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ID: 1016540•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
CESPE CEBRASPE•
EMBRAPA•
Pesquisador•
2025

Many studies reveal the contributions of plant breeding and agronomy to farm productivity and their role in reshaping global diets. However, historical accounts also implicate these sciences in the creation of new problems, from novel disease vulnerabilities propagated through industrial monocrops to the negative ecological and public health consequences of crops dependent on chemical inputs and industrialized food systems more generally.

Increasingly, historical analyses also highlight the expertise variously usurped, overlooked, abandoned, or suppressed in the pursuit of “modern” agricultural science. Experiment stations and “improved” plants were instruments of colonialism, means of controlling lands and lives of peoples typically labeled as “primitive” and “backward” by imperial authorities. In many cases, the assumptions of colonial improvers persisted in the international development programs that have sought since the mid-20th century to deliver “modern” science to farming communities in the Global South.


Awareness of these issues has brought alternative domains of crop science such as agroecology to the fore in recent decades, as researchers reconcile the need for robust crop knowledge and know-how with the imperatives of addressing social and environmental injustice.


Helen Anne Curry; Ryan Nehring. The history of crop science and the future of food. Internet:<nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com (adapted)

Judge the following items about the text above.

According to the text, the farming communities in the Global South are no longer under the assumptions typical of the “international development programs” created in the 20th century.

ID: 1024480•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
IDCAP•
OGMO Paranaguá PR•
Estivador•
2024

O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder à questão.


Ship carrying explosive fertiliser heads to UK waters


A Maltese-flagged cargo ship carrying thousands of tonnes of potentially explosive fertiliser is set to travel through UK waters.

Ruby, which was earlier accompanied by an escort tug, has reportedly been rejected by several countries due to its cargo.

The ship, which has 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate on board, was previously damaged but deemed seaworthy by authorities in Norway.

HM Coastguard is in contact with the vessel, which according to ship tracking data, was in the North Sea off the Kent coast on Thursday morning.

The ship, owned by Maltese firm Ruby Enterprise, set off from the northern Russian port of Kandalaksha in July.

The national maritime emergency service said it will monitor the ship's progress as it heads towards and through UK waters.

Vessels are not required to ask permission to travel through UK territorial waters for legitimate purposes.

An escorting tug, Amber II, which had sailed with the boat from Norway, left the Ruby on Thursday morning and sailed east. Its current destination is listed as Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Though there is no suggestion of immediate danger from the cargo, the same chemical caused a devastating blast at a Beirut warehouse in 2020.

Ammonium nitrate is regularly transported around the world and used as fertiliser but is also used in explosives.

The ship is carrying seven times the amount of ammonium nitrate that caused the Beirut explosion.

Ruby's location on Thursday, according to Marine Traffic. Marine Traffic data suggested the ship was in the North Sea on Thursday.

Soon after departing Russia, the Ruby briefly ran aground after reportedly encountering a storm.

It then continued its journey around the Kola Peninsula and docked in Tromsø, Norway.

Norway's Maritime Authority told the BBC the vessel was inspected by DNV Group to ensure it met safety and environmental standards.

The group found damage to its hull, propeller and rudder, but the Ruby was still deemed "seaworthy".

As a precaution, DNV Group, and the Maltese flag registry, insisted that a tug escort the vessel for the remainder of its journey.

The ship was bound for Klaipeda, in Lithuania, according to ship tracking firm MarineTraffic.

But despite being deemed seaworthy, the ship was denied entry to Klaipeda. Algia Latakas, the port authority's chief executive, told the BBC that this was "because of its cargo".

Andrea Sella, professor of chemistry at University College London, said the cargo was not high risk, unless there was a fire on board.

"While I understand the caution of the authorities in Troms, I suspect that the chances of a similar disaster to Beirut are relatively modest," she said.

She added: "It would also be interesting to know what the nature of the repairs might be as clearly welding might significantly raise the potential fire risk."

