In the sentence “It would be nice if teachers who work in the most challenging schools could be paid more.” (l. 43), the personal pronoun ‘it’ functions as an:
According to the Longman Grammar (Biber et al., 1999, p. 988), “collocations are associations between lexical words, so that the words co-occur more frequently than expected by chance”. This text presents several examples of collocations. The only exception is:
Modal verbs can be classifi ed into two major categories of meaning: epistemic and deontic. Epistemic modals refer to the logical status of events or states. The following alternatives are examples of epistemic modals. The only exception is:
Questions 46 through 50 present some problems English learners
usually have. Mark the correct alternative for each question.
Learners of English as a foreign language usually have
problems in distinguishing between oral and written English. Oral
language typically displays an unplanned and fragmented speech,
while written language usually presents a more elaborated and
planned speech. When correcting written assignments, teachers
should pay particular attention to the uses that are typically oral.
The alternatives below present examples of oral speech. The only
exception is:
Read the text below to answer questions 16-20.
Background
The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) started in
1948. Since that time, the NNPP has provided safe and effective
propulsion systems to power submarines, surface combatants,
and aircraft carriers. Today, nuclear propulsion enables virtually
undetectable US Navy submarines, including the sea-based leg
of the strategic triad, and provides essentially inexhaustible
propulsion power independent of forward logistical support to
both our submarines and aircraft carriers. Over forty percent of
the Navy's major combatant ships are nuclear-powered, and
because of their demonstrated safety and reliability, these ships
have access to seaports throughout the world. The NNPP has
consistently sought the best way to affordably meet Navy
requirements by evaluating, developing, and delivering a variety
of reactor types, fuel systems, and structural materials. The
Program has investigated many different fuel systems and
reactor design features, and has designed, built, and operated
over thirty different reactor designs in over twenty plant types to
employ the most promising of these developments in practical
applications. Improvements in naval reactor design have allowed
increased power and energy to keep pace with the operational
requirements of the modern nuclear fleet, while maintaining a
conservative design approach that ensures reliability and safety
to the crew, the public, and the environment. As just one
example of the progress that has been made, the earliest
reactor core designs in the NAUTILUS required refueling after
about two years while modern reactor cores can last the life of a
submarine, or over thirty years without refueling. These
improvements have been the result of prudent, conservative
engineering, backed by analysis, testing, and prototyping. The
NNPP was also a pioneer in developing basic technologies and
transferring technology to the civilian nuclear electric power
industry. For example, the Program demonstrated the feasibility
of commercial nuclear power generation in this country by
designing, constructing and operating the Shipping port Atomic
Power Station in Pennsylvania and showing the feasibility of a
thorium-based breeder reactor.
In: Report on Low Enriched Uranium for Naval Reactor Cores. Page 1.
Report to Congress, January 2014.
Office of Naval Reactors. US Dept. of Energy. DC 2058
http://fissilematerials.org/library/doe14.pdf
According to the text, choose the alternative that presents how long can modern reactor cores stay without refueling.
The word skittish, in the sentence of the text “With those
figures, it's no wonder that millennials are skittish when it
comes to credit cards" (lines 24 – 26), can be replaced, with
no change in meaning, by
It can be correctly deduced from the text that a court analyst
is supposed to work with the aim of maintaining the steady flow of the judicial process.
According to the text, judge the following items.
Being able to write well is a recommended ability for a court analyst.
According to the text, judge the following items.
In line 3, the expression “sifting through” means examining information or documents to find what one is looking for.
Based on the text, judge the items below
In line 3, “immediately” means soon after leaving.
According to the text, it can be correctly concluded that
some institutions teach basic clerical and administrative skills like word processing and database management.
According to the text, it can be correctly concluded that
technicians should have social skills.
Mining tourism in Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto is surrounded by a rich and varied natural
environment with waterfalls, hiking trails and native vegetation
partially protected as state parks. Parts of these resources are
used for tourism. Paradoxically, this ecosystem contrasts with the
human occupation of the region that produced, after centuries, a
rich history and a cultural connection to mining, its oldest
economic activity which triggered occupation. The region has an
unlimited potential for tourism, especially in specific segments
such as mining heritage tourism, in association or not with the
existing ecotourism market. In fact, in Ouro Preto, tourism,
history, geology and mining are often hard to distinguish; such is
the inter-relationship between these segments.
For centuries, a major problem of mining has been the reuse of
the affected areas. Modern mining projects proposed solutions to
this problem right from the initial stages of operation, which did
not happen until recently. As a result, most quarries and other
old mining areas that do not have an appropriate destination
represent serious environmental problems. Mining tourism
utilizing exhausted mines is a source of employment and income.
Tourism activities may even contribute to the recovery of
degraded areas in various ways, such as reforestation for leisure
purposes, or their transformation into history museums where
aspects of local mining are interpreted.
Minas Gerais, and particularly Ouro Preto, provides the strong
and rich cultural and historical content needed for the
transformation of mining remnants into attractive tourism
products, especially when combined with the existing cultural
tourism of the region. Although mining tourism is explored in
various parts of the world in extremely different social, economic,
cultural and natural contexts, in Brazil it is still not a strategy
readily adopted as an alternative for areas affected by mining
activities.
