Questões de Inglês

Taking a Cue From Bernanke a Little Too Far


Financial advisers have been fielding calls from
shaken investors in recent weeks, particularly retirees, who are
nervous that a bond market crash is on the horizon.
You can hardly blame them. Investors have been
fleeing bonds in droves; a record $ 76.5 billion poured out of
bond funds and exchange-traded funds since June. That
exceeds the previous record, according to TrimTabs, when
$ 41.8 billion streamed out of the funds in October 2008 and
the financial crisis was in full force.
But the rush for the exits really means one thing:
investors are betting that interest rates are about to begin their
upward trajectory, something that’s been expected for several
years now.

Their cue came from the Federal Reserve chairman,
Ben Bernanke, who recently suggested that the economic
recovery might allow the central bank to ease its efforts to
stimulate the economy. That includes scaling back its bondbuying
program beginning later this year.
So the big fear is that interest rates are poised to rise
much further, driving down bond prices; the two move in
opposite directions.
A Barclays index tracking a broad swath of
investment-grade bonds lost 3.77 percent from the beginning
of May through Thursday, according to Morningstar. United
States government notes with maturities of 10 years or longer,
however, lost an average of 10.8 percent over the same period.

Making a bet on interest rates is no different from
trying to predict the next big drop in stocks, or jumping into
the market when it appears to be poised to surge higher. These
sort of emotional moves are exactly why research shows that
investors’ returns tend to trail the broader market.

And it’s also why many financial advisers suggest
ignoring the noise, as long as you have a smart assortment of
bond funds that will provide stability when stocks inevitably
tumble once again.

“It’s a futile game to base portfolio moves on interest
rate guesses,” said Milo Benningfield, a financial adviser in
San Francisco. “We don’t have to look any further than highly
regarded Pimco manager Bill Gross, whose horrible interest
rate bet against Treasuries in 2011 landed him in the bottom 15
percent of fund managers in his category that year. Investors
should take a strategic approach designed around the reason
they hold bonds — and then sit tight whenever hedge funds
and other institutions shake the ground around them.”

The main reason longer-term investors hold bonds, of
course, is to provide a steadying force. And though today’s
lower yields provide less of a cushion — the 10-year Treasury
is yielding about 2.5 percent — bonds still remain the best, if
imperfect, foil to stocks.

“The role of bonds in a portfolio has always been to
be a ballast or a diversifier to equity risk,” said Francis
Kinniry, a principal in the Vanguard Investment Strategy
Group. “And that is very true today. Yields are low, but this is
what a bear market in bonds looks like.”

Internet: (adapted).


Regarding the text, judge if the items below are right (C) or wrong (E).

In the sentence "United States government notes with maturities of 10 years or longer, however, lost an average of 10.8 percent over the same period." [l.24-, the adverb "however" may be moved to the beginning of the sentence without interfering in the meaning.

A resposta correta é:

According to Jose Antonio Felez, president of the
Spanish producer association AEC, the film industry is
suffering on all fronts. Spanish film releases are down 24
percent from last year, with 61 films compared to last year’s 80
— a far cry from the 230 foreign films released so far this year,
as of last week.
Overall box office earnings are down 13.5 percent at
$486 million (360 million euros), with homegrown films
earning $55 million (41 million euros), 7 million euros less
than the same period in 2012, representing an 18 percent drop.

The number of shoots dropped 28.7 percent from 2012
and budgets are shrinking, with more than half of Spanish films
operating on a budget of less than $1.35 million (1 million
euros). Even so, 15 films cost more than $4 million (3 million
euros), with eight of those weighing in over $5.4 million
(4 million euros).

P. Rolfe. Spanish producers urge government to revamp film financing

model. Internet: (adapted).


According to the text above, judge the items below.

The pronoun "those" (L.15) refers to "3 million euros" (L.14-15).

