Questões de Inglês - Preposições | Prepositions para Concurso

Dogs will eat almost anything—cats, not so much. Here’s why.

     Why are cats such picky eaters when dogs seem willing to wolf down just about anything they encounter? It’s a question many pet parents likely ask themselves while __________ their feline friend to swallow a pill or prying another slobbery piece of mulch from their puppy’s mouth.

      There’s still a lot scientists don’t know about animal taste preferences. But, thanks to a small but growing body of research, researchers are starting to unravel some of the mysteries around our four-legged friends’ flavor fancies. Here’s what we know so far.

       Accidentally drop a cupcake on the ground and your dog will probably scarf it down in one bite. Your cat, on the other hand, may turn up her nose. One possible reason for their ____________ behaviors? Cats can’t taste sweetness.

       Since they couldn’t just ask cats directly, researchers figured this out by analyzing their DNA. House cats, tigers, and cheetahs have a “broken” version of the gene Tas1r2, which works with another gene, Tas1r3, to enable sweetness detection. Though Tas1r3 appears to function perfectly fine in cats, Tas1r2 is an “unexpressed pseudogene” that’s missing 247 letters. Without them, Tas1r2 does not produce a crucial protein needed to form a receptor for sweetness on cats’ taste buds.

       To take the study a step further, they gave 25 felines the choice between a bowl of plain water and one that’d been spiked with molecules that provide umami flavor. As ___________, the cats strongly preferred the umami water, and more specifically, water containing umami compounds present in tuna. That may help explain why felines love the saltwater fish so much.

(Source: National Geographic — adaptation.)

(Available at: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/mitchel-weiser-bonnie-bickwit-missingteens-summer-jam-1234798437/ – text especially adapted for this test).

*Hitchhike (verb): to travel by getting free rides in someone else's vehicle. (In: www.dictionary.cambridge.org).

(1º§) Devices including mobile phones are set to be banned from classrooms to stop them from disrupting learning, the Dutch government has announced. The initiative is being introduced in collaboration with schools and is to take effect at the start of next year.

(2º§) There will be some exceptions, including for students with medical needs or a disability, and for classes focused on digital skills. The ban is not legally enforceable but may become so in the future. "Even though mobile phones are almost intertwined with our lives, they do not belong in the classroom," said Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf. "Students must be able to concentrate there and be given every opportunity to learn well. We know from scientific research that mobile phones disrupt this."

(3º§) Various studies have found limiting children's screen time is linked to improved cognition and concentration. Other tech including tablets and smartwatches are also included in the Dutch ban. The government said it would be up to individual schools to agree the exact rules with teachers, parents and pupils - including whether they wanted to completely ban devices __ schools.

(4º§) The scheme is the result of an agreement between the ministry, schools and related organisations. It will be reviewed at the end of the 2024/2025 school year to see how well it had worked and whether a legal ban is needed. The announcement follows a similar decision by Finland last week.

(5º§) Its government announced it would change the law to make it easier __ restrict the use of phones in schools. Other countries, including England and France, have also proposed banning mobile phones to improve learning.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66107027