Questões de Concurso
Sobre substantivos contáveis e incontáveis | countable and uncountable em inglês
Foram encontradas 86 questões
The distinction between countable and uncountable is based on the reality of what the nouns describe, the distinction is ____. Some learners of English are surprised to discover that, for example, the following are uncountable: bread, hair, accommodation. (Parrott, Matin. Grammar for English language teachers. 20004)
Choose the best option that completes the context.
A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.
The fair trade movement, which aims
ensure that fair prices are paid to producers in
developing countries, is one of the true global success
stories recent decades. The International
Fairtrade Certification Mark, a guarantee that producers are getting a fair price, has become one of the
most recognizable logos the world, which
91 percent of customers associate positive
values. When the logo first appeared in the UK, the
country where the largest number of fair-trade products are sold, nobody expected that the number of
certified products would grow from only 3 to over
4,500 in just 18 years. In 2011, people around the
world spent more than 6.5 billion US dollars on fair-
-trade certified goods, signifying a 12 percent increase
in sales from the previous year. This was at a time
when most market segments in the developed world
were still shrinking or stagnating from the after effects
of the 2008 banking crisis. Over 1.2 million farmers
and workers living in 66 countries benefit from fair-
-trade certification by being able to sell their products
at competitive prices, to ensure sustainability.
Fair-trade initiatives have been growing steadily since the late 1960s, when the fair trade
movement started with only a handful of committed
individuals in the West who believed there was an
alternative to the exploitation of farmers and workers
in the developing world. Fair trade ensures fair prices
for suppliers, as well as payment of a premium that
can be reinvested in the local communities (for example, in schools or sanitation) or in improving productivity. In India, for instance, a group of rice farmers used
the premium to buy farm machinery, which meant a
30 percent improvement in production.
As consumers look for, and recognize, the logo
and purchase fair-trade products, they put
pressure on companies and governments to do more
for global welfare. They also put pressure on supermarkets to sell fair-trade goods at the same price as
conventional products, shifting the extra costs involved from consumers to the corporations that collect
the profits.
Critics of the fair trade movement say it is still
not doing enough. They stress that the key to
long-term development is not in small local improvements, but in moving the developing world from
the production of raw materials into processing them,
which can bring in greater profit. There are already some signs of this happening. A group of tea growers
in Kenya recently set up a processing factory to deliver the final products directly to their customers in
the West. By switching from the export of raw tea to
boxed fair-trade products, they achieved 500 percent
higher profits.
It is important to realize that, despite all of its
benefits, the fair trade movement has its limitations. Some of the poorest farmers can’t afford to pay
the certification fees required for each fair-trade initiative, while others work for big, multinational employers that are excluded from participating. Fair trade is
certainly a step in the right direction, but there is a lot
more we must continue to do in order to help people
in the world’s poorest regions.( ) The underlined words “As consumers look for …” can be replaced by ‘seek out’ without changing its meaning. ( ) The words ‘meant’; ‘been’ and ‘started’ are irregular verbs. ( ) “Fair-trade initiatives have been growing steadily since the late 1960s.” The underlined words are in the Present perfect continuous Tense. ( ) “They also put pressure on supermarkets to sell fair-trade goods….” The underlined word is the plural form of “good”.
Choose the alternative which presents the correct sequence, from top to bottom.
Within word classes, there are a number of restrictions. Knowledge of these allows competent speakers to produce well-formed sentences. Speakers of British English might say There isn’t any furniture in the room, but would not say There aren’t any furnitures in the room because furniture is almost always an uncountable noun.
An example of a well-formed sentence with an uncountable noun is:
Texto 03
How is English Used as a Lingua Franca Today?
By Maria Khodorkovsky on August 19, 2013
The term lingua franca was first coined in the beginning of the 17th century by the Italians. At that time, it represented a conglomeration of mostly Italian, with a smattering of French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, and Arabic, and was used primarily as the language of commerce. The term literally means “Frankish language”, as “Frank” was a common designation for all western Europeans since approximately the 12th century.
