Questões para Concursos

Lições após um ano de ensino remoto na pandemia

1 No momento em que se tornam ainda mais
complexas as discussões sobre a volta às aulas
presenciais, o ensino remoto continua a ser a rotina
de muitas famílias, atualmente.
2 Mas um ano sem precedentes na história veio
acompanhado de lições inéditas para professores,
alunos e estudiosos. Diante do pouco acesso a
planos de dados ou a dispositivos, a alternativa de
muitas famílias e professores tem sido se conectar
regularmente via aplicativos de mensagens.
3 Uma pesquisa apontou que 83% dos professores
mantinham contato com seus alunos por meio dos
aplicativos de mensagens, muito mais do que pelas
próprias plataformas de aprendizagem. Esse uso
foi uma grande surpresa, mas é porque não temos
outras ferramentas de massificação. A maior parte
do ensino foi feita pelo celular e, geralmente, por
um celular compartilhado (entre vários membros da
família), o que é algo muito desafiador.
4 Outro aspecto a ser considerado é que,
felizmente, mensagens direcionadas são uma forma
relativamente barata de comunicação. A importância
de cultivar interações entre os estudantes, mesmo
que eles não estejam no mesmo ambiente físico,
também é uma forma de motivá-los e melhorar
seus resultados. Recentemente, uma pesquisadora
afirmou que “Aprendemos que precisamos dos
demais: comparar estratégias, falar com alunos,
com outros professores e dar mais oportunidades de
trabalho coletivo, mesmo que seja cada um na sua
casa. Além disso, a pandemia ressaltou a importância
do vínculo anterior entre escolas e comunidades”.
5 Embora seja difícil prever exatamente como o
fechamento das escolas vai afetar o desenvolvimento
futuro dos alunos, educadores internacionais
estimam que estudantes da educação básica já foram
impactados. É preciso pensar em como agrupar esses
alunos e averiguar os que tiveram ensino mínimo ou
nulo e decidir como enfrentar essa ruptura, com aulas
ou encontros extras, com anos (letivos) de transição.

IDOETA, P.A. 8 lições após um ano de ensino remoto na pandemia. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 21 jul. 2021. Adaptado.

Robots, the next generation of soccer players

1 ____ If you think a robot will steal your job, you are not
alone. Soccer players should be worried too. The next
Messi probably won’t be of flesh and blood but plastic
and metal.
2 ____ The concept emerged during the conference
“Workshop on grand challenges in artificial
intelligence,” held in Tokyo in 1992, and independently,
in 1993, when Professor Alan Mackworth from
the University of Bristol in Canada described an
experiment with small soccer players in a scientific
article.
3 ____ Over 40 teams already participated in the first
RoboCup tournament in 1997, and the competition is
held every year. The RoboCup Federation wants to
play and win a game against a real-world cup humans’
team by 2050.
4 ____ The idea behind artificially intelligent players
is to investigate how robots perceive motion and
communicate with each other. Physical abilities like
walking, running, and kicking the ball while maintaining
balance are crucial to improving robots for other tasks
like rescue, home, industry, and education.
5 ____ Designing robots for sports requires much more
than experts in state-of-the-art technology. Humans
and machines do not share the same skills. Engineers
need to impose limitations on soccer robots to imitate
soccer players as much as possible and ensure
following the game’s rules.
6 ____ RoboCup Soccer Federation, the “FIFA” of robots,
which supports five leagues, imposes restrictions
on players’ design and rules of the game. Each has
its own robot design and game rules to give room
for different scientific goals. The number of players,
their size, the ball type, and the field dimensions are
different for each league.
7 ____ In the humanoid league the players are human-
like robots with human-like senses. However, they are
rather slow. Many of the skills needed to fully recreate
actual soccer player movements are still in the early
stages of research.
8 ____ The game becomes exciting for middle and small
size leagues. The models are much simpler; they
are just boxes with a cyclopean eye. Their design
focuses on team behavior: recognizing an opponent,
cooperating with team members, receiving and giving
a standard FIFA size ball.
9 ____ Today, soccer robots are entirely autonomous.
They wireless “talk” to each other, make decisions
regarding strategy in real-time, replace an “injured”
player, and shoot goals. The only person in a
RoboCup game is the referee. The team coaches
are engineers in charge of training the RoboCups’
artificial intelligence for fair play: the robots don’t
smash against each other or pull their shirts.
10 ____ The next RoboCup competition will soon be
played, virtually, with rules that will allow teams to
participate without establishing physical contact.

