USP 2015 Inglês - Questões

When it comes to information and connection, we rarely want for anything these days. And that’s a problem, argues journalist Michael Harris in his new book The end of absence: Reclaiming what we’ve lost in a world of constant connection (Current, August 2014). Harris suggests that modern technology, especially the smartphone, has taken certain kinds of absence from our lives - it has eliminated our time for solitude and daydreaming, and filled even short moments of quiet with interruptions and distractions. Harris worries that these "absences" have fundamental value in human lives, and maintains that we ought to try to hold on to them.

Certain generations alive today will be the last to remember what life was like before the Internet. It is these generations who are uniquely able to consider what we’ve lost, even as we have gained the vast resources and instant connectivity of the Web and mobile communications. Now would be a good time for society to stop and think about protecting some aspects of our pre-Internet lives, and move toward a balanced future that embraces technology while holding on to absence.

(Scientific American, July 15, 2014. Adaptado.)

Responda, em português, às seguintes perguntas relativas ao texto.

1. a) Qual é a opinião de Michael Harris sobre a tecnologia moderna, em especial sobre o smartphone?
   

2. b) Como as gerações mais velhas se situam face ao uso das novas tecnologias na era da internet?
   

You know the exit is somewhere along this stretch of highway, but you have never taken it before and do not want to miss it. As you carefully scan the side of the road for the exit sign, numerous distractions intrude on your visual field: billboards, a snazzy convertible, a cell phone buzzing on the dashboard. How does your brain focus on the task at hand?

To answer this question, neuroscientists generally study the way the brain strengthens its response to what you are looking for - jolting itself with an especially large electrical pulse when you see it. Another mental trick may be just as important, according to a study published in April in the Journal of Neuroscience: the brain deliberately weakens its reaction to everything else so that the target seems more important in comparison.

Such research may eventually help scientists understand what is happening in the brains of people with attention problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. And in a world increasingly permeated by distractions - a major contributor to traffic accidents - any insights into how the brain pays attention should get ours.

(Scientific American, July 2014. Adaptado.)

O foco principal do texto são as

You know the exit is somewhere along this stretch of highway, but you have never taken it before and do not want to miss it. As you carefully scan the side of the road for the exit sign, numerous distractions intrude on your visual field: billboards, a snazzy convertible, a cell phone buzzing on the dashboard. How does your brain focus on the task at hand?

To answer this question, neuroscientists generally study the way the brain strengthens its response to what you are looking for - jolting itself with an especially large electrical pulse when you see it. Another mental trick may be just as important, according to a study published in April in the Journal of Neuroscience: the brain deliberately weakens its reaction to everything else so that the target seems more important in comparison.

Such research may eventually help scientists understand what is happening in the brains of people with attention problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. And in a world increasingly permeated by distractions - a major contributor to traffic accidents - any insights into how the brain pays attention should get ours.

(Scientific American, July 2014. Adaptado.)

Segundo estudo publicado no Journal of Neuroscience, mencionado no texto,

You know the exit is somewhere along this stretch of highway, but you have never taken it before and do not want to miss it. As you carefully scan the side of the road for the exit sign, numerous distractions intrude on your visual field: billboards, a snazzy convertible, a cell phone buzzing on the dashboard. How does your brain focus on the task at hand?

To answer this question, neuroscientists generally study the way the brain strengthens its response to what you are looking for - jolting itself with an especially large electrical pulse when you see it. Another mental trick may be just as important, according to a study published in April in the Journal of Neuroscience: the brain deliberately weakens its reaction to everything else so that the target seems more important in comparison.

Such research may eventually help scientists understand what is happening in the brains of people with attention problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. And in a world increasingly permeated by distractions - a major contributor to traffic accidents - any insights into how the brain pays attention should get ours.

(Scientific American, July 2014. Adaptado.)

De acordo com o texto, a pesquisa mencionada pode

Between now and 2050 the number of people living in cities will grow from 3.9 billion to 6.3 billion. The proportion of urban dwellers will swell from 54% to 67% of the world’s population, according to the UN. In other words, for the next 36 years the world’s cities will expand by the equivalent of six São Paulos every year. This growth will largely occur in developing countries. But most governments there are ignoring the problem, says William Cobbett of the Cities Alliance, an NGO that supports initiatives such as the one launched by New York University to help cities make long-term preparations for their growth. "Whether we want it or not, urbanisation is inevitable," say specialists. "The real question is: how can we improve its quality?"

(The Economist, June ${21}^{st}$ 2014. Adaptado.)

De acordo com o texto,