Today, English is a common lingua franca across the globe. According to some estimates, almost 80 percent of English speakers in the world are non-native speakers. Below you will find more information about a phenomenon that bears on language, culture, commerce, and diplomacy.
Where is it used?
Apart from serving as a useful heuristic in Europe, where a Spaniard, a Frenchmen, and a German might all carry on a conversation in English, English as a lingua franca (ELF) plays an important role in former Anglophone colonies such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, among many others.
How is it used?
ELF differs from Standard English in a number of ways. Several documented overarching similarities are variances in article usage (or no article usage at all), variances in preposition usage, and novel use of morphemes (such as importancy and smoothfully). Many instances of ELF also incorporate across-the-board third-person singular usage (such as “He go to the store.”), using “who” and “which” interchangeably, and a lack of gerunds. Verbally, noted differences include the omission of some consonants and addition of extra vowels, as well as a general tendency towards efficient communication over grammatically normative English.
Criticisms
While ELF is a widespread and useful mode of communication for many, some scholars and linguists have criticized its proliferation as a form of linguistic imperialism. This term became popular in 1992 with the publication of Robert Phillipson’s influential book of the same name. In it, Phillipson argues that English has long been a tool of submission and cultural domination of colonies. Contemporary critics of ELF cite the problems associated with studying a language in a disorganized, unstructured way. Speakers of ELF may eventually speak both their native language and English imperfectly, leading to issues with effective communication. In spite of these criticisms, ELF continues to flourish in many countries, oftentimes enriching the language with colorful aphorisms and unique turns of phrase.
(Disponível em https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/how-is-english-used-as-a-lingua-franca-today/)
TEXTO I
English for Specific Purposes
English for specific purposes (ESP) refers to language research and instruction that focuses on the specific communicative needs and practices of particular social groups. Emerging out of Halliday, Macintosh, and Strevens’ (1964) groundbreaking work nearly 40 years ago, ESP started life as a branch of English language teaching, promising a stronger descriptive foundation for pedagogic materials. In the years since, ESP has consistently been at the cutting-edge of both theory development and innovative practice in applied linguistics, making a significant contribution to our understanding of the varied ways language is used in particular communities. Drawing on a range of interdisciplinary influences for its research methods, theory, and practices, ESP has consistently provided grounded insights into the structures and meanings of texts, the demands placed by academic or workplace contexts on communicative behaviors, and the pedagogic practices by which these behaviors can be developed.
HYLAND, K. “English for specific purposes: some influences and impacts”. In: Cummins, J. and Davison, C., (eds.) The International Handbook of English language education. Springer: Norwell, Mass, 2006.
Based on the text, judge the following item.
A little is considered a correct alternative for “a few” in
“a few channels” (lines 7 and 8).
TEXT 1 below, retrieved and adapted from https://chroniclingamerica. loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ on July 9th, 2018.
Text 1
Women’s rights convention – Sojourner Truth
One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gesture, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity:
"May I say a few words?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded: I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman has a pint, and a man a quart -- why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much; -- for we can't take more than our pint will hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if a woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.
Reference: Robinson, M. (1851, June 21). Women’s
rights convention: Sojourner Truth. Anti-slavery Bugle, vol. 6
no. 41, Page 160.
This question must be answered by looking at the following sentence from Text 1:
“May I say a few words?”
We may keep the sentence grammatically correct by substituting “words” for:
Consider the statements below:
I. The plural of the word ‘beauty’ (l.40) follows the same rule that explains the formation of the plural form ‘displays’ (l.24).
II. The plural of ‘crisis’ (l.05) is made by dropping ‘is’ and adding ‘es’.
III. The rule that explains the formation of ‘values’ (l.30) and ‘pages’ (l.13) is the same.
Which ones are correct?
Considering the grammatical and semantic aspects of text I, decide whether the following items are right (C) or wrong (E).
The word “Orientalist” (l.49) could be correctly replaced by
Orientalists.
TEXT III
Use of language in diplomacy
What language should one use when speaking to diplomats, or what language should diplomats use? Or, to be more precise, what language/languages should a (young) diplomat try to learn to be more successful in his profession?
