Questões de Concurso Comentadas sobre aspectos linguísticos | linguistic aspects em inglês

The internet vigilantes: Anonymous hackers' group outs man, 32, 'who drove girl, 15, to suicide by spreading topless photos of her'

Anonymous has named a man it claims posted topless pictures of a 15-year-old girl online and harassed her so relentlessly that she killed herself.

Amanda Todd, from Vancouver, Canada, was found hanged in her home on October 10, just weeks after she uploaded a video to YouTube detailing her horrific treatment at the hands of cyber bullies.

When she was just 12, a man in an internet chat room convinced her to flash her breasts, and a year later, he plastered a picture of the incident across Facebook.
Now in a vigilante move, Anonymous, the world's largest hacking group, has named the man allegedly responsible for the picture.

The group claims that he is a 32-year-old from British Columbia, but MailOnline has chosen not to identify him for legal reasons

As Todd's supporters set up Facebook pages warning the man to 'sleep with one eye open', the move by Anonymous sparks concerns over its abilities to create a 'trial by internet' - bypassing the justice system and casting guilt.

In a video posted to YouTube by Anonymous, a figure claims the group lists his personal information, including his date of birth and address

It explains that his username appears on websites where he 'blackmailed' and gave advice to young girls. The same username is also tied to a website with a 'jailbait' photo gallery. '[He] is an abomination to our society, and will be punished,' the Anonymous figure says.

Referring to the possibility they might have the wrong man, they add: 'At the most this is the person who did this to Amanda Todd, and at the least it's another pedophile that enjoys taking advantage of children.'

Following Anonymous' announcement, the web moved swiftly, with groups calling for his death and warning him to 'sleep with one eye open' cropping up on Facebook.

CKNW reporters have unsuccessfully tried to speak with the man, and neighbours have described his home as 'a known party house on the weekend with lots of young women coming and going'.

But police attended the home on Monday after a neighbour, Chyne Simpson, said Anonymous named the wrong address. He said he felt threatened by internet users and asked them to stay away.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to confirm Anonymous have the right man but a spokesperson said they were aware that someone had been named.

'We are aware of what's being posted online and certainly following up what we feel is important to follow up,' Sergeant Peter Thiessen told The Globe and Mail, adding: '[Vigilantes] run the risk of committing a criminal offence.'

Todd's family members also said they are not sure the Anonymous report is accurate and said police have tracked down a person living in the U.S. whom they believed was involved.

The claims come weeks after Amanda posted a nearly nine-minute YouTube video detailing her treatment on a stack of notecards held up to the camera.

Todd says that a year after she flashed her breasts, the man tracked her down and demanded he put on a show for him or he would expose her.

When she refused, he created a Facebook page with a list of her friends and used her naked chest as the profile photo. The picture quickly spread across the internet and among her classmates.

It led to relentless bullying online, she said, and she was diagnosed with depression and started drinking. In the video, posted September 7, she admitted that she had previously tried to kill herself twice and has been hospitalised.

After moving to a different city and school, another instance of bullying occurred after she started a romantic relationship with an older man who had a girlfriend. Once that relationship soured, she was confronted and beaten up by the man's girlfriend. She was hit in front of a crowd of screaming people who encouraged her to be left in a ditch.

Amanda does not speak in the video, and her face is not fully shown, but she confirmed her identity with the last notecard which says her name.

One of the final images is a jarring picture of her arm which had been cut repeatedly. Just under six weeks after posting the video, Todd could take the bullying no longer, and took her own life.
During a memorial for Todd on Monday, her friends said they have been aware of a man in his 30s 'stalking' their friend for years.

'There were multiple accounts with random names,' one friend told QMI Agency. 'There were Twitter accounts also used.' The Vancouver Sun reported that Amanda was a student in Grade 10 at the Coquitlam Basic Alternative Education school. The principal of the school confirmed her death and said that she had become connected with many since she transferred to the school in the middle of last year.

'It is a very sad case,' Paul McNaughton told the paper. 'I can tell you we feel we tried everything we could to help her when she came to us.'
Her death prompted a local politician to release a video of her own that pleads to put an end to bullying.
'I just heard about Amanda. I want to say to everyone who loved her, to all her family and friends, how sorry I am about her loss,' British Columbia premier Christy Clark said.
'No one deserves to be bullied. No one earns it. No one asks for it. It isn't a rite of passage. Bullying has to stop.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218532/Amanda-Todd-Anonymous-names-man-drove- teen-kill-spreading-nude-pictures.html

