Question Words

  São as perguntas feitas em inglês que geralmente usam palavras iniciadas com WH, com uma única exceção do HOW.

  WHICH/WHY/WHOM/WHAT

 WHEN/WHO/WHOSE/WHERE

                 HOW

Who  (quem) – é uma palavra usada como o sujeito da oração.

Exemplos: Who is that beautiful girl?
(Quem é aquela moça bonita?)

Who likes soccer?
(Quem gosta de futebol?)

Who was playing to you?
(Quem estava brincando com você?)

Whom (quem) – é usado como o objeto da pergunta.

Exemplos: Whom did you kiss at the party?
(Quem você beijou na festa?)

With whom did Peter go?
(Com quem Peter foi?)

Whose (de quem)

Exemplos: Whose pencil is this?
(De quem é este lápis?)

Whose house is that?
(De quem é aquela casa?)

Which (qual, quais)

Exemplos: Which of those men is your father?
(Qual daqueles homens é seu pai?)

Which sock do you prefer: the yellow one or the pink one?
(Qual meia você prefere: a amarela ou a rosa?)

What (o que, que)

Exemplos: What did you say?
(O que você disse?)

What should I do?
(O que eu deveria fazer?)

Where (onde)

Exemplos: Where is Mary?
(Onde está Mary?)

Where was Daniel last week?
(Onde estava Daniel semana passada?)

Where are the toys and objects?
(Onde estão os brinquedos e objetos?)

Why (por que)

Exemplos: Why did you run?
(Por que você correu?)

Why did you catch that?
(Por que você pegou isso?)

When (quando)

Exemplos: When were you born?
(Quando você nasceu?)

When did he go?
(Quando ele saiu?)

How (como)

Exemplos: How do you usually go to work?
(Como você faz habitualmente para ir ao trabalho? )

How’s your family?
(Como vai sua família ?)

Planetas em inglês

O Sistema Solar (Solar System) tem como elemento central uma estrela anã (dwarf star), com aproximadamente 4,6 bilhões de anos de idade chamada Sol (Sun), ao redor da qual orbitam os planetas conhecidos, localizados em uma região com mais ou menos vinte bilhões de quilômetros (não é pouca coisa).

Os oito planetas são:

• Mercury: Mercúrio
• Venus: Vênus
• Earth: Terra
• Mars: Marte
• Jupiter: Júpiter
• Saturn: Saturno
• Uranus: Urano
• Neptune: Netuno
• *Pluto : Plutão

*Até agosto de 2006, o Sistema Solar possuía nove planetas, mas uma mudança feita pela União Astronômica Internacional mudou a definição oficial do termo planeta e Plutão foi rebaixado à categoria dos planetas-anões (dwarf planets).

The Moon - A Lua

A Lua é o satélite natural da Terra (the Earth’s natural satellite) e gira em torno desta.

Vejam a seguir algumas expressões idiomáticas em inglês relacionadas ao assunto:

1. What planet is somebody (living) on? [ = expressão usada para se dizer que as idéias de alguém não estão de acordo com a realidade ou não são práticas.]

Ex.: He thinks being a father is easy. What planet is he on? [Ele acha que ser pai é fácil. Em que planeta ele mora?]

2. Once in a blue moon: muito raramente , “uma vez na vida, outra na morte”.

Ex.: They come to visit us once in a blue moon. [Eles vem nos visitar uma vez na vida, outra na morte.]

3. A place in the sun: um lugar ao sol, uma situação de conforto e/ou sucesso.

Ex.: He certainly earned his place in the sun. [Ele com certeza conquistou seu lugar ao sol.]

4. Revolve around: girar em torno de.

Ex.: The moon revolves around the Earth. [A lua gira em torno da Terra.]

