Questões de Concurso Sobre interpretação de texto | reading comprehension em inglês

Read this comic to answer questions 20 and 21.

O trecho da música deve ser analisado para responder as perguntas a seguir

The war was lost

The treaty signed

I was not caught

I crossed the line

I was not caught

Though many tried

I live among you, well-disguised

I had to leave my life behind

I dug some graves

You'll never find the story's told

With facts and lies

I had a name but never mind

Scientists study the world’s oldest person

1. After being bewildered by the “super grandmother’s” great health at 116 years old,
2. scientists are studying Maria Branyas, the world’s oldest person, in an attempt to unearth the
3. secret to a long life. Mr. Branyas was born __ San Francisco __ 1907, and __ the age of eight,
4. she moved __ Catalonia, Spain, where her family was originally from. Ms. Branyas, known to her
5. X followers as the “Super Catalan Grandma”, has lived in the region ever since and has resided
6. in the same nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, for the last 22 years.
7. She has agreed to undergo scientific testing, which researchers hope will further their
8. understanding of certain illnesses associated with old age, such as neurodegenerative or
9. cardiovascular diseases. Despite her age, Ms. Branyas has no health complications other than
10. mobility issues and hearing (she suffered permanent hearing loss when she was a child). She also
11. still has a great memory: “She has a completely lucid head,” scientist Manel Esteller told ABC, a
12. Spanish outlet. “She remembers with impressive clarity episodes of her when she was only four
13. years old, and she does not present any cardiovascular disease, common in elderly people.”
14. Esteller, who studies genetics and how it applies to health conditions, became curious about how
15. Ms. Branyas’ genetic makeup might affect her aging. After a long talk with Ms. Branyas, Mr.
16. Esteller believes there must be more to her longevity than meets the eye.
17. The remarkable woman has not had an easy life; she survived an earthquake while she
18. was in the US, a major fire, both world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Flu pandemic,
19. and more recently, COVID-19 in 2020. Despite the various pandemics, wars, and family losses
20. she has endured, her longevity has made scientists question what her secret could be. “We know
21. Maria’s chronological age, 116 years, but we must determine her biological age,” Esteller said to
22. ABC, believing that “she is much younger” physically. The scientist has taken biological samples
23. of saliva, blood, and urine from Ms. Branyas, which are thought to be the “longest-lived” biological
24. samples and have great scientific value, Josep Carreras, the head of a leukemia research institute,
25. said to ABC. The samples will be compared with the 116-year-old’s middle daughter, who is 79
26. years old.
27. Ms. Branyas often has been asked what her secret is to her long life, and she uses her X
28. account to post her advice for others. She attributed her longevity to “order, tranquillity, good
29. connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no
30. regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people”. However, she also credits a great
31. amount of luck. “It is clear that there is a genetic component because there are several members
32. of her family who are over 90 years old,” said Esteller. The rare biological samples will assess her
33. genes, which will hopefully advance the research of drugs that could help diseases associated
34. with age and cancer. As for Ms. Branyas, she said on her X account that she is “very happy she
35. can be useful for research and progress”.

(Available in: https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/lifestyle/maria-branyas-oldest-person-alive-spain-b2436228.html – text especially adapted for this test).

Instruction: answer questions 31 to 40 based on the following text. The highlights throughout the text are cited in the questions.

