No trecho “We also know that reading texts on diff erent topics
increases the chances that our students will encounter different
words and come across new meanings of known words”, o
phrasal verb destacado pode ser substituído, sem prejuízo de
signifi cado, por:

Question

TEXT:
Reading and Vocabulary: A Recipe for Success
Dr Randi Reppen
March 13, 2025
It’s no surprise that research shows a very strong relationship
between reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. After
all, we need to be able to understand the words that we encounter
when reading in order to understand what we’re reading. As Grabe
and Stoller so succinctly stated back in 1997, “reading improves
vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary knowledge supports
reading development” (p.119). It’s a reciprocal relationship: the
larger your vocabulary, the easier it is to read, and the more you
read, the more your vocabulary increases.
So how do we get learners to increase their vocabulary to make
reading easier (and more pleasurable!)? Research tells us that
to read with adequate comprehension, 95 – 98% of the words in
the text need to be known (Nation 2001: 147). But what does it
mean to know a word when a single word can have many diff erent
senses/meanings? Take a simple word like green. Now put
yourself in your student’s shoes. Imagine fi rst encountering this
word in a story about someone who lost their green jacket. Then
in a diff erent context you read about someone who was green –
instead of a color this could mean that the person was feeling sick,
or envious, or a novice, or eco-conscious. Not so simple, is it?
We also know that reading texts on diff erent topics increases the
chances that our students will encounter diff erent words and come
across new meanings of known words. But how can we get them
to do this consistently? One eff ective way is to combine “intensive”
and “extensive” reading practice. This approach can both fi ne
tune reading skills and increase vocabulary knowledge, all while
making reading more pleasurable.
Intensive Reading
Intensive reading activities typically take place in class and involve
diff erent ways of interacting with a text. Examples include timed
readings, scanning for information, or skimming to get the gist of
the text before diving in to read.
Newspaper articles off er great resources for scanning activities
since they often include dates and names. If your school has a
campus paper (print or online), use it as a resource for scanning
activities. Rather than focusing on just one article, have your
students scan the entire school paper for when or where certain
events are taking place. This has the added benefi t of being
directly relevant to their daily lives.
I’m also a fan of timed readings using short texts (200 – 400
words) that cover a wide range of topics. These increase the
opportunity for students to encounter more diff erent words and
to see words they already “know” in diff erent contexts and with
diff erent meanings (as our example above of the word green).
Extensive Reading
Extensive reading usually happens outside the classroom, but
there are benefi ts to including a dedicated time for this type of
reading in class. When I teach reading, I always have 10 – 15
minutes of silent sustained reading as part of class. During that
time everyone, including me, reads something of their choice. I set
a timer so that we don’t lose track of time while reading.With extensive reading, students choose texts of high interest to
read every day for a predetermined amount of time. It’s important
that students are reading for pleasure during this time and NOT
reading textbooks. Graded readers or young adult literature are
great resources for extensive reading.
You can help motivate your students by keeping track of their
reading. Here are two suggestions:

1. Reading logs – Have your students keep reading logs of
how much time they spend reading each day. They should
also write a sentence or two about what they read.

2. Reading progress tracker – Have a place in your
classroom to show their reading progress. For example,
if students commit to reading 15 minutes a day, create a
board showing student progress in 15-minute increments.
As students accumulate reading time, you can have
benchmarks (e.g., an hour, fi ve hours) for when students
receive diff erent rewards, such as a certifi cate, time for an
in-class game, or even a free book.
Combining intensive and extensive reading activities has long
been a recipe for success in my classrooms. I have no doubt that
it will help you help your students become more successful, and
happier, readers, too.
Adapted from https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2025/03/13/readingand-vocabulary-a-recipe-for-success/
Acesso em 23/07/2025 No trecho “We also know that reading texts on diff erent topics
increases the chances that our students will encounter different
words and come across new meanings of known words”, o
phrasal verb destacado pode ser substituído, sem prejuízo de
signifi cado, por: Alternativa A: comprehend Ou Alternativa B: discover Ou Alternativa C: create Ou Alternativa D: invent

Qconcursos · Accepted Answer

Alternativa [B] discover Tema central da questão: O foco da questão é a interpretação contextual de phrasal verbs em Inglês, uma competência fundamental para o cargo de Professor, pois esses verbos muitas vezes têm significados não literais que alteram o sentido das frases.

Explicação do conceito: O phrasal verb come across, no trecho analisado, significa "descobrir" ou "encontrar por acaso". Trata-se de um verbo que, segundo o Cambridge English Dictionary, indica encontrar algo inesperadamente. No contexto do texto, alunos lendo sobre diferentes assuntos podem descobrir novos significados de palavras que já conhecem — ou seja, deparam-se com essas novas informações de maneira não planejada.

Justificativa da alternativa correta: A alternativa B) discover está correta porque “discover” significa exatamente “descobrir” ou “encontrar algo novo” — o objetivo central de come across no trecho citado. Esse entendimento é corroborado por gramáticas e dicionários amplamente utilizados em concursos (Murphy, English Grammar in Use).

Análise das alternativas incorretas:

A) comprehend – Significa “compreender”, ou seja, entender algo. No entanto, o sentido é de encontrar por acaso e não apenas entender o que foi encontrado. Portanto, é inadequado neste contexto.
  C) create – “Criar” indica produzir algo novo do zero, não faz sentido aqui, pois os alunos não inventam significados, apenas os acham.
  D) invent – "Inventar" pressupõe criar algo que não existia, diferente de descobrir algo já existente, mas desconhecido para o aluno.

Estratégias para interpretar corretamente: Atenção ao contexto é essencial. Questões de phrasal verbs frequentemente trazem pegadinhas por aproximação semântica — por exemplo, confundir “compreender” (comprehend) com “encontrar por acaso” (come across). Sempre observe se o verbo implica realizar uma ação ativa de criação ou apenas ser surpreendido ou deparar-se com algo.

Resumo: "Come across" equivale a "discover" neste contexto. O entendimento sólido do sentido global da frase e do significado específico do phrasal verb diferencia o candidato preparado.

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