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Gabriele Tinti’s Hungry Ghosts is a cycle of 51 poems written in collaboration with the photographer Roger Ballen, whose photographic negatives are reproduced in the book. The images are mostly terrifying, in keeping with the otherworldly inclination of the poems. This bilingual edition includes Tinti’s original Italian poems with English translations by David Graham, interspersed with Greek lines taken from inscriptions found on archaeological objects and from ancient Greek texts.

The book is inspired by the Petavatthu, a Theravada Buddhist scripture that includes stories about the realm of the “hungry ghosts,” a category of supernatural beings ubiquitous in East and South Asian religions, with section headings such as “Abandoned Ghosts,” “Protectors,” “Guardians,” and “Hungry Ghosts.” T he poems are quite short and try to emulate the obscure, esoteric quality of scriptural language, though they struggle, at times, under the weight of too many venerable references drawn from both Buddhist and Greek traditions.

Internet:<poetryfoundation.org>(adapted).

About the linguistic and lexical features of the preceding text, judge the following item.

In the text, the word “terrifying” (second sentence of the first paragraph) conveys a sense of intense fear and is an adjective formed from the verb to terrify.

O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder à questão.



Vianden Castle History


(1º§) The rocky outcrop above the modern town of Vianden was first fortified in late antiquity. Excavations at the foot of the castle chapel in 1994 led to the discovery that parts of the crumbling masonry of the Late Antique tower must have existed in Merovingian times and that this square building, the only surviving structure from the period known as Late Antiquity, was incorporated into the first medieval castle.


(2º§) The first fortification was built at the beginning of Late Antiquity on the castle hill at an ancient crossroads, where a branch of the great Roman road Reims-Cologne through the Ardennes and the valley of Our led to the valley of the Sauer and through Echternach to Bitburg and Trier, at that time a thriving metropolis.


(3º§) After the Vianden fort was abandoned around 430/440 AD, the Roman Tower seems to have been sufficiently usable to remain a decisive element in the subsequent periods of castle building up to the High Middle Ages.


(4º§) The first medieval fortification was erected on the rocky spur overlooking Vianden around the year 1000. The main part of this fortification consisted of an oval ring wall. This defensive wall, meticulously reinforced with small slabs of slate, was exactly one meter wide. As with the ancient wall, this special construction technique allowed archaeologists to retrace it virtually its entire length. The old late antique moat also remained in use during this period. The entire inner surface of the fortification was leveled by filling the lower defensive wall with stones and earth. This complex also included a hall, used for administrative purposes, and a chapel, which was installed in the remains of the late antique tower.


(5º§) Vianden Castle was extensively rebuilt around 1170. The remains of the wooden scaffolding found in the new residential tower made it possible to determine the date of construction using the three-ring dating technique.


(6º§) Important architectural contributions were made, in Gothic style, between the 13th and 14th centuries by the Counts of Vianden. In 1417 the castle became a possession of the Orange-Nassau family who made changes in the Renaissance style. The castle was long in the possession of the grand-ducal family until it became state property in 1977. After this date, it was restored and shines in its former glory. Today, Vianden Castle is one of the most important architectural monuments in Europe being one of the largest and most beautiful feudal residences of the Romanesque and Gothic periods. In the entrance area there is a modern interactive visitor center.


https://www.histouring.com/en/historical-places/vianden-castle/

The text mentions "scaffolding" found during renovations of Vianden Castle. What does "scaffolding" refer to?
TEXT:

Four Key Language Skills: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing
Discover how these skills interconnect and contribute to language proficiency, communication, and personal development