Carnival

1. ______ Carnival is ____ festival celebrated in _____countries of Catholic tradition, often
2. with public parades of playful, imaginative wagons typically called "floats, masking, jokes and
3. feasts”.
4. Etymology
5. The word carnival comes from the Latin "carnem levare" (=eliminate meat) and
6. originally indicated the banquet that was held on the last day of Carnival (Mardi Gras),
7. immediately before Lent, the period of fasting and abstinence when Christians would abstain
8. _____ meat. The first evidence of the use of the word "carnevale" (or "carnevalo") are the texts
9. of minstrel Matazone da Caligano of the late 13th century and writer Giovanni Sercambi around
10. 1400.
11. Carnival period
12. In Catholic countries, traditionally Carnival begins on the Septuagesima Sunday (70
13. days to Easter, it was the first of the nine Sundays before the Holy Week in the Gregorian
14. calendar), and in the Roman rite ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the
15. beginning of Lent. The climax is usually from Thursday until Tuesday, the last day of Carnival.
16. Being connected with Easter which is a moveable feast, the final dates of Carnival vary each
17. year, though in some places it may begin already on 17^th January. Since Catholic Easter is on
18. the Sunday after the 17first full moon of spring, therefore from 22 March to 25 April, and since
19. there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, then in non-leap years the last day of
20. Carnival, Mardi Gras, can fall any time within February 3 to March 9.
21. In the Ambrosian rite, which is followed in the Archdiocese of Milan and in some
22. neighboring dioceses, Lent begins with the first Sunday of Lent, therefore the last day of
23. Carnival is on Saturday, four days later than the Mardi Gras in other areas of Italy.
24. Carnival in antiquity
25. Although present in the Catholic tradition, Carnival has its origins in much older
26. celebrations, such as the Greek Dionysian festivals ("Anthesteria") or the Roman "Saturnalia".
27. During these ancient rites a temporary dissolution of the social obligations and hierarchies took
28. place in favor of chaos, jokes and even debauchery. From a historical and religious point of
29. view Carnival represented, therefore, a period of renewal, when chaos replaced the established
30. order, but once festive period was over, a new or the old order re-emerged for another cycle
31. until the next carnival.
32. In Babylon, shortly after the vernal equinox the process of the foundation of the cosmos
33. was re-enacted, described with the myth of the struggle of Marduk, the savior-god with Tiamat
34. the dragon, which ended with the victory of the former. During these ceremonies a procession
35. was held in which the forces of chaos were allegorically represented fighting the recreation of
36. the universe, that is the myth of the death and resurrection of Marduk, the savior. In the parade
37. there was a ship on wheels where the deities Moon and Sun were carried along a large avenue
38. - a symbol of the Zodiac - to the sanctuary of Babylon, symbol of the earth. This period was
39. accompanied by an unbridled freedom and a reversal of social order and morality.
40. In the Roman world the feast in honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis involved the presence
41. of masked groups, as told by Lucius Apuleius in the Metamorphoses (Book XI). Among the
42. Romans the end of the old year was represented by a man covered with goat skins, carried in
43. procession, hit with sticks and called Mamurius Veturius.
44. Carnival is therefore a moment in a mythic cycle, it is the movement of spirits between
45. heaven, earth and the underworld. In the spring, when the earth begins to show its power,
46. Carnival opens a passage between the earth and the underworld, whose souls must be honored
47. and for a short period the living lend them their bodies wearing masks. Masks therefore have
48. often an apotropaic meaning, as the wearer takes on the features of the spirit represented.
49. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Medici in Florence organized large masked carts
50. called "Trionfi" accompanied by carnival songs and dances one, the "Trionfo di Bacco e Arianna"
51. also written by Lorenzo the Magnificent. In Rome under the Popes horse races took place and
52. a called the "race of moccoletti" where runners bearing lit candles tried to blow out each other's
53. candles.

(Available at: http://www.italyheritage.com/traditions/carnival/2023/04/14/ – text especially adapted for this test).

Instruction: answer questions 31 to 40 based on the following text. The highlights throughout the text are cited in the questions.

