1º EM - Vol 2 - Situação de Aprendizagem 5: News Stories

THEME 2 

NEWSPAPERS: NEWS STORIES, HEADLINES AND LEADS

SITUATED LEARNING 5 

Pesquise imagens/videos relacionadas a:

• Africa Python
• Hamster
• Cheerleader
• Human pyramid

NEWS STORIES (pages 27 to 31)

1. Read only the headlines from the following texts and anticipate what each story is about.

Snake befriends its meal

Brian McDevon, 38, zookeeper at the New Ark Municipal Zoo, made a stunning discovery last Saturday: a snake and a hamster can be friends. 

The zookeeper was cleaning the snakes’ pits when he saw a peculiar scene. Endora, the pet name of an African Python, lying side by side with its dinner: a living hamster. McDevon reported what he had seen to Edwin Ferry, one of the vets in the zoo staff. “Three days have passed and Endora’s friendship with the hamster, now called Tiny, is still strong”, explains Ferry.

Tiny seems to be enjoying his life with the snake, and has been seen climbing onto Endora to take a nap. What are the chances of a lifelong relationship between predator and prey? Not many, probably. One day the snake’s instincts will make the call and Endora will probably devour her furry little friend.

Cheerleader on a stretcher helps  team pull off a win

     Susan Gouldin, 18, a cheerleader from KCW University, in Winston, refused to abandon her team during the Inter University Football Championship finals held in the university campus after falling 15 feet from the top of a human pyramid. 

     During the half-time show, Gouldin was standing atop a human pyramid formed by 10 cheerleaders when the stunt went wrong and she fell on her head. Emergency paramedics quickly immobilized her and put her on a stretcher 

to be taken to the nearest hospital, but the spirited teenager refused to leave the field. “I was there to motivate the team, not to distract them by making them feel worried”, says the cheerleader. 

     After her team won the game, she was taken to the hospital, where doctors ran tests to guarantee there was no serious injury. “She was really lucky to have the paramedics right on the spot. A few weeks’ rest and she will be totally recovered”, explained Dr. Robert Kingsdale of the County Hospital. A happy ending to what could have been a disastrous event.

2. Now read only the first paragraph of each news story and check your hypotheses. 

3. Read the two news stories quickly and match the columns:

a) Brian McDevon           ( ) hamster

b) Endora                      ( ) veterinarian (vet) 

c) Tiny                           ( ) doctor 

d) Edwin Ferry                 ( ) cheerleader 

e) Susan Gouldin            ( ) zookeeper 

f) Robert Kingsdale         ( ) snake (an African Python)

4. Finally, read both news stories again and answer the questions in Portuguese: 

a) Will Endora and Tiny’s friendship last forever? 

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b) Do you think Susan’s decision to remain in the field after the accident actually helped her team win the game?

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c) Which newspaper section do you think these stories were taken from?

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d) Who are the target readers?

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e) Why do you think people read this kind of news stories?

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5. Study the underlined verbs in both news stories. What verb tenses are they? Why are these verb tenses used?Estude os verbos sublinhados em ambas as notícias. Quais são os tempos verbais? Por que esses tempos verbais são usados? Veja o exemplo:

befriends 

Present simple, 3rd person singular. Apesar de os fatos já terem ocorrido – e, portanto, já terem ficado no passado –, utiliza-se o presente na manchete como meio de enfatizar a relevância do fato como notícia atual; 

helps  - ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

made

Past simple. Nas frases em que aparecem, há a definição de quando as ações ocorreram por meio de expressões adverbiais de tempo (last Saturday e during the Inter University Football Championship finals)

refused 

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was cleaning

 Past continuous. Esse tempo verbal é utilizados para marcar ações mais longas  e mais pontuais que ocorreram no passado (estava limpando)

saw

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was standing

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went wrong 

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explains

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says

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Reporting verbs (verbos usados para introduzir o discurso direto), perceba a inversão da ordem entre sujeito e verbo (em vez de Ferry explains, usamos explains Ferry; em vez de the cheerleader says, usamos says the cheerleader). 

6. Em folha avulsa, responda estes exercícios.

A. Leias estas situações ocorridas no passado:

1. Você estava em casa sozinho, tomando banho, quando o telefone tocou.

2. Você e seus amigos estavam estudando para uma prova, na terça-feira à noite, quando a luz acabou

3. Você ouviu um berro enquanto estava deitado no sofá, no domingo à tarde.

4. Alguns de seus colegas estavam gritando na sala de aula quando a professora chegou.

B. Aponte, na primeira situação, a ocorrência de uma ação mais pontual (telefone tocar) e outra mais longa (tomar banho), relacionando-as aos usos do past simple e do past continuous. 

C. Identifiquem, nas demais situações, os pares de ações que mantêm essa mesma relação. 

D. Assinale as frases em língua inglesa correspondentes às situações. 

(   ) I was home alone taking a shower when the telephone rang.

(   )My friends and I were studying for a test last tuesday evening when the lights went out.

(   ) I heard a scream when I was lying on the couch on Sunday afternoon.

(   ) Some of my friends were shouting in the classroom when the teacher arrived.

E. Faça uma frase sobre um evento ocorrido em seu final de semana e que possa ser relatado utilizando-se esses tempos verbais (por exemplo, I was talking to a friend when my mother called me ou my friends and I were going to the movies when we saw a car crash). 

7. Faça na apostila o HOMEWORK, páginas 29, 30 e 31.