Questões de Concurso
Comentadas sobre interpretação de texto | reading comprehension em inglês
Foram encontradas 6.147 questões
In the utterance "
…) and self-evaluation of learning after the language activity is completed", takenfrom the 2nd paragraph of the text, the underlined word functions as a ____.
In the utterance " …) which means that they focus on identification …)", taken from the 5th paragraph of the text, the underlined word refers to ____.
Read the following text to answer the question.
By Leo Selivan
In this article, informed by the Lexical Approach, I reflect on grammar instruction in the classroom […]. I consider the problems with ‘traditional’ grammar teaching before arguing that what we actually need is more grammar input as well as showing how lexis can provide necessary ‘crutches’ for the learner.
Lexis = vocabulary + grammar
The shift in ELT from grammar to lexis mirrors a similar change in the attitude of linguists. In the past linguists were preoccupied with the grammar of language; however the advances in corpus linguistics have pushed lexis to the forefront. The term ‘lexis’, which was traditionally used by linguists, is a common word these days and frequently used even in textbooks.
Why use a technical term borrowed from the realm of linguistics instead of the word ‘vocabulary’? Quite simply because vocabulary is typically seen as individual words (often presented in lists) whereas lexis is a somewhat wider concept and consists of collocations, chunks and formulaic expressions. It also includes certain patterns that were traditionally associated with the grammar of a language, e.g. If I were you…, I haven’t seen you for ages etc.
Recognising certain grammar structures as lexical
items means that they can be introduced much earlier,
without structural analysis or elaboration. Indeed, since the
concept of notions and functions made its way into language
teaching, particularly as Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) gained prominence, some structures associated with
grammar started to be taught lexically (or functionally). I’d like
to is not taught as ‹the conditional› but as a chunk expressing
desire. Similarly many other ‹traditional› grammar items can
be introduced lexically relatively early on.
Less grammar or more grammar?
You are, no doubt, all familiar with students who on one hand seem to know the ‘rules’ of grammar but still fail to produce grammatically correct sentences when speaking or, on the other, sound unnatural and foreign-like even when their sentences are grammatically correct. Michael Lewis, who might be considered the founder of the Lexical Approach, once claimed that there was no direct relationship between the knowledge of grammar and speaking. In contrast, the knowledge of formulaic language has been shown by research to have a significant bearing on the natural language production.
Furthermore, certain grammar rules are practically impossible to learn. Dave Willis cites the grammar of orientation (which includes the notoriously difficult present perfect and the uses of certain modal verbs) as particularly resistant to teaching. The only way to grasp their meaning is through continuous exposure and use.
Finally, even the most authoritative English grammars never claim to provide a comprehensive description of all the grammar, hence the word ‘introduction’ often used in their titles (for instance, Huddleston & Pullum’s A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar or Halliday’s An Introduction to Functional Grammar).
If grammarians do not even attempt to address all areas of grammar, how can we, practitioners, cover all the aspects of grammar in our teaching, especially if all we seem to focus on is a limited selection of discrete items, comprised mostly of tenses and a handful of modal verbs? It would seem that we need to expose our students to a lot of naturally occurring language and frequently draw their attention to various grammar points as they arise.
For example, while teaching the expression fall asleep / be asleep you can ask your students:
• Don’t make any noise – she’s fallen asleep.
• Don’t make any noise – she’s asleep.
What does’s stand for in each of these cases (is or has)?
One of the fathers of the Communicative Language Teaching Henry Widdowson advocated using lexical items as a starting point and then ‘showing how they need to be grammatically modified to be communicatively effective’ (1990:95). For example, when exploring a text with your students, you may come across a sentence like this:
• They’ve been married for seven years.
You can ask your students: When did they get married? How should you change the sentence if the couple you are talking about is no longer married?
The above demonstrates how the teacher should be constantly on the ball and take every opportunity to draw students’ attention to grammar. Such short but frequent ‘grammar spots’ will help to slowly raise students’ awareness and build their understanding of the English grammar system.
[…]
Conclusion
So is there room for grammar instruction in the classroom? Certainly yes. But the grammar practice should always start with the exploitation of lexical items. Exposing students to a lot of natural and contextualised examples will offer a lexical way into the grammar of the language.
To sum up, grammar should play some role in language teaching but should not occupy a big part of class time. Instead grammar should be delivered in small but frequent portions. Students should be encouraged to collect a lot of examples of a particular structure before being invited to analyse it. Hence, analysis should be preceded by synthesis.
Lastly, language practitioners should bear in mind that grammar acquisition is an incremental process which requires frequent focus and refocus on the items already studied.
Available at: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professionaldevelopment/teachers/knowing-subject/articles/grammar-vs-lexisor-grammar-through. Accessed on: April 29, 2024.
Read the following text to answer the question.
By Leo Selivan
In this article, informed by the Lexical Approach, I reflect on grammar instruction in the classroom […]. I consider the problems with ‘traditional’ grammar teaching before arguing that what we actually need is more grammar input as well as showing how lexis can provide necessary ‘crutches’ for the learner.