Carnival

1. ______ Carnival is ____ festival celebrated in _____countries of Catholic tradition, often
2. with public parades of playful, imaginative wagons typically called "floats, masking, jokes and
3. feasts”.
4. Etymology
5. The word carnival comes from the Latin "carnem levare" (=eliminate meat) and
6. originally indicated the banquet that was held on the last day of Carnival (Mardi Gras),
7. immediately before Lent, the period of fasting and abstinence when Christians would abstain
8. _____ meat. The first evidence of the use of the word "carnevale" (or "carnevalo") are the texts
9. of minstrel Matazone da Caligano of the late 13th century and writer Giovanni Sercambi around
10. 1400.
11. Carnival period
12. In Catholic countries, traditionally Carnival begins on the Septuagesima Sunday (70
13. days to Easter, it was the first of the nine Sundays before the Holy Week in the Gregorian
14. calendar), and in the Roman rite ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the
15. beginning of Lent. The climax is usually from Thursday until Tuesday, the last day of Carnival.
16. Being connected with Easter which is a moveable feast, the final dates of Carnival vary each
17. year, though in some places it may begin already on 17^th January. Since Catholic Easter is on
18. the Sunday after the 17first full moon of spring, therefore from 22 March to 25 April, and since
19. there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, then in non-leap years the last day of
20. Carnival, Mardi Gras, can fall any time within February 3 to March 9.
21. In the Ambrosian rite, which is followed in the Archdiocese of Milan and in some
22. neighboring dioceses, Lent begins with the first Sunday of Lent, therefore the last day of
23. Carnival is on Saturday, four days later than the Mardi Gras in other areas of Italy.
24. Carnival in antiquity
25. Although present in the Catholic tradition, Carnival has its origins in much older
26. celebrations, such as the Greek Dionysian festivals ("Anthesteria") or the Roman "Saturnalia".
27. During these ancient rites a temporary dissolution of the social obligations and hierarchies took
28. place in favor of chaos, jokes and even debauchery. From a historical and religious point of
29. view Carnival represented, therefore, a period of renewal, when chaos replaced the established
30. order, but once festive period was over, a new or the old order re-emerged for another cycle
31. until the next carnival.
32. In Babylon, shortly after the vernal equinox the process of the foundation of the cosmos
33. was re-enacted, described with the myth of the struggle of Marduk, the savior-god with Tiamat
34. the dragon, which ended with the victory of the former. During these ceremonies a procession
35. was held in which the forces of chaos were allegorically represented fighting the recreation of
36. the universe, that is the myth of the death and resurrection of Marduk, the savior. In the parade
37. there was a ship on wheels where the deities Moon and Sun were carried along a large avenue
38. - a symbol of the Zodiac - to the sanctuary of Babylon, symbol of the earth. This period was
39. accompanied by an unbridled freedom and a reversal of social order and morality.
40. In the Roman world the feast in honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis involved the presence
41. of masked groups, as told by Lucius Apuleius in the Metamorphoses (Book XI). Among the
42. Romans the end of the old year was represented by a man covered with goat skins, carried in
43. procession, hit with sticks and called Mamurius Veturius.
44. Carnival is therefore a moment in a mythic cycle, it is the movement of spirits between
45. heaven, earth and the underworld. In the spring, when the earth begins to show its power,
46. Carnival opens a passage between the earth and the underworld, whose souls must be honored
47. and for a short period the living lend them their bodies wearing masks. Masks therefore have
48. often an apotropaic meaning, as the wearer takes on the features of the spirit represented.
49. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Medici in Florence organized large masked carts
50. called "Trionfi" accompanied by carnival songs and dances one, the "Trionfo di Bacco e Arianna"
51. also written by Lorenzo the Magnificent. In Rome under the Popes horse races took place and
52. a called the "race of moccoletti" where runners bearing lit candles tried to blow out each other's
53. candles.

(Available at: http://www.italyheritage.com/traditions/carnival/2023/04/14/ – text especially adapted for this test).

O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder às questões de 21 a 25.

PUCKER UP I'm a dermatologist - you've been using lip balm all wrong - here's why your pout is still chapped

(1º§)YOU might be reaching for your lip balm more and more through these winter months. But are your lips still sore and chapped, no matter how much of the stuff you slather on? According to dermatology experts, the type of balm you put on your pout might be more important than the amount.

(2º§)Dr. Mona Gohara, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and Dr. Brendan Camp, a dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York, told TODAY why some lip balms could do more harm than good.

(3º§)To start with, they discussed why your lips might be chapped in the first place. The cold weather can wreak havoc on them as the skin is very thin, so they're more likely to dry out, Dr Gohara said. Meanwhile, Dr Camp noted that the delicate skin of your pout can easily be irritated by ingredients in skincare or food, yeast or bacteria, and even enzymes in saliva.

(4º§)You might also not be giving them enough love: lot's of people forget about their lips when they're moisturising their face. But if your lips are dry and chapped not long after you apply your balm, you just might be using the wrong kind.

