Questões para Concursos

Conclusions and Recommendations Given the panorama of English instruction in Brazil, particularly in the states of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso, and considering the results of the surveys conducted with universities and teachers in both states, some conclusions and recommendations could be drawn. Nationally, English instruction has been gaining importance and visibility through curriculum reform and the new model of upper secondary school. It is an enormously significant achievement that, for the first time, English has become mandatory in all public and private schools from 6th grade onward. The BNCC offers clarity on the competencies and abilities that students should develop at each education level. However, if, on the one hand, making English compulsory was an important step, on the other hand, the implementation of this policy is still incomplete. The main issue is the limited amount of instructional time in English in the national curriculum guidelines. As the cases of Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais illustrate, the result is that students have insufficient exposure to the language, with only two classes per week in secondary schools and one class per week in upper secondary. Under these conditions, it is unlikely that learners will develop full proficiency in the language, and teachers will have the instructional time to focus on all the necessary competencies and abilities required by the BNCC. Another important consideration is the link between initial training for English teachers and how it interacts with the routines and challenges of the classroom. There is room for improvement when considering the mismatch between the programs of study at universities and the pedagogical practice required of English teachers and strengthened ties and communication between State Education Departments and the teacher training programs at universities. Universities face additional challenges, such as the low English proficiency of students in the initial training courses. Initial training institutions face difficulties in thoroughly preparing future teachers regarding language proficiency and the pedagogical elements related to being an effective teacher. In this sense, the situation can create a vicious cycle; students leave schools with a low proficiency level in English, and those who decide to take the initial training courses to become English teachers and enter universities cannot fully develop proficiency as pedagogical competencies. Therefore, they enter schools not fully prepared to be teachers and face all the challenges of a classroom. Another critical challenge is class size and the heterogeneity of students’ ability levels, which could limit teachers’ ability to implement some pedagogical practices, such as working with practicing speaking. This is not only a challenge faced by English teachers, but all teachers and that policymakers need to keep in mind. In addition, teachers commonly work in more than one school at a time and sometimes teach other subjects to meet the required hours of instructional time stipulated in their contracts. The surveys with teachers demonstrated that many have never participated in a professional development session specifically designed for English teachers. For those who have, not all considered the helpful training to improve their knowledge and practice. This points to the fact that more attention needs to be paid to the continuous training courses offered to English teachers. These training courses should be frequent and address specific challenges, taking into account the pedagogical issues and areas that English teachers identify as most critical. Briefly, it is important to highlight the windows of opportunity that have been opened in Brazil with the BNCC and the new upper secondary model. Through their education ministries, state governments have made significant efforts to adapt their regional curricula to the competencies and abilities listed on the BNCC and implement the first pilots and designed pathways for upper secondary schools. It remains a question of how the rest of those two processes will be implemented, but there are positive signs that English may gain more importance at a national level. At least in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso, there is already a movement to increase the importance of the discipline. While Minas Gerais has developed a few specific training courses for English teachers focused on improving their pedagogical knowledge through the program “Pathways for Educators” and intends to create a training pathway for upper secondary students focused in English, Mato Grosso has implemented English in all primary schools in the state and launched the program “More English,” with resources to help teachers and students. Those efforts are aligned with the national reforms and illustrate the political willingness of states to promote more actions to improve teachers’ and students’ proficiency in English. In these states and, to some extent, at the national level, the foundations have been set to put English instruction in the spotlight as a crucial discipline to the integral development of students. However, much work and resources are still needed to realize this goal. Therefore, the following recommendations are intended to advise decision-makers at universities and State Education Departments.

(Source: https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/. Access: October 2024.)

When a person (or team or firm or government) decides how to act in dealings with other people (or teams or firms or governments), there must be some cross-effect of their actions; what one does must affect the outcome for the other. For the interaction to become a strategic game, however, we need the participants’ mutual awareness of this cross-effect. What the other person does affects you; if you know this, you can react to his actions, or take advance actions to forestall the bad effects his future actions may have on you and to facilitate any good effects, or even take advance actions so as to alter his future reactions toyour advantage. If you know that the other person knows that what you do affects him, you know that he will be taking similar actions. And so on. It is this mutual awareness of the cross-effects of actions and the actions taken as a result of this awareness that constitute the most interesting aspects of strategy. When each participant is significant in the interaction, either because each is a large player to start with or because commitments or private information narrow the scope of the relationship to a point where each is an important player within the relationship, we must think of the interaction as a strategic game. Such situations are the rule rather than the exception in business, in politics, and even in social interactions. Therefore, the study of strategic games forms an important part of all fields that analyze these matters. Avinash Dixit et al. Games of strategy. New York: W.W. Norton & Coadapted, 2015 (adapted).

