Questões de Concursos Vestibular

As questões 75 a 78 referem–se ao texto a seguir.

In recent years there have been suggestions that, instead of raising sheep, Australia should be raising kangaroos, which (unlike sheep) are native Australian species that are adapted to Australian plants and climates. It is claimed that the soft paws of kangaroos are less damaging to soil than are the hard hooves of sheep. Kangaroo meat is lean, healthy, and (in my opinion) absolutely delicious. In addition to their meat, kangaroos yield valuable hides¹. All of those points are cited as arguments to support replacing sheep herding with kangaroo ranching.
However, that proposal faces real obstacles, both biological and cultural ones. Unlike sheep, kangaroos are not herd animals that will docilely obey one shepherd and a dog, or that can be rounded up and marched obediently up ramps into trucks for shipment to the slaughterhouse. Instead, kangaroo ranchers have to hire hunters to chase down and shoot their kangaroos one by one. Further problems with kangaroos are their mobility and ability to jump fences: if you invest in promoting growth of a kangaroo population on your property, and if your kangaroos perceive some inducement to move (such as rain falling somewhere els(E), your valuable crop of kangaroos may end up 30 miles away on somebody else?s property. Kangaroo meat is accepted in Germany and some is exported there, but the sale of kangaroo meat faces cultural obstacles elsewhere. For Australians, kangaroo meat has little appeal, and they continue to prefer their more traditional types of meat, especially lamb and beef. Many Australian animal welfare advocates oppose kangaroo harvesting, not taking into consideration the fact that living conditions and slaughter methods are much crueler for domestic sheep and cattle than for wild kangaroos. The U.S. explicitly forbids the importation of kangaroo meat because we find the beasts cute, and because a congressman?s wife heard that kangaroos are endangered. Some kangaroo species are indeed endangered, but ironically the species actually harvested for meat are abundant pest animals in Australia.

(DIAMOND, J. Collapse. New York: Penguin, 2005. Adaptado) ¹ hides = skins

O texto a seguir é referência para as questões 73 a 75.

LA FIN DU CALVAIRE DE STÉPHANE TAPONIER ET HERVÉ GHESQUIÈRE: OTAGES EN AFGHANISTAN DEPUIS FIN 2009.

Un lien avec le retrait des troupes ou Ben Laden?
Hasard ou pas, la libération des otages suit de près l?annonce, la semaine dernière, du retrait partiel des troupes françaises en Afghanistan. «Loin de moi l?idée de dénigrer tel ou tel effort du gouvernement, mais il y a un contexte international qui a facilité cette libération, avec notamment l?annonce du retrait des troupes françaises d?Afghanistan», a déclaré Ségolène Royal. Au Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, on se refuse en tous les cas à faire le lien entre les deux événements. «Honnêtement, je n?en sais rien, répond le porte-parole du Quai d?Orsay, Bernard Valéro. Ce que je sais, c?est qu?il s?agit de l?aboutissement d?un long travail». «Le temps des Afghans n?est pas le nôtre, précise-t-il, sous-entendant que le dénouement de l?affaire serait à chercher en amont de l?annonce du retrait des troupes. Hervé Morin, ancien ministre de la Défense, balaie également toute possibilité de lien entre les deux actus. «Je n?y crois pas un seul instant (...). En revanche, qu?il y ait pu avoir un lien entre la mort de Oussama Ben Laden et la libération des otages, ce n?est pas impossible». Gérard Longuet, l?actuel ministre de la Défense, avait déjà estimé que le décès du chef d?Al-Qaida pourrait jouer «positivement». Avant d?être recadré par le premier ministre. A.S.

(20 minutes, no 2078, 30 juin 2011, p. 6 )

O texto a seguir é referência para as questões 77 a 80.
School Curriculum Falls Short on Bigger Lessons
By Tara PARKER-POPE
Now that children are back in the classroom, are they really learning the lessons that will help them succeed?
Many child development experts worry that the answer may be no. They say the ever-growing emphasis on academic performance and test scores means many children aren?t developing life skills like self-control, motivation, focus and resilience, which are far better predictors of long-term success than high grades. And it may be distorting their and their parents? values.
In one set of studies, children who solved math puzzles were praised for their intelligence or for their hard work. The first group actually did worse on subsequent tests, or took an easy way out, shunning difficult problems. The research suggests that praise for a good effort encourages harder work, while children who are consistently told they are smart do not know what to do when confronted with a difficult problem or reading assignment.
Academic achievement can certainly help children succeed, and for parents there can be a fine line between praising effort and praising performance. Words need to be chosen carefully: Instead of saying, "I?m so proud you got an ?A? on your test", a better choice is "I?m so proud of you for studying so hard". Both replies rightly celebrate the ?A?, but the second focuses on the effort that produced it, encouraging the child to keep trying in the future.
Praise outside of academics matters, too. Instead of asking your child how many points she scored on the basketball court, say, "Tell me about the game. Did you have fun? Did you play hard?". Parents also need to teach their children that they do not have to be good at everything, and there is something to be learned when a child struggles or gets a poor grade despite studying hard. One strategy is to teach children that the differences between easy and difficult subjects can provide useful information about their goals and interests. Subjects they enjoy and excel in may become the focus of their careers. Challenging but interesting classes or sports can become hobbies.