(5º§)Four things to avoid in a lip balm:

1.Tingly balms

2. Fragrances

3. Flavouring agents

4. Dyes

(6º§)Dr Camp said these might cause allergic contact dermatitis, a type of eczema triggered by contact with a particular substance. And if your lips are dry, cracked, red, scaly and itchy, you might have developed a sensitivity to an ingredient in your lip balm, he added. Moral of the story, check your lip balm ingredients.

(7º§)Since you're doing that, there are a few ingredients that will help hydrate your pout. Dr Camp said you want to look for ingredients that will help trap water in the skin while keeping it moisturized for a long period of time. "Ingredients like beeswax, olive oil, castor oil, coconut oil, and shea butter are often used for this purpose," he said.

(8º§)You should also be wearing a salve with SPF to protect your lips from the sun. Meanwhile, Dr Gohara said that your ideal balm will have a combination of humectants (like hyaluronic acid and glycerin), which draw moisture into the skin, and occlusives (such as shea butter and mineral oil), which lock moisture in.

(9º§)The NHS recommended you use one containing petroleum jelly or beeswax. It said: "Try a few different lip balms if one is not working for you - some people may be sensitive to some fragrances, dyes or cosmetic ingredients."

(10º§)As long as you're using the right type of balm, Dr Gohara said you can apply it multiple times a day. According to Dr Camp, it's best to put on lip balm once in the morning and once before bed. There are other ways of preventing dry lips too.

(11º§)Lisa Borg, skin specialist and nutritionist at the Pulse Light Clinc, said the best thing you can do is drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Preferably quality water as opposed to dehydrating coffee and fizzy drinks, she noted.

(12º§)Lisa also recommended eating foods that simulate saliva production, such as apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, watermelon, lemons, and crunchy fibrous vegetables like carrots and celery. Meanwhile, the NHS said you should wash your hands before applying lip balm and cover your lips with a scarf when you're outside in cold weather. If you're outdoors, use a balm with SPF 15 or more every two hours, it added.

(13º§)Common causes of dry lips: cold weather, dry air or wind; damage from the sun; dehydration; a lip injury; allergies; and lack of vitamins and minerals. If you have sore or dry lips, you should avoid: picking or biting any flaky skin on your lips - this can slow down healing; licking dry or cracked lips - this can make them sore; and sharing lip balms with other people - this can spread germs.

(adapted) -wwrongg-pu--chappeed .uk/health/21661055/dermatologist-using-lip-balm-wrong-pout-chapped/

O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder às questões de 21 a 25.

PUCKER UP I'm a dermatologist - you've been using lip balm all wrong - here's why your pout is still chapped

(1º§)YOU might be reaching for your lip balm more and more through these winter months. But are your lips still sore and chapped, no matter how much of the stuff you slather on? According to dermatology experts, the type of balm you put on your pout might be more important than the amount.

(2º§)Dr. Mona Gohara, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and Dr. Brendan Camp, a dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York, told TODAY why some lip balms could do more harm than good.

(3º§)To start with, they discussed why your lips might be chapped in the first place. The cold weather can wreak havoc on them as the skin is very thin, so they're more likely to dry out, Dr Gohara said. Meanwhile, Dr Camp noted that the delicate skin of your pout can easily be irritated by ingredients in skincare or food, yeast or bacteria, and even enzymes in saliva.

(4º§)You might also not be giving them enough love: lot's of people forget about their lips when they're moisturising their face. But if your lips are dry and chapped not long after you apply your balm, you just might be using the wrong kind.

(5º§)Four things to avoid in a lip balm:

1.Tingly balms

2. Fragrances

3. Flavouring agents

4. Dyes

(6º§)Dr Camp said these might cause allergic contact dermatitis, a type of eczema triggered by contact with a particular substance. And if your lips are dry, cracked, red, scaly and itchy, you might have developed a sensitivity to an ingredient in your lip balm, he added. Moral of the story, check your lip balm ingredients.

(7º§)Since you're doing that, there are a few ingredients that will help hydrate your pout. Dr Camp said you want to look for ingredients that will help trap water in the skin while keeping it moisturized for a long period of time. "Ingredients like beeswax, olive oil, castor oil, coconut oil, and shea butter are often used for this purpose," he said.

