2016

O quadrado PQRS está inscrito em um círculo de centro C. A corda BQ intersecta a diagonal PR do quadrado em A, sendo que QA = 6 cm e AB = 4 cm.

Aníbal, Cláudio, Daniel, Rafael e Renato são interrogados na investigação do roubo de uma joia. Sabe-se que apenas um deles cometeu o roubo. No interrogatório, as seguintes falas foram registradas:

Renato: “Aníbal roubou a joia”.
Aníbal: “Cláudio não roubou a joia”.
Rafael: “Daniel roubou a joia”.
Daniel: “Aníbal não roubou a joia”.
Cláudio: “Renato roubou a joia”.

Em janeiro de 2015, a charge assinada pelo cartunista "Fred” circulou nas redes sociais e na mídia eletrônica, em referência ao atentado à revista francesa Charlie Hebdo, ocorrido em Paris naquele mesmo mês.

A Operação Lava Jato é a maior investigação sobre corrupção conduzida até hoje no Brasil. Ela partiu do inquérito sobre uma rede de doleiros que lavava dinheiro em vários Estados e identificou um vasto esquema de corrupção envolvendo empreiteiras, funcionários estatais e políticos de vários partidos.

Sobre o funcionamento desse esquema de corrupção, assinale V para a afirmação verdadeira e F para a falsa.

( ) Grandes empreiteiras, organizadas em cartel para substituir uma concorrência real por uma concorrência aparente, pagavam propina para altos executivos da Petrobrás e outros agentes públicos, para facilitar seus negócios com a estatal.
( ) Diretores e funcionários da Petrobrás se omitiam em relação ao cartel e o favoreciam, aprovando contratos superfaturados que permitiam desviar recursos dos cofres da estatal.
( ) Partidos políticos responsáveis pela indicação dos diretores da Petrobrás se beneficiavam com o esquema na estatal, o qual envolveu diversos políticos que cometeram ou se associaram a atos de corrupção passiva e lavagem de dinheiro.

Em dezembro de 2015, numerosas instituições divulgaram suas projeções para os principais indicadores da economia brasileira.

I. Milhares de pessoas fazem fila para vaga de emprego no Vale do Anhangabaú (São Paulo), em novembro de 2015.

II. A velocidade de destruição de empregos formais registrada em 2015 (menos 1,64 milhão de vagas) se destaca das crises anteriores. Em 2016, o forte movimento de demissão nos empregos formais deve prosseguir. Para janeiro, projeta-se a destruição de 170 mil vagas. Embora seja esperada leve retomada sazonal de contratações após o Carnaval, em fevereiro e março, a projeção é de perda líquida de 2,2 milhões de vagas no ano. Enquanto em 2015 as demissões ocorreram na construção civil e na indústria de transformação, em 2016 serão os setores de comércio e serviços os mais atingidos (...). Somados, são setores que empregam mais de 70% da força de trabalho.

O bar e bicicletaria Las Magrelas e a loja de doces Brownie Shop são dois exemplos paulistas dos 120 estabelecimentos comerciais que aceitam bitcoin no Brasil, segundo levantamento de julho de 2015. Bitcoin é uma rede de pagamentos e um novo tipo de moeda, eletrônica, que usa a tecnologia ponto a ponto para operar sem a intermediação de uma autoridade central. As transações com bitcoin são gerenciadas coletivamente pelos usuários da rede.

Em um debate sobre a expansão do agronegócio na Região Centro-Oeste, um agricultor afirmou: – Eu não compro terra; eu compro clima!

No continente europeu, a lógica das economias nacionais presidiu a implantação da atividade industrial. Ao longo do século XIX, grandes aglomerações industriais se desenvolveram, na maioria das vezes, polarizadas pela presença de complexos siderúrgicos.
(...)
A integração econômica definida pelo Tratado de Maastricht promoveu uma profunda reestruturação espacial da indústria europeia.

O IBGE informou que o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) de 2015 registrou a maior queda desde 1990. O Índice de Atividade Econômica Regional, utilizado pelo Banco Central para avaliar o desempenho econômico das regiões brasileiras, de acordo com o gráfico a seguir, mostra um quadro recessivo generalizado.

A charge, publicada em 2007 por um jornal inglês, ironiza a inserção da China na economia internacional.

Nos últimos dois anos, a decisão da OPEP (liderada pela Arábia Saudita) de aumentar a produção de petróleo, fez com que as cotações dessa commodity desabassem de 110 para 30 dólares por barril, aproximadamente.
Sobre as consequências desse fato, assinale V para a afirmação verdadeira e F para a falsa.
( ) Os novos produtores, como o Brasil, são penalizados, porque a queda dos preços inviabiliza a extração em novas áreas com custos de exploração mais elevados que o preço médio internacional.
( ) As economias dependentes da venda de petróleo como Rússia e Venezuela, aumentam seus lucros, porque os preços baixos estimulam o consumo.
( ) Os países que estão realizando a transição para a energia renovável, como a Alemanha, têm vantagens, porque os preços das fontes alternativas tornam-se competitivos.

Nas eleições de 1982, ocorreu um grave escândalo envolvendo a apuração 50 dos votos e a divulgação dos resultados.

A Revolução de 1930 põe fim à hegemonia da burguesia do café, desenlace inscrito na própria forma de inserção do Brasil no sistema capitalista internacional. Sem ser um produto mecânico da dependência externa, o episódio revolucionário expressa a necessidade de reajustar a estrutura do país, cujo funcionamento, voltado essencialmente para um único gênero de exportação, se torna cada vez mais precário.

Cresce entre muitos o erro perniciosíssimo de que o valor da Escritura decorre da vontade da Igreja, como se dependesse do arbítrio humano a eternal e inviolável verdade de Deus, pois, com grande desprezo pelo Espírito Santo, perguntam: quem nos fará crer que provém de Deus? Como nos certificamos de que chegou salva e intacta aos nossos dias? Quem pode nos persuadir de que este livro deve ser recebido com reverência e outro expurgado? Exceto que, acerca disso, a regra seja prescrita pela Igreja?

