Inglês
Read the text on Christopher Reeve’s routine and answer the following eight questions.
Going the distance:
Christopher Reeve
“It doesn’t feel like a hospital here, does it?” says Christopher Reeve, his eyes sweeping the office in the quietly elegant home that he shares with his wife, Dana, and their 12-year-old son, Will. “That’s because Dana, from the very beginning, wanted our family to live as normal a life as possible.”
The “beginning” was May 27, 1995, the day the athletic actor, an accomplished rider, approached a routine three-foot jump in a Virginia horse show. His chestnut Thoroughbred balked and stopped short, and Reeve, his hands tangled in the bridle, catapulted headfirst onto the ground.
The injury rendered Reeve, now 52, a quadriplegic, confined to a ventilator and a wheel-chair - and initially contemplating suicide. But he titled his second memoir Nothing Is Impossible, and has spent the years since proving that point. Reeve works fiercely on his rehabilitation and has regained sensation over 70 percent of his body. He can go for long periods without his ventilator (he had electrodes implanted in his abdomen to help him breathe on his own). And he has stunned doctors by willing himself to move one of his fingers, and, in water, his legs and arms.
Reeve has labored tirelessly on legislation for spinal cord injury patients: his Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act goes before Congress this fall. And he hasn’t put his creative life aside either. On October 25, A&E will air his second directorial project, “The Brooke Ellison Story,” the real-life saga of an 11-year-old girl paralyzed from the neck down as the result of an auto accident.
Dressed in a striped polo shirt, white duck pants and running shoes, Reeve spoke with Reader’s Digest about the film, his advocacy and his remarkable journey. On the rebound from a recent hospital stay, he displayed his usual tenacity, saying, “Your body is not who you are. The mind and spirit transcend the body.”
RD: It’s been more than nine years since the accident. How has it changed your perspective on life ?
Reeve: I have more awareness of other people and, I hope, more sensitivity to their needs. I also find that I’m more direct and outspoken. It’s important to me to say what I really mean
RD: Are you still optimistic you will walk again?
Reeve: I am optimistic. But I also know that, with time, I’m beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis. So it seems more difficult to project that it was five years ago. But I haven’t given up.
RD: What really keeps you going ?
Reeve: The love and support of my family, and the fact that I’m needed. I’m working. I focus on the opportunities that come my way rather than on the things that haven’t arrived yet.
(Adapted from Going The Distance: Christopher Reeve, Internet, Reader’s Digest rd.com October 02, 2004)
17. On May 27, 1995
0-0) Christopher Reeve was taking part on a Virginia horse show.
1-1) Reeve’s horse wasn’t in a very good day.
2-2) Thoroughbred suddenly didn’t want to do the three-foot jump.
3-3) Reeve was actually prepared for his horse stopping abruptly.
4-4) Reeve fell down and hit his head seriously.
Resposta: VVVFVJustificativa:
0-0), 1-1), 2-2) e 4-4) Verdadeiros. O ator americano Christopher Reeve, que protagonizou o herói no filme Superman, e outros, estava participando de uma apresentação hípica, no estado americano da Virginia (atividade rotineira, para ele, até então) quando seu cavalo, Thoroughbred, de cor marrom avermelhada, parou de repente, no momento de realizar um salto, jogando Reeve ao chão. Reeve bateu com a cabeça, sofrendo, assim, irreversíveis conseqüências: uma quadriplergia, com a qual lutou por mais de 9 anos.
3-3) Falso. Reeve não tinha conhecimento de que seu cavalo pararia repentinamente.
18. After that tragic accident, Reeve
0-0) was finally able to believe in God.
1-1) at first, thought of killing himself.
2-2) has lived life in a rather optimistic way.
3-3) has fought bravely to get better physically.
4-4) has annoyed doctors by being unable to move.
Resposta: FVVVFJustificativa:
1-1), 2-2), 3-3) Verdadeiros. Logo após o trágico acidente que modificou totalmente a vida de Reeve, ele, a princípio, alimentou a idéia de suicídio. Posteriormente, recuperou sua coragem, e lutou brava e incansavelmente para reduzir seu grave quadro traumático de quadriplergia. Ele viveu, dessa forma, mais de 9 anos, posteriores ao acidente, imbuído de uma força interior e de um otimismo impressionantes, opção 2-2).