Other reports suggested Sweden had imposed a ban as well, but Sweden's transport agency denies this.

"What the Swedish authorities did was to follow the matter in case we would have needed to act in some way," a spokesperson told the BBC.

In recent weeks, the Ruby travelled south along Norway's coast and through the North Sea.

The ship reportedly has had restricted manoeuvrability, though the BBC has been unable to confirm this.

On 25 September, it anchored about 15 miles (25km) north east of Margate, in Kent, near the Dover Strait - one of the world's busiest waterways.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the vessel is "currently securely anchored outside UK territorial waters waiting for appropriate conditions to refuel at sea before passing through the English Channel".

Refuelling at sea is a common practice and will take place in accordance with safety procedures and in favourable weather, said the MCA.

Its current destination is listed as Marsaxlokk, in Malta.

But Maltese authorities have told local media that the ship can only enter the country if it empties its cargo beforehand.

Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, raised concerns about potential "environmental damage".

"Should the ammonium nitrate start to leak out of the ship and contaminate the sea... shipping through the channel would have to be diverted to avoid further shifting the pollution through its waters," he said.

He added that damage as a result of the potential scenario would be "immense" and cause "ongoing disruption".

The vessel has appropriate safety certificates approved by the vessel's flag state and is able to make its own way, said the MCA.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62g95721leo

What environmental concern was raised by Marco Forgione regarding the Ruby?

ID: 1022946•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
COSEAC•
UFF•
Língua Inglesa•
2025

Text 1

ABSTRACT

The impact of streaming services on youth television viewing habits and media literacy


Streaming services have revolutionized the entertainment industry, playing an important role in attracting young people for movies and television series. The availability of streaming services such as NetFlix, Amazon, Apple TV and other platforms have drastically reduced traditional television viewing. Because of the availability of the shows at any time, youth are used to “marathoning”, resulting in a single session watching complete seasons of different shows in one sitting.
Streaming watching has helped the youth to increase their knowledge about various cultures, beliefs, and perspectives, which has helped in improving their overall understanding of the world. However, this has also led to exposure to inappropriate content, resulting in parental monitoring of the content viewed.
The present research has identified that streaming services have beneficial effects on the media literacy of the youth. Nevertheless, the exposure to inadequate content needs to be monitored, so that the beneficial aspects of streaming viewing outweigh the harm it might cause.


Available at: 10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i1.2024.946. Access 28 Nov. 2024.
The phenomenon popularly known as “marathoning” implies:

ID: 1023462•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
LJ Assessoria e Planejamento Administrativo Limita•
Prefeitura de Turilândia MA•
Professor de Inglês•
2024

Marque a única frase em que há uma sugestão negativa em inglês.

ID: 1022185•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
UNIVALI•
Prefeitura de Luiz Alves SC•
Professor de Língua Inglesa•
2024

In the study of Syntax, Transformational-Generative Grammar, proposed by Noam Chomsky, differs significantly from traditional grammar approaches. Which of the following best describes a fundamental distinction between these two?

ID: 1022953•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
COSEAC•
UFF•
Língua Inglesa•
2025

Text 3


'Blitz' review: In wartime London, a family's search for sanity
Adam Graham

By Detroit News Film Critic A mother and her son are separated in wartime London in "Blitz," director Steve McQueen's drama about clinging onto hope in the middle of chaos.
British actress Saoirse Ronan is Rita, who has to say goodbye to her son George (newcomer Elliott Heffernan, in his first role), who joins the thousands of children who are sent by train to live in the English countryside as Germany throws bombs on London during World War II.
Their parting is tense. "Don't forget to be a good boy," she tells him, all love. "I hate you," George replies. The boy, who is bi-racial and never knew his father, is scared by the situation and terrified to be on his own.
Midway into his journey, he jumps off the train to make his way back to London on foot. He ends up in a series of mini-adventures that play out like chapters in a Charles Dickens novel.
Director McQueen efficiently identifies beauty even in the darkest of spaces, whether in a subway station where people are taking cover from air raids, or in the neighborhoods destroyed by bombs. For McQueen, the diversity of London is a constant issue in the film as is the prevalence of racism. "Blitz" is a story of struggle and never giving up in the face of imminent doom.


