Mandela

    Nelson Mandela has achieved many things, but his greatest influence may be for something he didn’t do: run for a second term as South Africa’s leader. As the first President of a post-apartheid South Africa, he was, like George Washington, aware that everything he did would be a model for those who would follow. He once said, “I don’t want to be an octogenarian President.”

    What he really meant was that no man - not even one unfairly imprisoned for 27 years - should be above the law or the people. Mandela will remain perhaps the only figure on the world stage who has been an unambiguous moral giant. He could be considered a hero precisely because he always admitted his errors and then tried to rise above them. And never stop learning. He had to catch up on almost three decades of social change, and one of the things he had to learn about was AIDS. At first, this man didn’t have the most enlightened view. But within a year-long before other, younger South African leaders - he understood that AIDS was an enormous tragedy for his country and his continent, and he saw it as another moral challenge in a life of facing up to them. That’s a moral leadership.

Adapted from Grad Two

The Printing Press

    If you asked a large number of people what the most important invention has been, many would say the printing press. Others might say the wheel. But even though it’s debatable whether the appearance of the printing press affects the course of history more than the wheel. The printing press ranks within the top two or three inventions in history. Long before the telephone, the TV, the radio and the computer, the written word was the only way to communicate ideas to people too far away to talk with. Until the sixth or seventh century, all books had to be written by hand. Creating a book was difficult, and in comparison with today, very few books existed. Therefore, very few people read books.”

Adapted from Top Noch. 

Corruption

    People all over the world complain about the corruption of police, government officials, and business leader. Three examples of corruption are:

    • a police officer takes money from a driver so he doesn’t give the driver a ticket for speeding.

    • a public official gives a government contract to a company in which he, or she has a financial interest.

    • a company that wants to do business with a government agency offers public official money, or a gift to choose that company for the job.

    Some people feel that power promotes corruption and that corruption is just an unavoidable part of human nature. But everyone agrees that it’s a terrible problem all over the world.

Adapted from Top Noch.

Diary: your life day by day

    Most people consider diaries indispensable - a reminder of what they have to do each day. This is especially true in the professional world. A diary can help you keep track of your agenda and make it easier for you to follow a planned schedule. In this sense, it is similar to a notebook with dates in which you write meetings and other things to remember. At school or at work, diaries are very useful.

    However, a diary can be more than a list of appointments: it can be a secret record of private thoughts. People write these diaries for different reasons: for fun or to read them years later. “It makes you think and form an opinion on what you are writing” - when you express your feelings and experiences, it’s easier to overcome your problems; it’s like a therapy.

    Nowadays, some people write e-diaries, called blogs or web logs. “They open their hearts” to other people on the Net.

     In fact, many people, famous or ordinary in fiction or in real life, write diaries.

Adapted from Inglês de olho no mundo do trabalho.

Can you recognize your emotions?

    If I ask you how you are feeling, you may answer: “I’m feeling good, I’m fine”! But what does that “good” or “fine” really mean? Would it mean fascinated, curious, balanced, joyful, encouraged, hopeful, motivated, happy?

    On the other hand you might also reply: “I’m feeling bad”, and, then, recognize that you are feeling bored, lonely, sorry, anxious, fearful, nervous, insecure or frustrated.

    The advantage of making such distinctions, rather than feeling “good” or “bad” is that your emotions indicate what you need to do to feel more satisfying.

    For example, if you are angry with a person, you can argue with him, you can request him to stop his offensive behavior or you can avoid him. You have choices. Recognize each of your emotions and pay attention to what they are communicating to you.

Adapted from Inglês no mundo do trabalho. 

Singapore overtakes US as world’s most competitive

economy

Sherisse Pham

    Singapore has knocked the United States out of the top spot in the World Economic Forum’s annual competitiveness report.

    The index takes stock of an economy’s competitive landscape, measuring factors such as macroeconomic stability, the infrastructure, the labor market and the innovation capability.

    Singapore pushed the world largest economy down to second place this year. Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland rounded out the top five. Hong Kong climbed four spots from last year’s report, despite the political crisis taking a toll on its economy. The financial hub received high marks for its macroeconomic stability and financial system, but fell short on its capability to innovate.

Adapted from CNN.com

Oil contaminating Brazil’s beaches very likely from

Venezuela

Anna Jean Kaiser

    Thick crude oil that has stained hundreds of miles of pristine Brazilian beach in recent weeks probably originated in Venezuela, the Brazilian government has said, in an accusation likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

    Brazilians authorities have been investigating the growing disaster for more than a month, as the oil has spread to more than 130 beaches across nine states.