0-0) e 4-4) Falsos. Não há menção textual à sua crença em Deus; Reeve teve, ao contrário da opção 4-4), maravilhado a equipe médica, por sua coragem e tenacidade, conseguindo recuperar o sentido do tato em mais de 70% do seu corpo.
19. The text shows that the following characteristics apply to Mr. Reeve today:
0-0) endurance.
1-1) courage.
2-2) will power.
3-3) jealousy.
4-4) inventiveness.
Resposta: VVVFVJustificativa:
0-0), 1-1), 2-2) e 4-4) Verdadeiros. Reeve surpreendeu sua equipe médica com sua força de vontade, sua coragem, sua tenacidade e seu talento de continuar produzindo (opções 0-0), 1-1), 2-2) e 0-4)
3-3) Falso. Esta opção não é citada no texto como sendo uma característica de Reeve.
20. Mr. Reeve’s Paralysis Act going before Congress this coming fall reveals that he
0-0) doesn’t mind being confined to a ventilator and a wheelchair.
1-1) accepts his quadriplegic situation and does nothing to change it.
2-2) has done his best to establish a body of laws for back-injured patients.
3-3) has worked hard to have Congress pass a law on quadriplegic patients.
4-4) plans to run for the Senate in the coming elections.
Resposta: FFVVFJustificativa:
2-2) e 3-3) Verdadeiros. Reeve foi bem sucedido ao elaborar um projeto de lei para os pacientes, vítimas de paralisia grave, o qual será votado pelo congresso americano neste outono.
0-0), 1-1), e 4-4) Falsos. Reeve não se incomoda de estar preso a uma cadeira de rodas e de depender de respiração artificial; ele aceitou seu estado de quadriplergia e nada fez para mudá-lo; e planejava candidatar-se ao Senado nas próximas eleições nos EUA.
21. Though Mr Reeve is optimistic as to being able to walk again, he nevertheless knows that he
0-0) has got to face the reality of getting older.
1-1) needs to consider that his paralysis may last much longer.
2-2) must be aware that life ahead will be much easier than now.
3-3) should give up because his paralysis case is irreversible.
4-4) could have done much more effort to be able to walk sooner.
Resposta: VVFFFJustificativa:
0-0) e 1-1) Verdadeiros. Embora Reeve tenha continuado bravamente otimista quanto à sua possibilidade de voltar a andar, ele, entretanto, esteve ciente de que precisava enfrentar a realidade de envelhecer. Seu quadro poderia prolongar-se por um tempo ainda indefinido.
2-2), 3-3) e 4-4) Falsos: Reeve devia-se conscientizar de que sua vida futura seria muito mais fácil que no momento atual 2-2); Reeve devia desistir de lutar porque seu quadro era irreversível 3-3); e poderia ter-se esforçado muito mais para retornar a andar mais cedo 4-4).
22. Reeve thinks that after over nine years since the accident, he
0-0) has been less conscious of other individuals.
1-1) has got desperate every moment he looks at himself.
2-2) actually says what he in fact means.
3-3) has been more concerned about people´s needs.
4-4) has become more straightforward.
Resposta: FFVVVJustificativa:
2-2, 3-3 e 4-4 – Verdadeiros. Após mais de nove anos do seu trágico acidente hípico, Reeve achava que ele, na verdade, dizia às pessoas o que de fato pensava; que se julgava mais receptivo às necessidades de outrem; e que se tornou um indivíduo mais direto e objetivo.
0-0) e 1-1) Falsos. Reeve pensava que, após o acidente, ficaria menos consciente da existência de outros indivíduos; e sentia-se arrasado a cada momento em que se conscientizava do seu gravíssimo estado físico.
23. When Reeve says “I focus on the opportunities that come my way rather than on the things that haven’t arrived yet” he means that he
0-0) worries about surviving every day of his living.
1-1) takes life in an extremely tough and pessimistic way.
2-2) hasn’t been strong enough to keep on fighting his paralysis.
3-3) concentrates his thought and energy on tomorrow’s events.
4-4) lives each single day at a time, not tomorrow’s.
Resposta: FFFFVJustificativa:
4-4) Verdadeiro. Christopher Reeve concentrava sua rotina diária nos eventos daquele dia específico; ele vivia um dia de cada vez. O amanhã seria outro novo dia a considerar.
