Technical English is the differential on job selections

By Waldirene Biernath

Mastering English language for everyday use is no longer a differential. Nowadays, to outstand, professionals are investing in technical language learning.

Familiar terms such as "tier one capital" (funds that banks have in the coffers to ensure risk operations, such as loans) and "corporate divestiture" (strategy to remove the portfolio of corporate units) -just to fit in business vocabulary- is something valued at companies and on job selections.

The growing demand for specific courses at language schools confirms that, according to interchange and educational institutions.

Computing is one of the areas which demands most specific language knowledge, according to the schools.

Vivian Barone, pedagogical coordinator

Technical English is even necessary on job interviews. Vivian Barone, Barone English’s coordinator, explains how workplace vocabulary can be required on interviews. “Being fluent in English is not sufficient nowadays.  It is required to be able to argument in a critical way in English. Questions such as “How would . . . ”, “How can . . .”, “What would . . . ”, “What experience . . . ”, “What qualifications . . . ”, “Can you describe. . .”,  “Have you been . . .”, have been rare on current job interviews. The interviews, nowadays, are Competency-based interviews, also known as Behavioral-style interviews. The questions focus on the candidate actions in particular workplace situations. He must be able to compare his experience to the company’s requirements, so without technical vocabulary is difficult to talk about it”.

Human resources experts, however, recommend caution before enrolling in a course for specific purposes. The importance and value of the technical knowledge of another language "will depend on the work area and the company," states Elaine Saad, the general manager of the Right Management consultancy.

Two important aspects to be considered before enrolling in a technical language course; according to Silvia Freitas, director of corporate relations at Berlitz language network; are the course price and the language proficiency the person has. Specific courses cost up to R$ 6,000.00 per semester, twice the traditional course price, according to schools consulted.

Source: http://classificados.folha.com.br/empregos/1008938-ingles-tecnico-torna-se-diferencial.shtml

Chevron Corporation takes responsibility for Brazilian oil spill

 By Waldirene Biernath

Chevron Corporation announced it is taking full responsibility for the oil leak that occurred off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

An ongoing oil spill off the Brazilian coast occurred because 
Chevron underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir.

"Chevron takes full responsibility for this incident," said George Buck, Chevron Brazil country manager, in an official statement released on Sunday night. "We are committed to deploying resources until the sheen can no longer be detected."

At least 18 vessels are working around the clock to clean up the oil sheen from the surface of the water. The company assessed the sheen at 18 barrels of oil, according to Chevron's statement.

Chevron is calculating the total volume of oil seeped into the South Atlantic since the leak was first reported Nov. 8, and said it should know within several days.

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency said 5,000 to 8,000 barrels of oil were leaked after an appraisal well cracked the ocean floor.

Brazil is expected to fine Chevron nearly $28 million for an ongoing offshore oil spill, Rio de Janeiro state's environment secretary said Monday.

Carlos Minc said the national government will also ask Chevron to pay for damages caused by the Atlantic spill.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was expected to meet with the national environmental minister and its mines and energy minister later Monday to discuss the oil spill and determine the government's actions.

George Buck, chief operating officer for Chevron's Brazilian division, said the spill occurred because Chevron underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir.

Brazil's worst oil disaster was in 1975, when an oil tanker from Iraq dumped more than 8 million gallons of crude into the bay and caused Rio's famous beaches to be closed for nearly three weeks.

Vocabulary:

spill (noun): an amount of liquid that has accidentally flowed out of its container;

leak (noun): an amount of liquid or gas that comes out of a hole or crack in something;

sheen (noun): a shine on the surface of something;

assess (verb): to calculate what something costs or is worth;

fine (verb): to make someone pay an amount of money as punishment for breaking the law;

appraisal: The phase of petroleum operations that immediately follows successful exploratory drilling. During appraisal, delineation wells might be drilled to determine the size of the oil or gas field and how to develop it most efficiently;

well (noun): a deep hole or shaft dug or drilled to obtain water or oil or gas or brine.

crude (noun): oil that is still in its natural state and has not yet been refined for use by chemical processes

Source:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/11/21/chevron-oil-spill-brazil.html;

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-21/chevron-transocean-spill-may-trigger-fines-bans-in-brazil.html

Brazil will produce fuel from sewage sludge

By Waldirene Biernath

Brazil will import from Germany a manufacturing process of clean fuel - without emitting greenhouse gases - which uses sewage as raw material.

