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- 15 MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) | Five-Option Question |
There’s something faintly embarrassing about the 50th
anniversary of the first moonwalk.
Há algo de ligeiramente embaraçoso no 50º aniversário da primeira caminhada lunar.
It was just so long ago.
Foi há tanto tempo.
It’s
no longer “we” who put a man on the moon, it’s “they” who
put a man on the moon.
Já não fomos "nós" que colocamos um homem na Lua, foram "eles" que colocaram um homem na Lua.
So why can’t “we” do it?
Então, porque é que "nós" não podemos fazer isso?
It’s hard not
to feel that for all the technological advances of the last halfcentury, America has lost something — the ability to unite and
overcome long odds to achieve greatness.
É difícil não sentir que, apesar de todos os avanços tecnológicos do último meio século, os Estados Unidos perderam algo — a capacidade de se unirem e de ultrapassarem grandes obstáculos para alcançar a grandeza.
At one level, this is silly.
Em certo sentido, isso é insensato.
The U.S. stopped going to the
moon because Americans stopped seeing the point of it, not
because they stopped being capable of it.
Os EUA deixaram de ir à Lua porque os americanos deixaram de ver o sentido da viagem, não porque deixaram de ser capazes.
Still, the historic
Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs do have something to
teach us.
Ainda assim, os históricos programas Mercury, Gemini e Apollo têm algo para nos ensinar.
Months before the moon landing, the journal Science
wrote that the space program’s “most valuable spin-off of all
will be human rather than technological: better knowledge of
how to plan, coordinate and monitor the multitudinous and
varied activities of the organizations required to accomplish
great social undertakings.”
Meses antes da chegada à Lua, a revista Science escreveu que o "resultado mais valioso de todos" do programa espacial será humano, e não tecnológico: um melhor conhecimento de como planear, coordenar e monitorizar as inúmeras e variadas atividades das organizações necessárias para realizar grandes empreendimentos sociais.
So, here, lessons the Apollo has
left behind.
Portanto, aqui estão as lições que a Apollo deixou para trás.
1. ________ President John Kennedy simplified
NASA’s job with his 1961 address to Congress committing
to “the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on
the moon and returning him safely to Earth.”
O Presidente John Kennedy simplificou o trabalho da NASA com o seu discurso de 1961 ao Congresso, comprometendo-se com "o objetivo, antes do fim desta década, de aterrar um homem na Lua e trazê-lo de volta à Terra em segurança".
From then on,
any decision was made by whether it would aid or impede the
agency in meeting that deadline.
A partir de então, qualquer decisão era tomada com base no que ajudaria ou impediria a agência de cumprir esse prazo.
Experiments that were too
heavy were shelved, however valuable they might have been.
Experimentos muito pesados foram arquivados, por mais valiosos que fossem.
Technologies that were superior but not ready for deployment
were set aside.
Tecnologias superiores, mas não prontas para implantação, foram postas de lado.
Having a North Star to pursue was essential,
because skeptics and critics abounded.
Ter uma Estrela Polar para perseguir era essencial, porque os céticos e os críticos abundavam.
Amid protests over
the Vietnam war and race riots, NASA engineers kept their
heads down and their slide rules busy.
Por entre protestos contra a Guerra do Vietname e distúrbios raciais, os engenheiros da NASA mantiveram a cabeça baixa e as réguas de cálculo ocupadas.
2. Harness incongruence. In any large organization
there is pressure to suppress dissent. That can be deadly,
as it was for NASA in the two space shuttle failures —
Challenger and Columbia — each of which killed all seven
crew members. Leading up to both tragedies, the fact that
engineers grew concerned about a technical problem they did
not fully understand, but they could not make a quantitative
case; and were consequently ignored.
After the bad years of the shuttle disasters, the practice
of harnessing incongruence, and learning from mistakes,
has staged something of a revival at NASA, which has since
successfully sent unmanned craft to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Says Adam Stelzner, a NASA engineer, “Listen to all that the
problem has to say, do not make assumptions or commit to a
plan of action based on them until the deepest truth presents
itself”.
2. Aproveite a incongruência. Em qualquer grande organização, existe pressão para suprimir a dissidência. Isto pode ser fatal, como foi para a NASA nas duas falhas do vaivém — Challenger e Columbia —, cada uma das quais matou todos os sete tripulantes. A anteceder ambas as tragédias, o facto de os engenheiros se terem preocupado com um problema técnico que não compreendiam completamente, mas não conseguiam apresentar um caso quantitativo; e, consequentemente, foram ignorados. Após os maus anos dos desastres do vaivém espacial, a prática de aproveitar a incongruência e aprender com os erros encenou uma espécie de renascimento na NASA, que entretanto enviou com sucesso naves não tripuladas a Marte, Júpiter e Saturno. Adam Stelzner, engenheiro da NASA, afirma: "Ouçam tudo o que o problema tem para dizer, não façam suposições nem se comprometam com um plano de ação baseado nelas até que a verdade mais profunda se apresente".
