Bribery, the act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with the corrupt aim of influencing a public official in the discharge of his official duties. When money has been offered or promised in exchange for a corrupt act, the official involved need not actually accomplish that act for the offense of bribery to be complete.
Although bribery originally involved interference with judges, its definition has since been expanded to include actions by all sorts of government officials, from the local to the national level, and to cover all public employees. Special provisions also have been enacted in various jurisdictions to punish the bribing of voters, jurors, witnesses, and other lay participants in official proceedings. Some codes also penalize bribery in designated classes of private or commercial transactions.
(Adapted from: BRIBERY. In: Britannica Online. Enciclopaedia Britannica, 2014. Web, 2014. Source: . Accessed on: Oct. 9th. 2014.)
Choose the alternative in which the information about the words in the encyclopedic entry is correct.
Something happened between the private journal we kept locked in our drawer and the portable video camera. For example, in June 2001 I led a group of Dartmouth alumni on a cruise to see a total solar eclipse in Africa. On board were a crowd of “eclipse groupies”, people who go around the world chasing eclipses. Once you see one you can understand why. A total solar eclipse is a deeply moving experience that awakens a primal connection with nature, linking us to something bigger and truly awesome about the world. It needs total commitment and focus of all senses. Yet, as totality approached, the ship’s deck was a sea of cameras and tripods, as dozens of people prepared to photograph and videotape the four-minute- -long event.
Instead of fully engaging with this most spectacular natural phenomenon, people chose to look at it from behind their cameras. I was shocked. There were professional photographers onboard and they were going to sell/give pictures away. But people wanted to take their pictures and videos anyway, even if they weren’t going to be half as good. The gadget is the eye through which they choose to see reality. What cellphones plus social media have done is to make the archiving and the sharing of images amazingly easy and efficient. The reach is much wider and the gratification (how many “likes” a photo or video gets) is quantitative. Lives become a shared social event.
Now, there is a side of this that is fine, of course. We celebrate meaningful moments and want to share with those we care about. The problem starts when we stop fully participating in the moment because we have this urge to record it.
Without trying to sound too nostalgic (but sounding), there is nothing like eye-to-eye contact or the sharing of an experience through the real act of engaging in a conversation with friends and family. The gadgets are awesome, of course. But they should not define the way we live – only complement it.
(Adapted from: GLEISER, M. Should We Live Life, Or Capture It? In NPR, 2014. Accessed on: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/ 10/01/352915256/should-we-live-life-or-capture-it?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr& utm_term= nprnews&utm_content=202401. Accessed on: Oct. 1st. 2014.)
About the author’s opinion, according to the text, consider the following statements.
I. Nowadays, people forget to enjoy life as it happens, and prefer to watch it on screen.
II. Recording devices capture important moments and must be used to promote personal interaction.
III. There is a modern necessity of having one’s life shared on social media that can be measured by the number of pictures uploaded.
IV. The exposure of events of private life in social media is criticized as people may be living their lives for others to see.
Choose the correct alternative.
Something happened between the private journal we kept locked in our drawer and the portable video camera. For example, in June 2001 I led a group of Dartmouth alumni on a cruise to see a total solar eclipse in Africa. On board were a crowd of “eclipse groupies”, people who go around the world chasing eclipses. Once you see one you can understand why. A total solar eclipse is a deeply moving experience that awakens a primal connection with nature, linking us to something bigger and truly awesome about the world. It needs total commitment and focus of all senses. Yet, as totality approached, the ship’s deck was a sea of cameras and tripods, as dozens of people prepared to photograph and videotape the four-minute- -long event.
Instead of fully engaging with this most spectacular natural phenomenon, people chose to look at it from behind their cameras. I was shocked. There were professional photographers onboard and they were going to sell/give pictures away. But people wanted to take their pictures and videos anyway, even if they weren’t going to be half as good. The gadget is the eye through which they choose to see reality. What cellphones plus social media have done is to make the archiving and the sharing of images amazingly easy and efficient. The reach is much wider and the gratification (how many “likes” a photo or video gets) is quantitative. Lives become a shared social event.
Now, there is a side of this that is fine, of course. We celebrate meaningful moments and want to share with those we care about. The problem starts when we stop fully participating in the moment because we have this urge to record it.
Without trying to sound too nostalgic (but sounding), there is nothing like eye-to-eye contact or the sharing of an experience through the real act of engaging in a conversation with friends and family. The gadgets are awesome, of course. But they should not define the way we live – only complement it.
(Adapted from: GLEISER, M. Should We Live Life, Or Capture It? In NPR, 2014. Accessed on: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/ 10/01/352915256/should-we-live-life-or-capture-it?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr& utm_term= nprnews&utm_content=202401. Accessed on: Oct. 1st. 2014.)
About the words extrated from the text, consider the following sentences.
I. The verb in “there were” (§2) is in the plural form because of the word “photographers”.
II. “urge” (§3) is the same as “compulsion” and means “a strong desire to do something”.
III. The adjectives “easy” and “efficient” (§2) describe the use of cell phones and social media.
IV. The adverb “too” (§4) refers to “nostalgic” and means the same as “as well” or “also”.
Choose the correct alternative.
Something happened between the private journal we kept locked in our drawer and the portable video camera. For example, in June 2001 I led a group of Dartmouth alumni on a cruise to see a total solar eclipse in Africa. On board were a crowd of “eclipse groupies”, people who go around the world chasing eclipses. Once you see one you can understand why. A total solar eclipse is a deeply moving experience that awakens a primal connection with nature, linking us to something bigger and truly awesome about the world. It needs total commitment and focus of all senses. Yet, as totality approached, the ship’s deck was a sea of cameras and tripods, as dozens of people prepared to photograph and videotape the four-minute- -long event.
Instead of fully engaging with this most spectacular natural phenomenon, people chose to look at it from behind their cameras. I was shocked. There were professional photographers onboard and they were going to sell/give pictures away. But people wanted to take their pictures and videos anyway, even if they weren’t going to be half as good. The gadget is the eye through which they choose to see reality. What cellphones plus social media have done is to make the archiving and the sharing of images amazingly easy and efficient. The reach is much wider and the gratification (how many “likes” a photo or video gets) is quantitative. Lives become a shared social event.
Now, there is a side of this that is fine, of course. We celebrate meaningful moments and want to share with those we care about. The problem starts when we stop fully participating in the moment because we have this urge to record it.
Without trying to sound too nostalgic (but sounding), there is nothing like eye-to-eye contact or the sharing of an experience through the real act of engaging in a conversation with friends and family. The gadgets are awesome, of course. But they should not define the way we live – only complement it.
(Adapted from: GLEISER, M. Should We Live Life, Or Capture It? In NPR, 2014. Accessed on: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/ 10/01/352915256/should-we-live-life-or-capture-it?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr& utm_term= nprnews&utm_content=202401. Accessed on: Oct. 1st. 2014.)
According to the text, a total solar eclipse is an event that
Bribery, the act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with the corrupt aim of influencing a public official in the discharge of his official duties. When money has been offered or promised in exchange for a corrupt act, the official involved need not actually accomplish that act for the offense of bribery to be complete.
Although bribery originally involved interference with judges, its definition has since been expanded to include actions by all sorts of government officials, from the local to the national level, and to cover all public employees. Special provisions also have been enacted in various jurisdictions to punish the bribing of voters, jurors, witnesses, and other lay participants in official proceedings. Some codes also penalize bribery in designated classes of private or commercial transactions.
(Adapted from: BRIBERY. In: Britannica Online. Enciclopaedia Britannica, 2014. Web, 2014. Source: . Accessed on: Oct. 9th. 2014.)
Based on the editorial cartoon, consider the following statements.
I. Few corruption allegations lead to serious investigation.
II. Corrupt people may use money to escape punishment.
III. Once a person is corrupt, she/he will try to corrupt others.
IV. The corruption of authorities is present in all societies.
Choose the correct alternative.
Bribery, the act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with the corrupt aim of influencing a public official in the discharge of his official duties. When money has been offered or promised in exchange for a corrupt act, the official involved need not actually accomplish that act for the offense of bribery to be complete.
Although bribery originally involved interference with judges, its definition has since been expanded to include actions by all sorts of government officials, from the local to the national level, and to cover all public employees. Special provisions also have been enacted in various jurisdictions to punish the bribing of voters, jurors, witnesses, and other lay participants in official proceedings. Some codes also penalize bribery in designated classes of private or commercial transactions.
(Adapted from: BRIBERY. In: Britannica Online. Enciclopaedia Britannica, 2014. Web, 2014. Source: . Accessed on: Oct. 9th. 2014.)
According to the definition of “bribery” in encyclopedic entry, choose the correct alternative.