About four months ago, our governor, here in one of the southernmost states in Brazil, ordered a lockdown. The Coronavirus COVID-19nightmare was just reaching this part of the world.
The pandemic came, and apparently is at its peak now, or not… There’s a lot of controversyabout it.
We were placed on lockdown one more time about a week ago, but it was already lifted. So, Blumenau is not in lockdown anymore.
“When major decisions must be made amid high scientific uncertainty, as is the case with Covid-19, we can’tafford to silence or demonize professionals with different views. Even worse, we can’t allow questions of science, medicine, and public health to become captives of politics. Misinformation about Covid-19 is abundant and today, more than ever, we need vigorous academic debate.
Since Covid-19 first emerged at the end of 2019, thousands of scientists have been working to answer fundamental questions. How lethal is it? How many people have already had it? If so, are they now immune? What drugs can fight it? What can societies do to slow it? What happens when we relax our public health interventions? Can we develop a vaccine to stop it?
Scientists agree that it will take 18 months or longer to develop a vaccine. Even for cloth masks, we see arguments on both sides.
Some believe that nations which instituted social distancing but with fewer lockdownrestrictions, are pursuing the wisest course — at least for that country — while others favor the strictestlockdown measures possible. We think it is important to hear, consider, and debate these views without hostility.”
So, here we are! What do you think about all this? How do you feel about it?
This text contains excerpts from the article https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/27/hear-scientists-different-views-covid-19-dont-attack-them/, which were selected with the solely purpose of providing a basis for class discussion, through vocabulary learning and practice of an issue we’re all experiencing. A couple of more difficult words were replaced by more easier ones, to facilitate understanding.
No estudo do inglês, o ditado popular ver para crer precisa ser substituído por ouvir para crer.
Em primeiro lugar, ainterpretação fonética da ortografia em inglês apresenta diferenças em relação ao português.
Em segundo lugar, e mais importante, a correlação entre ortografia e pronúncia em inglês é notoriamente irregular. Isso quer dizer que, o mesmo grafema (letra) não corresponde sempre ao mesmo fonema (som), isto é, não tem sempre a mesma interpretação, a mesma pronúncia.
Para aqueles que não têm contato frequente com a língua falada, com a forma oral do inglês, a interferência da ortografia na pronúncia das palavras pode ser nociva e persistente.
A pronúncia do sufixo “_ed”, indicador de passado nos verbos regulares do inglês, é um problema muito comum para brasileiros. O problema é agravado pelas três pronúncias que o sufixo “_ed” pode assumir.
A seguir, dois excelentes vídeos, que juntos elucidam e ilustram a correta pronúncia.
With special thanks to my student Afonso for sharing this last video with us.
There are many occasions when condolences are needed due to a death. There are also several ways of expressing condolence. You can send flowers, a gift, or a sympathy message.
The word “condolence” comes from the Latin “condolere,” meaning “to suffer together.” Sometimes the dictionary lists the word “pity” as a synonym, but “comfort,” “commiseration,” “sympathy,” and “consolation” are better synonyms. It really means acknowledging a loss, showing sympathy, and empathizing with someone.
A dear student’s brother has recently passed away. The whole family is going through a hard time.
It’s times like these when we cling to those glimmers of hope and promise that we find amidst all the sorrow and pain.
And here is what I feel like offering to her… A poem from Henry van Dyke
Gone From My Sight
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side, spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast, hull and spar as she was when she left my side. And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me — not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”
Four months of Blog posts, which would result in an extensive list if I added the links here. So scroll downandreaalthoff.com.br, to view them.
So now I want to show you a few more useful phrasal verbs, a verb and expressions, all in context, through this beautiful, inspiring message.
I can’t take it anymore!
This sentence is used when a person is annoyed very much, that he or she cannot mentally, emotionally, or physically deal with or adjust to something or someone anymore.
Portuguese learners like to say that there isn’t a word for “saudades” in English. But there’s not really accurate. The truth is, that there isn’t a noun that is used the same way as the Portuguese noun.
However, miss, a verb, in the context of the video, means to feel sad because you do not have something or cannot do something you had or did before: I miss the car, but the bus system is good.
Aside from that, miss verb, means to feel sad because someone you love is not with you: She missed her family badly.
Think tomyself
“And I think to myself…”
That’s a verb + preposition. Think of/about is used to ask someone for their opinion: What do you think of your new school?
Pass away
To die – use this when you want to avoid saying the word ‘die’. Check the Blog post for more.