(8º§)You should also be wearing a salve with SPF to protect your lips from the sun. Meanwhile, Dr Gohara said that your ideal balm will have a combination of humectants (like hyaluronic acid and glycerin), which draw moisture into the skin, and occlusives (such as shea butter and mineral oil), which lock moisture in.

(9º§)The NHS recommended you use one containing petroleum jelly or beeswax. It said: "Try a few different lip balms if one is not working for you - some people may be sensitive to some fragrances, dyes or cosmetic ingredients."

(10º§)As long as you're using the right type of balm, Dr Gohara said you can apply it multiple times a day. According to Dr Camp, it's best to put on lip balm once in the morning and once before bed. There are other ways of preventing dry lips too.

(11º§)Lisa Borg, skin specialist and nutritionist at the Pulse Light Clinc, said the best thing you can do is drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Preferably quality water as opposed to dehydrating coffee and fizzy drinks, she noted.

(12º§)Lisa also recommended eating foods that simulate saliva production, such as apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, watermelon, lemons, and crunchy fibrous vegetables like carrots and celery. Meanwhile, the NHS said you should wash your hands before applying lip balm and cover your lips with a scarf when you're outside in cold weather. If you're outdoors, use a balm with SPF 15 or more every two hours, it added.

(13º§)Common causes of dry lips: cold weather, dry air or wind; damage from the sun; dehydration; a lip injury; allergies; and lack of vitamins and minerals. If you have sore or dry lips, you should avoid: picking or biting any flaky skin on your lips - this can slow down healing; licking dry or cracked lips - this can make them sore; and sharing lip balms with other people - this can spread germs.

(adapted) -wwrongg-pu--chappeed .uk/health/21661055/dermatologist-using-lip-balm-wrong-pout-chapped/

The experience of being hospitalised is usually an anxiety-provoking and even traumatic experience, especially for children. Children are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of being ill, and their hospitalisation is a stressful event with potential unpleasant consequences for children and their families. In a sense, for children the hospital is like a foreign country to whose customs, language and culture they must learn to adapt, a situation which presents many challenges. Health care professionals, such as physicians, nurses, and psychologists, must be aware of the psychological and emotional needs of their patients, particularly those of children. Pediatric hospitals must go beyond a narrow focus of the medical aspect of treating children’s illnesses, by providing, for example, age-appropriate communication, support, and empathy, on the part of the medical and psychological staff, as means of interventions for those children who display marked signs of distress.

Avaiable in: https://www.oatext.com/Psychological-emotional-and-physical-experiences-of-hospitalized- children.php. Access: 30 Nov. 2022. Adapted.

The Reasons Why We Dance

1. As a choreographer, I get asked to share my opinion about a myriad of dance-related
2. topics, from the practical, like “How can dance help you get in shape?” to the existential, like “Is
3. my dancing a projection of my self-image?”. But the question I think matters most is: why do
4. people dance? What is about moving our bodies to a song we love that is so joyfully Pavlovian?
5. Why do we watch videos and take lessons on something that could be labeled as trivial? Why do
6. we love it so?
7. There are the obvious answers. We dance for physical fitness, mental clarity, emotional
8. stability, and other such pluses. However, all these benefits could be attained by other means –
9. though I confess I have yet to find a better alternative than a great “cha cha”* to lift both one’s
10. heart rate and spirits. There must be something glorious about dancing that is more than just
11. intangible. We cannot seem to explain it, yet we all know it so well that we do not hesitate to
12. tap our feet to a Gershwin melody or pulse with the percussion of a samba rhythm.
13. Perhaps dance is the way we express ourselves when words are insufficient. The joy we
14. feel over newfound love, the determination we have in the face of great sorrow or adversity, the
15. passionate fire of our youth, and the peacefulness of our softer and more graceful years – maybe
16. they are never expressed more fully than through a waltz, or a tango, or a jive. We all want to
17. be understood, and if we could truly speak the words that describe our feelings, how deep and
18. powerful they would surely be. But alas, those words never seem to come to us just right. Maybe
19. dance is simply a translator for the human heart.
20. Perhaps dance is the medium through which we show the world who we truly are and who
21. we can be. All of us, if we are honest, believe deep down that we are not ordinary. We know
22. ourselves to be wonderfully unique, with many layers of personality and talent woven in such a
23. way that no one on earth could possibly have our same make-up. We know it. We just do not
24. always know how to prove it. Maybe dance gives us the opportunity. And perhaps dance is how
25. we choose to remember, how we hold on to the past. It is how we relive __ fun-filled days of
26. our youth or __ time we looked into their eyes and knew they were the one. It is our tribute to
27. the heroes of yesterday who jitterbugged like carefree boys and girls, when tomorrow they would
28. march as men and women to defend freedom’s cause. It is the chance to be __ princess again,
29. waiting for __ outstretched hand and the call to __ romance that is graceful, true, and not as
30. forgotten as the cynics say. When we dance, we can remember them all a little better, feel the
31. butterflies once again, and if only for a moment, return to the purest part of our lives when time
32. was of no matter…for we were dancing.
33. Why do we dance? Every answer will be different, and that is as it should be. Perhaps the
34. better question is, “Why would we not?”

