GM FOOD

A - Listen to a short text about GM foods and assign T (for True) or F (for False): 

  1. (  ) GM foods is another name we can call transgenic foods.

  2. (  ) Genetic modification makes plants more resistant to herbicides, insects, and pesticides.

  3. (  ) Transgenic foods are obliged to have labels.

  4. (  ) There is a large variety of transgenic plants on the market, including soy, corn and cotton.

  5. (  ) There is very serious control on the GM food crops.

 

B - Listen to the recording again and fill in the missing words: 

Whether you realize it or not, several foods you eat today are products of _______________ modification. By inserting genes from one plant into another, scientists have succeeded in creating plants which are _______________ to herbicide and insects or have a higher _______________ to heat, cold and drought. Soy, corn, cotton, _______________, and tomatoes are only some of the crops that have already been modified. This _______________, however, has caused a lot of _______________.

One side argues that genetic modification of food can help the _______________ because transgenic (or GM – genetically modified) foods reduce the use of _______________ and pesticides. Besides, these GM foods can have a higher _______________ value. Consequently, they can make it easier to _______________ the world.

The other side questions the real _______________ of the new technology _______________ that there isn’t _______________ testing and regulation of GM foods, and _______________ us about the risk of unexpected _______________. They point out, for example, that GM _______________ resistant to insects kill not only the _______________ insects, but also the _______________ ones. And what if the insect resistant crop _______________ the weeds and the weeds, in turn, became resistant to _______________ herbicides?

Despite all the _______________, GM foods are already on the market, and _______________, sometimes you won’t even have the _______________ of not buying them because the _______________ of GM foods is not required in all countries. And then you won’t know if the product has been _______________ modified.

BIOGRAPHY - MAURICIO DE SOUSA

- Listen to a short biography of Mauricio de Sousa and assign T (for True) or F (for False):

  1. (     ) He has lived in Mogi das Cruzes since he was a baby.

  2. (     ) Becoming a professional in drawing was not part of his future plans.

  3. (     ) He wasn’t able to get his first job at comics.

  4. (     ) Before working as a drawer, Mauricio was a policeman.

  5. (     ) His first characters were Jimmy Five and Monica.

  6. (     ) His comic books are published in 10 countries and 18 languages.

  7. (     ) Mauricio de Sousa is very well known only in Brazil.

  8. (     ) Besides his comic books, he also owns two theme parks and a studio.

  9. (     ) Neither his father nor his mother was a cartoonist.

GM FOOD

 

A.

1. T      2. T      3. F      4. T      5. F

 

B.

GENETIC - RESISTANT – TOLERANCE – POTATOES – TECHNOLOGY - CONTROVERSY

ENVIRONMENT – HERBICIDES – NUTRITIONAL - FEED

ARGUING - ADEQUATE – WARMS – CONSEQUENCES – HARMFUL – BENEFICIAL – CONTAMINATED - STANDARD

DEBATE – WORSE – CHOICE – LABELING - GENETICALLY

A DIFFERENT WORKPLACE

A. Listen to a short text about a different workplace and assign T (for True) or F (for False):

  1. (     ) The man felt quite comfortable during his interview.

  2. (     ) The man got to his appointment on the dot.

  3. (     ) When he got to the office, people were really busy doing their work.

  4. (     ) Later he noticed he had gotten into the wrong place.

  5. (     ) The guy who was playing with a dog was actually his future boss.

  6. (     ) His future boss was very informal talking to him.

  7. (     ) The man found the company rules very strict and demanding.

  8. (     ) No pets or extra activities were allowed within the workplace.

  9. (     ) The future boss showed him his job and his schedule.

10. (     ) The man went to the interview wearing informal clothes.

 

 

B. Listen to the recording again and fill in the missing words:

Have you ever felt like a fish out of water? That’s _______________ how I felt during my job _______________ yesterday.

I wanted to make a good _______________ so I had my hair cut and put on my best _______________ and shoes. My appointment was at 11 o’clock so I got there at 10:45. To my surprise, there was nobody in the office except for a girl standing on her head, reading a magazine and a guy in shorts, a _______________ T-shirt and sandals lying on a _______________. I was about to ask him for Mr. Williams when an enormous black dog came into the room and started jumping around him.