Learn About September 11th

At 8:45 a.m., September 11th, 2001, the first of two airlines struck the World Trade Center in New York, in the first of a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on the United States. At 9:03, a second plane crashed into a second World Trade Center tower, and exploded.    With both buildings ablaze, hundreds of rescue personnel rushed to the scene. At 9:43 a.m., a third passenger plane crashed into the Pentagon,  in the world’s largest office building. At 10:05, the south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building. Five minutes later, a portion of the Pentagon collapsed. At 10:28, The World Trade Center's north tower collapses from the top down, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke. At 10:48 police confirm that a fourth passenger jet had crashed in western Pennsylvania.   In the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, hijackers crashed passenger planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers in New York, toppling the 110-story twin towers, killing all aboard the jets and more than 3,000 people on the ground.   Learning from History In ordinary times, many students question the value and relevance of history. After all, knowledge of history doesn't seem as practical or rewarding as knowledge of medicine or physics or economics. The normal justifications for studying history seem rather vague: to learn about the development of our society and our cultural heritage; to develop the skills characteristic of history as a discipline, such as the ability to undertake research, to read and interpret primary sources, to write clearly and analytically. But in times of crisis and tragedy we are reminded of the more profound reasons why we study history. We study history: In Order to Learn from the Mistakes of the Past so We do not Repeat Them. Because Knowledge of the Past is Essential to Understanding the Present and Shaping the Future. To Remind Ourselves that Nothing is Inevitable, but is the Product of Human Action and Choices But also of Chance. To Remember Acts of Heroism and of Villainy. Because History Contributes to Moral Understanding and Reminds Us about the People who Weathered Adversity and Acted with Courage. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 underscore the need for historical perspective, and provide the history teacher with an opportunity to remind students of why historical knowledge is indispensable in navigating through present-day challenges and preparing for the future. What, then, do the events of September 11, 2001 teach us about history? To Expect the Unexpected No one predicted on September 10, 2001 that the next day would witness an unprecedented act of terrorism, just as no one in 1941 anticipated an attack on Pearl Harbor and no one in 1991 guessed that the Soviet Union would collapse. Similarly, no one guessed that the outbreak of world war in 1914 would result in the collapse of five empires or the Communist Revolution in Russia. Today, no one can predict the outcome of the events that took place on September 11, 2001. But history does remind us that consequences of a terrorist attack or an assassination are rarely those that the perpetrators of violence have sought. Those who destroyed the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon hoped to demoralize the American population, disrupt our economy, and discredit the United States in the eyes of the world. Despite the destruction they wrought, it seems unimaginable that the terrorists will succeed in those goals. To Remember that Nothing is InevitableWhat happened on September 11, 2001, was not preordained. The tragic events that occurred that day were the product of a train of individual events that might have turned out differently. Nothing better underscores the unpredictability of events better than the actions of the brave passengers on United Airlines Flight, who learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center and sacrificed their own lives in order to prevent their airplane from striking Washington, D.C. To Understand WhyIn recent years, we have come to recognize that most acts of aggression and fanaticism in the contemporary world are rooted in a sense of historical grievance. In areas as diverse as the Balkans, Israel and Palestine, Northern Ireland, and Zimbabwe memories of the past are strong and fuel contemporary conflicts. History does not have the power to resolve those conflicts, but it can help us understand why antagonisms are so deeply rooted. To Prevent History from Repeating ItselfOver time, we will understand why the intelligence apparatus failed to uncover the terrorist plot and why our security systems failed to prevent the attacks. As we learn from past mistakes, we may be able to prevent similar acts of terror from recurring in the future. To Remember History is our collective memory. It is an indelible record of acts of bravery and of treachery, of leadership and of cowardice. We study history in order to keep these memories alive. To learn more:Terrorism in Historical Perspective by Steven Mintz, University of Houston.

 

September 11 News.Com News Archive http://www.september11news.com/USAWebArchives.htm

Falsas Gêmeas: COMPARE TO x COMPARE WITH

COMPARAR

 Tenha cuidado na hora de escolher a preposição que acompanha o verbo “COMPARE” na língua inglesa. Quando a sua intenção for ressaltar as diferenças que porventura duas coisas semelhantes podem ter, use “COMPARE WITH”. Se, por outro lado, você quiser salientar as semelhanças apresentadas por duas pessoas, objetos, situações etc. diferentes, utilize “COMPARE TO”. Compare os exemplos. “NO PUN INTENDED!” (Sem trocadilho!)

• If it is an error in the code, please compare with the original code you received.
• Se for um erro no código, por favor, compare-o ao código original que você recebeu.
• How does the dolphin brain compare to the human brain?
• Quais são as semelhanças entre o cérebro do golfinho e o cérebro humano?

Falsas Gêmeas: CITY x TOWN

1. CITY

O substantivo city é usado para cidades grandes e importantes:

• “I sometimes wish I could move away from this crazy city to a calmer town in the countryside”, Mike told his friends.
• “Às vezes eu tenho vontade de me mudar desta cidade louca para uma cidadezinha mais calma no interior”, Mike disse aos amigos.

2. TOWN

O substantivo town é normalmente usado para cidades pequenas, maiores que uma village(aldeia, povoado), mas menores que uma city:

• Greg had a hard time getting used to living in New York since he grew up in a smalltown.
• Foi difícil para Greg acostumar-se a morar em Nova York, já que ele cresceu numa cidade pequena.

Labor Day

The History of Labor Day

    Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the   social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

The First Labor Day

  The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

 In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

 

                                A Nationwide Holiday

    The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

   The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

     The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

 

Será que estamos mesmo preparados para a chegada da World Cup 2014 ??

Falsas Gêmeas: LITTLE x FEW

  Qual é a diferença entre “A LITTLE” e “LITTLE”, já que as duas opções significam “pouco”?
  Você deve optar pela primeira quando quiser indicar que o pouco é suficiente ou mais do que o esperado, ao passo que “LITTLE” exprime a idéia oposta.
  O mesmo princípio se aplica a “A FEW” e “FEW”, que querem dizer “poucos”. Portanto, “A LITTLE” e “LITTLE” qualificam substantivos incontáveis ao passo que “A FEW” e “FEW” devem ser empregados com substantivos contáveis. Observe com atenção os exemplos a seguir.

Cf. MUITO

• As soon as she saved a little money she fled to London. (Time)
• Assim que ela juntou um dinheirinho ela fugiu para Londres.
• They simply couldn’t live on the little money they earned as teachers. (BBC)
• Simplesmente não conseguiam viver com o pouco dinheiro que ganhavam como professores.
• Very few people had cars, now every one at 17 wants one. (BBC)
• Pouquíssimas pessoas tinham automóveis, hoje todo jovem de 17 anos quer um.
• There were a few people waiting when they pulled up to the house, but the police had blocked off the area. (CBS News)
• Algumas pessoas os esperavam quando chegaram de carro à casa, mas a polícia já havia interditado a área.

Referência: “Dicionário dos Erros Mais Comuns em Inglês” deUlisses Wehby de Carvalho – Editora Campus/Elsevier, 2005.