Questões para Concursos

Text CB1A2-II Internet coverage in the European Union (EU) is impressive, standing at 100%; however, numbers on de facto usage (85%), broadband take-up (78%), users with at least basic digital skills (58%), next-generation access coverage providing at least 30 Mbps (86%) and 5G readiness (21%) cloud the picture. The significance of these circumstances does not only lie in the economic implications but also in the severe consequences for the individual and the society. People without adequate Internet access are missing out on means of participation and opportunities that have become part of everyday life. Countless contributions have been published on socioeconomic inequalities relating to access to, use of or impact of ICTs (information and communication technologies), known as the digital divide(s). These divides will only deepen, as disconnected citizens are likely to miss out on long-term benefits of innovation (information society) and modernization. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the social inequalities related to insufficient connectivity: privileged users experienced dropped calls and disrupted downloads, while disadvantaged users were left with no access at all or with makeshift solutions. Internet: (adapted).

TEXT: How do people overcome fossilization and achieve nativelike fluency in second language acquisition? There are a lot of common misconceptions about fossilization and language development. It's impossible to correct all of them in a post here, but I'll address a few that have been mentioned below. Fossilization is a stage at which a second language speaker seems to cease making progress toward becoming more targetlike in his or her use of the language, so a "learning plateau" is a reasonable analogy. The comparison wherein "the L2 learner has his own linguistic system" that's still influenced by L1 and other things is known as the "interlanguage." The question researchers cannot conclusively answer is whether or not that "plateau" is reversible after a certain point, be it age, fluency level, etc., in order to start making progress again. Different people are motivated by different things, which range from need (to pass a test, to get a job, to watch movies without subtitles, to make friends, etc.) to learning style (preferring to study from texts, liking/disliking impromptu, small-talk with people just to practice, preference for/against learning formal rules, and aptitude). It is easy to remember verb conjugations. There is no single formula. Finding someone who can correct your errors tactfully and effectively most certainly does not need to be demotivating, depressing or draining whatsoever. I'm a very fluent non-native speaker of Spanish, and I actively request that my native speaker (NS) friends correct me when I make a mistake, or use a phrase that sounds funny in their dialect, etc. How else will I learn? It's fascinating to learn little details like that now after so many years. As long as they don't do it in a mocking or condescending way, or at a socially inappropriate time, why wouldn't I want their help? Of course, if you correct a beginner every time they try to utter a sentence, it could be discouraging - and obnoxious - but everything in moderation. One of the biggest cognitive challenges is whether or not L2 speakers can learn to consciously notice differences between their L2 efforts and the way a NS talks. There are decades of research on this (my own included) and I'll gladly give references if anyone actually cares. Noticing falls into two broad categories. First, the ability to " notice the gap ," i.e. hear a NS say a sentence and think, "Hmm, I understand what he meant but I've never heard that word before; it must mean ___" or "I know what he meant but it would not have occurred to me to say it that way; I'll try to remember that for later." The second is the ability to " notice the hole ," i.e. when the L2 learner is trying to speak/ write and realizes that his "interlanguage" lacks a word, sound or structure needed to accurately convey his own thought. If he can seek the input necessary to fill the hole, he has a much stronger chance of acquiring it. The thought processes involved during that moment are holding the forms (or lack thereof) in working memory, and the longer it stays there for further processing, the greater the possibility that it is retained in long-term memory for later use. The NS interlocutor can help promote noticing through corrective feedback (also a subject of decades of research, for which I'm also happy to provide resources if anyone is genuinely interested.) I have been using a variety of strategies for years as a language coach when working with my clients, whether helping IT executives from India and Egypt learn to write more grammatically accurate e-mail or helping priests from Nigeria improve prosodic aspects of their pronunciation (i.e. stress and intonation patterns.) Each person is different. I have found no evidence to support the argument that a person who has fossilized cannot begin to make progress again toward a more target-like L2 use at least in some areas, with the right motivation, input and effort. The question is only about how much progress, in what areas, in how much time, and through what methods. Adapted form: https://www.quora.com/How-do-people-overcome-fossilization-andachieve-native-like-fluency-in-second-language-acquisition Acesso em 22/09/2023