Sem dúvida, podemos afirmar que após uma fase A de crescimento econômico (1200-1316) a Europa Ocidental entrou numa fase B depressiva, que se estenderia até fins do século XV no sul e princípios do XVI no centro e no norte.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

1 Venoms, the debilitating chemical cocktails animals unleash to defend themselves or obtain a meal, are subject to an evolutionary arms race. Those creatures that are targets of toxins eventually develop beneficial mutations, granting them some degree of resistance. In response, animals that emit venoms undergo changes so their poisons remain effective.
2 This action-reaction narrative of venom evolution is incomplete, however, as evolutionary biologists Kartik Sunagar and Yehu Moran of Hebrew University in Jerusalem have shown in a new study. They realized that many venom studies have focused on snakes and cone snails — comparatively "young" animal groups, evolutionarily speaking, only going back roughly 50 million years. Over these groups’ histories, their venomous arsenals have expanded considerably, bolstering the arms race analogy, also known as positive, or Darwinian, selection.
3 Sunagar and Moran cast a wider net, looking at over 3,500 gene families for venom production in newer and older animal groups. The ancient animal types included spiders, scorpions, centipedes, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
4 The scientists found that these ancient animals exhibited surprisingly low levels of genetic variation in their venoms. Sunagar and Moran reasoned that the venoms of primordial creatures had undergone substantial negative, or purifying, selection — evolutionary pressure to keep their potently optimized toxins roughly the same. “Negative selection filters out certain mutations that alter structure or function,” explained Moran. For species in long-established ecological niches, it makes sense to maintain what works.
5 Evolution does favor more radical experimentation, though, when creatures enter new habitats and begin adapting to the novel environment. As they find their place in local food chains, venomous animals’ toxic pharmacopeia should undergo rapid diversification — the better to catch strange new prey and withstand the attacks of previously unencountered predators. Yet over time, these adapting species settle into tried-and-true formulae.
6 The researchers call this model of venom evolution “two-speed,” with the venoms of old species evolving slowly and those of the new species evolving quickly. “Our analysis of numerous toxin families, covering the ample scope of the animal kingdom, has revealed a striking contrast between the evolution of venom in ancient and evolutionarily young animal groups,” said Sunagar.

Adapted from Natural History, February 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEAR

1 As the New Year’s fireworks went up in German cities, a brief panic seized Munich, which had information about planned terrorist attacks at two railway stations. Those never occurred. But, much less noticed at first, a different sort of crime was occurring in Cologne and, to a lesser extent, in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
2 While partiers [foliões] gathered on the square between Cologne’s cathedral and railway station, a large group of young men, later described by the police as “looking North African or Arabic”, also massed there. Some threw fireworks into the crowd to cause panic. Then the men formed rings around individual women, so that police and onlookers could not see inside each huddle. According to over 100 women who subsequently filed complaints, the men groped the women sexually, while others stole their mobile phones, wallets or purses. One woman was raped.
3 Oddly, the Cologne police reported the following day that the festivities had been relaxed and peaceful. Only after scores of women came forward did the country react with rage. The interior and justice ministers promised to employ the full force of the law—even as the police had to admit that they as yet had no information to make individual arrests. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called the assaults “disgusting” and demanded justice “without regard to origin or background”.
4 The assaults tapped into deep fears at a tense time, as Germany struggles with record numbers of refugees—more than 1 million in 2015, largely from Arab countries. Populist politicians were quick to infer a connection. Frauke Petry, boss of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany, blamed the outrage on the “terrible consequences of a catastrophic asylum and migration policy”.
5 There is no evidence yet that any of the criminals were refugees, as Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, emphasised. Ms Reker personifies the conflicts straining German society. She ran for office as a nonpartisan candidate with a liberal and welcoming attitude toward migrants. For that, a neo-Nazi extremist stabbed her at a campaign event in October. (She was elected the next day, while still in a coma.) If it is confirmed that some of the muggers, molesters and rapists were asylum-seekers, the damage to what is left of Germany’s “Welcome Culture” could be severe.

Adapted from The Economist, January 9, 2016.

Texto para a questão

NOVA CANÇÃO DO EXÍLIO

Um sabiá
na palmeira, longe.
Estas aves cantam
um outro canto.

O céu cintila
sobre flores úmidas.
Vozes na mata,
e o maior amor.

Só, na noite,
seria feliz:
um sabiá,
na palmeira, longe.

Onde é tudo belo
e fantástico,
só, na noite,
seria feliz.
(Um sabiá,
na palmeira, longe.)

Ainda um grito de vida e
voltar
para onde é tudo belo
e fantástico:
a palmeira, o sabiá,
o longe.

(Carlos Drummond de Andrade, A Rosa do Povo.)

Texto para a questão

NOVA CANÇÃO DO EXÍLIO

Um sabiá
na palmeira, longe.
Estas aves cantam
um outro canto.

O céu cintila
sobre flores úmidas.
Vozes na mata,
e o maior amor.

Só, na noite,
seria feliz:
um sabiá,
na palmeira, longe.

Onde é tudo belo
e fantástico,
só, na noite,
seria feliz.
(Um sabiá,
na palmeira, longe.)

Ainda um grito de vida e
voltar
para onde é tudo belo
e fantástico:
a palmeira, o sabiá,
o longe.

(Carlos Drummond de Andrade, A Rosa do Povo.)

Texto para a questão

Em uma outra casinha do cortiço acabava de estalar uma nova sobremesa, engrossando o barulho geral: era o jantar de um grupo de italianos mascates, onde o Delporto, o Pompeo, o Francesco e o Andrea representavam as principais figuras. Todos eles cantavam em coro, mais afinados que nas outras duas casas; quase, porém, que se lhes não podia ouvir as vozes, tantas e tão estrondosas eram as pragas que soltavam ao mesmo tempo. De quando em quando, de entre o grosso e macho vozear dos homens, esguichava um falsete feminino, tão estridente que provocava réplica aos papagaios e aos perus da vizinhança. E, daqui e dali, iam rebentando novas algazarras em grupos formados cá e lá pela estalagem. Havia nos operários e nos trabalhadores decidida disposição para pandegar, para aproveitar bem, até ao fim, aquele dia de folga. A casa de pasto fermentava revolucionada, como um estômago de bêbado depois de grande bródio, e arrotava sobre o pátio uma baforada quente e ruidosa que entontecia.

(Aluísio Azevedo, O Cortiço.)

