{"id":64022,"date":"2021-03-21T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T17:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluency.io\/br\/blog\/fluency-news-27\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T11:00:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:00:30","slug":"fluency-news-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homolog.fluency.io\/br\/blog\/fluency-news-27\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluency News #27"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello, everyone!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sejam bem-vindos e bem-vindas a mais um epis\u00f3dio da nossa nova s\u00e9rie de podcasts, o Fluency News<\/strong>! Aqui, voc\u00ea vai treinar a sua escuta e ficar por dentro do que est\u00e1 acontecendo no mundo, sempre com as tr\u00eas principais not\u00edcias da semana, tudo em ingl\u00eas! Ao longo do epis\u00f3dio, n\u00f3s tamb\u00e9m adicionamos explica\u00e7\u00f5es em portugu\u00eas das coisas que achamos que precisam de mais aten\u00e7\u00e3o, assim voc\u00ea n\u00e3o perde nenhum detalhe!<\/p>\n

No epis\u00f3dio desta semana, n\u00f3s falamos sobre os problemas que pa\u00edses da Am\u00e9rica Latina est\u00e3o enfrentando em rela\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e0 COVID-19, a queda do PIB brasileiro e a decis\u00e3o angolana que protege gays e bissexuais de discrimina\u00e7\u00e3o. Al\u00e9m disso, falamos sobre os corais em Fiji que est\u00e3o se recuperando ap\u00f3s um ciclone em 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n

Temos uma p\u00e1gina de dicas de ingl\u00eas no Instagram, v\u00e1 conferir! @fluencytvingles<\/p>\n

Toda semana temos um novo epis\u00f3dio do Fluency News<\/strong>, n\u00e3o deixe de escutar! See you!<\/em><\/p>\n

Este epis\u00f3dio foi escrito por L\u00edvia Pond.<\/p>\n

Transcri\u00e7\u00e3o do epis\u00f3dio:<\/h4>\n

What is up, everyone! How are we all doing today? Welcome to another episode of Fluency News! I\u2019m Scott Lowe and this is Fluency Academy\u2019s news podcast, made for you to put your skills to the test!<\/p>\n

Here with me, you\u2019ll have the opportunity to practice your listening and comprehension skills, while staying connected to the world. If you want to focus on your speaking and pronunciations skills, I recommend you head over to fluency.io and check out Walk \u2018n\u2019 Talk Level Up, a podcast series made specifically for that.<\/p>\n

Speaking of fluency.io, did you know that we currently have over a thousand free lessons there? Our content portal is a great tool for you to study and learn more, without spending a dime! So head over to fluency.io, or click the link in the description.<\/p>\n

Alright, are you familiar with how we do things here? We\u2019re going to cover some of this week\u2019s biggest news stories, and you\u2019ll hear me speak a little Portuguese to explain anything that might go over your head otherwise. Falando nisso, voc\u00ea sabe o que a express\u00e3o \u201cgo over someone\u2019s head\u201d significa? Ela na verdade tem dois significados, mas aqui ela significa que algo \u00e9 muito dif\u00edcil de entender.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s get started? First, let\u2019s talk about how COVID has been causing unrest in Latin America. Authorities and politicians have been facing scrutiny as the pandemic rages on in Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and other countries.<\/p>\n

Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez announced that new people would be appointed to several ministries, following riots at a demonstration against the government\u2019s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am sure that the men and women named will do their utmost to confront this moment of crisis that the country is enduring,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n

In the capital Asuncion, security forces used rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons on protesters on Friday and Saturday (March 5th and 6th), with the protesters throwing back stones.<\/p>\n

Paraguay reported more than 166,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,290 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University \u2013 but its rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been slow.<\/p>\n

It is awaiting the arrival of four million doses from the COVAX scheme set up by the World Health Organization and one million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.<\/p>\n

So far, Paraguay has received just 4,000 doses of vaccines from Russia, intended for intensive care personnel.<\/p>\n

In Argentina, protests against stricter coronavirus lockdown measures were followed by a police crackdown.<\/p>\n

In a provincial capital in the north of the country, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters, following a measure to close some businesses to stem a recent increase in cases.<\/p>\n

The regional office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the resident coordinator for the UN in Argentina said they were concerned police had employed \u201cindiscriminate violence that resulted in people being injured and detained\u201d. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said it was concerned about the use of police force against protesters and journalists.<\/p>\n

Argentina has reported more than 2.14 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 52,800 coronavirus-related deaths.<\/p>\n

People also recently protested in the capital, Buenos Aires, over a \u201cVIP\u201d vaccine scandal, after reports surfaced alleging people with government connections had received COVID-19 vaccination doses out of turn. The country\u2019s former health minister resigned in light of the scandal.<\/p>\n

Government officials in Peru and Ecuador have also been forced to resign in relation to the countries\u2019 respective COVID-19 vaccination programmes.<\/p>\n