Google image

The process consists in tranform the gases  on renewable  

Compressed Natural Gas.

The process transforms the gases generated in the decomposition of sewage sludge on biomethane, a kind of renewable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), unlike petroleum derivative.

The system will be deployed in a treatment plant of Sabesp (Basic Sanitation Company of São Paulo) in Franca City (400 km from the capital) and should start operating in March, 2012, even on a trial basis.

The new fuel is already used in organizational fleets (public and private) in Europe for a decade.

Budgeted at R$ 6 million, the project is developed in partnership with the Fraunhofer Foundation. Germany will transfer U.S. $ 5.1 million and Sabesp afford $ 900 thousand.

The Sabesp technological innovation superintendent, Américo Sampaio de Oliveira, said the plant to be installed in Franca will produce 1,900 m³ of biomethane per day.

Each m3 of gas equals one gallon of gasoline and, therefore, the daily volume for the planned unit corresponds to 10% of all fuel used today by 5,057 vehicles in the fleet in the State of Sabesp.

"This initial production can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 16 tons per year," said Sampaio.

Initially, however, the new fuel will be used in 49 company cars.

If the experiment succeeds, biomethane can be adopted for the entire fleet of Sabesp.

MORE TESTS

First, it will take three years of study on the feasibility and logistics for distribution in the state.

Although produced from sewage sludge, biomethane has not the typical bad smell of sewage.

This is because the manufacturing process filters out H2S (hydrogen sulfide), responsible for the odor of rotten eggs and can corrode the engine.

It also removed from the gas siloxanes, substances that form crust that can block small pipes of the machine.

Vocabulary:

greenhouse: of or relating to or caused by the greenhouse effect;

sewage (noun): waste substances, especially waste from people’s bodies, removed from houses and other buildings by a system of large underground pipes called sewers;

sludge (noun): a thick soft substance that remains when liquid has been removed from something in an industrial process;

raw material (noun):  material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing;

fleets (noun): a group of vehicles, planes, boats, or trains, especially when they are owned by one organization or person;

plant (noun): a factory that produces power, or processes chemicals, etc;

pipe (noun): a tube that carries liquid or gas from one place to another.

Source:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/1003967-brasil-produzira-combustivel-a-partir-de-lodo-de-esgoto.shtml

Engineering in São Carlos is the most disputed course at USP

By Waldirene Biernath

Source: Google images

USP Campus in São Carlos

The Fuvest (Fundação Universitária para o Vestibular) has announced the ratio of applicants to places to the 2012 entrance exam, which will select students for USP (Universidade de São Paulo) and to the Medical Sciences Faculty of São Paulo’ Santa Casa.

The civil engineering entrance exam at USP in São Carlos is the most disputed. The course has 52.27 candidates applying for each one of its 60 places - 3,136 candidates in total.

The second most disputed course is medicine, with 51.18 candidates for each one of its 275 places. There are in total 14,074 candidates. Advertising and Marketing is in the third place, with the ratio of 47.2 candidates/place.

In total, 146,892 people enrolled in the Fuvest 2012 entrance exam. Candidates apply for 10,852 places at USP and one hundred places for Medical Sciences Faculty of Santa Casa.

Of the total number of candidates, 51,661 are applying for places of courses in the humanities, 40,221 for biological and 36,211 for exact areas.

New prime minister named in Greece

By Waldirene Biernath

Source: Google images
Lucas Papademos is the Greece' s new interim Prime Minister

Former European Central Bank vice-president, Lucas Papademos has been named as Greece's new prime minister after several days of negotiations.

Greeks hope the news will provide the stability to get them through their debt crisis.

Mr Papademos will head an interim government being formed to make sure debt-laden Greece gets its latest bailout payment, and to approve a new 130bn euro international rescue package from eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund.

The drama in Greece has shaken international markets, as investors fear the new bailout deal negotiated with European leaders late last month - which has stringent austerity measures attached - may not be implemented.

Mr Papademos will replace Greece's outgoing prime minister George Papandreou who announced he was resigning after a disastrous call for a referendum on the eurozone rescue package.

The new prime minister will face a confidence vote before parliament, which is expected to happen on Monday, Greek state TV reported.