Texto para a questão

Em uma outra casinha do cortiço acabava de estalar uma nova sobremesa, engrossando o barulho geral: era o jantar de um grupo de italianos mascates, onde o Delporto, o Pompeo, o Francesco e o Andrea representavam as principais figuras. Todos eles cantavam em coro, mais afinados que nas outras duas casas; quase, porém, que se lhes não podia ouvir as vozes, tantas e tão estrondosas eram as pragas que soltavam ao mesmo tempo. De quando em quando, de entre o grosso e macho vozear dos homens, esguichava um falsete feminino, tão estridente que provocava réplica aos papagaios e aos perus da vizinhança. E, daqui e dali, iam rebentando novas algazarras em grupos formados cá e lá pela estalagem. Havia nos operários e nos trabalhadores decidida disposição para pandegar, para aproveitar bem, até ao fim, aquele dia de folga. A casa de pasto fermentava revolucionada, como um estômago de bêbado depois de grande bródio, e arrotava sobre o pátio uma baforada quente e ruidosa que entontecia.

(Aluísio Azevedo, O Cortiço.)

Texto para a questão

Em uma outra casinha do cortiço acabava de estalar uma nova sobremesa, engrossando o barulho geral: era o jantar de um grupo de italianos mascates, onde o Delporto, o Pompeo, o Francesco e o Andrea representavam as principais figuras. Todos eles cantavam em coro, mais afinados que nas outras duas casas; quase, porém, que se lhes não podia ouvir as vozes, tantas e tão estrondosas eram as pragas que soltavam ao mesmo tempo. De quando em quando, de entre o grosso e macho vozear dos homens, esguichava um falsete feminino, tão estridente que provocava réplica aos papagaios e aos perus da vizinhança. E, daqui e dali, iam rebentando novas algazarras em grupos formados cá e lá pela estalagem. Havia nos operários e nos trabalhadores decidida disposição para pandegar, para aproveitar bem, até ao fim, aquele dia de folga. A casa de pasto fermentava revolucionada, como um estômago de bêbado depois de grande bródio, e arrotava sobre o pátio uma baforada quente e ruidosa que entontecia.

(Aluísio Azevedo, O Cortiço.)

Texto para a questão

— A excelentíssima, declarou Seu Ribeiro, entende de escrituração.
Seu Ribeiro morava aqui, trabalhava comigo, mas não gostava de mim. Creio que não gostava de ninguém. Tudo nele se voltava para o lugarejo que se transformou em cidade e que tinha, há meio século, bolandeira, terços, candeias de azeite e adivinhações em noites de São João. Com mais de setenta anos, andava a pé, de preferência pelas veredas. E só falava ao telefone constrangido. Odiava a época em que vivia, mas tirava-se de dificuldades empregando uns modos cerimoniosos e expressões que hoje não se usam. O reduzido calor que ainda guardava servia para aquecer aqueles livros grossos, de cantos e lombadas de couro. Escrevia neles com amor lançamentos complicados, e gastava quinze minutos para abrir um título, em letras grandes e curvas, um pouco trêmulas, as iniciais cheias de enfeites.
— Entende muito, continuou. E embora eu não concorde integralmente com o método que preconiza, reconheço que poderá, querendo, encarregar-se da escrita.
— Obrigada.
— Não há de quê. A excelentíssima conhece a matéria e tem caligrafia. Eu sou uma ruína. Qualquer dia destes...

(Graciliano Ramos, São Bernardo.)

Texto para a questão

— A excelentíssima, declarou Seu Ribeiro, entende de escrituração.
Seu Ribeiro morava aqui, trabalhava comigo, mas não gostava de mim. Creio que não gostava de ninguém. Tudo nele se voltava para o lugarejo que se transformou em cidade e que tinha, há meio século, bolandeira, terços, candeias de azeite e adivinhações em noites de São João. Com mais de setenta anos, andava a pé, de preferência pelas veredas. E só falava ao telefone constrangido. Odiava a época em que vivia, mas tirava-se de dificuldades empregando uns modos cerimoniosos e expressões que hoje não se usam. O reduzido calor que ainda guardava servia para aquecer aqueles livros grossos, de cantos e lombadas de couro. Escrevia neles com amor lançamentos complicados, e gastava quinze minutos para abrir um título, em letras grandes e curvas, um pouco trêmulas, as iniciais cheias de enfeites.
— Entende muito, continuou. E embora eu não concorde integralmente com o método que preconiza, reconheço que poderá, querendo, encarregar-se da escrita.
— Obrigada.
— Não há de quê. A excelentíssima conhece a matéria e tem caligrafia. Eu sou uma ruína. Qualquer dia destes...

(Graciliano Ramos, São Bernardo.)

Texto para a questão

— A excelentíssima, declarou Seu Ribeiro, entende de escrituração.
Seu Ribeiro morava aqui, trabalhava comigo, mas não gostava de mim. Creio que não gostava de ninguém. Tudo nele se voltava para o lugarejo que se transformou em cidade e que tinha, há meio século, bolandeira, terços, candeias de azeite e adivinhações em noites de São João. Com mais de setenta anos, andava a pé, de preferência pelas veredas. E só falava ao telefone constrangido. Odiava a época em que vivia, mas tirava-se de dificuldades empregando uns modos cerimoniosos e expressões que hoje não se usam. O reduzido calor que ainda guardava servia para aquecer aqueles livros grossos, de cantos e lombadas de couro. Escrevia neles com amor lançamentos complicados, e gastava quinze minutos para abrir um título, em letras grandes e curvas, um pouco trêmulas, as iniciais cheias de enfeites.
— Entende muito, continuou. E embora eu não concorde integralmente com o método que preconiza, reconheço que poderá, querendo, encarregar-se da escrita.
— Obrigada.
— Não há de quê. A excelentíssima conhece a matéria e tem caligrafia. Eu sou uma ruína. Qualquer dia destes...

(Graciliano Ramos, São Bernardo.)

Considere as seguintes comparações:

A personagem seu Ribeiro, tal como aparece no texto, e a célebre personagem José Dias, de Dom Casmurro, de Machado de Assis,

I) têm, ambas, a mania do superlativo, que empregam como modo de compensar imaginariamente a condição subalterna e a dificuldade para formar juízo autônomo;
II) diferenciam-se, na medida em que seu Ribeiro é um empregado assalariado, ao passo que José Dias é um agregado e, como tal, inteiramente dependente do favor dos proprietários;
III) valem-se igualmente da bajulação ou do elogio desprovido de fundamento real e de sinceridade, como meio de alcançar as boas graças dos proprietários.

