Questões de Vestibular Sobre inglês
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Read the text and choose the best alternative for the underlined word.
Pictures of Ascent in the Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe.
By Douglas Anderson.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2009. xi, 201 pp. $ 80.00.
The material world and the ability to transcend it are at the heart of this study of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings. In chapters such as “Problems of Disposal” and “The Gravity of Things,” Anderson contrasts the “weight of living” present in Poe’s life and work with, in Italo Calvino’s words, the “lightness of thoughtfulness.” This book provides a taxonomy of Poe’s literary imagination through suggestive literary analyses of the fictive environments that inhabit and undergird his stories, and it expands the purview of Poe studies as well as of nineteenth-century American literature.
Available in: <http://americanliterature.dukejournals.org/content/82/3/663.full.pdf> . Access on: August 2015.
Taxonomy means
Read the text below:
Study: Junk Food Doesn’t Only Make You Fat, It Makes You Lazy
According to a recent study by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles, a diet rich in processed food and fat leads not only to excess weight but also to less motivation. Researchers found that rats on a junk food diet were significantly fatter than rats on a healthy diet. But the rats with the unhealthy diet also were less active and mentally slower. "Our data suggest that diet-induced obesity is a cause, rather than an effect, of laziness. Either the highly processed diet causes fatigue or the diet causes obesity, which causes fatigue," says lead researcher Aaron Blaisdell.
Disponível em: <http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=94296> . Acesso em: abril de 2015.
According to the text, it is possible to state that:
I. Rats which ate healthy food were thinner than the ones which ate junk food.
II. Laziness is a consequence from obesity.
III. Obesity can be considered as an effect of laziness.
IV. Less motivation is one of the causes which make junk food ingestion attractive.
V. Rats on a healthy diet were more active.
Read the text and choose the best alternative.
Solar eclipse in Europe
The UK could be plunged into darkness next month, as experts warn there could be the biggest solar eclipse since 1999. Nearly 90% of the sun's rays are expected to be blocked out in parts of Europe on March 20th.
In London and the Southeast, 85% of the sun will be obscured by the moon, while in northern Scotland, more than 95% will be covered.
But the National Grid warns there could be a solar power outage as a result. Solar power isn’t widely used in the UK, but other parts of Europe that heavily rely on it could be out of electricity for a short while.
There's no need to worry, though – the European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity have been planning for the event for months.
The eclipse will last for around two hours at 8:40 a.m. The next one will not be until 2026.
Disponível em: <http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/solar-eclipse-in-europe-level-3/> . Acesso em: março 2015.
Check the statements according to lexical-semantic aspects from the text above:
I. In: ‘The UK could be plunged into darkness next month…’, the verb in bold could be changed to ‘immersed’ without changing the meaning of the sentence.
II. The word ‘warn’ in the first paragraph means to make someone conscious of a possible problem or danger so they will not be hurt or affected by it.
III. In the sentence: ‘In London and the Southeast, 85% of the sun will be obscured by the moon, while in northern Scotland, more than 95% will be covered.’; the conjunction ‘while’ means that the same exact thing will be happening in the entire area.
IV. Read the sentence: ‘But the National Grid warns there could be a solar power outage as a result.’ The words in bold ‘as a result’ mean that a solar power outage could happen because of the solar eclipse.
V. The meaning of the word ‘eclipse’ in the last paragraph is ‘decline’.
Choose the CORRECT alternative.
Read the text and answer the question.
Life stress may lead to cognitive developmental delays in children
According to a new study, children living in harsh or unstable environments are more likely to experience learning and cognitive delays by age 4.
Researchers examined the cortisol levels and cognitive delays of 201 children from low-income families in the northeastern United States. It was found that those kids with higher levels of cortisol experienced harsh or insensitive caregiving.
"We discovered that exposure to specific forms of family adversity when children were 2 years old predicted their cortisol profile, which in turn was linked with notable differences in children´s cognitive functioning at age 4," the researchers say.
Disponível em: <http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=100733> . Acesso em: 16/06/15.
