Professional Documents
Culture Documents
STRANGE STORIES
TEXT I
CYBER INSECTS!
1 US government agency DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Project Agency) is funding some
strange projects these days: for example, the creation of an army of cyber-insects.
The insects will fly to investigate suspicious objects for explosives and then transmit the results.
Scientists are manipulating the growth of insects, such as dragonflies and moths, by inserting micro-
5 systems at the pupa stage of their development. The micro-system then becomes part of their
envolved bodies and scientists can control the actions of the insects. Previous experiments with
wasps failed becuase the cyber-wasps ignored objectives and just flew away. British entomology
expert Stuart Hine is skeptical: “It’s possible to use insects to detect explosives,” he says, “but
controllable cyber-insects are simply fiction.”
TEXT II
IS YOUR TRAIN RUNNING LATE?
1 British trains were once famous for punctuality, but that is no longer true. It isn’t uncommon for
travellers to spend hours waiting for trains, but the situation could be far worse. Recent reports tell
us British Rail planned to develop a spacecraft: in March 1973 the company patented a design for a
spacecraft powered by a thermonuclear reactor.
5 Luckily, inventor Charles Osmond Frederick based his design on fusion technology wich still
doesn’t exist: otherwise, today you might be waiting for that incredibly late spaceship from Mars to
Earth!
TEXT III
ANYONE FOR GOLF?
1 The Toronto golf company, Element 21, wants astronauts on the International Space Station to play
golf during a spacewalk scheduled this year. An astronaut will hit a golf ball into space; the ball will
then orbit around the Earth for four years. Experts warn the astronaut must be careful as the ball
might travel the same orbit as the space station and return to hit it. They say the collision would be
5 equal to a 6.5 tonne truck crashing at 100 kilometers per hour. Bill Ailor of the US Aerospace
Corporation says this is nonsense. Nasa is still evaluating the risks.
TEXT II
01 - Por que eram famosos os trens britânicos?
_Por pontualidade.
____________________________________________________________________________
02 - O que dizem as notícias sobre a British Rail?
Uma usina movida por energia térmica.
_____________________________________________________________________________
03 - O que fez a companhia em 1973?
__Uma usina.
___________________________________________________________________________
04 - No que se baseou o desenho de Charles Osmond?
__Na tecnologia de fusão.
___________________________________________________________________________
TEXT III
A - Responda em Português de acordo com o texto.
01 - O que pretende a companhia de Golf de Toronto?
__Jogar golfe durante uma
missão._______________________________________________________________________
____
02 - O que fará o astronauta?
_Jogará golfe.
____________________________________________________________________________
03 - Por quanto tempo a bola ficará no espaço?
_4 anos.
___________________________________________________________________________
04 - Segundo os peritos qual é o cuidado que o astronauta deve ter?
_Para não atingir a estação espacial.
____________________________________________________________________________
05 - Qual é a comparação feita referente à colisão da bola?
__Que pode parecer um meteoro.
___________________________________________________________________________
06 - O que diz Bill Ailor?
_Que a NASA está analisando os riscos.
___________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary:
is funding está financiando
army exército
growth crescimento, dsenvolvimento
dragonflies and moths libélulas e mariposas
at the pupa stage of their development na fase crisálida de seu desenvolvimento
wasps vespas
to detect localizar
fiction fantasia, ficção
spacecraft nave spacial
patented a design patenteou um projeto
powered impulsionada
otherwise de outra forma; senão, do contrário
space walk passeio pelo espaço
warn advertem
and return to hit it e retornar chocando-se contra a própria estação espacial
truck caminhão
nonsense bobagem sem sentido