Lexis = vocabulary + grammar
The shift in ELT from grammar to lexis mirrors a similar change in the attitude of linguists. In the past linguists were preoccupied with the grammar of language; however the advances in corpus linguistics have pushed lexis to the forefront. The term ‘lexis’, which was traditionally used by linguists, is a common word these days and frequently used even in textbooks.
Why use a technical term borrowed from the realm of linguistics instead of the word ‘vocabulary’? Quite simply because vocabulary is typically seen as individual words (often presented in lists) whereas lexis is a somewhat wider concept and consists of collocations, chunks and formulaic expressions. It also includes certain patterns that were traditionally associated with the grammar of a language, e.g. If I were you…, I haven’t seen you for ages etc.
Recognising certain grammar structures as lexical
items means that they can be introduced much earlier,
without structural analysis or elaboration. Indeed, since the
concept of notions and functions made its way into language
teaching, particularly as Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) gained prominence, some structures associated with
grammar started to be taught lexically (or functionally). I’d like
to is not taught as ‹the conditional› but as a chunk expressing
desire. Similarly many other ‹traditional› grammar items can
be introduced lexically relatively early on.
Less grammar or more grammar?
You are, no doubt, all familiar with students who on one hand seem to know the ‘rules’ of grammar but still fail to produce grammatically correct sentences when speaking or, on the other, sound unnatural and foreign-like even when their sentences are grammatically correct. Michael Lewis, who might be considered the founder of the Lexical Approach, once claimed that there was no direct relationship between the knowledge of grammar and speaking. In contrast, the knowledge of formulaic language has been shown by research to have a significant bearing on the natural language production.
Furthermore, certain grammar rules are practically impossible to learn. Dave Willis cites the grammar of orientation (which includes the notoriously difficult present perfect and the uses of certain modal verbs) as particularly resistant to teaching. The only way to grasp their meaning is through continuous exposure and use.
Finally, even the most authoritative English grammars never claim to provide a comprehensive description of all the grammar, hence the word ‘introduction’ often used in their titles (for instance, Huddleston & Pullum’s A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar or Halliday’s An Introduction to Functional Grammar).
If grammarians do not even attempt to address all areas of grammar, how can we, practitioners, cover all the aspects of grammar in our teaching, especially if all we seem to focus on is a limited selection of discrete items, comprised mostly of tenses and a handful of modal verbs? It would seem that we need to expose our students to a lot of naturally occurring language and frequently draw their attention to various grammar points as they arise.
For example, while teaching the expression fall asleep / be asleep you can ask your students:
• Don’t make any noise – she’s fallen asleep.
• Don’t make any noise – she’s asleep.
What does’s stand for in each of these cases (is or has)?
One of the fathers of the Communicative Language Teaching Henry Widdowson advocated using lexical items as a starting point and then ‘showing how they need to be grammatically modified to be communicatively effective’ (1990:95). For example, when exploring a text with your students, you may come across a sentence like this:
• They’ve been married for seven years.
You can ask your students: When did they get married? How should you change the sentence if the couple you are talking about is no longer married?
The above demonstrates how the teacher should be constantly on the ball and take every opportunity to draw students’ attention to grammar. Such short but frequent ‘grammar spots’ will help to slowly raise students’ awareness and build their understanding of the English grammar system.
[…]
Conclusion
So is there room for grammar instruction in the classroom? Certainly yes. But the grammar practice should always start with the exploitation of lexical items. Exposing students to a lot of natural and contextualised examples will offer a lexical way into the grammar of the language.
To sum up, grammar should play some role in language teaching but should not occupy a big part of class time. Instead grammar should be delivered in small but frequent portions. Students should be encouraged to collect a lot of examples of a particular structure before being invited to analyse it. Hence, analysis should be preceded by synthesis.
Lastly, language practitioners should bear in mind that grammar acquisition is an incremental process which requires frequent focus and refocus on the items already studied.
Available at: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professionaldevelopment/teachers/knowing-subject/articles/grammar-vs-lexisor-grammar-through. Accessed on: April 29, 2024.
Read the following text to answer the question.
By Leo Selivan
In this article, informed by the Lexical Approach, I reflect on grammar instruction in the classroom […]. I consider the problems with ‘traditional’ grammar teaching before arguing that what we actually need is more grammar input as well as showing how lexis can provide necessary ‘crutches’ for the learner.
Lexis = vocabulary + grammar
The shift in ELT from grammar to lexis mirrors a similar change in the attitude of linguists. In the past linguists were preoccupied with the grammar of language; however the advances in corpus linguistics have pushed lexis to the forefront. The term ‘lexis’, which was traditionally used by linguists, is a common word these days and frequently used even in textbooks.
