Questões de Vestibular
Sobre vocabulário | vocabulary em inglês
Foram encontradas 557 questões
Ano: 2014
Banca:
PUC - RJ
Órgão:
PUC - RJ
Prova:
PUC - RJ - 2014 - PUC - RJ - Vestibular - 1° Dia - Prova Tarde grupos 1, 3 e 4 |
Q538129
Inglês
The word nudge, in the fragment “how elements of
presentation and design can serve as signals to nudge the
reader into the mental activities that do justice to the text.”
(lines 67-70), is closest in meaning to
Ano: 2014
Banca:
PUC - RJ
Órgão:
PUC - RJ
Prova:
PUC - RJ - 2014 - PUC - RJ - Vestibular - 1° Dia - Prova Manhã grupo 2 |
Q538085
Inglês
In the fragment “This is actually a lot more relaxing,” (lines
16-17), “actually” is to “actual” as:
Q537085
Inglês
Texto associado
An Italian Holiday Home For One Euro.
Are you looking for a holiday home in Italy? Why not buy a home in the picturesque town of Gangi for one Euro? This offer may seem too good to be true, but there's a catch: you have to promise to renovate the property within three years and this could cost you €20,000. Gangi's mayor came up with the idea to put some life back into the Sicilian town. Poverty caused many inhabitants to leave after World War II. The idea is attracting interest from all over the world. Would you buy one of these homes?
Disponível em: <http://tinytexts.wordpress.com/>. Acesso em: setembro de 2014
These words from the text: picturesque, too good to be true, catch, came up, poverty could be replaced with no change in their meanings for the following words respectively.
Q537084
Inglês
Texto associado
Read the text and answer the following question.
The master's program “British and American Cultures: Texts and Media" deals with the cultural productions of Great Britain and the United States of America in all their forms and variations. In addition to the research-oriented examination of English and American literature from their beginnings to the present day, the program also focuses on contemporary theoretical and critical discourses such as postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, performance studies, and media studies. From the dramas of Shakespeare to the representation of gender in American and British television, from Hamlet to the narrative forms of new media, a broad spectrum of texts will be discussed from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives. Students will learn advanced analytical skills in dealing with fiction, poetry, drama, photography, movies, paintings, comics, and music. The course puts a special emphasis on innovative didactic methods of communication and on independent research work conducted by students. These approaches include, for example, the guided organization of a conference, symposium, or publication during which the students will be showcasing their own projects or research papers. Students will attend seminars and lectures in both English and American Studies with the option to specialize in one of these disciplines in the later part of the program.
Disponível em:
<http://www.uni hamburg.de/iaa/Master_British_and_American_Cultures.html>. Acesso em: setembro 2014.
The words highlighted in the text: deals, examination, broad, research and option could be replaced by the following with no change in their meanings:
Ano: 2014
Banca:
VUNESP
Órgão:
UNESP
Prova:
VUNESP - 2014 - UNESP - Vestibular - Primeiro Semestre |
Q491451
Inglês
Texto associado
Pediatric group advises parents to read to kids
June 26, 2014
By Amy Graff
Reading Go Dog Go to your 6 month old might seem like wasted time because she’s more likely to eat the book than help you turn the pages, but a statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this week says reading in the early years is essential. Reading out loud gets parents talking to their babies and the sound of an adult’s voice stimulates that tiny yet rapidly growing brain. In the statement, the academy advises pediatricians to tell parents to read books to their children from birth.
Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime. Research shows that a child’s brain develops faster between 0 and 3 than at any other time in life, making the early years a critical time for babies to hear rich oral language. The more words children hear directed at them by parents and caregivers, the more they learn.
While many babies are read Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar every night before bed, others never get a chance to “pat the bunny.” Studies reveal that children from low-income, less-educated families have significantly fewer books than their more affluent peers. By age 4, children in poverty hear 30 million fewer words than those in higher-income households. These dramatic gaps result in significant learning disadvantages that persist into adulthood. The AAP hopes the new guidelines will encourage all parents to start reading from day one.
Research shows that when pediatricians talk with parents about reading, moms and dads are more likely to fill their home with books and read. Also, to help get more parents reading, the AAP is partnering with organizations such as Scholastic and Too Small to Fail to help get reading materials to new families who need books the most.
