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Saturday, May 23, 2009

O AMOR DO PEQUENO PRÍNCIPE

Note: This time I´m gonna do something a little bit different. I am posting a test with the text in Portuguese (about the Little Prince) and the comprehension questions that I prepared are in English. Why this?
Well, simply because this is a kind of test that the new ENEM may have next year and the more you practice different styles of tests the better for you.
Milton França.

TEXTO
Enquanto o mundo lembrava em mais 80 milhões de exemplares - e em 160 línguas - o amor entre o principezinho de um planeta distante e a sua rosa, uma outra paixão que perpassava esta história ficou esquecida. Recentemente essa história foi contada em O amor do Pequeno Príncipe. O livro é uma compilação de cartas enviadas pelo autor de O Pequeno Príncipe, Saint-Exupéry a uma mulher por quem se apaixonou logo antes de morrer. O episódio só se tornou público em novembro de 2007, por ocasião da venda de diversos documentos do autor que faziam parte da coleção do Museu de Cartas e Manuscritos, em Paris.
As cartas que o escritor e aviador escreveu à sua amada mostram que muito havia em comum entre o autor e seu personagem. As comparações são feitas pelo próprio Exupéry, que assina suas mensagens ilustradas como O Pequeno Príncipe. A correspondência revela um homem que, assim como seu personagem, é sensível, reflexivo e um pouco deprimido quando está distante do objeto de seu amor.
Dela pouco se sabe. Tudo o que se pôde ter certeza a respeito de sua identidade é que era uma jovem de 23 anos, nascida no leste da França, casada e oficial da Cruz Vermelha. Exupéry a conheceu no trem, em março de 1943, quando ia à cidade de Oran aArgel, na Argélia, a serviço da aeronáutica francesa. Foi amor à primeira vista. Os documentos sugerem que, dessa época até sua morte, eles mantiveram um relacionamento. Mas indicam também que esta foi uma paixão que o fez sofrer.
Em um dos trechos do livro ele até a acusa de matar o Pequeno Príncipe. "Não há Pequeno Príncipe hoje e não haverá nunca mais. O Pequeno Príncipe morreu. Ou então tornou-se muito cético". Hoje as palavras parecem proféticas. Poucos dias depois, em 31 de julho de 1944, o escritor desapareceu a bordo de seu avião no Mediterrâneo. Nunca pôde ver o Pequeno Príncipe publicado em seu país Natal... nem ver sua amada misteriosa novamente.
O livro saiu do acervo museu francês e foi direto para a lista de best-sellers. No Brasil, estava entre os mais vendidos já na primeira semana. O segredo desta volta de sucesso do Pequeno Príncipe (se é que algum dia ele chegou a partir) é o talento inexplicável de Saint-Exupéry, que transbordou de paixão cada linha de sua obra. Um escritor que sabia muito bem uma lição importante que registrou neste novo livro: "Os contos de fada são assim. Uma manhã, a gente acorda e diz: 'era só um conto de fadas...' E a gente sorri de si mesmo. Mas, no fundo, não estamos sorrindo. Sabemos muito bem que os contos de fadas são a única verdade da vida."
(Site da Revista Época – Acesso em 18/05/2009 - Adaptado por Milton França)

1. According to the text, which alternative is the correct one?
a) The Little Prince was a great success in France when its author was alive.
b) Saint-Exupéry was not on a plane when he saw that woman for the first time.
c) Saint –Exupéry met his lover three years before his death.
d) There was nothing in common between Saint-Exupéry and the main character of his book.
e) The woman was the one who really killed the Little Prince. That´s why she was arrested.

2. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
a) died more than one hundred years ago.
b) never flew a plane in his whole life.
c) wanted to see his book published in his country at Christmas but it was not possible.
d) had an affair with a married woman for many years and only now it was discovered.
e) fell in love the first time he saw that woman.

3. The woman who was Saint-Exupéry´s lover:
a) was French, unlike him.
b) wanted to work for the Red Cross.
c) married him before his death.
d) was a teenager in 1943.
e) had a husband.

4. Saint-Exupéry and the woman´s love affair lasted:
a) less than a year.
b) two years.
c) almost two years.
d) more than a year.
e) until 2007.

5. According to the text, “the author disappeared on board of _____ plane on July 31, 1944”.
a) your
b) her
c) his
d) yours
e) its

6. “The Little Prince” is a book that is a best-seller all over the world. In this sentence, the relative pronoun that could be replaced by:
a) who
b) whom
c) what
d) which
e) whose

7. My niece _________ bought a new edition of The Little Prince.
a) himself
b) myself
c) herself
d) itself
e) yourself

8. The sentence: "There isn´t any Little Prince today" is the same as:
a) There isn´t no Little Prince today.
b) There is some Little Prince today.
c) There is no Little Prince today.
d) Is there any Little Prince today?
e) There isn´t anyone Little Prince today.