Available at: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/movies/2024/11/21/blitz-review-in-wartime-london-afamilys-search-for-sanity/76474861007/ Access at: 27 Nov. 2024. Adapted.
The review of the film Blitz offers a positive evaluation of the film. The sentence, in the text, which explicitly expresses this evaluation is:

ID: 1024752•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
IV UFG•
Prefeitura de Itumbiara GO•
Língua Inglesa•
2025

Texto 6

Fernanda Torres' Speech at Golden Globe Awards

"My God! I didn't prepare anything, because I was glad already and this is such an amazing year for female perfomances. So many actresses here that I admire so much. And, of course, I wanna thank you, Walter Salles, my partner, my friend. What a story, Walter! And, of course, I want to dedicate it to my mother.

You have no idea. She was here 25 years ago and this is like a proof that art can endure through life even in difficult moments, like this amazing Eunice Paiva, that I do, has passed. And the same thing that is happening now in the world, with so much fear and this is a film that helped us to think how to survive in tough times like these.

So, to my mother, to my family, to Andrucha (Waddington), to Selton (Mello), to my kids, to everybody. Thank you very much. Golden Globe. Michael Barker, Mara, so many people. Thank you very much. Thank you!"


Disponível em: <https://www.englishexperts.com.br/forum/fernandatorres-speech-at-golden-globe-awards-t79137.html>. Acesso em: 23 jan.
2025. [Adaptado].
Considering the linguistic elements in the text,

ID: 1024243•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
Instituto Fênix•
Prefeitura de Planalto Alegre SC•
Inglês•
2025

Na literatura inglesa, obras de William Shakespeare são amplamente reconhecidas por sua contribuição ao vocabulário e à estilística da língua inglesa. Qual das peças de Shakespeare apresenta a famosa frase "To be, or not to be: that is the question"?

ID: 1023495•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
CONSULPLAN•
Prefeitura de Pitangueiras SP•
Inglês•
2024

Analyse the set of sentences to indicate the option that does NOT fit them.

1. Not only did they arrive late but they talked throughout the film.


2. Rarely do we find such talent.


3. Never have I been so happy to see someone.

4. Barely had she got back in bed when her alarm went off.

5. Seldom has she taken a day off work.

6. No sooner had the game started than the captain was taken ill.

7. Only later did they discover they hadn't been told the truth.

8. Under no circumstances should children travel without an adult

9. Little do people realise how hard it is to be a chef.

10. In no way did we agree to this.

ID: 1023244•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
Unoesc•
Prefeitura de Nova Itaberaba SC•
PSS•
2023

Read the sentences below.

I. I’m ready to paint the town red with my best friends.

II. Being always busy is part and parcel of my occupation.

III. Don’t you call me a liar - that’s the pot calling the kettle black.

IV. I shouldn’t have trusted you my secret. You’ve let the cat out of the bag again!

V. He never wears his heart on his sleeve so it’s hard to tell what he’s feeling.

Now mark the option that contains the accordingly definition:

ID: 1022739•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
IDCAP•
HEG•
Cirurgia Bucomaxilofacial•
2024

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an advanced imaging technique increasingly used in dental practice due to its ability to provide detailed information on orofacial structures. Regarding the use of CBCT in dentistry, select the correct alternative:

ID: 1022996•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
OBJETIVA•
Prefeitura de Galvão SC•
Língua Inglesa•
2024

Which 20th-century American author, known for his sharp wit and keen observations of society, wrote the novel “The Great Gatsby,” a classic tale of love, ambition, and disillusionment in the Jazz Age?