Texto para a questão

— A excelentíssima, declarou Seu Ribeiro, entende de escrituração.
Seu Ribeiro morava aqui, trabalhava comigo, mas não gostava de mim. Creio que não gostava de ninguém. Tudo nele se voltava para o lugarejo que se transformou em cidade e que tinha, há meio século, bolandeira, terços, candeias de azeite e adivinhações em noites de São João. Com mais de setenta anos, andava a pé, de preferência pelas veredas. E só falava ao telefone constrangido. Odiava a época em que vivia, mas tirava-se de dificuldades empregando uns modos cerimoniosos e expressões que hoje não se usam. O reduzido calor que ainda guardava servia para aquecer aqueles livros grossos, de cantos e lombadas de couro. Escrevia neles com amor lançamentos complicados, e gastava quinze minutos para abrir um título, em letras grandes e curvas, um pouco trêmulas, as iniciais cheias de enfeites.
— Entende muito, continuou. E embora eu não concorde integralmente com o método que preconiza, reconheço que poderá, querendo, encarregar-se da escrita.
— Obrigada.
— Não há de quê. A excelentíssima conhece a matéria e tem caligrafia. Eu sou uma ruína. Qualquer dia destes...

(Graciliano Ramos, São Bernardo.)

Texto para a questão

Por que o senhor não escreve coisas poéticas, soltas, gostosas? As crônicas, antigamente, nos deixavam mais leves, de bem com a vida e o mundo. Agora, tudo o que a gente lê nos leva para baixo. Está difícil de suportar. Escrevo na manhã de um domingo. Sete horas. Aquele sol que nos tem castigado, começava a dar sinais de ardência profunda. Olhei pela porta de vidro do terraço e descobri, maravilhado e feliz, que a pitangueira plantada em vaso, que chegou há dois anos, estava repleta de frutos vermelhos, reluzentes, envernizados. Os primeiros. Fiquei admirado. Os pássaros não tinham descoberto? Aquelas frutinhas tinham se salvado? Chupei uma, duas três, queria todas, mas precisava guardar para a família, afinal, eram as primeiras. Pitanga, coisa de infância, do interior. Uma das frutas mais sofisticadas do Brasil, a meu ver. Antigamente, quando viajávamos pela Varig, ao sair do Recife, recebíamos um copo de suco fresco de pitanga, perfumado. Dia desses, Maria Eduarda, amiga pernambucana, me disse: “Você está chegando aqui, sabemos que gosta de vinhos. Que vinho prefere?”. E eu: “Nenhum! Quero suco de pitanga”. Maria Eduarda: “Pois vai tomar das pitangas do pomar de meu pai, Cornélio”. Foi uma celebração!
Esta é a pitada de poesia que encontrei neste momento. Mas ficaram em minha mente essas perguntas cotidianas que todos estão fazendo. Ouço no dia a dia, pela manhã ao comprar o pão e o leite, no supermercado, no bar, numa escola, na livraria, ao entrar no cinema. Ouvi agora, ao percorrer cinco cidades do litoral (...). Jovens e mais velhos, acreditando que o escritor tem as respostas, me olhavam: “O senhor acha que a gente sai dessa?”. Só consegui dizer: “Não sei e acho que ninguém sabe”.

(Ignácio de Loyola Brandão, O Estado de S. Paulo, 2 out. 2015.)

Texto para a questão

Por que o senhor não escreve coisas poéticas, soltas, gostosas? As crônicas, antigamente, nos deixavam mais leves, de bem com a vida e o mundo. Agora, tudo o que a gente lê nos leva para baixo. Está difícil de suportar. Escrevo na manhã de um domingo. Sete horas. Aquele sol que nos tem castigado, começava a dar sinais de ardência profunda. Olhei pela porta de vidro do terraço e descobri, maravilhado e feliz, que a pitangueira plantada em vaso, que chegou há dois anos, estava repleta de frutos vermelhos, reluzentes, envernizados. Os primeiros. Fiquei admirado. Os pássaros não tinham descoberto? Aquelas frutinhas tinham se salvado? Chupei uma, duas três, queria todas, mas precisava guardar para a família, afinal, eram as primeiras. Pitanga, coisa de infância, do interior. Uma das frutas mais sofisticadas do Brasil, a meu ver. Antigamente, quando viajávamos pela Varig, ao sair do Recife, recebíamos um copo de suco fresco de pitanga, perfumado. Dia desses, Maria Eduarda, amiga pernambucana, me disse: “Você está chegando aqui, sabemos que gosta de vinhos. Que vinho prefere?”. E eu: “Nenhum! Quero suco de pitanga”. Maria Eduarda: “Pois vai tomar das pitangas do pomar de meu pai, Cornélio”. Foi uma celebração!
Esta é a pitada de poesia que encontrei neste momento. Mas ficaram em minha mente essas perguntas cotidianas que todos estão fazendo. Ouço no dia a dia, pela manhã ao comprar o pão e o leite, no supermercado, no bar, numa escola, na livraria, ao entrar no cinema. Ouvi agora, ao percorrer cinco cidades do litoral (...). Jovens e mais velhos, acreditando que o escritor tem as respostas, me olhavam: “O senhor acha que a gente sai dessa?”. Só consegui dizer: “Não sei e acho que ninguém sabe”.

(Ignácio de Loyola Brandão, O Estado de S. Paulo, 2 out. 2015.)

Texto para a questão

Por que o senhor não escreve coisas poéticas, soltas, gostosas? As crônicas, antigamente, nos deixavam mais leves, de bem com a vida e o mundo. Agora, tudo o que a gente lê nos leva para baixo. Está difícil de suportar. Escrevo na manhã de um domingo. Sete horas. Aquele sol que nos tem castigado, começava a dar sinais de ardência profunda. Olhei pela porta de vidro do terraço e descobri, maravilhado e feliz, que a pitangueira plantada em vaso, que chegou há dois anos, estava repleta de frutos vermelhos, reluzentes, envernizados. Os primeiros. Fiquei admirado. Os pássaros não tinham descoberto? Aquelas frutinhas tinham se salvado? Chupei uma, duas três, queria todas, mas precisava guardar para a família, afinal, eram as primeiras. Pitanga, coisa de infância, do interior. Uma das frutas mais sofisticadas do Brasil, a meu ver. Antigamente, quando viajávamos pela Varig, ao sair do Recife, recebíamos um copo de suco fresco de pitanga, perfumado. Dia desses, Maria Eduarda, amiga pernambucana, me disse: “Você está chegando aqui, sabemos que gosta de vinhos. Que vinho prefere?”. E eu: “Nenhum! Quero suco de pitanga”. Maria Eduarda: “Pois vai tomar das pitangas do pomar de meu pai, Cornélio”. Foi uma celebração!
Esta é a pitada de poesia que encontrei neste momento. Mas ficaram em minha mente essas perguntas cotidianas que todos estão fazendo. Ouço no dia a dia, pela manhã ao comprar o pão e o leite, no supermercado, no bar, numa escola, na livraria, ao entrar no cinema. Ouvi agora, ao percorrer cinco cidades do litoral (...). Jovens e mais velhos, acreditando que o escritor tem as respostas, me olhavam: “O senhor acha que a gente sai dessa?”. Só consegui dizer: “Não sei e acho que ninguém sabe”.