Why use a technical term borrowed from the realm of linguistics instead of the word ‘vocabulary’? Quite simply because vocabulary is typically seen as individual words (often presented in lists) whereas lexis is a somewhat wider concept and consists of collocations, chunks and formulaic expressions. It also includes certain patterns that were traditionally associated with the grammar of a language, e.g. If I were you…, I haven’t seen you for ages etc.
Recognising certain grammar structures as lexical
items means that they can be introduced much earlier,
without structural analysis or elaboration. Indeed, since the
concept of notions and functions made its way into language
teaching, particularly as Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) gained prominence, some structures associated with
grammar started to be taught lexically (or functionally). I’d like
to is not taught as ‹the conditional› but as a chunk expressing
desire. Similarly many other ‹traditional› grammar items can
be introduced lexically relatively early on.
Less grammar or more grammar?
You are, no doubt, all familiar with students who on one hand seem to know the ‘rules’ of grammar but still fail to produce grammatically correct sentences when speaking or, on the other, sound unnatural and foreign-like even when their sentences are grammatically correct. Michael Lewis, who might be considered the founder of the Lexical Approach, once claimed that there was no direct relationship between the knowledge of grammar and speaking. In contrast, the knowledge of formulaic language has been shown by research to have a significant bearing on the natural language production.
Furthermore, certain grammar rules are practically impossible to learn. Dave Willis cites the grammar of orientation (which includes the notoriously difficult present perfect and the uses of certain modal verbs) as particularly resistant to teaching. The only way to grasp their meaning is through continuous exposure and use.
Finally, even the most authoritative English grammars never claim to provide a comprehensive description of all the grammar, hence the word ‘introduction’ often used in their titles (for instance, Huddleston & Pullum’s A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar or Halliday’s An Introduction to Functional Grammar).
If grammarians do not even attempt to address all areas of grammar, how can we, practitioners, cover all the aspects of grammar in our teaching, especially if all we seem to focus on is a limited selection of discrete items, comprised mostly of tenses and a handful of modal verbs? It would seem that we need to expose our students to a lot of naturally occurring language and frequently draw their attention to various grammar points as they arise.
For example, while teaching the expression fall asleep / be asleep you can ask your students:
• Don’t make any noise – she’s fallen asleep.
• Don’t make any noise – she’s asleep.
What does’s stand for in each of these cases (is or has)?
One of the fathers of the Communicative Language Teaching Henry Widdowson advocated using lexical items as a starting point and then ‘showing how they need to be grammatically modified to be communicatively effective’ (1990:95). For example, when exploring a text with your students, you may come across a sentence like this:
• They’ve been married for seven years.
You can ask your students: When did they get married? How should you change the sentence if the couple you are talking about is no longer married?
The above demonstrates how the teacher should be constantly on the ball and take every opportunity to draw students’ attention to grammar. Such short but frequent ‘grammar spots’ will help to slowly raise students’ awareness and build their understanding of the English grammar system.
[…]
Conclusion
So is there room for grammar instruction in the classroom? Certainly yes. But the grammar practice should always start with the exploitation of lexical items. Exposing students to a lot of natural and contextualised examples will offer a lexical way into the grammar of the language.
To sum up, grammar should play some role in language teaching but should not occupy a big part of class time. Instead grammar should be delivered in small but frequent portions. Students should be encouraged to collect a lot of examples of a particular structure before being invited to analyse it. Hence, analysis should be preceded by synthesis.
Lastly, language practitioners should bear in mind that grammar acquisition is an incremental process which requires frequent focus and refocus on the items already studied.
Available at: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professionaldevelopment/teachers/knowing-subject/articles/grammar-vs-lexisor-grammar-through. Accessed on: April 29, 2024.
Atenção: A questão refere-se ao texto apresentado abaixo.
A Laptop Designed to Take a Licking and Keep on Ticking
By JOHN BIGGS
“All terrain” is not usually a designation associated with things as delicate as hard drives and high-speed memory chips. Dell, however, is betting that its Latitude ATG D620 − the ATG stands for All-Terrain Grade − can change that.
The ATG D620, which Dell says is designed to military specifications, includes a spill-resistant keyboard, heavy-duty case and 14-inch screen, which is visible in direct sunlight. It weighs about 6 pounds with the optical disk drive and battery installed, and is about 2 inches thick.
The laptop comes in a metal-and-black finish with protective coverings on its serial, video out, modem, Ethernet and four U.S.B. ports.
Inside the hard shell is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, running at up to 2 gigahertz, and up to 4 gigabytes of memory. The least expensive model ($2,499) runs at 1.6 gigahertz and includes an 80-gigabyte drive and 512 megabytes of memory.
Dell includes a fingerprint scanner for security, while military and other security-conscious users can enable the laptop’s built-in Smart Card reader and other data encryption technology.
...... it won’t survive a dunk in the deep, the ATG D620 can survive a splash of mud or a good, hard drop.
(Adapted from The New York Times, January 25, 2007)
Segundo o texto, o ATG D620
Atenção: A questão refere-se ao texto apresentado abaixo.
