Will books survived

Language Level: Advanced

Standard American accent

Will Books Survive?

Recently the Publisher of the New York Times, Arthur Sulzburger, Said -  in na interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz – that “ I don’t know  whether we’ll still be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don’t care either.” This statement led to speculation that most newspapers will soon be available in on-line editions only. If printed newspaper face extinction, then what about printed books?

HARD TIMES

Nancy Ann Bass works at Strands used bookstore, a veritable New York institution which was opened by her grandfather 80 years ago. She thinks that printed books do have a future, even though she admits that the independent bookstore sector is under siege.

Nancy Ann Bass (Standard American accent)

Well, in America already two-thirds of independent bookstores have closed in the last 10 years, so there’s already been huge amount of stores that are not there anymore. You know, Barnes and Nobles’ and Borders are big megastore…and they’ve come in and they’ve taken over some of that market, so it’s changed radically. The store that sells the most books in America is called Wallmart! So the bookstore industry has radically changed. I think people are buying more and more books on the internet, just for the convenience, but there’s something to be said about going into a bookstore and shopping and finding things that are unexpected and a kind of the serendipity of exploring and not knowing what’s really going to be there and you really can’t do that searching for books on the internet.

FIRST EDITIONS

Nancy Ann Bass is skeptical about the idea of reading books in a electronic format:

Nancy Ann Bass

Also, you know, there’s the Sony Reader, there’s the idea too that books are now digitized and I think that is working very well for reference books, but I think for people that like to read for pleasure, the present book form is really the best way and there’s something wonderful, tactile, about having a book in your hand, and turning pages and maybe even buying things that have been used, that other people have put their own inscription on, or put things on the side. I’ve seen a Sony Reader recently and I found the technology not (to) be that good. First of all, it costs $ 350 and you can download, I think it was 80 or 100 books. When the pages turned, too, it turns black, it wasn’t great type to read it, and they don’t have any kind of illustration like you would with regular books and, of course, there’s…you know, you never find antique leather books, or first editions that are collected and signed by authors and all that kind of wonderfulness.

Toon History

Toon History

Source: www.maganews.com.br Recommendable for Brazilian's teachers and students, for more info, visit the site.

Monica’s Gang:  it all started 50 years ago....

In July 1959 Maurício de Sousa published his first cartoon in a São PauloState newspaper.  The first character he created was a cute little dog called Blu (Bidu)

Brazil at the end of the 1950 was going through a boom.  Brasília, the future capital of the country, was being built. In 1959 an 18-year-old called Roberto Carlos was setting out as a singer and Bossa Nova was just beginning.  Meanwhile, in São Paulo city, a young man called Maurício de Sousa was working as a crime reporter for Folha da Manhã (now Folha de São Paulo).  Maurício was a journalist but his passion was making up stories in cartoon strips. On July 18^th 1959 the young reporter had his first cartoon strip published in the newspaper he worked at.  It was a simple story, with only two characters: the dog, Blu (Bidu) and his owner Franklin (Franjinha). Soon afterwards Maurício left his career as a journalist to become a full-time cartoonist.

The first comic was published in 1970

The first characters created by Maurício de Sousa were boys. After Blu and 

Franklin came Jimmy Five (Cebolinha), Pitheco (Piteco), Smudge (Cascão) and Chuck Billy (Chico Bento).  In the years that followed, Maurício was inspired by his young daughters, Mônica and Magali, to create them as his first girl characters. In the 1960s Maurício’s stories were published in newspapers. The first comic with Monica’s Gang was published in 1970 (see picture). Later the cartoon characters appeared in films, on TV and in educational projects. Global soccer stars also inspired Maurício to create two characters: Pelezinho (1976) and Ronaldinho Gaúcho (2005).

Áudio – Aasita Muralikrishna

Na edição impressa da revista Maganews você poderá conferir mais sobre a trajetória de Maurício de Sousa e ainda, o sucesso da Turma da Mônica Jovem e a homenagem que o quadrinista paulista está preparando para Michael Jackson

Imagens – Litera / Maurício de Sousa Produções

Vocabulary

1 gang – turma

2 cute – simpático

3 boom – fase favorável

4 to set out – iniciar

5 meanwhile – enquanto isso

6 cartoon strips – tiras em quadrinhos

7 soon afterwards – pouco tempo depois

8 full-time – tempo integral

9 comics - gibis

10 toon-history – história em quadrinhos (toon = forma abreviada de “cartoon”)

American History: US Adopts Neutrality as World War One Begins in Europe

Credits for VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH

Photo: loc.gov

British forces in action during World War One

BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A hNATION – American history in VOA Special English.

In nineteen fourteen, Europe exploded into the First World War. It was a war no nation really wanted. But no nation seemed able to stop it.

The assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the city of Sarajevo was the spark that set off the explosion.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell about the war and how it affected the United States under President Woodrow Wilson.

