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➧ INSTRUÇÃO: Text to answer questions from 01 and 02.
Heatwaves are killing people
In recent days heatwaves have turned swathes of America and Europe into furnaces. Despite the accompanying blast of headlines, the implications of such extreme heat are often overlooked or underplayed. Spectacular images of hurricanes or floods grab attention more readily, yet heatwaves can cause more deaths. Heat is one of climate change’s deadliest manifestations. Sometimes its impact is unmistakable — a heatwave in Europe in 2003 is estimated to have claimed 70,000 lives. More often, though, heatwaves are treated like the two in the Netherlands in 2018. In just over three weeks, around 300 more people died than would normally be expected at that time of year. This was dismissed as a “minor rise” by officials. But had those people died in a flood, it would have been front-page news.
The havoc caused by extreme heat does not get the attention it merits for several reasons. The deaths tend to be more widely dispersed and do not involve the devastation of property as do the ravages of wind and water. Moreover, deaths are not usually directly attributable to heatstroke. Soaring temperatures just turn pre-existing conditions such as heart problems or lung disease lethal.
Heatwaves will inevitably attract more attention as they become more frequent. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, not only will temperatures rise overall but extremes of heat will occur more frequently. Britain’s Met Office calculates that by the 2040s European summers as hot as that of 2003 could be commonplace, regardless of how fast emissions are reduced. Urbanisation intensifies the risk to health: cities are hotter places than the surrounding countryside, and more people are moving into them.
The good news is that most fatalities are avoidable, if three sets of measures are put in place. First, people must be made aware that extreme heat can kill and warning systems established. Heatwaves can be predicted with reasonable accuracy, which means warnings can be given in advance advising people to stay indoors, seek cool areas and drink plenty of water. Smart use of social media can help. In 2017 a campaign on Facebook warning of the dangers of a heatwave in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, reached 3.9m people, nearly half the city’s population.
Second, cool shaded areas and fresh water should be made available. In poor places, air-conditioned community centres and schools can be kept open permanently. In Cape Town, spray parks have been installed to help people cool down. Third, new buildings must be designed to be resilient to the threat of extreme heat and existing ones adapted. White walls, roofs or tarpaulins, and extra vegetation in cities, all of which help prevent heat from building up, can be provided fairly cheaply. A programme to install “cool roofs” and insulation in Philadelphia reduced maximum indoor temperatures by 1.3˚C.
It is a cruel irony that, as with other effects of climate change, the places that are hardest hit by heatwaves can least afford to adapt. In poor countries, where climates are often hotter and more humid, public-health systems are weaker and preoccupied with other threats. Often, adaptation to extreme heat is done by charities if it is done at all. Particular attention should be paid to reaching both remote areas and densely populated urban ones, including slums where small dwellings with tin roofs packed together worsen the danger that uncomfortably high temperatures will become lethal.
Adaptation is not an alternative to cutting emissions; both are necessary. But even if net emissions are reduced to zero this century, the persistence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means that heatwaves will continue to get worse for decades to come. As the mercury rises, governments in rich and poor countries alike must do more to protect their populations from this very real and quietly deadly aspect of climate change.
Heatwaves are killing people. Available at: <www.economist.com>. Retrieved on: Aug. 22. 2019, with adaptations.
1 – (IADES-2019-DIPLOMATA-CACD-1ªFASE)
Considering the ideas and the vocabulary in the text, mark the following item as right (C) or wrong (E).
(1) In the first paragraph, the word “swathes”(line 1) can be correctly replaced with areas.
(2) In the first paragraph, the word “blast”(line 3) can be correctly replaced with number.
(3) Deaths caused by heatwaves do not shock people as much as deaths by other natural disasters do.
(4) Heatwaves are probably more lethal than floods.
__Gabarito: CECC__
(1) In the first paragraph, the word “swathes”(line 1) can be correctly replaced with areas.
➧ ITEM CORRETO – SWATHE = AREA, STRIP.
(a) Contextual Definition - SWATHE = LONG STRIP or LARGE AREA, especially of land. [Cambridge Dictionary]
(b) Contextual Synonym(s) - SWATHE = AREA, STRIP.
- In recent days heatwaves have turned swathes (=AREAS) of America and Europe into furnaces. – Nos últimos dias, ondas de calor transformaram áreas grandes da América e da Europa em fornos.
- Huge swathes (=AREAS) of rainforest are being cleared for farming and mining. – ÁREAS ENORMES de floresta tropical estão sendo desmatadas para agricultura e mineração. [Cambridge Dictionary]
- The combine had cut a swathe around the edge of the field. – A colheitadeira havia cortado uma FAIXA LONGA ao redor da borda do campo. [Oxford Dictionary]
(c) Definitions - SWATHE: [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/swathe]
- A swathe of land is a long strip of land.
- A swathe of cloth is a long strip of cloth.
- to wrap around or cover with cloth. - COBRIR COM PANO, EMBRULHAR COM UM PANO.
- I love to swathe (= dress) myself in silk. [Cambridge]
- He came out of the hospital swathed (= wrap) in bandages. [Cambridge]
(d) Idiom – CUT A SWATHE THOUGH - to destroy a large part of something or kill many of a group of people.[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cut-a-swathe-through]
- The storm cut a swathe through the village. – A tempestade CAUSOU UMA DESTRUIÇÃO GRANDE no povoado. [Cambridge]
- Building the tunnel would involve cutting a great swathe through the forest. – Construir o túnel envolveria UMA DESTRUIÇÃO GRANDE da floresta. [Collins]
(2) In the first paragraph, the word “blast”(line 3) can be correctly replaced with number.
➧ ITEM ERRADO – "BLAST OF HEADLINES" = EXPLOSÃO DE MANCHETE – TUMULTO/BURBURINHO/FANFARICE DE MANCHETES. Contextualmente, "blast of headlines" refere-se ao tumulto/burburinho/fanfarrice das manchetes e não o número das manchetes.
(3) Deaths caused by heatwaves do not shock people as much as deaths by other natural disasters do.
(As mortes causadas por ondas de calor não chocam tanto as pessoas quanto as mortes causadas por outros desastres naturais.)
- ITEM CORRETO conforme o trecho:
- "[...] Spectacular images of hurricanes or floods grab attention more readily,.."
- Imagens espetaculares de furacões ou inundações chamam a atenção mais rapidamente...
(4) Heatwaves are probably more lethal than floods.
(As ondas de calor são provavelmente mais letais do que as inundações.)
- ITEM CORRETO conforme o trecho:
- "[...] Spectacular images of hurricanes or floods grab attention more readily, yet heatwaves can cause more deaths."
- Imagens espetaculares de furacões ou inundações chamam a atenção mais rapidamente, mas as ondas de calor podem causar mais mortes.
02 – (IADES-2019-DIPLOMATA-CACD-1ªFASE)
Considering the ideas and the vocabulary in the text, mark the following item as right (C) or wrong (E).
(1) In the second paragraph, the words “havoc”(line 16) and “ravages”(line 19) both mean “extensive or devastating destruction”.
(2) The cause-effect relationship between heatwaves and deaths is not obvious.
(3) Not only do heatwaves kill immediately but they also lead to eventual deaths.
(4) Emissions need to be stopped if a heatwave like the one in 2003 is to be avoided
__Gabarito: CCCE__
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