A Laptop Designed to Take a Licking and Keep on Ticking
By JOHN BIGGS
“All terrain” is not usually a designation associated with things as delicate as hard drives and high-speed memory chips. Dell, however, is betting that its Latitude ATG D620 − the ATG stands for All-Terrain Grade − can change that.
The ATG D620, which Dell says is designed to military specifications, includes a spill-resistant keyboard, heavy-duty case and 14-inch screen, which is visible in direct sunlight. It weighs about 6 pounds with the optical disk drive and battery installed, and is about 2 inches thick.
The laptop comes in a metal-and-black finish with protective coverings on its serial, video out, modem, Ethernet and four U.S.B. ports.
Inside the hard shell is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, running at up to 2 gigahertz, and up to 4 gigabytes of memory. The least expensive model ($2,499) runs at 1.6 gigahertz and includes an 80-gigabyte drive and 512 megabytes of memory.
Dell includes a fingerprint scanner for security, while military and other security-conscious users can enable the laptop’s built-in Smart Card reader and other data encryption technology.
...... it won’t survive a dunk in the deep, the ATG D620 can survive a splash of mud or a good, hard drop.
(Adapted from The New York Times, January 25, 2007)
Segundo o texto, qual das alternativas abaixo NÃO tem relação com possíveis danos que o ATG D620 possa sofrer?
Atenção: A questão refere-se ao texto apresentado abaixo.
A Laptop Designed to Take a Licking and Keep on Ticking
By JOHN BIGGS
“All terrain” is not usually a designation associated with things as delicate as hard drives and high-speed memory chips. Dell, however, is betting that its Latitude ATG D620 − the ATG stands for All-Terrain Grade − can change that.
The ATG D620, which Dell says is designed to military specifications, includes a spill-resistant keyboard, heavy-duty case and 14-inch screen, which is visible in direct sunlight. It weighs about 6 pounds with the optical disk drive and battery installed, and is about 2 inches thick.
The laptop comes in a metal-and-black finish with protective coverings on its serial, video out, modem, Ethernet and four U.S.B. ports.
Inside the hard shell is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, running at up to 2 gigahertz, and up to 4 gigabytes of memory. The least expensive model ($2,499) runs at 1.6 gigahertz and includes an 80-gigabyte drive and 512 megabytes of memory.
Dell includes a fingerprint scanner for security, while military and other security-conscious users can enable the laptop’s built-in Smart Card reader and other data encryption technology.
...... it won’t survive a dunk in the deep, the ATG D620 can survive a splash of mud or a good, hard drop.
(Adapted from The New York Times, January 25, 2007)
Leia os excertos de texto abaixo.
• On the trail, or on urban streets, All Terrain boots and shoes meet the demands of your active lifestyle.
• ... other models include a range of high-speed allterrain go-karts and what is believed to be the...
• ... you can pick up a complimentary all-terrain bicycle for cycling around trails...
• "all terrain vehicle" means a vehicle that is propelled by motorized power and capable of travel on or off a highway
• The term "all-terrain vehicle" is used in a general sense to describe any of a number of small open motorized buggies and tricycles designed for off-road use.
• ... rubber soles that give exceptional grip on all terrain. If you anticipate extra heavy wear or enjoy...
Dos exemplos acima, infere-se que all-terrain, no texto, significa
Choose the correct alternative for the translation of the underlined words, according to the text.
China and the United States are maintaining close communication on bringing about exchanges between their presidents and at other levels, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday. Media reports on Monday said the two presidents would hold their first summit next month. "Both sides highly value enhancing high-level and other levels of exchanges between the two countries," she said at a daily news conference in Beijing. "We will re lease further information in a timely manner," Hua said.
Font. http.//usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-03/15/content_28566278.htm
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 41 TO 46.
TEXT
Petroleum Alternatives. A new promising source
Human consumption of fossil fuels is expected to fully deplete the Earth’s crude oil reserves by the year 2060. As underground reservoirs of oil continue to shrink, we have no choice but to find alternatives. One promising source, with much cleaner emissions, is called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is often made from soybean oil, although it can be made from any vegetable oil that is not elementally different from soy. Bio-diesel can even be made from used cooking oils that homes or restaurants would otherwise dispose of. Biodiesel can be used without constraint in any vehicle that runs on diesel—no modifications are needed. Presently, diesel engines can take up to 20 percent soy in their soy-diesel blend. As the need for bio-diesel increases and the technology improves, we may soon witness the extinction of the fossil-fueled vehicle.This is good news for the planet, as biodiesel is a more stable source of energy than petroleum, and it reduces contamination of our air and water.
According to the Text, why is bio-diesel a good news for the planet?
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 41 TO 46.