Scientists study the world’s oldest person After being bewildered by the “super grandmother’s” great health at 116 years old, scientists are studying Maria Branyas, the world’s oldest person, in an attempt to unearth the secret to a long life. Mr. Branyas was born __ San Francisco __ 1907, and __ the age of eight, she moved __ Catalonia, Spain, where her family was originally from. Ms. Branyas, known to her X followers as the “Super Catalan Grandma”, has lived in the region ever since and has resided in the same nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, for the last 22 years. She has agreed to undergo scientific testing, which researchers hope will further their understanding of certain illnesses associated with old age, such as neurodegenerative or cardiovascular diseases. Despite her age, Ms. Branyas has no health complications other than mobility issues and hearing (she suffered permanent hearing loss when she was a child). She also still has a great memory: “She has a completely lucid head,” scientist Manel Esteller told ABC, a Spanish outlet. “She remembers with impressive clarity episodes of her when she was only four years old, and she does not present any cardiovascular disease, common in elderly people.” Esteller, who studies genetics and how it applies to health conditions, became curious about how Ms. Branyas’ genetic makeup might affect her aging. After a long talk with Ms. Branyas, Mr. Esteller believes there must be more to her longevity than meets the eye. The remarkable woman has not had an easy life; she survived an earthquake while she was in the US, a major fire, both world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and more recently, COVID-19 in 2020. Despite the various pandemics, wars, and family losses she has endured, her longevity has made scientists question what her secret could be. “We know Maria’s chronological age, 116 years, but we must determine her biological age,” Esteller said to ABC, believing that “she is much younger” physically. The scientist has taken biological samples of saliva, blood, and urine from Ms. Branyas, which are thought to be the “longest-lived” biological samples and have great scientific value, Josep Carreras, the head of a leukemia research institute, said to ABC. The samples will be compared with the 116-year-old’s middle daughter, who is 79 years old. Ms. Branyas often has been asked what her secret is to her long life, and she uses her X account to post her advice for others. She attributed her longevity to “order, tranquillity, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people”. However, she also credits a great amount of luck. “It is clear that there is a genetic component because there are several members of her family who are over 90 years old,” said Esteller. The rare biological samples will assess her genes, which will hopefully advance the research of drugs that could help diseases associated with age and cancer. As for Ms. Branyas, she said on her X account that she is “very happy she can be useful for research and progress”. (Available in: https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/lifestyle/maria-branyas-oldest-person-alive-spain-b2436228.html – text especially adapted for this test).

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Text I and answer the question that follow it.

Text I Correspondence Human genome editing: potential seeds of conflict Recently, The Lancet published an important declaration regarding the necessity of regulating and legislating for human genome editing. We agree with their opinions that the human genome editing technology and resulting research can have both positive and negative effects on human society. The use of genome editing for research and commercial purposes has sparked debates in both biological and political realms. However, most of them have mainly focused on the effects of human genome editing on the patients themselves, and little attention has been paid to their offspring. Several films, such as Gattaca and Gundam SEED, have addressed the conflicts that arise from human genome editing. Such conflicts not only exist within the generation who have experienced editing but are also transmitted to their offspring. For example, in these films, the offspring of people without genome editing felt a sense of unfairness regarding the inferiority of their physical (or other non-edited domains) status, whereas the offspring of people with genome editing grew up in a biased, discriminated against, and ostracized environment. They could have lived in peace with a strong and well regulated government; however, when the tenuous grip of government weakens, jealousy and resentment can lead to ruins. Although these scenes still exist in films, they might become increasingly plausible in decades to come. Using the concept of preparedness, access, countermeasures, tools, and trust, we should prepare legitimate human genome editing, establish access to deal with imminent or potential discrimination, develop countermeasures and tools for prevention and resolution of conflict, and entrust future generations with the responsibility to use them wisely. Bing-Yan Zeng, Ping-Tao Tseng, *Chih-Sung Liang Adapted from: www.thelancet.com, vol. 401, June 24, 2023 at https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2823%2901084-X

