Questões de Concursos Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension

READ TEXT III AND ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS IT:

Plastic Dreams

by Sarah Thompson

Plastic dreams, oh plastic dreams, a vision turned nightmare,

Once a symbol of progress, now a burden we must bear.

Our landfills overflow with your synthetic remains,

A haunting testament to our unsustainable chains.

Plastic dreams, oh plastic dreams, a promise unfulfilled,

Your convenience a facade, your consequences concealed.

Let us wake from this slumber, this toxic desire,

To create a world where nature's essence can inspire.

In our hands lies the power, to choose a different fate,

To abandon plastic dreams and embrace a sustainable state.

For only through conscious choices, can we break this vicious spell,

And ensure a future where our planet and poetry can dwell.

From: https://poemverse.org/poems-about-plasticwaste/#2_the_sea_s_lament_by_michael_anderson

Texto para a questão

How to write, according to the bestselling novelist of all time

Everyone has a book inside them, or so the saying goes. In this day and age, those who want help coaxing the story out can receive instruction online from some of the world’s most popular authors. Lee Child and Harlan Coben, who have sold hundreds of millions of books between them, teach thriller writing; Jojo Moyes offers tips on romance yarns. And now Agatha Christie, the world’s bestselling writer of fiction, with more than 2 bn copies sold, is instructing viewers in the art of the whodunnit—even though she died in 1976.

Christie’s course is the result not of recently unearthed archival footage, but artificial intelligence. BBC Maestro, an online education platform, brought the idea to the Christie family, which still controls 36% of Agatha Christie Ltd (AMC Networks, an entertainment giant, owns the rest). They consented to bring the “Queen of Crime” back to life, to teach the mysterious flair of her style.

A team of almost 100—including Christie scholars as well as AI specialists—worked on the project. Vivien Keene, an actor, provided a stand-in for the author; Christie’s face was mapped on top. Crucially, Ms Keene’s eerily credible performance employs only Christie’s words: a tapestry of extracts from her own writings, notebooks and interviews.

In this way, the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple shares handy writing tips, such as the neatest ways to dispatch fictional victims. Firearms bring ballistic complications. Be wary of poisons, as each works in a unique way. Novice authors can “always rely on a dull blow to the head”.

Many of Christie’s writing rules concern playing fair. She practiced misdirection and laid “false clues” alongside true ones, but insisted that her plots do not cheat or hide key evidence: “I never deceive my readers.” In sections devoted to plot and setting, she explains how to plant key clues “in plain sight” and plan events with detailed “maps and diagrams”. She advises viewers to watch and listen to strangers on buses or in shops and to spice up motives for murder with a love triangle.

Some of the most engaging sections come from “An Autobiography”, published posthumously in 1977: Poirot’s origins among the Belgian refugees who reached Devon during the First World War, or fond memories of her charismatic, feckless brother Monty, who had “broken the laws of a lot of countries” and provided the inspiration for many of Christie’s “wayward young male figures”.

By relying on Christie’s own words, BBC Maestro hopes to avoid charges of creepy pedagogical deepfakery. At the same time, it is that focus on quotation which limits the course’s value as a creative-writing toolbox. The woman born Agatha Miller in 1890 speaks from her own time and place. She tells wannabe writers to use snowstorms to isolate murder scenes (as they bring down telephone wires) and cites the clue-generating value of railway timetables, ink stains and cut-up newspapers. These charming details are irrelevant to modern scribblers.

Yet anachronism is not the course’s biggest flaw: it is that it lacks vitality. Christie enjoyed a richer life than learners will glean from this prim phantom: she was a wartime nurse (hence her deep knowledge of toxins), thwarted opera singer, keen surfer and archaeological expert who joined her second husband on digs in Iraq. Furthermore, her juiciest mysteries smash crime-writing rules. The narrator does it; the detective does it; all the suspects do it. Sometimes there’s no detective: in “The Hollow” (1946) Christie regretted that Poirot appeared at all. With its working-class antihero and gothic darkness, “Endless Night” (1967) shatters every Christie cliché. This high-tech, retrofitted version of the author feels smaller and flatter than the ingenious original.

The Economist, May, 8th, 2025

Instruction: answer questions 31 to 40 based on the following text. The highlights throughout the text are cited in the questions.

