Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The farmer and the cranes

The Farmer and the Cranes

SOME CRANES made their feeding grounds on some plowlands newly sown with wheat. For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an empty sling, chased them away by the terror he inspired; but when the birds found that the sling was only swung in the air, they ceased to take any notice of it and would not move. The Farmer, on seeing this, charged his sling with stones, and killed a great number. The remaining birds at once forsook his fields, crying to each other, "It is time for us to be off to Liliput: for this man is no longer content to scare us, but begins to show us in earnest what he can do.
If words suffice not, blows must follow.

Vocabulary Help

  • feeding ground - local de alimentação
  • plowland - campo arado
  • sown - semeado
  • wheat - trigo
  • brandish - brandir
  • sling - estilingue
  • chase - caçar
  • swing - balançar, girar
  • cease - parar, cessar
  • take notice - notar

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The boss

The Boss

The boss was complaining in our staff meeting the other day that he wasn't getting any respect. Later that morning he went to a local sign shop and bought a small sign that read:
-- "I'm the Boss!"
He then taped it to his office door.
Later that day when he returned from lunch, he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said:
-- "Your wife called, she wants her sign back!"

Vocabulary Help

  • boss - chefe
  • complain - reclamar
  • staff meeting - reunião dos funcionários
  • get any respect - não estava sendo respeitado
  • sign shop - loja onde se vendem posters, avisos, painéis
  • buy (buy, bought, bought) - comprar
  • sign - aviso
  • taped a note - colou um aviso
  • wife - esposa

Friday, November 12, 2010

ARTIGOS - ARTICLES

ARTIGOS - ARTICLES
Artigo é a classe de palavras que se antepõe ao Substantivo para definir, limitar ou modificar seu uso. Os artigos dividem-se em Definido e Indefinido.

O Artigo Definido (The) -  The Definite Article - (The)
O Artigo Definido The é usado antes de um substantivo já conhecido pelo ouvinte ou leitor. Significa O, A, OS, AS, mas, em Inglês, é invariável em gênero e número, ao contrário do que acontece no Português. Exemplos:
The boy - O menino
The boys - Os meninos
The girl - A menina

The girls - As meninas

Quando usar o Artigo Definido - When to use the Definite Article
Utiliza-se o The diante de:
1. Substantivos mencionados anteriormente, já definidos pelo locutor:
He wrote some letters and postcards. The letters were to his girlfriend.
Ele escreveu algumas cartas e cartões-postais. As cartas eram para sua namorada.
Mary bought a funny dress. The dress is full of small animals and big flowers.
Mary comprou um vestido engraçado. O vestido é cheio de animaizinhos e flores enormes.

2. Substantivos únicos em sua espécie:
The Sun (o sol), the Moon (a lua), the sky (o céu), the planet Earth (o planeta Terra), the universe (o universo), etc.

3. Nomes Geográficos de rios, mares, canais, oceanos, pólos, desertos, golfos, grupos de ilhas e cadeias de montanhas:
The Amazonas River, The Pacif Ocean, The English Channel (O Canal da Mancha), The North Pole, TheSahara, The Gulf of Mexico, The Bahamas, The Alps, etc.

4. Adjetivos usados como substantivos no plural:
The poor (os pobres), The powerful (os poderosos), The good (os bons), The bad (os maus)
Observação: Como podemos proceder, então, para os substantivos no singular? Como dizer, por exemplo, "o poderoso" ou "a pobre"? Veja:
The powerful man helped the poor woman.
O poderoso ajudou a pobre.
Note que especificamos a quem o adjetivo está se referindo (adjetivo + substantivo)

5. Nomes compostos de países:
The United Kingdom (o Reino Unido)
The United States (os Estados Unidos)
The United Arab Emirates (os Emirados Árabes Unidos)
The Dominican Republic (a República Dominicana)

The Best

The Best

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.
Dale Carnegie

Vocabulary Help

  • afraid - temeroso
  • give your best - dar o melhor de si
  • seemingly - aparentemente
  • small jobs - tarefas pequenas
  • much stronger - muito mais forte
  • tend - tender
  • take care of themselves - se arrumarão por si só

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

THE ASS and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for their mutual protection, went out into the forest to hunt. They had not proceeded far when they met a Lion. The Fox, seeing imminent danger, approached the Lion and promised to contrive for him the capture of the Ass if the Lion would pledge his word not to harm the Fox. Then, upon assuring the Ass that he would not be injured, the Fox led him to a deep pit and arranged that he should fall into it. The Lion, seeing that the Ass was secured, immediately clutched the Fox, and attacked the Ass at his leisure.

Vocabulary Help

  • ass - asno
  • fox - raposa
  • partnership - sociedade
  • hunt - caçar
  • meet (meet, met, met) - encontrar
  • approach - aproximar
  • contrive
  • pledge - prometer

Monday, November 1, 2010

What are you doing with the pig?

