A Wikipedia em inglês tem um projeto de criação de áudio para seus artigos, ou seja, os artigos lidos em voz alta. Encontrei essa opção recentemente e achei ótimo para treinar o listening, uma vez que, além do áudio temos o texto escrito para conferirmos se o que escutamos condiz com a realidade.

O projeto já conta com mais de 750 artigos lidos, a qualidade do áudio é ótima, não perca!

Clique aqui para acessar a Wikipedia Spoken Articles

Dica enviada pelo leitor Luiz Passari

Last night on TV there was this show about that actor who tries to get his big break in show biz. People thought it was a rerun but actually it was a pilot for a sitcom. It´s a spin-off of a series that was really popular some time ago. It´s a spoof of Hollywood and its stars but I thought it was way too slapstick for me. Even that famous actress, what´s her name again, had a walk-on. She had a one-liner but her acting was a show-stopper.

Vamos praticar? Tente agora relacionar as definições abaixo com as expressões em negrito acima, aguardo as respostas nos comentários. Good luck!

1. a test episode from a proposed television show presented to the public in order to get a general reaction

2. a very small part consisting of only one word or sentence (known as line)

3. the entertainment industry

4. a type of amusing acting in which the actors behave in a silly way, such as by throwing things, falling over, etc.

5. an amusing and ridiculous piece of writing, music, theatre, etc. that copies the style of an original work

6. an amusing television or radio show in which the same characters appear in each program in a different story

7. a program or other show involving characters from a previous program or film

8. A very small part (in a play or on TV) in which the actor is on the stage very briefly and speaks very few or no words

9. a performance or performer that receive so much applause from the audience that the show is temporarily interrupted

10. a program or film that has already been shown before on television

11. an exciting opportunity

See you next time!

Prof. Adir Ferreira - www.adirferreira.com

Hoje trago um pequeno texto com expressões bem informais no mundo dos relacionamentos com sua explicação em inglês. Confira:

Last night I was at a bar with my friend Mike and he told me that a girl was checking me out. I was kind of shy to go say hello because the last time I did this the girl thought I was coming on to her and she blew me off before I even had the chance to introduce myself. Mike said that he wasn´t surprised because I usually strike out after using my pick-up lines. But I guess that girl was just playing hard to get and that reminded me of Laura Smithson. A year ago some mutual friends fixed us up because they thought we would hit it off. Turns out she was on the rebound so I didn’t want to get involved. I tried to let her down easy but she got furious and threw a fit in front of the whole restaurant.

Explicação das expressões em negrito:

Check out – to look, to observe someone

Come on to someone – to flirt with someone

Blow someone off – to reject someone

Strike out – to fail

Pick-up lines – “cantadas”

Play hard to get – pretend not to be interested

Fix someone up – introduce someone (with love intentions)

Hit it off – enjoy each other´s company

On the rebound – eager to get back into a relationship after recently ending one

Let someone down easy – to reject someone gently

Throw a fit – make a scene

See you next time!

Prof. Adir Ferreira - www.adirferreira.com

Hello everyone, Earth Day is on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008. To celebrate the day, we will be working collaboratively with people around the world to produce and air a live webcast which will last for the entire 24 hours of the GMT day! This is a HUGE challenge and we’re hopeful that you’ll participate!

This is the Earth Day 2008 information.

There is a learners’ voice thread, the second voice thread box on the page. We cordially invite you to write or record a message on the voice thread. Click here.

Theme

What kind of Earth will your grandchildren’s grandchildren grow up in? The idea is that our Legacy is based on our actions now and how we are treating Mother Earth.

There is a wiki for a global Earth Day project, here. And the voice thread for educators, here.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Mary Ziller from USA

“Deal” is another word that has many different meanings in English. It is a noun, a verb, and part of several phrasal verbs as well.

In it’s simplest meaning, the word ‘deal’ means ‘contrato’ or ‘acordo,’ a business agreement such as a contract, a closed negotiation or an arrangement. The popular TV show here in the US ‘Deal or No Deal’ is clearly a good example of this use.

“I think we agree on the terms, so do we have a deal?”
“Acho que concordamos nas condições, então está tudo certo?”

In law, it is common to refer to ‘plea bargains’ as ‘deals.’

“The jury will convict you, so you should take the deal.”

“O júri vai te condenar, então acho que você deve aceitar o acordo.”

Another use of ‘deal’ as a noun is in the context of playing a card game. The act of giving everyone their playing cards is called ‘the deal.’ This leads us into the world of ‘deal’ as a verb. Giving everyone their cards is handled by the ‘dealer’ whose job it is ‘to deal the cards.’ The image of playing cards being dealt is a strong and common metaphor in our society, the ‘hand one is dealt’ indicating personal fate and destiny.

“This is a difficult time, but it is the hand that I have been dealt.”

“A situação está difícil, mas são coisas da vida.”

Check out this video where I explain a bit about this excellent metaphor.

One of my favorites is ‘to deal’ meaning ‘aguentar’ or even ‘dar jeito.’ This is perhaps a shortened version of ‘to deal with…’ something, which means the same thing.

“Do you mind picking up the kids later?”

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll deal.”

“Você pode pegar as crianças mais tarde?”

“Vai me atrapalhar, mas dou jeito.”

A slang phrase that is common is “What’s the deal?” which roughly translates to “O quê que é?” Related to that is the phrase “So the deal is…” which approximates “A parada é o seguinte…”

Also, a minor note: ‘to deal’ is the verb we use to mean ‘distribute illegal drugs.’ So a ‘traficante’ would be a ‘dealer’ in English.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Christopher - Portuguese Blog