Carnival

1. ______ Carnival is ____ festival celebrated in _____countries of Catholic tradition, often
2. with public parades of playful, imaginative wagons typically called "floats, masking, jokes and
3. feasts”.
4. Etymology
5. The word carnival comes from the Latin "carnem levare" (=eliminate meat) and
6. originally indicated the banquet that was held on the last day of Carnival (Mardi Gras),
7. immediately before Lent, the period of fasting and abstinence when Christians would abstain
8. _____ meat. The first evidence of the use of the word "carnevale" (or "carnevalo") are the texts
9. of minstrel Matazone da Caligano of the late 13th century and writer Giovanni Sercambi around
10. 1400.
11. Carnival period
12. In Catholic countries, traditionally Carnival begins on the Septuagesima Sunday (70
13. days to Easter, it was the first of the nine Sundays before the Holy Week in the Gregorian
14. calendar), and in the Roman rite ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the
15. beginning of Lent. The climax is usually from Thursday until Tuesday, the last day of Carnival.
16. Being connected with Easter which is a moveable feast, the final dates of Carnival vary each
17. year, though in some places it may begin already on 17^th January. Since Catholic Easter is on
18. the Sunday after the 17first full moon of spring, therefore from 22 March to 25 April, and since
19. there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, then in non-leap years the last day of
20. Carnival, Mardi Gras, can fall any time within February 3 to March 9.
21. In the Ambrosian rite, which is followed in the Archdiocese of Milan and in some
22. neighboring dioceses, Lent begins with the first Sunday of Lent, therefore the last day of
23. Carnival is on Saturday, four days later than the Mardi Gras in other areas of Italy.
24. Carnival in antiquity
25. Although present in the Catholic tradition, Carnival has its origins in much older
26. celebrations, such as the Greek Dionysian festivals ("Anthesteria") or the Roman "Saturnalia".
27. During these ancient rites a temporary dissolution of the social obligations and hierarchies took
28. place in favor of chaos, jokes and even debauchery. From a historical and religious point of
29. view Carnival represented, therefore, a period of renewal, when chaos replaced the established
30. order, but once festive period was over, a new or the old order re-emerged for another cycle
31. until the next carnival.
32. In Babylon, shortly after the vernal equinox the process of the foundation of the cosmos
33. was re-enacted, described with the myth of the struggle of Marduk, the savior-god with Tiamat
34. the dragon, which ended with the victory of the former. During these ceremonies a procession
35. was held in which the forces of chaos were allegorically represented fighting the recreation of
36. the universe, that is the myth of the death and resurrection of Marduk, the savior. In the parade
37. there was a ship on wheels where the deities Moon and Sun were carried along a large avenue
38. - a symbol of the Zodiac - to the sanctuary of Babylon, symbol of the earth. This period was
39. accompanied by an unbridled freedom and a reversal of social order and morality.
40. In the Roman world the feast in honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis involved the presence
41. of masked groups, as told by Lucius Apuleius in the Metamorphoses (Book XI). Among the
42. Romans the end of the old year was represented by a man covered with goat skins, carried in
43. procession, hit with sticks and called Mamurius Veturius.
44. Carnival is therefore a moment in a mythic cycle, it is the movement of spirits between
45. heaven, earth and the underworld. In the spring, when the earth begins to show its power,
46. Carnival opens a passage between the earth and the underworld, whose souls must be honored
47. and for a short period the living lend them their bodies wearing masks. Masks therefore have
48. often an apotropaic meaning, as the wearer takes on the features of the spirit represented.
49. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Medici in Florence organized large masked carts
50. called "Trionfi" accompanied by carnival songs and dances one, the "Trionfo di Bacco e Arianna"
51. also written by Lorenzo the Magnificent. In Rome under the Popes horse races took place and
52. a called the "race of moccoletti" where runners bearing lit candles tried to blow out each other's
53. candles.

(Available at: http://www.italyheritage.com/traditions/carnival/2023/04/14/ – text especially adapted for this test).

Read text II to answer question:

TEXT II

"Schön’s work has restructured how professionals conceive their practice and how they go about learning from ex perience. At the very heart of Schön’s theory lies reflection in action; that is, professionals are supposed to learn, not just to reflect after the fact but amidst action. Indeed, this approach to learning and professional development has been a central cornerstone of the training and education of practitioners across many fields. Schön defines reflection as the ability of pro fessionals to examine their actions and decisions to understand and practice with effectiveness better. The theorist is based on two major types of reflection: reflection in action and reflection on action”.

(Adapted from : https://acadfundu.com/what-is-donald-schons-theory-of-reflective-practice/)

Read the text to answer question.

