological pronunciation, is the same as in the following pair of words:
“Since the 1990s, research and theories from cognitive psychology have become increasingly central to our understanding of second language development. Some of these theories use the computer as a metaphor for the mind, comparing language acquisition to the capacities of computers for storing, integrating, and retrieving information. Some draw on neurobiology, seeking to relate observed behaviour as directly as possible to brain activity” (LIGHTBOWN; SPADA, 2013, p.108).
The current cognitive perspectives related to second language development are: Information Processing, Usage-based learning and The competition model. Correlate these perspectives with their main propositions:
1. Information Processing
2. Usage-based learning
3. The competition model.
A. This perspective sees second language acquisition as the building up of knowledge that can eventually be called on automatically for speaking and understanding. It has suggested that learners must pay attention (use cognitive resources) at first to any aspect of the language that they are trying to learn or produce. The model also suggests that there is a limit to how much information a learner can pay attention to.
B. This perspective emphasizes the frequency with which the learners encounter specific features in the input and the frequency with which language features occur together. According to this view learners develop a stronger and stronger network of associations or connections between these features as well as between language features and the contexts in which they occur.
C. This perspective is based on the hypothesis that language acquisition occurs without the necessity of a learner's focused attention or the need for any innate brain module that is specifically for language; it can be described as an explanation for language acquisition that takes into account not only language form but also language meaning and language use.
Choose the alternative which CORRECTLY correlates these perspectives with their main propositions:
My brother and I ____________________ attempting to produce all of our own food for 2015, and we would have already failed if we did not have this dark, moist, cool place to __________________ vegetables in peak condition.
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