Available at: . Retrieved on: July 4th, 2021. Adapted.

Robots, the next generation of soccer players

1 ____ If you think a robot will steal your job, you are not
alone. Soccer players should be worried too. The next
Messi probably won’t be of flesh and blood but plastic
and metal.
2 ____ The concept emerged during the conference
“Workshop on grand challenges in artificial
intelligence,” held in Tokyo in 1992, and independently,
in 1993, when Professor Alan Mackworth from
the University of Bristol in Canada described an
experiment with small soccer players in a scientific
article.
3 ____ Over 40 teams already participated in the first
RoboCup tournament in 1997, and the competition is
held every year. The RoboCup Federation wants to
play and win a game against a real-world cup humans’
team by 2050.
4 ____ The idea behind artificially intelligent players
is to investigate how robots perceive motion and
communicate with each other. Physical abilities like
walking, running, and kicking the ball while maintaining
balance are crucial to improving robots for other tasks
like rescue, home, industry, and education.
5 ____ Designing robots for sports requires much more
than experts in state-of-the-art technology. Humans
and machines do not share the same skills. Engineers
need to impose limitations on soccer robots to imitate
soccer players as much as possible and ensure
following the game’s rules.
6 ____ RoboCup Soccer Federation, the “FIFA” of robots,
which supports five leagues, imposes restrictions
on players’ design and rules of the game. Each has
its own robot design and game rules to give room
for different scientific goals. The number of players,
their size, the ball type, and the field dimensions are
different for each league.
7 ____ In the humanoid league the players are human-
like robots with human-like senses. However, they are
rather slow. Many of the skills needed to fully recreate
actual soccer player movements are still in the early
stages of research.
8 ____ The game becomes exciting for middle and small
size leagues. The models are much simpler; they
are just boxes with a cyclopean eye. Their design
focuses on team behavior: recognizing an opponent,
cooperating with team members, receiving and giving
a standard FIFA size ball.
9 ____ Today, soccer robots are entirely autonomous.
They wireless “talk” to each other, make decisions
regarding strategy in real-time, replace an “injured”
player, and shoot goals. The only person in a
RoboCup game is the referee. The team coaches
are engineers in charge of training the RoboCups’
artificial intelligence for fair play: the robots don’t
smash against each other or pull their shirts.
10 ____ The next RoboCup competition will soon be
played, virtually, with rules that will allow teams to
participate without establishing physical contact.

Available at: . Retrieved on: July 4th, 2021. Adapted.

U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alien Technology
in Flying Objects, but can’t rule it out, either

1 WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have found no evidence that aerial phenomena observed by Navy pilots in recent years are alien spacecraft, but they still cannot explain the unusual movements that have mystified scientists and the military.
2 The report determines that a vast majority of more than 120 incidents over the past two decades did not originate from any American military or other advanced US government technology, the officials said. That determination would appear to eliminate the possibility that Navy pilots who reported seeing unexplained aircraft might have encountered programs the government meant to keep secret.
3 But that is about the only conclusive finding in the classified intelligence report, the officials said. And while a forthcoming unclassified version, expected to be released to Congress by June 25, will present few other firm conclusions, senior officials briefed on the intelligence conceded that the very ambiguity of the findings meant the government could not definitively rule out theories that the phenomena observed by military pilots might be alien spacecraft.
4 Americans’ long-running fascination with UFOs has intensified in recent weeks in anticipation of the release of the government report. Former President Barack Obama encouraged the interest when he gave an interview last month about the incidents on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on CBS.
5 “What is true, and I’m really being serious here,” Mr. Obama said, “is that there is film and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are.’’
6 The report concedes that much about the observed phenomena remains difficult to explain, including their acceleration, as well as ability to change direction and submerge. One possible explanation — that the phenomena could be weather balloons or other research balloons — does not hold up in all cases, the officials said, because of changes in wind speed at the times of some of the interactions.
7 Many of the more than 120 incidents examined in the report are from Navy personnel, officials said. The report also examined incidents involving foreign militaries over the last two decades. Intelligence officials believe that at least some of the aerial phenomena could have been experimental technology from a rival power, most likely Russia or China.
8 One senior official said without hesitation that U.S. officials knew it was not American technology. He said there was worry among intelligence and military officials that China or Russia could be experimenting with hypersonic technology.
9 He and other officials spoke about the classified findings in the report on the condition of anonymity.

