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O que Robbee Kosak viu no motorista do conversível (ITA 2015)

THE MAN IN THE CONVERTIBLE

1 One morning, well after I was diagnosed with cancer, I got an email from Robbee Kosak, Carnegie

Mellon’s vice president for advancement. She told me a story.

She said she had been driving home from work the night before, and she found herself behind a man

in a convertible. It was a warm, gorgeous, early-spring evening, and the man had his top down and all his

5 windows lowered. His arm was hanging over the driver’s side door, and his fingers were tapping along to the

music on his radio. His head was bobbing along, too, as the wind blew through his hair.

Robbee changed lanes and pulled a little closer. From the side, she could see that the man had a

slight smile on his face, the kind of absentminded smile a person might have when he’s all alone, happy in

his own thoughts. Robbee found herself thinking: “Wow, this is the epitome of a person appreciating this day

10 and this moment.”

The convertible eventually turned the corner, and that’s when Robbee got a look at the man’s full face.

“Oh my God,” she said to herself. “It’s Randy Pausch!”

She was so struck by the sight of me. She knew that my cancer diagnosis was grim. And yet, as she

wrote in her email, she was moved by how contented I seemed. In this private moment, I was obviously in

15 high spirits. Robbee wrote in her email: “You can never know how much that glimpse of you made my day,

reminding me of what life is all about.”

I read Robbee’s email several times. I came to look at it as a feedback loop of sorts.

It has not always been easy to stay positive through my cancer treatment. When you have a dire

medical issue, it’s tough to know how you’re really faring emotionally. I had wondered whether a part of me

20 was acting when I was with other people. Maybe at times I forced myself to appear strong and upbeat. Many

cancer patients feel obliged to put up a brave front. Was I doing that, too?

But Robbee had come upon me in an unguarded moment. I’d like to think she saw me as I am. She

certainly saw me as I was that evening.

Her mail was just a paragraph, but it meant a great deal to me. She had given me a window into

25 myself. I was still fully engaged. I still knew life was good. I was doing OK.

Fonte: PAUSCH, R. The last lecture. New York, Hyperion, 2008. p.64-65.

Fonte: The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch, Hyperion).

De acordo com as informações no texto, Robbee Kosak

  1. A) descreveu detalhadamente o cenário do seu primeiro encontro com Randy Pausch.
  2. B) sentiu-se atraída pelo veículo de Randy Pausch devido à alta velocidade dele.
  3. C) escreveu palavras motivadoras a Randy Pausch porque desejava reanimá-lo.
  4. D) caracterizou o motorista do veículo como uma pessoa satisfeita e de bem com a vida.
  5. E) ocupava o cargo de Vice-Presidente na empresa presidida por Randy Pausch.
Ver gabarito comentado

Resposta correta: D

A caracterização está na cena vista do carro dela: o homem tem "a slight smile on his face, the kind of absentminded smile a person might have when he's all alone, happy in his own thoughts", e ela conclui "Wow, this is the epitome of a person appreciating this day and this moment". Isso é exatamente uma pessoa satisfeita e de bem com a vida, como diz D, reforçado depois por "she was moved by how contented I seemed". C engana porque o e-mail realmente existe e emociona, mas a direção do afeto é a inversa: ela não escreve para reanimá-lo, e sim para contar que "that glimpse of you made my day" — foi ela quem se sentiu tocada. E confunde cargos: Robbee é "Carnegie Mellon's vice president for advancement", da universidade, e Pausch não presidia empresa alguma.

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