Source:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/europe/greece-main/;

http://br.noticias.yahoo.com/lucas-papademos-nomeado-primeiro-ministro-gr%C3%A9cia-oficial-130051630.html

Vocabulary:

bailout (noun): money that someone gives or lends to a person or organization with financial problems;

stringent (adjective): stringent rules or conditions are strict and make you achieve high standards;

measures (noun): an action that is intended to achieve or deal with something; a system used for expressing a particular quantity.

New meeting tries to end the occupation at USP

By Waldirene Biernath

Source: Google images

A new meeting between representatives of students, rectorship of the University of São Paulo (USP) and the University of São Paulo’s Workers' Union (Sintusp), tries to end the occupation of the rectorship by students and staff.

According to the chairman of Sintusp, Magno de Carvalho, students and two teachers will attend to the meeting.

“We hope that representatives of USP bring a concrete proposal for negotiation, otherwise, the occupation remains. The assembly of students, scheduled for next Wednesday, will decide the continuation of occupation”, concludes Carvalho.

The USP building was occupied on Wednesday dawn, November 2, by protesters opposed to the presence of Military Police in University City. The place was raided on October 28, when Military Police arrested three students of geography smoking marijuana on campus.

Source: http://odia.ig.com.br/portal/

High alcohol intake can damage DNA

 by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of developing a long list of health conditions including breast cancer, oral cancers, heart disease, strokes and cirrhosis of the liver. A high alcohol intake can also damage our mental health, impair memory skills and reduce fertility.

The direct link between alcohol and the liver is well understood - but what about the impact of alcohol on other organs?

Studies have shown that drinking more than three drinks a day has been found to have a direct and damaging effect on the heart. Heavy drinking, particularly over time, can lead to high blood pressure, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure and stroke. Heavy drinking also puts more fat into the circulation of the body.

Cancer experts say that for every additional 10g per day of alcohol drunk, the risk of breast cancer increases by approximately 7-12%. For bowel cancer, previous studies show that increasing alcohol intake by 100g per week increases the cancer risk by 19%.

A recent report in BioMed Central's Immunology journal found that alcohol impairs the body's ability to fight off viral infections. Studies on fertility suggest that even light drinking can make women less likely to conceive while heavy drinking in men can lower sperm quality and quantity. Even a single binge-drinking dose of alcohol during pregnancy may be sufficient to cause permanent damage to a baby's genome.

Last year, a study in The Lancet concluded that alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack when the overall dangers to the individual and society are considered.

The negative effect on all elements of our health could be down to acetaldehyde - the product alcohol is broken down into in the body. Acetaldehyde is toxic and has been shown to damage DNA.

So how much alcohol is too much? What can we safely drink?

Most of people don't realize what they are drinking and can very easily slip beyond acceptable limits. Few people have the notion that there are 16g of alcohol in a 175ml glass of red or white wine, for example.

Alcohol is undoubtedly a public health issue. The government guidelines on drinking are being reviewed at present. They currently say that a woman should not drink more than two to three units (a unit=1 drinking cup) of alcohol per day and a man three to four units a day - no more than 21 units for men, 14 units for women per week.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health

Vocabulary:

oral cancer includes cancers of the lips, tongue, cheek, floor of the mouth, hard and soft palate, sinuses, and pharynx (throat);

bowel cancer /baʊəl/: also known as colorectal cancer or colon cancer,  is any cancer that affects the colon (large bowel) and rectum (back passage);

(to) conceive /kənˈsiːv/: to think of something such as a new idea, plan, or design;

binge-drinking (noun): the drinking of large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, in order to get drunk.

Brazil’s growth gets foreigners to learn Portuguese

By Waldirene Biernath

Source: Google images

The Brazilian economy growth and the multinational companies’ presence in the country have increased the interest of foreigners to learn the Portuguese language.

While Europeans and Americans face high unemployment and risk of recession, Brazil has become the fashion’s country abroad - and consequently, the Portuguese language has getting more prominence.

Google images

In the last decade, the number of students enrolled in Celpe-Bras, the Portuguese proficiency exam recognized by the Ministry of Education, skyrocketed from 1155 to 6139.

"The importance of the Portuguese language has been growing, since Brazil has stood out internationally regarded for its stable economy and its international relations. The value of a language is highly associated with the market," said Matilde Scaramucci, the Unicamp Institute of Studies Language’s director.