TEXT
Petroleum Alternatives. A new promising source
Human consumption of fossil fuels is expected to fully deplete the Earth’s crude oil reserves by the year 2060. As underground reservoirs of oil continue to shrink, we have no choice but to find alternatives. One promising source, with much cleaner emissions, is called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is often made from soybean oil, although it can be made from any vegetable oil that is not elementally different from soy. Bio-diesel can even be made from used cooking oils that homes or restaurants would otherwise dispose of. Biodiesel can be used without constraint in any vehicle that runs on diesel—no modifications are needed. Presently, diesel engines can take up to 20 percent soy in their soy-diesel blend. As the need for bio-diesel increases and the technology improves, we may soon witness the extinction of the fossil-fueled vehicle.This is good news for the planet, as biodiesel is a more stable source of energy than petroleum, and it reduces contamination of our air and water.
According to the Text, what types of vegetable oil can be used to make bio-diesel?
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 41 TO 46.
TEXT
Petroleum Alternatives. A new promising source
Human consumption of fossil fuels is expected to fully deplete the Earth’s crude oil reserves by the year 2060. As underground reservoirs of oil continue to shrink, we have no choice but to find alternatives. One promising source, with much cleaner emissions, is called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is often made from soybean oil, although it can be made from any vegetable oil that is not elementally different from soy. Bio-diesel can even be made from used cooking oils that homes or restaurants would otherwise dispose of. Biodiesel can be used without constraint in any vehicle that runs on diesel—no modifications are needed. Presently, diesel engines can take up to 20 percent soy in their soy-diesel blend. As the need for bio-diesel increases and the technology improves, we may soon witness the extinction of the fossil-fueled vehicle.This is good news for the planet, as biodiesel is a more stable source of energy than petroleum, and it reduces contamination of our air and water.
It is implied in the Text that
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 41 TO 46.
TEXT
Petroleum Alternatives. A new promising source
Human consumption of fossil fuels is expected to fully deplete the Earth’s crude oil reserves by the year 2060. As underground reservoirs of oil continue to shrink, we have no choice but to find alternatives. One promising source, with much cleaner emissions, is called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is often made from soybean oil, although it can be made from any vegetable oil that is not elementally different from soy. Bio-diesel can even be made from used cooking oils that homes or restaurants would otherwise dispose of. Biodiesel can be used without constraint in any vehicle that runs on diesel—no modifications are needed. Presently, diesel engines can take up to 20 percent soy in their soy-diesel blend. As the need for bio-diesel increases and the technology improves, we may soon witness the extinction of the fossil-fueled vehicle.This is good news for the planet, as biodiesel is a more stable source of energy than petroleum, and it reduces contamination of our air and water.
What is the main idea of the Text?
Texto para as questões 20 a 22.
The passage below is an extract from the preface of the centenary edition of Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. Read the text to answer questions 20 - 22.
(…)
Orwell called the book “a fairy story.” Like Voltaire’s Candide, however, with which it bears comparison, it is too many other things to be so handily classified. It is also a political tract, a satire on human folly, a loud hee-haw at all who yearn for Utopia, an allegorical lesson, and a pretty good fable in the Aesop tradition. It is also a passionate sermon against the dangers of political innocence. The passage in which the loyal but stupid workhorse Boxer is sold to be turned into glue, hides, and bone meal because he is no longer useful is written out of a controlled and icy hatred for the cynicism of the Soviet system – but also out of despair for all deluded people who served it gladly.
Maybe because it gilds the philosophic pill with fairy-story trappings, Animal Farm has had an astonishing success for a book rooted in politics. Since its first publication at the end of World War II, it has been read by millions. With 1984, published three years later, it established Orwell as an important man of letters. It has enriched modern political discourse with the observation that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” How did we ever grasp the true nature of the politics of uplift before Orwell explained it so precisely?
George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Blair, the son of a colonial official with long service in British India. Eric was educated as a scholarship boy at Eton and seemed to be miserable there most of the time, largely, one guesses, because of the money gap that divided him from so many of his well-heeled schoolmates. His dislike of the moneyed classes in turn influenced him toward a lifelong loyalty to democratic socialism. After Eton he went to Burma as a member of the Imperial constabulary and had the enlightening experience of discovering he was hated by the Burmese people as a symbol of British Imperialism. Hating the work himself, he quit and went back to England to try making a living by writing.
During the years when he was not very successful, he began to devote himself to work for British socialism. Afterwards he said he had never written anything good that was not about politics. Before he went to work on Animal Farm, his books were well enough received by the critics but sold modestly.
Those old enough to remember the wartime spirit of the 1940s may be startled to realize that Orwell started work on Animal Farm in 1943. As he discovered when he went looking for a publisher, Stalin’s Soviet Union was so popular that year in Britain and America that few wanted to hear or read anything critical of it. It was as though a great deal of the West had willingly put on blinders, and this was because the Red Army that year had fought the Nazis to a standstill and forced it to retreat. Suddenly Hitler’s army, which had looked invincible for so long, had begun to look vincible.
