England

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Eli

Todd

Todd: So, Eli, can you talk a little about England and maybe about it's climate and it's weather, it's leaders, what people eat?

Eli: Well, I'm not going to talk about leaders right now because that's a bit of a sore point but England weather, hmm, that is a bit of a sore point to. It's not the greatest weather in the world, especially compared to Japan where I am now, which the weather I just love. England is always cold, almost always cold even through the summer it's quite cold I hear. This summer it's been sort of jacket weather all summer with only a few days of sunshine and it rains a lot, so it's pretty miserable as far as weather's concerned.

Todd: Now, you're from Bristol right. What's your hometown like?

Eli: Bristol's a great town. I used to live in London which is the capital of England and it's very gray and big and unfriendly but when I moved to Bristol it was just great. It is a city but it's a very small city so you can always bump into your friends, um, always meet people. It's got big green areas. It's got a place called the downs which is a big park, and it's the architecture of the city is very old. It's very near Bath, which is a very famous old Roman town, where the Roman baths were, so all the sort of architecture of the city

the houses, all of it's very pretty.

Todd: OK. What are the Downs like? You said the downs. Is that a park?

Eli: The downs. It's, it's a big area of green basically. It's not a park as in lots of trees and trees and sort of shrubbery and stuff. It's just a big wide spread of greenery where you can play football. I mean there's 

football matches sort of every week. You can go fly your kites. You can take your kids there. And that joins on to the Avon-gorge, which is where the Bristol suspension bridge is, which is very famous as being I think the first ever suspension bridge built, and from standing on the bridge and looking out into the gorge, I mean you'd think you're in the middle of the mountains, not in the middle of the city. It's a really pretty area.

Todd: Sounds like a nice place.

Comprehension Quiz
Read or listen to the text and answer the questions below.

1) Which countries weather does she prefer? 

 a) England
 b) Japan
 c) Neither

2) How was the summer weather in England this year? 

 a) Hot
 b) Rainy and Wet
 c) Perfect

3) Which city does she prefer? 

 a) London
 b) Bristol
 c) Neither

4) What does she like about Bristol? 

 a) The architecture
 b) It's very modern
 c) Nothing at all

5) What are the downs? 

 a) A big shopping area
 b) A big green area
 c) A set of villages

Have a nice weekend all....

I desire for you dear readers an excellent weekend and I dedicate this instrumental song specially for you. You are the most important people here, thank you for spreading this idea overseas...

You've got a friend in me

Credits for
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=789

You've Got a Friend in Me

Randy Newman –

 (Unscramble the words)

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

When the  (doar) looks  (gorhu) ahead

And you're miles and miles

From your nice  (mraw) bed

You just remember what your old  (lap) said

Boy, you've got a friend in me

Yeah, you've got a friend in me

(Choose the correct word)

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

If you've got bubblestroublesmarbles, I've got 'em too

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you

We stick together and can see it throughtoothrew

'Cause you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

(Choose the correct word)

Some other {folks  talks} might be

A little bit {faster smarter} than I am

Bigger and stronger too

Maybe

But{ none noon} of them will ever {help love }you

The {why  way} I do, it's me and you

Boy, and as the years go by

Our friendship will never {fly } die

You're gonna {see  sea } it's {hour our} destiny

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

Choose the words that rhyme : 

1. friend -  wind       ahead    great

2. might -   straight   right    said

3. miles  -   tight       smiles    lake

4. love  -     cave        does     dove

5. our -       floor      flower    water

American soccer - Part II audio www.inglesvip.xpg.com.br

American soccer - Part II     audio        www.inglesvip.xpg.com.br

1.  Curt Onalfo became head coach of the Kansas City Wizards in two thousand seven.  That year, he led the team to the conference finals.  The Wizards reached the playoffs again the following year.  But his new team, D.C. United, has struggled at the start of the season. The team has only two wins in league play.  But, Onalfo knows how things can change — for better or worse.

2. On his twenty-fourth birthday, doctors told Onalfo he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.  He received chemotherapy for six months. During that time, Onalfo thought about what he really wanted to do with his life: play soccer.  He also says having faced cancer prepared him for leadership in good times and bad.