9. "Exupéry a conheceu no trem, em março de 1943, quando ia à cidade de Oran aArgel, na Argélia, a serviço da aeronáutica francesa. Foi amor à primeira vista. Os documentos sugerem que, de então até sua morte, eles mantiveram um relacionamento".
By changing this sentence into English, we have:
a) only one regular verb.
b) only one irregular verb.
c) three irregular verbs.
d) four regular verbs.
e) five irregular verbs.

10. Saint-Exupéry was ______ a train when he met that married woman.
a) at
b) in
c) on
d) into
e) from

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

TONGUE TWISTERS


Tongue twisters are phrases, sentences or rhymes that present difficulties when we say them because they contain similar sounds. Here are a few examples for you to practice:

1 - Selfish shellfish.

2 - Three free throws.

3 - Please pay promptly.

4 - Strange strategic statistics.

5 - Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

6 - Which witch wished which wicked wish?

7 - Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

8 - The boot black bought the black boot back.

9 - Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.

10 - The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

11 - Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

12 - Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

13 - Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.

14 - A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.

15 - If a canner can can ten cans a day, how many cans can ten canners can today?

16 - If you tell Tom to tell a tongue-twister, his tongue will be twisted as tongue-twister twists tongues.

17 - A sailor went to sea to see what he could see. And all he could see was sea, sea, sea.

18 - I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn't the thought
I thought I thought.

19 - She stood on the balcony inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping, and amicably welcoming him home.

20 - One-One was a racehorse.
Two-Two was one, too.
When One-One won one race,
Two-Two won one, too.

21 - How many cookies could a good cooker cook if a good cooker could cook cookies?
A good cooker could cook as much cookies as a good cooker who could cook cookies.

22 - How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

23 - While we were walking, we were watching window washers wash Washington's windows with warm washing water.

24 - If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctor who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

25 - Swan swam over the sea.
Swim, swan, swim!
Swan swam back again.
Well swum, swan!

26 - On mules we find two legs behind
and two we find before.
We stand behind before we find
what those behind be for.

27 – She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
She´s sure she sells seashore shells.

28 - There was a young fisher named Fischer
Who fished for a fish in a fissure.
The fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in;
Now they're fishing the fissure for Fischer.

29 - You've no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a slight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.
When a night's light, like tonight's light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.

30 - Ned Nott was shot and Sam Shott was not.
So it is better to be Shott than Nott.
Some say Nott was not shot.
But Shott says he shot Nott.
Either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot,
Or Nott was shot.
If the shot Shott shot shot Nott, Nott was shot.
But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott,
Then Shott was shot, not Nott.
However, the shot Shott shot shot not Shott, but Nott.

31 - Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter
that would make my batter better."
So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So it was better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

32 - A tree toad loved a she-toad
Who lived up in a tree.
He was a two-toed tree toad
But a three-toed toad was she.
The two-toed tree toad tried to win
The three-toed she-toad's heart,
For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground
That the three-toed tree toad trod.
But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.
He couldn't please her whim.
From her tree toad bower
With her three-toed power
The she-toad vetoed him.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

SOME JOKES IN ENGLISH


THE BOY IN THE WARDROBE
A woman and her lover are in the house while the husband is at work. Her nine year old son comes in, and after seeing them making love he hides in the wardrobe and watches them. All of a sudden the husband comes. The wife hides her lover in the wardrobe, without knowing that her son is in there.
Boy:
- It's dark here.
- Yes it is.
- I've got a soccer ball.
- That's nice.
- Do you want to buy it?
- No, thanks.
- My dad is outside.
- Ok, how much?
- 250 dollars.
After a few weeks the man and the boy run into each other again in the wardrobe.
Boy:
- It's dark here.
- Yes it is.
- I've got a soccer cleats.
Remembering what happened last time, the man asks:
- How much?
- 750 dollars.
- Ok.
After few days, the father says to his son:
- Let´s go and play soccer.
- I can't, I sold the ball and the cleats.
- How much did you get?
- 1000 dollars.
- That is terrible, how could you ask so much money.... that's much more than they are worth. That's a sin, so you should go to church and confess.
The father takes his son to the church confessional. The boy gets in, closes the door and says:
- It's dark here.
Priest:
- Don't start with that shit again!!!


THE BLONDE AND THE ODOMETER
A blonde wanted to sell her car, but couldn't find any buyers. She called her friend for advice, and her friend asked her how many miles she had on her car.
"235,000 miles." Her friend told her that was the problem. But the blonde's friend told her that her brother is a mechanic and could put back the miles to whatever she wanted. So the blonde went to the mechanic and told him to put the miles at 40,000. Two days later the blonde's friend asked her if she sold the car since her brother dropped the miles. The blonde told her, "Why would I sell the car? There are only 40,000 miles on it!"

