Questões de Inglês - Presente perfeito | Present perfect para Concurso

Answers the question according to the text below.

There are a number of reasons why animals are important to human beings. The main reason is that animals benefit us personally, socially and economically.

Since the time of our cavemen ancestors, there have been interactions between humans and animals. Animals can be our friends, companions, protectors, benefactors and comforters. Research studies indicate that people who own pets and have close bond with them have higher self-esteem. They are also generally happier and healthier. There are many reported cases in which pets protected their owners and family members. In the United States, a pet dog alerted its owners that their babysitter was abusive. A couple who hired a babysitter to take care of their baby noticed that their pet dog was aggressive to the babysitter. Upon investigation, they discovered that their child was abused by the babysitter.

Animals provide many other benefits to humans. Insulin, a hormone in our body which controls the amount of sugar absorbed by our blood, could not be artificially produced previously. It had to be derived from cows and pigs. Nowadays, even though animal insulin has largely been replaced by artificial human insulin, the former is still available on prescription. Trained guide dogs are available to serve as loyal companions and ‘pairs of eyes’ for the blind. In the past, hunters took along hunting dogs to track, sniff out and catch wild game. When night fell, the canines were the hunters’ companions and protectors. In rehabilitation centers, animals are used to help the sick recover. For instance, petting a pony helps to lift a sick child’s spirit.

Throughout history, animals have helped humans. We use animals to work for us. In the agricultural sector, oxen pull ploughs before seeds are planted in the soil. We use horses for transportation purposes. They pull carriages and covered wagons for us. Even though oxen and horses are rarely used for farming and travelling purposes respectively today, the horses are still being used for riding and racing. They are also used to participate in contests in order to win awards. Farmers depend on animals such as cattle, poultry, sheep, goats, among others, for their horses are rarely used for farming and travelling purposes respectively today, the horses are still being used for riding and racing. They sell the animals’ meat, milk and eggs to earn money. In the fishing industry, although the use of modern equipment and technology have replaced the use of animals to catch fish, fishermen in some parts of the world still use animals like dolphins, otters and cormorants for the purpose.

Another indirectly way in which animals help us is that they assist in the reproduction of a variety of fruit and vegetable crops, which are an important part of our healthy diet. Without animals to help disperse seeds and pollinate plants, many of them would have become extinct.

In conclusion, animals are important to human beings because they benefit us socially, personally as well as economically. Since they are of great benefit to us, we should treat them well.

https://english312.com/why-are-animals-important-to-human-beings.html 

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT CAREFULLY, AND THEN CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE THAT BEST COMPLETES THE STATEMENTS BELOW, ACCORDING TO THE TEXT. 

Mrs Parker died suddenly in October. She and Mr Parker lived in a Victorian house next to ours, and Mr Parker was my piano teacher. He commuted to Wall Street, where he was a securities analyst, but he had studied at Juilliard and gave lessons on the side – for the pleasure of it, not for money. His only students were me and the church organist.

The word “tragic” was mentioned in connection with her death. She and Mr Parker were in the middle of their middle age, and neither of them had ever been seriously ill. It was heart failure, and unexpected. My parents went to see Mr Parker as soon as they got the news, since they took their responsibilities as neighbours seriously, and two days later they took me to pay a formal condolence call. 

I loved the Parkers’ house. It was a Victorian house, and was shaped like a wedding cake. The living-room was round, and all the walls curved. The third floor was a tower. Every five years the house was painted chocolate brown, which faded gradually to the colour of weak tea. The front-wall window was a stained-glass picture of a fat baby holding a bunch of roses.

On Wednesday afternoons, Mr Parker came home on an early train, and I had my lesson. Mr Parker’s teaching method never varied. He never scolded or corrected. The first fifteen minutes were devoted to a warm-up in which I could play anything I liked. Then Mr Parker played the lesson of the week. His playing was terrifically precise, but his eyes became dreamy and unfocused. Then I played the same lesson, and after that we worked on the difficult passages, but basically he wanted me to hear my mistakes. After that, we sat in the solarium and discussed the next week’s lesson. Mr Parker usually played a record and talked in detail about the composer, his life and times. Mrs Parker used to leave us a tray of cookies and lemonade, cold in the summer and hot in the winter. When the cookies were gone, the lesson was over and I left, passing the Victorian child in the hallway. 

(COLWIN, Laurie. Mr Parker. In: PIERCE, Tina and COCHRANE, Edward (eds.). Twentieth century English short stories. London: Bell & Hyman, 1979, p. 48-9. Adapted.)