This is the first time the AAP has made a recommendation on children’s literary education and it seems the timing might be just right as more and more parents are leaning on screens and electronic gadget to occupy their babies. “The reality of today’s world is that we’re competing with portable digital media,” Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician in Orangeburg, N.Y., told The New York Times. “So you really want to arm parents with tools and rationale behind it about why it’s important to stick to the basics of things like books.”
(http://blog.seattlepi.com. Adaptado.)
June 26, 2014
By Amy Graff
Reading Go Dog Go to your 6 month old might seem like wasted time because she’s more likely to eat the book than help you turn the pages, but a statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this week says reading in the early years is essential. Reading out loud gets parents talking to their babies and the sound of an adult’s voice stimulates that tiny yet rapidly growing brain. In the statement, the academy advises pediatricians to tell parents to read books to their children from birth.
Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime. Research shows that a child’s brain develops faster between 0 and 3 than at any other time in life, making the early years a critical time for babies to hear rich oral language. The more words children hear directed at them by parents and caregivers, the more they learn.
While many babies are read Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar every night before bed, others never get a chance to “pat the bunny.” Studies reveal that children from low-income, less-educated families have significantly fewer books than their more affluent peers. By age 4, children in poverty hear 30 million fewer words than those in higher-income households. These dramatic gaps result in significant learning disadvantages that persist into adulthood. The AAP hopes the new guidelines will encourage all parents to start reading from day one.
Research shows that when pediatricians talk with parents about reading, moms and dads are more likely to fill their home with books and read. Also, to help get more parents reading, the AAP is partnering with organizations such as Scholastic and Too Small to Fail to help get reading materials to new families who need books the most.
This is the first time the AAP has made a recommendation on children’s literary education and it seems the timing might be just right as more and more parents are leaning on screens and electronic gadget to occupy their babies. “The reality of today’s world is that we’re competing with portable digital media,” Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician in Orangeburg, N.Y., told The New York Times. “So you really want to arm parents with tools and rationale behind it about why it’s important to stick to the basics of things like books.”
(http://blog.seattlepi.com. Adaptado.)
No trecho do primeiro parágrafo “that tiny yet rapidly growing brain”, o termo em destaque indica
Ano: 2014
Banca:
PUC - RS
Órgão:
PUC - RS
Prova:
PUC - RS - 2014 - PUC - RS - Vestibular - Prova 2 |
Q421056
Inglês
The expression “haven’t spent any money” (line 07) can be substituted, without a change in meaning, by
Q397533
Inglês
Texto associado
Analise o cartum a seguir.
Considerando os aspectos verbais do texto, sabe-se que:
Ano: 2013
Banca:
UNEB
Órgão:
UNEB
Prova:
UNEB - 2013 - UNEB - Vestibular - Português/Inglês/Ciências |
Q1393973
Inglês
Texto associado
Disponível em:<http://www.health.com/gallery>
“carbs” (l. 5): carbohydrates
The word “odds” (l. 4) can be suitably replaced by
Q1362935
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
KIRKUS REVIEW
(Disponível em <http://www.kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/joaquim-maria-machado-de-assis/domcasmurro/>. Acesso em 10/06/2013.)
Choose the correct alternative, according to text.
The word “myriad” (line 10) means a large number of something.
The word “myriad” (line 10) means a large number of something.
Q1362924
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
THE ANT AND THE CRICKET
(Disponível em <http://www.lefavole.org/en/cicala formica.htm>. Acesso em 22/05/2013.)
Concerning the linguistic aspects in text, it is correct to affirm that
the word “interests” (line 16) could be replaced by the word “investments” without changing the meaning.
the word “interests” (line 16) could be replaced by the word “investments” without changing the meaning.
Q1362923
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
THE ANT AND THE CRICKET
(Disponível em <http://www.lefavole.org/en/cicala formica.htm>. Acesso em 22/05/2013.)
Concerning the linguistic aspects in text, it is correct to affirm that
the opposite of the words “careless” (line 1), “hungry” (line 8) and “refund” (line 15) are “careful”, “starving” and “reimburse”, respectively.
the opposite of the words “careless” (line 1), “hungry” (line 8) and “refund” (line 15) are “careful”, “starving” and “reimburse”, respectively.
Q1362684
Inglês
Texto associado
Billboard Campaign
(Disponível em <http://lynnfire.org/web/index.php?option=com_ content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=112>. Acesso em 22/05/2013.)
Em relação aos aspectos linguísticos do texto, é correto afirmar que
the words “strikes” (line 1) and “spread” (line 5) could be replaced by “attacks” and “increase”, respectively, without changing the meaning.
the words “strikes” (line 1) and “spread” (line 5) could be replaced by “attacks” and “increase”, respectively, without changing the meaning.