In this period the air on both sides of the Atlantic was filled with a great deal of justifiable praise for the Soviet people and their fighting forces. Stalin’s political system, with its bloody purges and police-state brutality, was an important beneficiary of all this. Looking for a publisher for his small book, Orwell was reminded that British socialists, who idealized the Russian Revolution, had never been hospitable to critics of the Soviet Union. In 1943, however, even conservatives were pro-Soviet.
It became hard to write candidly of the Soviet system without being accused of playing dupe to the Nazis. Orwell discovered how hard when he began receiving publishers’ rejections on Animal Farm. With its swinish communists, the book seemed heretical. As no wonder. Stalin and Trotsky, after all, were unmistakably Orwell’s feuding pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. It was not until the war had ended that Frederic Warburg finally published it, on August 17, 1945.
(…)
Source: ORWELL, George. Animal Farm. London: Penguin Books, 2003. Preface by Russel Baker.
Observe the extract below and choose the alternative that is closest in meaning to it:
With its swinish communists, the book seemed heretical. And no wonder. Stalin and Trotsky, after all, were unmistakably Orwell’s feuding pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. It was not until the war had ended that Frederic Warburg finally published it, on August 17, 1945.
Texto para as questões 20 a 22.
The passage below is an extract from the preface of the centenary edition of Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. Read the text to answer questions 20 - 22.
(…)
Orwell called the book “a fairy story.” Like Voltaire’s Candide, however, with which it bears comparison, it is too many other things to be so handily classified. It is also a political tract, a satire on human folly, a loud hee-haw at all who yearn for Utopia, an allegorical lesson, and a pretty good fable in the Aesop tradition. It is also a passionate sermon against the dangers of political innocence. The passage in which the loyal but stupid workhorse Boxer is sold to be turned into glue, hides, and bone meal because he is no longer useful is written out of a controlled and icy hatred for the cynicism of the Soviet system – but also out of despair for all deluded people who served it gladly.
Maybe because it gilds the philosophic pill with fairy-story trappings, Animal Farm has had an astonishing success for a book rooted in politics. Since its first publication at the end of World War II, it has been read by millions. With 1984, published three years later, it established Orwell as an important man of letters. It has enriched modern political discourse with the observation that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” How did we ever grasp the true nature of the politics of uplift before Orwell explained it so precisely?
George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Blair, the son of a colonial official with long service in British India. Eric was educated as a scholarship boy at Eton and seemed to be miserable there most of the time, largely, one guesses, because of the money gap that divided him from so many of his well-heeled schoolmates. His dislike of the moneyed classes in turn influenced him toward a lifelong loyalty to democratic socialism. After Eton he went to Burma as a member of the Imperial constabulary and had the enlightening experience of discovering he was hated by the Burmese people as a symbol of British Imperialism. Hating the work himself, he quit and went back to England to try making a living by writing.
During the years when he was not very successful, he began to devote himself to work for British socialism. Afterwards he said he had never written anything good that was not about politics. Before he went to work on Animal Farm, his books were well enough received by the critics but sold modestly.
Those old enough to remember the wartime spirit of the 1940s may be startled to realize that Orwell started work on Animal Farm in 1943. As he discovered when he went looking for a publisher, Stalin’s Soviet Union was so popular that year in Britain and America that few wanted to hear or read anything critical of it. It was as though a great deal of the West had willingly put on blinders, and this was because the Red Army that year had fought the Nazis to a standstill and forced it to retreat. Suddenly Hitler’s army, which had looked invincible for so long, had begun to look vincible.
In this period the air on both sides of the Atlantic was filled with a great deal of justifiable praise for the Soviet people and their fighting forces. Stalin’s political system, with its bloody purges and police-state brutality, was an important beneficiary of all this. Looking for a publisher for his small book, Orwell was reminded that British socialists, who idealized the Russian Revolution, had never been hospitable to critics of the Soviet Union. In 1943, however, even conservatives were pro-Soviet.
It became hard to write candidly of the Soviet system without being accused of playing dupe to the Nazis. Orwell discovered how hard when he began receiving publishers’ rejections on Animal Farm. With its swinish communists, the book seemed heretical. As no wonder. Stalin and Trotsky, after all, were unmistakably Orwell’s feuding pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. It was not until the war had ended that Frederic Warburg finally published it, on August 17, 1945.
(…)
Source: ORWELL, George. Animal Farm. London: Penguin Books, 2003. Preface by Russel Baker.
According to the passage read, a possible reason why Animal Farm was acknowledged is:
Read the text and answer the question.
Nudges That Help Struggling Students Succeed
David L. Kirp
When I was in high school, I earned A’s in all my math classes — until I took calculus. In algebra and geometry, I could coast on memorizing formulas, but now I had to think for myself.
It was disastrous, culminating in my getting a charity “C,” and I barely passed my college calculus class.
The reason, I was convinced, was that I didn’t have a math mind. I have avoided the subject ever since.
It turns out that I got it wrong. While it’s unlikely that I could have become a math whiz, it wasn’t my aptitude for math that was an impediment; it was my belief that I had the impediment to begin with.
