Prova de 2012: Universidade Estadual do Ceará (UECE) — questões com gabarito

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

As seguintes expressões destacadas do texto são marcas de autoria: “Que isso tenha sido assim, e continue a ser assim, constitui, por si só, anomalia indiscutível, das mais graves e profundas a que foi já submetida a cultura, em qualquer época, em qualquer país” (linhas 29-33); “Nossos jovens assimilam padrões culturais de uma civilização em crise, angustiada entre o sexo e a violência.” (linhas 58-61); “Não há talvez, em toda a história, exemplo tão gigantesco de alienação cultural.” (linhas 64-66)

Essas marcas caracterizam o enunciador como

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

Entendendo-se concessão como um “fato subordinado e contrário ao da ação principal de uma oração, mas incapaz de impedir que tal ação venha a ocorrer” (Houaiss), assinale a opção que apresenta uma concessão.

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

Há palavras ou expressões consideradas modalizadoras. Com elas, o locutor expressa sua atitude em relação ao seu próprio discurso. Dentre as expressões em destaque assinale a única que NÃO tem essa função.

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

Nas linhas 12 e 13, o locutor emprega dois modalizadores: “pode (ser)” e “deve (ser)”. Atente ao que se diz sobre esse uso.

I. Com o uso do “pode (ser)”, o locutor expressa possibilidade; com o uso do “deve (ser)”, indica obrigatoriedade.

II. O emprego dessas duas expressões modalizadoras, do modo como aparecem no texto, é um recurso linguístico para valorizar a segunda: “deve (ser)”.

III. Expressões como a primeira atenuam a responsabilidade do locutor; expressões como a segunda maximizam a responsabilidade do locutor.

Está correto o que se diz em

CINEMA

Nélson Werneck Sodré. Síntese de História da Cultura Brasileira. Extraído da 15ª edição, de 1988. p. 79-80; 91-92. Texto adaptado.

Observe que, no último parágrafo, o enunciador repete a expressão “Por longos e longos decênios”. Emprega-a três vezes no início de períodos seguidos e uma quarta vez no meio de outro período. Essa insistente repetição só NÃO pode ser considerada um recurso para enfatizar

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

O conto fantástico, mais do que o conto realista, precisa de uma ambientação adequada que dê sustentação ao mistério. Marque a única opção que NÃO traz elementos que entraram na construção do cenário fantástico do texto.

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

Faz parte da teoria do conto a ideia de que esse tipo de narrativa não permite os excessos; se aparecer um detalhe aparentemente sem importância, ele terá uma função em algum momento do texto. Por exemplo: se uma espingarda aparecer encostada a um canto, pode-se ter certeza de que ela vai disparar. No conto em pauta, essa teoria se confirma por meio do aparecimento do(a,s)

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

Observe o que se diz sobre a técnica da narrativa em foco.

I. A narrativa é feita em primeira pessoa, por um narrador que, sendo também personagem, narra somente de sua perspectiva. A narrativa em primeira pessoa é apropriada ao conto fantástico porque quem narra é a mesma pessoa que viveu o episódio narrado. Não o ouviu de terceiros.

II. A narrativa é feita por um narrador personagem onisciente, que penetra no interior das outras personagens e consegue ler seus pensamentos. Essa técnica narrativa não é apropriada ao conto fantástico, uma vez que o narrador, sendo consciente de tudo, sabe qual o mistério que dá sustentação ao sobrenatural.

III. A narração é feita da perspectiva da personagem não-narradora. Essa personagem, participando dos acontecimentos, segue as outras personagens e pode narrar tudo o que elas fazem e até prever o que estão escondendo e guardando para ser revelado somente no final, o que aumenta a sensação do mistério.

Está correto o que se diz somente em

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

O conto apresenta uma série de indefinições: não se sabe quem é a personagem narradora nem o Cris; também não se sabe o motivo de o narrador segui-lo e, por fim, matá-lo. Com essas lacunas o locutor tem a intenção de obscurecer os limites entre o real e o sobrenatural, e

I. atingir o leitor que será levado a confundir ficção com mentira.

II. dar oportunidade ao leitor de preencher as lacunas e, assim, fazê-lo assumir a função de coenunciador.

III. aumentar o suspense e dar força ao fantástico.

Completa corretamente a afirmação o que se diz em

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

Observe as referências a Cris: “nunca se inquietava com o que poderia estar se passando em torno dele.” (linhas 75-76); “Cris, sereno e desembaraçado, locomovia-se facilmente.” (linhas 88-89); “Tinha a impressão de que os olhava com ternura antes de livrar-se deles.” (linhas 98-100); “Do seu corpo magro saiu a lua.” (linhas 138-139).