Get through
To come successfully to the end of an unpleasant experience or period of time, or to help someone do this: I know we’re going to get through the pandemic.
When a verb is part of a longer sentence, it is often followed by a specific preposition, before an object or another verb, and it is called a prepositional verb. The preposition is only grammatical, so it doesn’t change the meaning of the verb.
I agree with Mike. She listens to the radio a lot. He thanked me for the flowers.
Look at a few more:
arrive at / in somewhere We arrived at the airport. We arrived in London.
belong to somebody This book belongs to me.
borrow something from somebody I borrowed a book from my classmate.
concentrate on something / doing something I concentrated on studying at the weekend.
depend on something / somebody It depends on the weather.
explain something to somebody The teacher explained the exercise to the students.
listen to something / somebody I listened to music.
pay somebody for something I paid the waiter for the coffee.
wait for somebody / something Wait for me!
worry about somebody / something Don’t worry about a thing!
There are no grammatical rules to help you know which preposition is used with which verb, so it’s a good idea to try to learn them together. Here are some more:
Verb +for
They’re waiting for a bus. He apologised for being late. I applied for the job but I didn’t get it. How do you ask for a coffee in Polish? I can’t go out tonight because I have to prepare for my interview tomorrow.
Verb +from
This spray should protect you from mosquitoes. Has he recovered from the accident yet? She won an award because she saved someone from drowning. I suffer from allergies.
Verb +in
She doesn’t believe in coincidences. Our company specialises in computer software. You have to work hard if you want to succeed in life.
Verb + of
I don’t approve of hunting animals for their fur. Our dog died of old age. This shampoo smells of bananas.
Verb +on
Their decision will depend on the test results. The film is based on the novel by Boris Pasternak. If you make so much noise, I can’t concentrate on my work. Come on! We’re relying on you! We don’t agree on anything but we’re still good friends.
Verb +to
Listento me! Can I introduce you to my grandfather? Please refer to the notes at the end for more information. Nobody responded to my complaint. She apologised to me the next day.
Verb + with
I agree with everything you’ve said. My assistant will provide you with more information if you need it. We’re finding it difficult to deal with the stress.
Practice:
Write the correct preposition to complete the sentence. Choose from the following prepositions: for, from, in, of, on, to, with.
1. It smells ______ coconut in here.
2. Tax is based ______ how much you earn.
3. We promise to respond ______ all emails within three days.
4. I’m doing a law degree, specializing ______ commercial law.
5. Our staff will provide you ______ audio guides on request.
6. It took me two weeks to recover ______ the flu.
7. Shall I ask ______ the bill?
8. We succeeded ______ raising the money for the local animal shelter.
9. I find it hard to concentrate ______ anything when the television is on.
10. They apologized ______ hurting her feelings.
11. I never agree ______ my sister on politics.
12. She suffers ______ terrible headaches in hot weather.
13. I’m applying ______ internships this summer to get some work experience.
14. My mother didn’t approve ______ my friends when I was a teenager.
15. Do you believe ______ ghosts?
16. Kerem, let me introduce you ______ Professor Tsang.
Verb + other prepositions
Other prepositions can be used to create prepositional verbs. Some of these prepositions are against, into, and like. For example:
We decided against visiting my aunt.
The car nearly crashed into a tree.
I feel like going on an adventure.
Verb + multiple prepositions
Certain verbs can take multiple prepositions without changing the overall meaning of the sentence. For example, the verb talk can use the prepositions to and with interchangeably:
I need to talk to the principal.
I need to talk with the principal.
On the other hand, some verbs’ meanings do change when a different preposition is introduced. For example, the verb dream can mean to aspire when it is used with the preposition of; however, when it is used with the prepositions about, it means to see images during sleep. For example:
She dreams of becoming a pilot. (aspiration)
She often dreams about flying. (image during sleep)
Comparing a prepositional verb to a phrasal verb
While the meaning of a phrasal verb is often different to the original meaning of the main verb, the meaning of a prepositional verb is usually the same as the main verb. Phrasal verbs also use adverbs as well as prepositions, whereas prepositional verbs do not.
For example, the meaning of the verb ask doesn’t change when combined with the preposition for; however, it changes dramatically when combined with the preposition out:
Kelly asked for a raise. (The literal meaning of to ask is to inquire. Kelly inquired about a raise, making it a prepositional verb.)
Kelly asked out Chad. (Ask out means to invite someone on a date, making it an idiomatic phrasal verb.)
Phrasal verbs are also often separated by nouns and pronouns. For example,
Put your jacket on.
Put it on.
Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. The two words must remain together.