ID: 1047577•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
Marinha•
Colégio Naval•
Cadete do Exército

The Vikings

Raiders, travelers or brave explorers?

The Vikings sailed the seas, attacked towns, and stole treasures all over Europe between 800 and 1100. They started from Scandinavia and attacked many countries in Europe. They settled in Britain, Ireland and France. They also crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Iceland and Greenland. They discovered North America but they also traveled east to Russia and south to Arabia.

They were good farmers and excelient shipbuilders. They used their ships for war. They also used them to carry people and goods to new lands. In winter, when there was not much farm work to do, they stayed home and did other interesting jobs. Men made swords to use them in battle. The Vikings liked swords so much they often decorated them with gold and gave them names. Women cooked and made clothes, shoes, and jewelry for themselves,______ children and husbands.

In 866 the Vikings captured an Anglo-Saxon town. They called it Jorvik and it was the capital of the Viking kingdom for 200 years. They made Jorvik rich and one of the most famous cities in Britain. Some years ago, archeologists discovered part of that Viking town in York, the modern city of Jorvik. They found many things such as jewelry, coins and clothes. If you ever go to York and you want to traveli back in time and see how the Vikings lived, visit the Jorvik Centre!

Adapted from Wilson, D. M. (1987) The Vikings, Activity Book, British Museum Press http://www.pi-schools.gr/books/gymnasio/aggl_a_prox/ergas/043-060.pdf

All the statements below are correct about the Vikings, EXCEPT that they

ID: 1019945•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
VUNESP•
SEDUCSP•
QM 2020•
2025

Read the text and answer question.


A new age has dawned in additional language teaching methodology which directly reflects wider changes in the world. In the corresponding sea-change in educational philosophy, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) presents an opportunity and a threat to accepted language teaching practice. As with immersion, formal language instruction remains integral to most CLIL models. But for this to be synchronous to subject teaching through an additional language, curricular and methodological adjustment is often required.

The ways in which content and language are integrated influence decision-making on how each is handled within the model. For example, this may be through language-learning preparation before the CLIL course, language learning embedded in the CLIL course, or language learning parallel to the CLIL course.

A useful starting point is to consider the content of learning. The concept of what constitutes content in a CLIL context is much more flexible than selecting a discipline from a traditional school curriculum such as geography, music, biology or physics. Whilst curricular subjects such as these might be appropriate for some CLIL programmes, contextual variables such as teacher availability, language support, age of learners and the social demands of the learning environment may mean that a different choice of content is more appropriate. In other words: what exactly is meant by ‘content’ in CLIL will depend on the context of the learning institution.

However, the crucial point here is that, no matter whether issues concerning the content or the language are more dominant at a given point, neither must be subsumed or the interrelationship between the two ignored.


(COYLE, Do; HOOD, Philip; MARSH, David. 2010. Adaptado)
According to the authors, regardless of how language and content will be integrated in CLIL, the essential requirement is that

ID: 1024559•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
AMEOSC•
Prefeitura de Guarujá do Sul SC•
Professor a de Inglês•
2024

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/

Which of the following features was NOT mentioned as part of the first medieval fortification built around the year 1000 at Vianden Castle?

ID: 1022516•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
FUNDATEC•
IF Farroupilha RS•
Inglês•
2025

In the article “Effective English Reading Strategies: English Language Learners’ Perceptions” (2019), the author Waheeb S. Albiladi says that:

“Reading in English within a second language (ESL) context has received much attention as researchers and second language educators have sought the most effective and beneficial ways to develop language learners’ reading skills. For many educators (Horwitz, 2008; Krashen, 2007; Nation, 2008; Singhal, 2001), reading is the bridge that allows English language learners to acquire and develop other language skills including speaking, writing, and vocabulary acquisition. [...] Barrot (2016) mentioned that research surrounding teaching English reading focuses on the type of text or materials used in English classes and the strategies that ESL teachers utilize to facilitateteaching and learning of English reading”.