Read the Text II and answer the question that follow it. Text II Global plastic treaty should address chemicals In March, the global community agreed to establish a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. To deliver on this goal, the treaty needs to cover all issues of plastics chemicals as an inseparable part of the problem. Plastics are complex materials consisting of chemical mixtures, including polymers, additives, residual monomers and processing aids, and non-intentionally added substances. Such mixtures release across the plastics life cycle, from feedstock extraction, production, and use, to reuse, recycling, and disposal; they also recombine along complex, unplanned pathways. As a result, humans and environments are ubiquitously exposed to plastics chemicals, often with serious consequences. Out of more than 10,000 known plastics chemicals, at least 2,400 are classified as toxic, such as many phthalates and brominated flame retardants. Documented health effects span generations and include premature births, low birth weight, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, endometriosis, infertility, and cancers. In the United States alone, associated costs of endocrine-disrupting chemicals amount to USD$300 billion/year. The total burden on community, ecosystem health, and biodiversity is far greater. Even with material recycling, plastics chemicals ultimately proliferate in the ecosystem, whether as emissions or by entering new products, exposing waste-laborers, consumers, and frontline communities to new chemical cocktails. An effective, fair, and safe circular economy can only be achieved by phasing out toxic chemicals from plastic production. As negotiations for a global treaty begin, plastics chemicals need to be front and center. However, preparatory meeting documents focus on downstream plastic waste and work from a narrow definition of chemicals as hazardous additives. To enable the treaty to fully address plastics’ ecological, health, and environmental justice problems, it is essential to redefine plastics as complex chemical mixtures and to integrate chemical issues across the life cycle within the scope and core obligations of the legal instrument. Adapted from: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5410.

Read Text II and answer the question that follow it Text II Boy cries Wolf After astonishing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, many people worry that they will end up on the economic scrapheap. Global Google searches for “is my job safe?” have doubled in recent months, as people fear that they will be replaced with large language models (LLMS). Some evidence suggests that widespread disruption is coming. In a recent paper Tyna Eloundou of OpenAI and colleagues say that “around 80% of the US workforce could have at least 10% of their work tasks affected by the introduction of LLMS”. Another paper suggests that legal services, accountancy and travel agencies will face unprecedented upheaval. Economists, however, tend to enjoy making predictions about automation more than they enjoy testing them. In the early 2010s many of them loudly predicted that robots would kill jobs by the millions, only to fall silent when employment rates across the rich world rose to all-time highs. Few of the doom-mongers have a good explanation for why countries with the highest rates of tech usage around the globe, such as Japan, Singapore and South Korea, consistently have among the lowest rates of unemployment. Here we introduce our first attempt at tracking AI’s impact on jobs. Using American data on employment by occupation, we single out white-collar workers. These include people working in everything from back-office support and financial operations to copy-writers. White-collar roles are thought to be especially vulnerable to generative AI, which is becoming ever better at logical reasoning and creativity. However, there is as yet little evidence of an AI hit to employment. In the spring of 2020 white-collar jobs rose as a share of the total, as many people in service occupations lost their job at the start of the covid-19 pandemic. The white-collar share is lower today, as leisure and hospitality have recovered. Yet in the past year the share of employment in professions supposedly at risk from generative AI has risen by half a percentage point. It is, of course, early days. Few firms yet use generative-AI tools at scale, so the impact on jobs could merely be delayed. Another possibility, however, is that these new technologies will end up destroying only a small number of roles. While AI may be efficient at some tasks, it may be less good at others, such as management and working out what others need. AI could even have a positive effect on jobs. If workers using it become more efficient, profits at their company could rise which would then allow bosses to ramp up hiring. A recent survey by Experis, an IT-recruitment firm, points to this possibility. More than half of Britain’s employers expect AI technologies to have a positive impact on their headcount over the next two years, it finds. To see how it all shakes out, we will publish updates to this analysis every few months. But for now, a jobs apocalypse seems a way off. From The Economist June 17th 2023, p. 71