The Celpe-Bras exam is applied in 48 countries, and it can be taken, for example, by an executive who wants to prove language proficiency to work at multinational companies in Brazil or by a foreigner interested in studying at a Brazilian university.

Dutch companies have encouraged senior executives to take on functions in countries considered strategic. The "boom" of foreigners taking Portuguese courses is also noticeable abroad. The number of enrolled people in Brazilian cultural centers; defrayed by Itamaraty (Ministry of External Relations) and spread over several countries; rose from 17,500 in 2004 to 31,700 last year.

Vocabulary:

(to) skyrocket (verb) if an amount, value, or cost skyrockets, it rises quickly to a very high level, e.g.: “The number of calls we received skyrocketed”.

take on (phrasal verb) to begin to perform or deal with; assume; e.g.: took on new responsibilities

(to) defray  (verb): to provide money to pay for something.

Source:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/991439-crescimento-do-brasil-leva-estrangeiros-a-aprenderem-portugues.shtml

Latino children education in crisis in the United States

by Waldirene Biernath

The United States President Barack Obama said last year that Hispanic school children faced "challenges of monumental proportions". Hispanics make up the fastest growing segment of the American population, but are lagging when it comes to education. The consequences are huge not just for individual families, but the entire American economy.

Less than 50% of Latino children are enrolled in pre-school; just 50% earn their high school diploma on time and, those who do are only half as likely as their peers to be prepared for college. Just 13% have a degree.

Hispanics make up 16% of the American population now and will account for 29% of the population by 2050. The issue has essentially reached a tipping point. It's harder to ignore the problems facing a minority group when they affect a third of the population. There are economic reasons to care.

In 50 years the majority of workforces will be Hispanic in the United States. Imagine if they are uneducated, what hope there is for American global competitiveness.

Source photos: Google Image

“If we allow these trends to continue, it won't just be one community that falls behind - we will all fall behind together”, said US President Barack Obama.

Many of the problems facing Hispanics affect all minority groups - for example the difficulty of accessing high-quality schooling. But there are problems unique to this group. Consider the language barrier - four million Latino children struggle in class because they are still learning English, even though three quarters of them were born in the United States.

Undocumented children and the US-born children of undocumented parents can be at a disadvantage because their parents may be reluctant to access the full range of support services available for their children.

According to the Census bureau, 50% of immigrants are from Latin America.

President Obama tried and failed in 2010 to pass the Dream Act - a law that would give undocumented Latino students, brought to the US as children, the right to US citizenship so they can attend University.

There is much debate among politicians and policy makers about whether Hispanic children should get special attention or whether they should be treated like any other low income group in terms of educational inequity.

Whichever way that particular debate shakes out one thing is for certain - the political power of Hispanics is rising. Politicians cannot afford to ignore these challenges much longer.

Obama appoints the latino singer Shakira to Hispanic education commission

Colombian singer Shakira has been appointed to US President Barack Obama's education committee to share her advice on how to provide the best education for Hispanics living in America.

"There is no better investment than investment in our kids, especially when they are very little," she said. "The Obama administration has made a point to improve Latino education and – as I spoke to the President previously – I am extremely passionate about working with the White House to plan an early childhood education summit in the coming year...”

"I am convinced that early childhood development strategies, promoting those strategies and initiatives, is the way to ensure that our kids, our Latino kids especially, will stick to their secondary education," the 34-year-old superstar said.

What do you think about Obama’s indication to Hispanic education commission? Do you think Shakira was a good choice?

See the Shakira’ s discourse at the White House video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Ffp0U6_9M&feature=related ;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wz9O_WKZvo&feature=relmfu

Vocabulary:

Lagging (verb to lag): to not be as successful or advanced as another person, organization, or group; to walk more slowly than someone who you are with;

Tipping point: a time when important things start happening in a situation, especially things that you cannot change;

Struggle (verb): to try hard to do something that you find very difficult.

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine

Three women honored with the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three women - Mrs Sirleaf is Africa's first female elected head of state, Ms Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist and Ms Karman is a leading figure in Yemen's pro-democracy movement. They were recognized for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".