The term "language in diplomacy" obviously can be interpreted in several ways. First, as tongue ("mother" tongue or an acquired one), the speech "used by one nation, tribe, or other similar large group of people"; in this sense we can say, for example, that French used to be the predominant diplomatic language in the first half of the 20th century. Second, as a special way of expressing the subtle needs of the diplomatic profession; in this way it can be said, for example, that the delegate of such-andsuch a country spoke of the given subject in totally nondiplomatic language. Also, the term can refer to the particular form, style, manner or tone of expression; such as the minister formulated his conditions in unusually strong language. It may mean as well the verbal or non-verbal expression of thoughts or feelings: sending the gunships is a language that everybody understands.
All of these meanings - and probably several others - can be utilised in both oral and written practice. In any of these senses, the use of language in diplomacy is of major importance, since language is not a simple tool, vehicle for transmission of thoughts, or instrument of communication, but very often the very essence of the diplomatic vocation, and that has been so from the early beginnings of our profession. That is why from early times the first envoys of the Egyptian pharaohs, Roman legates, mediaeval Dubrovnik consuls, etc., had to be educated and trained people, well-spoken and polyglots.
Let us first look into different aspects of diplomatic language in its basic meaning - that of a tongue. Obviously, the first problem to solve is finding a common tongue. Diplomats only exceptionally find themselves in the situation to be able to communicate in one language, common to all participants. This may be done between, for example, Germans and Austrians, or Portuguese and Brazilians, or representatives of different Arab countries, or British and Americans, etc. Not only are such occasions rare, but very often there is a serious difference between the same language used in one country and another.
There are several ways to overcome the problem of communication between people who speak different mother tongues. None of these ways is ideal. One solution, obviously, is that one of the interlocutors speaks the language of the other. Problems may arise: the knowledge of the language may not be adequate, one side is making a concession and the other has an immediate and significant advantage, there are possible political implications, it may be difficult to apply in multilateral diplomacy, etc. A second possibility is that both sides use a third, neutral, language. A potential problem may be that neither side possesses full linguistic knowledge and control, leading to possible bad misunderstandings. Nevertheless, this method is frequently applied in international practice because of its political advantages. A third formula, using interpreters, is also very widely used, particularly in multilateral diplomacy or for negotiations at a very high political level - not only for reasons of equity, but because politicians and statesmen often do not speak foreign languages. This method also has disadvantages: it is time consuming, costly, and sometimes inadequate or straightforwardly incorrect. […] Finally, there is the possibility of using one international synthetic, artificial language, such as Esperanto; this solution would have many advantages, but unfortunately is not likely to be implemented soon, mostly because of the opposition of factors that dominate in the international political - and therefore also cultural and linguistic - scene.
So, which language is the diplomatic one? The answer is not simple at all […].
Words are bricks from which sentences are made. Each sentence should be a wound-up thought. If one wants to be clear, and particularly when using a language which he does not master perfectly, it is better to use short, simple sentences. On the contrary, if one wishes to camouflage his thoughts or even not say anything specific, it can be well achieved by using a more complicated style, complex sentences, digressions, interrupting one's own flow of thought and introducing new topics. One may leave the impression of being a little confused, but the basic purpose of withholding the real answer can be accomplished.
(adapted from http://www.diplomacy.edu/books/language_and_
diplomacy/texts/pdf/nick.PDF)
Text I
CLT or a task-based approach is not a panacea to language teaching. There are numerous challenges to making communicative language teaching happen. These issues have to do with the choice of content, context, specific skill areas (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, etc.), and particular learning tasks that determine a curriculum.
These choices are tightly linked to questions about what it means to ―know‖ a language, to be proficient in a language, and what communicative abilities entail. While the literature on language teaching has attempted to provide answers to such questions, there are no universally accepted standards. The proficiency and standards movements have attempted to provide some guidelines, but they often remain broad in learner performance descriptions. This ultimately makes assessment of individual learners‘ communicative ability challenging, and it essentially leaves judgment of learner progress up to the teachers.