Q1362681
Inglês
Texto associado
Billboard Campaign
(Disponível em <http://lynnfire.org/web/index.php?option=com_ content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=112>. Acesso em 22/05/2013.)
Em relação aos aspectos linguísticos do texto, é
correto afirmar que
the word “close” (line 1) can be replaced by the word “shut” without changing the meaning.
the word “close” (line 1) can be replaced by the word “shut” without changing the meaning.
Q1362661
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
(Disponível em <http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/Job Details. aspx? Job_DID=J3J0Y86B...>. Acesso em 23/05/2013.)
According to the text, it is correct to affirm that
the words “local” (line 3), “excellent” (line 4), “light” (line 5) and “good” (line 7) are all adjectives.
the words “local” (line 3), “excellent” (line 4), “light” (line 5) and “good” (line 7) are all adjectives.
Ano: 2013
Banca:
FAG
Órgão:
FAG
Prova:
FAG - 2013 - FAG - Vestibular - Primeiro Semestre - Medicina |
Q1357884
Inglês
Read the following text and Choose the alternative which provides the correct words that complete the
text above, respectively:
Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically ____ (1) the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to ____ (2) every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a ____ (3) strategy. One of the most importante functions of the language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use ____ (4) strategies as they do in their native language. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading ____ (5) and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation.
Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically ____ (1) the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to ____ (2) every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a ____ (3) strategy. One of the most importante functions of the language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use ____ (4) strategies as they do in their native language. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading ____ (5) and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation.
Q1355799
Inglês
Texto associado
Call for more help for poorest farmers
The founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has said that the international community's efforts to fight hunger and poverty are
inefficient and outdated. He said advances made by the digital revolution needed to be harnessed to help the world's
poorest farmers more effectively.
Mr Gates said more needs to be done to support poor farmers in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. He
said there was a lack of coordination between governments, aid donors and the UN's agencies, like the World Food
Programme. Mr Gates called for the setting up of what he called a “public score card” system.
This would make it easier to tell how well, or how badly, different countries and agencies were performing in the fight to
reduce poverty.
He said the effort to help small farmers also needs to harness the power of advances made in digital technology. In an
age when satellites can tell instantly exactly how much wheat is in a field, he said, it was a shame that people were still
being sent out with pen, paper and tape measures to try to do the same job.
Mr Gates said that the stakes couldn't be higher for the families of poor farmers. If they don't benefit from the fruits of
the digital revolution they will fall far behind. But Mr Gates believes that if they can be connected to some of the latest
breakthroughs in science they will have a chance to leapfrog foward.
(Adapted from:www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews) 27th February 2012
According to Bill Gates, the international community's efforts to fight hunger and poverty are inefficient
and outdated. (first paragraph) The word OUTDATED means:
Q1355709
Inglês
A palavra ''supply'', de acordo com o texto anterior, em português quer
dizer:
Ano: 2013
Banca:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie
Órgão:
MACKENZIE
Prova:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie - 2013 - MACKENZIE - vestibular |
Q1347200
Inglês
Texto associado
Behind the Meaning of the Pope’s Names
The new pope’s choice of ‘Francis’ hints at the direction of his reign.
The new pope’s choice of ‘Francis’ hints at the direction of his reign.
Enter Pope Francis. The first Jesuit pope. The first from Latin
America. It is, indeed, a historic moment for the papacy. Those who waited
for a leader from the new Catholic world will no doubt be __( I )__ by
the choice, but his new status as the leader of a global church requires
a different persona and a new mode of action. The new pope speaks not
only for Argentina, Latin America, and the Jesuits, but also for the entire
Roman Catholic world.
The first Jesuit pope. The first from Latin America. (Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)
The first Jesuit pope. The first from Latin America. (Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)
It is precisely for this reason that cardinals shed their names along
with their brightly __( II )__ vestments. Historically, the tradition of
selecting a new papal name dates back to the sixth century, when Pope
John II swapped his awkwardly __( III )__ name Mercurius for the solidly
Christian John. At the same time the selection of religious names is more
than an opportunity to symbolically cast aside individual identity. Papal
names chart a course for the future by summoning up the past. The new
pope assumes either the mantle of religious heroes and leaders from days
gone by or the virtues of the Innocents and the Piuses. The selection of
the name both forges a new identity and signals how the pope wishes to
be seen and remembered. It is, in essence, not only the answer to the
__( IV )__ question “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” but
also a way of preemptively writing one’s own reviews.