A resposta correta é:

The nature of television programming in the current
era is one of hybridity. Comedy programs take the appearance
of news programs, and news programs are increasingly
adopting techniques from comedy programs. The televised
interview, in particular, is by nature a hybrid format, often
mixing the formality of traditional journalism with the
informality of a talk show. In the second quarter of 2011,
viewership of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show trumped
other late-night programs in key demographics, with well over
two million viewers per episode. At the same time, news and
opinion programs like Hannity on Fox can draw an average of
2.5 million viewers. But the format and style — not to mention
the content — of these shows and their interview segments can
vary drastically from one episode to the next, depending on
whether they are structured more traditionally or not.
In theory, the televised journalistic interview —
especially with a candidate for high office — represents that
idealistic version of Habermas’ public sphere. In this vision,
the candidate is asked about his or her policy stances, and is
then forced by the interviewer to defend those positions in the
face of opposition. But in reality, these interviews take the form
of rule-governed speech situations that rely on specified rituals.
Deluca and Peeples argue that televised political discourse —
as seen in political interviews — does not reflect rational
debate, but rather, emphasizes image, emotion, and style. Baym
suggests, however, that there is a space in between the ideal of
the public sphere and the image-centered focus of the televised
interview. His textual analyses of interviews on programs like
The Daily Show reveal that these interviews reflect a traditional
perspective on the journalistic interview combined with a more
conversational, celebrity-type chat — a “hybrid mode of
publicity and political discourse”.

International Journal of Communication, 7 (2013),

p. 471. Internet: (adapted).



Judge the following items according to the text above.

The word "rather" (L.25) means on the contrary.

A resposta correta é:

According to Jose Antonio Felez, president of the
Spanish producer association AEC, the film industry is
suffering on all fronts. Spanish film releases are down 24
percent from last year, with 61 films compared to last year’s 80
— a far cry from the 230 foreign films released so far this year,
as of last week.
Overall box office earnings are down 13.5 percent at
$486 million (360 million euros), with homegrown films
earning $55 million (41 million euros), 7 million euros less
than the same period in 2012, representing an 18 percent drop.

The number of shoots dropped 28.7 percent from 2012
and budgets are shrinking, with more than half of Spanish films
operating on a budget of less than $1.35 million (1 million
euros). Even so, 15 films cost more than $4 million (3 million
euros), with eight of those weighing in over $5.4 million
(4 million euros).

P. Rolfe. Spanish producers urge government to revamp film financing

model. Internet: (adapted).


According to the text above, judge the items below.

The number of films released in Spain in 2013 is less than half the number of foreign films released in the same period.

A resposta correta é:

It is one of the most pressing questions of our time:
what is the relationship between financial and environmental
meltdown? Are the two crises the same thing, needing to be
dealt with together? Or do we, as even some business leaders
suggest, have to fix the environment before we can fix the
economy? A slew of books, ebooks, pamphlets and journals
are tackling this thorny question.

You might expect a strong “yes” from the greens to
fixing the environment ahead of the economy. And in The


Environmental Debt: The hidden costs of a changing global
economy, long-time Greenpeace activist Amy Larkin does
make a cogent argument for this. The high costs of coping with
extreme weather, pollution and declining resources are, she
says, catching up with capitalism. Our carefree attitude to the
“externalities” of wealth generation has run up an
environmental debt that is loading unsustainable financial debt
on us all.

But environmentalists are not the only ones making
the link. In Wall Street and the City, there is similar talk that
the worst fears of environmentalists are coming to pass. As
shortages of natural resources push up prices, a looming
resource crunch is manifested in market meltdown.

Paul Donovan and Julie Hudson, economists for the
Swiss bank UBS, agree. They argue that “there is a second
credit crunch”, an environmental one. By ransacking global
resources and enfeebling ecosystems, the authors say, we are
drawing down environmental credit as surely as reckless
spending on a credit card draws down financial credit. The two
crunches have “a symbiotic relationship”, they argue: “The
party has to stop.”
The synergies between financial and environmental
crunches may be complex, but at root, many economists argue
that reckless consumption, driven by easy credit, helped fuel
financial crisis. Environmentalists agree that the same
consumer binge drove up environmental debt.

F. Pearce. What do we fix first – environment or

economy? Newscientist. July 8th, 2013 (adapted).


Based on the text, choose the correct answer.

The expression "consumer binge" [l. is used as an antonym for the expression "reckless consumption" [l..
The word "cogent" [l. suggests that the argument put forward by Amy Larkin is ill-founded.
If the verb "catching up with" [l. is replaced by stemming from, the meaning of the sentence remains unaltered.
The word "looming" [l. is used as a synonym for unlikely.
The words "crunch" [l. and "crunches" [l. are used as synonyms for crisis and crises, respectively.