Businesses are starting to introduce new options for tipping at self-checkout machines, putting even more pressure on customers amid rising inflation costs. Despite having zero interaction with employees during transactions, self-checkout machines at places such as coffee shops, bakeries, airports, and sports stadiums are giving customers the option to leave the typical 20% tip, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Business owners believe that the prompt for a tip can boost staff pay and increase gratuities — but customers are questioning where and to whom the extra cash is going, considering self-checkout is done by the customers themselves. “They’re cutting labor costs by doing self-checkout. So what’s the point of asking for a tip? And where is it going?” are some of the questions customers ask. But tipping researchers claim this is a way for companies to put the responsibility of paying employees on the customer rather than increasing employee salaries themselves. Self-tipping is viewed by many customers as a way to guilt-trip the person into tipping on something when they typically wouldn’t. Many companies told the Journal that these tipping prompts are optional, and the extra gratuity is split between all employees. However, experts say that tips at a self-checkout machine might never even get to an actual employee since protections for tipped workers in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act don’t extend to machines. Internet: (adapted).

Businesses are starting to introduce new options for tipping at self-checkout machines, putting even more pressure on customers amid rising inflation costs. Despite having zero interaction with employees during transactions, self-checkout machines at places such as coffee shops, bakeries, airports, and sports stadiums are giving customers the option to leave the typical 20% tip, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Business owners believe that the prompt for a tip can boost staff pay and increase gratuities — but customers are questioning where and to whom the extra cash is going, considering self-checkout is done by the customers themselves. “They’re cutting labor costs by doing self-checkout. So what’s the point of asking for a tip? And where is it going?” are some of the questions customers ask. But tipping researchers claim this is a way for companies to put the responsibility of paying employees on the customer rather than increasing employee salaries themselves. Self-tipping is viewed by many customers as a way to guilt-trip the person into tipping on something when they typically wouldn’t. Many companies told the Journal that these tipping prompts are optional, and the extra gratuity is split between all employees. However, experts say that tips at a self-checkout machine might never even get to an actual employee since protections for tipped workers in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act don’t extend to machines. Internet: (adapted).

Text I Despite the tricky and life-threatening relationship between Paleolithic humans and the megafauna that comprised so much of their environment, twentieth-century scholars tended to claim cave art as evidence of an unalloyed triumph for our species. It was a “great spiritual symbol,” of a time when “man had just emerged from a purely zoological existence, when instead of being dominated by animals, he began to dominate them.” But the child-like and highly stylized stick figures found in caves do not radiate triumph. By the standards of our own time, they are excessively self-effacing and, compared to the animals portrayed around them, pathetically weak. While twentieth-century archeologists tended to solemnize prehistoric art as “magico-religious” or “shamanic,” today’s more secular viewers sometimes detect a vein of sheer silliness. India’s Mesolithic rock art portrays few human stick figures; those that are portrayed have been described by modern viewers as “comical,” “animalized” and “grotesque.” As Judith Thurman wrote about the artists, “despite their penchant for naturalism, rarely did they choose to depict human beings, and then did so with a crudeness that smacks of mockery.” But who are they mocking, other than themselves and, by extension, their distant descendants, ourselves? Of course, our reactions to Paleolithic art may bear no connection to the intentions or feelings of the artists. Yet there are reasons to believe that Paleolithic people had a sense of humor not all that dissimilar from our own. Barbara Ehrenreich. The Humanoid Stain. Later on. Internet: (adapted).

TEXT 2 – Questions 41 to 50

Jean Piaget – Champion of Children’s Ideas "If logic itself is created rather than being inborn, it follows that the first task of education is to form reasoning." - Jean Piaget (1896-1980).