Ms Sirleaf, who had been widely tipped as a winner, said the award was "for all Liberian people" and a recognition of "many years of struggle for justice". She was elected in 2005, following the end of Liberia's 14-year civil war which left 250,000 people dead, caused thousands to flee abroad and financially ruined the country. Upon coming to office, the US-educated economist and former finance minister - known as Liberia's "Iron Lady" - pledged to fight corruption and bring "motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency" as a way of healing the wounds of war. She is popular among women and the country's small elite, but disliked by more traditional male-dominated sections of society.

Ms Gbowee was a leading critic of the violence during the Liberian civil war, mobilizing women across ethnic and religious lines in peace activism and encouraging them to participate in elections. In 2003 she led a march through the capital, Monrovia, demanding an end to the rape of women by soldiers, which had continued despite a peace deal being signed three months earlier.

Mrs Karman heard of her win from Change Square in the capital Sanaa, where she has been living for several months in a protest camp calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stand down. She was recognized for playing a leading part in the struggle for women's rights in Yemen's pro-democracy protests "in the most trying circumstances" and is the first Arab women to win the prize.

The women will share the $1.5m (£1m) prize money.

Source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nobel-peace-prize-goes-to-three-women/2011/10/07/gIQAJdwBSL_story.html?hpid=z1;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15211861

Scientists have found a way to prevent HIV

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Researchers from the United States and Europe have found the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is unable to damage the immune system if cholesterol is removed from the virus's membrane. The study was published last month in the journal Blood.

The team plans to investigate how to use this way of inactivating the virus and possibly develop it into a vaccine.

Cell model for

  human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Usually when a person becomes infected with HIV, the body's innate immune response puts up an immediate defense. But some researchers believe HIV causes the innate immune system to overreact. This weakens the immune system's next line of defense, known as the adaptive immune response. The team removed cholesterol from the membrane around the virus and found that this stopped HIV from triggering the innate immune response. This in turn led to a stronger adaptive response, orchestrated by a type of immune cells called T cells.

HIV takes its membrane from the cell that it infects, the researchers explained in their study. This membrane contains cholesterol, which helps keep it fluid and enables it to interact with particular types of cell.

Adriano Boasso, from Imperial College London, who led the study, said the virus could not activate pDC cells when cholesterol was removed.

Normally, a subset of immune cells called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) recognize HIV quickly and react by producing signaling molecules called interferons. These signals activate various processes which are initially helpful, but which damage the immune system if switched on for too long. 

Researchers believe the discovery could lead to the development of a vaccine against the disease, which kills 1.8 million people worldwide each year. An estimated 33.3 million people are living with the virus.

Vocabulary:

(to) damage (verb): to harm something physically so that it is broken, spoiled, or injured;

(to) put up (verb): to provide;

(to) overreact (verb): show an exaggerated response to something;

triggering (noun):  an act that sets in motion some course of events or causes something to happen;

subset (noun): a small group of people or things that is a part of a larger group;

(to) switched on (verb): if you switch on something such as a light or a machine, or if it switches on, you make it start working.

Source:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/equilibrioesaude/978262-cientistas-descobrem-forma-de-desarmar-virus-da-aids.shtml;

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/us-aids-hiv-disarm-idUSTRE78I5O820110919

Employers analyze candidate’s behavior in the social media

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Social network behavior can influence 

in career

People who have profile on social networks should be attentive because the observer may be closer than you imagine! Recruiters and employers have used this strategy to seek differential information about candidates, interns and contractors.

"When a recruiter chooses these tools to analyze a profile, is minimized wrong choices. The resumes are very similar and the difference nowadays is the behavior", said Wander Pereira da Silva, Career Management teacher. The main tip is to take care of information, communities and added photos, slips can testify against the interested candidate.

Social media resume

"There are already softwares that track everything about a person on the network, photos, communities and professional information.

According to Janete Teixeira Dias, Career Management’s coordinator says people must be careful and use strategies on Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and other networks: "It must pay attention to enjoy, share and add". The users should capitalize everything in favour of themselves”.

Tips for a suitable profile:

- Participate in communities that preach intolerance or suggest inappropriate behavior with the world of work, like “I hate Mondays' ”may weaken chances of contracting or shortening the career in a particular company.

- Post photos or videos using underwear or bathing suits, consuming drugs or drunk is an inappropriate behavior for those who want a promising career, especially at the more conservative companies.

- Language errors use to be shared and satirized. It is necessary to be careful when writing on the social media.