Language is a multifaceted tool that serves as a means of communication, expression, and understanding. Within the realm of language acquisition, four primary skills play a central role: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each of these skills contributes uniquely to one's language proficiency and plays a vital role in different aspects of life. In this post, we will delve into the relative importance of these four key language skills and how they complement each other.
Speaking is often considered the most critical language skill, as it directly enables human communication. It facilitates interaction with others, both socially and professionally, allowing individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively. The ability to speak fluently is especially crucial in situations like business negotiations, job interviews, and everyday conversations. Effective speaking enhances one's confidence, builds relationships, and fosters cultural understanding.
Listening is the counterpart to speaking, and it is equally essential in effective communication. Without strong listening skills, misunderstandings can arise, leading to breakdowns in communication. Active listening involves not only hearing words but also comprehending their meaning, tone, and context. Proficient listening enhances language learners' ability to engage in meaningful conversations, understand cultural nuances, and respond appropriately. In educational settings, strong listening skills are crucial for learning and comprehension.
Reading expands one's knowledge and understanding of language. It allows individuals to access a vast wealth of information, literature, and culture. Through reading, individuals can explore diverse perspectives, historical accounts, and contemporary issues. Reading also plays a significant role in academic and professional contexts, where individuals are required to process, analyze, and synthesize written information. Strong reading skills lead to improved vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking.
Writing is the skill that allows individuals to express their thoughts and ideas in a structured and organized manner. It serves as a means of documentation, creativity, and self-expression. In academic and professional settings, effective writing is essential for creating reports, essays, emails, and other forms of communication. It also plays a crucial role in preserving knowledge, culture, and history through the written word. Strong writing skills enable individuals to convey their thoughts with clarity and precision.
While each of these four language skills holds significance on its own, their importance is interconnected. They complement and reinforce each other, creating a holistic language proficiency. For instance, strong listening skills aid in developing accurate pronunciation when speaking. Reading enhances vocabulary, which in turn improves writing. Writing practice can lead to a deeper understanding of grammatical structures, benefiting both speaking and listening.
Moreover, in the modern world, technology has blurred the lines between these skills. Communication platforms, such as social media and instant messaging, require a combination of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Multimedia content, including videos and podcasts, encourages learners to engage in both listening and speaking activities.
In conclusion, the four key language skills - speaking, listening, reading, and writing - each hold a unique and essential place in language acquisition and proficiency. Their relative importance depends on the context, goals, and individual preferences. However, it is the interplay of these skills that results in a well-rounded and effective communicator. Language learners benefit most when they strive for balance and competence in all four skills, enabling them to navigate the complexities of language in diverse personal, educational, and professional settings.


Available in: https://www.verbalplanet.com/blog/the-four-key-language-skillsimportance.asp Acesso em 21/10/2024

No trecho: “For instance, strong listening skills aid in developing accurate pronunciation”, a expressão em destaque expressa a ideia de:

Text 1


Companies know how we think



Companies can now find out exactly how you think through the science of neuromarketing. Advertisers are currently collaborating with scientists to test their products directly on our brains. Some experts believe that one in ten TV commercials have already been designed using neuromarketing.


The reasons are obvious. The technique allows companies to discover exactly what people like about their products. For example, when we eat a type of potato chip, it may be the color, the flavor, or the pleasant noise it makes when you crunch it in your mouth that we like most.


In order ............ tap into what’s going ............ in consumers’ brains, it all begins ............ laboratories and office buildings.


Groups of volunteers submit themselves to a simple process. Wearing a special headset called an electrode cap, they watch commercials or test products. The caps allow researchers to monitor brain activity. When something attracts the attention of the volunteers, this is highlighted on a computer. They literally use this device to read the minds of their volunteers. This may sound a little scary, but advertisers are just tap-ping into our existing thoughts and desires. And that’s what advertisers have always tried to do.


Previously, companies would give people a survey or questionnaire to complete in order to research their customers. The problem was that people didn’t always tell the truth. They may not want to be critical of a product or advertisement because they don’t want to upset the interviewer. The electrode cap overcomes this problem. It shows when someone really is interested in something.


Neuromarketing is also used to develop packaging for the world’s most famous brands. The aim is to make their products stand out in a busy marketplace. This will become standard as more companies capitalize on the technology. With millions invested in advertising, companies simply cannot afford to hope that their ads and products will be a success. If they can find out what we think first, and change their products to make them more successful, they will quickly pay off the high cost of neuromarketing and dominate their market.