(Ignácio de Loyola Brandão, O Estado de S. Paulo, 2 out. 2015.)

Texto para a questão

Por que o senhor não escreve coisas poéticas, soltas, gostosas? As crônicas, antigamente, nos deixavam mais leves, de bem com a vida e o mundo. Agora, tudo o que a gente lê nos leva para baixo. Está difícil de suportar. Escrevo na manhã de um domingo. Sete horas. Aquele sol que nos tem castigado, começava a dar sinais de ardência profunda. Olhei pela porta de vidro do terraço e descobri, maravilhado e feliz, que a pitangueira plantada em vaso, que chegou há dois anos, estava repleta de frutos vermelhos, reluzentes, envernizados. Os primeiros. Fiquei admirado. Os pássaros não tinham descoberto? Aquelas frutinhas tinham se salvado? Chupei uma, duas três, queria todas, mas precisava guardar para a família, afinal, eram as primeiras. Pitanga, coisa de infância, do interior. Uma das frutas mais sofisticadas do Brasil, a meu ver. Antigamente, quando viajávamos pela Varig, ao sair do Recife, recebíamos um copo de suco fresco de pitanga, perfumado. Dia desses, Maria Eduarda, amiga pernambucana, me disse: “Você está chegando aqui, sabemos que gosta de vinhos. Que vinho prefere?”. E eu: “Nenhum! Quero suco de pitanga”. Maria Eduarda: “Pois vai tomar das pitangas do pomar de meu pai, Cornélio”. Foi uma celebração!
Esta é a pitada de poesia que encontrei neste momento. Mas ficaram em minha mente essas perguntas cotidianas que todos estão fazendo. Ouço no dia a dia, pela manhã ao comprar o pão e o leite, no supermercado, no bar, numa escola, na livraria, ao entrar no cinema. Ouvi agora, ao percorrer cinco cidades do litoral (...). Jovens e mais velhos, acreditando que o escritor tem as respostas, me olhavam: “O senhor acha que a gente sai dessa?”. Só consegui dizer: “Não sei e acho que ninguém sabe”.

(Ignácio de Loyola Brandão, O Estado de S. Paulo, 2 out. 2015.)

Texto para a questão

GERAÇÃO Z DESAFIA MERCADO

Eles já nasceram plugados e não conhecem a vida offline. São generalistas, não gostam de hierarquia e querem fazer o próprio horário. Diferentes dos profissionais das gerações X e Y, valorizam mais a qualidade de vida ao poder aquisitivo. Empresas têm grande desafio para se adaptar e reter essa mão de obra. Esse é o perfil dos jovens que nasceram depois de 1995 e começam a entrar agora no mercado de trabalho.

(Destak. 22 fev. 2016. Adaptado.)

Texto para a questão

GERAÇÃO Z DESAFIA MERCADO

Eles já nasceram plugados e não conhecem a vida offline. São generalistas, não gostam de hierarquia e querem fazer o próprio horário. Diferentes dos profissionais das gerações X e Y, valorizam mais a qualidade de vida ao poder aquisitivo. Empresas têm grande desafio para se adaptar e reter essa mão de obra. Esse é o perfil dos jovens que nasceram depois de 1995 e começam a entrar agora no mercado de trabalho.

(Destak. 22 fev. 2016. Adaptado.)

Um investidor brasileiro analisa duas opções de aplicação de seu capital em reais por um ano:

1^a. opção: Aplicar o capital em reais no Brasil ganhando 15% ao ano.
2^a. opção: Converter seu capital de reais para dólares, aplicar o valor obtido nos EUA por um ano à taxa de 2% ao ano e, em seguida, trocar os dólares por reais.

Considerando os dados abaixo:
• 1 dólar na data de aplicação vale A reais,
• 1 dólar na data do recebimento do montante vale B reais,

Um dos fatores do polinômio P(x) = x³ + 2x² – 5x – 6 é (x + 3).

O número de quartos ocupados em um hotel varia de acordo com a época do ano. Estima-se que o número de quartos ocupados em cada mês de determinado ano seja dado por Q(x) = 150 + 30 cos em que x é estabelecido da seguinte forma: x = 1 representa o mês de janeiro, x = 2 representa o mês de fevereiro, x = 3 representa o mês de março, e assim por diante.

Em uma urna, há 4 bolas vermelhas e 5 bolas brancas. Sorteando-se sucessivamente 3 bolas sem reposição,

Um cinema cobra R$ 30,00 por ingresso. Estudantes e idosos pagam meia entrada, isto é, R$ 15,00 por ingresso. Para uma sessão, foram vendidos 300 ingressos e a receita correspondente foi R$ 7 200,00.

Dada a matriz B = e sabendo que a matriz é a matriz inversa da matriz A, podemos concluir que a matriz X, que satisfaz a equação matricial AX = B,

Uma progressão aritmética (PA) é constituída de 15 números inteiros com razão igual a 2.

Um automóvel 0 km é vendido por certo valor em 15/6/2016.
No dia 15/6 de cada ano, seu valor será 10% menor do que era no mesmo dia do ano anterior, isto é, desvaloriza-se 10% ao ano.

Em 2013, uma empresa exportou 600 mil dólares e, em 2014, exportou 650 mil dólares de um certo produto. Suponha que o gráfico das exportações y (em milhares de dólares) em função do ano x seja formado por pontos colineares.

No plano cartesiano, os pontos (x,y) que satisfazem a equação x² – 5x + 4 = 0

No plano cartesiano, a reta de equação 3x + 4y = 17 tangencia uma circunferência de centro no ponto (1,1).

