1) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaWhatsApp has launched its first major privacy- focused advertising campaign in the UK. It follows a customer backlash against changes to its terms and conditions, announced earlier this year. The platform also said it is standing firm against pressure from governments, including the UK, to compromise on the way that it encrypts messages. Authorities should "demand more security" rather than less, WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart told the BBC. "The first step of keeping people safe is, you have to have strong security, and we think governments shouldn't be out there trying to encourage tech companies to offer weak security," he said. "They should be out there trying to encourage or even mandate that companies offer the strongest security possible."WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, which means messages can only be read on the device which sends one and the device which receives it. WhatsApp itself - and by default its parent company Facebook - cannot view or intercept them, and neither can law enforcement. Home Secretary Priti Patel has described the use of end-to-end encryption as "not acceptable" in the fight against the sharing of illegal content. WhatsApp is already blocked in mainland China, and it is suing the Indian government over new digital rules that will force it to violate its privacy protections. Around 400 million of its two billion global users are in India. While the firm cannot see the content of messages, it has developed other tools which help it block illegal material and widely-shared misinformation. In January, thousands of users threatened to leave WhatsApp, wrongly thinking it was going to start sharing messaging data with Facebook following an announcement about changes to its terms and conditions. Those who did not accept the update would begin to lose functionality, it said. Will Cathcart said the firm took responsibility for the "confusion" the announcement had created. "To reiterate, nothing about the privacy of people's personal conversations changed in our update," he said.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.Which sentence has the same meaning as 'Whatsapp is suing the Indian government over new digital rules'?
- The Indian government is forcing Whatsapp to implement new digital rules.
- Whatsapp is blocked by the Indian government because of new digital rules.
- Whatsapp has to pay money to the Indian government for failing to implement new digital rules.
- Whatsapp is taking legal action against the Indian government in connection with new digital rules.
2) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaScientists in Australia have classified a new species of dinosaur, discovered in 2007, as the largest ever found on the continent. The Australotitan cooperensis, or "the southern titan", is among the 15 largest dinosaurs found worldwide. Experts said the titanosaur would have been up to 6.5m (21ft) tall and 30m long, or "as long as a basketball court". Its skeleton was first discovered on a farm in south-west Queensland.Palaeontologists had worked over the past decade to identify the dinosaur - distinguishing it from other known species by comparing scans of its bones to those of other sauropods. Sauropods were plant-eating dinosaurs known for their size. They had small heads, very long necks, long tails and thick, pillar-like legs. The team of researchers had nicknamed the dinosaur Cooper while working on it, after the nearby Cooper Creek where it was found. The team found the Australotitan was closely related to three other sauropod species - the Wintonotitan, Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus. "It looks like Australia's largest dinosaurs were all part of one big happy family," said Dr Scott Hocknull, one of the lead researchers. "It's amazing to think from the first bones discovered by our son, the first digs with the Queensland Museum, through to the development of a not-for-profit museum that runs annual dinosaur digs, all have helped us to get to this point, it's a real privilege," Stuart Mackenzie said. The Queensland state government welcomed the classification on Tuesday- calling it a boon for local dinosaur discovery.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.Which of the following is TRUE about the new dinosaur species?
- It was discovered in a residential area.
- It is the largest species found in the world.
- It grew up to 30m high.
- It is the largest species found in Australia.
3) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaPresident Joe Biden announced that the United States plans to donate 500 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses globally as part of his efforts to reassert US leadership on the world stage. "America knows first-hand the tragedy of this pandemic. We've had more people die in the United States than anywhere in the world, nearly 600,000 of our fellow Americans," Biden said in remarks after meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He added, "We know the tragedy. We also know the path to recovery." The move will also serve to counter efforts by Russia and China to use their own state-funded vaccines to expand their global influence.White House officials brokered a deal with Pfizer to secure half-a-billion doses of its coronavirus vaccine over the course of just four weeks as they raced to secure a deal ahead of the G7 summit, a senior White House official told CNN. Over those four weeks, White House officials -- led by Jeffrey Zients, the White House's coronavirus coordinator whom Biden also tapped to lead the international vaccine distribution effort -- engaged in near-daily negotiations with several US-based vaccine manufacturers, ultimately selecting Pfizer because the company "could deliver the fastest." Hundreds of millions of doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, along with China's Sinovac and Sinopharm shots, have been making their way around the world. Only the Sinopharm vaccine has been accepted into the World Health Organization's COVAX initiative. The White House has said it has been monitoring and is concerned by efforts by Russia and China to use vaccines to make geopolitical gains.Biden had previously committed to sharing 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with other countries. Last week, the Biden administration announced a plan to share the first 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world and an overall framework of distributing at least 80 million doses by the end of June. About 75% of those donated vaccines will be shared with the global vaccination program called Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, and about 25% will be shared directly with countries in need, the White House said. Biden said last month the US would share an additional 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of June on top of the 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine the President had already committed to sharing by July 4. The additional 20 million doses will consist of Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as well as AstraZeneca, which has to be approved by federal regulators before being shipped overseas.Read the extract taken from CNN and then choose the correct option.Following the widespread distribution of the Chinese and Russian covid-19 vaccines, the White House:
- Is watching their vaccine roll out to gain insights into their geopolitical status.