According to the research, we can state that:
I. Children who are more stressed may have cognitive delay.
II. Children who are stresser may have developmental delays.
III. Children from more rich families were evaluated in this research.
IV. Children from richer families were evaluated in this research.
V. Children from poorer families were evaluated in this research.
Considere a descrição abaixo.
A longcase clock, also tall-case clock, floor clock, or grandfather clock, is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower, or waist of the case.
Essa descrição corresponde a:
Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto abaixo.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing .. I...
I see friends ..II.. hands
Saying, "how do you do?"
They're really saying,
I love you.
Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto abaixo.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing .. I...
I see friends ..II.. hands
Saying, "how do you do?"
They're really saying,
I love you.
Opera
Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the lyrics. By contrast, in musical theater an actor's dramatic performance is primary, and the music plays a lesser role. The drama in opera is presented using the primary elements of theater such as scenery, costumes, and acting. However, the words of the opera, or libretto, are sung rather than spoken. The singers are accompanied by a musical ensemble ranging from a small instrumental ensemble to a full symphonic orchestra.
Disponível em: <http://www.grammarbank.com/short-reading-comprehension-passages.html> . Acesso em: novembro 2014.
Select the alternative that is TRUE, according to the text.
Read the text and choose the alternative that completes the sentences with the CORRECT passive voice.
Britain’s Roman Villas
Numerous monuments recall the 400 or so years when Britain was part of the Roman Empire. Ancient city walls, old roads, front defenses. But it is at the villas that one feels closest to the everyday life of Roman Britain.
The villas were homes. In their kitchens bread 1 _________ (to bake). Along their corridors echoed family conversations. They 2 _________ well _________ (to build) and handsomely 3 _________.
The first villa 4 _________ (to build) around A.D. 80-90. It was a small farm. Later on, the house 5 _________ (to extend), kitchens and baths 6 _________ (to add).
It 7 _________ (to know) that many villas 8 _________ (to destroy) by fire. Their ruins remain hidden for years and it is often by accident that the site 9 _________ (to discover).
So in Hampshire a number of oyster-shells 10_________ (to find) by a farmer, and the shells, remnants of a long-ago feast, led to the discovery of the villa at Rockbourne.
Disponível em: <http://englishstandarts.blogspot.com.br/2012/06/passive-voice-texts-proverbs-and.html> . Acesso em: julho de 2015.
Read the text.
Summer Solstice
June 21st (or 22nd) is the summer solstice for the northern hemisphere*. Solstice in Latin means "sun standing still." On that day it seems like the sun is standing still because there is more daylight than on any other day. It is the first day of summer and a special day for many groups of people. Many ancient cultures had many kinds of ceremonies on solstice. They celebrated light and fire. Many people also thought it was a time for love and growth. Nowadays many places around the world have parades or parties. The great English writer, William Shakespeare, said** whatever you dream on this night will come to pass. So, have great dreams on June 21! And if you are in the northern hemisphere, enjoy the longest day of the year.
* Summer solstice is on December 21 (or 22nd) in the southern hemisphere. June 21 (or 22nd) is the southern hemisphere's Winter solstice.
** in his play A Midsummer's Night Dream
Glossary
solstice – the 2 times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the earth's equator.
Equator – the imaginary (not real) line that divides the earth into 2 parts.
hemisphere – hemi means to divide into two, sphere means a round object like the earth. Hemisphere means one half of the circle. The northern hemisphere means above the equator or (middle) of the earth.
ancient – very old
come to pass – happen
Adapted from: <http://www.5minuteenglish.com> .
