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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

TESTING YOUR ENGLISH

Milton Hatoum is a Brazilian writer, award winning author of Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers) and Cinzas do Norte (Ashes from the North). He was born in Manaus in 1952, lived in Brasilia and also in Spain, France and in the US. He has lived in São Paulo since 1999. His new novel, Órfãos do Eldorado (Eldorado Orphans) will be released in a few months. Here is an interview with him:


1. Which was your best trip ever?
The trip that I took with my father to Lebanon, in July 1992. He had not seen his Lebanese family for over 30 years. Visiting Lebanon and meeting dozens of relatives was a very emotional experience.

2. Which is your dream trip?
I dream of going to Kashmir and some parts of India. I also would like to visit several African countries.

3. In what country would you like to live?
Well, I have already lived in three countries and eight different cities. At the moment I want to stay around here. But when I think of Provence or Tuscany, I feel like spending some time in France and Italy.

4. What do you most admire about a person?
His or her character. What elevates or demeans a human being is not religion, gender, color, ethnicity – none of these. It´s the character.

5. What do you most hate in a person?
I think and arrogant person looks ridiculous. I hate meanness, deceit, dishonest people.

6. Would you be happy without friends?
I would be very unhappy without them.

7. What animal would you like to be?
The very same one I was destined to be. Our fate is to be human.

8. What do you do when you have nothing to do?
I get bored when I don´t do anything. Right now, after finishing a novel I always have a book to read, or reread.

9. Who is your favorite film director?
I love Rossellini, Visconti and the directors of Italian neo-realism.

10. What character would you like to be?
It´s hard to say... I would be a terrible actor. But all the characters in my novels have a little of me in them.

1. Qual (is) informação (ões) abaixo sobre Milton Hatoum está (ao) correta (s)?
I – Viveu em diferentes países e cidades e pretende conhecer lugares na Índia e na África.
II – Destacou a viagem ao Líbano, com seu pai, há 30 anos, como uma das mais marcantes de sua vida.
III – Elegeu Provença ou Toscana para fixar residência.
a)  apenas a I                                                 d) apenas I e II
b) apenas a II                                                 e) nenhuma
c) apenas a III

2. De acordo com a entrevista, Milton Hatoum:
I – é um renomado escritor, que recebeu premiação recentemente pela novela Dois Irmãos.
II – costuma reler suas obras quando está com tempo livre.
III – reconhece características pessoais nos personagens que cria.
Está (ao) correta (s):
a) apenas a I                                                  d) apenas I e II
b) apenas a II                                                 e) todas
c) apenas a III

3. According to the text, Milton Hatoum:
a) has visited Lebanon many times since July 1992.
b) wants to visit many countries of another continent.
c) would like to be another animal, not a human being.
d)  lived in eight cities in the same country.
e) doesn´t give much importance to friendship.

4. False Cognates are words in English which are similar to the ones in Portuguese but with a different meaning. Which word from the text is a false cognate?
a) favorite                                                      d) novel
b) experience                                                 e) arrogant
c) visit

5. Regular verbs are the ones that have the suffix ED in the past and past participle and irregular verbs don´t have that suffix. Which verb from the text is irregular?
a) to like                                                        d) to live
b) to admire                                                   e) to feel
c) to stay   
6. How come is an interrogative pronoun which is a synonym of why. The  question above using why is:

a) Why only he gets a discount?                                d) Why does only he get a discount?
b) Why did only he get a discount?                            e) Why is only he get a discount?
c) Why gets only he a discount?

7. In the picture we can see a barber cutting Jimmy Five´s hair and three guys sitting down.
Based on it, choose the incorrect option:
a) There is a guy complaining because he´s going to pay more money than Jimmy Five to
have his hair cut.
b) Jimmy Five will get a discount probably because he doesn´t have much hair.
c) The barber is using a pair of scissors to cut Jimmy Five´s hair.
d) There is a mirror behind the barber and his client.
e) The three guys seem to be very satisfied with that situation.

8. Mark the option with the name of an object that we cannot see in the picture:
a) drawer                                                       d) boot
b) belt                                                            e) comb
c) wallet

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