3.  “Your players are always looking up to you, and they’re looking for guidance.  And I feel like having deal with adversity really helps me to lead a group of men through difficult times as well.” Looking for the best in every situation is one way Curt Onalfo deals with hardship.  He describeshimself as an optimist.

4.  “The difference between winning and losing is often so slight and it’s really it comes down to what your attitude is.” A good frame of mind is the start, he says.  After that, good things will follow.  Last Week, D.C. United defeated a top Italian team, A.C. Milan in a friendly match.

5. Mike Banner’s path to playing Major League Soccer started in the nation’s capital.  He played in the recreational league now called Sports on the Hill, based in the Capital Hill neighborhood. But, it was not easy growing up playing soccer.  All Banner’s friends played basketball or football.

6.  “Initially, you know, I would get made fun of for playing soccer.  But, I stuck with it and they respected me for it.” Banner started college at Georgetown University in Washington.  But one year in Brazil helped shape his development as a player.  When he returned, he knew he had raised his level of play.

7. Mike Banner chose not to return to Georgetown, a top school in the Big East sports conference.  Instead, he attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a smaller school with a division two sports program.  He would receive a scholarship and have the chance to play a lot of soccer.

8. But could he succeed without the attention he would get at a big school? The answer was yes.  Banner’s team played in the NCAA division two tournament all three years he was on the soccer team.  The team played for the national championship his first year.  Banner got noticed as an excellent player.

9. He was chosen to play for the Chicago Fire professional soccer team in two thousand seven.  He has earned a lot of praise as a promising young player in Chicago.  As a defender, he does not score a lot of goals— although he does have two in his career. 

10. Banner says players get noticed through their ball skills, passing, and quickness.  Today’s fans know and understand good play.  Banner says coaches can tell if a player is only trying to improve his statistics or wants to help his team win.

11. Mike Banner got his start in the Washington area through local recreational soccer.  FIFA, the international football federation, says the United States has twenty-four million soccer players—second in the world.  Most are under the age of eighteen.

12. Major League Soccer still does not enjoy the economic success of other popular American sports.  Forbes Magazine estimates the league had an income of about one hundred sixty-five million dollars in two thousand eight.

13. But fan support continues to grow.  And American soccer is developing “from the roots up.”  There is strong  support for youth soccer in many places like the Washington area. Mike Banner says American players now are developing their own style of play.

14. “The U.S. is very diverse in its cultures. I would say it’s going to show up in our soccer game as well.  I believe the U.S. is creating their own style of play.” The new generation of American coaches and players is building a tradition of soccer that is as individual as each of their stories.

Vocabulary

.      although = embora

2.      as well = também

3.      attended = cursou

4. became = tornou-se
5. career = carreira
6. championship = campeonato
7. chose = escolheu
8. chosen = escolhido
9. college = faculdade
10. deal with = lidado com
11. defeated = derrotou
12. describes = descreve
13. development = desenvolvimento
14. During = durante
15. enjoy = desfrutar de
16. following = seguinte
17. for better or worse = para melhor ou para pior
18. frame of mind = estado de espírito
19. friendly match = partida amistosa (amistoso)
20. from the roots up = a partir das raízes
21. get = obter
22. get made fun = fui ridicularizado
23. got noticed = destacou-se
24. grow = crescer
25. guidance = orientação
26. hardship = dificuldade
27. has earned = tem ganhado
28. has struggled = tem lutado
29. having faced = ter enfrentado
30. head coach = técnico chefe
31. Hill = colina
32. income = renda
33. Initially = inicialmente

  Instead = ao invés disso

35.  it comes down to = tem a ver com

36.  leadership = liderança

37.  led = liderou

38.  level = nível

39.  looking for = procurando

40.  neighborhood = bairro

41.  often = frequentemente

42.  own style of play = próprio estilo de jogo

43.  path = caminho

44.  playoffs = finais

45.  praise = elogio

46.  promising = promissory

47.  quickness = rapidez

48.  raised = elevado

49.  reached = alcançaram

50.  received = recebeu

51.  scholarship = bolsa de estudo

52.  score = marca (gols)

53.  shape = dar forma a

54.  show up = aparecer

55.  skills = habilidades

56.  slight = sutil

57.  smaller = menor

58.  start = início

59.  stuck with it = me apeguei a isso

60.  succeed = ser bem-sucedido

61.  support = apoio

62.  thought about = pensou sobre

63.  through = através de

64.  tournament = torneio, campeonato

65.  wins = vitórias

66.  youth = jovem

Rubinho Barichello speaking English

Originally posted by English Expert website, and avaliable on youtube video. A porpuse of that is encourage Brazilian student to speak more English and break the ice. Keep practice, the more you do that, more you get improve it.