According to the text, it is CORRECT to say:
I. Solstice means that it looks like the sun doesn't move.
II. Summer solstice is on July 21.
III. Many ancient people celebrated summer solstice with fire.
IV. Nowadays no one celebrates solstice.
V. Shakespeare said whatever you dream about on June 21 will happen.
Read the text and choose the CORRECT option:
10 Mysteries of you: Superstition
Barack Obama likes to play basketball in the morning of an election. Golfer Tiger Woods always wears a red shirt when competing on a Sunday. Most of us have our own superstitions, even though we know rationally that they cannot work. Yet superstition is not entirely nonsensical. Our brains are designed to detect structure and order in our environment, says Bruce Hood at the University of Bristol, UK. We are also causal determinists - we assume that outcomes are caused by preceding events. This combination of sensing patterns and inferring causes leaves us wide open to superstitious beliefs. "But there are very good reasons why we have evolved these capabilities," Hood adds. Spotting and responding to some uncertain cause-and-effect relationships can be crucial for survival.
Disponível em:<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327201.400-10-mysteries-of-you-superstition.html> Acesso em: julho de 2015.
I. If Obama doesn’t play basketball, he won’t win the elections.
II. If Tiger Woods didn’t wear a red shirt, he will not compete.
III. There is a combination of factors which make people determinists.
IV. If we haven’t evolved such capabilities, we probably wouldn’t have survived.
V. If we evolved such capabilities, we will survive.
India Cheating Scandal: 600 Students Expelled at Bihar Schools
More than 600 students have been expelled from school in India amid widespread cheating — with some having friends scale the walls of exam centers to pass notes through windows, officials said Friday. The students were among more than 1.4 million high school students taking their 10th grade school finals in the eastern state of Bihar. Many of those caught cheating had smuggled textbooks or scraps of paper to be used for cheating, police and education officials said. Friends, parents and other relatives of the teenagers were seen climbing the sides of some exam centers on Wednesday and Thursday as they tried to reach the windows of the classrooms where the students were taking their exams. They appeared to be trying to pass on cheat sheets with answers written on them. Bihar's education minister, P K Shahi, said the scale of the cheating made it impossible for officials alone to contain and that families should help.
Disponível em:: <http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/six-hundred-students-caught-cheating-bihar-india-schools-n327066> . Acesso em: abril de 2015.
According to the text, choose the alternative which shows the CORRECT sequence of T (true) or F (false).
I. 600 students quit school.
II. Families tried to help the students to cheat.
III. In the education minister’s perspective, it turned out to be ok the families’ help.
IV. At least 1.4 million students were taking the test.
V. They took this test because they did not have good grades during the semester.
When Garfield says “could’ve used a little salt”, what is he expressing?
TEXT
A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.
Workers at the 67th Street Library on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turn away at least 10 people from every reading. They have been so overwhelmed by the rush at story time — held in the branch’s largest room, on the third floor — that once the space is full, they close the door and shut down the elevator. “It is so crowded and so popular, it’s insane,” Jacqueline Schector, a librarian, said.
Story time is drawing capacity crowds at public libraries across New York and across the country at a time when, more than ever, educators are emphasizing the importance of early literacy in preparing children for school and for developing critical thinking skills. The demand crosses economic lines, with parents at all income levels vying to get in.
Many libraries have refashioned the traditional readings to include enrichment activities such as counting numbers and naming colors, as well as music and dance. And many parents have made story time a fixture in their family routines alongside school pickups and playground outings — and, for those who employ nannies, a nonnegotiable requirement of the job.
In New York, demand for story time has surged across the city’s three library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — and has posed logistical challenges for some branches, particularly those in small or cramped buildings. Citywide, story time attendance rose to 510,367 people in fiscal year 2015, up nearly 28 percent from 399,751 in fiscal 2013.
“The secret’s out,” said Lucy Yates, 44, an opera coach with two sons who goes to story time at the Fort Washington Library every week.
Stroller-pushing parents and nannies begin to line up for story time outside some branches an hour before doors open. To prevent overcrowding, tickets are given out at the New Amsterdam and Webster branches, both in Manhattan, the Parkchester branch in the Bronx, and a half-dozen branches in Brooklyn, including in Park Slope, Kensington and Bay Ridge.
The 67th Street branch keeps adding story times — there are now six a week — and holds sessions outdoors in the summer, when crowds can swell to 200 people.