THE BLONDE FLIGHT ATTENDANT
An airline captain was helping a new blonde flight attendant prepare for her first overnight trip. Upon their arrival, the captain showed the flight attendant the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop, and stay overnight. The next morning as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day's route, he noticed the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her up to ask what happened to her. She answered the phone, crying, and said, "I can't get out of the room!" "You can't get out of your room?"; the captain asked. "Why not?" She replied, "There are only three doors in here," she sobbed, "one is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says 'Do Not Disturb'

LOVE ON THE BEACH
A policeman sent his wife and kid to a resort for a vacation. After a week he joined them in the hotel. As soon as he came to the hotel room he wanted to make love to his wife.
- No darling, we can’t do it here, our kid is watching us.
- You are right, lets go to the beach.
After a while, they start to make love on an empty beach. All of a sudden, a policeman walks in on them.
- Put your cloths on immediately, shame on you, you can’t do that in public.
- You are right - said the husband - but I had a moment of weakness. We didn’t see each other for a week. By the way, I am a policeman too and it would be very embarrassing if you fine me.
- Don’t worry, you are a colleague and it is your first time. But this is the third time I caught this bitch making love on this beach in the last week and she will have to pay for it.

THE POLICEMAN´S SHOES
A policeman comes to the office with one black shoe and one white shoe. His boss starts to yell at him:
- You are ruining police reputation, go home and change the shoes.
The policeman goes home, and comes back after a while.
- Boss I have a problem, the other pair of shoes at home are black and white, too.

AT THE DOCTOR´S
A man at the doctor´s:
-Doctor, I have diarrhea and it won’t go away!
-Did you try using a lemon?
-Yes I did, but when I removed it, it started again!

IN A RESTAURANT
In a restaurant, a man ordered soup but, as soon as it arrived, he had to go to the bathroom. To make sure that nobody touched his soup while he is away, he wrote on a napkin: "I SPIT IN THE SOUP".
When he returned, he found another message on napkin: "ME, TOO".

THE BROKEN FINGER
A man goes to the doctor and says, "Doctor, wherever I touch, it hurts."
The doctor asks, "What do you mean?"
The man says, "When I touch my shoulder, it really hurts. If I touch my knee - OUCH! When I touch my forehead, it really, really hurts."
The doctor says, "I know what's wrong with you - you've broken your finger!"

WHICH SIDE?
A teacher asked a student to write 55.
Student asked: How?
Teacher: Write 5 and beside it another 5!
The student wrote 5 and stopped.
teacher: What are you waiting for?
student: I don't know which side to write the other 5!

CHANGING THE VERB
The teacher to a student: Conjugate the verb "to walk" in the simple present.
The student: I walk. You walk ....
The teacher interrupts him: Quicker, please!
The student: I run. You run ...

Friday, May 1, 2009

SWINE FLU


What is swine flu, and how is it different from other kinds of flu? How does a person catch swine flu?
Swine flu is a respiratory illness of pigs caused by infection with swine influenza A virus (SIV) that can occasionally affect humans. The disease first came to attention in 1976 with the death of an army recruit from swine flu. Widespread fear then led to an often-criticized mass inoculation program in the United States that resulted in illnesses and deaths.

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those caused by other influenza viruses. These include fever and chills, coughing, sore throat, and fatigue. Sometimes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can occur. In the past, pneumonia and potentially fatal respiratory failure were associated with human swine flu infections. It is not possible to distinguish swine flu from "regular" influenza on the basis of symptoms alone. The symptoms of swine flu can also vary in severity among affected individuals.

Treatment for swine flu involves the use of antiviral medications begun as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. There is no human vaccine to protect against swine flu, although vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine flu.

In spring 2009, numerous cases of swine flu affecting humans were reported, first in San Diego, California. From 2005 up to this outbreak, only 12 cases of human swine flu were reported in the U.S., none of which resulted in death. Although many cases of swine influenza A virus infection occur in individuals who have had recent direct contact with pigs or close contact with pigs, human-to-human transmission has been documented for the 2009 swine flu outbreak. It is believed that this swine flu virus spreads through airborne particles containing the virus that are released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is not possible to get swine flu from eating pork.

When to seek medical care:
If you have flu-like symptoms and live in an area in which swine flu has been documented or suspected, contact your doctor. He or she will be able to advise you if specialized testing for swine flu is advisable. If you develop symptoms such as difficulty breathing, high fever, dizziness, severe vomiting, worsening of previous flu symptoms, or chest or abdominal pain, you should seek emergency medical care.

From medicinenet.com – Adapted by Milton França


Vocabulary:
swine flu – gripe suína
to catch - pegar
illness – doença
army – exército
widespread – generalizada
led to – levou a
chills – calafrios
coughing – tosse
sore throat – garganta inflamada
to vary – variar
severity – gravidade
onset – começo
although – embora
up to – até
outbreak – surto
close – próximo
to spread – espalhar
airborne – transmitidas no ar
to release – lançar
to cough – tossir
to sneeze – espirrar
pork – carne de porco
to seek – procurar
medical care – tratamento médico
flu-like symptons – sintomas similares à gripe
to advise – aconselhar
advisable – aconselhável
such as – tais como
to breath – respirar
dizziness – tontura
severe – forte, agudo
worsening – piora
previous – anteriores
chest – peito, tórax
pain – dor

By Milton França/2009