- Is focused on their manufacturing methods.
- Is worried that they are using the vaccine for political advantage.
- Is trying to block efforts to have the Sputnik and Sinovac vaccines approved by the WHO.
4) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaBeekeeping is one of the oldest industries in existence, but it faces numerous threats. A number of tech firms hope to help the honey bee have a brighter future. Noah Wilson-Rich, chief scientific officer of US firm Best Bees Company, says it is distressing how many American honey bee colonies, or hives as they are otherwise known, die off every year. Hit by a deadly parasitic mite, pesticides and climate change, a survey showed that between April 2019 and 2020 43.7% of US hives were lost. His Boston firm installs hives on commercial and residential properties - everywhere from roof tops to back gardens. Its staff then use an advanced software system to monitor and record the health of all the bee colonies. The data is shared with researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to help them better understand the plight of the insects. One firm also at the forefront of the honey bee industry is Irish business ApisProtect, which makes wireless in-hive sensors that collect and transmit data to a website-based "dashboard". "What we do is extract those raw data points and then use machine learning to convert that into useful information," says Chief Executive Fiona Edwards Murphy. "In a commercial operation only about 20% of hives at any given time need intervention. The problem is that beekeepers don't know which 20%. They literally go out and pick around a hive to see if it's the one they should be looking at. What we do is enable them to get a picture of what's happening in all their hives, spread across a large area, before they even leave their office in the morning. For commercial beekeepers, we see a 50% reduction in labour costs. That obviously has a huge impact on the business of beekeeping." An even more futuristic bee tech project is the pan European Hiveopolis scheme, which is studying the possibility of putting tiny "waggle dancing" robots inside hives to influence bee behaviour. The idea is that the robots will try to imitate how bees communicate using movement. And from that the hope is that the robots will be able to direct the worker bees to the best sources of nectar.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.What is the purpose of the Hiveopolis scheme's robots?
- To help honey bees find nectar.
- To distract the bees with their 'waggle dance'.
- To learn to communicate with the bees.
- To replace worker bees.
5) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaJeff Bezos' space venture Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its upcoming first crewed spaceflight on Saturday for $28 million. The winning bidder, whose name wasn't released, will fly to the edge of space with the Amazon founder and his brother Mark on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket scheduled to launch on July 20. The company said it will reveal the name of the auction winner in the coming weeks. Bidding opened at $4.8 million but surpassed $20 million within the first few minutes of the auction. The auction's proceeds will be donated to Blue Origin's education-focused nonprofit Club for the Future, which supports kids interested in future STEM careers. New Shepard, a rocket that carries a capsule to an altitude of over 340,000 feet, has flown more than a dozen successful test flights without passengers, including one in April at the company's facility in the Texas desert. It's designed to carry up to six people and flies autonomously - without needing a pilot. The capsule has massive windows to give passengers a view of the earth below during about three minutes in zero gravity, before returning to Earth. Bezos and fellow billionaires Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson are in a race to get to space, but each in different ways. Bezos' Blue Origin and Branson's Virgin Galactic are competing to take passengers on short flights to the edge of space, a sector known as suborbital tourism, while Musk's SpaceX is launching private passengers on further, multi-day flights, in what is known as orbital tourism. Blue Origin's auction may have netted $28 million, but a seat on a suborbital spacecraft is typically much less expensive. Virgin Galactic has historically sold reservations between $200,000 and $250,000 per ticket, and more recently charged the Italian Air Force about $500,000 per ticket for a training spaceflight. Musk's orbital missions are more costly than the suborbital flights, with NASA paying SpaceX about $55 million per seat for spaceflights to the ISS.Read the extract taken from CNBC and then choose the correct option.In the context of the article, what does FELLOW mean?
- Copying the ideas or inventions of someone else.
- A member or group having common characteristics.
- A founder or CEO of a company.
- Having a lot of money or property.
6) "High technology research and production facilities have developed in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco. The region is the biggest high-tech manufacturing centre in the United States. Thousands of high-technology companies, like Apple, eBay, Google and Yahoo!, have their headquarters in this area". According to the text, what is the region regarded as the biggest high-tech manufacturing centre in the US?
- Pasadena.
- Napa Valley.
- Silicon Valley.
- Yarra Valley.
7) "Parts of England are thought to have seen a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 80% over 15 years, official estimates show. Between 2005 and 2019 Northumberland saw the biggest percentage drop in emissions per person, at 83%. But experts say the change is not a complete picture, as industries shift overseas rather than decarbonizing. The UK has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and is currently hosting COP26." What are enterprises doing to avoid decarbonization?
- Greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced.
- They are moving abroad.
- They are trying to reduce their gas emissions.
- They have drastically reduced their gas emissions.
8) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaUp to 10,000 people could be allowed to watch Olympic events in Tokyo this summer, after Japanese health experts approved plans to raise the number of spectators at sports venues. The proposed measure would come into force after a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country ends on 20 June and would last until the end of August, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister overseeing Japan's coronavirus response. "It is important that we maintain thorough anti-infection measures to prevent a rebound in cases, especially as we foresee a spread of the Delta variant," Nishimura told a government advisory panel, which endorsed the spectator cap.Spectators are currently capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, whichever is smaller. Tokyo, Osaka and eight other regions are under a state of emergency that is due to end on 20 June. Bars and restaurants have been banned from selling alcohol and must close at 8pm, while people have been urged to avoid non-essential outings and companies encouraged to allow employees to work from home.The Tokyo 2020 organising committee will not make a final decision on whether to allow domestic spectators to attend Olympic events until later this month. Nishimura said health experts had agreed with a government plan that would permit the increase in spectators provided that no special coronavirus infection controls were in place. Reports suggest Japan is likely to retain some rules on restaurant opening hours and other businesses that attract large numbers of people. With overseas sports fans already banned this summer, Japan's government is keen to have a limited number of domestic spectators at Olympic venues to create a semblance of atmosphere. On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee warned competitors who breached Covid rules would face a range of punishments, including temporary or permanent expulsion from the Games.Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.The proposed measure:
- Will start at the end of August.
- Will be enforced by the police.
- Is due to the state of emergency.
- Will last for more than 2 months.
9) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaIn an interview last month with Oprah for their jointly produced docuseries about mental health, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry made a deeply personal disclosure. Harry said he sought a special therapy program, EMDR, to process the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He described how living with the trauma of her death makes him feel "helpless", "hunted", and as if "there is no escape".EMDR was developed in 1989 by Francine Shapiro, a California psychotherapist, as a treatment for trauma. It operates on the theory that "emotional, behavioral, and mental health symptoms originate from maladaptively stored life events. As those stored events are triggered, the client experiences disturbances and dysfunction in his or her current life." EMDR aims to help patients with painful memories of trauma to better manage anxiety-provoking stimuli. A typical EMDR session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes, during which the client is asked to visualize a traumatic event. Practitioners use repeated physical stimuli - such as sounds, taps or a pulsing lightbar - to facilitate "information processing" until the client is able to report that the memory is less disturbing. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has more than 10,000 members trained to provide this therapy.EMDR is not without controversy. The Harvard psychologist Richard McNally has argued that "what is effective in EMDR is not new, and what is new is not effective". EMDR training ranges from $445 to $890. And it costs patients up to $200 per session if they don't have insurance or if their insurance does not cover it. That said, the therapy continues to grow in popularity in the US and across the globe and has been increasingly embraced by mainstream psychologists. EMDR may also provide an alternative for those who find talk therapy a challenge. Frontiers in Psychology, the largest peer-reviewed journal in its field, considers EMDR "an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", and cites "growing interest" in the treatment. Past controversies plaguing the therapy are now considered outdated and said to "stem from misinformation".Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.Following his mother's death, Prince Harry:
- Felt that he needed to escape.
- Received mental health treatment.
- Was able to process his trauma without help.
- Spoke to Oprah to process his trauma.
10) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaWhatsApp has launched its first major privacy- focused advertising campaign in the UK. It follows a customer backlash against changes to its terms and conditions, announced earlier this year. The platform also said it is standing firm against pressure from governments, including the UK, to compromise on the way that it encrypts messages. Authorities should "demand more security" rather than less, WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart told the BBC. "The first step of keeping people safe is, you have to have strong security, and we think governments shouldn't be out there trying to encourage tech companies to offer weak security," he said. "They should be out there trying to encourage or even mandate that companies offer the strongest security possible."WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, which means messages can only be read on the device which sends one and the device which receives it. WhatsApp itself - and by default its parent company Facebook - cannot view or intercept them, and neither can law enforcement. Home Secretary Priti Patel has described the use of end-to-end encryption as "not acceptable" in the fight against the sharing of illegal content. WhatsApp is already blocked in mainland China, and it is suing the Indian government over new digital rules that will force it to violate its privacy protections. Around 400 million of its two billion global users are in India. While the firm cannot see the content of messages, it has developed other tools which help it block illegal material and widely-shared misinformation. In January, thousands of users threatened to leave WhatsApp, wrongly thinking it was going to start sharing messaging data with Facebook following an announcement about changes to its terms and conditions. Those who did not accept the update would begin to lose functionality, it said. Will Cathcart said the firm took responsibility for the "confusion" the announcement had created. "To reiterate, nothing about the privacy of people's personal conversations changed in our update," he said.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.What is a parent company?
- A company controlled by a holding company.
- A company controlled by the same family as another company.
- A company belonging to the same group of companies as another company.
- A company that buys, owns and controls the shares of another company.
11) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaJeff Bezos' space venture Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its upcoming first crewed spaceflight on Saturday for $28 million. The winning bidder, whose name wasn't released, will fly to the edge of space with the Amazon founder and his brother Mark on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket scheduled to launch on July 20. The company said it will reveal the name of the auction winner in the coming weeks. Bidding opened at $4.8 million but surpassed $20 million within the first few minutes of the auction. The auction's proceeds will be donated to Blue Origin's education-focused nonprofit Club for the Future, which supports kids interested in future STEM careers. New Shepard, a rocket that carries a capsule to an altitude of over 340,000 feet, has flown more than a dozen successful test flights without passengers, including one in April at the company's facility in the Texas desert. It's designed to carry up to six people and flies autonomously - without needing a pilot. The capsule has massive windows to give passengers a view of the earth below during about three minutes in zero gravity, before returning to Earth. Bezos and fellow billionaires Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson are in a race to get to space, but each in different ways. Bezos' Blue Origin and Branson's Virgin Galactic are competing to take passengers on short flights to the edge of space, a sector known as suborbital tourism, while Musk's SpaceX is launching private passengers on further, multi-day flights, in what is known as orbital tourism. Blue Origin's auction may have netted $28 million, but a seat on a suborbital spacecraft is typically much less expensive. Virgin Galactic has historically sold reservations between $200,000 and $250,000 per ticket, and more recently charged the Italian Air Force about $500,000 per ticket for a training spaceflight. Musk's orbital missions are more costly than the suborbital flights, with NASA paying SpaceX about $55 million per seat for spaceflights to the ISS.Read the extract taken from CNBC and then choose the correct option.What does 'auction off' mean?
- To select a winner based on their merits.
- To sell something to the person who pays the most.
- To offer something as a prize.
- To create a type of lottery system.
12) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaIn an interview last month with Oprah for their jointly produced docuseries about mental health, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry made a deeply personal disclosure. Harry said he sought a special therapy program, EMDR, to process the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He described how living with the trauma of her death makes him feel "helpless", "hunted", and as if "there is no escape".EMDR was developed in 1989 by Francine Shapiro, a California psychotherapist, as a treatment for trauma. It operates on the theory that "emotional, behavioral, and mental health symptoms originate from maladaptively stored life events. As those stored events are triggered, the client experiences disturbances and dysfunction in his or her current life." EMDR aims to help patients with painful memories of trauma to better manage anxiety-provoking stimuli. A typical EMDR session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes, during which the client is asked to visualize a traumatic event. Practitioners use repeated physical stimuli - such as sounds, taps or a pulsing lightbar - to facilitate "information processing" until the client is able to report that the memory is less disturbing. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has more than 10,000 members trained to provide this therapy.EMDR is not without controversy. The Harvard psychologist Richard McNally has argued that "what is effective in EMDR is not new, and what is new is not effective". EMDR training ranges from $445 to $890. And it costs patients up to $200 per session if they don't have insurance or if their insurance does not cover it. That said, the therapy continues to grow in popularity in the US and across the globe and has been increasingly embraced by mainstream psychologists. EMDR may also provide an alternative for those who find talk therapy a challenge. Frontiers in Psychology, the largest peer-reviewed journal in its field, considers EMDR "an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", and cites "growing interest" in the treatment. Past controversies plaguing the therapy are now considered outdated and said to "stem from misinformation".Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.Which of the following best summarises the article?
- EMDR is a new form of psychotherapy.
- EMDR as a way to cope with trauma.
- Oprah helps Prince Harry find mental health treatment.
- Prince Harry has PTSD following the death of his mother.
13) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaIn an interview last month with Oprah for their jointly produced docuseries about mental health, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry made a deeply personal disclosure. Harry said he sought a special therapy program, EMDR, to process the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He described how living with the trauma of her death makes him feel "helpless", "hunted", and as if "there is no escape".EMDR was developed in 1989 by Francine Shapiro, a California psychotherapist, as a treatment for trauma. It operates on the theory that "emotional, behavioral, and mental health symptoms originate from maladaptively stored life events. As those stored events are triggered, the client experiences disturbances and dysfunction in his or her current life." EMDR aims to help patients with painful memories of trauma to better manage anxiety-provoking stimuli. A typical EMDR session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes, during which the client is asked to visualize a traumatic event. Practitioners use repeated physical stimuli - such as sounds, taps or a pulsing lightbar - to facilitate "information processing" until the client is able to report that the memory is less disturbing. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has more than 10,000 members trained to provide this therapy.EMDR is not without controversy. The Harvard psychologist Richard McNally has argued that "what is effective in EMDR is not new, and what is new is not effective". EMDR training ranges from $445 to $890. And it costs patients up to $200 per session if they don't have insurance or if their insurance does not cover it. That said, the therapy continues to grow in popularity in the US and across the globe and has been increasingly embraced by mainstream psychologists. EMDR may also provide an alternative for those who find talk therapy a challenge. Frontiers in Psychology, the largest peer-reviewed journal in its field, considers EMDR "an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", and cites "growing interest" in the treatment. Past controversies plaguing the therapy are now considered outdated and said to "stem from misinformation".Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.EMDR is based on a theory that:
- Emotional, behavioural and mental health symptoms are caused by the refusal to face past trauma.
- Remembering traumatic events triggers mental health symptoms.
- When traumatic events that are not suitably stored in the brain are triggered, they can cause disturbances in a person's life.
- All mental health symptoms are based on traumatic life events.
14) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaWhen you take a shy, sometimes awkward and mostly unknown young person who isn't even 21 years old, turn them into a global sports superstar almost overnight, make them the highest-earning female athlete on the planet and have them represent a country that has never claimed a tennis player of such magnitude, there is no playbook. For some, it might come naturally. For others, you can imagine it being deeply uncomfortable and invasive, full of anxieties and pressures that can place undue strain on mental well-being. In Naomi Osaka's announcement Monday that she is pulling out of the French Open - after several days of escalating narratives about her initial announcement that she wouldn't fulfill the tournament's media obligations and a stern response from the Grand Slam tournaments - she revealed that she has suffered bouts of depression since winning the 2018 U.S. Open. Further, she said she will take some time away from tennis, and it's unclear when she intends to return. There was, on all sides, almost certainly a more productive and diplomatic way to handle this. But whatever that path might have been no longer matters. This has now become the biggest story in tennis, something that in many ways transcends sports, and the consequences are going to reverberate for a long time. The main thing now is that Osaka gets in position to return as soon as she feels well enough to do so. The issues this episode raised are going to linger, but at least we have a better understanding of the difficulties she's been dealing with. Had everyone involved taken a deep breath and talked to one another, this probably could have been resolved in a much more orderly fashion. Hopefully, after her break from the sport, Osaka can be part of a productive dialogue on mental health and feel comfortable participating in all aspects of being a high- level tennis player again - including talking to the press.Read the extract taken from USA Today and then choose the correct option.The most important thing is that:
- Osaka recovers in her own time.
- This will lead to lasting change.
- We remember that mental health issues often linger.
- Now we know about the mental stress experienced by sports stars.
15) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaIn an interview last month with Oprah for their jointly produced docuseries about mental health, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry made a deeply personal disclosure. Harry said he sought a special therapy program, EMDR, to process the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He described how living with the trauma of her death makes him feel "helpless", "hunted", and as if "there is no escape".EMDR was developed in 1989 by Francine Shapiro, a California psychotherapist, as a treatment for trauma. It operates on the theory that "emotional, behavioral, and mental health symptoms originate from maladaptively stored life events. As those stored events are triggered, the client experiences disturbances and dysfunction in his or her current life." EMDR aims to help patients with painful memories of trauma to better manage anxiety-provoking stimuli. A typical EMDR session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes, during which the client is asked to visualize a traumatic event. Practitioners use repeated physical stimuli - such as sounds, taps or a pulsing lightbar - to facilitate "information processing" until the client is able to report that the memory is less disturbing. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has more than 10,000 members trained to provide this therapy.EMDR is not without controversy. The Harvard psychologist Richard McNally has argued that "what is effective in EMDR is not new, and what is new is not effective". EMDR training ranges from $445 to $890. And it costs patients up to $200 per session if they don't have insurance or if their insurance does not cover it. That said, the therapy continues to grow in popularity in the US and across the globe and has been increasingly embraced by mainstream psychologists. EMDR may also provide an alternative for those who find talk therapy a challenge. Frontiers in Psychology, the largest peer-reviewed journal in its field, considers EMDR "an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", and cites "growing interest" in the treatment. Past controversies plaguing the therapy are now considered outdated and said to "stem from misinformation".Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.What is one of the disadvantages of EMDR?
- Professionals must pay over $400 to receive training.
- It isn't covered by health insurance.
- It isn't effective.
- It's a mainstream form of therapy.
16) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaOnce one of the poorest countries following the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea has rebuilt its economy from scratch. With barely any natural resources available, the only asset that Korea has had to rely on is its people, who have acted as a cornerstone of the extraordinary economic growth known as the Miracle on the Han River. The country's number one focus was to elevate education, and within just 10 years following the Korean War, illiteracy plummeted from 78% to 4%.In parallel, the country put all its efforts into maximizing export products, starting with simple items such as garments, fibre and footwear. As exports picked up, the government focused on building more sophisticated hardware-based products for heavy manufacturing industries such as automotive, TVs, steel, mobile devices and semiconductors. At the same time, the government has strengthened its collaborative ties to support a select number of front runners in these industries, which led to the creation of Chaeobols - family led large industrial conglomerates.While highly successful, this choice has had side effects including the uneven distribution of wealth and power and the creation of classes among the population. Economically speaking, South Korea has risen to become the 11th largest economy and the fifth largest exporter of goods and services globally. Samsung and LG have become the top display makers worldwide; Hyundai and Kia combined are third in vehicle production numbers. In July 2021, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD) upgraded Korea's status to a developed economy.South Korea is now at a critical inflection point. The country has succeeded in becoming an economic powerhouse, with a technological edge in manufacturing and hardware-based industries primarily led by large corporations. However, in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where innovative disrupters could overthrow strong incumbents, the country has been striving to use startups to foster such disruptive innovation; making the balance between industrial conglomerates and startups ever more crucial. Korea hasn't always been known as a startup friendly country. This recent development only occurred in the last few years thanks to government support schemes for startups like TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups), a state led incubation programme that discovers and nurtures promising startups by selectively matching them with government funding. In 2017, South Korea established the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to systematically oversee various startup support schemes to continue and reinforce the momentum. Venture investments have also poured into Korean startups and have grown 78% year-on-year in 2021, surpassing 7.7 trillion won ($6.4 billion). The number of new jobs created by startups in 2021 surpassed the number of jobs created by the four largest conglomerates combined.Read the text and answer the questionChaeobols are:
- Family led large industrial conglomerates.
- Startups.
- Industries involved in technology.
- Industrial monopolies.
17) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaPlastic from take-out and convenience food is littering rivers and oceans - but straws are not the worst offenders, according to a new study. Scientists analysed global inventories cataloguing more than 12 million pieces of litter found in and around rivers, oceans, shorelines and the seafloor. They found eight out of 10 items listed were made of plastic. And 44% of this plastic litter related to take-out food and drinks. Single-use bottles, food containers and wrappers, and plastic bags made up the biggest share. Measures to cut plastic pollution have focused on the likes of straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers, which are relatively easy to replace. The researchers say these actions are welcome, but they recommend also tackling plastic from take-out food and drink. Writing in the journal Nature Sustainability, they suggest three possible strategies for tackling the problem: replace plastic in take-out food and drink with more-easily degradable materials; bring in regulatory bans on plastic that can be avoided, such as bags; consider deposit-refund schemes to encourage shoppers to return take-out products. The study also highlighted the problem of litter from fishing gear, such as plastic nets and ropes, which was the biggest problem in the open ocean. Dumped and discarded nets and lines can be deadly for marine wildlife. A second study by the University of Cadiz looked at litter released into the ocean from rivers in Europe alone. Plastic made up about 80% of this, dominated by bits of plastic as well as single-use plastics such as bottles, food packaging and bags. Lead researcher Dr Daniel Gonzalez said action was needed to encourage consumers to reduce their plastic consumption. "We need to act from a citizen's point of view and also from the policy side," he said.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.According to the journal, Nature Sustainability, which of the following is NOT one of the strategies suggested to resolve this problem?
- Use non-plastic fishing gear.
- Use biodegradable materials for take-out meals.
- Prohibit unnecessary plastics items.
- Persuade consumers to return take-out products by introducing monetary incentives.
18) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaThe aviation industry is in crisis, there's a global push to cut carbon emissions, and many of us haven't stepped on a plane or hugged far-flung loved ones in more than a year. But now a fresh bunch of start-ups are working on supersonic and hypersonic projects. Last October frontrunner Boom Supersonic was the first to roll out an actual demonstrator aircraft, the XB1. "That barrier of time is what keeps us apart. We believe it's deeply important to break the time barrier, more so than the sound barrier", said Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO. Designed to seat between 65 and 88 people, Overture will focus on over 500 primarily transoceanic routes that will benefit from the aircraft's Mach-2.2 speeds -- more than twice as fast as today's subsonic commercial jets. A journey from New York to London would take just three hours and 15 minutes while Los Angeles to Sydney would be cut down to eight and a half hours. Breaking the time barrier could be life-changing, says Scholl. "It changes where we can vacation, changes where we can do business, changes who you can fall in love with or you can be close to." Accessibility is key. His aim is that airlines will be able to set fares at a price point similar to business class -- unlike Concorde, which by the '90s was charging around $12,000 for a round trip, or $20,000 in today's money."As things get back into growth mode," says Scholl, "There's an opportunity to build a new-generation fleet that's got supersonic baked into it. That actually makes it easier to adopt." Then there's the plane's lean 199 feet (60 meters) of super- svelte lines, with no space inside for those undesirable middle seats -- an advantage post-pandemic. "Supersonic's got some inherent advantages," says Scholl. "It's about the same form factor as a 757, so it fits in narrow-body gates, which actually causes airlines to really love it." Wide-body gates are at a premium in today's super-congested airports, so big fat airplanes can be hard to find space for -- but not so for a humble Boeing 757 or a Boom Overture.The major obstacle is that "beyond just accomplishing the speed, it generates a ferocious amount of heat. Any conventional engine that you put together would melt." What will be needed is further advances in material science -- and it's dependent on further invention or discovery. Interest in Boom's project has been high, the company says it currently has $6 billion in pre-orders of Overture aircraft.Read the extract taken from CNN and then choose the correct option.Which of the following is true about the Overture aircraft?
- It will charge at least $12,000 round trip.
- It will reduce a Los Angeles to Sydney flight by 8.5 hours.
- It will only fly routes in the USA.
- It will be able to travel at more than double the speed of current commercial aircraft.
19) "The EU offers young people opportunities such as the Erasmus+ programme, which gives students financial and organisational support if they want to study for a period of time at a university in a different EU country. Young people can also train for a job or do voluntary work abroad". What is the name of the EU programme that enables students to study at a different University within the EU?
- Celta.
- Commonwealth.
- The A Team.
- Erasmus+.
20) "Direct person-to-person respiratory transmission is the primary means of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 can also be transmitted longer distances through the airborne route (through inhalation of particles that remain in the air over time and distance), but the extent to which this mode of transmission has contributed to the pandemic is unclear. Scattered reports of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks (eg, in a restaurant, on a bus) have highlighted the potential for longer- distance airborne transmission in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces." How is SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) transmitted?
- Through food.
- Through respiratory transmission.
- By visual contact.
- Through inhalation of flu particles.
21) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaUp to 10,000 people could be allowed to watch Olympic events in Tokyo this summer, after Japanese health experts approved plans to raise the number of spectators at sports venues. The proposed measure would come into force after a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country ends on 20 June and would last until the end of August, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister overseeing Japan's coronavirus response. "It is important that we maintain thorough anti-infection measures to prevent a rebound in cases, especially as we foresee a spread of the Delta variant," Nishimura told a government advisory panel, which endorsed the spectator cap.Spectators are currently capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, whichever is smaller. Tokyo, Osaka and eight other regions are under a state of emergency that is due to end on 20 June. Bars and restaurants have been banned from selling alcohol and must close at 8pm, while people have been urged to avoid non-essential outings and companies encouraged to allow employees to work from home.The Tokyo 2020 organising committee will not make a final decision on whether to allow domestic spectators to attend Olympic events until later this month. Nishimura said health experts had agreed with a government plan that would permit the increase in spectators provided that no special coronavirus infection controls were in place. Reports suggest Japan is likely to retain some rules on restaurant opening hours and other businesses that attract large numbers of people. With overseas sports fans already banned this summer, Japan's government is keen to have a limited number of domestic spectators at Olympic venues to create a semblance of atmosphere. On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee warned competitors who breached Covid rules would face a range of punishments, including temporary or permanent expulsion from the Games.Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.Health experts approved a government plan allowing more spectators:
- In the absence of covid-19 prevention measures.
- And expect that no additional measures will be required.
- If no covid-19 controls are conducted on site.
- But advises that extra measures are necessary.
22) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaUp to 10,000 people could be allowed to watch Olympic events in Tokyo this summer, after Japanese health experts approved plans to raise the number of spectators at sports venues. The proposed measure would come into force after a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country ends on 20 June and would last until the end of August, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister overseeing Japan's coronavirus response. "It is important that we maintain thorough anti-infection measures to prevent a rebound in cases, especially as we foresee a spread of the Delta variant," Nishimura told a government advisory panel, which endorsed the spectator cap.Spectators are currently capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, whichever is smaller. Tokyo, Osaka and eight other regions are under a state of emergency that is due to end on 20 June. Bars and restaurants have been banned from selling alcohol and must close at 8pm, while people have been urged to avoid non-essential outings and companies encouraged to allow employees to work from home.The Tokyo 2020 organising committee will not make a final decision on whether to allow domestic spectators to attend Olympic events until later this month. Nishimura said health experts had agreed with a government plan that would permit the increase in spectators provided that no special coronavirus infection controls were in place. Reports suggest Japan is likely to retain some rules on restaurant opening hours and other businesses that attract large numbers of people. With overseas sports fans already banned this summer, Japan's government is keen to have a limited number of domestic spectators at Olympic venues to create a semblance of atmosphere. On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee warned competitors who breached Covid rules would face a range of punishments, including temporary or permanent expulsion from the Games.Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.The measures of the covid-19 state of emergency:
- Stop bars and restaurants selling alcohol after 8PM.
- Prohibit people from leaving their houses for non-essential reasons.
- Require people to work from home.
- Limit the number of people at sports venues.
23) "The Taliban imposed a prohibition on nearly all kinds of entertainment. Sports such as football, cricket, and Buzkashi were also banned. The group justified this by labeling sports un-Islamic, for they perceived games of many kinds to be against Islam." Why did the Taliban impose a prohibition on sports?
- Because sports are dangerous.
- Because they think sports are un-Islamic and against Islam.
- Because they were just for girls.
- Because football, cricket, and Buzkashi are supposed to be banned.
24) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaThe aviation industry is in crisis, there's a global push to cut carbon emissions, and many of us haven't stepped on a plane or hugged far-flung loved ones in more than a year. But now a fresh bunch of start-ups are working on supersonic and hypersonic projects. Last October frontrunner Boom Supersonic was the first to roll out an actual demonstrator aircraft, the XB1. "That barrier of time is what keeps us apart. We believe it's deeply important to break the time barrier, more so than the sound barrier", said Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO. Designed to seat between 65 and 88 people, Overture will focus on over 500 primarily transoceanic routes that will benefit from the aircraft's Mach-2.2 speeds -- more than twice as fast as today's subsonic commercial jets. A journey from New York to London would take just three hours and 15 minutes while Los Angeles to Sydney would be cut down to eight and a half hours. Breaking the time barrier could be life-changing, says Scholl. "It changes where we can vacation, changes where we can do business, changes who you can fall in love with or you can be close to." Accessibility is key. His aim is that airlines will be able to set fares at a price point similar to business class -- unlike Concorde, which by the '90s was charging around $12,000 for a round trip, or $20,000 in today's money."As things get back into growth mode," says Scholl, "There's an opportunity to build a new-generation fleet that's got supersonic baked into it. That actually makes it easier to adopt." Then there's the plane's lean 199 feet (60 meters) of super- svelte lines, with no space inside for those undesirable middle seats -- an advantage post-pandemic. "Supersonic's got some inherent advantages," says Scholl. "It's about the same form factor as a 757, so it fits in narrow-body gates, which actually causes airlines to really love it." Wide-body gates are at a premium in today's super-congested airports, so big fat airplanes can be hard to find space for -- but not so for a humble Boeing 757 or a Boom Overture.The major obstacle is that "beyond just accomplishing the speed, it generates a ferocious amount of heat. Any conventional engine that you put together would melt." What will be needed is further advances in material science -- and it's dependent on further invention or discovery. Interest in Boom's project has been high, the company says it currently has $6 billion in pre-orders of Overture aircraft.Read the extract taken from CNN and then choose the correct option.What is the company's biggest obstacle?
