Questões de Concursos Inglês

How were the first 'voice mails' sent? In envelopes

“Hello Mother, Dad, and Blanche,” a quiet voice says above the cracks and pops of an old vinyl record, which has clearly been played many times over. “How’s everything at home? I’m recording this from Dallas…from this very little place where there are pinball machines and many other things like that…”

The disc is small, seven inches across, dated ___________ 1954. The faded green label shows that the speaker’s name is “Gene,” the recording addressed to “Folks.” Gene suggests in his minute-long message that he is traveling—“seeing America”—and tells his family not to worry about him.

“I should complete my trip sometime around Thanksgiving. I hope you received my letter and I, in turn, hope to receive some of the letters that you sent me.”

This largely forgotten sound is one of the world’s early “voice mails.” During the first half of the 20th century, these audio letters and other messages were recorded largely in booths, pressed onto metal discs and vinyl records, and mailed in places all over the world. Best known today for playing music at home, record players were then being used as a means of _____________ over long distances.

The idea of transporting a person’s voice had _________ large in the human imagination for some three centuries before it was finally achieved with the invention of the phonograph in the late 19th century. Historical documents from the Qing Dynasty in 16th-century China suggest the existence of a mysterious device called the “thousand-mile speaker,” a wooden cylinder that could be spoken into and sealed, such that the recipient could still hear the reverberations when opening it back up.

(Fonte: National Geographic - adaptado.)

How to Exercise While Sítting At Your Computer

Is your work stressing you out? Is your work making you fat? Of course, it is. If you are in a relationship with your work like me (I hate the word "workaholic") , then maybe you are also dealing with some relationship issues like stress and weight gain. Every person who has a desk job does not need to indulge in a tub of ice-cream after a particularly stressful day at work to gain the pounds. In fact, the downside of being a way too dedicated employee is that it will make you fat! The stress to perform plus the inactivity of a desk job will definitely increase your waist size. What's more, you will become lethargic once four hours of inactivity can seriously send your metabolism leveis to an all-time low. If you think that a 30 minute walk every day is enough cardio activity in a week to maintain your metabolism, you are wrong! Yes, I was surprised too! The mathematics of this is that when you perform any cardio activity, it elevates your metabolism rate for a span of time, but not the entire day. Because the rest of the day you are sitting idle on your chair without much activity, the 30 minute walk is not enough, nor is the 1-hour intense workout. What you need to do to keep yourself from pilling on the pounds is to keep your metabolism rate high all day long. For that, you need to break the no physical activity routine from 9 to 5 by exercising while sitting at your desk!

Here are simple exercises that take 5 minutes of your day and prevent you from feeling stiff.

A) Neck: To stretch your neck, slowly flex your head forward and backward, side to side and look right and left. This can be done almost any time to lessen tension and strain. Never roll your head around your neck— this could cause damage to the joints of the neck.

B) Shoulders: Roll your shoulders forward around 10 times, then backward. This helps release the tension off your shoulders.

C) Wrists: Roll your wrists regularly, around every hour or so. Roll the wrists 10 times clockwise, then 10 times counterclockwise. This will help minimize the potential for getting carpal tunnel syndrome if you spend a lot of time typing.

D) Ankles: Roll your ankles regularly. As with your wrists, roll the ankles in a clockwise motion three times, then counterclockwise. This helps improve blood circulation, and prevents that tingling feeling you can get when blood circulation is cut off, also known as "pins and needles".

(Adapted from http://www.buzzle.com and http://www.wikihow.com)

Leia o Texto 4 para responder a questão.

Texto 4

According to information from the MetSouth, the heat wave has already begun, affecting mainly the South and Southeast of Brazil, with atypically high temperatures for the month of November, a period that is already historically hot, but which, in 2023, could see records broken.

Until Friday (10), the most intense heat should be concentrated in the Central-West and in the interior of São Paulo, but from the weekend onwards the mass of hot air increases and the maximum temperatures begin to reach more areas of Brazil, just as it was in September and October. (...)

Disponível em: <https://www.showmetech.com.br/en/brasil-se-prepara-para-

maior-onda-de-calor-da-historia/>. Acesso em: 13 nov. 2023. [Adaptado].