I’m not the only person convinced that he can’t like math. Millions of college freshmen flunk those courses and, because algebra is often required, many drop out of school altogether. A report from the Mathematical Association of America flagged math as “the most significant barrier” to graduation.
This fatalistic equation can be altered. In scores of rigorously conducted studies, social psychologists have demonstrated that brief experiences can have a powerful and long-lasting impact on students’ academic futures by changing their mind-sets before they get to college.
Consider these examples from three recent studies:
• A cohort of sixth-grade students was taught, in eight lessons, that intelligence is malleable, not fixed, and that the brain is a muscle that grows stronger with effort. Their math grades, which had been steadily declining, rose substantially, while the grades of classmates who learned only about good study habits continued to get worse.
When an English teacher critiqued black male adolescents’ papers, she added a sentence stating that she had high expectations and believed that, if the student worked hard, he could meet her exacting standards. Eighty-eight percent of those students rewrote the assignment and put more effort into rewriting, while just a third of their peers, who were given comments that simply provided feedback, did the same.
• In a series of short written exercises, sixth graders wrote about values that were meaningful to them, like spending time with their family and friends. After this experience, white students did no better, but their black and Latino classmates improved so much that the achievement gap shrank by 40 percent.
There is every reason to be skeptical of these findings. Like magic spells cast by a modern-day Merlin, they sound much too good to be true. Why should brief interventions carry so much punch when more intricate and costly strategies — everything from summer school to single-sex education — are often less effective?
Innovative social-psychological thinking, not magic, is at work here. These interventions focus on how kids, hunched over their desks in the back of the classroom, make sense of themselves and their environment. They can be brief but powerful because they concentrate on a single core belief.
There are three strategies represented here. The first, pioneered by the Stanford social psychology professor Carol Dweck and illustrated by the initial example, aims to change students’ mind-sets by showing them that their intelligence can grow through deliberate work. I’ve written about Dr. Dweck’s theories as applied to college students, but they are just as successful with students in middle school.
The second uses constructive critical feedback to instill trust in minority adolescents, a demonstrably powerful way to advance their social and intellectual development.
The third intervention — and in some ways, the most powerful — invites students to acknowledge their selfworth, combating the corrosive effects of racial stereotypes, by having them focus on a self-affirming value.
These interventions are designed to combat students’ negative feelings. I’m dumb, some believe; I don’t belong here; the school views me only as a member of an unintelligent group. The first two experiences give students the insight that brain work will make them smarter. The third invites them to situate themselves on the path to belonging or to connect with their values in a classroom setting. The goals are to build up their resilience and prepare them for adversity.
The impact, in all these studies, is greatest on black and Latino students. That makes sense, since as adolescents they are far more inclined to see teachers as prejudiced and school as a hostile environment. As these youths come to feel more secure, they are likely to make a greater effort. Success begets success. They start earning A’s and B’s instead of C’s, they take tougher classes and connect more readily with likeminded students.
An unpublished study by social psychologists shows that the impact echoes years later. African-American seventh graders who were asked to write about the most important value in their lives were propelled on an entirely different path from classmates who wrote about neutral topics. Two years later, the students in the first group were earning better grades and were more likely to be on track for college, rather than in remedial classes.
The reverberations persisted beyond high school. These students were more likely to graduate, to enroll in college and to attend more selective institutions.
Can this kind of intervention work on a grander scale? A 2015 study conducted by researchers at Stanford and the University of Texas suggests so. When 45-minute growth-mind-set interventions were delivered online to 1,500 students in 13 high schools scattered across the country, the weakest students were significantly more likely to earn satisfactory grades in their core courses than classmates who didn’t have the same intervention.
Using the same approach nationwide, the researchers conclude, would mean 1.8 million more completed courses each year, hundreds of thousands fewer students departing high school with no diploma, slotted into dead-end futures.
Let’s be clear — these brief interventions aren’t a silver bullet, a quick-and-easy way to transform K-12 education. While they can complement good educational practice, they are no substitute for quality in the classroom.
Students who come to see themselves as the masters of their own destiny can take advantage of opportunities to learn, but only if those opportunities exist. They won’t learn biology unless there’s a biology class, and they won’t learn to be critical thinkers unless the school makes that a priority. What’s more, as the researchers are quick to point out, a brief intervention can’t even begin to address the pernicious effects of poverty and discrimination.
Still, these experiences require a trivial amount of time, cost next to nothing and can make an outsize difference in students’ lives. What’s not to like?
Disponível em: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/nudges-that-help-struggling-students-succeed.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-top-region®ion=opinion-c-col-topregion&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-top-region&_r=0 Accessed on 30-10-16
According to the text, students must understand that
Read the text and answer the question.
About active learning
In Scotland, as in many countries throughout the world, active learning is seen as an appropriate way for children and young people to develop vital skills and knowledge and a positive attitude to learning.