0-0), 1-1), 2-2) e 3-3) Falsos. Reeve preocupava-se com sua sobrevivência, cada dia da sua existência; vislumbrava a vida de maneira extremamente dura e pessimista; não foi forte suficientemente para continuar enfrentando sua paralisia; e concentrava seu pensamento e sua energia no dia de amanhã.
24. The expression “bridle” in “His chestnut Thoroughbred balked and stopped short, and Reeve, his hands tangled in the bridle, catapulted headfirst onto the ground” is equivalent to:
0-0) the front part of an animal’s face, with the nose and mouth.
1-1) a covering round an animal’s mouth, to prevent it from biting.
2-2) a reddish-brown horse.
3-3) leather bands put on a horse’s head for controlling its movements.
4-4) the long hair on the back of a horse’s neck.
Resposta: FFFVFJustificativa:
3-3) Verdadeiro. O gravíssimo acidente de Reeve aconteceu quando seu cavalo Thoroughbred parou de correr repentinamente, e Reeve, com suas mãos enlaçadas nas rédeas, caiu de cabeça.
0-0) 1-1) 2-2) 4-4) Falsos. A expressão não corresponde semanticamente a: “parte frontal da face de um animal, incluindo o nariz e a boca” 0-0); a “uma mordaça em volta da boca do animal, para evitar sua mordida” 1-1); a “um cavalo marrom avermelhado” 2-2); e a “crina de um cavalo” 4-4).
A hybrid future
As the age of oil wanes, what will take its place? A little of everything.
“Solutions wanted. No idea too weird.” If a classified ad could sum up the world’s energy problem, this would be it. Experts generally agree that our current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. Already oil is near $50 per barrel, and the great millions of Chinese and Indians destined to take to the road in the next decades have not yet gotten behind the wheel. If the clamor over global warming seems apocalyptic now, just wait until those two countries are as developed as the West.
At the same time, even with higher oil prices, clean energy sources like wind and solar – not to mention hydrogen, an unproven technology barely off the drawing boards – don’t yet make enough economic sense to replace oil. That’s why many experts are starting to talk of building a hybrid economy. Rather than replacing hydrocarbons entirely, what we need to do is find ways to use less oil – and use it more efficiently. This means changing everything from the kinds of cars we drive, to the homes we live in, to the way we make and distribute electricity. It’s a revolution in thought – and in the making.
(From A hybrid future, Special Report, Newsweek, Double Issue, September 6 / September 13, 2004, page 33.)
25. In accordance to the text,
0-0) the world’s energy problem will definitely be solved by fossil fuels.
1-1) China will for sure get ahead of India in producing hybrid energy.
2-2) clean energy sources don’t yet make economic sense on their own.
3-3) sky-high oil prices will not yet prevent this source of energy to be used.
4-4) in the near future, the energy systems that we use will change dramatically.
Resposta: FFVVVJustificativa:
2-2), 3-3) e 4-4) Verdadeiros. Como as fontes de energia limpa ainda são economicamente inviáveis, os altíssimos preços do petróleo não serão empecilho para o seu uso. Mas, num futuro próximo, os sistemas e recursos usados para gerar e distribuir energia mudarão drasticamente.
0-0) e 1-1) Falsos. O problema mundial de energia não será definitivamente sanado por combustíveis fósseis. Além disso, não há indícios no texto que assegurem que a China superará a Índia na produção de energia híbrida.
26. This text has as its main purposes
0-0) to buy surplus power from any source and distribute it worldwide.
1-1) to warn people of the world’s energy problem.
2-2) to appeal to one’s sensitivity to the emergent energy problem.
3-3) to arouse one’s interest in a quest for efficient energy.
4-4) to sell some of the power generated to power companies.
Resposta: FVVVFJustificativa:
1-1), 2-2) e 3-3) Verdadeiros. Advertir as pessoas sobre o problema energético mundial, apelar para a sensibilidade das pessoas no que tange a esse problema emergente e suscitar-lhes o interesse numa busca por uma energia eficiente correspondem à matéria textual.
0-0) e 4-4) Falsos. Comprar o excedente energético e vender parte da força gerada a companhias de energia são informações não contidas no texto.
27. As the age of oil wanes, what energy source(s) will take its place?
0-0) only clean energy sources.
1-1) solely solar panels and batteries.