Língua Inglesa
Reading comprehension
Most items test reading, not grammar. Train three moves: locating explicit facts (scanning for names, dates, numbers), identifying the main idea (usually in the first or last sentence of a paragraph), and inferring tone or purpose (inform, warn, persuade). A common trap is an option that repeats vocabulary from the text but reverses the logic - for example, the passage says a measure "failed to reduce" risk, and the option says it "reduced" risk. Always return to the sentence and check polarity: not, never, hardly, fail to, unless.
Vocabulary in context
Do not translate isolated words; use context clues, prefixes and suffixes (mis-, over-, under-, -less, -tion). Watch false friends: "actually" = na verdade; "eventually" = finalmente; "policy" = política (diretriz), não "polícia"; "sensible" = sensato. Phrasal verbs appear often in security texts: "carry out" (executar), "break down" (decompor), "rule out" (descartar), "account for" (explicar).
Grammar points that appear
Verb tenses in reported speech and conditionals, passive voice, modal verbs of probability (may, might, could) versus obligation (must, should), and connectors (however, therefore, whereas, despite + noun). A frequent item asks you to choose the connector that preserves the relationship between two clauses.
Worked example
"Despite the warning, the agency did not upgrade its systems." Question: what does "despite" express? It introduces a contrast with a noun phrase. If the option says "because of the warning", it is wrong: "despite" signals concession, not cause. Rule of thumb: identify the logical relationship first, then look for the connector that carries it - despite/in spite of (contrast + noun), although (contrast + clause), because (cause).