- Aggressive comments and discussions on the network indicate unfriendly and antisocial temperament.

- The fact of networks have an entertainment and relationship profile, it does not mean that users can express your opinion freely. In these spaces, the freedom of expression should be limited, for self benefit.

- Excuses for prejudice or aggression should be posted in the same space. But it is better not to make a blunder. Some mistakes take time to be forgotten.

- Profile with hidden information is not ideal. It could arouse suspicion and does not reflect reality.

Vocabulary:

Slip (noun): a slight mistake, especially a careless one;

Blunder (noun): a careless or embarrassing mistake

Source:

http://odia.terra.com.br/portal/economia/html/2011/9/midias_sociais_uma_janela_indiscreta_nas_empresas_189708.html

Young people prefer surfing the internet to dating

by Waldirene Biernath

According to a survey done by a technology company, the Internet has become as necessary for students and professionals as water, food and housing. The survey was held with young people up to 30 years old in 14 countries.

In Brazil, three out of five students and young professionals have made that statement. They also said that between a car and internet, they prefer to access the network.

In addition, 72% of Brazilian university students said they prefer to browse on the internet instead of dating, listening to music and hanging out with friends.

In the professional field, 75% of called “Brazilian Generation Y”* assert not to live without the Internet.

"For this generation, more important than the physical contact is to be connected all the time on social networks," says the technology company president, Rodrigo Abreu. "It's happening a replacement of traditional activities for greater connectivity."

Vocabulary:

*Generation Y: “…born between 1980 and 2000…Generation Y, also labeled Nexters, Echo Boomers, the Net Generation and the Millennials, has never known a world without cellular phones, compact discs, and video games. At 68 million strong, Generation Y is just beginning to enter the workforce-and society-with a whole new set of attitudes, values and beliefs” (Hatfeild, 2002, p.73)

dating (noun): someone who you have arranged to meet as part of a sexual or romantic relationship;

housing (noun): buildings for people to live in;

(to) hang out (verb): spend time in a certain location or with certain people.

Source:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/978270-jovens-dao-mais-valor-a-internet-que-a-namoro-moradia-e-carro.shtml

Give your opinion: Has the Internet  become as necessary for you as water, food and housing?

32nd TUSCA edition begins on this Friday 16th

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

The University Tourney of São Carlos (TUSCA) gets in 2011 with already 31 years and since last year it is part of the official city events calendar.

With over three decades, TUSCA is today one of the largest university competitions in the country. It began as a clash of only two institutions of higher education. USP and UFSCar keep rivalry and sportsmanship today, but since some time ago both universities compete the Sports Tourney with other universities invited. The games, which involved more than 1500 athletes, are seen by students who flock to the Milton Olaio Filho Gym, one of the country’s largest sports venues.

In recent years, concerned with the structuring of the tournament and in order to improve it even more, the TUSCA’s organizers invested in various ways throughout the event structure. In addition, during all TUSCA there is the support of various entities in charge of São Carlos: Civil Guard, Military Police, Fire Department and City Hall through various departments.

The Atlética CAASO and Atlética UFSCar are nonprofit organizations that seek to promote any kind of physical activity related to the sport within their universities. Thus, all dividends obtained with TUSCA are used for the sports development and improvement, through the maintenance of sports teams, which involves the technical payment, travel, tournaments, uniforms, sports equipment, among others.

TUSCA also includes musical attractions during CORSO and parties. Check out the musical attractions on http://jornalpp.com.br/jpp/index.php?/Regiao/grandes-shows-marcam-tusca-2011.html.

CORSO

The traditional CORSO is the opening party of TUSCA and always happen in the Thursday preceding the start of the Tourney contests. In the past it already represented the invasion of CAASO students at UFSCar, nowadays it has become a bandwagon with thousands of students and city residents having fun and walking on the São Carlos’ streets.

This year the CORSO has been passed for a makeover to provide greater security for residents and revelers.

Check the CORSO path in 2011:

Vocabulary:

clash (noun): a fight or battle between two groups of people;

venue (noun): the place where an activity or event happens;

(to) flock (verb): to gather together in a large group, usually because there is something interesting or exciting: (Tourists still flock to Washington to learn about their government);

Contest (noun): a competition, especially one in which people’s skill in a particular activity or sport is tested;

bandwagon (noun):  a large ornate wagon for carrying a musical band; a popular trend that attracts growing support;

makeover (noun):  a complete reconstruction and renovation of something;

reveler (noun): someone who enjoys themselves at a lively and noisy party or celebration by dancing, singing, and drinking alcohol.

