Old Light

[1] I heard a tale that the sun god was said

to live in a whale and that’s why light seems

to come out of its eyes and why rainbows

form in the mist of the gray whale’s breath.

[5] It’s true, light comes, but it is an old light,

seeing. They look. The way they lift

themselves from the sea: they are shining,

water falling from them as they rise, exhale,

inhale and return below the surface of the

[10] water.

The gray whales themselves are an

intelligence we haven’t yet grasped, Lifecovered

with several hundred pounds of

barnacles and small-eyed. If we could see

[15] them ........ the brief timescale of the planet,

they would look like shape-shifters. If we

thought of time by something other than our

own notions, million-fold years ago, before

our own knowledge of evolution, we’d see

[20] these whales …….. they walked on land.

Even now, existing within their immense

bones, there is body evidence, a hand,

human; vestigial hipbones; and remnants of

legs they no longer need. They lived ……..

[25] land when we lived in water. When we look

at them we see our own future.

And when they come up again for air

and the water falls from them back into the

seawater, it is a shine of beauty in a world of

[30] desert, dunes in the background. As their

hind legs have disappeared into them, out of

our sight, and their hands have become

hidden, the compass set into their brains,

you’d think you might be able to be one with

[35] them, as with a cousin, but it’s a cousin lost

in time. It makes us so small in the

firmament. It makes us remember something

we can’t quite name, only feel.

Looking at these whales in the shallow

[40] water, thinking of the great turn of evolution

and change on earth, we wonder if one day

we will return to the seawater, along with

these long-enduring, longest-living mammals

on Earth.

Read the following text to answer question.

Read the following text to answer questions 15 to 18. Simply stated, computational linguistics is no more than the use of electronic digital computers in linguistic research. These machines are employed to scan texts and to produce, more rapidly and more reliably than is possible without their aid, such valuable tools for linguistic and stylistic research as word lists, frequency counts, and concordances. But more interesting and theoretically much more difficult than the compilation lists, is the use of computers for automatic grammatical analysis andtranslation. A considerable amount of progress was made in the area of machine translation in the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France between the mid- 1950's and the mid-1969's, but much of the original impetus for this work has now disappeared, due in part to the realization that the problems involved are infinitely more complex than was at first envisaged. Thus, translation continues to remain as much anart as a science, ifnot more so.

Question refer to the comic strip below.

O texto a seguir é referência para aquestão.

Mother-of-one left ‘disgusted’ by what she found when biting into her Chinese takeaway

A mother-of-one was left disgusted after she bit into her Chinese takeaway and found what she claims was an earring in her rice.

Abbie Lee was eating fried rice when she felt something hit her tooth before she pulled out a heart-shaped stud out of her mouth.

The 21-year-old from Denbighshire, North East Wales, had even fed some of the rice to her 10-month-old daughter before making the grim discovery, the Daily Post reported.

She explained she had ordered the takeaway on a Saturday night with her partner from the Ocean City in Rhyl.

“I was eating my Yeung chow fried rice. I felt something hard against my tooth”, she said. “When I realised what it was, I was horrified and disgusted. It’s been in someone’s ear and was in my food which then went into my mouth. I couldn’t eat any more after that. It put me off my whole meal so we ended up throwing it all in the bin”.

Abbie said she called the takeaway to complain and asked for a full refund.

But, when the delivery driver returned to the address, she says she was only given £4 to cover the cost of the rice.

“When I called up to complain, I spoke to a man who was very rude and refused to give me my money back in full”, she said.

He even said he wanted the earring back after I’d been given a refund of £4.

“I was so appalled that I contacted the Food Standards Agency and Denbighshire Council’s hygiene department”. “This has put me off Chinese food for life”.

Antony’s lines from Act III, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar

[1] Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is often interred with their bones;

[5] So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Has told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously has Caesar answered it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest–

[10] For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men–

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

[15] And Brutus is an honourable man.

