Questões de Inglês - Grammar

In the sentence “It’s never too late to make changes to prevent diseases that may end your flying career”, the modal verb “may” expresses __________. 

No need to sugarcoat it: According to new

guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO),

only 5% of a person’s total daily calories should come

from added sugar (about 26 g per day for a 2,000-calorie

diet). Their experts made the recommendation after

studying the increasing rates of obesity, tooth decay and

heart disease, all of which are linked to sugar

consumption.

But is it too extreme? In the U.S., the Centers for

Disease Control estimates that a full 13% of U.S. adults’

total caloric intake came from sugar in 2010. The main

culprit isn’t even sweets — it’s processed foods. A

tablespoon of ketchup has 4 g of sugar; a frozen pizza

may contain as much as 26 g. Expecting people to

sacrifice all that “is unrealistic,” says Keri Gans, a

registered dietitian and the author of The Small Change

Diet. “We should focus on what we should be eating and

not what we shouldn’t be.”

To that end, WHO’s original 10% restriction (about

52 g of added sugar per day for a 2,000-calorie diet) may

be “more realistic” in the U.S., according to Francesco

Branca, WHO’s director for nutrition. That would be

slightly more than the amount recommended in the

controversial guidelines the American Heart Association

released in 2009, which suggested from 30 g to 45 g per

day.

In the long run, the onus to reduce sugar

consumption may fall on the food industry. In February,

for example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

announced it will revamp nutrition labels to highlight

added sugars (as opposed to sugar that occurs naturally,

as in fruit), making it easier for people to gauge a product’s

healthfulness. And following the attempted “soda ban” in

New York City — which aimed to outlaw sugary beverages

in sizes over 16 oz. (473 ml) — San Francisco and

Berkeley, Calif., are trying to pass a sugary-beverage

tax in an effort to curb the 180,000 deaths worldwide that

are linked to sweetened drinks.

It may not be possible to shift our diets right away,

says Dr. Donald Hensrud, a preventive medicine and

nutrition expert with the Mayo Clinic. But by taking

advantage of food-health initiatives — like the new

labels — and eating more fresh foods, “we can change

our taste preferences” for the better. This is a key factor

45 in nutrition weight loss children.

SIFFERLIN, Alexandra. Sweet Sacrifice. Time. Mar 24, 2014.

Can there be a world without antibiotics?

Medical experts around the globe are worried that more and more viruses and bacteria are becoming resistant to today’s medicine. They are afraid that in a few generations antibiotics may become useless. Scientists have already discovered bacteria that do not react if treated with antibiotics. As a result medical treatment will become more expensive as new drugs have to be developed.

Doctors and other health experts criticize the fact that antibiotics are being used in a wrong way. They are often prescribed in cases in which they do not work. In some areas, especially Third World countries and densely populated areas in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh doctors have already run out of antibiotics. Prescribing wrong antibiotics or taking them for too short a time will not kill off bacteria. Some doctors prescribe antibiotics for the common flu, making it ineffective for later illnesses. The World Health Organization claims that many infectious diseases are becoming untreatable and cannot be controlled. Many patients who become resistant to drugs even die.

Another problem is that farmers in the United States and Europe are adding antibiotics to feed cattle and other animals, in order to make them grow faster and produce more meat. Also, through increased global travel, bacteria are spreading faster than ever before.

Since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in the early 20th century antibiotics have saved hundreds of millions of lives. Many operations cannot be carried out if we are unable to treat infections. The transplantation of organs can become very risky if patients do not get medication to strengthen their immune system. Routine operations like removing an appendix or replacing a bad hip could become fatal. Childbirth may once again threaten a woman’s life and raise child mortality. Even illnesses like pneumonia, which today can be treated effectively with antibiotics, might once again turn into a mass killer. Antibiotics have made infections like tuberculosis treatable. Cancer treatment would be unthinkable without the proper treatment of the immune system to accompany it.

