In the sentence “Anglo-Saxon words are often punchier” (5th
paragraph), “punchier” indicates that these words tend to be more

Question

READ TEXT I AND ANSWER NEXT QUESTION.
TEXT I
AI is getting better at writing. Humans must get better at editing.
Writing is hard. For Franz Kafka, putting words on the page was a
process of “unending torments”. George Orwell said it felt like “a
long bout of some painful illness”. Hunter S. Thompson, a
journalist, saw it as the opposite of sex: “only good when it’s over”.
Now AI has come to the rescue. Large language models (LLMs)
eagerly offer reams of text without any pain or torment. Bots can
spew out emails (excellently), longer prose (passably) and poetry
(poorly). To them, writer’s block is a 500-sheet pack of paper: any
user of an LLM can produce as many words in a day as Kafka did in
his life.
For human writers this is a blessing and a curse. If you claim to be
an author but use AI, you look like a fraud—bot-busting tools like
Pangram are good at spotting when someone has had an AI
helping hand. […]
If LLMs keep improving, in a few years they could be as good as
professional wordsmiths. In the meantime, though, their baggy
prose puts a premium on editing skills. After all, even the best
writers need a good editor to keep them sharp. Editing is
something The Economist deals with day in, day out, so here are
our tips for rewriting AI prose.
First, commission well. George R.R. Martin once said the job of
editors is to “clip the wings” of writers, and “tell them in which
direction to fly”. When it comes to LLMs, that means giving clear
instructions about exactly what you want, and asking them to
refine their output as many times as necessary. You’ll get less
pushback from machines than men. Mr Martin said editors were
“the writer’s natural enemy”; AI would probably say “great
observation!” and “love the enemy analogy!” Second, pay attention to detail. AI writers will make mistakes and
offer phrases that sound good but mean nothing. They like to
lavish their prose with Latinate words, talking about the “bidirectional flow” and how to “expedite grid enhancements”;
remind them that Anglo-Saxon words are often punchier. They like
clichéd metaphors: there are lots of “Achilles’ heels”. And AI tends
to use the “rule of three” far more than humans. The Economist
also likes this rhetorical trick. But whereas we try to group three
sensible bits of advice, AI offers such redundant sentences as: “The
mystery has been solved—not partially, not ambiguously, but
definitively.” Such lines should be cut—definitively.
Finally, know your audience. The editor is an intermediary
between writer and reader. LLMs are sycophants and their
smarmy tone is often off-key. If you are writing an email to break
some bad news to your boss, tell your bot to skip the exclamation
marks. AI can be pretentious or pontificating (it was trained on
human writing, after all). Most people are short of time, but a
verbose AI pins you to the wall like a bore at a party.
“Write drunk, edit sober,” goes the old writers’ maxim. If that’s
right, when the AI-human team gets down to work, the AIs will
have all the fun.
Adapted from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/07/30/ai-is-gettingbetter-at-writing-humans-must-get-better-at-editing  In the sentence “Anglo-Saxon words are often punchier” (5th
paragraph), “punchier” indicates that these words tend to be more   Alternativa A: complex and obscure. Ou Alternativa B: powerful and effective.  Ou Alternativa C: mysterious and intricate.  Ou Alternativa D: formal and sophisticated.   Ou Alternativa E: ambiguous and confusing.

Qconcursos · Accepted Answer

Alternativa [B] powerful and effective.  Gabarito: BFundamento decisivo: No quinto parágrafo, o contraste entre expressões que soam bem, mas nada significam, e a recomendação sobre palavras anglo-saxônicas define a eficácia expressiva como critério decisivo para escolher B.Tema central: Sentido contextual de punchierAnálise das alternativasAErrada“Complex and obscure” significa “complexas e obscuras”. A alternativa atribui dificuldade de compreensão às palavras, enquanto “punchier” destaca sua força expressiva. O trecho valoriza a eficácia da escolha vocabular, não sua complexidade.BCertaA alternativa B traduz a qualidade valorizada na recomendação editorial: palavras com maior impacto e eficácia na expressão. O contexto sustenta essa leitura ao criticar o excesso de vocabulário de origem latina e expressões que soam bem, mas nada significam. Assim, “powerful” corresponde à força expressiva, e “effective”, à capacidade de comunicar de modo eficaz.CErrada“Mysterious and intricate” significa “misteriosas e intrincadas”. Essas características dizem respeito a mistério e elaboração complexa, não ao impacto comunicativo indicado por “punchier”. Não há, no trecho, recomendação de tornar a expressão enigmática.DErrada“Formal and sophisticated” significa “formais e sofisticadas”. O critério destacado não é o grau de formalidade ou refinamento do vocabulário, mas sua eficácia expressiva. A crítica a expressões que soam bem sem comunicar conteúdo impede confundir aparência sofisticada com a qualidade recomendada.EErrada“Ambiguous and confusing” significa “ambíguas e confusas”. A alternativa atribui imprecisão e dificuldade de entendimento às palavras. Isso não traduz “punchier”, que aponta maior força comunicativa, e não maior confusão.Pegadinha da questãoA confusão é associar maior força de expressão a vocabulário mais complexo ou sofisticado. No trecho, impressionar pela aparência das palavras não equivale a comunicar com eficácia.Dica para questões semelhantesEm questões de sentido contextual, use o contraste ao redor do termo: identifique o que o autor critica e qual qualidade recomenda em resposta.Preserve os modificadores ao interpretar: o comparativo de “punchier” indica maior intensidade, e “often” significa frequência, não uma superioridade válida em todos os casos.

In the sentence “Anglo-Saxon words are often punchier” (5th ...

Gabarito comentado

Gabarito: B

Clique para visualizar este gabarito

Comentários

Clique para visualizar este comentário

Questões de assuntos semelhantes

Provas relacionadas