Assinale a sentença

Um capital aplicado a juros compostos a uma certa taxa anual de juros dobra a cada 7 anos.

Uma empresa fabrica x unidades de uma peça de automóvel a um custo total mensal dado por C(x) = 10000 + a.x, em que 10 000 é o custo fixo e a é o custo variável por unidade.

Em janeiro foram fabricadas e vendidas 1 000 peças a um custo médio de R$ 60,00.

Se, em fevereiro, o preço de venda de cada peça for R$ 75,00, qual a quantidade mínima a ser fabricada e vendida para a empresa não ter prejuízo?

Uma loja reajustou em 20% o preço de certo modelo de televisão. Todavia, diante da queda nas vendas, a loja pretende dar um desconto sobre o preço reajustado de modo a voltar ao preço inicial.

O filme “O jogo da imitação" (2014) apresentou para o grande público a vida do matemático inglês Alan Turing, cujo trabalho, em missão confidencial junto ao comando de guerra britânico, foi fundamental para a vitória dos aliados na Segunda Guerra Mundial.

No Brasil, desde 1997, o sistema previdenciário é deficitário, o que obriga o Tesouro Nacional a cobrir o rombo.

Em julho de 2015, foi fechado um acordo nuclear entre o Irã e o grupo chamado “P5+1”: Estados Unidos, China, França, Reino Unido, Rússia e Alemanha. Entre os pontos do acordo, constam a limitação, em 98%, dos estoques de urânio enriquecido iraniano e o livre acesso de inspetores internacionais ao programa nuclear de Teerã, em troca do alívio das sanções internacionais impostas àquele país do Oriente Médio. Esse acordo não deixou a comunidade internacional indiferente, pois interfere nos equilíbrios regionais de poder ilustrados no mapa a seguir.

Em junho de 2015, o Papa Francisco tornou pública a encíclica Laudato sí (Louvado sejas), na qual trata do meio ambiente e da atual crise ecológica, conforme trecho a seguir.

48. O ambiente humano e o ambiente natural degradamse em conjunto; e não podemos enfrentar adequadamente a degradação ambiental, se não prestarmos atenção às causas que têm a ver com a degradação humana e social. De fato, a deterioração do meio ambiente e a da sociedade afetam de modo especial os mais frágeis do planeta: 'Tanto a experiência comum da vida quotidiana como a investigação científica demonstram que os efeitos mais graves de todas as agressões ambientais recaem sobre as pessoas mais pobres'. Por exemplo (...), a poluição da água afeta particularmente os mais pobres que não têm possibilidades de comprar água engarrafada, e a elevação do nível do mar afeta principalmente as populações costeiras mais pobres que não têm para onde se transferir. O impacto dos desequilíbrios atuais manifesta-se também na morte prematura de muitos pobres, nos conflitos gerados pela falta de recursos e em muitos outros problemas que não têm espaço suficiente nas agendas mundiais.

A foto a seguir apresenta uma cena do cotidiano paulistano.

Em 2009, o recorde de índice de congestionamento em São Paulo – 294 km de lentidão – foi quebrado duas vezes no mesmo dia. Ao longo da última década, 118 km de vias congestionadas têm sido a média diária da cidade nos horários de pico. Os paulistanos perdem, nos deslocamentos pendulares, o equivalente a 27 dias por ano.

Entre o final do século XX e o início do século XXI, a inserção do Brasil na economia globalizada se deu, em grande parte, por meio da cadeia produtiva do agronegócio, graças à sua forte participação no comércio internacional de commodities.

Com relação ao agronegócio brasileiro, assinale V para a afirmação verdadeira e F para a falsa.
( ) As inovações técnicas e organizacionais adotadas pela cadeia produtiva do agronegócio possibilitam o aumento da produtividade.
( ) O agronegócio integra as pequenas e médias propriedades às suas cadeias produtivas por meio da compra de sua produção.
( ) O agronegócio é responsável pela distribuição social da riqueza produzida no campo e pelo fim da estrutura fundiária concentrada.

A percepção da Amazônia, no Brasil e no mundo, é a da paisagem da floresta. Uma ideia pronta, baseada na magnitude de sua natureza.

A esse respeito, analise as afirmações a seguir.
I A imagem recorrente da Amazônia a divulga como espaço de domínio da floresta equatorial, imbricada a elementos como o clima e a hidrografia.
II A concepção predominante da Amazônia privilegia o quadro natural anterior à presença do homem e tende a desconsiderar seus processos históricos e suas identidades culturais.
III A ideia difundida da Amazônia como reservatório natural está relacionada aos interesses existentes na exploração de sua biodiversidade.

No Brasil, a criação de uma estrutura institucional para lidar com o tráfico internacional ilegal de drogas e com a lavagem de dinheiro é recente. A partir do final da década de 1990, o governo federal começou a estruturar os sistemas de controle sobre essas atividades, com base na ideia de que as operações ilícitas são problemas comuns dos estados nacionais e que só podem ser resolvidos de forma sistêmica.

No Brasil, o processo de reestruturação produtiva tem gerado um debate sobre terceirização das atividades industriais e suas repercussões na legislação trabalhista.
A esse respeito, analise as afirmações a seguir.
I Em geral, as grandes empresas adotam a terceirização para se concentrar em sua atividade-fim, destinando as tarefas secundárias e suplementares para as pequenas e médias empresas.
II. Os movimentos sindicais denunciam que o processo de terceirização, entre outros problemas, ameaça direitos trabalhistas já conquistados.
III. Os empresários afirmam que a terceirização garante maior competitividade, porque aumenta a produtividade e reduz os custos.

A Geografia dos Transportes estuda os sistemas de movimento do território, isto é, o conjunto de sistemas de engenharia e de fluxos materiais ou imateriais que respondem pela ligação entre os lugares.

Na primeira metade da década de 1980, começaram a surgir as propostas iniciais de política anti-inflacionária alternativa. Esses estudos constituíram o pano de fundo para o Plano Cruzado, lançado em 1986. Em 1994, o Plano Real enfim conseguiria domar a inflação. No intervalo desses dois planos, houve uma sucessão de outros (...).

Hitler referia-se frequentemente à necessidade da guerra, oscilando do ponto de vista mítico ao do estrategista militar (...) e toda sua concepção de política se apoiava sobre a necessidade histórica de assegurar ao povo alemão seu espaço vital. Como o espaço vital sempre fora conservado ou conquistado pela luta, não via outra alternativa senão fazer uso ‘defensivo’ da guerra, que seria o ‘objetivo derradeiro da política’.

