Questões de Concurso Comentadas sobre presente perfeito progressivo | present perfect continuous em inglês

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY



    Saint Patrick's Day, also known as The Feast of Saint Patrick, is a traditional holiday celebrated every year on March 17th, the day the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, died. 

      Patrick, who was born in the fourth century, lived in the British Isles, a land that had been invaded and conquered first by the Romans and then by Germanic tribes. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured and taken as a slave from the British Isles to what is now Ireland. He lived there for several years herding sheep. He was a religious boy, and he prayed that he would someday return to his homeland.

     Legend has it that one night while he was praying, a voice told him to escape from the farm, and find a ship that was waiting for him in a harbor two hundred miles aways. Patrick got to the ship, sailed to Europe, and disembarked in what is now probably France. He ---1--- several of the ship's crew through a dangerous forest, praying all the time. Neither Patrick nor any member of his crew was captured. When some of the men were about to die of starvation, wild animals appeared to them to eat. Events such as these appeared to be miracles and gave rise to later legends surrounding Patrick.

    Finally finding his way home, Patrick felt that he was called by God to perform an important mission. He believed it was his duty to go back to Ireland and convert the Celtic people to the Christian Religion.

      Patrick arrived in England and became a missionary, traveling from village to village and talking about his faith. Once, several members of a tribe approached Patrick and told him that they found it difficult to understand and believe in the Holy Trinity. Patrick thought a moment, then stooped down and picked one of the plentiful shamrocks growing wild around Ireland. “Here are three leaves", he said, “yet it is one plant. Imagine the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as each of these leaves. Here they are, yet they are one plant." The tribesmen understood, because Patrick had used a familiar object to explain. From that time on, the shamrock has been a revered symbol of Ireland.

    There are lots of stories about Patrick. One of them is about him forcing snakes out of the entire country of Ireland. Even though there are many different stories about how he accomplished such a task, it is probably not true. Patrick died on March 17th, and the Irish people set aside the day to mourn. He became the patron saint of Ireland. Mourning turned to commemorating him and celebrating his life. 

    Because of Saint Patrick, lots of cities around the world with a large population of Irish have parades. Green is one of the national colors of Ireland. Green stripes are painted on the streets where the parade will travel. People wear green shirts, ties, hair ribbons, and hats. There are even pubs which serve green beer on that day. 

   Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian holiday in the early seventeenth century. It is now observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Not only that, but it also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.

Source: adapted from http://www.inglesnapontadalingua.com.br/2014/03

Microsoft to Offer Free Virus Protection Software for
Windows
By Scott Gilbertson November 19, 2008

Microsoft plans to offer Windows users a new antivirus
package designed to protect the OS from viruses, spyware,
rootkits and trojans. The new software is tentatively code-
named Morro, and will be available for free to Windows XP,
Vista and 7 users sometime in the second half of 2009.
The new software will reportedly use very minimal resources,
which means it should work well with older PCs. If fact,
Microsoft says Morro has been specially designed for older
PCs and low-spec machines popular in developing nations. In
addition to its minimal processor demands, Morro has been
developed to use very little bandwidth,making it ideal for those
without broadband connections.
Morro will replace Microsoft's current, paid service, Windows
Live One Care, which has been available on a subscription
basis for $50 per year.
While a free, antivirus solution that ships with Windows would
be a boon for the average user, it could also mean trouble for
third-party software solutions. Given that a bundled solution
could raise antitrust concerns and would no doubt see
competitors like McAfee and Grisoft reaching for the lawyers
Microsoft will be offering Morro as a separate download.
Assuming Morro can deliver decent security it should be a
welcome free addition to Windows, but we don't suggest
throwing away your third-party software just yet. Antivirus
software suites will likely continue to hold an edge over Morro
by offering additional handy tools like password managers,
identity theft protection and browser-based phishing
protection.
Still, if you've been running Windows with no antivirus software
at all,Morrowill no doubt be better than nothing, and it's hard to
argue with free.

Para responder às questões de números 46 a 50, considere o texto abaixo.