A resposta correta é:

It is one of the most pressing questions of our time:
what is the relationship between financial and environmental
meltdown? Are the two crises the same thing, needing to be
dealt with together? Or do we, as even some business leaders
suggest, have to fix the environment before we can fix the
economy? A slew of books, ebooks, pamphlets and journals
are tackling this thorny question.

You might expect a strong “yes” from the greens to
fixing the environment ahead of the economy. And in The


Environmental Debt: The hidden costs of a changing global
economy, long-time Greenpeace activist Amy Larkin does
make a cogent argument for this. The high costs of coping with
extreme weather, pollution and declining resources are, she
says, catching up with capitalism. Our carefree attitude to the
“externalities” of wealth generation has run up an
environmental debt that is loading unsustainable financial debt
on us all.

But environmentalists are not the only ones making
the link. In Wall Street and the City, there is similar talk that
the worst fears of environmentalists are coming to pass. As
shortages of natural resources push up prices, a looming
resource crunch is manifested in market meltdown.

Paul Donovan and Julie Hudson, economists for the
Swiss bank UBS, agree. They argue that “there is a second
credit crunch”, an environmental one. By ransacking global
resources and enfeebling ecosystems, the authors say, we are
drawing down environmental credit as surely as reckless
spending on a credit card draws down financial credit. The two
crunches have “a symbiotic relationship”, they argue: “The
party has to stop.”
The synergies between financial and environmental
crunches may be complex, but at root, many economists argue
that reckless consumption, driven by easy credit, helped fuel
financial crisis. Environmentalists agree that the same
consumer binge drove up environmental debt.

F. Pearce. What do we fix first – environment or

economy? Newscientist. July 8th, 2013 (adapted).


The sentence "By ransacking global (…) credit card draws down financial credit" [l.25-28] means that,

by ignoring the need to protect the environment, our society is increasingly focused on profit rather than quality of life.
due to our reckless behavior towards the environment, less financial support has been assigned to nature-saving projects.
due to the scarcity of environmental fund-raising actions, mankind is making the exploitation of natural resources financially unviable.
by tampering with the world biomass, we are affecting investments in the area as much as economic problems affect us.
by destroying nature, we are reducing our environmental funds just like too many debts reduce our financial credibility.

A resposta correta é:

In a recent IBM ad campaign titled Let’s Build a
Smarter Planet, a collection of company technologists explain
why database and data mining technologies matter. According
to one of the IBM scientists, "Every day we are creating fifteen
petabytes of new data. Thatfs eight times as much data as there
is in all of the libraries in the United States combined."
Another IBM researcher in the commercial explains, "If we can
analyze and mine this data, then we can understand it. If we can
understand it, then we can understand trends about it. (c) The
more data you have, the clearer you see." Data entrepreneurs
such as these IBM researchers assume that gathering and
mining massive amounts of data will give objective insight into
human relations and concerns. However, what is the nature of
these trends and new data-driven ways of seeing? The ad is an
excellent example of technology boosterism in the Age of Big
Data, where actors argue that data mining improves our
understanding of social and organizational life. Yet, IBM fails
to comment on how society shapes data mining technologies
and how the use of these technologies may construct, perform,
and categorize us in old and new ways. For example, recent
research into genomics demonstrates an increased capacity to
group people in new ways based upon their genetic
characteristics. The construction, management, and analysis of
a database are more than simply technical exercises in data
collection and processing. Data-driven ways of seeing human
relations purposefully organizes the social world via
communicative acts that incorporate cultural values and
practices of power. As scholars in science and technology
studies argue, human actors" decisions, politics, and cultural
values socially shape the direction and development of
technology and innovation. How will the social shaping of data
mining technologies at the core of new data-intensive practices
of seeing the world mediate social relations, identities, and
practices?

International Journal of Communication, 7 (2013), p. 556.

Internet: (adapted).



According to the text above, judge the following items.

All the libraries in the United States combined would encompass as much as fifteen petabytes of new data a day.