Reverendo padre reitor, eu, Manoel Beckman, como procurador eleito por aquele povo aqui presente, venho intimar a vossa reverência, e mais religiosos assistentes no Maranhão, como justamente alterados pelas vexações que padece por terem vossas paternidades o governo temporal dos índios das aldeias, se tem resolvido a lançá-los fora assim do espiritual como do temporal, então e não tem falta ao mau exemplo de sua vida, que por esta parte não tem do que se queixar de vossas paternidades; portanto, notifico a alterado povo, que se deixem estar recolhidos ao Colégio, e não saiam para fora dele para evitar alterações e mortes, que por aquela via se poderiam ocasionar; e entretanto ponham vossas paternidades cobro em seus bens e fazendas, para deixá-las em mãos de seus procuradores que lhes forem dados, e estejam aparelhados para o todo tempo e hora se embarcarem para Pernambuco, em embarcações que para este efeito lhes forem concedidas.

Em um dos diálogos da peça intitulada Henrique VIII, de William Shakespeare, encenada em 1613, a rainha católica Catarina, primeira esposa do rei, desabafava:

Mesmo aqui poderemos falar, pois, em consciência, até hoje nada fiz que não pudesse revelar francamente em qualquer parte. Prouvera ao céu que todas as mulheres pudessem declarar a mesma coisa com igual liberdade. Meus senhores, uma felicidade sempre tive: isso de não ligar nunca importância ao fato de meus gestos comentados serem por toda a gente, de ficarem sob a vista de todos, e como alvo dos ataques da inveja e da calúnia, tão certa me acho de ter vida limpa. Se vindes para examinar a minha conduta como esposa, sede francos. Sempre a verdade ama linguagem rude.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ANTI-SEMITISM

1 In one Jewish school in London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have increased patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
2 Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt antiSemitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
3 Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.
4 The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529 in 2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise in 2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
5 That has much to do with events elsewhere in the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence in the Middle East. A sharp rise in 2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise in 2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
6 The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes in the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.

Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

ZEBRAS
Lesley Evans Ogden

Why zebras have stripes has long perplexed naturalists and continues to challenge scientists. Among the proposed explanations are that stripes promote social cohesion, regulate temperature, or confuse predators and biting flies. The matter, however, is far from settled.
2 Ecologist Brenda Larison of the University of California, Los Angeles, and six colleagues decided to have a fresh look at three hypotheses: predator evasion, thermoregulation, and biting fly avoidance. Plains zebras, Equus quagga, show a marked geographic variation in their stripes, which range from heavy black-and-white patterns covering the entire body to thinner, lighter stripes restricted to particular areas. For example, a now extinct subspecies from South Africa, E. q. quagga, had stripes on its neck, head, and torso but not on its belly or legs. The difference from region to region prompted the team to search for associations between environmental factors and striping patterns.
3 The researchers chose sixteen populations of plains zebras and photographed a minimum of eight animals per site. Using image-processing software, they noted the number of stripes and their length, thickness, and color saturation on the legs, torso, and belly. They also gathered data on twenty-nine environmental variables, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, leaf water content, and tree canopy cover. In addition, they used the Food and Agricultural Organization’s published distribution of tsetse flies and modeled the historic geographic distribution of lions and tsetse flies. The team then ran a computer model and looked at which variables best predicted the observed geographic variation of stripes.
4 Surprisingly, they found no clear link between striping patterns and escape from predators or avoidance of biting flies. Instead, temperature was the strongest predictor of stripe variation. Plains zebras living in warmer regions had thicker, more defined stripes than those in cooler regions. This, say the authors, seems to support the idea that contrasting black and white stripes lead to differential air currents, potentially giving the zebras an onboard air conditioner. Such a mechanism has previously been proposed but still remains to be investigated directly. Another untested possibility is that it’s not tsetse fly distribution that matters, but rather the distribution of the disease-causing parasites carried by the flies. “It’s something I want to follow up on,” says Larison, who is also studying the genetics that underlies zebra striping.
5 “We usually think about zebra stripes in terms of benefits of striping, but the fact that they lose their striping in certain areas suggests that perhaps there are also some costs,” she says. The mystery of zebra stripes is still being resolved, but for now, one possible explanation has been seriously considered.

Adapted from Natural History, March 2015.

Estudiosos de Dom Casmurro, tais como Roberto Schwarz e John Gledson, identificam, na personagem Capitu, um conjunto de impulsos ou tendências modernizantes, que se contrapõe à ordem patriarcal ainda vigente no contexto social em que se passa a história.

Não obstante as diferenças estéticas e cronológicas existentes entre Capitães da Areia (1937), São Bernardo (1934) e A rosa do povo (1945), determinadas características desses livros — tais como a ênfase na opressão, no medo, na crueldade etc. —

Texto para a questão

(...) Eis aí meu canto.

Ele é tão baixo que sequer o escuta
ouvido rente ao chão. Mas é tão alto
que as pedras o absorvem. Está na mesa
aberta em livros, cartas e remédios.
Na parede infiltrou-se. O bonde, a rua,
o uniforme de colégio se transformam,
são ondas de carinho te envolvendo.

Como fugir ao mínimo objeto
ou recusar-se ao grande? Os temas passam,
eu sei que passarão, mas tu resistes,
e cresces como fogo, como casa,
como orvalho entre dedos,
na grama, que repousam.

Já agora te sigo a toda parte,
e te desejo e te perco, estou completo,
me destino, me faço tão sublime, tão natural e cheio de segredos,
tão firme, tão fiel... Tal uma lâmina,
o povo, meu poema, te atravessa.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade. A rosa do povo.

Texto para a questão

(...) Eis aí meu canto.

Ele é tão baixo que sequer o escuta
ouvido rente ao chão. Mas é tão alto
que as pedras o absorvem. Está na mesa
aberta em livros, cartas e remédios.
Na parede infiltrou-se. O bonde, a rua,
o uniforme de colégio se transformam,
são ondas de carinho te envolvendo.

Como fugir ao mínimo objeto
ou recusar-se ao grande? Os temas passam,
eu sei que passarão, mas tu resistes,
e cresces como fogo, como casa,
como orvalho entre dedos,
na grama, que repousam.