______________________________, I was wondering if I wasn’t in the wrong place. ____________________ looked more a game room or family room than a workplace. But the greatest shock was ______________________________.

The guy who was playing with the dog _____________________ to be my future boss, Mr. Williams. He couldn’t be more than 25 years old. And the first thing he said was, “Call me Pete.” Then he explained that in his company the _______________ didn’t have regular working hours or ______________________________ to wear formal clothes. If having their pet beside them _______________ their production, they could bring their dogs or cats to the office. The only thing that he asked was that the job should be done within _______________.

I still haven’t gotten over the experience and I’m not sure I can get used to so much _______________. Maybe I’m not _____________________________ working there.

Biography – Mauricio de Sousa

F – F – T – F – F – F – F – T – T

APARTMENT RENTING

- Listen to a dialog and fill in the blanks using the information you from the dialog:

 STUDIO  -  PENTHOUSE  -  FURNISHED  -  LANDLORD  -  TENANT  -  SUPER - VACANCIES  -  LEASE  -  COMMON AREA CHARGE

Sean is looking for an _______________ to rent because the new owner of his won’t renew the _______________. Carol suggests his moving to her _______________ where they have vacancies for a _______________, two-bedroom and penthouse. Sean agrees with her that a _______________ would be too expensive for a poor tenant like him and added he needed a _______________ studio because he had neither _______________ nor furniture. After she told him the probable rent price including the ______________________________, he got enthusiastic because he found it was a _______________. She told him, then, that he should talk to the building _______________ and gave him his phone number.

A DIFFERENT WORKPLACE

 

A.

  1. ( F ) The man felt quite comfortable during his interview.

  2. ( F ) The man got to his appointment on the dot.

  3. ( F ) When he got to the office, people were really busy doing their work.

  4. ( F ) Later he noticed he had gotten into the wrong place.

  5. ( T ) The guy who was playing with a dog was actually his future boss.

  6. ( T ) His future boss was very informal talking to him.

  7. ( F ) The man found the company rules very strict and demanding.

  8. ( F ) No pets or extra activities were allowed within the workplace

  9. ( F ) The future boss showed him his job and his schedule.

10. ( F ) The man went to the interview wearing informal clothes.

 

B.

EXACTLY – INTERVIEW – IMPRESSION – SUIT - WORN-OUT – COUCH - BY THAT TIME - THAT OFFICE - YET TO COME - TURNED OUT – EMPLOYEES - WERE REQUIRED INCREASED – SCHEDULE – FREEDOM - CUT OUT FOR

IMMIGRATION

 

- Listen to a text about immigration and assign T (for True) or F (for False): 

  1. (     ) The migration flows happened only between the 19th and 20th centuries.

  2. (     ) The Industrial Revolution was one of the reasons for the migration during the 19th century.

  3. (     ) The pioneers found a very hard life in the countries they moved to.

  4. (     ) The Asians and Europeans migrated mainly to the Soviet Union, Argentina, and Brazil.

  5. (     ) Not all the immigrants needed to leave their home countries.

 

- Listen to the text again and answer the following questions:

1. When was the most intense period of overseas migration?

2. What caused such flows of migration?

3. Where were immigrants from?

4. Did all the immigrants leave their countries because they wanted to?

APARTMENT RENTING

apartment – lease – building - a one-bedroom – penthouse – furnished – furniture - common area charge – steal – super

THE TGV AND THE BULLET TRAIN

- Check the sentences that apply:

  1. (     ) Neither the TGV nor the Bullet Train has a top speed of 300 km/ hour.

  2. (     ) Not only the TGV but also the Bullet Train was invented in the 20th century.

  3. (     ) Neither the TGV not the Bullet Train is from England.

  4. (     ) Either the TGV or the Bullet Train carries more than 1500 passengers.

  5. (     ) Both the TGV and the Bullet Train have non-reserved seats.

  6. (     ) Not only the TGV but also the Bullet Train has had fatal accidents.