HARRY MONROE: The Austrian Archduke was murdered by Serbian nationalists. They opposed Austrian control of their homeland. After the assassination, Austria declared war on Serbia. One of Serbia's allies was Russia. Russia agreed to help Serbia in any war against Austria.

Austria had allies, too. The most important was Germany. Germany wanted Russia to stay out of the war. When Russia refused, Germany declared war on Russia. Then Germany declared war on Russia's close ally, France. Britain entered the war a few days later when Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium.

loc.gov

An abandoned British trench captured by the Germans. German soldiers are on horseback in the background.

KAY GALLANT: One nation after another entered the conflict to protect its friends or to honor its treaties. Within a week, most of Europe was at war.

On one side were the Central Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary. On the other side were the Triple Entente Allies: France, Britain, and Russia. Many other nations took sides. Bulgaria and Turkey joined the Central Powers. Italy, Romania, Portugal, and Greece joined the Allies.

HARRY MONROE: The United States hoped to stay out of the war. President Wilson immediately declared American neutrality. He said: "It is a war with which we have nothing to do, whose causes cannot touch us."

Most Americans agreed with President Wilson. They did not want to get involved in the fighting. However, many found it difficult to remain neutral in their hearts. Some Americans had family roots in Germany. They supported the Central Powers. A greater number of Americans had family roots in Britain or France. They supported the Allies.

Yet the official American policy was neutrality. The United States planned to continue to trade with both sides.

KAY GALLANT: Germany and Austria expected a quick victory in the war. They were caught between two powerful enemies: Russia and France. But German military leaders were not worried. They had a battle plan they were sure would succeed.

The German generals planned to strike quickly at France with most of the German army. They expected to defeat France in a short time and then turn to fight Russia. In this way, the German army would not have to fight both enemies at the same time.

loc.gov

A 1915 poster showing a French soldier holding a grenade

HARRY MONROE: At first, the plan worked. Two million German soldiers swept across Belgium and into France. They rushed forward toward Paris, hoping for a fast victory. But the German commanders made a mistake. They pushed their men too fast. When British and French forces struck back -- outside Paris -- the tired and worn German soldiers could not hold their positions.

The battle was fierce and unbelievably bloody. In the end, the Germans were forced to withdraw.

The German withdrawal gave the allies time to prepare strong defenses. There was no chance now for a quick German victory. Instead, it would be a long war, with Germany and Austria facing enemies on two sides. Britain and France were on the West. Russia was on the East.

KAY GALLANT: The Allies took immediate steps to reduce Germany's trade with the rest of the world. The British navy began seizing war supplies found on neutral ships sailing toward German ports. It then expanded its efforts to block food exports to Germany.

The blockade by Britain and the other allies was very successful. Germany faced possible starvation. Its navy was not strong enough to break the blockade with surface ships. Its only hope was to break the blockade with another naval weapon: submarines.

Germany announced that it would use its submarines to sink any ship that came near the coast of Britain. The threat included ships from neutral nations that tried to continue trading with the Allies.

HARRY MONROE: The United States and other neutral nations immediately protested the German announcement. They said it was a clear violation of international law.

loc.gov

A German submarine said to be the one that sank the Lusitania

When a German submarine sank a British ship in the Irish Sea, one of the victims was an American citizen. A few weeks later, an American oil ship was damaged during a sea battle between British navy ships and a German submarine. Then came the most serious incident of all. It involved a British passenger ship called the Lusitania.

The Lusitania was sailing from New York City to Britain when it was attacked by a German submarine. The Lusitania sank in eighteen minutes. One thousand two hundred persons were killed. One hundred twenty-nine were Americans.

KAY GALLANT: The sinking of the Lusitania shocked and horrified the American people. They called it mass murder. They turned against Germany. President Wilson warned that he might declare war on Germany, if Germany continued to sink civilian ships.

Germany did not want war with the United States. It already faced a strong fight against the European Allies. It promised not to sink any more civilian ships without warning. And it offered regrets for the Lusitania incident.

HARRY MONROE: President Wilson accepted Germany's apology. Like most Americans, he hoped to stay out of the bloody European struggle. And he also knew that the record of the Allies was not completely clean.

For example, he was troubled by reports of mass hunger in Germany. He and other Americans felt the British food blockade was cruel. They also were shocked by the way British forces brutally crushed a rebellion in Ireland at the time.

Most of all, the American people were sickened by reports of what was happening on the battlefields of Europe. The armies were using poison gas and other terrible weapons. Soldiers on both sides were dying by the millions. The war had become a bloodbath.

loc.gov

President Woodrow Wilson in 1916

KAY GALLANT: The United States had a presidential election in nineteen sixteen. President Wilson won the nomination of the Democratic Party to seek re-election. Democrats around the country shouted their support with these words: "He kept us out of war!" Wilson himself did not like the words. He felt it raised false hopes. But people continued to say it, because they did not want war.