Forthcoming innovation & trends in shipping industry 1 The shipping trends play a vital role in global trade, transporting goods worth trillions of dollars yearly. Population growth and continued urbanization will also lead to an increase in demand for maritime shipping services. The maritime shipping industry must continue to innovate and adopt new technologies to meet this increased demand. The following are some of the most promising trends and innovations currently taking place in the maritime shipping industry:

2 1. Green Technology - One of the most critical trends in maritime shipping is the move toward green technology. With increasing public awareness of the need to protect the environment, it is becoming increasingly crucial for maritime companies to adopt green practices. Maritime companies invest in cleaner-burning fuels such as LNG (liquefied natural gas). LNG produces significantly lower emissions than traditional marine fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO) and diesel. Some maritime companies are also experimenting with battery-powered ships to reduce emissions further. While battery-powered ships are not yet commercially viable on long voyages, they show great promise for use on shorter routes.

3 2. Electric Ships - Global maritime transport emits around 900 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, accounting for 2-3% of the world’s total emissions. As the push for decarbonization gathers momentum, it is only a matter of time before electric ships become the norm.

4 3. Autonomous Ships - Another exciting trend in maritime shipping is the development of autonomous ships. Autonomous ships have the potential to revolutionize the industry. They offer many advantages over traditional vessels, including reduced operating costs, increased efficiency, and improved safety by reducing the need for manual labor onboard ships. In addition, automated systems are less susceptible to human error than their manual counterparts. While there are many regulatory hurdles to overcome before autonomous vessels can be deployed commercially, they are expected to eventually become a common sight in the world’s oceans.

5 4. Blockchain - Blockchain technology is also beginning to make its way into the maritime shipping industry. Blockchain offers several potential benefits for maritime companies, including improved tracking of shipments and real-time visibility of their location- this would minimize delays caused by lost or misplaced cargo, reduce paperwork, and increase transparency throughout the supply chain. Moreover, blockchain-based smart contracts could automate many administrative tasks related to shipping, such as documentation and billing.

6 5. Big data and predictive analytics - Another major trend transforming maritime shipping is the increasing use of big data and predictive analytics. The shipping industry generates vast amounts of data that can be extremely valuable if analyzed correctly. Big data analytics can improve everything from route planning to fuel consumption. By harnessing the power of data, shipping companies can optimize their operations, reduce costs, and enhance safety and security. Predictive analytics is particularly valuable for identifying potential problems before they occur, such as equipment failures or weather hazards.

7 6. Cybersecurity - Cybersecurity is a growing concern for maritime companies due to the increased reliance on digital systems and networks. As the shipping industry becomes increasingly digitized, companies must implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect their vessels and cargo from attack. Ships are now equipped with everything from satellite communications to remote monitoring capabilities, all of which create potential cyber vulnerabilities.

8 Conclusion - The maritime shipping news is undergoing a period of significant change, with new technologies and trends emerging that have the potential to revolutionize the way that we ship goods around the world. Available at: https://maritimefairtrade.org/6-forthcoming-innovation- -trends-in-the-shipping-industry/ Retrieved on April 22, 2023. Adapted.