In Chile, new infections are on the rise, despite moving fast on vaccine distribution, according to Al Jazeera\u2019s Alessandro Rampietti.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a second day the country registered more than 5,000 new cases, the highest infection rate in nine months,\u201d he said on Saturday, March 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo-thirds of the capital Santiago is under strict lockdown, as are a number of other regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro announced new restrictions on bars, restaurants and beaches, as it seeks to contain a surging pandemic that is pushing Brazil\u2019s hospitals to their breaking point.<\/p>\n

The city of 6.7 million people is the latest to go back into a partial lockdown in Brazil, which has registered record COVID-19 death tolls and is having its deadliest week of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to downplay the coronavirus, leaving cities and states to implement a patchwork of containment measures on their own.<\/p>\n

Rio de Janeiro\u2019s new one-week decree, which took effect on Friday, orders bars and restaurants to close at 5:00pm local time, shuts down all commercial activity on the city\u2019s beaches and bans night clubs and parties.<\/p>\n

The decree also forbids people from lingering in public spaces from 11:00pm to 5:00am local time, though traffic will not be restricted.<\/p>\n

The measures come after Sao Paulo state \u2013 Brazil\u2019s largest with 46 million people \u2013 declared a new \u201ccode red\u201d lockdown on Wednesday, ordering non-essential businesses closed for two weeks starting Saturday, March 6th.<\/p>\n

Curitiba followed the measures, declaring a \u201ccode orange\u201d, and ordering a one-week lockdown, which ended Monday, March 8th.<\/p>\n

Brazil has recorded an average of more than 1,300 COVID-19 deaths a day over the past week, the worst yet for the country of 212 million people.<\/p>\n

Nearly 260,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, the second-highest death toll in the world, after the United States.<\/p>\n

Voc\u00ea sabe o que s\u00e3o compound adjectives? S\u00e3o os adjetivos compostos, aqueles que apresentam mais de um elemento, divididos por um h\u00edfen. Nessa hist\u00f3ria, n\u00f3s temos alguns exemplos, como one-week, second-highest e non-essential. S\u00e3o palavras que variam em g\u00eanero masculino e feminino, e em n\u00famero, sendo singular ou plural. Esses compound adjectives s\u00e3o f\u00e1ceis de identificar, porque s\u00e3o caracter\u00edsticas sempre divididas por um h\u00edfen. Outros adjetivos compostos comuns s\u00e3o \u201ctime-saving\u201d, \u201call-knowing\u201d, \u201cself-aware\u201d e \u201clong-term\u201d, por exemplo.<\/p>\n

Our second story of the day is also surrounding Brazil, and it\u2019s also not a good story. Brazil\u2019s economy shrank 4.1 percent last year, the worst drop in GDP in decades.<\/p>\n

GDP \u00e9 a sigla para Gross Domestic Product, o equivalente ao Produto Interno Bruto, o PIB do Brasil.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople expected us to fall 10 percent,\u201d said President Jair Bolsonaro, who has played down the gravity of the pandemic and opposed lockdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat made the economy move, in part, was the emergency aid,\u201d he told reporters, adding that his government has done everything possible to keep the economy running.<\/p>\n

The emergency aid to more than 65 million Brazilians has reduced poverty in the country, but it was terminated on December 31st. Bolsonaro announced in February that a new round of emergency aid should start to be paid in March, for a period of up to 4 months.<\/p>\n

The full-year 2020 drop was the worst since the current IBGE series began in 1996. The 2020 plunge was also the worst since a 4.35 percent fall in GDP recorded in 1990, according to central bank data going back to 1962, and the third-steepest in that series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a big fall [in activity] last year, but with the emergency aid, it was much smaller than originally predicted. It could have been much worse \u2026 but the public finances are now very fragile,\u201d said Alexandre Almeida, economist at CM Capital in Sao Paulo.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch\u201d \u00e9 uma palavra pequena, que tem grandes significados. Ela pode significar \u201cmuito\u201d, \u201cgrande\u201d, \u201cbastante\u201d, \u201cquase\u201d, \u201calgo fora do comum\u201d e mais outras coisas. Nessa hist\u00f3ria, n\u00f3s temos dois exemplos dessa palavra em uso. Est\u00e1 na frase \u201cmuch smaller than\u201d e na frase \u201ccould have been much worse\u201d. Nesses dois exemplos, ela significa muito. No primeiro exemplo, a tradu\u00e7\u00e3o seria \u201cmuito menor que\u201d, e no segundo, \u201cpoderia ter sido muito pior\u201d. Essa palavra pode ser usada como determinador, adv\u00e9rbio, artigo e pronome.<\/p>\n

Now, how about we see some good news? First, let\u2019s talk about Fiji’s corals bouncing back after a devastating cyclone.<\/p>\n

