Brasilia turns 50 Maganews

City



Brasilia turns 50

The “new” capital took three years and ten months to be built and was officially inaugurated on April 21st 1960



Juscelino Kubitschek took office [1] as President of Brazil at the beginning of 1956. One of his main targets [2] was to transfer the capital of the country from Rio de Janeiro to a place in the heart of Brazil. This was in the Central-West [3], a poor, scarcely [4] populated region, without any roads, industry or wealth. For “JK”, the building of the new capital in that deserted place was to be essential to the development of the country’s heartland [5]. Construction of the new capital began in early 1957, when thousands and thousands of workers arrived in the region from all over the country. The new capital took three years and ten months to be built. The workers also laid [6] 13,000 kilometers of highway, connecting Brasilia to the country’s main urban centers. JK was severely criticized during and after construction of the capital. His political adversaries complained about the high costs and said the spending [7] would drive up [8] inflation. Nevertheless [9], Brasilia was officially inaugurated on April 21st 1960.



Sightseeing [10] in the capital

JK, “the father of Brasilia”, got it right [11]. The new capital was a springboard for the development of a great region, as satellite cities sprang up [12] around Brasilia. Today, the Federal District has a population of about 2.6 million people, and Brasilia is the country’s third-richest city. The national capital has also become a tourist magnet. Every year it is visited by over a million people. In 1987 Brasilia was made a World Heritage [13] Site by UNESCO.



Áudio – Andy Sheperd

Foto 1 – Robson Cesco / Brasíliatur

Foto 2 – Brasíliatur

Na edição impressa da revista Maganews você confere a segunda parte desta matéria, abordando outros fatos e personagens de Brasília, como os arquitetos Oscar Niemeyer e Lúcio Costa.



Vocabulary

1 to take office – assumir o cargo

2 target - meta

3 Central-West – Centro-Oeste

4 scarcely – quase sem / pouco

5 country’s heartland – aqui = interior do país

6 laid – aqui = algo posto / construído / erguido

7 spending - gastos

8 drive up inflation – aumentar a inflação

9 nevertheless – mesmo assim

10 sightseeing – turismo / lugares interessantes

11 got it right – exp. idiom. = estava certo

12 to spring up – surgir

13 World Heritage Site – Patrimônio da Humanidade