Já agora te sigo a toda parte,
e te desejo e te perco, estou completo,
me destino, me faço tão sublime, tão natural e cheio de segredos,
tão firme, tão fiel... Tal uma lâmina,
o povo, meu poema, te atravessa.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade. A rosa do povo.

Texto para a questão

(...) Um dia, passado muito tempo, Pedro Bala ia com o Sem-Pernas pelas ruas. Entraram numa igreja da Piedade, gostavam de ver as coisas de ouro, mesmo era fácil bater uma bolsa de uma senhora que rezasse. Mas não havia nenhuma senhora na igreja àquela hora. Somente um grupo de meninos pobres e um capuchinho que lhes ensinava catecismo.
— É Pirulito... — disse Sem-Pernas.
Pedro Bala ficou olhando. Encolheu os ombros:
— Que adianta?
Sem-Pernas olhou:
— Não dá de comer...
— Um dia vai ser padre também. Tem que ser é tudo junto.
Sem-Pernas disse:
— A bondade não basta.
Completou:
— Só o ódio...
Pirulito não os via. Com uma paciência e uma bondade extremas ensinava às crianças buliçosas as lições de catecismo. Os dois Capitães da Areia saíram balançando a cabeça. Pedro Bala botou a mão no ombro do Sem-Pernas.
— Nem o ódio, nem a bondade. Só a luta.
A voz bondosa de Pirulito atravessa a igreja. A voz de ódio do Sem-Pernas estava junto de Pedro Bala. Mas ele não ouvia nenhuma. Ouvia era a voz de João de Adão, o doqueiro, a voz de seu pai morrendo na luta.

Jorge Amado, Capitães da Areia.

Texto para a questão

(...) Um dia, passado muito tempo, Pedro Bala ia com o Sem-Pernas pelas ruas. Entraram numa igreja da Piedade, gostavam de ver as coisas de ouro, mesmo era fácil bater uma bolsa de uma senhora que rezasse. Mas não havia nenhuma senhora na igreja àquela hora. Somente um grupo de meninos pobres e um capuchinho que lhes ensinava catecismo.
— É Pirulito... — disse Sem-Pernas.
Pedro Bala ficou olhando. Encolheu os ombros:
— Que adianta?
Sem-Pernas olhou:
— Não dá de comer...
— Um dia vai ser padre também. Tem que ser é tudo junto.
Sem-Pernas disse:
— A bondade não basta.
Completou:
— Só o ódio...
Pirulito não os via. Com uma paciência e uma bondade extremas ensinava às crianças buliçosas as lições de catecismo. Os dois Capitães da Areia saíram balançando a cabeça. Pedro Bala botou a mão no ombro do Sem-Pernas.
— Nem o ódio, nem a bondade. Só a luta.
A voz bondosa de Pirulito atravessa a igreja. A voz de ódio do Sem-Pernas estava junto de Pedro Bala. Mas ele não ouvia nenhuma. Ouvia era a voz de João de Adão, o doqueiro, a voz de seu pai morrendo na luta.

Jorge Amado, Capitães da Areia.

Texto para a questão

(...) Um dia, passado muito tempo, Pedro Bala ia com o Sem-Pernas pelas ruas. Entraram numa igreja da Piedade, gostavam de ver as coisas de ouro, mesmo era fácil bater uma bolsa de uma senhora que rezasse. Mas não havia nenhuma senhora na igreja àquela hora. Somente um grupo de meninos pobres e um capuchinho que lhes ensinava catecismo.
— É Pirulito... — disse Sem-Pernas.
Pedro Bala ficou olhando. Encolheu os ombros:
— Que adianta?
Sem-Pernas olhou:
— Não dá de comer...
— Um dia vai ser padre também. Tem que ser é tudo junto.
Sem-Pernas disse:
— A bondade não basta.
Completou:
— Só o ódio...
Pirulito não os via. Com uma paciência e uma bondade extremas ensinava às crianças buliçosas as lições de catecismo. Os dois Capitães da Areia saíram balançando a cabeça. Pedro Bala botou a mão no ombro do Sem-Pernas.
— Nem o ódio, nem a bondade. Só a luta.
A voz bondosa de Pirulito atravessa a igreja. A voz de ódio do Sem-Pernas estava junto de Pedro Bala. Mas ele não ouvia nenhuma. Ouvia era a voz de João de Adão, o doqueiro, a voz de seu pai morrendo na luta.

Jorge Amado, Capitães da Areia.

Texto para a questão

À margem de Memórias de um sargento de milícias

É difícil associar à impressão deixada por essa obra divertida e leve a ideia de um destino trágico. Foi, entretanto, o que coube a Manuel Antônio de Almeida, nascido em 1831 e morto em 1861. A simples justaposição dessas duas datas é bastante reveladora: mais alguns dados, os poucos de que dispomos, apenas servem para carregar nas cores, para tornar a atmosfera do quadro mais deprimente. Que é que cabe num prazo tão curto?
Uma vida toda em movimento, uma série tumultuosa de lutas, malogros e reerguimentos, as reações de uma vontade forte contra os golpes da fatalidade, os heroicos esforços de ascensão de um self-made man esmagado pelas circunstâncias. Ignoramos quase totalmente seus começos de menino pobre, mas talvez seja possível reconstruí-los em parte pelas cenas tão vivas em que apresenta o garoto Leonardo lançado de chofre nas ruas pitorescas da indolente cidadezinha que era o Rio daquela época. Basta enumerar todas as profissões que o escritor exerceu em seguida para adivinhar o ambiente. Estudante na Escola de Belas-Artes e na Faculdade de Medicina, jornalista e tradutor, membro fundador da Sociedade das Belas-Artes, administrador da Tipografia Nacional, diretor da Academia Imperial da Ópera Nacional, Manuel Antônio provavelmente não se teria candidatado ainda a uma cadeira da Assembleia Provincial se suas ocupações sucessivas lhe garantissem uma renda proporcional ao brilho de seus títulos. Achava-se justamente a caminho da “sua” circunscrição, quando, depois de tantos naufrágios no sentido figurado, pereceu num naufrágio concreto, deixando saudades a um reduzido círculo de amigos, um medíocre libreto de ópera e algumas traduções, do francês, de romances de cordel, aos pesquisadores de curiosidade, e as Memórias de um sargento de milícias ao seu país.

Paulo Rónai, Encontros com o Brasil.
Rio de Janeiro: Edições de Janeiro, 2014.