CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus is a newly discovered virus. It causes a disease called Covid-19. In some parts of the world, it has made lots ............ people sick. Corona is a Latin for crown, because ............. the microscope, these viruses look like a crown .............. spikes ending ............... little blobs.

A lot of symptoms are similar to the flu. You may have dry and itchy cough, fever, lots of sneezing and even hard to breathe. Most of people who has gotten sick with this coronavirus have had a mild case. It means you will not feel the disease. But, for people who are much older or who already have health problems are more likely to get sicker with coronavirus.

If anyone gets sick and feels like they may have coronavirus, they can immediately call their doctors and get help. If there is something we are not sure about the information, confused or worried about, don’t be afraid to ask someone we trust.

Here are some things you can do to protect yourself, family and friends from getting sick: 1) wash your hands often using soap and water. 2) Sneeze into your elbows. It is believed that coronavirus spread through little liquid from our lungs. If you sneeze into your elbows, you can prevent germs for going far into the air. 3) Avoid touching your face. Don’t pick your nose. Don’t touch your mouth. Don’t rub your eyes. They are the places where the virus enter our bodies. 

Remember that this kind of virus can affect anybody. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what country you are from. Don’t forget, there are a lot of helpers out there who are working to protect us from the virus. We can take a part by keeping our health and stay at home to stop the virus spread to others.

Read the text below to answer the question:

ICEBERG A68a

   An enormous iceberg that is heading toward the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean has broken up into three large chunks. Scientists from NASA have been tracking the berg - dubbed A68a - for several weeks. It actually calved from the Larsen C ice shelf in 2017 and has been floating northwards ever since. In recent weeks, a fast-moving stream of water known as the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front has put the chunks on a trajectory that means they could run aground off the coast of South Georgia. Scientists say the three fragments are roughly 2,600 square kilometres in size. The submerged part of one chunk is 106 metres at its thickest point.

   The sheer bulk of the three iceberg chunks poses a serious threat to the wildlife of South Georgia. There could be an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. If the three mini icebergs collide with the seabed, they could obstruct penguins and seals from foraging for fish. They could also block the route between penguin colonies and their feeding grounds during the breeding season. Scientists worry the underside of the fragments could grind the seabed near South Georgia and disrupt delicate underwater ecosystems. This could be exacerbated by the introduction of a mass of fresh water to the ecosystems as the stationary fragments melt over the summer months. 

Available at: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2012/201229-iceberg-a68a.html Accessed on January 5th 2021.

Instructions: answer the question based on the following text.

Source (adapted): https://www.bbc.com/news/worldafrica-50800864

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ENEM and the Language Policy forEnglish in the Brazilian Context

Andrea Barros Carvalho de Oliveira

1.INTRODUCTION

In the present article, I report the results of a doctoral research that focused on the language policy for English in Brazil, considering specifically the role of Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (hereinafter ENEM) in this policy. Thus, taking into account the sociopolitical aspects of the teaching processes, learning, and use of English as a foreign language, we sought to identify the possible impact of ENEM on the status of English language as a school subject.

ENEM was initially conceived as a final exam to evaluate students at the end of basic education. However, it has been modified over the last few years to work as an entrance examination for public and private universities. In addition, the use of this exam in several governmental programs aimed at higher education access was preponderant to make it a high stakes exam in the educational scenario.

 According to the literature on language examination exams, especially those considered to be high stakes, are seen as an intrinsically political activity (ALDERSON; BANERJEE, 2001). These exams can be used as educational policy tools as well as to promote a specific language related to local language policy objectives.

The theoretical conception of Language Policy (hereinafter LP) adopted in this investigation refers to Shohamy (2006). This author postulates that, although there is an official LP established in legislation and official documents, it is also necessary to consider the existence of a “real” LP, or “de facto” LP, which is put into practice through mechanisms, resources such as traffic signs, rules and laws related to official bodies, language exams, among others. Besides mechanisms, the beliefs or representations about the language that are shared in the community ought to be considered as well. The importance of mechanisms is that they reveal the true aims of LPas established by the government for a specific language, which are not always explicit in Brazilian law.