The legacy of Jean Piaget to the world of early childhood education is that he fundamentally altered the view of how a child learns. And a teacher, he believed, was more than a transmitter of knowledge. He/she was also an essential observer and guide to helping children build their own knowledge.
As a university graduate, Swiss-born Piaget got a routine job in Paris standardizing Binet-Simon IQ tests, where the emphasis was on children getting the right answers. Piaget observed that many children of the same ages gave the same kinds of incorrect answers. What could be learned from this?
Piaget interviewed many hundreds of children and concluded that children who are allowed to make mistakes often go on to discover their errors and correct them, or find new solutions. In this process, children build their own way of learning. From children's errors, teachers can obtain insights into the child's view of the world and can tell where guidance is needed. They can provide appropriate materials, ask encouraging questions, and allow the child to construct his own knowledge.
Piaget's continued interactions with young children became part of his life-long research. He explored children's countless "why" questions, such as, "Why is the sun round?" or "Why is grass green?", and concluded that they do not think like adults. Their thought processes have their own distinct order and special logic. Children are not "empty vessels to be filled with knowledge" (as traditional pedagogical theory had it). They are "active builders of knowledge - little scientists who construct their own theories of the world."
(Adapted from: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content)

TEXT I – Questions 26 to 46

OBSERVATION: THIS TEXT WAS PUBLISHED ON MARCH, 2020. AS YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE TEXT WHETHER IT REMAINS ACCURATE OR NOT.

Everything You Need to Know About The COVID-19 Coronavirus

A doctor answers your most pressing questions about the outbreak.
BY SPENCER DUKOFF – MAR 2, 2020

The mounting spread of the coronavirus now known as COVID-19 has prompted widespread concern around the world as public health officials race to contain the outbreak. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 2,800 people worldwide, with the vast majority of deaths occurring in mainland China. However, over 83,000 cases have been reported on every continent except for Antarctica. (…)
In an effort to address the wide number of concerns and misconceptions in regards to this developing situation, Men's Health Editor-in-Chief Rich Dorment moderated a discussion via Slack with Dr. Keith Roach, an internist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Roach answered questions about the coronavirus submitted by Hearst employees. The following is a summary of that conversation.

How can we put the coronavirus outbreak into context with other high-profile outbreaks in the last decade, like Zika or H1N1?
Zika isn’t a good comparison, because Zika is spread by mosquito bites, and COVID-19 is spread person-to-person, having first been introduced to humans through an animal (COVID-19 is very closely related to a bat coronavirus, but whether it went through another animal first is not known).
The infectivity of an infection is described by a number called the basic reproductive number, R0, (we say “R nought”). The best estimate for COVID-19 is that the R0 is about 2.2, meaning it is roughly as infectious as influenza or SARS. However, the R0 doesn’t tell you all there is to know about how alarming the infection will be: SARS infected 8,000 people or so, while there have been 30 to 40 million cases of influenza in the U.S. this season. It seems to be similar to H1N1 influenza, but unlike influenza, nobody is likely to have partial immunity, such as might have been built up by previous infection or immunization to flu. COVID-19 is just too new.

How does the mortality rate compare to the flu?
The best data comes from China from just this week: of over 44,000 confirmed cases, 2.3% of people died. The case fatality rate is strongly linked to age, with older people being at a much higher risk of death.
In a typical flu season, the case fatality rate is about 0.1%. In 1918, where the H1N1 influenza killed 50 million people, the case-fatality rate was 2.5%. The possibility of a worst-case scenario of coronavirus not being contained, and being as infectious and deadly as the 1918 influenza virus, is what keeps public health officials up at night worrying.

What precautions should we be taking when riding any public transportation services? How long does the virus linger on porous/non-porous surfaces?
Although there are not data for COVID-19, other coronaviruses have been shown to persist as long as 9 days on glass, metal, or plastic in the worst case, with a very large amount of virus inoculated. Packaged goods from China are very unlikely to have infectious particles due to long shipping times and reduced virus infectivity on paper.
COVID-19 can be spread from infected surfaces, so keeping hands washed (or frequently using alcohol-based sanitizer) and being careful not to put your hands to your face will help reduce infection. However, the major risk is person-to-person through droplets from a cough or sneeze.
(…)

Were the isolation efforts that China made necessary to the coronavirus' containment?
Absolutely. In an infectious epidemic, the public health officials have only a few really effective tools. One is an effective vaccine, which there is not yet available for COVID-19. Another is medication, if there were effective antiviral medicines, which there aren’t any proven (trials are ongoing). The final, and oldest, is keeping people away from each other, especially quarantine and isolation. In China, the methods used were intensive: important gatherings were cancelled, and travel was highly restricted. A city of 11 million people was entirely quarantined.
In Japan, all schools have been closed for a month throughout the country.
(…)

Since the number of cases in China has plateaued, are we perhaps on the downward curve of the spread?
That seems to be the case in China, but the news from Italy is disturbing, and many European countries are reporting coronavirus. A woman in California is currently intubated in the ICU with no clear idea of how she was infected. Because 80-90% of cases have no or minimal symptoms, many public health officials fear that the opportunity to contain the virus is lost and a pandemic is inevitable. In the United States, much depends on a coordinated and effective response. That hasn’t really happened yet.