3. Delegate but decide. NASA realized early on that it
needed help. About 90% of Apollo’s budget was spent on
contractors from the most varied places. NASA itself was,
therefore, more of a confederation than a single agency.
3.º Delegue, mas decida. A NASA percebeu logo no início que precisava de ajuda. Cerca de 90% do orçamento da Apollo foi gasto em empreiteiros dos mais diversos locais. A própria NASA era, portanto, mais uma confederação do que uma agência única.
With so many players involved, turf wars were
unavoidable. NASA Administrator James Webb coined the
phrase Space Age Management to describe how he tried to
manage conflicts and ensure final decisions were made by
headquarters. Unfortunately, Webb’s mastery of the complex
network was not as thorough as he believed. The death of
three astronauts during a routine test in 1967 was traced to
deficiencies Webb had been unaware of. Failure, in this case,
was as instructive as success.
Com tantos participantes envolvidos, as disputas territoriais eram inevitáveis. O administrador da NASA, James Webb, cunhou a expressão "Gestão da Era Espacial" para descrever a forma como tentava gerir os conflitos e garantir que as decisões finais eram tomadas pela sede. Infelizmente, o domínio de Webb sobre a complexa rede não era tão completo como ele acreditava. A morte de três astronautas durante um teste de rotina em 1967 foi atribuída a deficiências que Webb desconhecia. O fracasso, neste caso, foi tão instrutivo como o sucesso.
4. Effectiveness and elegance. Aesthetically, the Apollo
mission was poor. The module that touched down on the
moon looked like an oversize version of a kid’s cardboard
science project, all right angles and skinny legs. Apollo’s
return to Earth was equally unglamorous. The spaceship that
left the launch pad was awesome; what was, by plan, to be
rescued from the Pacific Ocean was a stubby cone weighing
just 0.2% of the majestic original. But what looks clunky and
awkward to an outsider may appear elegant to an engineer.
Engineering inelegance, by contrast, would be redesigning a
machine without fully anticipating the consequences.
4.º Eficácia e elegância. Esteticamente, a missão Apollo foi pobre. O módulo que aterrou na Lua parecia uma versão gigante de um projeto de ciências de cartão de uma criança, todo em ângulos retos e pernas finas. O regresso da Apollo à Terra foi igualmente sem glamour. A nave espacial que deixou a plataforma de lançamento foi impressionante; o que, segundo o plano, seria resgatado do Oceano Pacífico era um cone atarracado com apenas 0,2% do majestoso original. Mas o que parece desajeitado e desajeitado para um leigo pode parecer elegante para um engenheiro. A deselegância da engenharia, por outro lado, seria redesenhar uma máquina sem antecipar totalmente as consequências.
Most of the people alive today had not yet arrived on
the planet when Armstrong, Aldrin and Commander Michael
Collins returned to it after their historic voyage. Never mind,
though. The moon landing was a victory for all of the human
race, past, present, and future.
A maioria das pessoas vivas hoje ainda não tinha chegado ao planeta quando Armstrong, Aldrin e o Comandante Michael Collins regressaram após a sua viagem histórica. Mas não interessa. A chegada à Lua foi uma vitória para toda a raça humana, do passado, do presente e do futuro.
- (Peter Coy. www.bloomberg.com, 22.07.2019. Adapted.)
76 – The title which best summarizes the content of the text is:
(A) “Management messages from moon missions”
(B) “Moonflight stories of success revisited”
(C) “50 years gone by — what about the future of spaceships?”
(D) “Changes in America’s management practices”
(E) “Travelling safely through space”
• Gabarito A
The title which best summarizes the content of the text is:
O título que melhor resume o conteúdo do texto é:
(A) “Management messages from moon missions”
“Mensagens de gestão de missões lunares”
(B) “Moonflight stories of success revisited”
“Histórias de sucesso de voos lunares revisitadas”
(C) “50 years gone by — what about the future of spaceships?”
“Passaram 50 anos — e o futuro das naves espaciais?”
(D) “Changes in America’s management practices”
“Mudanças nas práticas de gestão dos Estados Unidos”
(E) “Travelling safely through space”
“Viajar em segurança pelo espaço”
77 – In the fragment from the first paragraph “It’s no longer ‘we’ who
put a man on the moon, it’s ‘they’ who put a man on the moon”, the underlined terms refer, respectively, to
(A) the Americans and the Russians, their rivals in the space
race at the time.
(B) the American people in general and the scientists working
for NASA.
(C) the America of today and the America five decades ago.
(D) the U.S. willing to go on with space programs, and the
U.S. giving them up.
(E) the Americans who are capable of breaking down barriers,
and the Americans who are not.