Communicative abilities cannot be simply categorized as speaking, listening, reading, or writing skills, as it was done in a traditional four skills approach. For example, when two people talk to each other, the process normally involves speaking and listening skills as well as active communicative strategies such as asking for clarification and adjusting language to make each other understood. The endeavor to teach languages in a way that encompasses all skills, based on an interactive view of language behavior, has posed many challenges on how to go about integrating the four skills effectively in a daily and long-term curriculum.
The teaching of proficiency and communicative-based skills raises the question not only about content but also about the choice of learning tasks or best teaching practices. CLT does not promote one standardized method or curriculum, but is eclectic in its approach. Being eclectic means it promotes the best or most effective techniques or methodologies. At the same time, the choice of techniques and learning tasks is not an arbitrary decision, but is firmly grounded in principles of learning as they are motivated by research in second language acquisition (SLA) and educational psychology. Learning what constitutes effective ways of learning and teaching initially requires intensive training and in the long run staying in touch with current SLA research findings.
As a last point, the quality of CLT also often depends on the quality of teaching materials. Unfortunately, only in the most commonly taught languages—such as English, Spanish, French, and German—does an abundance of materials exist to support the development of communicative language abilities over a wide range of skills.
(Source: <http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0131579061.pdf>
What is hunger?
Acute hunger or starvation are often highlighted on TV screens: hungry mothers too weak to breastfeed their children in drought-hit Ethiopia, refugees in war-torn Syria queuing for food rations, helicopters airlifting high energy biscuits to earthquake victims in Haiti or Pakistan.
These situations are the result of high profile crises like war or natural disasters, which starve a population of food. Yet emergencies account for less than eight percent of hunger's victims.
Daily undernourishment is a less visible form of hunger – but it affects many more people, from the shanty towns of Jakarta in Indonesia and the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to the mountain villages of Bolivia and Nepal. In these places, hunger is much more than an empty stomach.
For weeks, even months, its victims must live on significantly less than the recommended 2,100 kilocalories that the average person needs to lead a healthy life.
The body compensates for the lack of energy by slowing down its physical and mental activities. A hungry mind cannot concentrate, a hungry body does not take initiative, a hungry child loses all desire to play and study.
Hunger also weakens the immune system. Deprived of the right nutrition, hungry children are especially vulnerable and become too weak to fight off disease and may die from common infections like measles and diarrhea. Each year, almost 7 million children die before reaching the age of five; malnutrition is a key factor in over a third of these deaths
(Source: Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, IGME, 2012 in http://www.wfp.org).
Read the following extract, taken from the text, to answer question .
“[_] hungry children are especially vulnerable [...]”.
Choose the noun that has an irregular plural as the word “children”.
Read text II and answer the question:
Read text II and answer the question:
And congratulations on your new purchase. You’re now entitled to an unsurpassed service and a number of benefits as part of the Ericsson warranty and service program. Your Ericsson mobile phone was designed to offer you the ultimate in quality, convenience and performance. And of course, we guarantee it. From now on, as the new owner of an Ericsson mobile phone, you’ll have access to a number of exclusive advantages such as: a vast network of Ericsson service centers; a limited 1 year warranty and service agreement, and a toll-free customer service hotline.
WARRANTY CONDITIONS
Dear Customer,
If your Ericsson product needs warranty service, you should send the product to any company authorized service facility. For information contact the store from which you purchased the product. The product in all cases must be accompanied by the following items: your name, address, telephone number, warranty card, bill of sale bearing the serial number, date of delivery, or reasonable proof of these dates, and a detailed description of the problem.
Our warranty
This warranty is extended by Ericsson Inc. (“The Company”) to the original purchaser for use only. Ericsson warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship at the time of its original purchase and for the subsequent period of one (1) year. All accessories for the product are covered for a period of one (1) year fromthe date of purchase.
What we will do
If, during the period of warranty, this product proves defective under normal use and service due to improper materials or workmanship, the company will repair or replace the defective item with a new or factory rebuilt replacement.
(Taken from Ericsson - One yearWarranty and ServiceAgreement)
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