In Queens, 41 library branches are scheduled to add weekend hours this month, and many will undoubtedly include weekend story times. As Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library explained, parents have been begging for them and “every story time is full, every time we have one.”
Long a library staple, story time has typically been an informal reading to a small group of boys and girls sitting in a circle. Today’s story times involve carefully planned lessons by specially trained librarians that emphasize education as much as entertainment, and often include suggestions for parents and caregivers about how to reinforce what children have learned, library officials said.
Libraries around the country have expanded story time and other children’s programs in recent years, attracting a new generation of patrons in an age when online offerings sometimes make trips to the book stacks unnecessary. Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, said such early-literacy efforts are part of a larger transformation libraries are undergoing to become active learning centers for their communities by offering services like classes in English as a second language, computer skills and career counseling.
Ms. Feldman said the increased demand for story time was a product, in part, of more than a decade of work by the library association and others to encourage libraries to play a larger role in preparing young children for school. In 2004, as part of that effort, the association developed a curriculum, “Every Child Ready to Read,” that she said is now used by thousands of libraries.
The New York Public Library is adding 45 children’s librarians to support story time and other programs, some of which are run in partnership with the city government. It has also designated 20 of its 88 neighborhood branches, including the Fort Washington Library, as “enhanced literary sites.” As such, they will double their story time sessions, to an average of four a week, and distribute 15,000 “family literacy kits” that include a book and a schedule of story times.
“It is clear that reading and being exposed to books early in life are critical factors in student success,” Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said. “The library is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening early literacy in this city, expanding efforts to bring reading to children and their families through quality, free story times, curated literacy programs, after-school programs and more.”
For its part, the Queens Library plans to expand a “Kick Off to Kindergarten” program that attracted more than 180 families for a series of workshops last year. Library officials said that more than three-quarters of the children who enrolled, many of whom spoke a language other than English at home, developed measurable classroom skills.
From: www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02
TEXT
A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.
Workers at the 67th Street Library on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turn away at least 10 people from every reading. They have been so overwhelmed by the rush at story time — held in the branch’s largest room, on the third floor — that once the space is full, they close the door and shut down the elevator. “It is so crowded and so popular, it’s insane,” Jacqueline Schector, a librarian, said.
Story time is drawing capacity crowds at public libraries across New York and across the country at a time when, more than ever, educators are emphasizing the importance of early literacy in preparing children for school and for developing critical thinking skills. The demand crosses economic lines, with parents at all income levels vying to get in.
Many libraries have refashioned the traditional readings to include enrichment activities such as counting numbers and naming colors, as well as music and dance. And many parents have made story time a fixture in their family routines alongside school pickups and playground outings — and, for those who employ nannies, a nonnegotiable requirement of the job.
In New York, demand for story time has surged across the city’s three library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — and has posed logistical challenges for some branches, particularly those in small or cramped buildings. Citywide, story time attendance rose to 510,367 people in fiscal year 2015, up nearly 28 percent from 399,751 in fiscal 2013.
“The secret’s out,” said Lucy Yates, 44, an opera coach with two sons who goes to story time at the Fort Washington Library every week.
Stroller-pushing parents and nannies begin to line up for story time outside some branches an hour before doors open. To prevent overcrowding, tickets are given out at the New Amsterdam and Webster branches, both in Manhattan, the Parkchester branch in the Bronx, and a half-dozen branches in Brooklyn, including in Park Slope, Kensington and Bay Ridge.
The 67th Street branch keeps adding story times — there are now six a week — and holds sessions outdoors in the summer, when crowds can swell to 200 people.
In Queens, 41 library branches are scheduled to add weekend hours this month, and many will undoubtedly include weekend story times. As Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library explained, parents have been begging for them and “every story time is full, every time we have one.”
Long a library staple, story time has typically been an informal reading to a small group of boys and girls sitting in a circle. Today’s story times involve carefully planned lessons by specially trained librarians that emphasize education as much as entertainment, and often include suggestions for parents and caregivers about how to reinforce what children have learned, library officials said.