According to the Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary, a phrasal verb is a verb combined with an adverb or a preposition, or sometimes both, to give a new meaning.

Match the phrasal verbis in column 1 with their correct meanings in column 2, according to their use in Text 1.

Column 1 Phrasal Verbs

1. stand out

2. find out

3. pay off

4. tap(ping) into


Column 2 Meanings

( ) to discover a fact

( ) to gain access to

( ) to be very noticeable

( ) to pay in full (a debt or a creditor)

Select the option that presents the correct sequence from top to bottom.

Read the following exchange:

A: Why was the king only able to draw straight lines?
B: Because he is a ruler.
Humor is caused by a linguistic property named

Read text I to answer the question.

TEXT I


Teachers in the Movement: Pedagogy, Activism, and Freedom


In this year's Presidential Address, historian Derrick P. Alridge __________ his current research project, Teachers in the Movement: Pedagogy, Activism, and Freedom. The project builds on recent literature about teachers as activists be tween 1950 and 1980 and explores how and what secondary and postsecondary teachers taught. Focusing on teachers in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, the project investigates teachers' roles as agents of social change through teaching the ideals of freedom during the most significant social movement in the United States in the twentieth century. Drawing on oral history and archival research, the project plans to produce five hundred videotaped interviews that will generate extensive firsthand knowledge and fresh perspectives about teachers in the civil rights move ment. By examining teachers' pedagogical activism during this period of rapid social change, Alridge hopes to inspire and inform educators teaching in the midst of today's freedom and social justice movements.


(Disponível em: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1255911)

To maintain the meaning of the text, the highlighted phrasal verb “Build on” can be replaced with

As regards spelling in English, fill in the gaps in the sentences below by choosing the correct spelling between the options in parenthesis.

I. Lucy ________ (fetchs / fetches) Ana from school on Mondays.

Il. This software counts the number of ________ (occurrences / occurences / ocurrences) of certain words in the text.

III. Do you want your ______ (receipt / reciept)?

IV. According to specialists, a huge percentage of the population is ________ (iliterated / illiterate / iliterate).

In the order presented, the gaps are correctly and respectively filled by:

Stanford Medicine scientists transform cancer cells into weapons against cancer

March 1, 2023 - By Christopher Vaughan


(1º§) Some cities fight gangs with ex-members whoeducate kids and starve gangs of new recruits. Stanford Medicine researchers have done something similar with cancer — altering cancer cells so that they teach the body's immune system to fight the very cancer the cells came from.


(2º§) "This approach could open up an entirely new therapeutic approach to treating cancer," said Ravi Majeti, MD, PhD, a professor of hematology and the study's senior author. The research was published March 1 in Cancer Discovery. The lead author is Miles Linde, PhD, a former PhD student in immunology who is now at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute in Seattle.


(3º§) Some of the most promising cancer treatments use the patient's own immune system to attack the cancer, often __ taking the brakes off immune responses to cancer or by teaching the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer more vigorously. T cells, part of the immune system that learns to identify and attack new pathogens such as viruses, can be trained to recognize specific cancer antigens, which are proteins that generate an immune response.


(4º§) For instance, in CAR T-cell therapy, T cells are taken from a patient, programmed to recognize a specific cancer antigen, then returned to the patient. But there are many cancer antigens, and physicians sometimes need to guess which ones will be most potent.


(5º§) A better approach would be to train T cells to recognize cancer via processes that more closely mimic the way things naturally occur in the body — like the way a vaccine teaches the immune system to recognize pathogens. T cells learn to recognize pathogens because special antigen presenting cells (APCs) gather pieces of the pathogen and show them to the T cells in a way that tells the T cells, "Here is what the pathogen looks like — go get it."


(6º§) Something similar in cancer would be for APCs to gather up the many antigens that characterize a cancer cell. That way, instead of T cells being programmed to attack one or a few antigens, they are trained to recognize many cancer antigens and are more likely to wage a multipronged attack on the cancer.


