prova de proficiencia why america needs war

8/2/2019 Prova de Proficiencia Why America Needs War

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Texto A WHY AMERICA NEEDS WAR

Jacques R. Pauwels ( www.irak.be/ned/Pawelsjacques.htm)

01 Wars are a terrible waste of lives and resources, and for that reason most people are in

02 principle opposed to wars.03 This system - Americas brand of capitalism - functions first and foremost to make extremely04 rich Americans even richer. Without warm or cold wars, however, this system can no longer05 produce the expected result in the form of the ever-higher profits the moneyed and powerful06 of America consider as their birthright.07 The great strength of American capitalism is also its great weakness, namely, its extremely08 high productivity. In the historical development of the international economic system that09 we call capitalism, a number of factors have produced enormous increases in productivity,10 for example, the mechanization of the production process introduced by Henry Ford.11 The productivity of the great American enterprises rose spectacularly; for example,12 already in the twenties countless vehicles rolled off the assembly lines of the automobile

13 factories of Michigan every single day. But who was supposed to buy all those cars?14 Most Americans at the time did not have sufficiently robust pocket books for such15 a purchase. Other industrial products similarly flooded the market, and the result16 was the emergence of a chronic disharmony between the ever-increasing economic17 supply and the lagging demand. Thus arose the economic crisis generally known as18 the Great Depression. It was essentially a crisis of overproduction. Unemployment19 exploded, and so the purchasing power of the American people shrunk even more, making20 the crisis even worse.21 It cannot be denied that in America the Great Depression only ended during, and because22 of, the Second World War. Economic demand rose spectacularly when the war which had23 started in Europe, and in which the USA itself was not an active participant before 1942,

24 allowed American industry to produce unlimited amounts of war equipment. Between 194025 and 1945, the American state would spend no less than 185 billion dollar on such equipment,26 and the military expenditures share of the GNP (gross national product) thus rose between27 1939 and 1945 from an insignificant 1,5 per cent to approximately 40 per cent. The key problem28 of the Great Depression -- the disequilibrium between supply and demand -- was thus resolved.29 However, America -- corporate America, the America of the super-rich -- urgently needed30 a new enemy in order to justify the titanic expenditures for defense which were needed31 to keep the wheels of the nations economy spinning at full speed. It is for this reason that32 the Cold War was unleashed in 1945, not by the Soviets but by the American military-33 -industrial complex, as was called that elite of wealthy individuals and corporations that34 knew how to profit from the warfare economy.

35 In this respect, the Cold War exceeded their fondest expectations. More and more martial36 equipment had to be cranked out, because the allies within the so-called free world,37 which actually included plenty of nasty dictatorships, had to be armed to the teeth with38 US equipment.39 Later, America, or rather, corporate America,was orphaned of its useful Soviet enemy,40 and urgently needed to conjure up new enemies and new threats in order to justify a high level41 of military spending. It is in this context that in 1990 Saddam Hussein appeared on the scene like42 a kind ofdeus ex machina. This dictator, previously perceived and treated by the Americans
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43 as a good friend, had been armed to the teeth so that he could wage a nasty war against Iran;44 it was the USA - and allies such as Germany - who originally supplied him with his infamous45 weapons of mass destruction.

Marque a resposta correta, de acordo com o texto acima.

1- O grande impulso inicial dado indstria americana foi: (0,5 ponto)a) A eleio de Henry Ford para a presidncia dos EUA.b) A mecanizao do processo de produo introduzida por Henry Ford.c) O desenvolvimento de um sistema econmico internacional.d) Os lucros cada vez mais altos dos americanos.e) A quantidade de veculos fabricados.

2- Qual a palavra que poderia substituirpocket books, na linha 14, sem modificar o sentidoda mesma, no contexto onde se encontra? (0,5 ponto)

a) little booksb) check book

c) incomed) employmente) checking account

3- Qual a explicao dada pelo autor do texto para a ocorrncia da Grande Depresso?

(0,5 ponto)a) A desarmonia entre a grande oferta e pequena demanda no mercado americano.b) O alto preo dos automveis nos EUA.c) O desemprego.d) A falta de mo-de-obra especializada.e) O desequilbrio da bolsa de valores.

4- Segundo o autor, o que contribuiu para o fim da Grande Depresso? (0,5 ponto)a) A diminuio do nmero de automveis fabricados.b) O fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial.c) A participao do exrcito americano na Segunda Guerra Mundial.d) O desempenho da bolsa de valores entre anos 40 e 45.e) A fabricao de equipamento blico durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial.

5- O pronome their(linha 06) refere-se a: (0,5 ponto)a) This system (linha 03)b) the ever-higher profits (linhas 05)c) warm and cold wars (linha 04)d) the moneyed and powerful of America (linhas 05-06)e) Americans (linha 04)

6- O que Saddam Hussein representou para os EUA nos anos 90? (0,5 ponto)a) A derrubada do poder sovitico.b) A nova ameaa que justificaria novos gastos militares.c) Uma ameaa paz mundial.d) A oportunidade de o governo americano aliar-se Alemanha.


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e) Um novo aliado dos Ir contra os EUA.