    Ricardo Salles, the country’s environment minister, told that a study by Petrobrás had concluded that the oil “is very likely from Venezuela. He said that a foreign ship near Brazil’s coastline appeared to have caused the spill.

    There was no immediate response from Venezuela.

    Social media users have shared shocking images of the spill, showing kilometers of white sand stained with oil blotches and dead, oil-covered turtles and dolphins. One shows thick black oil lapping up against a rocky jetty.

Adapted from The Guardian.  

Diplomat

    There are three main aspects to this profession: a diplomat has to keep his country informed about pertinent international events, promote a favorable image of his country and protect his country’s interests.

    Whoever is interested in a diplomatic career has to be extremely familiar with political, economical, scientific, cultural and administrative issues. To be a diplomat, it is essential to have a good knowledge of English, not only the conversational language, but also the technical terms in international law and diplomacy itself.

    To follow this career, besides being fluently bilingual, one needs a standard college education and has to take and do well in the Rio Branco Institute examination in Brasilia.

    English is so important in this career that in the first part of this selection exam, the applicant has to demonstrate his or her proficiency in the English language. Then, during the course, foreign language classes become a priority, giving future diplomats the necessary expertise to deal with the areas of official correspondences, diplomatic negotiation and international media.

Adapted from Inglês no mundo do trabalho.  

    Paul Thompson is a student and he has a part-time job, too. He lives in London and goes to university there. Paul works at an Italian restaurant called Mamma Mia. He’s a waiter there. He likes his job very much, but he doesn’t like to work on the weekends. When he is free, he likes to go to the movies. He recently watched “Avengers - Infinity War”, a superhero movie that was a huge success. 

An e-mail to Mary

    Hi, Mary!

    How are you? I miss you so much!

    I arrived in Rome last week and I’m having a lot of fun. This morning my parents and I woke up at 8:00 and had a great breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, I walked a little and saw many tourists (many from Russia and China) and even some famous people!

    Now we are going to Venice.

    How are things in Las Vegas? Come meet us!

    See you soon!

    Paul.

Rude

Magic

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes

‘Cause I need to know

You say I’ll never get your blessing till the day I die

Tough luck my friend but the answer is no!

Why you gotta be so rude?

Don’t you know I’m human too

Why you gotta be so rude

I’m gonna marry her anyway

(Marry that girl) Marry her anyway

(Marry that girl) Yeah no matter what you say

(Marry that girl) And we’ll be a family

https://www.vagalume.com.br/magic-11/rude.html 

The Lazy Song

Bruno Mars

Today I don’t feel like doing anything

I just wanna lay in my bed

Don’t feel like picking up my phone

So leave a message at the tone

‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything

https://www.vagalume.com.br/the lazysong-11/brunomars.html 

Read the text and answer question.

Baby Turtles

    Thousands of baby turtles have hatched on a beach in eastern India. The name of this kind of turtle is Olive Ridley turtle. It is named after the color of its shell, which is olive-green. It is the smallest sea turtle, and it lives in the tropical oceans.

    In March, hundreds of turtles settled in the beach and they laid eggs in the sand. One and a half months later, the small baby turtles started to come out from the sand. They knew where the sea was, and they started to move towards it. This was a dangerous journey, and not all turtles completed it.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/baby-turtles-level-2/

Read the text and answer question.

The Importance of the English Language

    Nowadays, more and more people are dedicating time to studying English as a second language. Many countries include English in their school syllabus and children are starting to learn English at a younger and younger age. Do you know why learning English is so important? Here are five good reasons to take an English Language Course.

    1. English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. One out of five people can speak or at least understand English!

    2. Studying English can help you get a job.

    3. English is the language of the Internet.

    4. Travelling is a lot easier with a good knowledge of English.

    5. English gives you access to multiple cultures.

Adapted from https://www.british-study.com/en/importance-of-english-language/

Read the text and answer question.

    It was my birthday. My boyfriend Daniel came to my house to take me out for dinner. I opened the door, and he had a big bunch of flowers and a very nice car. He rented the car just to take me out. I was really surprised.

https://www.inglesnapontadalingua.com.br/2016/02/textos-para-treinar-ingles.html

Read the text and answer question.

    I had a really terrible weekend. My boyfriend took me out to this really expensive restaurant. In the middle of our dinner, he gave me a very beautiful ring and he asked me to marry him. I was really surprised. I said no. I like him, but I knew I didn’t want to marry him. He was quite angry and sad. It was awful.

https://www.inglesnapontadalingua.com.br/2016/02/textos-para-treinaringles.html