Active learning is learning which engages and challenges children and young people’s thinking using real-life and imaginary situations. It takes full advantage of the opportunities for learning presented by:
All active learning opportunities can be supported when necessary through sensitive intervention to support or extend learning. All areas of the curriculum, at all stages, can be enriched and developed through an active approach.
Active learning has long been an established approach in early years settings, and when asked to reflect on what active learning might look like in early primary school, delegates to a Curriculum for Excellence conference for early years suggested:
'A true building on experiences in nursery. Hands-on independent play with appropriate skilled intervention/teaching.'
'Children learn by doing, thinking, exploring, through quality interaction, intervention and relationships, founded on children’s interests and abilities across a variety of contexts. All combining to building the four capacities for each child.'
'Environments that offer differential play and challenge, staff who are well informed and able to challenge learning, child-centred and building on previous experiences, fun absolutely essential, children planning and evaluating their learning.'
Active learning and the four capacities
Active learning can support learners' development of the four capacities in many ways. For example, they can develop as:
Disponível em: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/approaches/activelearning/about/what.asp Accessed on 30-10-16
According to the text, it is correct to state that
Read the text and answer the question.
Technology-Enhanced Learning
Technology-enhanced learning is not a new concept. Educators have integrated technology into their instruction for as long as there have been classrooms. Whether it be through textbooks made possible through the invention of the printing press, an overhead projector, a film strip, or an online simulation, teachers have always looked toward technology to provide students with higher quality learning experiences.
However, innovations in content delivery, assessment methods, and adaptive learning are changing what it means to educate students in the 21st century. New technologies are enhancing our understanding of how students learn and providing instructors the ability to customize course materials and create personalized learning experiences tailored to students’ individual needs.
As technology and instructional methods evolve, so do students’ expectations for a technology-driven learning experience. Emerging online learning models encourage students to be more active participants in their own learning - allowing them to not just be content consumers, but content creators as well. As digital natives, students want to attend a university that effectively integrates the latest technologies and teaching methods into their education.
Every instructor can use technology to enhance their teaching in uniquely effective ways. Throughout the UT campus, innovative faculty are exploring new and interesting ways to integrate technology into their curriculum. Whether you want to put your course online, make better use of Canvas, flip your classroom or experiment with other forms of technology-enhanced active learning, we have chosen and organized these resources to help guide your thinking and begin the conversation.
Adapted text.
Disponível em https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/teaching/technology-enhanced-learning. Accessed on 30-10-16.
According to the text, it is possible to state that
A revolution in communication
When cell phones first became available in the 1980s, they were considered to be expensive playthings for business people. No one thought that they were going to change the world. People knew that the internet had the power to transform lives, but the expectation was that this would happen through the dissemination of personal computers. However, it is now predicted that by 2020, cell phones will have replaced laptops as the main point of access to the internet worldwide. So, why will more people be using cell phones than laptop computers in the future? One reason is that the price of even a fairly cheap laptop makes it inaccessible for a lot of people in developing countries. Computers rely on a regular power supply, which is a problem in many developing countries where outages are frequent, and internet connections unreliable. Cell phones, on the other hand, are cheap to buy (especially recycled ones), require little electricity for recharging, and have good access to the internet in most parts of the world via cell phone networks. It is therefore cell phones, rather than computers, which are revolutionizing life and communication in many developing countries.
How cell phones are transforming the developing world
NextDrop is an app which is now being used in rural parts of India. In many parts of the country, people rely on weekly or twice weekly deliveries of clean water. The problem is that villagers never know exactly when deliveries will take place, meaning that they waste time waiting by their village well for the water tanker to turn up. NextDrop is a simple app that sends automatic text messages to people notifying them when their next water delivery will be. It’s a simple idea which greatly improves people’s lives.
Transferring money between countries can be tricky, and this causes problems for the thousands of people who work abroad and need to send money to their families back home. A piece of software called Boom allows Mexicans who work in the US to send money back to family members in Mexico through their cell phones. Once the link is established and the software is installed on both phones, money can be transferred using a simple text message.
Cell phones are also bringing health benefits to developing countries. A project called TulaSalud in Guatemala uses cell phone technology to communicate with nurses in remote areas of the country, who are working to reduce the infant mortality rate. The software allows nurses access to their patients’ medical records wherever they are. The service provides free phone numbers that both nurses and patients can call to ask questions about health.
Maria Neander is a nurse who works on the TulaSalud project.
Before we had TulaSalud, patients’ medical records were only available........ the health center. When I went..........into the villages, I couldn’t take the records with me, so I didn’t know if a woman I was visiting had any health problems. Now I have all.........information I need.............my cell phone. It helps me monitor women during pregnancy, giving them a better chance of having a healthy baby. When I’m with a woman who is giving birth, I have phone numbers that I can use if there are any problems, so I can get help and advice about what to do. TulaSalud has definitely saved lives.
The word “dissemination” (1st paragraph) means:
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