Libraries around the country have expanded story time and other children’s programs in recent years, attracting a new generation of patrons in an age when online offerings sometimes make trips to the book stacks unnecessary. Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, said such early-literacy efforts are part of a larger transformation libraries are undergoing to become active learning centers for their communities by offering services like classes in English as a second language, computer skills and career counseling.
Ms. Feldman said the increased demand for story time was a product, in part, of more than a decade of work by the library association and others to encourage libraries to play a larger role in preparing young children for school. In 2004, as part of that effort, the association developed a curriculum, “Every Child Ready to Read,” that she said is now used by thousands of libraries.
The New York Public Library is adding 45 children’s librarians to support story time and other programs, some of which are run in partnership with the city government. It has also designated 20 of its 88 neighborhood branches, including the Fort Washington Library, as “enhanced literary sites.” As such, they will double their story time sessions, to an average of four a week, and distribute 15,000 “family literacy kits” that include a book and a schedule of story times.
“It is clear that reading and being exposed to books early in life are critical factors in student success,” Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said. “The library is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening early literacy in this city, expanding efforts to bring reading to children and their families through quality, free story times, curated literacy programs, after-school programs and more.”
For its part, the Queens Library plans to expand a “Kick Off to Kindergarten” program that attracted more than 180 families for a series of workshops last year. Library officials said that more than three-quarters of the children who enrolled, many of whom spoke a language other than English at home, developed measurable classroom skills.
From: www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02
TEXT
A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.
Workers at the 67th Street Library on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turn away at least 10 people from every reading. They have been so overwhelmed by the rush at story time — held in the branch’s largest room, on the third floor — that once the space is full, they close the door and shut down the elevator. “It is so crowded and so popular, it’s insane,” Jacqueline Schector, a librarian, said.
Story time is drawing capacity crowds at public libraries across New York and across the country at a time when, more than ever, educators are emphasizing the importance of early literacy in preparing children for school and for developing critical thinking skills. The demand crosses economic lines, with parents at all income levels vying to get in.
Many libraries have refashioned the traditional readings to include enrichment activities such as counting numbers and naming colors, as well as music and dance. And many parents have made story time a fixture in their family routines alongside school pickups and playground outings — and, for those who employ nannies, a nonnegotiable requirement of the job.
In New York, demand for story time has surged across the city’s three library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — and has posed logistical challenges for some branches, particularly those in small or cramped buildings. Citywide, story time attendance rose to 510,367 people in fiscal year 2015, up nearly 28 percent from 399,751 in fiscal 2013.
“The secret’s out,” said Lucy Yates, 44, an opera coach with two sons who goes to story time at the Fort Washington Library every week.
Stroller-pushing parents and nannies begin to line up for story time outside some branches an hour before doors open. To prevent overcrowding, tickets are given out at the New Amsterdam and Webster branches, both in Manhattan, the Parkchester branch in the Bronx, and a half-dozen branches in Brooklyn, including in Park Slope, Kensington and Bay Ridge.
The 67th Street branch keeps adding story times — there are now six a week — and holds sessions outdoors in the summer, when crowds can swell to 200 people.
In Queens, 41 library branches are scheduled to add weekend hours this month, and many will undoubtedly include weekend story times. As Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library explained, parents have been begging for them and “every story time is full, every time we have one.”
Long a library staple, story time has typically been an informal reading to a small group of boys and girls sitting in a circle. Today’s story times involve carefully planned lessons by specially trained librarians that emphasize education as much as entertainment, and often include suggestions for parents and caregivers about how to reinforce what children have learned, library officials said.
Libraries around the country have expanded story time and other children’s programs in recent years, attracting a new generation of patrons in an age when online offerings sometimes make trips to the book stacks unnecessary. Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, said such early-literacy efforts are part of a larger transformation libraries are undergoing to become active learning centers for their communities by offering services like classes in English as a second language, computer skills and career counseling.
Ms. Feldman said the increased demand for story time was a product, in part, of more than a decade of work by the library association and others to encourage libraries to play a larger role in preparing young children for school. In 2004, as part of that effort, the association developed a curriculum, “Every Child Ready to Read,” that she said is now used by thousands of libraries.
