Questões de Inglês - Grammar

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Can Germans’ right to switch off survive contemporary times?

    The lights were all out, the corridors were deserted. Only one computer was still working at the German Freiburg’s Institute for Advanced Studies. Newly-arrived American academic Kristen Ghodsee was working late in her office. Then there was a knock at the door, and in came the institute’s director. “He wanted to know if there was something wrong,” remembers Ghodsee. She replied she was fine, but the director looked at his watch and shook his head. It was 17:30. What seemed perfectly normal to the American, working after hours, was inconceivable to the German. After all, it was Feierabend, a German term which refers both to the end of the working day and the act of turning off from work entirely.
    But then along came the smartphone, destabilizing the delicate German work-life balance. Suddenly, phones were in every pocket, laptops in every bag. All at once, everyone had access to work communication outside the office, on the go and at home. It wasn’t long before the digital revolution was invading Germans’ sacred rest time. By 2015, more than a quarter of employees said bosses wanted them to be contactable at all hours, a national survey revealed. This despite a 2003 law stating workers’ 11-hour break couldn’t be interrupted.
    It seems many employees agree the idea of an uninterrupted break is too rigid. Last year, 96% of workers interviewed by Germany’s digital association Bitkom said they would like to organise their own work schedule to fit around their lives. But those responsible for employee protection are worried. “A lot of the shortening of rest periods is happening because people are working such long hours, not because they are working flexibly,” says research associate Nils Backhaus.
    The 11-hour rest period is also there to protect workers from themselves. Originally intended to make sure factory workers could recover physically between shifts, Backhaus says the break is just as necessary for mental regeneration. “Worker protection is just as needed in our new world of digitalisation, home office and smartphones”, says David Markworth.

(Josie Le Blond. www.bbc.com, 24.02.2020. Adaptado.)

Analise o mapa para responder à questão

Directions: Answer question according to the text.

TEXT

    Many parents are concerned with their child’s
seemingly obsessive video game play. Fortnite, the
most recent gaming phenomenon, has taken the world
by storm and has parents asking if the shooter game is
[5] okay for kids. The short answer is yes, Fortnite is
generally fine. Furthermore, parents can breathe easier
knowing that research suggests gaming (on its own)
does not cause disorders like addiction.
    However, there’s more to the story. A
[10] comprehensive answer to the question of whether video
games are prejudicial must take into account other
factors, and parents need to understand why kids play,
as well as when to worry and when to relax.
    The word “addiction” gets tossed around quite
[15] a bit these days, but if it isn’t causing serious harm and
disorder to daily function, it isn’t an addiction. Parents
may worry that their kids are addicted, but if the children
can pull themselves away from a game to join the family
for a conversation over dinner and shows interest in
[20] other activities, like sports or socializing with friends,
then they are not addicted.
    Generally, parents panic when their kid’s video
game playing comes at the expense of doing other
things, like studying or helping around the house. But
[25] let’s be honest, kids have been avoiding these activities
for ages. Equally true is the fact that parents have been
complaining about their unhelpful children well before the
first video game was plugged into its socket.
    In fact, moderate video game play has been
[30] shown to be beneficial. A study conducted at Oxford by
Dr. Andrew Przybylski revealed that playing about one
hour per day improved psychological well-being, while
when taken to an extreme, playing over three hours per
day, was correlated with less well-being.
[35]    The real question should be what is it about
the special attraction of gaming that makes it the
preferred pastime of so many millions of kids? What
makes it so difficult for even non-addicted kids to step
away from video games sometimes? The answer has to
[40] do with the way games address basic psychological
needs.
    Fortnite, like any well-designed video game,
satisfies what we are all looking for. According to Drs.
Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, people need three
[45] things to flourish. We look for competence — the need
for mastery, progression, achievement, and growth. We
seek autonomy — the need for volition and freedom of
control over our choice. And finally, we look for
relatedness — the need to feel like we matter to others,
[50] and that others matter to us. Unfortunately, when
considering the state of modern childhood, many kids
aren’t getting enough of these three essential elements.
    School, where kids spend most of their waking
hours, is in many ways the antithesis of a place where
[55] kids feel competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
There, kids are told what to do, where to be, what to
think, what to wear, and what to eat. While some argue
that discipline and control provide structure, it’s clear
why teachers and students might struggle with
[60] motivation in the classroom.
    Gamers feel competence when they practice
strengths to reach their goals. In a game, players have
the autonomy to call the shots, do what they want, and
experiment with creative strategies to solve problems.
[65] Games are also social outlets where players can feel
relatedness. In Fortnite, for example, players often
meet in the virtual environment to chat and socialize,
because doing so in the real world is often inconvenient
or off limits.
[70]    Of course, none of this is to say video games
are a good substitution — quite the opposite. No game 

can give a child the feeling of competence that comes
from accomplishing a difficult task or learning a new
skill on their own accord. Fortnite can’t compete with
[75] the exhilaration that comes from the autonomy of
exploring reality, where a child is free to ask questions
and unlock mysteries in the real world. No social media
site can give a kid the sense of relatedness, safety, and
warmth that comes from an adult who loves that child
[80] unconditionally just the way they are, no matter what,
and takes the time to tell them so.
    Some kids suffer from gaming disorders, but
such dependencies are often combined with preexisting
conditions, including problems with impulse control. For
[85] most children, however, parents understanding the
deeper truth behind what kids are getting out of games
empowers them to take steps to give their children
more of what they need. Video games are this
generation’s outlet, and some kids use them as a tool to
[90] escape the same way some of us use our own flavor of
dissociative devices to tune out reality for a while.

(Adapted from https://www.psychologytoday.com. Access on March 25th, 2021)

Glossary:
1. to toss around – to discuss possibilities or new ideas
2. to step away – to not become involved with something
3. to flourish – to grow or develop successfully
4. volition – the power to make your own decision
5. exhilaration – excitement and happiness
6. to call the shots – to be in position to decide
7. outlet – a way in which emotions, energy or abilities can be expressed or made use of
8. to tune out – to stop paying attention to something or someone