Questões de Concursos Inglês

Why do we buy into the 'cult' of overwork?

By Bryan Lufkin, 9th May 2021

Although many of us associate overly ambitious workaholism with the 1980s and the finance industry, the tendency to devote ourselves to work and glamourize long-hours culture remains as pervasive as ever. In fact, it is expanding into more sectors and professions, in slightly different packaging. Overwork isn't a phenomenon exclusive to Silicon Valley or Wall Street. People work long hours all over the world, for many different reasons.

In Japan, a culture of overwork can be traced back to the 1950s, when the government pushed hard for the country to be rebuilt quickly after World War Two. In Arab League countries, burnout is high among medical professionals, possibly because its 22 members are developing nations with overburdened healthcare systems, studies suggest. Reasons for overwork also depend on industry. Some of the earliest researchers on burnout in the 1970s asserted that many people in jobs geared toward helping others, like employees in clinics or crisis-intervention centers, tended to work long hours that led to emotional and physical exhaustion – a trend which is shown up in the pandemic, too. But millions of us overwork because somehow, we think it’s exciting – a status symbol that puts us on the path to success, whether we define that by wealth or an Instagram post that makes it seem like we're living a dream life with a dream job. Romanticization of work seems to be an especially common practice among "knowledge workers" in the middle and upper classes. In 2014, the New Yorker called this devotion to overwork "a cult".

According to Anat Lechner, clinical associate professor of management at New York University. "We glorify the lifestyle, and the lifestyle is: you breathe something, you sleep with something, you wake up and work on it all day long, then you go to sleep. Again, and again and again."

Adapted from: Home - BBC Worklife.

Big education publisher to end printed textbooks

The world's largest education publisher, Pearson, has said it will gradually phase out printed textbooks. It has taken a decision to make all of its learning resources "digital first". Pearson said the future of the industry is in e-books and digital services. Pearson CEO John Fallon explained more about the company's future direction. He told the BBC: "We are now over the digital tipping point. Over half our annual revenues come from digital sales, so we've decided, a little bit like in other industries like newspapers or music or in broadcast, that it is time to flick the switch in how we primarily make and create our products." He added: "I am increasingly confident and excited about this." Pearson said a huge advantage of digital books is that they can be continually updated, _________3means teachers will always have access to the latest versions of textbooks. Mr. Fallon said Pearson would stop its current business model of revising printed course books every three years. He said this model has dominated the industry for over four decades and is now past its use-by date. Fallon said: "We learn by engaging and sharing with others, and a digital environment enables you to do that in a much more effective way." He added the digital books will appeal to the "Netflix and Spotify generation". Textbook writers are worried they will earn less from their books as digital products are sold on a subscription basis.

Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1907/190718- textbooks.html Captured on: 26/07/19

TEXTO 01

CAN TECH DELIVER A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR PLANET EARTH?

Sustainability means many things to many people, but it boils down to this: saving Planet Earth.

Mankind1 , as a species, has been too successful for its own good – the global population is estimate to top nine billion by 2050, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

As a result, there is already a strain2 on the planet’s essential natural resources, particularly food and water, which population growth can only aggravate.

Meanwhile, our demand for energy has directed to the plundering3 of the earth’s hydrocarbons oil, gas and coal, producing a catastrophic climate change. In a month-long series of features on the theme of sustainability, Technology of Business will be examining the main challenges facing businesses and asking whether technology – which got us into this mess in the first place – can help get us out.

Global megatrends are affecting the business environment

Most companies are already being affected by climate change today, directly or indirectly, says *CDP, a global not-for-profit organization specializing in measuring business environmental impact.

Extreme weather, drought and flooding can disrupt production capacity and affect supply chains for a whole range of businesses. For example, in a CDP survey of 70 European companies, 83% said they had operations in “water-stressed” regions, while 73% said water shortages posed risks to their own operations or those of their suppliers.

Considering an increasingly globalised economy, few businesses can isolate themselves from the impacts of climate change, population growth and resource reduction, says Emma Price-Thomas, head of sustainability strategy at charity Business in the Community.

“The world is changing very fast. Global megatrends are markedly affecting the business environment. If companies don’t address these and think longer-term, they may end up putting themselves out of business,” she argues.

A lot of technology and research is being directed towards reducing water usage an industrial processes and designing products that need less water to work, she says.

*CDP - Carbon Disclosure Project é uma organização que opera o sistema global de divulgação para que investidores, gerenciem seus impactos ambientais

Fonte: WALL, Matthew, BBC NEWS, 2 May 2014. Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/news/business27208569. Adaptado. Acesso em: 6 abr. 2018.

1 ManKind: Humanidade

2 Strain:Tensão

3 Plundering: Pilhagem

TEXTO REFERENTE À QUESTÂO.

Perfectly Preserved Ancient Shipwreck Found in the Baltic Sea with Guns Ready to Fire

By Yasemin Saplakoglu, Staff Writer | July 24, 2019 01:33pm ET

An incredibly well-preserved ancient shipwreck has been uncovered in the Baltic Sea.

Though it likely dates back to 500 to 600 years ago, "it's almost like it sank yesterday," Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, a maritime archeologist with the survey specialists MMT, said in a statement. The ship was first discovered using sonar - which uses sound waves to detect objects - by the Swedish Maritime Administration back in 2009.

But Pacheco-Ruiz and his team, in collaboration with the Centre for Maritime Archeology at the University of Southampton in England, recently led an archeological survey of the wreck using underwater robots.

The survey revealed that the ship likely dates to the 15th to early 16th centuries. Though it looks tattered, it is still largely intact. The masts of the ship were still in place and the hull is complete. On the main deck, leaning against the main mast, the scientists found a small boat that was likely used to transport the crew to and from the ship. They also found swivel guns on the main deck, some still neatly packed away in gun ports. Two swivel guns were still aimed in the firing position, The Independent reported.

"This ship is contemporary to the times of Christopher Columbus and Leonardo Da Vinci, yet it demonstrates a remarkable level of preservation after five hundred years at the bottom of the sea," Pacheco-Ruiz said. It's very wellpreserved due to the cold, slightly salty waters of the Baltic Sea, he added.

(Adaptado de < https://www.livescience.com/66011-ancientshipwreck-baltic-sea.html > Acesso em 04/08/2019)