In the sentence “Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits …”, the
underlined word refers to:
Ancient dreams of intelligent machines: 3,000 years of robots
The French philosopher René Descartes was reputedly fond of automata: they inspired his view that living things were biological
machines that function like clockwork. Less known is a strange story that began to circulate after the philosopher’s death in 1650.
This centred on Descartes’s daughter Francine, who died of scarlet fever at the age of five.
According to the tale, a distraught Descartes had a clockwork Francine made: a walking, talking simulacrum. When Queen
Christina invited the philosopher to Sweden in 1649, he sailed with the automaton concealed in a casket. Suspicious sailors forced
the trunk open; when the mechanical child sat up to greet them, the horrified crew threw it overboard.
The story is probably apocryphal. But it sums up the hopes and fears that have been associated with human-like machines for
nearly three millennia. Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits – in Descartes’s case,
death itself. But this very unnaturalness terrifies and repulses others. In our era of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI),
those polarized responses persist, with pundits and the public applauding or warning against each advance. Digging into the deep
history of intelligent machines, both real and imagined, we see how these attitudes evolved: from fantasies of trusty mechanical
helpers to fears that runaway advances in technology might lead to creatures that supersede humanity itself.
(Disponível em: <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05773-y)
Ancient dreams of intelligent machines: 3,000 years of robots
The French philosopher René Descartes was reputedly fond of automata: they inspired his view that living things were biological machines that function like clockwork. Less known is a strange story that began to circulate after the philosopher’s death in 1650. This centred on Descartes’s daughter Francine, who died of scarlet fever at the age of five.
According to the tale, a distraught Descartes had a clockwork Francine made: a walking, talking simulacrum. When Queen Christina invited the philosopher to Sweden in 1649, he sailed with the automaton concealed in a casket. Suspicious sailors forced the trunk open; when the mechanical child sat up to greet them, the horrified crew threw it overboard.
The story is probably apocryphal. But it sums up the hopes and fears that have been associated with human-like machines for nearly three millennia. Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits – in Descartes’s case, death itself. But this very unnaturalness terrifies and repulses others. In our era of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), those polarized responses persist, with pundits and the public applauding or warning against each advance. Digging into the deep history of intelligent machines, both real and imagined, we see how these attitudes evolved: from fantasies of trusty mechanical helpers to fears that runaway advances in technology might lead to creatures that supersede humanity itself.
(Disponível em: <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05773-y)
Gabarito comentado
Tema central: A questão aborda referência pronominal na interpretação de textos em inglês. Trata-se de identificar a que termo (antecedente) o pronome they faz referência em uma frase extraída do texto, habilidade fundamental em provas de Vestibular e concursos públicos.
Explicação teórica: Em inglês, pronomes como "they" substituem termos já mencionados, facilitando a coesão textual. O correto reconhecimento do antecedente evita confusões e erros na compreensão do texto.
Justificativa da alternativa correta (B):
No trecho: "Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits", precisamos identificar o antecedente de they. O termo mais próximo e coerente é such devices, que no contexto refere-se a “human-like machines” mencionadas logo antes.
Assim, a resposta correta é a B) human-like machines. Esse raciocínio está alinhado com a regra de concordância entre pronomes e seus antecedentes, conforme destacado em gramáticas de referência como Murphy (English Grammar in Use).
Análise das alternativas incorretas:
A) hopes and fears: Embora plural, não faz sentido que esperanças e medos superem limites naturais.
C) three millennia: Refere-se apenas ao tempo, sem ligação lógica com “they”.
D) natural limits: É um possível objeto da ação, não o sujeito.
E) machine builders: “Those who build” são os criadores, mas “they” se refere ao que é construído.
Dicas importantes de interpretação:
- Leia sempre o período anterior ao pronome para localizar o termo ao qual ele se refere.
- Fique atento à concordância de número (singular/plural) entre o pronome e o possível antecedente.
- Cuidado com pegadinhas que colocam termos atraentes, mas incoerentes como sujeito.
Dominar referências pronominais permite entender a lógica e o encadeamento das ideias apresentadas no texto, além de evitar erros causados por distrações ou alternativas “camufladas”. Exercite com outras frases para fixar o conceito!
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