Scientists study the world’s oldest person

1. After being bewildered by the “super grandmother’s” great health at 116 years old,
2. scientists are studying Maria Branyas, the world’s oldest person, in an attempt to unearth the
3. secret to a long life. Mr. Branyas was born __ San Francisco __ 1907, and __ the age of eight,
4. she moved __ Catalonia, Spain, where her family was originally from. Ms. Branyas, known to her
5. X followers as the “Super Catalan Grandma”, has lived in the region ever since and has resided
6. in the same nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, for the last 22 years.
7. She has agreed to undergo scientific testing, which researchers hope will further their
8. understanding of certain illnesses associated with old age, such as neurodegenerative or
9. cardiovascular diseases. Despite her age, Ms. Branyas has no health complications other than
10. mobility issues and hearing (she suffered permanent hearing loss when she was a child). She also
11. still has a great memory: “She has a completely lucid head,” scientist Manel Esteller told ABC, a
12. Spanish outlet. “She remembers with impressive clarity episodes of her when she was only four
13. years old, and she does not present any cardiovascular disease, common in elderly people.”
14. Esteller, who studies genetics and how it applies to health conditions, became curious about how
15. Ms. Branyas’ genetic makeup might affect her aging. After a long talk with Ms. Branyas, Mr.
16. Esteller believes there must be more to her longevity than meets the eye.
17. The remarkable woman has not had an easy life; she survived an earthquake while she
18. was in the US, a major fire, both world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Flu pandemic,
19. and more recently, COVID-19 in 2020. Despite the various pandemics, wars, and family losses
20. she has endured, her longevity has made scientists question what her secret could be. “We know
21. Maria’s chronological age, 116 years, but we must determine her biological age,” Esteller said to
22. ABC, believing that “she is much younger” physically. The scientist has taken biological samples
23. of saliva, blood, and urine from Ms. Branyas, which are thought to be the “longest-lived” biological
24. samples and have great scientific value, Josep Carreras, the head of a leukemia research institute,
25. said to ABC. The samples will be compared with the 116-year-old’s middle daughter, who is 79
26. years old.
27. Ms. Branyas often has been asked what her secret is to her long life, and she uses her X
28. account to post her advice for others. She attributed her longevity to “order, tranquillity, good
29. connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no
30. regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people”. However, she also credits a great
31. amount of luck. “It is clear that there is a genetic component because there are several members
32. of her family who are over 90 years old,” said Esteller. The rare biological samples will assess her
33. genes, which will hopefully advance the research of drugs that could help diseases associated
34. with age and cancer. As for Ms. Branyas, she said on her X account that she is “very happy she
35. can be useful for research and progress”.

(Available in: https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/lifestyle/maria-branyas-oldest-person-alive-spain-b2436228.html – text especially adapted for this test).

Read the text I to answer the question.

TEXT I

IS BURNOUT REAL?

Last week, the World Health Organization upgraded Burnout from a “state” of exhaustion to “a syndrome” resulting from “chronic workplace stress” in its International Disease Classification. That is such a broad definition that it could well apply to most people at some point in their working lives. When a disorder is reportedly so widespread, it makes me wonder whether we are at risk of medicalizing everyday distress. If almost everyone suffers from Burnout, then no one does, and the concept loses all credibility.

By Richard A. Friedman

I'm sure the author's generation also experienced workplace stress. However, his generation also experienced real economic stability and socioeconomic gains. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Currently, we are working tirelessly towards what ends? There doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Burnout is psychological and existential as much as it is physical.

Anna B. – New York, June 4, 2019.

(Adaptado de https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/opinion/burnout-stress.html. Acessado em 16/09/2020.)

Read the text III to answer the question.

TEXT III

A new report into world education shows Finland has the best system. The global study is called "The Learning Curve" and is from the British magazine "The Economist". It aims to help governments provide a better education to students. The 52-page report looked at the education system in 50 countries. Researchers analysed millions of statistics on exam grades, literacy rates, attendance, and university graduation rates. Asia did well in the report, with South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore finishing second, third, fourth and fifth. The United States came 17th in the study, while Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia filled the bottom three positions in the top 50.

The Learning Curve reported on five things that education leaders should remember. The first is that spending lots of money on schools and teachers does not always mean students will learn. Second is that "good teachers are essential to high-quality education". The report said teachers should be "treated as the valuable professionals they are, not as technicians in a huge, educational machine". Numbers three and four are that a country's culture must have a strong focus on the importance of education, and parents have a key part to play. Finally, countries need to "educate for the future, not just the present." The report said: "Many of today's job titles…simply did not exist 20 years ago."

Sources:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=421944&c=1 http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/content/download/bankname/components/filename/FINAL%20LearningCurve_Final.pdf 3