The New York Public Library is adding 45 children’s librarians to support story time and other programs, some of which are run in partnership with the city government. It has also designated 20 of its 88 neighborhood branches, including the Fort Washington Library, as “enhanced literary sites.” As such, they will double their story time sessions, to an average of four a week, and distribute 15,000 “family literacy kits” that include a book and a schedule of story times.
“It is clear that reading and being exposed to books early in life are critical factors in student success,” Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said. “The library is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening early literacy in this city, expanding efforts to bring reading to children and their families through quality, free story times, curated literacy programs, after-school programs and more.”
For its part, the Queens Library plans to expand a “Kick Off to Kindergarten” program that attracted more than 180 families for a series of workshops last year. Library officials said that more than three-quarters of the children who enrolled, many of whom spoke a language other than English at home, developed measurable classroom skills.
From: www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02
TEXT
A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.
Workers at the 67th Street Library on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turn away at least 10 people from every reading. They have been so overwhelmed by the rush at story time — held in the branch’s largest room, on the third floor — that once the space is full, they close the door and shut down the elevator. “It is so crowded and so popular, it’s insane,” Jacqueline Schector, a librarian, said.
Story time is drawing capacity crowds at public libraries across New York and across the country at a time when, more than ever, educators are emphasizing the importance of early literacy in preparing children for school and for developing critical thinking skills. The demand crosses economic lines, with parents at all income levels vying to get in.
Many libraries have refashioned the traditional readings to include enrichment activities such as counting numbers and naming colors, as well as music and dance. And many parents have made story time a fixture in their family routines alongside school pickups and playground outings — and, for those who employ nannies, a nonnegotiable requirement of the job.
In New York, demand for story time has surged across the city’s three library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — and has posed logistical challenges for some branches, particularly those in small or cramped buildings. Citywide, story time attendance rose to 510,367 people in fiscal year 2015, up nearly 28 percent from 399,751 in fiscal 2013.
“The secret’s out,” said Lucy Yates, 44, an opera coach with two sons who goes to story time at the Fort Washington Library every week.
Stroller-pushing parents and nannies begin to line up for story time outside some branches an hour before doors open. To prevent overcrowding, tickets are given out at the New Amsterdam and Webster branches, both in Manhattan, the Parkchester branch in the Bronx, and a half-dozen branches in Brooklyn, including in Park Slope, Kensington and Bay Ridge.
The 67th Street branch keeps adding story times — there are now six a week — and holds sessions outdoors in the summer, when crowds can swell to 200 people.
In Queens, 41 library branches are scheduled to add weekend hours this month, and many will undoubtedly include weekend story times. As Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library explained, parents have been begging for them and “every story time is full, every time we have one.”
Long a library staple, story time has typically been an informal reading to a small group of boys and girls sitting in a circle. Today’s story times involve carefully planned lessons by specially trained librarians that emphasize education as much as entertainment, and often include suggestions for parents and caregivers about how to reinforce what children have learned, library officials said.
Libraries around the country have expanded story time and other children’s programs in recent years, attracting a new generation of patrons in an age when online offerings sometimes make trips to the book stacks unnecessary. Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, said such early-literacy efforts are part of a larger transformation libraries are undergoing to become active learning centers for their communities by offering services like classes in English as a second language, computer skills and career counseling.
Ms. Feldman said the increased demand for story time was a product, in part, of more than a decade of work by the library association and others to encourage libraries to play a larger role in preparing young children for school. In 2004, as part of that effort, the association developed a curriculum, “Every Child Ready to Read,” that she said is now used by thousands of libraries.
The New York Public Library is adding 45 children’s librarians to support story time and other programs, some of which are run in partnership with the city government. It has also designated 20 of its 88 neighborhood branches, including the Fort Washington Library, as “enhanced literary sites.” As such, they will double their story time sessions, to an average of four a week, and distribute 15,000 “family literacy kits” that include a book and a schedule of story times.
