Posts tagged w/ Google

Brazil Leads World Google Usage

Posted by Rachel

According to an article from the New York Times technology blog, Brazil and India use Google and Google services more than any other countries in the world, including the United States.

While American Internet users spend about 9 percent of their online time on Google, users in Brazil spend about 30 percent of their time on Google’s websites. This accounts for about 18 minutes on Google for every hour spent on the Internet. Meanwhile, the global average is 9.4 percent for time spent on Google.

While Orkut, Google’s social networking site, accounts for a considerable part of these statistics–it is one of the top sites in Brazil–other Google services are also popular, partially due to the popularization of the Internet in Brazil around the same time that Google entered the market.

Some other statistics:

  • Of all Internet searches performed in Brazil, 90 percent are done on Google
  • Of time spent looking at maps, 71 percent is spent on Google maps
  • Of time spent on blogs, 43 percent are on Google blogs
 

Listening Comp: Chief Almir Surui

Posted by Rachel

Today, we’re going to watch a video about the Amazon and an indigenous tribe there, and the work the tribe’s chief has done to combat deforestation and to use technology to connect his tribe to the world and to protect the environment. Part of the video is in Portuguese with English subtitles, and the other part involves simultaneous translation, so you’ll have to pay attention to make sure you understand.

Here are some questions to answer to see how well you understood!

1. How do you say “in the past,” according to the video?

2. The chief mentions using an “arco e flecha.” What is this in English?

3. What is “wisdom” in Portuguese?

4. How do you say “tool” or “instrument” in Portuguese?

5. What is “floresta” in English?

6. How do you say “alliance” or “partnership” in Portuguese?

Note: questions go up until 13:00.