(Adapted from www.nyt.com)

Texto para as questões 36 e 37

Two in every three people on the planet–some 4 billion in total–are "excluded from the rule of law." In many cases, this begins with the lack of official recognition of their birth: around 40% of the developing world?s five-yearold children are not registered as even existing.
Later, people will find that the home they live in, the land they farm, or the business that they start, is not protected by legally enforceable property rights. Even in the rare cases when they can afford to go to court, the service is poor. India, for example, has only 11 judges for every 1million people.
These alarming statistics are contained in a report from a commission on the legal empowerment of the poor, released on June 3rd at the United Nations. It argues that not only are such statistics evidence of grave injustice, they also reflect one of the main reasons why so much of humanity remains mired in poverty. Because they are outside the rule of law, the vast majority of poor people are obliged to work (if they work at all) in the informal economy, which is less productive than the formal, legal part of the economy.

The Economist, June 7th 2008.

O texto a seguir é referência para as questões 76 a 80.

L?HISTOIRE
CHERCHEUR D?OR À NEW YORK

Pour trouver de l?or, il y a les rivières de Guyane, les mines sud-africaines et... les caniveaux de New York. Avec pour outil sa pince et son couteau, Raffi Stepanian inspecte la boue des égouts aux pieds des buildings dans l?espoir d?y trouver quelques morceaux d?or, de diamant ou de rubis. L?homme de 43 ans n?a pas choisi sa zone de recherche par hasard. Il a posé ses valises dans le Midtwon?s Diamond District, le quartier des diamantaires, où les fournisseurs de bijoux laissent échapper par mégarde quelques poussières de pierres précieuses et de bijoux. Et cette chasse au trésor s?avère payante. Raffi Stepanian prétend gagner plus de 150 euros chaque jour grâce à ses ventes. Et en grand seigneur, cet ancien des travaux publics n?hésite pas à révéler son filon. «Je ne suis pas égoïste (...), je voudrais que d?autres personnes en profitent aussi», a-t-il récemment déclaré à la chaîne de télévision CBS New York. Qui aurait pu imaginer que la Grosse Pomme cachait une mine d?or?
(Direct Matin, no 914, 1^er Juillet 2011, p. 6 )

El texto que sigue te servirá para contestar las preguntas 73, 74, 75, 76 y 77.

Guía de estereotipos para 2012

Reino Unido adoctrina sobre el trato a los turistas según su nacionalidad con vistas a los Juegos Olímpicos

Los españoles gritan y gesticulan al hablar, pero eso no es señal de arrogancia. No le guiñes el ojo a un turista de Hong Kong. Evita el contacto físico si viene de la India... Puede parecer un catálogo de tópicos pero es una guía para que los londinenses no metan la pata durante los Juegos Olímpicos de 2012 y el Reino Unido mejore posiciones en la tabla que mide la calidad de la bienvenida que 50 países dan a sus visitantes.
España está bien colocada: cuarta, empatada con Nueva ?elanda y solo superada por Canadá, Italia y Australia. Pero los británicos están en la posición 14. VisitBritain, un organismo que trabaja en colaboración con el Gobierno y la industria para promover el turismo, quiere así "ayudar desde los hoteleros a los taxistas a proporcionar un servicio más eficiente y útil que tenga en cuenta las necesidades culturales" de los extranjeros. ¿Y qué mejor para ello que tener una idea más clara del visitante y alguna pista sobre lo que no hay que hacer?
¿Quién no ha visto sonreír a un turista japonés? Pero eso no significa necesariamente que el buen hombre esté feliz. "Los japoneses tienden a sonreír cuando están furiosos, avergonzados, tristes o decepcionados", advierte VisitBritain. Si el turista viene de Hong Kong es mejor no guiñarle un ojo porque se considera grosero. Con un brasileño es mejor no hablar de cosas personales como edad, salario o algo parecido a un elogio a Argentina.
Los españoles son de carácter fuerte, muy expresivos, habladores, directos y francos. "Tienden a hablar muy rápido y muy alto y el tono suena imperativo, aunque eso no significa que intenten mostrar superioridad o enfado", advierte el manual. Lamentablemente, aunque hablan mucho, solo uno de cada cuatro es capaz de mantener una conversación en inglés. Los españoles, añade la guía, disfrutan comiendo y fuman como carreteros pero beben menos de lo que se podría esperar de un país que produce tanto vino. Les encanta contar chistes y reírse de sí mismos. Su ancestral machismo está declinando y España es hoy "una sociedad muy igualitaria".
Los portugueses, en cambio, se manejan bien en inglés y si algo les molesta es ser considerados una rama de España. Son nostálgicos, tolerantes, acostumbrados a enfrentarse a otras culturas y es difícil ofenderles. No son muy calurosos y expresivos "pero si te dan los buenos días es porque lo sienten de verdad".
No pierdas los nervios delante de un alemán porque es señal de debilidad; levántate cuando entra una persona mayor en la habitación; no grites; no masques chicle en público y cuidado con el uso de los dedos: señalar con el pulgar hacia arriba en señal de aprobación es de mala educación y apuntar a tu propia sien con el índice es un insulto. ¿Y dónde no?

(Texto adaptado de El País Digital – 15/08/2010. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/revista/agosto/Guia/estereotipos/2012/elpepirdv/20100815elpepirdv_2/Tes)