Analyze the following statements about the excerpt above:

I. Reading is the only mandatory skill needed for acquiring other language abilities. II. Research on teaching of English reading often focuses on materials and teaching strategies. III. Reading skills are less significant than speaking skills in second language learning.

Which ones are correct?

ID: 1023037•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
IDESG•
Prefeitura de Nova Venécia ES•
Língua Inglesa•
2024

Read Text I and answer question.


Text I


Stat: Young Americans have been securing the bag since the pandemic, largely thanks to their portfolios popping off. The combined wealth of adults under forty has shot up 80% since 2019, compared to 10% for people 40–54 and 30% for the over-55 set, according to economists at the New York Fed. That’s in part because they were poorer than their elders to start with, so they got more Covid stimulus cash that they put into stocks, which have since had a good run. But money from stocks leaves young people exposed to a volatile asset, since the market…doesn’t always go up.


(Source: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/issues/slime-bowl)
Which of the verbs below has an opposite meaning of the phrasal verb “shoot up” in the sentence “The combined wealth of adults under forty has shot up (…)”?

ID: 1024078•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
FGV•
Prefeitura de Niterói RJ•
Gestão Governamental•
2024

Text I


Embarking on the ESG journey


Efforts to mitigate the accelerating effects of climate change and address perceived historical social inequities are two powerful issues driving change globally. These movements have enhanced awareness of how all organizations impact, influence, and interact with society and the environment.
They also have spurred organizations to better recognize and manage ESG risks (i.e., risks associated with how organizations operate in respect to their impact on the world around them). This broad risk category includes areas that are dynamic and often driven by factors that can be difficult to measure objectively, such as inclusion, ethical behavior, corporate culture, and embracing sustainability across the organization.
Still, there is growing urgency for organizations to understand and manage ESG risks, particularly as investors and regulators focus on organizations producing high-quality reporting on sustainability efforts. What’s more, that pressure is being reflected increasingly in executive performance as more organizations tie incentive compensation metrics to ESG goals.
Additional risk areas associated with ESG are varied and can include reliance on third-party data, potential reputational damage from faulty reporting, and the real possibility that an organization’s explicit commitments to meet specific sustainability goals could grow into a material weakness.
As ESG reporting becomes increasingly common, it should be treated with the same care as financial reporting. Organizations need to recognize that ESG reporting must be built on a strategically crafted system of internal controls and accurately reflect how an organization’s ESG efforts relate to each other, the organization’s finances, and value creation. […] Seeking out objective assurance on all ESG-related risk management processes from a qualified, independent, and properly resourced internal audit function should be part of any ESG strategy.


Adapted from: https://www.theiia.org/globalassets/documents/ communications/2021/june/white-paper-internal-audits-role-in-esg-reporting.pdf
Based on Text I, mark the statements below as true (T) or false (F).

( ) Social inequalities have prevented endeavors toward change in ESG.
( ) The standards for ESG reporting should be less rigid than those for financial reporting.
( ) Proper internal auditing requires precise ESG reporting.

The statements are, respectively,

ID: 1022545•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
VUNESP•
Prefeitura de Itapevi SP•
Inglês•
2025

Leia o texto para responder à questão.


ELF: English as a lingua franca


The Vienna Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE), a collection of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) currently under construction, defines lingua franca as an additionally acquired language system that serves as a means of communication for speakers from different speech communities, who use it to communicate with each other but for whom it is not their native language.

Early findings from the VOICE corpus tentatively identify a number of features which point to systematic lexicogrammatical differences between native-speaker English and ELF, for example dropping the third person present tense ‘s’ (e.g. she wear), omitting definite and indefinite articles, insertion of prepositions (e.g. can we discuss about this issue). These features are not a threat to comprehension, as they involve typical errors that most English teachers would correct and remediate. However, Seidlhofer (2004) points out that they appear to be generally unproblematic and do not cause an obstacle to communicative success in ELF.