(7º§) Now that researchers have become adept at transforming one kind of cell into another, Majeti and his colleagues had a hunch that if they turned cancer cells into a type of APC called macrophages, they would be naturally adept at teaching T cells what to attack.


(8º§) "We hypothesized that maybe cancer cells reprogrammed into macrophage cells could stimulate T cells because those APCs carry all the antigens of the cancer cells they came from," said Majeti, who is also the RZ Cao Professor, assistant director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine.


(9º§) The study builds on prior research from the Majeti lab showing that cells taken from patients with a type of acute leukemia could be converted into non-leukemic macrophages with many of the properties of APCs.


(10º§) In the current study, the researchers programmed mouse leukemia cells so that some of them could be induced to transform themselves into APCs. When they tested their cancer vaccine strategy on the mouse immune system, the mice successfully cleared the cancer.


(11º§) "When we first saw the data showing clearance of the leukemia in the mice __ working immune systems, we were blown away," Majeti said. "We couldn't believe it worked as well as it did."


(12º§) Other experiments showed that the cells created from cancer cells were indeed acting as antigen-presenting cells that sensitized T cells to the cancer. "What's more, we showed that the immune system remembered what these cells taught them," Majeti said. "When we reintroduced cancer to these mice over 100 days after the initial tumor inoculation, they still had a strong immunological response that protected them."


(13º§) "We wondered, If this works with leukemias, will it also work with solid tumors?" Majeti said. The team tested the same approach using mouse fibrosarcoma, breast cancer, and bone cancer. "The transformation of cancer cells from solid tumors was not as efficient, but we still observed positive results," Majeti said. With all three cancers, the creation of tumor-derived APCs led to significantly improved survival.


(14º§) Lastly, the researchers returned to the original type of acute leukemia. When the human leukemia cell-derived APCs were exposed to human T cells from the same patient, they observed all the signs that would be expected if the APCs were indeed teaching the T cells how to attack the leukemia.


(15º§) "We showed that reprogrammed tumor cells could lead to a durable and systemic attack on the cancer in mice and a similar response with human patient immune cells," Majeti said. "In the future we might be able to take out tumor cells, transform them into APCs and give them back to patients as a therapeutic cancer vaccine."


(16º§) "Ultimately, we might be able to inject RNA into patients and transform enough cells to activate the immune system against cancer without having to take cells out first," Majeti said. "That's science fiction __ this point, but that's the direction we are interested in going."


(17º§) The work was supported by funding from the Ludwig Foundation for Cancer Research, the Emerson Collective Cancer Research Fund, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Stinehart-Reed Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the J. Benjamin Eckenhoff Fund, the Blavatnik Family Fellowship, the Deutsche Forschungsgemainshaft, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Stanford Human Biology Research Exploration Program, the National Institutes of Health (grant F31CA196029), the American Society of Hematology, the A.P. Giannini Foundation, and the Stanford Cancer Institute.


(adapted)
med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2023/03/cancer-hematology.html
PROFESSOR INGLÊS - 1 8
What does the phrasal verb "take out" mean in the sentence "In the future we might be able to take out tumor cells, transform them into APCs and give them back to patients as a therapeutic cancer vaccine" (15º§)?

INSTRUCTION: Read the following text to answer question.

Do Leveled Books Have Any Place in the Classroom?


“The little turtle can see the grass. The little turtle can see the trees. The little turtle can see the flowers”. These are the opening lines to one popular reading program’s leveled books: short, predictable texts designed for beginning readers. The patterned sentence structure – centered on the phrase “the little turtle can see" – invites students to rely on repetition and context clues to identify words they can’t sound out.

Leveled books have been a staple in early elementary reading instruction for more than two decades. But as the “science of reading” movement has spread, leveled books have come under fire. Initially, they encourage students to guess at words rather than use their phonics skills, researchers say, which can prevent children from mapping the letter-sound connections that allow them to become fluent readers.

A second problem is how they sort students into levels. Studies have shown that leveling systems are frequently inaccurate. These systems are usually created by the books’ publishers, which purport to match students with books that have a just-right alignment with their reading comprehension abilities.