He has brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When the poor have cried, Caesar has wept:

[20] Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

[25] Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

[30] You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! you are fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

[35] And I must pause till it come back to me.

Associe as palavras da coluna da esquerda aos seus respectivos sinônimos, na coluna da direita, de acordo com o sentido que têm no texto.

( ) grievous (l. 07) 1 - equanimous

( ) faithful (l. 13) 2 - weird

( ) just (l. 13) 3 - dreadful

4 - peculiar

5 - meticulous

6 - trustworthy

Leia o texto a seguir e responda a questão.

5 Conversations to Have with Your Kids After "Wonder Woman

By Betsy Bozdech 6/2/2017

Families can talk about everything from women's roles in comics and superhero films to the importance of compassion and empathy.

The comic book adaptation with a female superhero - Wonder Woman - is an engaging, entertaining, empowering, and surprisingly diverse superhero story with strong messages about teamwork, courage, and compassion which families can talk about with their children. Try these discussion questions to get started:

1) Talk about women's roles in comics and superhero films. What makes Diana a role model in Wonder Woman? How does her intelligence shine throughout the movie? What about the rest of the Amazons? What did you think about the fact that many of them are thin, conventionally beautiful, and wearing brief/tight-fitting outfits?

2) How do the characters in Wonder Woman demonstrate courage and teamwork? What about Diana's keen sense of compassion and empathy? Why are those all important character strengths?

3) What do you think about the way superhero movies illustrate violence? Is there a difference in the way you react to realistic vs. stylized violence? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

4) Wonder Woman, the character, was created in 1941 and has always been very popular. So why do you think it took so long for her to get her own movie? What about today's culture welcomes such a role?

5) How is Wonder Woman similar to and different from male superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and Iron Man?

Glossário:
Roles: papéis
Empowering: empoderador
Shine: resplandece
Brief/tight-fitting outfits: roupas curtas e apertadas
Character strengths: pontos fortes de caráter/personalidade
Welcome: recebe/apoia

Das propostas sugeridas no texto para discussão em família, uma delas deixa de ser mencionada nas opções que se seguem.

Read the text and answer question.

[1] A pilot from Northwest Airlines flight was less than pleased
with the food which was to be served on the flight.
He decided to find some better food, so he left his aeroplane,
and then left the airport to find food even though he had
[5] a plane to fly. The passengers were left to wait 90 minutes
until the pilot came back and when the pilot came back
he was fired on the spot for “abandoning his plane”.
(Adapted from www.flightglobal.com)

Leia a tira para responder a questão.

Text: Read the following article:

THE Youth Offending Service (YOS) is appealing for volunteers to take part in its established mentoring programme. Volunteers are needed for the “The Promise Project” which is a scheme to help youngsters who are, or are in danger of becoming, involved in the criminal justice system. This Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership funded scheme works with 10 to 18 year olds from across the local area and provides positive role models who work with the youngsters to help create positive changes in their lives. Mentors work in a one-to-one relationship with a young person who has signed an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC), agreeing to stop committing antisocial acts. They voluntarily give time to receive and provide support, guidance and encouragement. The mentors also help young people to occupy their leisure time in a constructive manner and encourage development by helping them find employment or education. Anyone interested in helping to change the life of a local youngster by becoming a mentor, should contact the Blackwood-based Youth Offending Service on 01495235623.

Ellen donates prize tickets to charity
A YOUNG competition winner has donated her prize cinema tickets to a South Wales charity. Ellen King, 12, donated the tickets to see Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to the Miskin Project. Ellen, from St John Baptist Schoolin Aberdare, won the tickets by taking part in St Tydfil Shopping Centre's design a character competition. The prize tickets were initially meant for Ellen to take her school class, however she kindly thought of the Miskin Project. The Miskin Project supports teenagers who may be considered vulnerable or at risk of harm, the project also offers support to children in foster care. Matthew Free, one of the team at the Miskin Project said “We would really like to offer our thanks to Ellen who donated the tickets”.
Aug 12 2008. by Gerry Holt, South Wales Echo