Available at:
ufos-sighting-alien-spacecraft-pentagon.html>. Retrieved on:
July 7, 2021.

U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alien Technology
in Flying Objects, but can’t rule it out, either

1 WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have found no evidence that aerial phenomena observed by Navy pilots in recent years are alien spacecraft, but they still cannot explain the unusual movements that have mystified scientists and the military.
2 The report determines that a vast majority of more than 120 incidents over the past two decades did not originate from any American military or other advanced US government technology, the officials said. That determination would appear to eliminate the possibility that Navy pilots who reported seeing unexplained aircraft might have encountered programs the government meant to keep secret.
3 But that is about the only conclusive finding in the classified intelligence report, the officials said. And while a forthcoming unclassified version, expected to be released to Congress by June 25, will present few other firm conclusions, senior officials briefed on the intelligence conceded that the very ambiguity of the findings meant the government could not definitively rule out theories that the phenomena observed by military pilots might be alien spacecraft.
4 Americans’ long-running fascination with UFOs has intensified in recent weeks in anticipation of the release of the government report. Former President Barack Obama encouraged the interest when he gave an interview last month about the incidents on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on CBS.
5 “What is true, and I’m really being serious here,” Mr. Obama said, “is that there is film and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are.’’
6 The report concedes that much about the observed phenomena remains difficult to explain, including their acceleration, as well as ability to change direction and submerge. One possible explanation — that the phenomena could be weather balloons or other research balloons — does not hold up in all cases, the officials said, because of changes in wind speed at the times of some of the interactions.
7 Many of the more than 120 incidents examined in the report are from Navy personnel, officials said. The report also examined incidents involving foreign militaries over the last two decades. Intelligence officials believe that at least some of the aerial phenomena could have been experimental technology from a rival power, most likely Russia or China.
8 One senior official said without hesitation that U.S. officials knew it was not American technology. He said there was worry among intelligence and military officials that China or Russia could be experimenting with hypersonic technology.
9 He and other officials spoke about the classified findings in the report on the condition of anonymity.

Available at:
ufos-sighting-alien-spacecraft-pentagon.html>. Retrieved on:
July 7, 2021.

