Oi pessoal, a partir de hoje o English Experts tem um novo colaborador, o seu nome é Roberto Rocha. Ele mora no Rio de Janeiro e tem experiência em hotelaria. A partir desta semana eu vou publicar os textos dele apresentando os pontos turísticos da cidade maravilhosa. Eu vou deixar que ele mesmo se apresente.

Hi folks! Sou o Roberto Rocha, o mais novo colaborador do English Experts, o que para mim é uma honra muito grande. Atuo no ramo de hotelaria como recepcionista e concièrge e além disso sou professor de inglês in company – English For Hotel Personnel. rofco2007@oi.com.brQuero que saibam que nada em minha vida causou tanto fascínio do que conhecer esta cidade maravilhosa cheia de encantos mil, com destaque às suas praias repletas de gente bonita e bem humorada. E vocês sabiam que o Rio concorreu com 2000 cidades candidatas e ganhou o título que qualquer cidade turística do planeta gostaria de exibir: O céu mais azul do mundo ou “The bluest sky in the world.” Vocês podem conferir na íntegra em The Blue Sky Explorer.

É, portanto, com muito prazer que assumo a missão de publicar uma grande variedade de informações turísticas sobre a cidade onde vivo e que amo de paixão. Começaremos pela cidade em si, a continuar sobre os pontos turísticos que fazem dela uma atração à parte.

So, without delay, I will present you the marvelous city.

Rio de Janeiro, a multi-faceted destination, the focus of the travel industry in Latin America and unique in terms of its natural beauty, with the richness of its history and the contagious fun of its residents have contributed to its image as a very special destination, and never more so than during its two major festivals, Réveillon and Carnival. Its attractions can be enjoyed at virtually any time of the year. There are always something new happening in Rio - exhibitions, dance, music shows and sporting events.

Por suas inúmeras facetas, o Rio de Janeiro é o foco da indústria turística na América Latina. Além da incomparável beleza natural, sua história e a alegria contagiante de seus habitantes contribuíram para criar uma imagem muito especial que atinge seu ponto mais alto quando se festeja o réveillon e o carnaval. Suas atrações podem ser apreciadas em qualquer época do ano. Algo está sempre acontecendo no Rio – exposições, shows de dança, música e eventos esportivos.

E por falar em música quem nunca ouviu o samba “Cidade Maravilhosa” escrito por André Filho em 1934.

CIDADE MARAVILHOSA

MARVELOUS CITY

Cidade maravilhosa

Marvelous city

Cheia de encantos mil

Full of a thousand enchantments…

Cidade maravilhosa

Marvelous city

Coração do meu Brasil!

Heart of my Brazil!

Berço do samba e das lindas canções

Birthplace of samba and beautiful songs

Que vivem n’alma da gente…

Which live in our souls…

És o altar dos nossos corações

It is the altar for our hearts

Que cantam alegremente!

Which joyfully sing!

Jardim florido de amor e saudade

Blooming garden of love and nostalgia

Terra que a todos seduz…

Land that seduces us…

Que Deus te cubra de felicidade

God endowed you with felicity

Ninho de sonho e de luz.

A place of dreams and elucidation.

Well people, that’s all for today.

See you soon.

Phrasal verbs are used by all native English speakers with great frequency. It’s impossible to speak proper english without using them. Some thoughts can only be expressed by them. In many cases, there is a latin-based verb that can describe the action, but a native English speaker will use a phrasal verb instead. For instance, if you are playing chess with an American friend, and he is winning the game, in a matter of a few moves he will have you in checkmate. You could say: I desist. There´s a chance he won´t understand you. The word desist exists in English but it is hardly used. Rather than desist you must say: I give up. This phrasal verb expresses exactly what you want to say. That’s why phrasal verbs are so important, some thoughts are impossible to say otherwise.

There are thousands of phrasal verbs, and the number is growing everyday. It’s impossible to know them from the top of your mind. You will learn them with time. Listed below are some of them:

- to look after: cuidar de;
- to look at: olhar para;
- to look for: procurar;
- to get away: fugir;
- to get away with: livrar-se;
- to get back: voltar;
- to get down: descer, baixar;
- to get off: descer (do trem, do ônibus);
- to get out: sair;
- to get over: recuperar-se (de doença, de um problema);
- to get to: chegar;
- to get up: levantar, subir

See, phrasal verbs are very common and if you want to make yourself sound more natural use them.

See you again, next week.

Hugs.

Collaborator: Maria Brasileira

Today I would like to talk to you about the importance of the aesthetics in our lives. We don’t realize it, but almost all of our choices are influenced by asthetic considerations. Let me explain: when you buy a new car, what would be the most important thing you should pay attention to? Safety should be the most important factor or at least the second one. But it doesn’t happen; you choose a new car for its color and design. Thus, in that case, the aesthetics won in importance over the safety. Most people pay more for a more beautiful car, but not for a safer car. Why?Man likes beautiful things, we always did and still make choices along these lines, all the time, for instance, when we choose: a partner, software, a house and so on. However, there are those people that don’t pay attention for to that concept and human instinct, but assuredly aesthetics matter.

Take a look at the biggest companies in the world: Microsoft, Fiat, Apple. Their products have an incredible market share and already achieved an extremely high level of technology, now they are increasing the value of its their products by including an astonishing design. When the technology doesn’t make a difference the design becomes more important.

Why is the iPod so successful? Think about it.

That’s all folks,

PS.: Thank you Mary Ziller for all corrections