Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

According to the text, the rise of world sugar prices in the late 1980s immediately brought about

a significant decrease in the production of ethanol.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

Refer to the above text to judge the following item.

“it”, in “which it usually is”, refers to gasohol.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

According to the text, the rise of world sugar prices in the late 1980s immediately brought about

a near-absence of ethanol-powered cars by 2002.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

Refer to the above text to judge the following item.

The use of “So” indicates that what follows is a consequence of what was previously mentioned.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

According to the text, the history of the ethanol program in Brazil shows that

this program seems to be an intelligent solution to deal with market price crises.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

According to the text, the rise of world sugar prices in the late 1980s immediately brought about

Brazil’s supremacy as an ethanol producer.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

Refer to the above text to judge the following item.

“fewer” is the opposite of more.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

Refer to the above text to judge the following item.

“so long as” can be correctly replaced by provided.

Brazil leads in ethanol production

Brazil’s ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices strangled the economy. In response, the country’s military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil’s almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.

Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late 1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers extremely angry and badly affected the program’s reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanolpowered cars that were ubiquitous in the 1980s represented just 3% of the market.

But in 2003 automakers rolled out “flex-fuel” cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.

Today, 70% of new car sales are “flex”, which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the “gasoline / álcool” label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (“Álcool” is the local term for pure ethanol.)

Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol’s price is no more than 70% of gasohol’s, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy.

Internet: <www.usatoday.com> (adapted).

According to the text, the history of the ethanol program in Brazil shows that

the combination of land and climate conditions was a key factor in the production of ethanol.

Com relação ao conjunto dos números reais, julgue o seguinte item.

No conjunto dos números reais, apenas !$ x=\dfrac{3}{2} !$ é solução da equação !$ \dfrac{2}{x^2-4}=\dfrac{1}{x-2}+\dfrac{3}{x+2} !$