Textos para exercitarmos
Autor: eliana | Publicado: 2012-06-05T15:46:00-07:00






Text one








The&nbsp;defining moment&nbsp;of a new century…

Preparations
 are being made to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th 
attacks which resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 people.

US president George W. Bush&nbsp;addressed the nation&nbsp;promising to punish those behind the attacks and any country which&nbsp;harboured&nbsp;terrorists.

This&nbsp;precipitated&nbsp;the bombing of Afghanistan and&nbsp;the pursuit of&nbsp;the Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.





Vocabulary:



1.Defining moment:&nbsp;event which changes the course of history

2.addressed the nation:&nbsp;made a speech to his countrymen

3.harboured:&nbsp;gave shelter to

4.precipitated:&nbsp;brought about
5.the pursuit of:&nbsp;the relentless search and capture 





Exercises:



Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC news report.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

defining moment / addressed the nation / harboured / precipitated / the pursuit of

1.
 Newspapers in Thailand have expressed the hope that Sunday's surprise 
landslide election victory for the Pheu Thai party will _____________ an
 era of national reconciliation.

2.
 Reggae singer Luciano has been charged with ___________ a fugitive who 
shot and wounded three police officers, Jamaican police have said.

3. Hare coursing is___________ a hare by a pair of hunting dogs, often greyhounds, and is common in rural Northern Ireland.

4.
 It was one of the _______________________ of the last Labour 
government's years in power. The Commons debate in March 2003 that 
preceded the Iraq invasion is seared in many people's memories.

5.
 Looking much thinner than when he last _____________________, Mr Chavez
 on Thursday confirmed what many had suspected - his health problems 
were more more serious than first thought, says the BBC's Sarah Grainger
 in Caracas.






&nbsp;Text two


Stopped&nbsp;in the nick of time!

This&nbsp;road safety&nbsp;system uses lasers to detect potential&nbsp;hazards. If the driver doesn’t brake, the car does.
Now a new Swiss project is looking to take things further by reading drivers’ minds.Researchers are testing its&nbsp;viability&nbsp;by monitoring brainwaves to see if they can predict the driver’s next move.The hope is technology could&nbsp;intervene&nbsp;to prevent accidents.




Vocabulary:



1.In the nick of time&nbsp;- just in time

2.road safety&nbsp;- driving without accidents
3.hazards&nbsp;- dangersviability&nbsp;- workabilityintervene&nbsp;- act on behalf of someone else



Exercises:



Use&nbsp;&nbsp;one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC news report.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
in the nick of time / road safety / hazzards / viability / intervene1.
 An iceberg of the size expected will need to be monitored carefully, 
and not just because it could eventually become a __________ to 
shipping. The biggest icebergs can have a major impact on their 
surroundings.2. During the debate Mr Cameron said a no-fly zone had 
"effectively been put in place over Libya". He added: "It is also clear 
that coalition forces have helped to avert what could have been a bloody
 massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just _______________."3. 
Twenty soldiers also died in fighting in the central city of Homs. 
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, has warned western powers not to 
_________ - saying that could cause what he called an "earthquake" that 
would burn the whole of the Middle East.4. Plans have been announced to 
improve ___________ in a Staffordshire town. The scheme includes 
installing a pedestrian crossing and improving a footpath close to where
 a person was knocked down and killed, in 2009.5. Even the 
__________________ of the euro has always been in question, with its 
creation having been seen by many to have been driven by political 
rather than economic reasoning. The crisis has just brought all of these
 issues firmly into focus, but quite what will happen in the long run is
 of course speculation.
Text three



Over a hundred metres above the Zambezi River.

With just a cord tied around her feet, an Australian&nbsp;adrenaline junkie&nbsp;launches herself&nbsp;into the void.

But Erin Langworthy's bungee jump became&nbsp;a nightmare&nbsp;when the line broke.

She got through the ordeal&nbsp;in one piece&nbsp;– here describing how she managed to swim to the river bank.

Erin suffered only&nbsp;cuts and bruises&nbsp;and thinks it's a miracle to be alive.