IMMIGRATION

- Listen to a text about immigration and assign T (for True) or F (for False):

1. F     2. T      3. T      4. F     5. T

 

- Listen to the text again and answer the following questions:

1. It was in the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

2. The Industrial Revolution and the several wars did.

3. They were from Asia and Europe.

4. No. There were those who left because they needed to.

COESÃO VI

 IGNORÂNCIA TAMBÉM É VÍCIO

Gilberto Dimenstein

Há uma série de dados estarrecedores no relatório da CPI do Narcotráfico, a ser divulgado oficialmente na próxima semana. Um ponto, entretanto, merece destaque: de acordo com o documento, haveria hoje sete milhões de consumidores de drogas – quase três vezes a população de uma cidade como Belo Horizonte. Mas apenas duas mil vagas em hospitais para o tratamento de viciados.

Daí a importância de sugestões, também embutidas no relatório, destinadas a prevenir e não remediar. Prevenir significa, basicamente, educar – e nesse campo o Brasil está na pré-história. Não se vê nada parecido com as campanhas contra a Aids. A CPI propõe (e acertadamente, diga-se) um engajamento das escolas públicas e privadas. De início, pede um “Departamento Nacional de Prevenção às Drogas”, no Ministério da Educação.

É sugerida a inclusão nos currículos escolares de uma matéria sobre drogas além de se propiciarem cursos de formação e reciclagem dos professores. Em cada estabelecimento haveria um “grupo de prevenção”. O caminho é mesmo por aí: o Brasil não tem dinheiro para gastar na repressão como nos Estados Unidos. E, além disso, nem se sabe se a repressão funciona mesmo. Num país em que morrem 220 mil crianças antes de completarem um ano, nunca o combate às drogas será prioridade nas verbas sociais.

As drogas são mais uma faceta da “República da Ignorância” – ou seja, somos um país de desinformados. Mulheres não sabem como evitar filhos, mesmo desejando famílias pequenas. Milhões de crianças morrem por falta de cuidados elementares, devido ao despreparo das mães – aliás, esta relação foi cientificamente medida em documento do IBGE sobre crianças e adolescentes, recém-lançado. No Ceará, apenas com a divulgação de procedimentos básicos de saúde, a mortalidade infantil caiu, em três anos, 34%.

Em países desenvolvidos, onde o ensino é de melhor qualidade e mais democratizado, o vício é uma tragédia, ligado a desajustes emocionais, familiares e econômicos. Imagine-se, então, como será o Brasil sem nenhum tipo de prevenção, onde a imensa maioria dos pais e alunos é analfabeta em tóxicos. Não é à toa que quanto maior a pobreza, maior a ignorância, o desajuste familiar e emocional e, portanto, maior a ação das drogas. Basta lembrar que de cada cem meninos de rua pelo menos 80 são viciados em algum tipo de tóxico.

 

a) No primeiro parágrafo do texto há uma oposição de ideias. Resuma essa oposição numa frase usando as palavras hospitais, consumidores de drogas, Brasil, no entanto, duas mil vagas.

b) Reescreva a frase acima, mantendo a mesma ideia de oposição. Use apesar de.

c) Releia o segundo parágrafo do texto e complete a frase: Como o Brasil ainda está na pré-história em termos de educação....

d) Reescreva a frase anterior, invertendo a ordem dos segmentos.

e) No início do terceiro parágrafo há duas ideias que se adicionam. Reescreva-as numa só frase usando e.

f) Com base no terceiro parágrafo, utilize um conectivo de condição e escreva uma frase em que fiquem claros os meios de que o Brasil pode lançar mão para vencer as drogas.

g) Complete cada frase de acordo com a sugestão:

- No Brasil morrem 220 mil crianças antes de completar um ano, ... (conclusão)

- Ninguém sabe se a repressão às drogas funciona mesmo, ... (oposição)

- O Brasil só se livrará das drogas .... (tempo)

h) Reescreva a frase utilizando já que.

Milhões de crianças morrem por falta de cuidados elementares, devido ao despreparo das mães.

i) Complete a frase com um segmento que exprima ideia de consequência:

No Ceará, o governo fez uma campanha de divulgação dos procedimentos básicos de saúde, ...

j) Releia o último parágrafo e elabore duas frases que o imprimem. Conserve as primeiras palavras

- Se o Brasil...

- Como a maioria dos pais e alunos...

THE TGV AND the Bullet Train

2 - 3