What are you doing with the pig?

At the local bar there sat a lady with a duck under her arm.
The town drunk staggered into the bar and said "What are you doing with the Pig?"
The lady jumps up and says, "I will have you know this a Duck, Not a Pig."
The drunk replies "I was talking to the Duck"

Vocabulary Help

  • sit (sit, sat, sat) - sentar
  • duck - pato
  • arm - braço
  • town drunk - o bêbado da cidade
  • stagger - cambalear
  • jump up - pular
  • reply - responder

Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Ants and the Grasshopper

The Ants and the Grasshopper

THE ANTS were spending a fine winters day drying grain collected in the summertime.
A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, "Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?
He replied, "I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing. They then said in derision: "If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.

Vocabulary Help

  • ant - formiga
  • dry - secar
  • grain - grão
  • summertime - verão
  • grasshopper - cigarra
  • perish - perecer
  • beg - implorar, suplicar
  • treasure up food - acumular comida
  • leisure - lazer
  • sing - cantar
  • derision - desprezo
  • fool - tolo
  • supperless - sem jantar

Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Adopted Bird

The Adopted Bird

Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground.
After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. The turtle tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a branch watched his sad efforts.
Finally, the female bird turned to her mate. "Dear," she chirped, "I think it's time to tell him he's adopted."

Vocabulary Help

  • turtle - tartaruga
  • climb - subir
  • tree - árvore
  • effort - esforço
  • reach - alcançar
  • jump - pular
  • wave - balançar
  • arm - braço
  • slowly - lentamente
  • ground - chão
  • couple of birds - casal de pássaros
  • branch - galho
  • sad - triste
  • mate - companheiro
  • it's time - está na hora

Friday, October 22, 2010

Telephone Joke

Telephone Joke

"Hello, this is your local Zoo speaking. Do you like animals? We are experiencing severe problems with hot water. Would you be so kind as to allow us to bring our elephants over to your bathroom for a shower?"
The most common response: "Well, sure, but my neighbour's bathroom is bigger and better equipped to handle elephants."

Vocabulary Help

  • speak (speak, spoke, spoke) - falar
  • hot - quente
  • water - água
  • allow - permitir
  • bring (bring, brought, brought) - trazer
  • bathroom - banheiro
  • shower - banho de chuveiro
  • sure - certamente
  • neighbour - vizinho
  • handle - lidar, tratar

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sunday School

Sunday School

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.
After explaining the commandment to "honor thy Father and thy mother," she asked, "is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, "Thou shall not kill."

Vocabulary Help

  • Sunday School - escola dominical
  • ten commandments - dez mandamentos
  • honor thy father and thy mother - honrai pai e mãe
  • brother - irmão
  • sister - irmã
  • without missing a beat - sem perder tempo
  • thou shall not kill - não matarás

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Stranded on an island

Stranded on an island

There were three people stranded on an island, a brunette, a redhead, and a blonde. The brunette looked over the water to the mainland and estimated about 20 miles to shore. So she announced, "I'm going to try to swim to shore." So she swam out five miles, and got really tired. She swam out ten miles from the island, and she was too tired to go on, so she drowned.
The second one, the redhead, said to herself, "I wonder if she made it. I guess it's better to try to get to the mainland than stay here and starve." So she attempts to swim out. The redhead had a lot more endurance than the brunette, as she swam out 10 miles before she even got tired. After 15 miles, she was too tired to go on, so she drowned.
So the blonde thought to herself, "I wonder if they made it! I think I'd better try to make it, too." So she swam out 5 miles, ten miles, 15 miles, NINETEEN miles from the island. The shore was just in sight, but she said, "I'm too tired to go on!" So she swam back.

Vocabulary Help

  • stranded - perdidas
  • island - ilha
  • brunette - morena
  • redhead - ruiva
  • blonde - loira
  • mainland - continente
  • shore - praia
  • swim (swim, swam, swum) - nadar
  • tired - cansada
  • drown - afogar
  • made it - conseguir
  • starve - morrer de fome
  • endurance - resistência
  • in sight - a vista
  • swim back - voltar

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Stolen engine

Stolen engine

A blonde woman is driving a Porsche. She sees another blonde woman with a Porsche that has broken down on the side of the road. She stops to ask what's wrong.
The owner of the broken Porsche said, 'I just had a look under the hood, well, while I was driving somebody had stolen the engine.'
The other said, 'Oh, don't worry, I have a spare one in the back of my Porsche.

Vocabulary Help

  • steal (steal, stole, stolen) - roubar
  • blonde - loura
  • drive (drive, drove, driven) - dirigir
  • see (see, saw, seen) - ver
  • break down - quebrar
  • side - lado
  • wrong - errado
  • owner - proprietária
  • have a look - dar uma olhada
  • hood - capo
  • engine - motor
  • worry - preocupar
  • spare - reserva