The nature of “Language Input” for Language Acquisition

“INPUT” is a vital concept within language acquisition, especially within second language acquisition. Theoretical models in research on language acquisition typically require the explanation of how INPUT is treated by the learners and the impact on language acquisition.The presence of INPUT, however, does not guarantee acquisition. This is generally understood. Watching 20 hours of Korean drama does not necessarily lead to acquisition of Korean – if that worked, we would have loads of proficient Korean speakers around the world now. Notwithstanding that, we also understand that the absence of target language INPUT also implies no language acquisition will take place for the target language. This should also be easily understood. It cannot be the case that a person who has never listened to a word of Yiddish, to be able to speak Yiddish suddenly.

There are various theories on the psycholinguistic processes of how INPUT generates acquisition. Nevertheless, most scholars agree that INPUT needs to be converted to “INTAKE” before acquisition can take place. Using the analogy of the Korean drama earlier, we may also have heard of examples of learners who seemed to have acquire new understanding and able to use Korean at a slightly different level after watching numerous Korean dramas. Yet, the same experience does not always hold for all others. In that sense, for those who have improved or level up, INPUT has become INTAKE in their minds.

Technically speaking, INPUT is akin to data (in fact, some scholars define input as primary linguistic data) available in the environment that the learner has opportunity of access, and intake refers to the data that the learner actually takes in and process. Just as in data science where processed raw data then becomes useful information, LANGUAGE INPUT that is processed can then become information for acquisition – the psychological region where “new information is matched against prior knowledge” (Gass, 1997:5), enabling the learner to confirm/reject any previous hypothesis or form new hypothesis about the target language. Note that this can be implicit and is unknown to the learner.

The key question then is: What types of LANGUAGE INPUT can then have a higher opportunity of becoming INTAKE? This is one question of inquiry that research has yet to provide very conclusive answers, although there are many influencing factors. As such, the various types of LANGUAGE INPUT to be discussed contribute in different manners to acquisition. We should take note of these types to construct relevant languaging experiences for our learners.

(Disponible in: https://www.languageeducatorsassemble.com/types-of-language-input. Adapted.)

The condition, where ovaries don't regularly release eggs, produce high levels of 'male' hormones and cause polycystic ovaries, is said to affect one in 10 UK women.

And seven in 10 were not aware that excessive hair growth, infertility (53 per cent) and irregular periods (46 per cent) were symptoms of the condition.

And 72 per cent of women experience at least one of the signs without necessarily knowing it could be linked to the disorder, with weight gain (24 per cent), acne or oily skin (17 per cent) and excess hair growth (10 per cent) most common.

As a result, 57 per cent wish there was more awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome, to stop it being such a taboo subject.

Chloé Fallon, beauty expert for Philips Lumea IPL hair removal devices, which commissioned the research to support PCOS Awareness Month this September, said: "This is a remarkably common condition that there's not enough awareness of.

"Instead, lots of women are left struggling to deal with a wide range of symptoms that can really impact their health and their confidence on a daily basis."

The study also found 76 per cent of all adults believe men should be more informed about women's health issues such as PCOS.

And 14 per cent of the women polled have experienced excessive hair growth on the face, chest or abdomen.

Of these, 25 per cent claim this affected their day-to-day life 'very significantly', while only 17 per cent weren't affected at all.

Women who were affected felt constantly worried about their appearance (58 per cent), afraid of judgement from colleagues (32 per cent) or unable to wear certain clothes (21 per cent).

While 29 per cent avoided social situations where possible, and 16 per cent stopped dating, according to the OnePoll.com figures.

A huge 95 per cent of women attempted hair removal themselves, whether by shaving, plucking or using a hair removal cream.

And 47 per cent felt very self-conscious about the issue while they were affected.

Philips Lumea IPL hair removal devices, which claims its intense pulsed light technology products can reduce hair regrowth for up to 12 months, has teamed with social media content creator, Zoe Antonia to share her storythe condition.

She said: "My PCOS journey started at 17, with a few rogue chin hairs, raging cystic acne and irregular periods which got diagnosed as PCOS.

"My body and facial hair growth made me feel so self-conscious as a teen and I often questioned whether there was something wrong with me.

"However, along the way I learnt to accept this part of me and sharing this journey online I found out that many other women struggle with similar symptoms to me, and sharing such raw unfiltered images online became a source of strength and helped me to build confidence outside of my looks.

"Alongside various nutrition and lifestyle changes I've made to reduce hair growth, using my IPL hair removal device has helped me to significantly reduce my hair re-growth, especially on areas like my lower belly, upper lip and chin area.

Chloé Fallon added: "Topics around women's health like PCOS, including the symptoms and misconceptions are important discussions to have, and ones we hope in the near future people will feel more confident openly talking about without judgement, like Zoe is able to with her followers."

Taking the article above as a reference, judge the following item.

Four in ten Brits have never heard of a condition that plagues millions and can leave sufferers infertile | The Sun.