HARRY MONROE: The Republican Party nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes as its candidate for president. Hughes was a moderate Republican. He supported a number of social reforms.

Like Wilson, Hughes promised to keep the United States neutral. However, one of his supporters was former President Theodore Roosevelt. And Roosevelt called for strong American policies that could lead to war. Roosevelt's words led many Americans to see Wilson as the candidate of peace....and Hughes as the candidate of war.

KAY GALLANT: Voting in the presidential election was very close. At first, it seemed Hughes had won. He went to bed on election night believing he would be America's next president. But voting results later that night confirmed Wilson as the winner. The election was so close the Republicans did not accept defeat for two weeks.

Woodrow Wilson had won another term. During that term, he would find it increasingly difficult to honor the words of the campaign. Finally, he would find it impossible. The United States entered World War One while Woodrow Wilson was president.

That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant.

You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

___

This is program #15
7 

Donations urgent for Zacharias from Kenia

We have no doubt, when teacher Marzio (from US) and me Carlos Tour Guide watched a documentary about Zacharias, right way we decided to contribute with Zach, donating on the campaign and spreading for friends on Facebook, Twitter and on blogs, and we also encourage friends, partners to join us, it is up to you.

The origin of the expression ok

CREDITS FOR VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES: WHERE DID 'OK' COME FROM?

A look at what may be the most commonly used word in the world.

Millions of people all over the world use the word OK. In fact, some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world. OK means all right or acceptable. It expresses agreement or approval. You might ask your brother, "Is it okay if I borrow your car?” Or if someone asks you to do something, you might say, “Okay, I will.” Still, language experts do not agree about where the word came from.Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw. The Choctaw word okeh means the same as the American word okay. Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.

But many people dispute this. Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word OK in reports published in the nineteen sixties. He said the word began being used in the eighteen thirties. It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct.” Some foreign-born people wrote “all correct” as “o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t,” and used the letters O.K. Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put the first letters of his names -- O and K -- on each object people gave him to send on the train.

Still others say a political organization invented the word. The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in eighteen forty. They called their group, the O.K. Club. The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born — Old Kinderhook, New York.

Not everyone agrees with this explanation, either. But experts do agree that the word is purely American. And it has spread to almost every country on Earth. 

Then there is the expression A-OK. This means everything is fine. A-OK is a space-age expression. It was used in nineteen sixty-one during the flight of astronaut Alan Shepard. He was the first American to be launched into space. His flight ended when his spacecraft landed in the ocean, as planned. Shepard reported: "Everything is A-OK.”

However, some experts say the expression did not begin with the space age. One story says it was first used during the early days of the telephone to tell an operator that a message had been received. 

There are also funny ways to say okay. Some people say okey-dokeyor okey-doke. These expressions were first used in the nineteen thirties. Today, a character on the American television series, “The Simpsons,” says it another way. He says okely-dokely.

(MUSIC)

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Some Query 

Man and Machine part II

Source www.maganews.com.br

If you cannot live without the Internet and spend hours and hours in front of the computer and sometimes even forget to eat, then you had better[21] take care. You could be a “cyberaddict”[3]

The consequences of virtual addiction (Part 2)

Dependency on the Internet can affect our emotional, personal and professional lives. Many specialists say this kind of addiction should be treated as if it were a psychological illness [1]

   The American Journal of Psychiatry says excessive use of the Internet can be thought of [2] as[3] a mental disturbance that should be treated like a psychological illness. In many cases virtual addiction can interfere with a person’s private, emotional and professional life. It may also even cause physical harm [4]. An article on the site brasilescola says there are cases of cyberaddicts having died because they have spent too long in front of the computer. There are certain diseases caused by spending too long in the same position. Deep Vein Thrombosis [5] (which can develop [6] into a Pulmonary Embolism) is one such example.

The Internet offers a lot of temptations

In recent years the Internet has offered us many new options. The main attractions are MSN (instant messaging), Orkut (relationship site), YouTube (with hundreds of thousands of videos for you to watch) and MySpace, where surfers can listen to thousands of songs. And there are also millions of sites to visit and keep up to date [7] on a range [8] of subjects. The Internet can help you solve[9] a lot of problems, but if you get carried [10] away, the Internet stops being a solution and turns into a problem.

Vocabulary

1 illness – doença

2 can be thought of  – pode ser considerado 

3 as – como

4 physical harm – dano físico

5 Deep Vein Thrombosis – Trombose Venal Profunda

6 which can develop into – que pode evoluir para

7 to keep up to date – manter-se atualizado

8 on a range – nos mais diversos

9 to solve – resolver

10 if you get carried away – exp. idiom - se você exagerar

Matéria publicada na edição de número 42 da Revista Maganews

Ilustração - Calberto