Comentários e Gabarito C
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
78 – The expression from the first paragraph “overcome long odds” means, in the context,
(A) accept differences.
(B) handle uncertainties.
(C) ignore age-old conflicts.
(D) prevail over adversities.
(E) join efforts.
Comentários e Gabarito D
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
79 – In the first and second paragraphs the author expresses his
opinion that
(A) the Americans made a wrong decision when they first
decided to stop flying to the moon.
(B) no fact of real relevance about space travel has taken
place after the first moonwalk.
(C) celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the first moonwalk
were, unhappily, unexpectedly disturbing.
(D) it may seem unbelievable but, with comparatively poorer
technology than today, U.S. could make moonwalk a
reality.
(E) America somewhat seems no longer able to come
together as a nation in pursuit of a major goal.
Comentários e Gabarito E
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
80 – In the excerpt from the second paragraph
- “The U.S. stopped going to the moon because Americans stopped seeing the point of it, not because they stopped being capable of it. Still, the historic Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs do have something to teach us”,
the underlined word establishes,
between the two sentences, a relation of
(A) time.
(B) contrast.
(C) complementation.
(D) cause and effect.
(E) purpose.
Comentários e Gabarito B
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
81 – In the fragment from the second paragraph “most valuable
spin-off of all will be human rather than technological”, the
underlined expression can be replaced, with no change in
meaning, by
(A) in spite of.
(B) in addition to.
(C) instead of.
(D) as much as.
(E) or else.
Comentários e Gabarito C
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
82 – Choose the alternative proposing the subtitle that would most
closely represent the content of item 1 (3rd paragraph).
(A) Have a clear objective.
(B) Fight skepticism and criticism.
(C) Work hard for your purposes.
(D) Decide with authority.
(E) Follow your intuitions.
Comentários e Gabarito A
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
83 – The expression “that deadline”, in the third paragraph, refers
to
(A) the year of 1961.
(B) a period of over ten years.
(C) the completion of the Apollo program.
(D) the end of the 60’s.
(E) the end of John Kennedy’s presidency.
Comentários e Gabarito D
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
84 – The fragment from the third paragraph “however valuable
they might have been” can be rewritten, with no change in
meaning, as
(A) even though they were all of great value.
(B) no matter how costly they would have been.
(C) whenever they were considered impracticable.
(D) regardless of possibly being of great relevance.
(E) because they might have been too expensive.
Comentários e Gabarito D
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
85 – From the reading of subitem 2 “Harness incongruence”, we
understand that, if disasters such as those with the Columbia
and the Challenger are to be prevented,
(A) workers in highly sophisticated programs should assume
responsibility for their own decisions.
(B) leaders in charge of a project must commit to a plan of
action and never deviate from it.
(C) people should avoid making assumptions about problems
they are not accountable for.
(D) technical problems ought to be fully evaluated and
explained in quantitative terms.
(E) problems must not be disregarded or set aside until they
are totally figured out.
Comentários e Gabarito E
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
86 – In the context of the fourth paragraph, the verb “harness”
means
(A) tackle.
(B) ignore.
(C) explain.
(D) repress.
(E) justify.
Comentários e Gabarito A
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
87 – In the fragment from the sixth paragraph “NASA itself was,
therefore, more of a confederation than a single agency”, the
underlined word means
(A) comparatively.
(B) as never before.
(C) consequently.
(D) nevertheless.
(E) to a certain extent.
Comentários e Gabarito C
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
88 – In the specific context of subitem 3 “Delegate but decide”, the
statement “Failure, in this case, was as instructive as success”
(4th paragraph) means that
(A) NASA learned more from what went wrong in its projects
than from what worked perfectly well.
(B) an unexpected disaster reaffirmed the need for leaders to
exercise more effective governance and oversight.
(C) numerous difficulties arose as NASA delegated too many
of their own responsibilities to others.
(D) conflicts at NASA were inevitable and dealing with them
was not always a successful task.
(E) the highly complex network NASA turned into could only
result in a command breakdown.
Comentários e Gabarito B
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
89 – In the fragment from the seventh paragraph “Webb’s mastery
of the complex network was not as thorough as he believed”, the underlined word means
(A) transparent.
(B) productive.
(C) efficient.
(D) clever.
(E) comprehensive.
Comentários e Gabarito E
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :
90 – According to the fourth subitem “Effectiveness and elegance”,
as far as spaceships are concerned,
(A) appearances are positively irrelevant.
(B) form follows efficiency.
(C) elegance and effectiveness should come together.
(D) engineering inelegance ought to be inadmissible.
(E) “clunky” and “awkward” are synonymous to “glamour”.
Comentários e Gabarito B
TÓPICOS - VOCABULÁRIO & RELAÇÃO SEMÂNTICA COM TRECHO DO TEXTO :