Nouns (substantivos)

01. (UNICENTRO) Answer question according to the text below.

01 My heart is like a singing bird

02 Whose nest is in a watered shoot;

03 My heart is like an apple-tree

04 Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;

Extract of ‘A Birthday’ by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894).

boughs (line 4) may be expressed as

1. branches.
2. leaves.
3. flowers.
4. trees.
5. fruits.

02. (PUC) Read the text and answer.

The master’s program “British and American Cultures: Texts and Media” deals with the cultural productions of Great Britain and the United States of America in all their forms and variations. In addition to the researchoriented examination of English and American literature from their beginnings to the present day, the program also focuses on contemporary theoretical and critical discourses such as postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, performance studies, and media studies. From the dramas of Shakespeare to the representation of gender in American and British television, from Hamlet to the narrative forms of new media, a broad spectrum of texts will be discussed from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives. Students will learn advanced analytical skills in dealing with fiction, poetry, drama, photography, movies, paintings, comics, and music. The course puts a special emphasis on innovative didactic methods of communication and on independent research work conducted by students. These approaches include, for example, the guided organization of a conference, symposium, or publication during which the students will be showcasing their own projects or research papers.

Students will attend seminars and lectures in both English and American Studies with the option to specialize in one of these disciplines in the later part of the program.

Disponível em:<http: //www.uni hamburg.de/iaa/Master_British_and_American_Cult ures.html>. Acesso em: setembro 2014.

The words highlighted in the text: deals, examination, broad, research and option could be replaced by the following with no change in their meanings:

1. bargains, perception, ample, exam, resort.
2. takes care, lookout, spacious, questioning, recourse.
3. involves, monitor, wide, inquiry, appeal.
4. works, observation, vast, investigation, alternative.
5. negotiate, vigil, vast, examination, request.

03. (UEFS) TEXTO: New Trail to Machu Picchu

A team of Peruvian archaeologists has found a new
trail leading to the Machu Picchu complex in Cusco,
Peru — even if much of the road is still heavily covered
by thick vegetation. The discovery was announced by
[5] the director of the Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu,
Fernando Astete. The new road, almost a mile long, leads
to the Wayraqtambo area located in the rear section of
the citadel.

A team of workers are still on site cleaning the path,
[10] whose width varies between 3.9 and 4.5 feet, to clean
the road of brushes and trees. At the moment, only
intermittent retaining walls, up to 10 feet high, holding
back Machu Picchu mountain can be seen. “We don’t
know yet exactly how long or how tall the tunnel is,”
[15] Astete told Fox News Latino, explaining that much
excavation needs to be done. The tunnel was built after
20 feet of earth and rock collapsed over the road, he
added. “[The Incas] had to break up all those rocks to
construct the tunnel.”
[20] The road includes a tunnel—around 15 feet long
and as much as 12 feet high—built with the rocks typical
of Inca architecture. “It is one of the finest examples of
Inca engineering,” Astete has said.
Astete told FNL that the newly-discovered road
[25] probably predates Machu Picchu itself, which was built
at the height of the Inca Empire, around 1450, and was
unknown to the outside world before being discovered in
1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.
While Machu Picchu’s original purpose is still
[30] unknown, one of the most popular theories about the
site is that it was the royal retreat of the 15th-century
Inca Emperor Pachacuti. According to a National
Geographic report published in 2011, this idea maintains
that Machu Picchu was a place for Pachacuti and his
[35] royal court to relax, hunt, and entertain guests.
Machu Picchu, which covers 32,592 hectares of
mountain slopes, peaks and valleys, was declared one
of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in 1983.

New Trail to Machu Picchu. Disponível em: http:// latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2014/06/06/new-trail-to-machupicchu-found-in-peru-nearly-mile-long-and-wit-tunnel/. Acesso em: 13 jun. 2014. Adaptado.

Considering language use in the text, it’s correct to say:

1. The relative pronoun “whose” (l. 10) refers to “workers” (l. 9).
2. The noun “width” (l. 10) derives from the adjective wide.
3. The noun “feet” (l. 21) is in the singular form.
4. The adjective phrase “the finest” (l. 22) is in the comparative form of superiority.
5. The’s in “UNESCO’s” (l. 38) is the contraction of has.

04. (UNICENTRO) Re-Planting a Forest, One Drone at a Time

That funny little buzz you hear in the forest may not just be the hum of summer insects. In the near future it could be a small fleet of drones, coming to replant and restore forests that have been stripped of trees by industrial-scale deforestation.

It’s all part of an ambitious plan by BioCarbon Engineering, a U.K.-based startup on a global mission to battle widespread clear-cutting, which strips more than 26 billion trees off the planet each year. CEO Lauren Fletcher, who spent 20 years as an engineer with NASA, says the only way to fight industrial-scale deforestation is with industrial-scale reforestation. Their idea: plant 1 billion trees a year. The first targets are in South Africa and the Amazonian jungles, both of which have suffered from widespread forest eradication.

BioCarbon’s reforestation scheme is simple and efficient. Here’s a quick look at how it plans to deploy its drone fleet:

1 Do a 3-D aerial survey. First, drones are sent to fly over a potential planting zone, snapping photos that create 3-D maps of the area to be reforested. The number of drones will vary depending up on the size of the seeding.

2 Create a seeding plan. Once all that terrain data has been analyzed, it then generates a seeding pattern that best suits the terrain.

3 Load the seed pods. The drones, which are equipped with guidance and control software, carry pressurized canisters of seed pods with germinated seeds immersed in a nutrient-rich gel.

4 Hover and plant. Flying at a height of 1 or 2 meters, the drones follow the planting patterns, firing the biodegradable seed pods down to the ground. The pods break open upon impact, allowing the germinated seed a chance to take root.

5 Monitor growth. After planting, the drones do low-level flights to assess the health of the sprouts and saplings.

Such “precision forestry,” as BioCarbon calls it, is extremely efficient. A farmer might hand plant as many as 3,000 seeds a day; Fletcher says his drones can drop up to 36,000 seed pods daily, often in areas where a human can’t reach. Working with local ecologists, BioCarbon will use the drones to spread a variety of tree species, as well as microorganisms and fungi designed to improve the soil quality. “The central focus is ecosystem restoration,” Fletcher says.

On a planetary climatological scale, Morton notes that “tropical deforestation plays a big role in global climate cycles,” claiming the accelerated pace of cutting and burning of forests accounted for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the 1990s.

Fletcher and his team want to help reverse that trend. “By planting at the scale we’re looking at,” he says, “we can make a real long-term impact. We hope to do a lot of good in the world.”

(Adapted from https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/07/re-planting-forest-one-drone-time/. Access on 22/8/2017)

The words buzz and hum both represent:

1. Dangerous activities.
2. Sounds that animals can produce.
3. Excitement.
4. The types of flight of some bees.
5. Types of insects.

05. (EPCAR) Directions: Read the text below and answer question according to it.

Most Common Prejudices

What are some of the most common ways
people discriminate against each other? Some of the
areas where people show their intolerance are wellknown,
such as race. But others are less
[5] acknowledged1, even if more common:

Age: Ageism is more common than you think. Older
people are thought to be inflexible and stuck2 in the
past, while younger people are seen as inexperienced
and naive. One-fifth of working adults say they
[10] experience ageism in the workplace.

Class: Classism usually takes the form of
discrimination by wealthier people against those who
are less well off. However, classism goes both ways—
people of lower economic status can see the wealthy
[15] as elite snobs who, while monetarily secure, are
morally bankrupt3.

Color: Different from racism, colorism is discrimination
based only on the color of a person’s skin; how
relatively dark or light they are. Colorism takes place
[20] within and between races. It is common in multi-ethnic
and non-white societies and societies with historical
racial prejudice.

Ability: Usually called ableism, a less well-known form of prejudice is discrimination against people with visible
[25] disabilities such as those in wheelchairs or with a
learning disability. The disabled face discrimination not
only from their peers4, but from institutions, schools,
employers, and landowners5 who are hesitant to
accommodate the disabled.

[30] Sex/Gender: Possibly the most universal and long
running prejudice is that based on a person’s gender or
sex. Historically, sexism has placed men in a more
advantageous position than women.

Weight/Size: In short, sizeism is discrimination based
[35] on a person’s body size or weight. Sizeism works with
social standards of beauty and usually takes the form
of discrimination against the overweight — anti-fat
prejudice.

Religion: Religious discrimination and persecution has
[40] been common throughout history. But prejudice based
on religious affiliation doesn’t end with organized
religion; atheists are prone6 to discrimination and being
discriminated against.

Sexual Orientation: Most commonly, prejudice based
[45] on sexual orientation includes discrimination
against
those of a non-heterosexual orientation. Discrimination
against the non-heterosexual takes many forms
depending on the society. In some societies prejudice
is open and tolerated, but in most Western societies,
[50] bias7 against the non-heterosexual is more discreet.

Country of Origin: Nativism is a common form of discrimination against immigrants to a country. Unlike
many other forms of discrimination, nativism is many
times encouraged and enforced by some public
[55] entities.

Which prejudice do you have? Which prejudice have
you experienced?
Adapted from
https://aloftyexistence.wordpress.com

Glossary:

1 - acknowledged – reconhecidos (as)

2 - stuck – presos (as)

3 - bankrupt – falidos (as)

4 - peers - pares; colegas

5 - landowners – proprietários (as)

6 - prone – propensos (as)

7 - bias – julgamento ou opinião parcial

The word “persecution” (line 39) means

1. treating somebody in a cruel and unfair way.
2. keeping common types of prejudice.
3. having a religion.
4. showing intense belief in something.

06. (FDV) TEXTO

WHAT IS A ZERO-HOURS CONTRACT?

With Sports Direct under fire for employing 90% of staff on zero-hours contracts

(Phillip Inman /The Guardian.com , Monday 29 July 2013 17.53 BST)

Signing a zero-hours contract can mean a blank wage cheque at the end of the week. It has gained an ugly reputation because the contract says that instead of working a specific number of hours per week, workers must be ready to work whenever they are asked. There is no employment relationship. Citizens Advice points out that similar "key time" contracts are also prevalent. They guarantee some work, but not regular hours each week.

If a worker is made to wait or take breaks on work premises, they must be paid, but if they wait at home for a call to come to work, only the hours on the job qualify for payment. The national minimum wage applies, but an employer is not obliged to offer sick leave or holiday pay, though a court may decide that consistent employment overrides these contract terms.

In some industries, workers on zero-hours contracts will agree to work according to weekly or monthly rotas. In other sectors, especially retail, workers may be called and told to come to work at a few hours' notice.

(Disponível em: <http: //www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/29/zero-hourscontract-sports-direct>. 29 jul. 2013. Acesso em: 29 set. 2013)

In “ In other sectors, especially retail …” retail refers to:

1. companies selling small amounts to ultimate consumers.
2. small industries with less than 50 employees.
3. family owned companies.
4. companies and industries that sell services instead of goods.
5. any company or industry doing profitable business.

07. (UNIMONTES) Obesity in Children and Teens

[1] The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16
and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to
recognize but most difficult to treat. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is
responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly
[5] $100 billion. Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and
maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

What is obesity?

A few extra pounds does not suggest obesity. However they may indicate a tendency to gain weight easily
and a need for changes in diet and/or exercise. Generally, a child is not considered obese until the weight is
[10] at least 10 percent higher than what is recommended for their height and body type. Obesity most
commonly begins between the ages of 5 and 6, or during adolescence. Studies have shown that a child who
is obese between the ages of 10 and 13 has an 80 percent chance of becoming an obese adult.

What causes obesity?

The causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors. Obesity
[15] occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up. If one parent is obese, there is a 50 percent
chance that their children will also be obese. However, when both parents are obese, their children have an
80 percent chance of being obese. Although certain medical disorders can cause obesity, less than 1 percent
of all obesity is caused by physical problems. Obesity in childhood and adolescence can be related to:
• poor eating habits
[20] • overeating or binging
• lack of exercise (i.e., couch potato kids)
• family history of obesity
• medical illnesses (endocrine, neurological problems)
• medications (steroids, some psychiatric medications)
[25] • stressful life events or changes (separations, divorce, moves, deaths, abuse)
• family and peer problems
• low self-esteem
• depression or other emotional problems
What are risks and complications of obesity?
[30] There are many risks and complications with obesity. Physical consequences include:
• increased risk of heart disease
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• breathing problems
[35] • trouble sleeping
Child and adolescent obesity is also associated with increased risk of emotional problems. Teens with
weight problems tend to have much lower self-esteem and be less popular with their
peers. Depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder can also occur. […]

(Disponível em: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/obesity_in_children_and_teens, acesso em: 21 ago. 2012.)

“Teens with weight problems tend to have much lower self-esteem and be less popular with their peers.” (Linhas 36-38)

A palavra “their”, em destaque acima, está relacionada a qual termo a seguir?

1. Teens.
2. Self-esteem.
3. Less popular.
4. Emotional problems.