A resposta correta é:

The leaders of the G8 areconvening in Northern
Ireland for the 39th G8 Summit. The backdrop for this two-day
meeting of the globe’s preeminent economic powers is a world
facing multiple global crises, all of which demand that summit
participants engage in constructive dialogue that leads to
measurable progress. Despite that need, the annual G8
Summits are known more for eliciting empty political promises
and saddling host cities with exorbitant costs.

The baby boomer generation presidents and prime
ministers at the G8 Summit are facing increasingly frustrated
populations. With economic instability entrenching in the
West, a still teetering world financial order, and escalating
tensions in the Middle East, an entire generation of young
people is growing up without opportunity, and with few
prospects for change. But persistent unemployment, declining
standards in health care and education, and environmental
degradation are also driving growing numbers of young people
to demand sophisticated and coordinated global action.
From this mess, two significant questions arise: are
the boomer generation leaders simply incapable of consensusdriven
international cooperation, one that sets aside national
interests for the collective good of humanity? And if this is the
case, are tomorrow’s Facebook generation leaders doomed to
inherit the quagmire of their political predecessors?

R. Onley. The future of global

diplomacy. June 17th, 2013 (adapted).


Based on the text, choose the correct statement.

a) The cities that host G8 summits generally profit from the presence of presidents and ministers.
b) The reasons for young people"s frustrations include political, financial and economic issues.
c) In the 39th G8 Summit meeting, empty promises will give room to debates on the global crises.
d) Young people are planning demonstrations to show their dissatisfaction to the G8 Summit leaders.
e) The actions taken for international cooperation are condemned by the new Facebook generation leaders.

A resposta correta é:

In a recent IBM ad campaign titled Let’s Build a
Smarter Planet, a collection of company technologists explain
why database and data mining technologies matter. According
to one of the IBM scientists, "Every day we are creating fifteen
petabytes of new data. Thatfs eight times as much data as there
is in all of the libraries in the United States combined."
Another IBM researcher in the commercial explains, "If we can
analyze and mine this data, then we can understand it. If we can
understand it, then we can understand trends about it. (c) The
more data you have, the clearer you see." Data entrepreneurs
such as these IBM researchers assume that gathering and
mining massive amounts of data will give objective insight into
human relations and concerns. However, what is the nature of
these trends and new data-driven ways of seeing? The ad is an
excellent example of technology boosterism in the Age of Big
Data, where actors argue that data mining improves our
understanding of social and organizational life. Yet, IBM fails
to comment on how society shapes data mining technologies
and how the use of these technologies may construct, perform,
and categorize us in old and new ways. For example, recent
research into genomics demonstrates an increased capacity to
group people in new ways based upon their genetic
characteristics. The construction, management, and analysis of
a database are more than simply technical exercises in data
collection and processing. Data-driven ways of seeing human
relations purposefully organizes the social world via
communicative acts that incorporate cultural values and
practices of power. As scholars in science and technology
studies argue, human actors" decisions, politics, and cultural
values socially shape the direction and development of
technology and innovation. How will the social shaping of data
mining technologies at the core of new data-intensive practices
of seeing the world mediate social relations, identities, and
practices?

International Journal of Communication, 7 (2013), p. 556.

Internet: (adapted).



According to the text above, judge the following items.

IBM scientists and data entrepreneurs believe that gathering and mining massive amounts of data will lead to a better comprehension of social life.

A resposta correta é:

The proposition “Copyright is Dead, Long Live the
Pirates” was put to the audience after a debate last night on
intellectual property and the need to ensure creators of content
are paid for their work.

Of the audience at Melbourne Town Hall, 49% voted
for the proposition, with 36% against and 15% undecided.
The forum was part of a year-round program of
lectures, readings and debates.

Lori Flekser, executive director of the Intellectual
Property Awareness Foundation and general manager of the
Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia asserted
copyright is not dead, quoting statistics for 2010-2011 which
showed more than 900,000 people were employed in the
copyright industries, which generated an economic value of
$93.2 billion and just over $7 billion in exports.
“It’s very clear from our research that the public either
do not or choose not to understand that the victims of piracy
are not simply studio executives, music companies and
high-profile actors and musicians,” she said.

D. Groves. Copyright is dead. Internet: (adapted).


Based on the text above, judge the following items.

The verb form "ensure" (L.3) could be replaced by make certain without changing the meaning of the text.

A resposta correta é: