De acordo com o segundo parágrafo do texto,
Technology isn’t working
The digital revolution has yet to fulfil its promise of
higher productivity and better jobs
If there is a technological revolution in progress,
rich economies could be forgiven for wishing it
would go away. Workers in America, Europe and
Japan have been through a difficult few decades.
In the 1970s the blistering growth after the second
world war vanished in both Europe and America. In
the early 1990s Japan joined the slump, entering
a prolonged period of economic stagnation. Brief
spells of faster growth in intervening years quickly
petered out. The rich world is still trying to shake
off the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. And now
the digital economy, far from pushing up wages
across the board in response to higher productivity,
is keeping them flat for the mass of workers while
extravagantly rewarding the most talented ones.
It seems difficult to square this unhappy
experience with the extraordinary technological
progress during that period, but the same thing
has happened before. Most economic historians
reckon there was very little improvement in living
standards in Britain in the century after the first
Industrial Revolution. And in the early 20th century,
as Victorian inventions such as electric lighting
came into their own, productivity growth was
every bit as slow as it has been in recent decades.
<http://tinyurl.com/lv6rj7b>Acesso em: 18.02.2015. Adaptado.
Technology isn’t working
The digital revolution has yet to fulfil its promise of higher productivity and better jobs
If there is a technological revolution in progress, rich economies could be forgiven for wishing it would go away. Workers in America, Europe and Japan have been through a difficult few decades. In the 1970s the blistering growth after the second world war vanished in both Europe and America. In the early 1990s Japan joined the slump, entering a prolonged period of economic stagnation. Brief spells of faster growth in intervening years quickly petered out. The rich world is still trying to shake off the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. And now the digital economy, far from pushing up wages across the board in response to higher productivity, is keeping them flat for the mass of workers while extravagantly rewarding the most talented ones.
It seems difficult to square this unhappy experience with the extraordinary technological progress during that period, but the same thing has happened before. Most economic historians reckon there was very little improvement in living standards in Britain in the century after the first Industrial Revolution. And in the early 20th century, as Victorian inventions such as electric lighting came into their own, productivity growth was every bit as slow as it has been in recent decades.
Gabarito comentado
Tema central da questão: Interpretação de texto em Inglês, especificamente do segundo parágrafo, analisando o contexto histórico das transformações tecnológicas e seus impactos sobre o padrão de vida e produtividade.
Justificativa para a alternativa correta (B):
O segundo parágrafo evidencia que a frustração com avanços tecnológicos já ocorreu em outros momentos históricos. O trecho “the same thing has happened before” (a mesma coisa já aconteceu antes) é essencial: o autor explica que, após a primeira Revolução Industrial, houve pouca melhora no padrão de vida britânico. Além disso, mesmo com invenções como a iluminação elétrica, o crescimento da produtividade foi limitado.
Na prática, o texto faz uma comparação entre o passado e o presente, mostrando que, assim como hoje, nem sempre progresso tecnológico resulta imediatamente em avanços sociais significativos. A escolha da alternativa exige a habilidade de localizar ideias centrais e de comparar contextos históricos, fundamental para leitura crítica em concursos.
Análise das alternativas incorretas:
A) Afirma que a Revolução Industrial trouxe melhorias significativas nos padrões de vida. O texto diz justamente o contrário (“very little improvement in living standards”).
C) Diz que o desenvolvimento tecnológico recente não foi expressivo. Errado, pois o texto usa “extraordinary technological progress”, indicando progresso notável.
D) Sugere que a luz elétrica aumentou muito a produtividade. O autor, porém, destaca lentidão no crescimento (“productivity growth was every bit as slow”).
E) Indica efeitos positivos sobre segurança no trabalho na Revolução Industrial, informação ausente do texto.
Dica de estratégia: Em textos de interpretação, atente-se a frases que sinalizam generalizações históricas (“the same thing”) e evite deduzir além do que o texto oferece. Palavras como “significant”, “definitely”, ou “expressive” podem sugerir exageros que não correspondem à fonte.
Resumo: A alternativa B é correta por apoiar-se em evidências explícitas do texto, confirmando que experiências frustrantes com inovação tecnológica já ocorreram antes.
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