This week, we’re going to practice learning comprehension by watching three videos featuring Brazilian President Lula Inácio da Silva. The president has a Northeastern accent, so it may be a bit challenging for beginners to understand.
In the first video, President Lula talks about soccer and his favorite team. In the second, he addresses Brazilians living abroad, and in the third, discusses social inclusion and the Internet.
Have a look:
Brazil’s President Lula announced an ambitious plan this week to stimulate the economy and to ward off the global crisis. The plan is to invest R$34 billion (US$15.1 billion) into constructing homes for working class families.
The plan also aims to create 1.5 million jobs and to increase the country’s growth rate. However, 6.5 billion reais will be taken away from other government programs, which the administration has not named. The plan comes as a response to rising unemployment rates, a falling GDP, and predictions of an overall shrinking economy.
Families who make less than R$1,395 per month will be eligible to buy their own houses with payments as minimal as R$50 per month. Families who make less than R$2,790 per month will be able to receive subsidies for their homes. The plan calls for a million homes to be built, with the help of construction companies Gafisa and Tenda.
Lula’s popularity has been affected by the crisis, and the economy has had a large impact on Brazilian politics in the last few months.
Globo News is reporting that Brazilian President Lula da Silva spoke to U.S. President George Bush twice on the phone today. President Lula claims that Bush was upset after the Brazilian leader had phoned U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently before communicating with him to discuss the U.S. economic crisis.
And then, the best part.
Globo has the following quote from President Lula:
“Eu liguei para ele e falei: ‘Ô Bush, o problema é o seguinte, meu
filho: nós ficamos 26 anos sem crescer. Agora que a gente está
crescendo, vocês vem atrapalhar, pô? Resolve a tua crise!’”
Translation: “I called [Bush] and I said: ‘Hey Bush, this is the problem, my son: we went 26 years without any growth. Now that we’re growing, you have to screw it up! Jeez! Work out your crisis!”
It’s not clear how the translator actually translated this into English!
Let’s pick out a few of the vocabulary and expressions:
Meu filho (my son) [mee-oo feel-yoo] is used as an affectionate term for a male friend or colleague, even if that person is obviously not your son.
crescer (to grow) [creh-sehr] is used to discuss the growth of an economy, a plant, or a person.
atrapalhar (to muddle/mess up/screw up) [ah-trah-pall-yar] is used to describe the actions of a person or thing that mess up or interfere in a situation.
pô (man! jeez!) [poe] is an interjection used to describe frustration or irritation.