                        Solar System’s Water is Older Than the Sun

      Next time you’re swimming in the ocean, consider this: part of the water is older than the sun.
      So concludes a team of scientists who ran computer models comparing the ratios of hydrogen isotopes over time. Taking into account new insights that the solar nebula had less ionizing radiation than previously thought, the models show that at least some of the water found in the ocean, as well as in comets, meteorites and on the moon, predate the sun’s birth.
      The only other option, the scientists conclude, is that it formed in the cold, intersteller cloud from which the sun itself originated.
      The discovery, reported in this week’s Science, stems from the insight of lead author Lauren Ilsedore Cleeves, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, who realized that planet- forming disks around young stars should be shielded from galactic rays by the strong solar winds, dramatically altering the chemistry occurring inside the disks, said Conel Alexander, with the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
      “The findingX makes it quite hard for these regions in the disk to synthesize any new molecules. This was an ‘aha’ moment for us - without any new water creation the only place these ices could have come from was the chemically rich interstellar gas out of which the solar system formed originally,” Cleeves wrote in an email to Discovery News.
      “It’s remarkable that these ices survived the entire process of stellar birth,” she added.
      The finding has implications for the search for life beyond Earth, as water is believed to be necessary for life.
      “If the sun’s formation was typical, interstellar ices - including water - are likely common ingredients present during the formation of all planetary systems, which puts a wonderful outlook on the possibility of other life in the universe,” Cleeves said.
      In addition, it’s not just water that likely survived the solar system’s birth.
      “The same must be true for the organic matter that we know is present in molecular cloud ices. So I think this strengthens the case that we have interstellar organic matter in meteorites and comets too,” Alexander wrote in an email to Discovery News.

                                                                                          Available in: http://news.discovery.com

Background

The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) started in 1948. Since that time, the NNPP has provided safe and effective propulsion systems to power submarines, surface combatants, and aircraft carriers. Today, nuclear propulsion enables virtually undetectable US Navy submarines, including the sea-based leg of the strategic triad, and provides essentially inexhaustible propulsion power independent of forward logistical support to both our submarines and aircraft carriers. Over forty percent of the Navy's major combatant ships are nuclear-powered, and because of their demonstrated safety and reliability, these ships have access to seaports throughout the world. The NNPP has consistently sought the best way to affordably meet Navy requirements by evaluating, developing, and delivering a variety of reactor types, fuel systems, and structural materials. The Program has investigated many different fuel systems and reactor design features, and has designed, built, and operated over thirty different reactor designs in over twenty plant types to employ the most promising of these developments in practical applications. Improvements in naval reactor design have allowed increased power and energy to keep pace with the operational requirements of the modern nuclear fleet, while maintaining a conservative design approach that ensures reliability and safety to the crew, the public, and the environment. As just one example of the progress that has been made, the earliest reactor core designs in the NAUTILUS required refueling after about two years while modern reactor cores can last the life of a submarine, or over thirty years without refueling. These improvements have been the result of prudent, conservative engineering, backed by analysis, testing, and prototyping. The NNPP was also a pioneer in developing basic technologies and transferring technology to the civilian nuclear electric power industry. For example, the Program demonstrated the feasibility of commercial nuclear power generation in this country by designing, constructing and operating the Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania and showing the feasibility of a thorium-based breeder reactor.

In: Report on Low Enriched Uranium for Naval Reactor Cores. Page 1. Report to Congress, January 2014. Office of Naval Reactors. US Dept. of Energy. DC 2058 http://fissilematerials.org/library/doe14.pdf

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow:

Text 2:

English for Adults & Seniors!

Learning a language isn’t only for the young! It’s for everyone and if you are an older learner,maybe 40+ to 70+ then joining an English Language Course in an environment with people in similar age groups is a greatway to do it.

When you join a course at one of the International Schools you will find that approximately more than 20% of our students are aged 30 to 44 and a further 32% are aged 45 to 75 - sometimes older. You aremore than likely to find yourself in a class with people of a similar age;

Some mature students choose Business English courses for their working needs but many more join standard General English courses or the Intensive English Mini-Group courses. Courses like these help you to combine your language course with a holiday and you can make your own afternoon programme or join social programmes which are designed to have a variety of different activities suitable for all the age groups at the school. The programme changes every week and you can see samples of all the different activities on the social programme pages or on Facebook pages.

Mature learners will feel safe joining one of the International Schools. You will find others of a similar age in your class at all times of year

The International School ( I S ) accommodation is also suitable for older clients - you can choose froma homestay with a private bathroom, an apartment, but most convenient of all is Club IS Hotel which is opposite the school. Club IS is for mature individuals who are studying at the school. Classes are always organised according to level and according to age groups.

(Adapted from: < http: www.tisenglish.co.uk /courses-for-adults- seniors>)