In classrooms that are switching to a science of reading approach, educators are now wary of leveled books, because of the damage that they did, said Wiley Blevins, an educational consultant. In his opinion, when children are still learning the code of written language, it is required a “tight connection” between the letter-sound correspondences they’re learning and the text they’re reading, so that they have opportunities to practice. But leveled texts can’t do this job. Blevins said that the textdifficulty levels also don’t offer much practical use because they don’t tell educators what skills students still need to master – which doesn’t necessarily mean kids can’t ever pick up these books.

But what are leveled texts anyway? In many of the most popular reading programs of the last decade, leveled readers were some of the main texts that children worked with. Teachers used books for instruction, grouping students by their level and assigning them reading strategies to practice in the text. They have also been used for assessment since teachers listened to students read these books aloud, keeping a running record of their errors.

Publishers claimed that the text-leveling system could match students with books that were just right for their abilities – challenging enough to help them practice new skills, but not so challenging as to be frustrating or inaccessible. This idea is based on outdated theories about how children learn. Studies show that students can read books that are above their level with teacher and peer-provided support. They also indicate that restricting students to text at lower reading levels can actually widen achievement gaps.

However, other research has found that the leveling system isn’t even that accurate. A 2014 study showed that data from leveling assessments correctly predicted students’ reading ability only about 50 percent of the time.

The big problem with these books, though, is that they don’t help students develop their decoding skills, that is, their ability to sound out words by connecting letters tospoken sounds, said Kari Kurto, the National Science of Reading Project director at The Reading League – a group that advocates for evidence-based reading policy and classroom practice. Kurto complemented by saying that many of the words in these books aren’t written with constrained sound-spelling patterns, so “there’s no other strategy that a kid can use other than guessing,” Kurto said.

With all of this being said, one question pops up: how teachers can repurpose leveled readers?

As some districts have shifted their reading instructional practice, they have moved from leveled to decodable text – books written to give students practice with the letter-sound correspondences that they are learning in phonics lessons. However, decodable books shouldn’t be the only books that students ever see because at some point they will have to move on to more complex literature, said Blevins. In his point of view, teachers shouldn’t worry about matching students with a particular level, but rather see if they can find books that include some phonics patterns children know.

But can leveled texts build background knowledge? Some educators have repurposed leveled texts in a different way, using them to help students develop content knowledge about a subject. Research shows that students’ background knowledge is a key component of their reading comprehension ability.

According to Kurto, having more books available that might tap into kids’ different interests is valuable. Still, she draws the attention to the fact that many leveled books are written with simple themes and basic vocabulary and syntax. She said, “a lot of the leveled texts are just a little fluffy. If all [students are] getting beyond decodable text is leveled text, then it’s likely that they’re not being exposed to high-quality language and language structures.”

Although the debate about this matter is extensive and opinions are diverse, one thing is worth keeping in mind: what students read in class really matters.


Source: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/doleveled-books-have-any-place-in-the-classroom/2024/10 Accessed on November 13, 2024. [Adapted]

In “(…) leveled books have come under fire”, the author uses “come under fire” to express that these books have been:
A estilística foca na análise de estilos literários e linguísticos em diferentes textos. No texto poético, por exemplo, a aliteração é uma figura de linguagem comum. Qual das alternativas apresenta um exemplo de aliteração em inglês?
TEXT:
Flipped learning – could it work for you?
Exploring the benefits, challenges and tips for success

By Stephanie Hirschman
October 2, 2023


Flipped learning is very much a buzz word these days, and it’s worth thinking about whether this approach is suitable for your
lessons. It’s quite easy to define: whereas a more traditional model of teaching involves some sort of initial input (for example a
lecture or demonstration) followed by some sort of related output (for example a discussion or experiment) with some homework to follow, in flipped learning, this order is disrupted. Students do their homework before the class meets by watching a recorded lecture or video or reading an article. This enables them to spend the lesson time on activities which make a more significant contribution to their deep understanding and mastery of important ideas, for example, discussion, roleplay or presentations. It sits well within blended learning as the pre-lesson homework is likely to be accessed online, while the class activities are conducted face-to-face.