If I recently traveled to Milan and have children at home, should I be worried about exposing them?
(…) People who are sick are much more likely to transmit the disease than people who are asymptomatic or have minimal symptoms. If you had fever or cough, that should be evaluated, and you should call your doctor for guidance. Hospitals are getting protocols in place to evaluate people with respiratory illnesses coming from countries with coronavirus transmission, although the lack of testing kits has been a problem, which apparently will be solved within the next few days.
(…)

Should we stock up on vitamins or are there any medications we should have on hand?
As we have seen from the experience in China, it is possible that there may be interruptions to the supply of food and other goods. However, hoarding and panic buying is a very bad idea. Building up a two week supply of non-perishable foods for your family makes sense. Think also about medications, food for your pets, batteries, etc.

(…)
Are there any differentiating signs of contraction we can watch out for early on?
No, coronavirus can start exactly like a cold. Symptoms typically begin about 5 days after exposure, but the incubation period could be as long as 14 days. As noted before, many cases have no symptoms.
Symptoms of severe disease are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. This could indicate pneumonia, the most dangerous form of the disease, and the one most likely to lead to requiring hospitalization. Critical illness with COVID-19, especially in the elderly, is very dangerous.

If we feel a cold coming on, is it recommended to immediately go to the emergency room?
No! Call your doctor (this is why it’s important to have a relationship with a primary care doctor). The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has given us guidance on how to evaluate people WITH KNOWN RISK of COVID-19 and symptoms at home. The same is true if you have no symptoms but are exposed to a known contact. We don’t want potentially infectious people coming into the medical system and potentially infecting people there, who may be at very high risk due to age or medical condition.
If you have what seems like a cold and no known risk, you probably don’t need to see the doctor anyway. Of course, if you are really sick, you need to get an evaluation. This advice is likely to change in the event of a major pandemic.
(…)

Does the virus stay active forever or do we need a vaccine in order to be "cured"?
People only stay in the hospital if there are treatments we can do there we can’t do at home, or if they are so sick they need intensive monitoring. That’s true in any situation. Hospitals have efficient isolation rooms to keep other patients safe and trained personnel to keep themselves safe.
Once a person recovers from coronavirus (98% do), they are likely to have lifelong immunity, if COVID-19 behaves the way other coronaviruses do. Even people with minimal or no symptoms will likely develop immunity. An effective vaccine would provide protection without getting ill.

What’s happening with a coronavirus vaccine?
Normally, a vaccine takes a minimum of 3 to 5 years to develop and test. In theory, a vaccine could be developed for COVID-19 in 18 months, which would have to be some kind of record.
(…)
How should people be thinking about upcoming travel out of the country?
(…) The immediate future even over the next few days is unknown: what things will be like in two weeks is anyone’s guess. Areas that aren’t affected now may report being affected while you're reading this article. There is a good chance that tourist destinations in affected areas will be closed, and that quarantine may be required upon return, especially if the CDC upgrades the severity of the affected area. You may have the time of your life and be able to see things with nobody there. But it might also be the disaster vacation from hell.

What would be your general advice for how we should be feeling at this point?
Between slightly and moderately anxious. We have prepared for disaster before and it hasn't really shown up. Prepare for the worst: hope for the best.

(Source:https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a31189030 /coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-know/. Access: 02/03/2020)

Text for the questions from 28 to 37.
A Musical Genius

1 Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in
the history of classical music. His exceptional talent was
already evident when he was still a young man, trying to
4 survive a rather unorthodox upbringing. Indeed, his
eccentric father would often make him study music in the
middle of the night.
7 Soon, the young Beethoven's ability won him the
admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures.
However, just at the point when he was beginning to reap
10 the rewards of his early endeavors, he realized that he was
becoming deaf. Beethoven felt devastated as it was clear to
him that his increasing deafness was incurable. And yet, he
13 kept composing and his music displayed a striking change in
style, becoming both heavier in tone and larger in scale.
Internet: (adapted).