The work of Jenkins (1996, 2000, 2004, 2005) has also been very influential in relation to the teaching of pronunciation for ELF. Her research finds that a number of items common to most native-speaker varieties of English were not necessary in successful ELF interactions; for example, the substitution of voiceless and voiced th with /t/ or /s/ and /d/ or /z/ (e.g. think became sink or tink, and this became dis or zis). Jenkins argues that such features occur regularly in ELF interactions and do not cause intelligibility problems.

Problems may arise in the (perhaps unfair) equation between a reduced or ‘stripped down’ ELF syllabus and an impoverished experience of the L2. Indeed, it could be argued that learners of any language always end up producing less than the input they are exposed to, and that if that input itself is deliberately restricted, then even less will be the outcome.


(O’KEEFFE, A., MCCARTHY, M. & CARTER, R. From corpus to classroom. Language Use and Language Teaching. Cambridge, CUP. 2007. Adaptado)
Depreende-se das visões de Seidlhofer (2004) e Jenkins (2005), no segundo e terceiro parágrafos, e das posições da BNCC sobre a aprendizagem de inglês na escola brasileira, que uma frase como “She wear a blue uniform for school”, se pronunciada por um aprendiz brasileiro do ensino fundamental,

ID: 1023594•
Inglês•
Interpretação de texto Reading comprehension•
FEPESE•
Prefeitura de Caçador SC•
Inglês•
2024

Predicting the unpredictable


Some years ago, a devastating earthquake struck the Italian town of L’Aquila. More than 300 people lost their lives, over 1,500 people were injured, and many buildings were destroyed. Two years later, seven earthquake experts were involved in a court case: Did they adequately warn the public after the initial tremors began? At the heart of the debate is whether they could have predicted a disaster like this.


Although a lot of scientists are working to improve our ability to predict natural disasters, so far no one has come up with a reliable method to forecast earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, days or weeks beforehand. Most of the research focuses on the areas most likely to experience seismic activity – but even our knowledge about where these areas are, is very limited. One reason for this is that human beings have only been around for a very small part of the Earth’s history. In geological terms, we all arrived on the scene very recently. Records from the past 2,000 years are incomplete, and the biggest earthquakes nearly always happen in areas where there have been no earthquakes in recorded history.


So, is there any hope for improving our ability to predict disasters? A solution may come from an unexpected source. Four years ago, a team of US physicists at Rutgers University in New Jersey were studying why pharmaceutical powders stick together. They observed that the powder stuck together when placed in a spinning cylinder, but then developed cracks and collapsed. Just before the cracks developed, an electric signal, like a small bolt of lightning, was created. The scientists repeated the experiment with a wide range of different materials, and they got similar results every time.


This phenomenon might also exist in nature. Some scientists believe that rocks may become electrically charged under unusual pressure, such as before an earthquake. This electric charge then causes changes in the surrounding air or water, which animals may be able to sense before humans do. For example, while biologists were studying a colony of frogs in a pond near L’Aquila, they noticed that nearly all the animals left the water days before the earthquake. A similar thing happened in China, when snakes were hibernating for the winter in caves, but escaped just before a large earthquake. The same kind of electric charge, like the small bolt of lightning felt in the experiment at Rutgers, may have been responsible.


At the moment, there is no reliable way ............ using such findings to predict earthquakes, and further studies may be necessary to give us a better understanding of the interactions involved, but one day, the technology may be used ............ predict future catastrophes. For example, two science institutions in Russia and Britain are already developing a new micro-satellite, which could detect these electric signals and help rescue people ................ natural disasters in time. Scientists are planning to launch the first of these satellites ............... space. Will these satellites be the solution? Only time will tell. For the time being, the best defense is to be prepared.
The sentence The same kind of electric charge, like the small bolt of lightning felt in the experiment at Rutgers, may have been responsible (paragraph 3) is grammatically equivalent to which alternative?
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