Why is it important?
Flipped learning makes good use of technology, allowing students to approach the input at their own level. Some may need to view a video several times more than would be possible in a group classroom setting, with frequent pauses and rewinding to ensure that they have recognized the main points. It’s also possible for students to explore other aspects of a topic, either using further links that the teacher provides, or finding other relevant resources to explore on their own. Finally, they can do the work when and where they wish, and even make use of otherwise “dead” time, like waiting for a bus.


How relevant is it for English language teaching (ELT)?

It’s important to recognize that flipped learning was not developed with ELT contexts in mind. In a language lesson, we may find
students reading a text about, say, major infrastructure projects, but this content is merely a vehicle for some other language point like expressing high numbers or making comparisons. During a conventional English lesson, the teacher would be guiding students through the text, encouraging prediction and other strategies and setting achievable reading or listening tasks to check basic understanding, before introducing key language points in a staged presentation. This would be followed by controlled practice and freer production. It’s not easy to see how this pattern of brief but meaningful interactive activities maps onto flipped learning. ELT texts, even at advanced levels, tend to be too short to be worth exploring in depth, unlike a 30-minute lecture or video thatstudents of other subjects may be watching. Of course, it could be argued that the true content of the lesson, ie the language point, could be the subject of flipped learning, with students watching a presentation on this subject before the class meets. However, this removes the language point from an engaging and meaningful context and furthermore, working alone robs students of the opportunity to ask questions and discuss emergent ideas about meaning, which are key elements of communicative learning.

Tips for success
Nonetheless, it is possible to flip an ELT classroom, with some adjustments:

1. Flipped learning would suit certain types of ELT which are heavily content based, like CLIL or Business. Mature students are more likely to have the motivation required to implement this approach sensibly.

2. It makes sense to devote the final stages of a lesson to introducing the content that students will explore independently before the next class meeting. This should include a justification of why the content was chosen, how students should approach it and how they can check their understanding. Providing some comprehension questions is a minimum. If answers aren’t furnished, the next class meeting could open with an activity to discuss and check these.

3. The teacher must provide an easy and reliable way for students to access the content, for example via an online learning system.

4. It’s reasonable to expect that students will require training and a settling-in period, as they come to terms with the demands of the new system. It could even be worth trialing the routine during a face-to-face lesson, with students accessing content on their phones or laptops, and with some reminders about how to approach a reading text (for example skimming and scanning) or how to make good use of technology to ensure effective listening (for example, rewinding, user slower speed settings or making use of a tape script).

5. Because of the investment required in learner training, flipped learning will be tricky to implement in programs with continuous enrolment. It’s far more suitable for a setting with a termly or yearly intake date.

6. Even when the system is up and running, there will probably always be a number of students who have not prepared adequately for the lesson. This will affect how successful follow-up activities are and the teacher needs some strategies in place to address this.

Available in: https://linguahouse.com/blog/post/flipped-learning-could-it-work-for-you
Acesso: 17/10/2024
Após a leitura do texto, é possível definir “flipped learning” como:
Anglicismo é um tipo de estrangeirismo usado para definir as palavras que vêm do Inglês para o Português.
Assinale a alternativa que apresenta exemplos de palavras do inglês que se tornaram comuns na língua portuguesa.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) had a broad and distinguished career both inside and outside the literary realm. She is most famous for her work as a poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She also worked in entertainment as a singer, a dancer, an actor, and a director. Her poetry was inspired and informed by her life and work, and this personal connection made her poems profound and powerful. Over the course of a career spanning the 1960s to her death in 2014, she captured, provoked, inspired, and ultimately transformed American people and culture.


Internet: <poetryfoundation.org> (adapted).

About the preceding text, its linguistic features and the meanings it conveys, as well as the reading strategies that apply to it, judge the item that follow.

The sentence “She also worked in entertainment as a singer, a dancer, an actor, and a director.” could be correctly rewritten as Additionally, she worked in entertainment as an actor, a singer, a dancer, and a director.