TEXTO Brazil has declared an end to its public health emergency over the Zika virus, 18 months after a surge in cases drew headlines around the world.

The mosquito-borne virus was not considered a major health threat until the 2015 outbreak revealed that Zika can lead to severe birth defects.

One of those defects, microcephaly, causes babies to be born with skulls much smaller than expected.

Photos of babies with the defect spread panic around the globe as the virus was reported in dozens of countries.

Many would-be travellers cancelled their trips to Zika-infected places.

The concern spread even more widely when health officials said it could also be transmitted through sexual contact with an infected person.

The health scare came just as Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, was preparing to host the 2016 Olympics, fuelling concerns the Games could help spread the virus.

One athlete, a Spanish wind surfer, said she got Zika while training in Brazil ahead ofthe Games.

In response to the outbreak, Brazil launched a mosquito-eradication campaign.

The health ministry said those efforts have helped to dramatically reduce cases of Zika.

Between January and mid-April, 95% fewer cases were recorded than during the same period last year.

The incidence of microcephaly has fallen as well.

The World Health Organization (WHO) lifted its own international emergency in November, even while saying the virus remained a threat. “The end of the emergency doesn’t mean the end of surveillance or assistance” to affected families, said Adeilson Cavalcante, the secretary for health surveillance at Brazil’s health ministry. “The health ministry and other organisations involved in this area will maintain a policy of fighting Zika, dengue and chikungunya.” All three diseases are carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But the WHO has warned that Zika is “here to stay,” even when cases of it fall off, and that fighting the disease will be an ongoing battle .

(Fonte: Associated Press, Friday 12 May 2017 10.18 BST.

Last modified on Friday 12 May 2017 22.00 BST)

TEXT I – QUESTIONS 21 to 32

August 24, 2016 / By Digestive Health Team
Are You Pooping All Wrong?
5 tips to keep your bowels healthy

When it comes to our bowels — and their movements — we may not give them much thought. Of course, when things are not going well, we notice.
However, bowel movements don’t just tell us about the health of our digestive system. This may sound strange, but signs of everything from diseases to stress may show up in your bathroom habits. The key is knowing what to look for — and what the signs may mean.
Here are five tips to encourage healthy bowels:
1. Don’t ignore rectal bleeding
The first thing most people worry about when they have minor rectal bleeding is that they have a cancer. Of course, colon cancer is also a concern. But it’s the cause of rectal bleeding only 1 to 2 percent of the time.
Two problems are usually responsible for blood on the paper, on the stool or in the toilet: hemorrhoids and anal fissures. The good news is that both problems are usually easy to fix.
2. Be careful not to be overzealous when you wipe
A lot of people assume they have hemorrhoids. May their bottoms itch and they feel extra skin down there as they wipe. Must be hemorrhoids, right?
So they treat themselves with medicated wipes or cream. And yet the “hemorrhoids” don’t go away — they itch even more.
Often, the problem is, ironically, being too clean. What happens is a circular process. Filled with good intentions, you try to keep yourself scrupulously clean by using flushable wipes. But the unexpected result is that this leads to itching and the feeling that you have hemorrhoids.
3. Don’t treat the bathroom like a library
Think of your time in the bathroom as a necessity, not an extended escape. If your toilet has stacks of magazines or books on the water tank, consider moving them to another room.
Why? The more time you spend on the toilet, the more likely you will strain for bowel movements. Also, the seated position puts extra stress on your anal blood vessels. Both of these factors boost your risk of hemorrhoids.
4. Get enough fiber in your diet
The goal is to eat 25 to 35 grams of fiber each day. The lack of fiber in the American diet is perhaps the major problem that leads to issues with constipation.
One of the challenges is that not all natural sources are equal in the amounts of fiber they contain, so you don’t always get a consistent amount of fiber intake every day, depending on what you eat. One day a bowl of oatmeal may do it. Another day a serving of broccoli may not.
Of course, each person’s needs are different, too, so you have to find what works best for your body.
5. Avoid dehydration if you have diarrhea
The biggest danger with a short bout of diarrhea is dehydration, or the loss of water and nutrients from the body’s tissues. You could become dehydrated if you have diarrhea more than three times a day and are not drinking enough fluids. Dehydration can cause serious complications if it is not treated. The best way to guard against dehydration is to drink liquids that contain both salt and sugar.
(Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2016/08/poop/)