The research, the results of which are presented in this article, covered the three components of Shohamy’s theoretical model, namely: legislation, mechanisms (in this case, an exam, ENEM), and representations or beliefs about language. To obtain a sample of representations about English language, interviews were conducted with the students from an ENEM preparatory course for university entrance, with two teachers of English and two coordinators from public schools.

 In the present article, I begin with a review of the expanded conception of LPelaborated by Shohamy, as it is the theoretical basis of this research. Second, I analyze some documents and laws regarding English teaching in Brazil. In addition to these documents, the English questions of ENEM (2016) were taken in consideration. Finally, I present an overview of the representations about English language that emerged from the interviews which constituted the empirical data of my doctoral thesis.

ALDERSON, J. C; BANERJEE, J. Language Testing and Assessment. Language Testing, [S.l.], n. 34, 2001, p. 213-236.

SHOHAMY, E. Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches. London; New York: Routledge, 2006. (Adapted from: OLIVEIRA, A.B.C. ENEM and the Language Policy for English in the Brazilian Context. In.: Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada. vol.19 no.2 th Belo Horizonte Apr./June 2019 Available at: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-63982019000200361 Accessed on October 20 , 2019)

CRIMINALS HAVE SMALLER BRAIN SIZE, SAYS STUDY

        A new study has found that antisocial people are more likely to have smaller areas of their brain. Researchers said criminals' brains had a different structure to the brains of people who followed the law. The study is published in the journal "Lancet Psychiatry". Researchers used data from 672 people born in 1972-73. They looked at records of the people's antisocial behaviour between the ages of seven and 26. At the age of 45, the researchers scanned the people's brains. Eighty of the people had a history of criminal and antisocial behaviour from being early teenagers. Researchers found that the areas of the brain linked to emotions, motivation and behaviour control were smaller in the long-term criminals' brains. 

        Professor Terrie Moffitt, a co-author of the research, said the research could help doctors understand what is behind long-term antisocial behaviour. She said the antisocial people in the study may have behaved badly because of their brain structure. She said: "They are actually operating under some [disability] at the level of the brain." She added that because of this, we needed to care for these people in a kinder way. Lead author Dr Christina Carlisi said: "Differences in brain structure might make it difficult for people to develop social skills. This may prevent them from engaging in antisocial behaviour. These people could benefit from more support throughout their lives." 

Available on: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2002/200221-brain-size.html Accessed on: March, 20th 2020.

Answers the question according to the text below.

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REFERS TO QUESTION

The Literary Influences of Superstar Musician David Bowie

BY JOHN O'CONNELL ON 10/31/19 AT 5:00 AM EDT

David Bowie was a pop star for most of his career from the 1960s until his death in 2016. He was known for his flamboyant style, songwriting and the ability to artistically turn on a dime. But Bowie, who died of cancer at 69, was more than a multi-platinum rock and roller. He was also one of the more literate composers in the business.

So much so, in fact, that in conjunction with a career retrospective in 2013 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Bowie issued a list of the one hundred books he considered the most important and influential. British music columnist John O'Connell linked this list to Bowie's prolific music. The result? A book called Bowie's Bookshelf out this month from Gallery Books.

William S. Burroughs first made the link between Bowie's lyrics and T. S. Eliot's poetry. In a Rolling Stone interview, Burroughs asked if Hunky Dory's "Eight Line Poem" had been influenced by Eliot's "The Hollow Men." Bowie's reply: "Never read him." But Bowie was definitely exposed to Eliot's influence. "Goodnight Ladies" on Transformer, the album Bowie produced for Lou Reed in 1972, is a riff on the end of the second section, "A Game of Chess," from Eliot's poem "The Waste Land." Eliot, for his part, is deliberately quoting Ophelia's "Good night, sweet ladies" speech from Hamlet. Eliot's method established a new protocol for artistic theft—the modern poet in dialogue with his or her predecessors. Bowie, too, was candid about how much he took from other artists. "You can't steal from a thief," he said when LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy admitted to stealing from Bowie's songs.

Avaiable in : https://www.newsweek.com/2019/11/15, accessed on February 20th, 2020. Adapted.