Leia o texto para responder à questão. While plastic refuse littering beaches and oceans draws high-profile attention, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability: a call for action suggests that the land we use to grow our food is contaminated with even larger quantities of plastic pollutants. “Soils are one of the main receptors of agricultural plastics and are known to contain larger quantities of microplastics than oceans”, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said in the report’s foreword. According to data collated by FAO experts, agricultural value chains each year use 12.5 million tonnes of plastic products while another 37.3 million are used in food packaging. Crop production and livestock accounted for 10.2 million tonnes per year collectively, followed by fisheries and aquaculture with 2.1 million, and forestry with 0.2 million tonnes. Asia was estimated to be the largest user of plastics in agricultural production, accounting for almost half of global usage. Moreover, without viable alternatives, plastic demand in agriculture is only set to increase. As the demand for agricultural plastic continues surge, Ms. Semedo underscored the need to better monitor the quantities that “leak into the environment from agriculture”. Since their widespread introduction in the 1950s, plastics have become ubiquitous. In agriculture, plastic products greatly help productivity, such as in covering soil to reduce weeds; nets to protect and boost plant growth, extend cropping seasons and increase yields; and tree guards, which protect young plants and trees from animals and help provide a growth-enhancing microclimate. However, of the estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics produced before 2015, almost 80 per cent had never been properly disposed of. While the effects of large plastic items on marine fauna have been well documented, the impacts unleashed during their disintegration potentially affect entire ecosystems. (https://news.un.org, 07.12.2021. Adaptado.)

The worn wooden floorboards squeak under Rafael Molina’s heavy steps as he paces the saloon. Outside, the sound of galloping horses breaks the silence of the surrounding desert. All around him, the Old West town’s empty shops and abandoned houses look as if they have just been ransacked by cowboy bandits. “When I was a kid, I could only dream about all this,” says the 68-year-old former actor and stuntman. “My aspiration was to see a film set firsthand. Today I own one of the most famous ones in the history of Western movies.” But this busy movie site is located in Spain — not Montana or Texas. It’s one of three faux Old Western towns in the small village of Tabernas and the surrounding desert of the Almería province. Since the late 1950s, these rugged mountains, arid plains, and dry canyons have provided the backdrops for more than 170 movie Westerns, including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in The West (1968). Molina belongs to a small community of local cowboy actors and stuntmen in Tabernas who have played a role in movies and TV shows since the first productions in the 1950s. They can perform anything from fistfights to horse drags. Knowledge and skills often pass from father to son, keeping tricks of the trade in the family. Steeped in the golden era of Westerns, these actors embody the values of their movie heroes: pride, bravado, freedom, and a trusting relationship with horses. “I’ve always liked horses and the [U.S.] West,” says 29- year-old Ricardo Cruz Fernández, a stuntman and cowboy who appeared in recent productions including Game of Thrones . Fernández started his career as a cowboy after completing a stuntman course a decade ago. Between productions, he performs daily shows at Fort Bravo for thousands of tourists who visit the set each year. In one show, Fernández portrays a bank robber who absconds with some gold. Visitors encounter him in the saloon, fist and (fake) gun fighting with actors playing his double-crossing accomplices. The town also offers cancan dance shows and set tours by horsedrawn wagon. “I prefer to play the bad guy, because it gives me a wider range of possibilities,” says Fernández. “The good guy only has to keep things in order.” Almería has hosted more than 500 productions, including blockbuster films ( Patton, Terminator: Dark Fate ) and TV shows ( Doctor Who ). “Our landscapes are very convenient. We have sea, desert, and snowy mountains all within a short distance,” says local producer Plácido Martínez. “We can serve as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and endless other natural settings.” Matteo Fagotto. The Wild West lives on in southern Spain . In: National Geographic. Internet: (adapted)

Text 9A3-I If you were to judge 2018’s most important legal technology by looking at conference agendas and media coverage, you’d probably say it was the continuing development of artificial intelligence. But if you judge the most important technology by its direct impact on the practice of law, then it would have to be analytics. As I suggested in a recent column, we could be nearing the point where it would be malpractice for a lawyer not to use analytics. Internet: (adapted).