(Lohmann, G. M.; Flecha, A. C.; Knupp, M. E. C. G.; Liccardo, A.
(2011). Mining tourism in Ouro Preto, Brazil: opportunities and
challenges. In: M. V. Conlin; L. Jolliffe (eds). Mining heritage and
tourism: a global synthesis. New York: Routledge, pp. 194-202.)
The sentence that best explains “Mining tourism utilizing exhausted mines is a source of employment and income.” (l. 18-19) is:
TEXT 3
Sustainable mining – oxymoron or a way of the future?
Mining is an activity that has persisted since the start of humans
using tools. However, one might argue that digging a big hole in
the ground and selling the finite resources that come out of that
hole is not sustainable, especially when the digging involves the
use of other finite resources (i.e. fuels) and produces a lot of
greenhouse gases.
The counter argument could go along the lines that minerals are
not being lost or destroyed through mining and mineral
processing – the elements are being shifted around, and
converted into new forms. Metals can even be extracted from
waste, seawater or even sewage, and recycled. But a more simple
argument is possible: a mine can be sustainable if it is
economically, socially and environmentally beneficial in the short
and long term. To be sustainable, the positive benefits of mining
should outweigh any negative impacts. […]
Social positives are often associated with mines in regional areas,
such as providing better amenities in a nearby town, or providing
employment (an economic and social positive). Social negatives
can also occur, such as dust, noise, traffic and visual amenity.
These are commonly debated and, whilst sometimes
controversial, can be managed with sufficient corporate
commitment, stakeholder engagement, and enough time to work
through the issues. Time is the key parameter - it may take
several years for a respectful process of community input, but as
long as it is possible for social negatives to be outweighed by
social positives, then the project will be socially sustainable.
It is most likely that a mine development will have some
environmental negatives, such as direct impacts on flora and
fauna through clearing of vegetation and habitat within the mine
footprint. Some mines will have impacts which extend beyond
the mine site, such as disruption to groundwater, production of
silt and disposal of waste. Certainly these impacts will need to be
managed throughout the mine life, along with robust
rehabilitation and closure planning. […]
The real turning point will come when mining companies go
beyond environmental compliance to create 'heritage projects'
that can enhance the environmental or social benefits in a
substantial way – by more than the environmental offsets
needed just to make up for the negatives created by the mine. In
order to foster these innovative mining heritage projects we need
to promote 'sustainability assessments' - not just 'environmental
assessments'. This will lead to a more mature appreciation of the
whole system whereby the economic and social factors, as well as
environmental factors, are considered in a holistic manner.
(adapted from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/westernaustralia-division/sustainable-mining-oxymoron-or-way-future.
Retrieved on August 10, 2015)
As regards the content of Text 3, analyse the assertions below: I - It is well-known that the resources extracted from mines are endless. II - The social negative impacts of mining may be minimized as time goes by. III - Sustainable assessment has a wider field of action than environmental assessment. IV - There is agreement that negative impacts of mining are restricted to the site. The correct sentences are only:
Mining tourism in Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto is surrounded by a rich and varied natural
environment with waterfalls, hiking trails and native vegetation
partially protected as state parks. Parts of these resources are
used for tourism. Paradoxically, this ecosystem contrasts with the
human occupation of the region that produced, after centuries, a
rich history and a cultural connection to mining, its oldest
economic activity which triggered occupation. The region has an
unlimited potential for tourism, especially in specific segments
such as mining heritage tourism, in association or not with the
existing ecotourism market. In fact, in Ouro Preto, tourism,
history, geology and mining are often hard to distinguish; such is
the inter-relationship between these segments.
For centuries, a major problem of mining has been the reuse of
the affected areas. Modern mining projects proposed solutions to
this problem right from the initial stages of operation, which did
not happen until recently. As a result, most quarries and other
old mining areas that do not have an appropriate destination
represent serious environmental problems. Mining tourism
utilizing exhausted mines is a source of employment and income.
Tourism activities may even contribute to the recovery of
degraded areas in various ways, such as reforestation for leisure
purposes, or their transformation into history museums where
aspects of local mining are interpreted.
Minas Gerais, and particularly Ouro Preto, provides the strong
and rich cultural and historical content needed for the
transformation of mining remnants into attractive tourism
products, especially when combined with the existing cultural
tourism of the region. Although mining tourism is explored in
various parts of the world in extremely different social, economic,
cultural and natural contexts, in Brazil it is still not a strategy
readily adopted as an alternative for areas affected by mining
activities.
(Lohmann, G. M.; Flecha, A. C.; Knupp, M. E. C. G.; Liccardo, A.
(2011). Mining tourism in Ouro Preto, Brazil: opportunities and
challenges. In: M. V. Conlin; L. Jolliffe (eds). Mining heritage and
tourism: a global synthesis. New York: Routledge, pp. 194-202.)
The opposite of the underlined word in “are often hard to distinguish” (l. 11) is:
