Questões de Concurso

TEXT 1 below, retrieved and adapted from https://chroniclingamerica. loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ on July 9th,2018.

Text 1

Women’s rights convention – Sojourner Truth

One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gesture, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity:

"May I say a few words?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded: I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman has a pint, and a man a quart -- why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much; -- for we can't take more than our pint will hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if a woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.

Reference: Robinson, M. (1851, June 21). Women’s rights convention: Sojourner Truth. Anti-slavery Bugle, vol.6 no.41, Page 160.

Text 2 – Computers

(Text adapted from History of Computing. Retrieved from

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~mitra/csFall2006/cs 303/lectures/history.html)

When you hear the term computers, it’s difficult to imagine different devices from a laptop or a small desktop. Believe it or not, they weren’t always like they are today. They used to be very large and heavy, sometimes as big as an entire room. Some technology professors historically define computers, as “a device that can help with computations”. The word computation involves counting, calculating, adding, subtracting, etc. The modern definition of a computer is a little wider, because in our day and age, computers store, compile, analyze and compute an enormous amount of information. Ancient computers were very interesting. Actually, the first computer may have been located in Great Britain, at Stonehenge. It is a man-made circle of large stones. Citizens used it to measure the weather and forecast the change of seasons. Some specialists say that another ancient computer is the abacus. It was used by the early Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians to count and calculate. Even though they are no longer in use, certainly, these early devices are fascinating. Computers are embedded in our history and some people say that we are completely dependent of them. No matter the complexity of the task, easy or difficult, some people can’t do anything without them. Do you contest or share this opinion?