Source:

http://www.tusca2011.com.br/

2014 World Cup: Will Brazil be ready?

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Brazil, Soccer Country!!! That’s how we are known all over the world. We have already won the worldwide tournament five times. No doubt, Brazilians have always had their own style on the pitch. It is fair to soccer country hosts a Word Cup, isn’t it?

Some people do not agree with that and criticizes that the championship will be held in Brazil.

The Fifa organization’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke, recently said: "It's amazing that Brazil is already very late. They are proving how difficult it is to hold a World Cup in Brazil, just as it was in South Africa."

Many of the stadiums are behind schedule and over-budget, and pressure is mounting to put things back on track. The rising price of building materials, costly changes demanded by Fifa and delays have left an air of uncertainty over the project.

In June, according to an article from BBCNews, workers at the stadium in Belo Horizonte walked out, demanding higher wages and improved conditions, because the rising wage inflation. The economic reporter, Mark Broad who wrote the article, still says that the project is already behind schedule and will not be ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup, which is being used as test event for the World Cup.

But the operations director for the new Corinthians Stadium in São Paulo, Frederico Barbosa, appears relaxed as he surveys the diggers scraping away at the hillside on the site.

"As the work goes on, we will need extra resources. Eventually we will have 2,000 people working on the site," says Barbosa, "It's going to be a challenge to get the work done, as we will have to work through the rainy season. But we... expect to have it finished by December 2013, two months ahead of Fifa's deadline."

There have also been concerns of the cost of the project. The Brazilian sports minister, Orlando Silva, calling on the Odebrecht Developers to cut the budget by 20%.

Works in Maracanã Stadium

There are more than 20 men milling around the pitch at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The teams of workers are accompanied by four huge diggers and a fleet of trucks ferrying soil out of the stadium. To keep the project on schedule, work continues 24 hours a day.

The Maracanã was redeveloped in 2007 for the Pan-American Games, but Fifa argues that the organising committee had failed to meet World Cup regulations.

In an interview shown on Sunday, the President Dilma Rousseff said that Brazil certainly will be prepared for the World Cup 2014: "I am absolutely certain [that Brazil will be prepared for the World Cup 2014] (...). Because we have nine stadiums getting ready until December 12. (…)Airports, we are bidding with three airports, already fully formatted engineering. Let's make these bids later this year. "

Brazilian airports

One of the big challenges for Brazil is to transport the spectators between the 12 host cities across the country.

The number of internal flights has risen by 80 million in the past five years and the same increase is predicted by 2014. São Paulo international airport has only two terminals with a population of over 20 million people.

The government is selling shares in the state operator, Infraero. It hopes the cash injection will speed work to be completed in nine of the airports.

Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian football greater in 1970, says Brazil will be ready for the 2014 tournament, "This is the Brazilian style. Fifa always come to Brazil, and they go to look at stadiums and ask what's going on, and we say, 'Don't worry, we're going to be ready before the World Cup,'" he says.

  

Give your opinion: Many Brazilians do not believe the country will be able to host the 2014 World Cup. What do you think about?

Vocabulary:

back on track: (Fig.) running according to schedule again. (*Typically: get ~; get something ~; have something ~; put something ~.) I hope we can have this project back on track by the end of the week;

walked out (verb):  stop work in order to press demands; leave abruptly, often in protest or anger;

scraping away: to scratch or rasp something off something. (Ted scraped the rough places away from the fender he was repairing. Ted scraped away the rough places.);

bidding (noun): the process of making bids for things, for example at an auction (=an event where things are sold to the person who offers the most money);

shares (noun):  any of the equal portions into which the capital stock of a corporation is divided and ownership of which is evidenced by a stock certificate ("He bought 100 shares of IBM at the market price").

Source:

http://fantastico.globo.com/Jornalismo/FANT/0,,MUL1672642-15605,00-DILMA+ROUSSEFF+RECEBE+PATRICIA+POETA+NO+PALACIO+DA+ALVORADA+E+DO+PLANALTO.html;

http://correiodobrasil.com.br/entrevista-de-dilma-para-o-programa-fantastico/295880/;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13960586