Questões para Concursos

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).

TEXT II – QUESTIONS 33 to 44

Dear Mayor Estrosi, Mayor Vivoni, Prime Minister
Manuel Valls, Former President Nicolas Sarkozy,
and other French officials who have supported
France’s burkini ban:

My name is Amara Majeed, and I am a 19-yearold Muslim Sri Lankan American. I am a student at Brown University, studying cognitive neuroscience and public policy.
When I look at the photo circulating of a woman in Nice being surrounded by armed police officers as she is coerced into removing her clothing, because French officials deemed the burkini to be inappropriate beach attire, I see infringement on a woman’s right to choose what she puts on her body by a group of white males. I see the scapegoating, ostracization, and criminalization of Muslims in the aftermath of the Nice terror attacks. I am a woman who wears the hijab, and I see an affront to the rights and civil liberties of women like me.
Deputy Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi: You have stated that you support this ban on “inappropriate clothing” in the wake of the Nice terror attacks. Mayor Vivoni, you have described the burkini ban as a necessary measure to “protect the population.” Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, you have labeled the burkini as a symbol of extremism.
Let me respond to all of you by saying this: any conflation of the burkini with terrorism is invalid, virulent, and discriminatory. Tell me, in what way does our way of dress pose a threat to France’s national security? In what way does the burkini propagate hateful, violent ideologies? How is it that our way of dress poses a national security threat, yet some wetsuits, which take on strikingly similar designs to the burkini, aren’t? While France’s highest administrative court has now overturned the ban, the damage has already been done — this attack on the Muslim way of dress only serves as fodder to the already existing rising anti-Muslim sentiment and stigmatization of Muslims in France. If this institutionalized Islamophobia and fearmongering is being perpetrated by French officials and authorities, I fear how the general public’s poor treatment of hijab-clad women may be exacerbated in the coming weeks. We’re all well aware that hate crimes and violence targeting Muslim women wearing the hijab is not a new phenomenon in France.
As one burkini-clad woman who was forced to leave the beach states, “Because people who have nothing to do with my religion have killed, I no longer have the right to go to the beach.” In the eyes of many authority figures, our religious identity in and of itself is incriminating. Our way of dress is incriminating. Our sheer existence is incriminating.
Many of you have called the hijab an emblem of oppression. In April, France’s Minister for Women’s Rights equated women who choose to wear the hijab with “Negroes who were in favor of slavery.” More recently, France’s prime minister stated that the burkini is a tool of “enslavement,” and former French President Sarkozy insinuated that hijabclad women are imprisoned.
I am genuinely tired of individuals like you imposing your brand of colonial feminism on us and telling us that we are oppressed, that we have been indoctrinated, that this was not our choice, and that we need to be unshackled. Instead of continuing to pursue these offensive and failing attempts at liberating us, I implore you to liberate yourselves from this white savior complex and recognize that we don’t need your saving. The hijab does not oppress me. For me, the hijab is a symbol of feminism and freedom of expression — so who are you to invalidate my experiences, to invalidate a fundamental, inextricable aspect of my identity, and to label me as enslaved, as imprisoned, as oppressed? By depriving us of our rights to dress the way we want, by making public spaces inaccessible to us, by publicly humiliating us and coercing us to remove some of our clothing while we are trying to enjoy a day at the beach — you are oppressing us.
My news feed has been saturated with people posting photos of a Muslim woman at a beach being forced to strip, captioned with outrage and vitriol towards this form of discrimination. While your support of our rights is appreciated, I ask that you refrain from doing a disservice to this individual by circulating this photo. It may not seem like you are violating a woman’s privacy and liberties by sharing a picture revealing her arms or shoulders, but it is incumbent upon us to understand that she did not freely choose to show those parts of her body in public. Even if the intent is to excoriate the burkini ban while circulating these photos, I implore you to not be complicit, whether directly or indirectly, in systems of oppression that are stripping women, literally, of their right to choose what they wear.
Yours truly,

Amara Majeed – a muslin woman
(Source: http://www.bustle.com/articles/180721-an-open-letter-tofrench-officials-who-support-the-burkini-ban-from-a-muslim-woman)