*Cha Cha: an energetic modern dance.

(Available in: https://dancewithmeusa.com/why-we-dance-the-reasons/ – text especially adapted for this test).

The Reasons Why We Dance

1. As a choreographer, I get asked to share my opinion about a myriad of dance-related
2. topics, from the practical, like “How can dance help you get in shape?” to the existential, like “Is
3. my dancing a projection of my self-image?”. But the question I think matters most is: why do
4. people dance? What is about moving our bodies to a song we love that is so joyfully Pavlovian?
5. Why do we watch videos and take lessons on something that could be labeled as trivial? Why do
6. we love it so?
7. There are the obvious answers. We dance for physical fitness, mental clarity, emotional
8. stability, and other such pluses. However, all these benefits could be attained by other means –
9. though I confess I have yet to find a better alternative than a great “cha cha”* to lift both one’s
10. heart rate and spirits. There must be something glorious about dancing that is more than just
11. intangible. We cannot seem to explain it, yet we all know it so well that we do not hesitate to
12. tap our feet to a Gershwin melody or pulse with the percussion of a samba rhythm.
13. Perhaps dance is the way we express ourselves when words are insufficient. The joy we
14. feel over newfound love, the determination we have in the face of great sorrow or adversity, the
15. passionate fire of our youth, and the peacefulness of our softer and more graceful years – maybe
16. they are never expressed more fully than through a waltz, or a tango, or a jive. We all want to
17. be understood, and if we could truly speak the words that describe our feelings, how deep and
18. powerful they would surely be. But alas, those words never seem to come to us just right. Maybe
19. dance is simply a translator for the human heart.
20. Perhaps dance is the medium through which we show the world who we truly are and who
21. we can be. All of us, if we are honest, believe deep down that we are not ordinary. We know
22. ourselves to be wonderfully unique, with many layers of personality and talent woven in such a
23. way that no one on earth could possibly have our same make-up. We know it. We just do not
24. always know how to prove it. Maybe dance gives us the opportunity. And perhaps dance is how
25. we choose to remember, how we hold on to the past. It is how we relive __ fun-filled days of
26. our youth or __ time we looked into their eyes and knew they were the one. It is our tribute to
27. the heroes of yesterday who jitterbugged like carefree boys and girls, when tomorrow they would
28. march as men and women to defend freedom’s cause. It is the chance to be __ princess again,
29. waiting for __ outstretched hand and the call to __ romance that is graceful, true, and not as
30. forgotten as the cynics say. When we dance, we can remember them all a little better, feel the
31. butterflies once again, and if only for a moment, return to the purest part of our lives when time
32. was of no matter…for we were dancing.
33. Why do we dance? Every answer will be different, and that is as it should be. Perhaps the
34. better question is, “Why would we not?”

*Cha Cha: an energetic modern dance.

(Available in: https://dancewithmeusa.com/why-we-dance-the-reasons/ – text especially adapted for this test).