Read text III to answer the following question.


TEXT III


Realities of Race, by Mike Peed


What’s the difference between an African-American and an American-African? From such a distinction springs a deep-seated discussion of race in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s third novel, “Americanah.” Adichie, born in Nigeria but now living both in her homeland and in the United States, is an extraordinarily self-aware thinker and writer, possessing the abil ity to lambaste society without sneering or patronizing or polemicizing. For her, it seems no great feat to balance high literary intentions with broad social critique. “Americanah” examines blackness in America, Nigeria and Britain, but it’s also a steady-handed dissection of the universal human experience — a platitude made fresh by the accuracy of Adichie’s obser vations. […]


“Americanah” tells the story of a smart, strong-willed Nigerian woman named Ifemelu who, after she leaves Africa for America, endures several harrowing years of near destitution before graduating from college, starting a blog entitled “Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black” and winning a fellowship at Princeton (as Adichie once did; she has acknowledged that many of Ifemelu’s experiences are her own). Ever hovering in Ifemelu’s thoughts is her high school boyfriend, Obinze, an equally intelligent if gentler, more self-effacing Nigerian, who outstays his visa and takes illegal jobs in London. (When Obinze trips and falls to the ground, a co-worker shouts, “His knee is bad because he’s a knee-grow!”)


Ifemelu and Obinze represent a new kind of immigrant, “raised well fed and watered but mired in dissatisfaction.” They aren’t fleeing war or starvation but “the oppressive lethargy of choicelessness.” Where Obinze fails — soon enough, he is deported — Ifemelu thrives, in part because she seeks authenticity. […]


Early on, a horrific event leaves Ifemelu reeling, and years later, when she returns to Nigeria, she’s still haunted by it. Meantime, back in Lagos, Obinze has found wealth as a property developer. Though the book threatens to morph into a simple story of their reunion, it stretches into a scalding assessment of Nigeria, a country too proud to have patience for “Americanahs” — big shots who return from abroad to belittle their countrymen — and yet one that, sometimes unwitting ly, endorses foreign values. (Of the winter scenery in a school’s Christmas pageant, a parent asks, “Are they teaching chil dren that a Christmas is not a real Christmas unless snow falls like it does abroad?”)


“Americanah” is witheringly trenchant and hugely empathetic, both worldly and geographically precise, a novel that holds the discomfiting realities of our times fearlessly before us. It never feels false.


(Adapted from: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/books/review/americanah-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie.html)

Based on the excerpt from the 3rd paragraph: “They aren’t fleeing war or starvation but ‘the oppressive lethargy of choice lessness’", it is correct to say that a synonym for “lethargy” is:
A collocation is a natural combination of words that frequently appear together in English. Choose the alternative where all of the collocations are correct.

O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder à questão.



Vianden Castle History


(1º§) The rocky outcrop above the modern town of Vianden was first fortified in late antiquity. Excavations at the foot of the castle chapel in 1994 led to the discovery that parts of the crumbling masonry of the Late Antique tower must have existed in Merovingian times and that this square building, the only surviving structure from the period known as Late Antiquity, was incorporated into the first medieval castle.


(2º§) The first fortification was built at the beginning of Late Antiquity on the castle hill at an ancient crossroads, where a branch of the great Roman road Reims-Cologne through the Ardennes and the valley of Our led to the valley of the Sauer and through Echternach to Bitburg and Trier, at that time a thriving metropolis.


(3º§) After the Vianden fort was abandoned around 430/440 AD, the Roman Tower seems to have been sufficiently usable to remain a decisive element in the subsequent periods of castle building up to the High Middle Ages.


(4º§) The first medieval fortification was erected on the rocky spur overlooking Vianden around the year 1000. The main part of this fortification consisted of an oval ring wall. This defensive wall, meticulously reinforced with small slabs of slate, was exactly one meter wide. As with the ancient wall, this special construction technique allowed archaeologists to retrace it virtually its entire length. The old late antique moat also remained in use during this period. The entire inner surface of the fortification was leveled by filling the lower defensive wall with stones and earth. This complex also included a hall, used for administrative purposes, and a chapel, which was installed in the remains of the late antique tower.