- The need for new technology.
- It costs $6 billion.
- Lack of interest.
- Achieving the speed.
25) "In Europe, Britain is bottom of the recycling table with the lowest rate of 8% compared to the Netherlands where they recycle 72% more than Britain. According to government research, only 7% of plastic was salvaged, as was only 22% of the six billion glass containers manufactured annually in Britain. On the other hand, the same sources found that 90% of car batteries and 66% of lead is recycled." Which rate of recycling is awarded to the Netherlands?
- C 66%.
- D 22%.
- A 80%.
- B 72%.
26) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaScientists in Australia have classified a new species of dinosaur, discovered in 2007, as the largest ever found on the continent. The Australotitan cooperensis, or "the southern titan", is among the 15 largest dinosaurs found worldwide. Experts said the titanosaur would have been up to 6.5m (21ft) tall and 30m long, or "as long as a basketball court". Its skeleton was first discovered on a farm in south-west Queensland.Palaeontologists had worked over the past decade to identify the dinosaur - distinguishing it from other known species by comparing scans of its bones to those of other sauropods. Sauropods were plant-eating dinosaurs known for their size. They had small heads, very long necks, long tails and thick, pillar-like legs. The team of researchers had nicknamed the dinosaur Cooper while working on it, after the nearby Cooper Creek where it was found. The team found the Australotitan was closely related to three other sauropod species - the Wintonotitan, Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus. "It looks like Australia's largest dinosaurs were all part of one big happy family," said Dr Scott Hocknull, one of the lead researchers. "It's amazing to think from the first bones discovered by our son, the first digs with the Queensland Museum, through to the development of a not-for-profit museum that runs annual dinosaur digs, all have helped us to get to this point, it's a real privilege," Stuart Mackenzie said. The Queensland state government welcomed the classification on Tuesday- calling it a boon for local dinosaur discovery.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.The Queensland government sees this find as:
- A way to make profits.
- Something that will benefit dinosaur research in the area.
- A negative thing for the local community.
- A waste of money.
27) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaScientists in Australia have classified a new species of dinosaur, discovered in 2007, as the largest ever found on the continent. The Australotitan cooperensis, or "the southern titan", is among the 15 largest dinosaurs found worldwide. Experts said the titanosaur would have been up to 6.5m (21ft) tall and 30m long, or "as long as a basketball court". Its skeleton was first discovered on a farm in south-west Queensland.Palaeontologists had worked over the past decade to identify the dinosaur - distinguishing it from other known species by comparing scans of its bones to those of other sauropods. Sauropods were plant-eating dinosaurs known for their size. They had small heads, very long necks, long tails and thick, pillar-like legs. The team of researchers had nicknamed the dinosaur Cooper while working on it, after the nearby Cooper Creek where it was found. The team found the Australotitan was closely related to three other sauropod species - the Wintonotitan, Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus. "It looks like Australia's largest dinosaurs were all part of one big happy family," said Dr Scott Hocknull, one of the lead researchers. "It's amazing to think from the first bones discovered by our son, the first digs with the Queensland Museum, through to the development of a not-for-profit museum that runs annual dinosaur digs, all have helped us to get to this point, it's a real privilege," Stuart Mackenzie said. The Queensland state government welcomed the classification on Tuesday- calling it a boon for local dinosaur discovery.Read the extract taken from BBC News and then choose the correct option.What was the Australotitan cooperensis named after?
- A nearby waterway.
- The son of the lead researcher.
- The farm where it was found.
- One of the researchers.
28) "Inhabited since at least 1800 BC, Varanasi is well known for being among the oldest living cities on Earth, and one of the holiest for the world's estimated 1.2 billion Hindus. Every day, as the sound of ringing temple bells echo overhead, tens of thousands of devotees descend the city's 88 stone ghat steps and dip themselves into the Ganges river to wash away their sins. However, my reasons for travelling to Varanasi were quite different. I didn't come to confront death or cleanse my soul; I came to experience the city's unique vegetarian food." Why did the speaker travel to Varanasi?
- Because Varanasi is an ancient city.
- Because Varanasi is well known for being one of the oldest living cities on Earth.
- Because Varanasi has a great religious background.
- Because he/she wanted to experience Varanasi's unique vegetarian cuisine.
29) "In the late 1950s and 1960s televisions became less expensive and more people were able to buy them. However, the technology was still very basic. Televisions were big and they didn't use to switch on immediately. Instead they'd take about half an hour to heat up before you could see a picture! Families used to enjoy watching TV in the evenings. They would sit around the TV set in their living room together, but there would be lots of arguments about what to watch as they only used to have one TV!" How long did TVs used to take to heat up back in the 50s and 60s?
- A couple of days.
- At least an hour.
- 3 hours.
- Half an hour.
30) "As stated by the WHO (World Health Organization), each year, more than 700 000 people die from vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, among others. More than 80% of the global population lives in areas at risk of at least one major vector-borne disease. Taken together, these diseases exact an immense toll on economies and can impede both rural and urban development." What does 'VBDs' stand for?
- Malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis.
- World Health Organization.
- Vector-borne diseases.
- Via-bone-diseases.
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