Essas referências caracterizam Cris como

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

O andar firme e em linha reta em certa noite; a chegada à rua do meretrício; as paradas diante dos portões e as espiadelas pelas janelas são ações que permitem afirmar que Cris

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

Alguns dos motivos mais explorados no conto fantástico estão relacionados abaixo. Assinale o que foi explorado no conto em pauta.

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

O texto literário possibilita mais de uma leitura: uma no plano superficial e outra ou outras no plano mais profundo. Apliquemos esta teoria no texto em estudo. Quando o narrador-personagem mata Cris, sai do corpo do morto a lua. Atente ao que se diz sobre o fenômeno.

I. Uma leitura mais superficial do texto indicaria que o surgimento da lua nas mãos de Cris supriria a falta de luz naquela rua.

II. Uma leitura mais profunda do texto seria no campo simbólico: a lua representaria a transformação, o crescimento, a passagem da vida à morte.

Sobre as declarações acima, pode-se afirmar corretamente que

O conto que vem a seguir é classificado como fantástico. O conto fantástico se constitui de uma narrativa em que se chocam o plano do natural e o plano do sobrenatural (vocábulo que indica somente o que não é natural, não tem conotação religiosa). Nesse conflito, o âmbito do sobrenatural invade o âmbito do natural, geralmente desestruturando-o. O desfecho de uma narrativa fantástica não deve proporcionar, ao contrário do desfecho da narrativa de mistério, um esclarecimento, no texto, para o fato sobrenatural.

“Seja aquela uma noite solitária, e não digna de louvor.” (Jó, III, 7)

Murilo Rubião. Contos reunidos. p. 133-135.

Atente ao que se diz sobre “O invisível andava pelas minhas mãos” (linha 87-88).

I. Há, no enunciado em destaque, um desvio no nível textual quando se atribui ao “invisível” a faculdade de andar.

II. Construiu-se em “O invisível andava pelas minhas mãos” uma metáfora de grande alcance sensorial.

III. Com o processo descrito anteriormente, ocorreu uma intensificação da sensação tátil. Mas, como é o “invisível” que se torna palpável, há uma ênfase na dificuldade de, no meio da escuridão, a personagem narradora visualizar Cris, apesar de ela sentir que ele deve estar por perto.

Está correto o que se diz em

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. 

     This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. 

    They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. 

    Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle MartinRhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. 

    In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task. 

    The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

    Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

    The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of PompeuFabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. 

    The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life). 

    In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not. 

    Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

    Nobody ever doubted the power of language. But who would have imagined that the words we hear and the sentences we speak might be leaving such a deep imprint? 

Source: www.nytimes.com

According to the text, being bilingual, among other advantages, helps trigger some processes in the brain that make the person

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. 

     This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. 

    They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. 

    Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle MartinRhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. 

    In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task. 

    The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

    Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

    The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of PompeuFabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. 

    The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life). 

    In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not. 

    Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

    Nobody ever doubted the power of language. But who would have imagined that the words we hear and the sentences we speak might be leaving such a deep imprint? 

Source: www.nytimes.com

The study recently carried out with elderly Spanish-English bilinguals reached the conclusion that

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. 

     This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. 

    They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. 

    Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle MartinRhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. 

    In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task. 

    The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

    Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

    The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of PompeuFabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. 

    The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life). 

    In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not. 

    Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

    Nobody ever doubted the power of language. But who would have imagined that the words we hear and the sentences we speak might be leaving such a deep imprint? 

Source: www.nytimes.com

In relation to the difference between bilinguals and monolinguals, Alberto Costa mentions the fact that bilinguals

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. 

     This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. 

    They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. 

    Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle MartinRhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. 

    In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task. 

    The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

    Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

    The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of PompeuFabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. 

    The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life). 

    In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not. 

    Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

    Nobody ever doubted the power of language. But who would have imagined that the words we hear and the sentences we speak might be leaving such a deep imprint? 

Source: www.nytimes.com

The task of threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page is mentioned in the text as an instance of an activity that

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. 

     This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. 

    They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. 

    Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle MartinRhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. 

    In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task. 

    The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

    Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

    The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of PompeuFabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. 

    The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life). 

    In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not. 

    Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

    Nobody ever doubted the power of language. But who would have imagined that the words we hear and the sentences we speak might be leaving such a deep imprint? 

Source: www.nytimes.com

An example of a pair of words/terms that appear in the text with similar meaning is