Questões do ENEM – Inglês

Languages and cultures use non-verbal communication which conveys meaning. Although many gestures are similar in Thai and English such as nodding for affirmation many others are not shared. A good example of this is the ubiquitous “Thai smile”. The “smile” carries a far wider range of meanings in Thai than it does in English culture. This can sometimes lead to serious communication breakdowns between Thais and English speakers.

An example from my own early experience in Thailand illustrates the point. When confronting the Thai owner of a language school with administrative problems, complaints regarding student numbers in the class were met by a beaming smile and little else. I took this to mean lack of concern or an attempt to trivialise or ignore the problem. I left the discussion upset and angry by what appeared to be the owner's offhand attitude to my problems.

It was only later when another native speaking English teacher, with considerably more experience of Thailand, explained that a smile meant an apology and the fact that the following day all my complaints had been addressed, that I fully understood the situation.

Disponível em: www.spring.org.uk. Acesso em: 11 jul. 2011 (fragmento)

Viver em um país estrangeiro pode ser uma experiência enriquecedora, embora possa também ser um desafio, pelo choque cultural. A experiência relatada pelo autor do texto revela diferentes atribuições de sentido a um determinado comportamento, mostrando que naquela situação o sorriso indicava um(a)

Tennesse Mountain Properties
Description
Own a renovated house for less than $290 per month!!!!!!!! New windows, siding, flooring (laminate throughout and tile in entry way and bathroom), kitchen cabinets, counter top, back door, fresh paint and laundry on main floor. Heat billsare very low due to a good solid house and an energy efficient furnace.
Disponível em: www.freerealestaeads.net .Acesso em: 30 nov. 2011(adaptado).
Em jornais, há diversos anúncios que servem aos leitores. O conteúdo do anúncio veiculado por este texto interessará a alguém que esteja procurando

I read a study that measured the efficiency of I locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list ... That didn't look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And a man on a bicycle blew the condor away. That's what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.

JOBS, S. Disponível em: www.msnbc.msn.com. Acesso em: 28 fev. 2012 (adaptado)

Ao abordar o deslocamento de várias espécies, com base em um estudo que leu, Steve Jobs apresenta o computador como uma ferramenta que

Turning Brown
A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, “Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?” “Because,” his dad explained, “after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color.” There was a long silence. Then the son asked softly, “Daddy, are you talking to me?”
Disponível em: http://hayspost.com. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2011.
Considerando os participantes da conversa nessa piada, nota-se que o efeito de humor é obtido em função

Placas como a da gravura são usadas para orientar os usuários de um espaço urbano. Essa placa, especificamente, tem a função de avisar que somente

The art of happiness

Nearly every time you see him, he’s laughing or at least smiling. And he makes everyone else around him feel like smiling. He’s the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, a Nobel Prize winner, and an increasingly popular speaker and statesman. Why is he so popular? Even after spending only a few minutes in his presence you can’t help feeling happier. If you ask him if he’s happy, even though he’s suffered the loss of his country, the Dalai Lama will give you an unconditional yes. What’s more, he’ll tell you that happiness is the purpose of life, and that “the very motion of our life is towards happiness”. How to get there has always been the question. He’s tried to answer it before, but he’s never had the help of a psychiatrist to get the message across in a context we can easily understand.

LAMA, D.; CUTLER, H. The Art of Happiness: a handbook for living. Putnam Books, 1998.

Pelo título e pela sinopse do livro de Lama e Cutler, constata-se que o tema da obra é

Cyberbullying is harassment through electronic means such as telephone text messages, social media such as Facebook and Twitter or online blogs and bulletin boards. In normal bullying, students are given a daily break from the torment as bully and victim each go to their separate homes. But for victims of cyberbullying, there is no reprieve, as the abuse enters into their private lives. In the US, there are at least 44 states that have anti-bullying laws on the books. While only six of them use the actual word “cyberbullying”, 31 others have laws that specifically mention “electronic harassment”.

Prosecution in the UK is a little more difficult. While all schools are required to have anti-bullying policies in place, cyberbullying itself is not named as a criminal offence. Offenders in the UK would have to be charged under various other laws, including the Protection from Harassment Act of 2003. This makes prosecution much more difficult.

Authorities agree that in order to stop cyberbullying, there has to be parental involvement. Parents need to be vigilant about their children’s access to technology. They should monitor their children’s use of social media, especially children under the age of 14. Bullies are not going to simply disappear, but parents can go a long way in protecting their children from being bullied.

Go! English, ano II, n. 14 (fragmento).

De acordo com o texto, nos Estados Unidos, alguns estados têm leis específicas para assédio via meios eletrônicos. Já no Reino Unido, a instauração de processos contra praticantes de cyberbullying é mais difícil porque

Tirinhas são construídas a partir de contextos sociais e podem promover reflexões diversas. Essa tirinha provoca no leitor uma reflexão acerca da

Movie: Hijras - The Third Gender

Director: Devika Urvashi Bhisé

Duration: 29 minutes

Hijras are the outcastes of Indian society and live on its fringes. These eunuchs (originally only castrated males) were once employed by sultans and maharajas to guard the women in their harems. Now shunned by society, they are treated with less respect than the Dalits, or untouchables. Considered neither men nor women, Hijras have no constitutional rights. Currently, there is an ongoing debate in India regarding whether or not they should be granted the status of a third gender.

Most hijras are genetically born as men, but believe they are women within. The rest are hermaphrodites with some abnormality in genitalia. For those born men, becoming a hijra is a painful process that involves removing the entire genitalia in a secret ceremony that is often undergone without any anesthetic.

Currently, most hijras have only three ways in which they can make a living: prostitution, begging, and as performing shamans removing bad luck and/or spells from suspicious Indian households. Sex work is one of the only options for hijras because there are few employment opportunities available to them. Hijras are most commonly seen knocking on car windows, begging for money at stoplights. Although hijras are feared for their dissimilarities, they are also revered for their alleged mystical abilities. Most Indian families seek their blessings during any auspicious ceremony such as a birth, a wedding, or the building of a new house.

As pariahs of society, they are subjected to prejudice that is often translated into verbal abuse, humiliation, extreme discrimination, and violence in public as well as private venues. I have documented a short film to create awareness of the plight of this segment of society and allow their voices to be heard. I was privileged to share this community's inner life and have tried to capture its stark reality as a friend rather than a voyeur. The filming took place from June 2008 to September 2008 in various cities and locations in India.

Disponível em: www.engendered.org. Acesso em: 25 fev. 2012.

O filme Hijras - The Third Gender tem como objetivo chamar atenção para a situação vivida por um segmento da sociedade indiana, os hijras. De acordo com o que se captura dessas vozes no filme e do que se lê no texto, esse segmento reivindica

BELL, D. Disponível em: www.candorville.com. Acesso em: 29 fev. 2012.

Com base nas informações verbais e no contexto social da tirinha, infere-se que o cliente