Questões de Concurso Sobre vocabulário | vocabulary em inglês

Text I 

Trust and audit

    Trust is what auditors sell. They review the accuracy, adequacy or propriety of other people’s work. Financial statement audits are prepared for the owners of a company and presented publically to provide assurance to the market and the wider public. Public service audits are presented to governing bodies and, in some cases, directly to parliament.

      It is the independent scepticism of the auditor that allows shareholders and the public to be confident that they are being given a true and fair account of the organisation in question. The auditor’s signature pledges his or her reputational capital so that the audited body’s public statements can be trusted. […]

    Given the fundamental importance of trust, should auditors not then feel immensely valuable in the context of declining trust? Not so. Among our interviewees, a consensus emerged that the audit profession is under-producing trust at a critical time. One aspect of the problem is the quietness of audit: it is a profession that literally goes about its work behind the scenes. The face and processes of the auditor are rarely seen in the organisations they scrutinise, and relatively rarely in the outside world. Yet, if we listen to the mounting evidence of the importance of social capital, we know that frequent and reliable contacts between groups are important to strengthening and expanding trust.

     So what can be done? Our research suggests that more frequent dialogue with audit committees and a more ambitious outward facing role for the sector’s leadership would be welcome. But we think more is needed. Audit for the 21st century should be understood and designed as primarily a confidence building process within the audited organisation and across its stakeholders. If the audit is a way of ensuring the client’s accountability, much more needs to be done to make the audit itself exemplary in its openness and inclusiveness.

    Instead of an audit report being a trust-producing product, the audit process could become a trust-producing practice in which the auditor uses his or her position as a trusted intermediary to broker rigorous learning across all dimensions of the organisation and its stakeholders. The views of investors, staff, suppliers and customers could routinely be considered, as could questions from the general public; online technologies offer numerous opportunities to inform, involve and invite.

    From being a service that consists almost exclusively of external investigation by a warranted professional, auditing needs to become more co-productive, with the auditor’s role expanding to include that of an expert convenor who is willing to share the tools of enquiry. Audit could move from ‘black box’ to ‘glass box’.

    But the profession will still struggle to secure trust unless it can stake a stronger claim to supporting improvement. Does it increase the economic, social or environmental value of the organisations it reviews? It is one thing to believe in the accuracy of a financial statement audit, but it is another thing to believe in its utility.

Adapted from: https://auditfutures.net/pdf/AuditFutures-RSA-EnlighteningProfessions.pdf

Dear Madam:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. Hence, I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Your very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln.

(Lederer, Richard. The miracle of language. Pocket Books, New York, NY.)

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Dear Madam:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. Hence, I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Your very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln.

(Lederer, Richard. The miracle of language. Pocket Books, New York, NY.)

Read the text to answer.

The Story Behind TIME’s ‘Resilience of Ukraine’ Cover

Friday the 13th is considered a day on which bad things occur. It is a superstition. A superstition is a belief in something ominous without an actual reason. The origin of this superstition is unclear. Both Friday and the number 13 have been considered unlucky for hundreds of years. Bad luck associated with the number 13 may have biblical roots. Some believe Eve bit the apple from the Tree of Knowledge on the 13th day. Others point to the idea that there were 13 people present for Jesus’s Last Supper, the day before Good Friday. The number 13 was considered so unlucky, that many hotels and buildings were built without a 13th floor! It wasn’t until the 20th century, however, that Friday and “13” were paired together in bad luck. In 1907, author Thomas Lawson wrote Friday, the Thirteenth. The book was about a stock broker who purposely caused the stockmarket to crash on that day.

The Friday the 13th superstition, however, gained serious traction with the Friday the 13th horror film series. Originally released in 1980, the story centers around the “ghost” of Jason Voorhees. In the movie, Jason, with his iconic hockey mask, hunts the hapless characters who come to vacation at Crystal Lake – the lake he drowned in as a child. Twelve movies later, the Friday the 13th series remains one of the most successful horror film franchises in history.

Is Friday the 13th actually unlucky compared to other days? Not really. There is no actual evidence to suggest that events that have occurred on Friday the 13th throughout history are worse than events that have occurred on other days. Some studies have shown that Friday the 13th is actually safer than other days because people are more anxious and attentive. People may actually find Friday the 13th to be lucky. It is thought that air travel is cheaper and booking a wedding is much cheaper on Friday the 13th than on other days. It is clear, however, that Friday the 13th will be around for a long time. Over the next 4,800 months, the 13th will occur on Friday more than any other day!

Social media influencers

It is estimated that about 40 per cent of the world’s population use social media, and many of these billions of social media users look up to influencers to help them decide what to buy and what trends to follow.

So what is an influencer and how do we become one?

An influencer is a person who can influence the decisions of their followers because of their relationship with their audience and their knowledge and expertise in a particular area, e.g. fashion, travel or technology.

Influencers often have a large following of people who pay close attention to their views. They have the power to persuade people to buy things, and influencers are now seen by many companies as a direct way to customers’ hearts. Brands are now asking powerful influencers to market their products. With some influencers charging up to $25,000 for one social media post, it is no surprise that more and more people are keen to become influencers too. If you are one of them, then here are five tips on how to do it.

1. Choose your niche

What is the area that you know most about? What do you feel most excited talking about? Find the specific area that you’re most interested in and develop it.

2. Choose your medium and write an interesting bio

Most influencers these days are bloggers and micro-bloggers. Decide which medium – such as your own online blog, Instagram or Snapchat – is the best way to connect with your followers and chat about your niche area. When you have done that, write an attention-grabbing bio that describes you and your speciality area in an interesting and unique way. Make sure that people who read your bio will want to follow you. 

3. Post regularly and consistently

Many influencers post daily on their social media accounts. The more you post, the more likely people will follow you. Also, ensure that your posts are consistent and possibly follow a theme.

4. Tell an interesting story

Whether it is a photo or a comment that you are posting, use it to tell a story that will catch the attention of your followers and help them connect with you.

5. Make sure people can easily find your content

Publicise your posts on a variety of social media, use hashtags and catchy titles and make sure that they can be easily found. There is no point writing the most exciting blogposts or posting the most attractive photographs if no one is going to see them.

Most importantly, if you want to become a social media influencer, you need to have patience. Keep posting and your following will gradually increase. Good luck!

Fonte: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/b1-reading/social-media-influencers (Acesso em 17/10/2022

às 13h20)