Tropical Cyclone Winston struck Fiji on 20 February 2016, causing devastation on land and underwater. Winds of up to 280km\/h claimed 44 lives, leaving more than 40,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and storm surges smashed reefs in their path. Winston caused US$1.4bn in damage, the most destructive cyclone ever in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

But after four years, the coral reefs of the Fijian archipelago are vibrantly resurgent and teeming with fish and colour.<\/p>\n

A recent dive expedition led by the Wildlife Conservation Society found the coral had recovered beyond scientists\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised at how quick the recovery had been, especially at the Namena reserve,\u201d the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji, Sangeeta Mangubhai, told the Guardian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fast recovery likely reflects these reefs have good natural recruitment and they are well managed. Coral reefs that were healthier [before a destructive event like a cyclone] are expected to recover a lot faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voc\u00ea sabe o que significa \u201cstorm surges\u201d? \u201cStorm\u201d \u00e9 \u201ctempestade\u201d, e \u201csurge\u201d pode ser traduzido para \u201conda\u201d. Quando colocamos as duas palavras juntas, elas significam uma tempestade que causa turbul\u00eancia no mar, fazendo o mar subir. E a palavra \u201cteeming\u201d, voc\u00ea conhece? Ela significa abundante, em abund\u00e2ncia. Ent\u00e3o os corais do arquip\u00e9lago est\u00e3o ressurgindo e t\u00eam peixes e cores em abund\u00e2ncia. Essa \u00e9 uma palavra legal, porque n\u00e3o temos um equivalente no portugu\u00eas. \u201cTeeming\u201d na verdade \u00e9 um verbo, e quando passamos para o portugu\u00eas, s\u00f3 podemos traduzir para um adjetivo. A melhor tradu\u00e7\u00e3o seria algo como \u201cestar cheio de\u201d. \u201cTeeming\u201d, em abund\u00e2ncia ou estar cheio de.<\/p>\n

We also have some good news coming from Angola! Earlier this month, the southern African country enacted a new penal code passed in 2019 and removed a provision outlawing “vices against nature” which was widely interpreted to criminalise same-sex relationships.<\/p>\n

Going a step further, lawmakers gave gay and bisexual people legal protection against discrimination for their sexual orientation, making Angola one of only seven countries on the continent with some form of anti-discrimination provisions.<\/p>\n

“I had the best reaction. I screamed. We are obtaining rights in our country, and accepting difference little by little,” Titica, one of Angola’s most famous musicians who is also a transgender woman, told the Telegraph.<\/p>\n

Inciting hatred against people for their sexual orientation is now punishable by up to six years in prison.<\/p>\n

Employers can also face up to two years in prison for discriminating against someone “because of race, colour, ethnicity, birthplace, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability, belief or religion, political or ideological convictions,” according to the new penal code obtained by the Telegraph.<\/p>\n

How awesome is that? People should never be discriminated against for being who they are, or loving who they love.<\/p>\n

And that is it for today\u2019s episode! I hope you enjoyed learning about this week\u2019s news, and putting your skills into practice. Remember to go over to fluency.io to see the full transcript of this episode, and all of our sources.<\/p>\n

Sempre recebemos muitas mensagens de pessoas querendo estudar na Fluency Academy. Se voc\u00ea \u00e9 uma delas e quer melhorar o seu n\u00edvel de ingl\u00eas, espanhol, franc\u00eas, italiano, alem\u00e3o ou japon\u00eas estudando com os nossos super professores, voc\u00ea pode se inscrever na nossa lista de espera.<\/p>\n

Assim, na pr\u00f3xima vez que abrirmos uma turma, voc\u00ea estar\u00e1 na lista priorit\u00e1ria, o que vai te dar uma chance ainda melhor de conseguir uma vaga! \u00c9 s\u00f3 clicar no link na descri\u00e7\u00e3o deste epis\u00f3dio e se inscrever. S\u00f3 leva uns 15 segundinhos e \u00e9 100% de gra\u00e7a!<\/p>\n

Se voc\u00ea conhece um amigo ou amiga que sonha em estudar com a gente, manda o link pra eles tamb\u00e9m! Spread the word, people!<\/p>\n

And as always, there\u2019s a new episode of Fluency News every week, and we\u2019ll be here waiting for you. Peace out.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/h4>\n

COVID surge stirs unrest in parts of Latin America<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/3\/7\/tighter-covid-curbs-stir-unrest-in-parts-of-latin-america
\nhttps:\/\/www.as-coa.org\/articles\/coronavirus-latin-america<\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s GDP drops 4.1 percent in 2020, beating gloomier outlooks<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/economy\/2021\/3\/4\/brazils-gdp-shrank-4-1-percent-in-2020-worst-drop-in-decades<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro says pandemic emergency aid should return in March, for 4-month period<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n