Health experts call for increased action to fight off diseases. Most common is the call to improve hospital hygiene, where infectious diseases start out. Especially in Third World countries, bacteria spread through dirty water and the sewage system. Even making people aware of washing their hands more often can stop the spread of infectious diseases.

(www.english-online.at. Adaptado.)

What Your Facebook Use Reveals About Your Personality: Likes, shares, and comments reveal a lot about who you are.

Every day when Facebook asks, “What’s on your

mind?” around 400 million people respond with a status

message. While some people take the opportunity

to share about their latest meal, other people post

photos or inspirational messages. Over the past few

years, researchers have discovered the way people

choose to present themselves on Facebook speaks

volumes about their personality and self-esteem.

Examining your behavior on social media could

give you insight into your own personality, as well

as how others perceive you. You may think you’re

presenting yourself in a certain light only to discover

other people view your behavior completely different.

Here are seven things our Facebook interactions

reveal about people:

1. People with a lot of Facebook friends tend

to have low self-esteem. A 2012 study published

in Computers in Human Behavior found that people

with low self-esteem who worried about their public

perception had the most Facebook friends. The

researchers concluded that self-conscious people

compensate for low self-esteem by trying to appear

popular on Facebook.

2. Extroverts update their status more often

than introverts. Just like in real life, extroverts

socialize more on social media, according to a 2014

study titled “Personality Traits and Self-Presentation

at Facebook”. The study found that extroverts use

the like button more often, upload more pictures, and

update their status more frequently than introverts.

3. Conscientious people organize their photos

carefully. Conscientious people are self-disciplined

hard-workers who spend the least amount of time on

Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior reports

that when conscientious people do use Facebook,

they do so in a very organized manner. For example,

they may create neat folders to help share their photos

with friends and family in a methodical and convenient

way.

4. Open people fill out their personal profiles

most thoroughly. A 2010 study discovered that

open people – described as artistic, imaginative, and

creative – use the most features on Facebook and

are most likely to complete the personal information

sections. They also tend to post more “wall messages”

when communicating with specific friends.

5. Narcissists make deeper self-disclosures

that contain self-promotional content. Narcissists

– people with an inflated self-concept and a strong

sense of uniqueness and superiority – seek attention

and affirmation on Facebook. A 2014 study published

in Computers in Human Behavior found that

narcissists posted more frequently about themselves

in an attempt to attract likes and comments that fuel

their beliefs about self-importance. Other studies

have found that people love selfies and they share

the ones where they think they look most attractive in

hopes of gaining admiration.

6. Neurotic people post mostly photos. A 2014

study found that highly neurotic people – those most

prone to stress and anxiety – seek acceptance by

publishing photos. Since neurotic people struggle with

communication and social skills, researchers believe

they use photos on Facebook as a means to express

themselves. Also, photos are less controversial than

comments – which could lead to a lot of anxiety as

they wait for other people’s responses.

Neurotic people tend to have the most photos

per album. Researchers believe this stems from their

desire to present themselves positively. They may use

photos to try and appear happier and to show they are

able to keep up with their friends.

7. Agreeable people are tagged in other

people’s photos most often. A 2012 study titled

“Personality and Patters of Facebook Usage” found

that the higher a person ranks in personality scales

for agreeableness, the more likely that person will be

tagged in Facebook photos posted by other people.

Since agreeable people tend to behave warm and

friendly and less competitive, it’s not surprising that

their friends enjoy taking lighthearted pictures with

them and sharing them on Facebook.

Although we may think we’re masking our

insecurities or portraying ourselves in the most

favorable light, our behavior on social media reveals

more than we might think. It’s not just what we post

on Facebook that reveals information about our

personalities - it’s also what we don’t post that can

be quite telling. It’s likely that our personality profiles

will continue to play a major role in how advertisers

market to us and how companies will choose to hire

people in the future.

Available at: . Retrieved on: Apr. 17th, 2015. Adapted.