"SALVADOR - Welcome to murder capital of Brazil" BY CNN

COMPREHENSION TEXTS

Read the passages and choose the correct options according to the readings. 

One of my favorite vacation places is Mexico. I really like the weather there because it never gets cold. The people are very nice too. They never laugh at my bad Spanish. The food is really good. Mexico City is a very interesting place to visit. It has some great museums and lots of fascinating old buildings. The hotels are too expensive to stay but there are more affordable options. For example, you can stay at one of the beach resorts like Acapulco. If you are planning to visit Mexico, you should definitely see the Mayan temples near Merida.

1. 
Sam likes warm weather
Sam doesn't like warm weather at all
Sam hates warm water
Sam likes cold weather

2.

His Spanish is very good
He speaks Spanish very well
He is Spanish
He doesn't speak Spanish very well

3.

There's a lot to see and do in Mexico
There aren't a lof of beautiful places in Mexico
Mexico is a dirty place
Tourists never come to Mexico

4.

Hotels are very cheap in Mexico
The hotels aren't comfortable there
Hotels are all poor in Mexico
The hotels in Mexico are pretty expensive

Last summer, we decided to spend our vacation at the beach because the weather was very hot in the mountains. The travel agent said that traveling by bus was the cheapest way, but we went by plane because it was faster. We wanted to have more time to spend at the beach. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

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5. We decided to go to the beach because ----.

it was cheaper than going to the mountains
the travel agent said that it was the cheapest
of the hot weather in the mountains
we wanted to spend time at the beach

6. The bus was the ---- way to travel.

best
easiest
cheapest
slowest

7. Traveling by plane was ---- than by bus.

more fun
cheaper
expensive
faster

8. We ---- our vacation.

hated
didn't like
enjoyed
regretted

9. We had very ---- weather during our vacation.

good
hot
warm
cold

SANTA CLAUS - COMPREHENSION TEXT

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa", is a figure which was derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, a historical, legendary and mythological figure who in many Western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24 or on his Feast Day, December 6 (Saint Nicholas Day).The legend is based on the tales concerning the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas.

While Saint Nicholas was originally portrayed wearing bishop's robes, today Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots (images of him rarely have a beard with no mustache). This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, he is often depicted in a manner identical to the American Santa Claus, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.

Source: wikipedia/myenlgishpages

Comprehension:

1. Santa Claus is Saint Nicolas
   a.  True
   b.  False 
2. Nowadays Santa Claus is depicted wearing bishop's robes
   a.  True.
   b.  False.
3. Today's image of Santa Claus was conceived in the United States and Canada.
   a.  True
   b.  False 

INTERPRETAÇÃO DE TEXTOS (TEXTS COMPREHENSION) - INGLÊS

UNUSUAL PEOPLE UNUSUAL JOBS

Steve and Stella Baker live in California. They’ve got two small children, and they are an average American family, except for one thing: she goes to work, he stays at home and looks after the children. Our reporter spoke to Steve and Stella at their home in San Diego:

“My wife has a very good job. She’s an electronics engineer, and she works for the US Navy here. So she works, and I stay at home and look after the children.”

Jim Macartney is a helicopter pilot. He’s British, but he lives and works in Africa.

“I work for the hospital here. I take a doctor and two nurses in my helicopter to the jungle. There are no roads in the jungle . only rivers. People go by helicopter or by boat, or they walk.”

Mrs. Betty Brown is sixty-two. She’s a housewife, and a grandmother and a student! Mrs. Brown lives in Oxford, England, and goes to the University there. She studies Japanese, and she is the first in her class. We asked Mrs. Brown how she learns Japanese.

“My son lives in Japan, he teaches English in Tokyo and sends me Japanese magazines and newspapers, videos of Japanese TV programmes and cassettes of Japanese radio programmes.” (by Raquel C.Diem)

 1 - According to the text, chose the correct alternative:

a) Stella and Steve have two big children.

b) Stella Baker is sixty-two.

c) Steve looks after his wife.

d) Mrs. Brown’s son teaches English.

e) Steve works in an office.

2 - According to the text, choose the alternative that correctly describes the people’s occupations:

a) Mrs. Brown is a nurse.

b) Stella is an electronic engineer.

c) Jim is a teacher.

d) Steve is a doctor.

e) Steve is a pilot.

3 - According to the text, choose the alternatives which contain a correct answer for the question:

Where do they live?

a) Mrs. Brown lives in Japan.

b) Jim lives in England.

c) Steve lives in Oxford.

d) Mrs. Brown’s son lives in Japan.

e) Stella lives in Africa.

4 - Escolha a alternativa que melhor completa a questão:

Listen, Julia! The telephone is ringing. Go __________it.

Please, write your name under the topic for the lecture you want to ___________ .

a. attend / attend

b. answer / hear

c. answer / attend

d. attend / see

e. pick / participate

September 11, 2001 -  The worst terrorist attack in history

On September 11, 2001, the world witnessed the most terrifying yet the best planned terrorist action of all times (or one can see in a lifetime). 

The twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the highest building in the USA and one of the highest of the world, were destroyed by two airplanes - the biggest ones used for domestic flights - which crashed into the towers.

At 8:45 a.m., American Airlines Flight II Boeing 767, going from Boston to Los Angeles, with 92 people on board, slammed into the north tower. Everybody thought it was an accident.

About 18 minutes later, however, the same kind of plane, also en route from Boston to LA, with 65 people on board, hit the south tower. Now everybody was sure it was a terrorist attack.

At 10:05 a.m. the south tower collapsed and 20 minutes later, the north tower came down too.

New York city had the worst day of its history and the New Yorkers had the saddest and most painful sight in their lives - people crying for help, others yelling, others jumping out of the windows, many trying to get out, but most of them getting trapped by the fire and dying. 

In the meantime, not far from New York, another plane, this time a Boeing 707 with 64 passengers and crew members, crashed into the Pentagon, the most important center of the American military power. One of the building's  five sides came down. More than one thousand people later were found dead under the debris. 

Yet, another Boeing 757, with 38 passengers and seven crew members crashed near Pittsburgh, before it could its target - Camp David, where in September of 1978, Jimmy Carter, President  of the USA then, met Muhammad Anwar Al. Sadat, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Menachen Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, to sign a peace agreement for the Middle East.

The planes, hijacked by merciless terrorists, were used to kill thousands of innocent people and to try to destroy the most significant American symbols of financial, military and political power.

One of the richest and most feared terrorists in the world had declared 3 weeks before that he was preparing "the most daring" and  "most striking" attack  one has ever seen, to protest against the support given by the Americans to Israel.

Whoever did that will never have enough reasons to justify such hideous deed.

What else can we say! The pieces of dead bodies and their smell coming from under the debris lead us to conclude that pride, fanaticism of any kind, revenge, anger, thirst for power and hate, are the worst, most destructive, most harmful, most unfair and most cruel feelings which can inhabit the human heart.(font: newsweek- foto:jaihoon)

                
                                                                                              
Exercises: 

01. How does the text describe this terrorist attack? 

02. How many and what were the targets? 

03. Concerning the New Yorkers, How does the text describe this day?


04. Concerning the people that were inside the World Trade Center, How does the text describe what  happened to them? 


05. Concerning the text, What is the Pentagon?


06. Besides the WTC and the Pentagon  was there another target? Explain?


07. What was the purpose of this attack? 

08. Concerning the text, one of the richest and most feared terrorists in the world had declared 3 weeks before that he was preparing this attack. How did he define this attack?