(FUVEST - 2002 - 1a fase)
IF PUBLIC speaking gives you the willies, the chances are you’ll be just as scared of virtual people, experts have discovered. But 1in the long run these “avatars” will help you overcome your fears.
Mel Slater at University College London, and his colleague David-Paul Pertaub have developed a VR environment to help people overcome their phobias. In their virtual seminar room, people have to give a presentation to eight computer-generated people who can appear by turns fascinated, bored stiff or just annoyingly neutral.
While it’s not the first time VR has been used to treat phobias, such as fear of spiders or flying, no one knew if the technique could also help people to overcome their social phobias.
To find out, Pertaub watched how people behave in seminars and programmed the virtual people to do the same things: crossing their arms, frowning, yawning and putting their feet on the table. “Our negative audience is very negative,” says Slater.
Then Slater and Pertaub compared the performances of 43 volunteers who gave a talk either to an attentive audience or to an unenthusiastic one. Surprisingly, the subjects responded as if the avatars were real.
21 July 2001• New Scientist • www.newscientist.com
1“....in the long run” means
afterwards
before longlately
lately
from now on
in the end
Gabarito:
in the end
A) INCORRECT: no contexto em que a expressão "long run" foi colocada, ela só pode nos significar "no final", no objetivo, no último momento, em que já não serão mais necessários testes para os avatares.
B) INCORRECT: pois a expressão e o contexto indica algo que vai ocorre no futuro, e não algo que ocorreu há muito tempo atrás, invalidando o uso de "before".
C) INCORRECT: pois o "lately" indica algo que está ocorrendo no momento, mas não é o sentido expresso por "in the long run", que indica algo que ocorrerá no futuro.
D) INCORRECT: pois a ideia de "from now on" expressa algo que ocorre no momento e que se estenderá para o futuro, algo que não é a mesma ideia expressa em "in the long run".
E) CORRECT: pois a ideia de "in the end" (no fim) expressa uma situação que ocorrerá no futuro e, mais do que isso, indica algo que ocorrerá nos finalmentes, a mesma ideia expressa em "in the long run" no contexto inserido.