MARCH 26th - TURN OFF THE LIGHTS

http://www.meetup.com/earth-Hour-Global/

Preparations for Obama visit move into high gear

obama

The agenda for the Barack Obama visit to Brazil on March 19 and 20, is getting filled (esta sendo rigidamente montada) in with more details by the day. 
It is reported that the Brazilian embassy in Washington has received requests for a thousand visas(milhares de solicitação de cobertura por jornalistas).
  American authorities are mainly concerned (autoridades americas estão preocupadas) with security for the president, his wife, Michelle, and two children, Natasha (known as Sasha) and Malia Ann, who will accompany him.

In Brasilia, Dilma Rousseff and Barack Obama will sign at least ten bilateral agreements (acordos bilaterais).
One of the agreements that is still being worked out deals (acordos) with economic and commercial cooperation and will reduce or eliminate sanitation barriers on fruit and meat (the US has a similar agreement with Uruguay). It seems that (Parece que)in the commercial area, it has not been possible to suspend surtaxes on certain goods (certos produtos( Goods = produtos pereciveis).

Other partnership agreements in the areas of energy, human rights, climate change and sustainable development  (mudança climatica e desemvolvimento sustentavel)are reportedly close to being concluded. The United States has expressed an interest in participating in Brazil’s ultra-deep pre-salt oil fields (campos profundos de exploração do pré-sal) and jointly expanding assistance to poor nations, such as Haiti.

In Rio, Obama will probably go to a slum neighborhood (Conjunto de Favelas  (Slum = favelas)that has been occupied and pacified by the police (known as a “UPP”). It is also expected that the president of the US will make a public speech in Rio (expectativa de um discurso publico no Rio).

The most recent signals (sinais recentes de conversas) from Brasilia and Washington are that both countries consider it a priority to move ahead (seguir adiante = estreitar os laços) on their mutual desire to reach agreements in the areas of renewable resources (recursos renovaveis) and clean energy. Brazil is concerned (O Brasil esta preocupado)with what it sees as unilateral measures (medidas unilaterais) by the US that weaken the dollar and distort global economic relations

The Americans are concerned with losing business in Brazil (a perda de negócios com o Brasil) to the Chinese who have recently become Brazil’s biggest trade partner. After Brazil, Obama will visit Chile and El Salvador.

THE CHURCH`S BELL

Hello, hello  Supers!
Sorry about, I have been dissapeared these days..but now  everything over control again!


This text below I used in my last class evaluation and the students liked a lot, so, here it´s to share with everyone!


                                       THE  CHURCH`S  BELL

Everyday when I am sleeping, I awake (despertar, acordar)  with somebody ringing the church’s bell, I really like that song it is a very good way for me to get up (levantar), when it’s time for lunch, I’ve already made the food and then I am sweeping the house  (fazer arrumação, limpar a casa)and exactly at noon I hear this song again, and spends all the afternoon, at exactly six o’clock, the bell rings again.

   I was thinking who is that person that everyday, even on Sunday, rings the church’s bell always in the same time, he is never late in his work, is that person the priest?  (padre; paroco)Or just someone who work for the church? I thought that this person really loves his job.

   One day in the afternoon I was going to the market, and I passed in front of the church, then I decided to meet the (fui conhecer a pessoa) person that everyday rings the church’s bell.
I entered and there were some people praying on the chairs, (rezando nos bancos da igreja) I decided to climb up to the place  (subir; escalar a torre  da igreja) of the bell, it was almost six o’clock, and there was an old man there.  
I said “hi” and started a conversation with him, I asked him how he could never be late in his work, and he told me “That’s not my work, I do this because I want to,    I did some things wrong in my life and now I asked God to forgive me (pedir para  Deus, perdoa-lo), and God forgave me, now I am so grateful for him, and I want to ring the church’s bell for the rest of my life, because I know someday I’ll  be by my God’s side, and I am a happy man because I trust in God, I want to be by his side as soon as possible (tão breve seja possivel). You are the first person who asked me about this nobody cares about this song they listen everyday but they won’t care if they don’t listen to that, and I know I am in the end of my life, I don’t know who will ring this bell for God…” and the old man stopped talking about, with a sad face. I went home thinking about how that man was so wonderful inside.

In the following day I wake up (acordei) at seven o’clock, and I didn’t hear the song of the bell, I didn’t mind about, at noon the bell didn’t ring again, I worried a little about, I went to the church and there was a wake inside   (uma pessoa morta) it, I shuddered and I approached (fui caminhando lentamente  e  aproximei) and saw the old man there. 
He died! I felt very sad and almost cried, it was four thirty and I decided to wait, for me to ring the sacred bell, (sino sagrado) and then everyday I have been going to the church to ring the church’s bell.