7- Traduza em bom portugus as frases que seguem.

a) This system Americas brand of capitalism functions first and foremost to make extremely

rich Americans even richer. Without cold and warm wars, however, this system can no longer pthe expected result in the form of the ever-higher profits the moneyed and powerful of

America consider as their birthright. (linhas 03-06) (1 ponto)

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b) It is for this reason that the Cold War was unleashed in 1945, not by the Soviets but by theAmerican military-industrial complex, as was called that elite of wealthy individuals and

corporations that knew how to profit from the warfare economy. (linhas 31 a 34) (1 ponto)

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Texto B: Collapsing ColoniesGunter Latsch March 28th, 2007

1 01 A mysterious decimation of bee populations has worried beekeepers, while a

2 similar phenomenon in the United States is gradually assuming catastrophic proportions.3 The consequences for agriculture and the economy could be enormous. Is the mysterious4 decimation of bee populations in the US and Germany a result of GM crops?5 Walter Haefeker director of the German Beekeepers Association says one cause of6 the problem may be the widespread practice in agriculture of spraying wildflowers with7 herbicides and practicing monoculture. Another possible cause, according to Haefeker,8 is the controversial and growing use of genetic engineering in agriculture.9 As far back as 2005, Haefeker ended an article he contributed to a journal with an Albert


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10 Einstein quote: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only11 have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more12 animals, no more man."13 Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it14 eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the15 United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since16 late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent.

17 In an article in its business section in late February, the New York Times calculated18 the damage US agriculture would suffer if bees died out. Experts at Cornell University in19 upstate New York have estimated the value bees generate -- by pollinating fruit and20 vegetable plants, almond trees and animal feed like clover -- at more than $14 billion.21 A number of universities and government agencies have formed a Working Group to22 search for the causes of the calamity, but have so far come up empty-handed. They23 are already referring to the problem as a potential "AIDS for the bee industry."24 Diana Cox-Foster, a member of the Working Group, told The Independent newspaper25 that researchers were "extremely alarmed," adding that the crisis "has the potential to26 devastate the US beekeeping industry."It is particularly worrisome, she said, that the27 bees' death is accompanied by a set of symptoms "which does not seem to match

28 anything in the literature."29 In many cases, scientists have found evidence of almost all known bee viruses in30 the few surviving bees found in the hives after most have disappeared. Some had five31 or six infections at the same time and were infested with fungi -- a sign, experts say,32 that the insects' immune system may have collapsed.33 The scientists are also surprised that bees and other insects usually leave the34 abandoned hives untouched. Nearby bee populations or parasites would normally raid35 the honey and pollen stores of colonies that have died for other reasons, such as36 excessive winter cold. "This suggests that there is something toxic in the colony37 itself which is repelling them," says Cox-Foster.38 Walter Haefeker, the German beekeeping official, speculates that "besides a number

39 of other factors," the fact that genetically modified, insect-resistant plants are now used40 in 40 percent of cornfields in the United States could be playing a role.41 According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle in eastern42 Germany, the bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the43 surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites44 to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know."

Marque a alternativa correta.

1 - O tema central do texto acima :

a) Um estudo comparativo, feito sobre a populao de abelhas nas costas leste e oestedos Estados Unidos (EU).

b) O ataque das abelhas sobre a plantao de frutas e verduras nos EU.c) O que est misteriosamente dizimando a populao de abelhas nos EU e na Alemanha.d) A descoberta de um novo vrus que est matando os insetos responsveis pela polinizao.e) Uma experincia com a toxina bacteriana que permite a entrada de parasitas nos intestinos

das abelhas.


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2 - Qual a melhor traduo para a expresso, thewidespread practice (linha 06)?a) a prtica do espargimentob) a difundida prticac) a prtica contrria monoculturad) a questo prticae) o conhecimento prtico

3 - Nos EU, o declnio da populao de abelhas, desde o ltimo novembroa) s se assemelha incidncia de eclipses.b) foi precedida por outros casos de mortandade.c) foi menor do que 60%, na costa leste dos EU.d) sobrepuja todos os casos anteriores de mortandade em massa.e) foi maior do que 70% na costa oeste dos EU.

4 - Qual das alternativas no est correta: O Working Group (linhas 21 e 24)a) formado por universidades e agncias governamentais.b) no teve sucesso na busca das causas da calamidade.c) o grupo ao qual pertence Diana Cox-Foster.

d) se referiu ao problema como AIDS for the bee industry.e) pertence ao jornal The Independent.

5 - Qual a alternativa que contm as tradues corretas (na mesma ordem) das expresses:growing(linha 08) Working(linha 24) adding(linha 25)weakening(linha 43),no contexto em que se encontram?

a) crescente de trabalho acrescentando enfraquecendo b) crescente de trabalho aumentando dizimandoc) crescendo trabalhando aumentando repelindod) crescendo trabalhando - acrescentando exterminando

e) aumentando trabalhando crescendo por enfraquecer

6 - A que se referem os pronomes its(linha 17) ethem (linha 37), respectivamente? Aa) an article (linha 17) e scientists (linha 29)b) business section (linha 17) e the abandoned hives (linhas 33, 34)c) the New York Times (linha 17) e nearby bee populations or parasites (linha 34)d) the New York Times (linha 17) e the honey and pollen stores of colonies (linha 35)e) US agriculture (linha 18) e the colony itself(linhas 36,37)

7 - Traduza em bom portugus, as frases que seguem:

As far back as 2005, Haefeker ended an article he contributed to a journal with an Albert Einstein qu

the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No mo

no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man. (linhas 09 a 12)

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8-It is particularly worrisome, she said, that the bees death is accompanied by a set of symptomswhich does not seem to match anything in the literature. (linhas 26, 27, 28)

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prova de proficiencia why america needs war

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