UEL 2016

Verbal Transcription – 6 am. 

The wife: 

About an hour ago. He woke up and it was as if a knife was sticking in his side. I tried the old reliable, I gave him a good drink of whisky but this time it did no good. I thought it might be his heart so I... Yes. In between his pains he was trying to get himself ready to go to work. Can you imagine that?

Rags! Leave the man alone. The minute you’re good to him he... Look at him sitting up and begging! Rags! Come here! Do you want to look out of the window? Oh yes. That’s his favorite amusement – like the rest of the family. And we’re not willing just to look out. We have to lean out as if we were living on Third Avenue. 

Two dogs killed our old cat last week. He was thirteen years old. That’s unusual for a cat, I think. We never let him come upstairs. You know he was stiff and funny looking. But we fed him and let him sleep in the cellar. He was deaf and I suppose he couldn’t fight for himself and so they killed him.

Yes. We have quite a menagerie∗ . Have you seen our blue bird? He had a broken wing. We’ve had him two years now. He whistles and answers us when we call him. He doesn’t look so good but he likes it here. We let him out of the cage sometimes with the window open. He goes to the sill and looks out. Then he turns and runs for his cage as if he was scared. Sometimes he sits on the little dog’s head and they are great friends. If he went out I’m afraid he wouldn’t understand and they would kill him too. 

And a canary. Yes. You know I was afraid it was his heart. Shall I dress him now? This is the time he usually takes the train to be there at seven o’clock. Pajamas are so cold. Here put on this old shirt – this old horse blanket, I always call it. I’m sorry to be such a fool but those needles give me a funny feeling all over. I can’t watch you give them. Thank you so much for coming so quickly. I have a cup of coffee for you all ready in the kitchen.

∗ a collection of wild animals

(Adaptado de: WILLIAMS, W. C. The doctor stories. New York: New Directions, 1984. p.102.)

Sobre a relação estabelecida entre as personagens no conto, considere as afirmativas a seguir.

I. O trecho “like the rest of the family. And we’re not willing just to look out” estabelece similaridades entre os animais e seus donos, cujo estado de espírito pode ser associado à condição (“a broken wing”) e ao comportamento (“he was scared”) dos animais.

II. Pela utilização das frases “Leave the man alone” e “Here put on this old shirt”, pode-se inferir a posição de superioridade ocupada pela esposa em relação ao marido e aos animais.

III. O uso das expressões “I thought it might be”, “I’m afraid”, “Shall I dress him now?” e “Thank you so much” indica que a mulher considera o médico como hierarquicamente superior.

IV. As frases “He had a broken wing” e “He doesn’t look so good” usadas para descrever o pássaro sugerem que a esposa está mais preocupada com o pássaro do que com a saúde do marido.

Assinale a alternativa correta.