Chefe da Seção de Nr. Código COMPREENSÃO LEITORA Certificação em Inglês Fl 1/8 INGLÊS – NÍVEL 3 ________________ ____________________ 1st QUESTION (15 points) PART I Read the following text. Then, choose the answers to items 01 to 07. U.S. officials express growing confidence bomb downed Russian plane By Barbara Starr, Jethro Mullen and Steve Almasy, CNN Updated 0851 GMT (1651 HKT) November 8, 2015 Video Source: CNN The U.S. appears to be increasingly confident that a terrorist bomb brought down the Russian passenger jet that broke apart over Egypt. The growing belief was indicated by several senior U.S. officials in the intelligence, military and national security community who spoke to CNN on Saturday. The remarks are stronger than those made by President Barack Obama on Thursday when he said there was "a possibility" a bomb was on Metrojet Flight 9268, which disintegrated over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 people aboard. The view also contrasts with the cautious stance taken by Egyptian officials, who are in charge of the main investigation into the air crash and insist that no conclusion has been reached yet. "All the scenarios are out on the table," Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of the investigation, told reporters Saturday. "We don't know what happened exactly." ISIS chatter analyzed The belief that a bomb was most likely to blame centers to a large extent on British and U.S. intercepts of communications after the crash from the Islamic militant group ISIS' affiliate in Sinai to ISIS operatives in Syria, according to officials. The Sinai affiliate has publicly claimed responsibility for downing the Russian jet, which was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, but so far hasn't explained how it was done. The two Western countries have been analyzing the specific language in the chatter to determine to what extent the operatives were talking about the type of bomb and detonator used, and whether that language was a true representation of what happened, one official told CNN. Several officials said it's the specificity of the chatter that has directly contributed to the U.S. and British view that a bomb was most likely used. Chefe da Seção de Nr. Código COMPREENSÃO LEITORA Certificação em Inglês Fl 2/8 INGLÊS – NÍVEL 3 ________________ ____________________ Talks over possible FBI role in investigation But officials in Washington and London don't have all the pieces of the puzzle at their disposal. Neither country is directly involved in the Egyptian investigation into the crash or has physical evidence from it to examine. Talks between the United States, Egypt and Russia could result in the FBI providing some experts, particularly bomb technicians, to assist in the investigation, according to a U.S. official. Muqaddam, the head of the investigation, said Egyptian authorities have not been provided any information or evidence tied to reports suggesting that a bomb took down the flight. He urged the sources of the reports to pass along related evidence to Egyptian investigators. The investigation does include experts from Egypt, Russia, France, Germany and Ireland - countries that are connected in various ways to the aircraft that crashed, an Airbus A321-200. Noise heard at end of cockpit recording The TV station France 2 reported Friday that European investigators who analyzed the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from Flight 9268 are saying the crash is not an accident. The investigators said the cockpit voice recorder indicates an explosion, and the flight data recorder shows the blast was not accidental, according to France 2, which is a CNN affiliate. Muqaddam, however, was more circumspect in his comments Saturday on the contents of the flight recorders. He confirmed a noise was heard in the final second of the cockpit recording as the aircraft was on autopilot and ascending. But he offered no description of the sound, saying a specialized analysis would be carried out to identify it. The crash might have been caused by a lithium battery, an explosion or a mechanical issue, Muqaddam said, noting that the investigation was being hampered by bad weather. Efforts to repatriate British, Russian tourists Amid concerns over what happened to Flight 9268, Britain has suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh and is working to bring its citizens home from the resort. Passengers flying back to Britain are being carried in separate planes from their baggage, reflecting fears that the Russian plane was brought down by a bomb placed in the luggage hold. The Russian government, which initially played down suggestions that the crash was caused by terrorists, has suspended all air traffic with Egypt until the cause of the crash is determined. Russian authorities are taking similar steps to the British to repatriate citizens. Other countries have issued travel warnings. Chefe da Seção de Nr. Código COMPREENSÃO LEITORA Certificação em Inglês Fl 3/8 INGLÊS – NÍVEL 3 ________________ ____________________ U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told CNN that officials were taking "precautionary interim steps" to increase security on international flights into the United States during the investigation of the Egypt air disaster. "ISIL is out there now active in a lot of different areas and, while this investigation is pending and because we have this group claiming responsibility, we believe it's significant to do these things on an interim basis," he said, using an alternative name for ISIS. Johnson said authorities are evaluating whether additional measures were necessary. (Available at http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/08/middleeast/russian-plane-crash-egypt-sinai/index.html) Based on the previous text, decide which the correct answer (A, B, C or D) to items 01 to 07 is and mark your answers on your ANSWER SHEET. 01. The Egyptians ... (A) have provided the Americans and the British with physical evidence from the accident site. (B) accepted FBI bomb technician assistance. (C) received data and evidence from the Americans concerning the fact that a bomb took down the jet. (D) are cautious and careful about their comments on the jet crash. 02. What statement is correct? (A) British and American agencies do not believe that the Sinai affiliate caused the crash. (B) U.S. and British officials believe that the jet was hit from the outside. (C) Western authorities already know how the downing was done. (D) American and British intel agencies have intercepted ISIS conversations after the crash. 03. The U.S. … (A) is sure that a terrorist group brought down the Russian passenger jet. (B) has an increasing belief that a terrorist bomb was the cause for the bringing down of the Russian jet. (C) is in charge of the main investigation of the jet crash. (D) president also made stronger remarks concerning the jet crash. Chefe da Seção de Nr. Código COMPREENSÃO LEITORA Certificação em Inglês Fl 4/8 INGLÊS – NÍVEL 3 ________________ ____________________ 04. American officials... (A) are taking long-term measures in relation to air traffic to Egypt. (B) are taking temporary steps in air traffic to Egypt. (C) are taking permanent measures in relation to flights from and to Egypt. (D) said the investigations were concluded. 05. Which statement is true? (A) Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the plane crash. (B) The Taliban has connection with the plane bringing down. (C) The Sinai affiliate to ISIS took responsibility for the Russian jet crash. (D) Up to now, no organization has claimed responsibility for the Russian jet downing. 06. According to the TV Station France 2 report, ... (A) both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder indicated that there was an explosion. (B) Europeans investigators said the crash was an accident. (C) the pilot was flying the jet when the crash happened. (D) a noise was heard at the beginning of the recording. 07. Which statement is correct? (A) British citizens are flying back home with their luggage on the same plane which they embarked on. (B) British planes are allowed to fly to Shar el-Sheikh. (C) There are flights from Russia to Egypt. (D) Russia and the Great Britain are taking similar measures to repatriate their citizens. PART II Read the following text. Then, choose the answers to items 08 to 15. Chefe da Seção de Nr. Código COMPREENSÃO LEITORA Certificação em Inglês Fl 5/8 INGLÊS – NÍVEL 3 ________________ ____________________ Reaching a Plateau in Language Learning – How to Get Out of It? By Sam Gendreau There is probably nothing as frustrating as putting a hell of work, and not feeling like you’re making any progress. Sadly, though, this situation happens to a lot of language learners, and it often becomes a dominant factor in people’s decision to stop learning a foreign language halfway through their goals. This is what we commonly call “reaching a plateau”. So why does it happen, and how can we avoid it, or at least, get out of it? Routine, and Reaching the Autonomous Stage Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, a Swedish psychologist and Professor at Florida State University, is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading theoretical and experimental researchers on expertise. According to him, hitting plateaus is a common occurrence in skill development (not only limited to language learning). Far from being a steady linear progression, mastery comes in bursts. There are many causes of plateaus but a major one seems to be routine. Sticking to the same habits, whether it’s writing, typing, learning a language, or programming, often results in failing to progress, despite investing a lot of time. Author Joshua Foer says that when people first learn to use a keyboard, they improve very quickly from sloppy single-finger pecking to careful two-handed typing, until eventually the fingers move so effortlessly across the keys that the whole process becomes unconscious and the fingers seem to take on a mind of their own.