Revolution Accelerated

How Digital Transformation is Shaping the Future of Banking

1 Like all businesses, banks have had to act fast to respond to the unprecedented human and economic impact of Covid-19.
2 First, they needed to keep the lights on and ensure business continuity. Second, they had to meet the changing ways customers wanted to engage. Finally, they sought to balance their business priorities with a responsibility to support society. Previous crises cast the banks as part of the problem — this time they are part of the solution.
3 Banks who have embraced modern banking technology have fared better in meeting these challenges. They’ve moved seamlessly to remote working, kept up service for their customers, coped with huge increases in demand and quickly adapted their products. In contrast, banks using legacy ‘spaghetti’ software have struggled.
4 Covid-19 has accelerated the need for modern banking technology, but it didn’t create it. Before coronavirus, the 2020s were already being framed as the decade for digital in the banking industry. Banks’ return on equity were too low and their cost-income ratios were too high. Meanwhile, regulation like open banking was disrupting the industry and increasing competition from new entrants like the GAAFAs (Google, Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook, Apple).
5 Providing seamless digital customer experiences was therefore already a ‘must’. Every year, Temenos partners with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for a global study on the future of banking. More than 300 banking leaders are interviewed from retail, commercial and private banks. Over half of these are at C-suite level.
6 In 2020, the study took place amid the Covid-19 crisis. The results give a fascinating insight into banking leaders’ approach during these unprecedented times. But they also show how they see their industry in the years to come.
7 And the findings suggest three trends which will shape the future of banking:
New technologies will be the key driver of banking transformation over the next 5 years. 77% of respondents strongly believed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the most game-changing of these technologies. They see a diverse range of uses for AI — from personalised customer experience to fraud detection.
Banks will overhaul their business models to create digital ecosystems. 80% of respondents believe that banking will become part of a platform of services. 45% are committed to transforming their business models into digital ecosystems.
The sun will set on branch banking. World Bank data shows that visits to branches have been steadily declining globally over the last decade. As a result of coronavirus, customers are now more concerned about visiting their branch, and so even more people are willing to try digital applications. This combination of pandemic and increasingly transformative advanced technology has led a majority of respondents (59%) to our survey with the EIU to state that traditional branch-based banking model will be dead in just five years. That’s a 34% increase from last year.
8 The current environment is undoubtedly challenging for banks. But they have the capital, customer relationships and customer data. They are regulated. And most importantly: they still enjoy their customers’ trust.
9 In short, banks are best-placed to succeed if they commit to end-to-end digital transformation. That means a fully digital front office which creates hyper-personalized experiences and ecosystems. And a back office driving efficient operations and rapid innovation. By embracing modern banking technology, banks can support their customers today, create new value for the future and drive new levels of future growth.

Available at: . Retrieved on: July 13th, 2021. Adapted.

A palavra salário vem mesmo de “sal”?

1 Vem. A explicação mais popular diz que os soldados da Roma Antiga recebiam seu ordenado na forma de sal. Faz sentido. O dinheiro como o conhecemos surgiu no século 7 a.C., na forma de discos de metal precioso (moedas), e só foi adotado em Roma 300 anos depois.
2 Antes disso, o que fazia o papel de dinheiro eram itens não perecíveis e que tinham demanda garantida: barras de cobre (fundamentais para a fabricação de armas), sacas de grãos, pepitas de ouro (metal favorito para ostentar como enfeite), prata (o ouro de segunda divisão) e, sim, o sal.
3 Num mundo sem geladeiras, o cloreto de sódio era o que garantia a preservação da carne. A demanda por ele, então, tendia ao infinito. Ter barras de sal em casa funcionava como poupança. Você poderia trocá-las pelo que quisesse, a qualquer momento.
4 As moedas, bem mais portáteis, acabariam se tornando o grande meio universal de troca – seja em Roma, seja em qualquer outro lugar. Mas a palavra “salário” segue viva, como um fóssil etimológico.
5 Só há um detalhe: não há evidência de que soldados romanos recebiam mesmo um ordenado na forma de sal. Roma não tinha um exército profissional no século 4 a.C. A força militar da época era formada por cidadãos comuns, que abandonavam seus afazeres voluntariamente para lutar em tempos de guerra (questão de sobrevivência).
6 A ideia de que havia pagamentos na forma de sal vem do historiador Plínio, o Velho (um contemporâneo de Jesus Cristo). Ele escreveu o seguinte: “Sal era uma das honrarias que os soldados recebiam após batalhas bem-sucedidas. Daí vem nossa palavra salarium.” Ou seja: o sal era um bônus para voluntários, não um salário para valer. Quando Roma passou a ter uma força militar profissional e permanente, no século 3 a.C., o soldo já era mesmo pago na forma de moedas.

VERSIGNASSI, A. A palavra salário vem mesmo de “sal”?
VC S/A, São Paulo: Abril, p. 67, Jun. 2021. Adaptado.