Vocabulary:



1.Adrenaline junkie&nbsp;- someone addicted to dangerous activities

2.Into the void&nbsp;- into an empty space with no immediate touchable ground

3.A nightmare&nbsp;- a bad dream

4.In one piece&nbsp;- with no serious injuries

5.Cuts and bruises&nbsp;- minor injuries



Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

adrenaline junkie / into the void / a nightmare / in one piece / cuts and bruises

1.
 "The ______________ that I have is the memories of when I lived under 
the Taliban," she said. "That's what we went through and that's what 
might come back."

2. She describes herself as an __________________ having already tried skydiving and body boarding down sand dunes.

3. The victim suffered __________________ in the attack.

4.
 "Four months ago I was in a very critical situation," Mr Chavez said. 
"Thanks be to God, four months have passed and here I am, all 
________________ and on my feet." Mr Chavez, who has been in power since
 1999, has said his illness will not stop him from standing for 
re-election next year.

5.
 Greece is "on the brink of the abyss", President Karolos Papoulias has 
warned, after three people died during protests over planned austerity 
measures. "We are all responsible so that it does not take the step 
______________," the president said in a statement. It followed a day of
 violence during which protesters set fire to a bank, killing three 
employees.



Text four


A bird's eye view&nbsp;of London.

The final piece of steel in a building&nbsp;nicknamed&nbsp;the Shard has been put in place. When completed, it will be the European Union's tallest skyscraper.

But the work isn't for the&nbsp;faint-hearted. The structure reaches 310 metres.

With 87&nbsp;storeys, the building will&nbsp;house&nbsp;residences, offices, a hotel and viewing gallery.



Vocabulary:



a bird's eye view&nbsp;- a view from a high place from which you can see a vast area

nicknamed&nbsp;- a name used informally instead of a real name

faint-hearted&nbsp;- timid, not confident

storeys&nbsp;- floors

(to)&nbsp;house&nbsp;(verb) - to accommodate



Exercises:



Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

a bird's eye view / nicknamed / faint-hearted / storeys / (to) house (verb)

1.
 Tickling a gorilla is not for the _________. But keeper Phil Ridges is 
not worried at getting into the enclosure with Emmie at Port Lympne Wild
 Animal Park in Kent.

2.
 Spain's relatively new army museum is _______ in the spectacular 
Alcazar in Toledo. Once a fortress, it was largely destroyed in a famous
 siege during the Spanish Civil War, before being rebuilt by Franco.

3.
 A ewe thought to have been a contender for the title of world's oldest 
sheep has died after falling off a cliff. An ear tag on the blackface 
ewe, _________ Methuselina, showed that it was 25 years and 11 months 
old.

4. Visitors will be
 guided through nine exhibitions, spread over four ________, charting 
the history of the Titanic from its construction in the nearby Harland 
&amp; Wolff shipyard to its final resting place at the bottom of the 
Atlantic.

5. A large 
platform has been carved out of the side of the hill above the mine that
 will offer _________ of the rescue operations.



Text&nbsp; Five



It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

But
 these hanging pods are in fact a temporary hotel. Staff lead guests 
through bizarre rituals designed to put them in tune with nature.

They receive just the bare essentials but spend the night in comfort.

This
 interactive theatre performance was dreamt up by the Belgian group Time
 Circus and is taking part in a festival in Norfolk, England.



Vocabulary:



1.Sci-fi or science fiction&nbsp;- a literary or movie genre that creates fantasies based on scientific discoveries.

2.-Bizarre - strange and unusual.

3.In tune with- connected to or in harmony with something.

4.Bare essentials- items that people think they can't live without.



Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

sci-fi / hanging / bizarre / in tune with / bare essentials

1.
 The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the overall casualty figures for 
Friday, though they may be revised upwards, were very much lower than 
many had feared. That is ________ the overall state of the ceasefire 
itself, our correspondent says.

2.
 We sat together on his bright, fluffy pink, red and white rug and an 
orange-flowered garland framed a ________ portrait of the revolutionary 
Islamic leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, who watched over us.

3.
 A decade on, is Smith confident audiences will be receptive to another 
helping of fantastical ______ comedy, this time presented in the 
divisive 3D format?

4. 
According to the report, absolute poverty is measured by the number of 
people who can afford only the ____________ of shelter, food and 
clothing.

5. "They hear 
voices or they have delusions. They have ________ ideas which are not 
supported by the facts and they stick to these beliefs," he says.