“It is clear that reading and being exposed to books early in life are critical factors in student success,” Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said. “The library is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening early literacy in this city, expanding efforts to bring reading to children and their families through quality, free story times, curated literacy programs, after-school programs and more.”
For its part, the Queens Library plans to expand a “Kick Off to Kindergarten” program that attracted more than 180 families for a series of workshops last year. Library officials said that more than three-quarters of the children who enrolled, many of whom spoke a language other than English at home, developed measurable classroom skills.
From: www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02
TEXT
A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.
Workers at the 67th Street Library on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turn away at least 10 people from every reading. They have been so overwhelmed by the rush at story time — held in the branch’s largest room, on the third floor — that once the space is full, they close the door and shut down the elevator. “It is so crowded and so popular, it’s insane,” Jacqueline Schector, a librarian, said.
Story time is drawing capacity crowds at public libraries across New York and across the country at a time when, more than ever, educators are emphasizing the importance of early literacy in preparing children for school and for developing critical thinking skills. The demand crosses economic lines, with parents at all income levels vying to get in.
Many libraries have refashioned the traditional readings to include enrichment activities such as counting numbers and naming colors, as well as music and dance. And many parents have made story time a fixture in their family routines alongside school pickups and playground outings — and, for those who employ nannies, a nonnegotiable requirement of the job.
In New York, demand for story time has surged across the city’s three library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — and has posed logistical challenges for some branches, particularly those in small or cramped buildings. Citywide, story time attendance rose to 510,367 people in fiscal year 2015, up nearly 28 percent from 399,751 in fiscal 2013.
“The secret’s out,” said Lucy Yates, 44, an opera coach with two sons who goes to story time at the Fort Washington Library every week.
Stroller-pushing parents and nannies begin to line up for story time outside some branches an hour before doors open. To prevent overcrowding, tickets are given out at the New Amsterdam and Webster branches, both in Manhattan, the Parkchester branch in the Bronx, and a half-dozen branches in Brooklyn, including in Park Slope, Kensington and Bay Ridge.
The 67th Street branch keeps adding story times — there are now six a week — and holds sessions outdoors in the summer, when crowds can swell to 200 people.
In Queens, 41 library branches are scheduled to add weekend hours this month, and many will undoubtedly include weekend story times. As Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library explained, parents have been begging for them and “every story time is full, every time we have one.”
Long a library staple, story time has typically been an informal reading to a small group of boys and girls sitting in a circle. Today’s story times involve carefully planned lessons by specially trained librarians that emphasize education as much as entertainment, and often include suggestions for parents and caregivers about how to reinforce what children have learned, library officials said.
Libraries around the country have expanded story time and other children’s programs in recent years, attracting a new generation of patrons in an age when online offerings sometimes make trips to the book stacks unnecessary. Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, said such early-literacy efforts are part of a larger transformation libraries are undergoing to become active learning centers for their communities by offering services like classes in English as a second language, computer skills and career counseling.
Ms. Feldman said the increased demand for story time was a product, in part, of more than a decade of work by the library association and others to encourage libraries to play a larger role in preparing young children for school. In 2004, as part of that effort, the association developed a curriculum, “Every Child Ready to Read,” that she said is now used by thousands of libraries.
The New York Public Library is adding 45 children’s librarians to support story time and other programs, some of which are run in partnership with the city government. It has also designated 20 of its 88 neighborhood branches, including the Fort Washington Library, as “enhanced literary sites.” As such, they will double their story time sessions, to an average of four a week, and distribute 15,000 “family literacy kits” that include a book and a schedule of story times.
“It is clear that reading and being exposed to books early in life are critical factors in student success,” Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said. “The library is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening early literacy in this city, expanding efforts to bring reading to children and their families through quality, free story times, curated literacy programs, after-school programs and more.”
For its part, the Queens Library plans to expand a “Kick Off to Kindergarten” program that attracted more than 180 families for a series of workshops last year. Library officials said that more than three-quarters of the children who enrolled, many of whom spoke a language other than English at home, developed measurable classroom skills.
From: www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02
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