Practice Spanish with excerpts from "Barcelona" in
Spanish, followed by the English translation.
En español:
Esta privilegiada situación geográfica, que hace de
Barcelona en tantas ocasiones la puerta y el puerto de
España, confiere a la ciudad ese especial carácter de ser,
a la vez el enclave más europeo de España y quizás la
presencia española que más cuenta en Europa. A caballo
entre la montaña y el mar, no lejos de la raya fronteriza
de los Pirineos, Barcelona parece dar la bienvenida a
muchos de los visitantes que llegan a España.
Entre Las Ramblas y El Paralelo
Y ya estamos en el arranque de una de las vías más famosas
del continente. Gentío afanoso que va a buen paso a sus
quehaceres, vaga de escaparate en escaparate o se sienta
en la terraza de algún café o en las sillas que pueden
alquilarse bajo los árboles; grupos que se reúnen para
discutir la actualidad taurina, en el Arco del Teatro, o
la futbolística, junto a la Fuente de Canaletas; algarabía
de pájaros libres o enjaulados en los puestos en que se
vende la alada y leve mercancía; pregones de las floristas
al pie de sus puestos de venta; cháchara de los dueños de
los quioscos de libros, revistas y periódicos en las
fachadas. Todo ello forma un alegre tumulto callejero y
popular, lleno de colorido, luz y fuerza vital.
A la entrada de la calle del Conde del Asalto los
visitantes se sorprenden las atrevidas líneas del palacio
Güell, obra de Gaudí. Aquí se halla instalado el Museo del
Teatro también. Cualquiera de las calles que salen en
idéntica dirección de Las Ramblas llevan, tarde o
temprano, directa o indirectamente, al Paralelo, mezcla
curiosa de Broadway y Montmartre, bajo un signo, sin
embargo, muy barcelonés, donde la vida teatral,
especialmente durante la noche, encuentra adecuado
escenario.
In English:
Barcelona's favorable geographic location, which makes it
the gateway and the port of Spain, gives it the special
role of serving as the most European enclave in Spain as
well as the most influential Spanish presence in Europe.
Situated between mountains and the sea, Barcelona is not
far from the border formed by the Pyrenees, and welcomes
many of the visitors traveling to Spain.
Between Las Ramblas and the Paralelo
Here travelers find themselves at the beginning of one of
the most famous avenues on the European continent. An
industrious crowd walks smartly on the way to work. Others
idle about while window shopping or sitting down in the
terrace of some café or on rental chairs under the trees;
groups meet to discuss bullfighting news at the Arco del
Teatro (Arch of the Theater) or soccer news next to the
Fuente de Canaletas (Fountain of Canaletas); a racket
radiates from the "free" pigeons or from the birds in
their cages hanging in the stalls where aviary merchandise
is sold; shouts emanate from the flower vendors standing
guard by their stalls; chatter arises from the owners of
the kiosks where books, magazines and newspapers are sold.
All this forms a happy and lively commotion in the streets
which are full of color, light and vitality.
At the entrance of the Conde del Asalto Street, visitors
will be surprised by the bold lines of the Güell palace,
one of Gaudí's works. The Museum of the Theater also
located here. Sooner or later Las Ramblas and its parallel
streets will take you directly or indirectly to the
Paralelo. The Paralelo is a curious mixture of Broadway
and Montmartre done in a very Barcelonan way, where the
noisy life of the theater, especially at night, finds its
expression.
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The End of an Era in Peru
President Alberto Fujimori has recently decided to step
down from his post after winning his third election in
May.
In Peru, presidential terms are five years long. Previous
to Fujimori’s presidency, the term limit was one! Fujimori
was not ready to leave office at the end of his first and
second terms, so he changed the term limits for the
presidency in the Constitution. This enabled him to run
for an unprecedented second term and politically
questionable third term.
In May 2000, Peru held presidential elections and Fujimori
won, although the United States and other international
organizations did not recognize the elections as valid.
Since the elections, Fujimori has suffered a number of
setbacks, including a bribery scandal involving one of his
top officials.
A video was released which showed his Intelligence Chief,
Vladimiro Montesinos, attempting to bribe an opposition
Congressmen. This scandal caused the public to question
the goals of Fujimori’s government and Montesinos
consequently fled in exile to Panama. Fujimori also lost
the majority in Congress and three of his top lawmakers
defected, making it impossible for him to pass new laws
and run the government with ease as he had done
previously.
Fujimori is scheduled to step down in June, when Peru will
hold a premature presidential election to replace him.
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