France

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Raphael

Todd

Todd: OK, Raphael, you were saying you lived in 

Paris.

Rapheal: Yes, I made my studies there.

Todd: Paris is just an amazing city. Can you talk about Paris?

Rapheal:Yes! Well, the biggest difference I noticed with Tokyo is the size. Like Paris is nice in that way, you can go anywhere by walking. It might take at maximum an hour and a half if you want to go to a very far place, but basically it's a city like made for walkers and you can really go anywhere just by walking, I mean it's quite pleasant cause you can see many, you know, nice buildings and places and things, just by walking.

Todd: Wow, that's nice. How many people live in Paris?

Rapheal:Including the suburbs it's 8 million now. Maybe getting increasing, but the inner city is only one million, so it's not overcrowded at all. Yeah!

Todd: So, what else would you say is different about Tokyo and Paris?

Rapheal:Well, specially, Paris you mean? The Transport is less expensive. This is important.

Todd: Yeah

Rapheal:Yeah, Yeah.

Todd: It's more expensive?

Rapheal:No, it's less, sorry, it's less expensive. Anyway, the, I was surprised because Tokyo is not that expensive finally, I mean you can, you can live in a very expensive way if you want but you can save a lot as well. It's really up to you. But in Paris is quite hard to save. I mean, the food is very expensive, and if you want to go out, just, a restaurant or anything, it's really more expensive than in Japan. A restaurant for example, like prices in Japan start from a thousand yen, maybe less, like 600 yen, and in France like the cheapest restaurant you can find is 15 Euro which is around 2000 Yen

Todd: Whoa! That is expensive.

Rapheal:Yeah, it's more expensive, wherever you go it's more expensive if you want to go out but on the contrary the cinema is really cheap, so so many people go to the cinema, I mean, the cinema is really, it's a part of Paris nightlife, like, people used to go to cinema once a week at least, almost everyone. Yeah, cause it's really cheap. A ticket is 1000 yen, maybe less.

Todd: So, what about sports, like what kind of sports do you like to do?

Rapheal:Yeah, anything. Anything, yeah! You have a lot of facilities, like gymnasium, swimming pools, clubs, yeah, you can practice a lot. Especially, I was a student so, I had this very easy student life because France has a lot of students, whatever it is, so they give you a bit of money, and you get discount on almost anything, so sport is specially favorized in Paris when you are a student, you canalmost like do whatever you want, as a sport almost free, sometimes, so, it's, you can do a lot of things. Actually, I did Aikido. I did swimming pool, squash, tennis, yeah, uh, basketball, yeah, a lot of things actually.

Todd: Active guy. And what about the traffic if you want to drive in Paris?

Rapheal:I never tested, because as I told you it's so nice to just walk, that, and I didn't own a car but it's quite tough for people living in the suburbs cause they need a car to come, the train system is not really good. It's not like, there's a lot of delay, trains and things like that, so if you live in the suburbs you need a car, and driving through Paris in the mornings or evening is really difficult, so I just didn't want to test, you know.

Comprehension Quiz

Read or listen to the text and answer the questions below.

1) How does he get around Paris? 

 a) By train

 b) By foot

 c) By car

2) How many people live in Paris, suburbs included? 

 a) 6 million

 b) 7 million

 c) 8 million

3) Where is food more expensive? 

 a) Tokyo

 b) Paris

 c) They're equal

4) What is really cheap in Paris? 

 a) Food

 b) Cinema

 c) Rent

5) What sport did he play? 

 a) Football

 b) Surfing

 c) Aikido