(5º§) Vianden Castle was extensively rebuilt around 1170. The remains of the wooden scaffolding found in the new residential tower made it possible to determine the date of construction using the three-ring dating technique.


(6º§) Important architectural contributions were made, in Gothic style, between the 13th and 14th centuries by the Counts of Vianden. In 1417 the castle became a possession of the Orange-Nassau family who made changes in the Renaissance style. The castle was long in the possession of the grand-ducal family until it became state property in 1977. After this date, it was restored and shines in its former glory. Today, Vianden Castle is one of the most important architectural monuments in Europe being one of the largest and most beautiful feudal residences of the Romanesque and Gothic periods. In the entrance area there is a modern interactive visitor center.


https://www.histouring.com/en/historical-places/vianden-castle/

The term "crumbling" is used in the first paragraph to describe the state of the masonry. What does "crumbling" best imply in this context?
Text I: 'Quiet quitting' isn't really quitting


Clocking out at 5 p.m. on the dot, only doing your assigned daily tasks, limiting chats with colleagues and not working overtime. These are the distinctive features of "quiet quitting," a term coined to describe how people are approaching their jobs and professional lives differently to manage burnout.

The phrase, which isn't actually intended to lead to a resignation, exploded into the popular lexicon in 2022 when a TikTok video went viral. The creator, Zaid Khan, said in the video "I recently learned about this term 'quiet quitting,' where you're not outright quitting your job, but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond." Nonetheless, “quiet quitting” is a misnomer, at least according to Karen K. Ho, a freelance business and culture reporter. She said that the term doesn't account for the fact that people are watching their grocery bills, fuel costs and housing prices go up, often without so much as a salary increase. "You're literally stagnating as a result of not earning more, not being promoted – and that's why a lot of people are leaving jobs," she completed.

While the words "quiet quitting" are loaded, evoking images of a slacker or ne'er-do-well for some, others say that the approach frees up time to spend with family and friends or to take care of oneself. In short, it's a renewed commitment to life beyond the workplace. On the other hand, the term “quiet quitting” has also received criticism, even from those who generally favor the idea behind it.

However, while the term "quiet quitting" may be a new invention, the mentality behind it is not. The phrase "work to rule," for example, describes a labor action in which employees strictly perform the work laid out in their contract, without taking on additional work. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a major economic movement, The Great Resignation, which saw people leaving their jobs or switching professions in droves, as they re-evaluated their relationship with work during a lifechanging health crisis.

A May 2022 survey by RBC Insurance suggested that more than one-third of recently retired Canadians aged 55-75 had retired sooner than they planned. Another third decided to retire sooner because of the pandemic. Moreover, Statistics Canada reported that the third quarter of 2021 saw a 60% increase in job vacancies compared to pre-pandemic levels in the country.

Both Quiet Quitting and The Great Resignation indicate a marked cultural shift from the early and mid-2010s when "hustle culture" paved the way to "grinding" and "girl-bossing" – two ideas that prioritized work over everything else, with the belief that such effort made employees more desirable to managers, therefore helping them climb up the corporate ladder faster and generating more income.

In addition, it is important to highlight that employees have been re-evaluating how much time they spend commuting, working overtime and generally investing in low-pay, low-reward jobs. It seems they have realized that they work in systems where they are constantly immersed in a hustle culture – which has been repeatedly shown to be only beneficial for corporations and their managers, through bonuses, through increased productivity, through increased revenue and profits and the like.

Furthermore, some employees are advocating for policies, benefits and working conditions that strengthen work-life balance. But critics say it doesn't work as well as it should, with a glaring loophole that allows employers to take advantage by vaguely wording their policies.


Adapted from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/quiet-quitting-workerdisengagement-1.6560226 Last Updated: August 25, 2022
“Highlight” in “(…) it is important to highlight that employees (…)” can be replaced, without change of meaning, by:
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