Questões de Concurso

For questions 69 through 71, choose the best answer in accordance with Text 2

Text 2 A Coup in Paraguay

On June 22, 2012, the Paraguayan Senate invoked a clause in the constitution which authorized it to impeach the president for "poor performance in his duties." The President was Fernando Lugo, who had been elected some three years earlier and whose term was about to end in April 2013. Under the rules, Lugo was limited to a single term of office.
Lugo charged that this was a coup, and if not technically illegal, certainly illegitimate. Almost every Latin American government agreed with this analysis, denouncing the destitution, and cutting relations in various ways with Paraguay.
The removal of Lugo had the negative consequence for those who made the coup of making possible the one thing the Paraguayan Senate had been blocking for years. Paraguay is a member of the common market Mercosur, along with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Venezuela had applied to join. This required ratification by the legislatures of all five member states. All had long since given their assent except the Paraguayan Senate. After the coup, Mercosur suspended Paraguay, and immediately welcomed Venezuela as a member.

[From: International Herald Tribune 18-7-12]

For questions 66 through 68, choose the best answer in accordance with Text 1.

Text 1 Brazil's economy

Government spending and exports of commodities like soy beans and metals to fast-growing countries in Asia, have propelled Brazil's economy to sixth place in the world. But red-hot growth when Latin America's largest economy clocked in a 7.5% growth rate in 2010 appears to have fizzled out.
The economy stalled in May following an unexpected drop in retail sales. That heightened fears for what was one of the few bright spots of the world economy, making it the worst performer among Brics nations. GDP grew just 0.2% in the first quarter year-on-year, marking the third straight quarter of near-zero growth.
There seem to be few signs that GDP growth will head back up above the 2.6% posted last year. The Bank of Brazil expects growth to be lower than 2.5%. The drop in retail sales raised worries over Brazil's consumer-led growth model, which was fuelled by rising incomes and easy credit. In fact, the amount of loans that could not be paid back hit an all-time high in May, underlining how Brazilians are increasingly struggling to keep debt under control. That prompted banks to tighten lending, and the central bank cut interest rates for the eighth straight time in July to 8%.

[From: BBC.co.uk/news/business July 13 2012 - adapted]

For questions 66 through 68, choose the best answer in accordance with Text 1.

Text 1 Brazil's economy

Government spending and exports of commodities like soy beans and metals to fast-growing countries in Asia, have propelled Brazil's economy to sixth place in the world. But red-hot growth when Latin America's largest economy clocked in a 7.5% growth rate in 2010 appears to have fizzled out.
The economy stalled in May following an unexpected drop in retail sales. That heightened fears for what was one of the few bright spots of the world economy, making it the worst performer among Brics nations. GDP grew just 0.2% in the first quarter year-on-year, marking the third straight quarter of near-zero growth.
There seem to be few signs that GDP growth will head back up above the 2.6% posted last year. The Bank of Brazil expects growth to be lower than 2.5%. The drop in retail sales raised worries over Brazil's consumer-led growth model, which was fuelled by rising incomes and easy credit. In fact, the amount of loans that could not be paid back hit an all-time high in May, underlining how Brazilians are increasingly struggling to keep debt under control. That prompted banks to tighten lending, and the central bank cut interest rates for the eighth straight time in July to 8%.

[From: BBC.co.uk/news/business July 13 2012 - adapted]

For questions 66 through 68, choose the best answer in accordance with Text 1.

Text 1 Brazil's economy

Government spending and exports of commodities like soy beans and metals to fast-growing countries in Asia, have propelled Brazil's economy to sixth place in the world. But red-hot growth when Latin America's largest economy clocked in a 7.5% growth rate in 2010 appears to have fizzled out.
The economy stalled in May following an unexpected drop in retail sales. That heightened fears for what was one of the few bright spots of the world economy, making it the worst performer among Brics nations. GDP grew just 0.2% in the first quarter year-on-year, marking the third straight quarter of near-zero growth.
There seem to be few signs that GDP growth will head back up above the 2.6% posted last year. The Bank of Brazil expects growth to be lower than 2.5%. The drop in retail sales raised worries over Brazil's consumer-led growth model, which was fuelled by rising incomes and easy credit. In fact, the amount of loans that could not be paid back hit an all-time high in May, underlining how Brazilians are increasingly struggling to keep debt under control. That prompted banks to tighten lending, and the central bank cut interest rates for the eighth straight time in July to 8%.

[From: BBC.co.uk/news/business July 13 2012 - adapted]

For questions 27 through 30, choose the best answer in accordance with Text 3.

Text 3 Rio+20: reasons to be cheerful

Read the commentaries from Rio+20, and you'd think a global disaster had taken place. The UN multilateral system is said to be in crisis. Pundits and NGOs complain that it was "the greatest failure of collective leadership since the first world war", "a bleak day, a disastrous meeting" and "a massive waste of time and money".

Perspective, please. Reaction after the 1992 Rio summit was uncannily similar. Countries passed then what now seem far-sighted treaties and embedded a slew of aspirations and commitments into international documents – but NGOs and journalists were still distraught. In short, just like Rio 2012, the meeting was said to be a dismal failure of governments to co-operate.

I was pretty downhearted then, too. So when I returned I went to see Richard Sandbrook, a legendary environmental activist who co-founded Friends of the Earth, and profoundly influenced a generation of governments, business leaders and NGOs before he died in 2005. Sandbrook made the point that NGOs always scream blue murder because it is their job to push governments and that UN conferences must disappoint because all views have to be accommodated. Change, he said, does not happen in a few days' intense negotiation. It is a long, muddled, cultural process that cannot come from a UN meeting.. Real change comes from stronger institutions, better public information, promises being kept, the exchange of views, pressure from below, and events that make people see the world differently.

Vast growth in global environmental awareness has taken place in the past 20 years, and is bound to grow in the next 20.

[From The Guardian PovertyMatters blog- adapted]