Traditionally popes have been __( V )__ of reaching too high, of appearing too self-congratulatory. The office of the pope is built, literally and metaphorically, on the legacy of St. Peter, the apostle of Christ, whose remains lie beneath the papal seat in the Vatican. But there has been no Pope Peter II. Thus far, no pope has had the audacity to present himself as standing in continuity with the favored disciple of Jesus. Nor would Pope Francis have been able to select the name of the founder of his own order. A Pope Ignatius—after Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola—would have appeared self-serving.
At first blush, Pope Francis’s selection of a previously __( VI )__ papal name—he is no 23rd anything—marks a break with the past and augurs well for those looking for a move away from deeply entrenched institutionalism. The new pope symbolically clears the deck for a new period of Catholic history. For a church desperately in need of an administrative makeover, it creates a nominally blank slate for the pale-garbed pontiff.
Traditionally popes have been __( V )__ of reaching too high, of appearing too self-congratulatory. The office of the pope is built, literally and metaphorically, on the legacy of St. Peter, the apostle of Christ, whose remains lie beneath the papal seat in the Vatican. But there has been no Pope Peter II. Thus far, no pope has had the audacity to present himself as standing in continuity with the favored disciple of Jesus. Nor would Pope Francis have been able to select the name of the founder of his own order. A Pope Ignatius—after Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola—would have appeared self-serving.
At first blush, Pope Francis’s selection of a previously __( VI )__ papal name—he is no 23rd anything—marks a break with the past and augurs well for those looking for a move away from deeply entrenched institutionalism. The new pope symbolically clears the deck for a new period of Catholic history. For a church desperately in need of an administrative makeover, it creates a nominally blank slate for the pale-garbed pontiff.
Newsweek
The adjectives that properly fill in blanks I, II, III, IV, V and VI, in the text, are
Ano: 2013
Banca:
UECE-CEV
Órgão:
UECE
Prova:
UECE-CEV - 2013 - UECE - Vestibular - Língua Inglesa - 2ª fase |
Q1279899
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
BRASÍLIA — Brazil’s highest court has long
viewed itself as a bastion of manners and formality.
Justices call one another “Your Excellency,” dress in
billowing robes and wrap each utterance in
grandiloquence, as if little had changed from the era
when marquises and dukes held sway from their
vast plantations.
In one televised feud, Mr. Barbosa questioned
another justice about whether he would even be on
the court had he not been appointed by his cousin, a
former president impeached in 1992. With another
justice, Mr. Barbosa rebuked him over what the chief
justice considered his condescending tone, telling
him he was not his “capanga,” a term describing a
hired thug.
In one of his most scathing comments, Mr.
Barbosa, the high court’s first and only black justice,
took on the entire legal system of Brazil — where it
is still remarkably rare for politicians to ever spend
time in prison, even after being convicted of crimes
— contending that the mentality of judges was
“conservative, pro-status-quo and pro-impunity.”
“I have a temperament that doesn’t adapt well
to politics,” Mr. Barbosa, 58, said in a recent
interview in his quarters here in the Supreme
Federal Tribunal, a modernist landmark designed by
the architect Oscar Niemeyer. “It’s because I speak
my mind so much.”
His acknowledged lack of tact
notwithstanding, he is the driving force behind a
series of socially liberal and establishment-shaking
rulings, turning Brazil’s highest court — and him in
particular — into a newfound political power and the
subject of popular fascination.
The court’s recent rulings include a unanimous
decision upholding the University of Brasília’s
admissions policies aimed at increasing the number
of black and indigenous students, opening the way
for one of the Western Hemisphere’s most sweeping
affirmative action laws for higher education.
In another move, Mr. Barbosa used his sway
as chief justice and president of the panel
overseeing Brazil’s judiciary to effectively legalize
same-sex marriage across the country. And in an
anticorruption crusade, he is overseeing the
precedent-setting trial of senior political figures in
the governing Workers Party for their roles in a vast
vote-buying scheme.
Ascending to Brazil’s high court, much less
pushing the institution to assert its independence,
long seemed out of reach for Mr. Barbosa, the eldest
of eight children raised in Paracatu, an impoverished
city in Minas Gerais State, where his father worked
as a bricklayer.
But his prominence — not just on the court,
but in the streets as well — is so well established
that masks with his face were sold for Carnival,
amateur musicians have composed songs about his
handling of the corruption trial and posted them on
YouTube, and demonstrators during the huge street protests that shook the nation this year told
pollsters that Mr. Barbosa was one of their top
choices for president in next year’s elections.
While the protests have subsided since their
height in June, the political tumult they set off
persists. The race for president, once considered a
shoo-in for the incumbent, Dilma Rousseff, is now
up in the air, with Mr. Barbosa — who is now so
much in the public eye that gossip columnists are
following his romance with a woman in her 20s —
repeatedly saying he will not run. “I’m not a
candidate for anything,” he says.
But the same public glare that has turned
him into a celebrity has singed him as well. While
he has won widespread admiration for his guidance
of the high court, Mr. Barbosa, like almost every
other prominent political figure in Brazil, has
recently come under scrutiny. And for someone
accustomed to criticizing the so-called supersalaries awarded to some members of Brazil’s legal
system, the revelations have put Mr. Barbosa on
the defensive.
One report in the Brazilian news media
described how he received about $180,000 in
payments for untaken leaves of absence during his
19 years as a public prosecutor. (Such payments
are common in some areas of Brazil’s large public
bureaucracy.) Another noted that he bought an
apartment in Miami through a limited liability
company, suggesting an effort to pay less taxes on
the property. In statements, Mr. Barbosa contends
that he has done nothing wrong.
In a country where a majority of people now
define themselves as black or of mixed race — but
where blacks remain remarkably rare in the
highest echelons of political institutions and
corporations — Mr. Barbosa’s trajectory and abrupt
manner have elicited both widespread admiration
and a fair amount of resistance.
As a teenager, Mr. Barbosa moved to the
capital, Brasília, finding work as a janitor in a
courtroom. Against the odds, he got into the
University of Brasília, the only black student in its
law program at the time. Wanting to see the
world, he later won admission into Brazil’s
diplomatic service, which promptly sent him to
Helsinki, the Finnish capital on the shore of the
Baltic Sea.
Sensing that he would not advance much in
the diplomatic service, which he has called “one of
the most discriminatory institutions of Brazil,” Mr.
Barbosa opted for a career as a prosecutor. He
alternated between legal investigations in Brazil
and studies abroad, gaining fluency in English,
French and German, and earning a doctorate in
law at Pantheon-Assas University in Paris.
Fascinated by the legal systems of other
countries, Mr. Barbosa wrote a book on affirmative
action in the United States. He still voices his
admiration for figures like Thurgood Marshall, the
first black Supreme Court justice in the United
States, and William J. Brennan Jr., who for years
embodied the court’s liberal vision, clearly drawing
inspiration from them as he pushed Brazil’s high
court toward socially liberal rulings.
Still, no decision has thrust Mr. Barbosa into
Brazil’s public imagination as much as his handling
of the trial of political operatives, legislators and
bankers found guilty in a labyrinthine corruption
scandal called the mensalão, or big monthly
allowance, after the regular payments made to
lawmakers in exchange for their votes.
Last November, at Mr. Barbosa’s urging, the
high court sentenced some of the most powerful
figures in the governing Workers Party to years in
prison for their crimes in the scheme, including
bribery and unlawful conspiracy, jolting a political
system in which impunity for politicians has been the
norm.
Now the mensalão trial is entering what could
be its final phases, and Mr. Barbosa has at times
been visibly exasperated that defendants who have
already been found guilty and sentenced have
managed to avoid hard jail time. He has clashed
with other justices over their consideration of a rare
legal procedure in which appeals over close votes at
the high court are examined.
Losing his patience with one prominent
justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, who tried to absolve
some defendants of certain crimes, Mr. Barbosa
publicly accused him this month of “chicanery” by
using legalese to prop up certain positions. An
outcry ensued among some who could not stomach
Mr. Barbosa’s talking to a fellow justice like that.
“Who does Justice Joaquim Barbosa think he is?”
asked Ricardo Noblat, a columnist for the newspaper
O Globo, questioning whether Mr. Barbosa was
qualified to preside over the court. “What powers
does he think he has just because he’s sitting in the
chair of the chief justice of the Supreme Federal
Tribunal?”
Mr. Barbosa did not apologize. In the
interview, he said some tension was necessary for
the court to function properly. “It was always like
this,” he said, contending that arguments are now
just easier to see because the court’s proceedings
are televised.
Linking the court’s work to the recent wave of
protests, he explained that he strongly disagreed
with the violence of some demonstrators, but he
also said he believed that the street movements
were “a sign of democracy’s exuberance.”
“People don’t want to passively stand by and
observe these arrangements of the elite, which were
always the Brazilian tradition,” he said.
The expression “Not just on the court, but in
the streets as well” can be correctly rewritten as
Ano: 2013
Banca:
UECE-CEV
Órgão:
UECE
Prova:
UECE-CEV - 2013 - UECE - Vestibular - Inglês - 1º Dia |
Q1261829
Inglês
Texto associado
TEXT
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW calls data
science “the sexiest job in the 21st century,” and by
most accounts this hot new field promises to
revolutionize industries from business to
government, health care to academia.
The field has been spawned by the
enormous amounts of data that modern technologies
create — be it the online behavior of Facebook
users, tissue samples of cancer patients,
purchasing habits of grocery shoppers or crime
statistics of cities. Data scientists are the magicians
of the Big Data era. They crunch the data, use
mathematical models to analyze it and create
narratives or visualizations to explain it, then
suggest how to use the information to make
decisions.
In the last few years, dozens of programs
under a variety of names have sprung up in
response to the excitement about Big Data, not to
mention the six-figure salaries for some recent
graduates. In the fall, Columbia will offer new
master’s and certificate programs heavy on data.
The University of San Francisco will soon graduate
its charter class of students with a master’s in
analytics.
Rachel Schutt, a senior research scientist at
Johnson Research Labs, taught “Introduction to Data
Science” last semester at Columbia (its first course
with “data science” in the title). She described the
data scientist this way: “a hybrid computer scientist
software engineer statistician.” And added: “The
best tend to be really curious people, thinkers who
ask good questions and are O.K. dealing with
unstructured situations and trying to find structure
in them.”
Eurry Kim, a 30-year-old “wannabe data
scientist,” is studying at Columbia for a master’s in
quantitative methods in the social sciences and
plans to use her degree for government service. She
discovered the possibilities while working as a
corporate tax analyst at the Internal Revenue
Service. She might, for example, analyze tax return
data to develop algorithms that flag fraudulent
filings, or cull national security databases to spot
suspicious activity.
Some of her classmates are hoping to apply
their skills to e-commerce, where data about users’
browsing history is gold.
“This is a generation of kids that grew up
with data science around them — Netflix telling
them what movies they should watch, Amazon
telling them what books they should read — so this
is an academic interest with real-world applications,”
said Chris Wiggins, a professor of applied
mathematics at Columbia who is involved in its new
Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering. “And,”
he added, “they know it will make them
employable.”
Universities can hardly turn out data
scientists fast enough. To meet demand from employers, the United States will need to increase
the number of graduates with skills handling large
amounts of data by as much as 60 percent,
according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute.
There will be almost half a million jobs in five
years, and a shortage of up to 190,000 qualified
data scientists, plus a need for 1.5 million
executives and support staff who have an
understanding of data.
Because data science is so new,
universities are scrambling to define it and develop
curriculums. As an academic field, it cuts across
disciplines, with courses in statistics, analytics,
computer science and math, coupled with the
specialty a student wants to analyze, from patterns
in marine life to historical texts.
With the sheer volume, variety and speed
of data today, as well as developing technologies,
programs are more than a repackaging of existing
courses. “Data science is emerging as an academic
discipline, defined not by a mere amalgamation of
interdisciplinary fields but as a body of knowledge,
a set of professional practices, a professional
organization and a set of ethical responsibilities,”
said Christopher Starr, chairman of the computer
science department at the College of Charleston,
one of a few institutions offering data science at
the undergraduate level.
Most master’s degree programs in data
science require basic programming skills. They
start with what Ms. Schutt describes as the
“boring” part — scraping and cleaning raw data
and “getting it into a nice table where you can
actually analyze it.” Many use data sets provided
by businesses or government, and pass back their
results. Some host competitions to see which
student can come up with the best solution to a
company’s problem.
Studying a Web user’s data has privacy
implications. Using data to decide someone’s
eligibility for a line of credit or health insurance, or
even recommending who they friend on
Facebook, can affect their lives. “We’re building
these models that have impact on human life,” Ms.
Schutt said. “How can we do that carefully?” Ethics
classes address these questions.
Finally, students have to learn to
communicate their findings, visually and orally,
and they need business know-how, perhaps to
develop new products.
From: www.nytimes.com
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an example of a word with similar meaning is
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