The Secret of Success in the US.

If you wonder why Robbie Williams and Oasis have not found success in the US, just look at their teeth. Determined not to make the same mistake, the ex – Boyzone singer now–gone–solo Ronan Keating has gotten his crooked front teeth capped in order to have a perfect smile to woo American audiences. Americans approve of artists with a perfect set of teeth such as Britney Spears, and they think that bad teeth make performers less attractive – thus making consumers less prone to buy their CDs.

GLOSSARY:

crooked – assimétrico

to woo – conquistar

prone – propenso.

The spread of English

The cross-cultural spread of English is unprecedented in other ways. It is used than any of the other colonial languages like French, Portuguese or Spanish. It even has a use than some of the languages associated with international non-Western religious traditions, like Arabic or Sanskrit. In countries like India and Nigeria, English is used in local English-language newspapers and broadcasting, in public administration, in university education, in major industries, the courts and the civil service. Indeed, with nearly 200 languages, India needs English to unify the country.

Professor Lal, a champion of Indian English, who runs a well-known writers’ workshop, claims that in simple numerical terms, in a country of 840 million, Indians need to speak English to communicate with each other....You know what Malcolm Muggeridge said: “The last Englishman left will be an Indian.”

Duo from Minas is a hit in Brazil

Victor is 33 years old and his brother Leo is 32. They were born in (1) Minas Gerais and began playing together in 1994, in Belo Horizonte. Seven years later they went to São Paulo, where they continued to play in bars and clubs. From (2) 2002 to 2005 they released three CDs – Victor composed most of the songs. Recently they released their fourth CD, called “Borboletas”

Despite their success, they have not managed to (3) please everyone. A lot of people have a kind of prejudice against (4) sertaneja music and think it is cheesy and bland whereas on the Internet the musicians have been very successful. On YouTube their videos have been watched by (5) over (6) 20 million people.

Adapted from a text of Maganews

GLOSSARY:

to please = agradar

prejudice = preconceito

cheesy = meloso, brega

bland = sem criatividade, “sem sal”

whereas = enquanto que

despite = apesar de

He had felt terrible for three days, so Bob finally called his doctor’s office.

“The doctor can see you in three weeks”, he was told. An outraged Bob bellowed, “Three weeks? The doctor can’t see me for three weeks? I could be dead by then!”

Calmly the voice at the other end of the line replied, “If so, be sure to have someone call to cancel the appointment.”

GLOSSARY:

outraged – ofendido, injuriado

bellow – gritar, berrar

As countries across Europe reduce protection of greenhouse gases in order to fight climate change, scientists and citizens are discovering that effects of warming are already upon us. Irreversible warming is already happening, they say, and will continue for a century even if polluting emissions are controlled by the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty aimed at limiting greenhouse gases. To this end, they say, governments and citizens must prepare for a steamier future, adapting to a climate that is hotter and stormier.

The early warning signs of global warming are apparent: an increase in summer deaths due to heat waves in Europe; the northern migration of toxic algae and tropical fish to the Mediterranean; the spread of disease-carrying ticks into previously inhospitable parts of Sweden and the Czech Republic. Scientists say that global warming may be partially responsible the rising number of powerful hurricanes, like Katrina, as well as an increase in floods.

Most scientific models predict that temperatures will rise 2 degrees 6 degrees Celsius, in Europe over the next century-slightly less elsewhere in the world. And people are largely unprepared. In response to this trend, countries and politicians are starting to think changes they will have to make:

adapting to climate change, for example, French farmers are shifting to crops that better tolerate warmer temperatures;

supplying the elderly with air-conditioners, as the Italian city of Brescia is doing.

Adapting to climate change seems to be simple. However, in some cases, adaptation would be so expensive that the authorities may opt to let nature take its course.

GLOSSARY:

ticks = pequenos insetos

Considere a frase: Pedi ajuda a ela, pois precisava entregar a ficha de avaliação do aluno. A diretoria estava a espera desse documento. Dentre as ocorrências destacadas, apenas uma deve receber o acento indicativo de crase. Marque a alternativa que apresenta essa ocorrência.

The Young Can’t Wait

When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this world would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”