Expedition Brazil

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Te e n E L I R e a d e r s

Stage 1

EXPEDITION BRAZIL

In this reader you will find: - a glossary of difficult words - comprehension activities

ANNA CLAUDIA RAMOS

Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar are the lucky winners of a trip to Brazil.

While making a documentary about the country, they will visit the largest city in South America, São Paulo, the unbelievable capital, Brasília, lovely Rio de Janeiro, and two natural wonders of the world, the wetlands of Pantanal and the great Amazon rainforest.

Nothing could ever prepare these three friends for the new experiences they are about to have. The places that they’ll visit will leave them open-mouthed and the warmth of the people and the rhythms of Brazilian music will change their lives. Brazil’s amazing diversity will live forever in their hearts. To top it all, their last day in Brazil will be full of surprises.

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Expedition Brazil

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Expedition Brazil Anna Claudia Ramos English version by Luis Goncalves Activities by Susanna Florissi Illustrations by Victor Tavares Language Level Consultants Janet Borsbey and Ruth Swan ELI Readers Founder and Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani, Daniele Garbuglia (Art Director) Graphic Design Airone Comunicazione - Sergio Elisei Layout Airone Comunicazione - Enea Ciccarelli Production Manager Francesco Capitano Photo credits Corbis - Shutterstock

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Contents 6

Main Characters

8

Before you read

10

Chapter 1 Flying to Brazil

20

Activities

22

Chapter 2 SĂŁo Paulo and its Surprises

30

Activities

32

Chapter 3 BrasĂ­lia, a Planned Capital

40

Activities

42 Chapter 4 Pantanal and its Charms,

Stories and Legends 50

Activities

52 Chapter 5 The Amazon Rainforest: Secrets and Mysteries

60

Activities

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Chapter 6 Rio de Janeiro is Beautiful!

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Activities

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Focus on... Peoples and Regions of Brazil

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Focus on... Music to Suit all Tastes

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Test yourself

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Syllabus

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded start stop

Main Characters

Yoshi, a young Japanese

man (he wants to be a photographer and a movie director)

Niara, a young

Mozambican woman (she wants to be a writer)

Gunnar, a young

Norwegian man (he wants to be a musician)

Nanda, a young

CauĂŞ, a young

woman who produces the Brazilian TV show: How much do you really know about Brazil? on the Brazilian channel SpokTV

man who hosts the Brazilian TV show: How much do you really know about Brazil? on the Brazilian channel SpokTV

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Hugo, a cameraman for the Brazilian channel SpokTV

Mr. Generoso and Mrs. Gereninha, storytellers

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Miriam, the coordinator for the Brazilian channel SpokTV

Before you read

Vocabulary 1 Match the words with their definitions. h itinerary a competition in which prizes are 1 ■ usually won 2 ■ consulate b a film that gives factual 3 ■ documentary information about a subject 4 ■ childhood c the time when a person is a child 5 ■ scene d something that is needed or 6 ■ soundtrack necessary 7 ■ contest e the sounds of a film or a program 8 ■ graffiti f an office of a country that takes 9 ■ requirement care of its own citizens in a different country g words or drawings on walls, doors, etc. in public places h a detailed plan or route of a journey i part of a play or film

Speaking 2 Read the blurb on the back of the book first. Then, use the information in the box below to make predictions about what will happen in Chapter 1: Flying to Brazil.

Work with a partner.

A WHOLE MONTH

BRAZILIAN CULTURE

SEVERAL CITIES

AN IMMENSE COUNTRY

VIDEO / TEXT / MUSIC

MUSIC / FOOD / CUSTOMS

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Research 3 Search the Internet and find some information on SĂŁo Paulo, the first city our new friends Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar are going to visit. Make notes in the box. Share the information with the rest of the class. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

Grammar 4 Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets in the correct tense or form. More than one answer is sometimes possible. lives 1 Yoshi ...................... (live) in Tokyo and ...................... (have) a sister.

2 Before the trip, the producers ...................... (decide) to set up a virtual chatroom for immediate communication between the kids and their families.

3 When the trip is over, Gunnar ...................... (return) to Oslo.

4 At this very moment the organizers ...................... (wait) for the winners of the contest at the airport.

5 When looking at the map of Brazil, Niara remembered that Nanda ...................... (say) that the country is divided in 5 regions.

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Chapter 1

Flying to Brazil 2

“I’m glad that the SpokTV producers* set up a virtual chatroom for the winners of the contest,” said Niara, happily. The young girl sat back in her seat.

“This way we’ve gotten to know each other a little bit before the trip. Can you imagine? What if we’d only met right now at the airport? Too strange!”

One of her two friends, a Japanese guy called Yoshi, answered, “Yeah, Niara, you’re right. After all, we’re going to spend a whole month together.

We’re going to be traveling to different cities to make the Expedition Brazil documentary.”

“Ah, Yoshi, I knew we’d get to know each other so well in the virtual world that by the time we met in the real world we’d be like old friends, and I was right!” Gunnar, the third guy, added.

“I know, Gunnar! After all, we already know so much about each other’s lives, our families and dreams. You all know that I want to be a photographer and a movie director, that I live in Tokyo, and that I have a sister.”

“And you know about my life in Oslo,” Gunnar a producer a person who makes a TV program

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replied. “You know that I have three younger brothers who love to bug* me, but love to hear me play! They think it’s great that I want to be a musician.”

“Well, I think I was the one who spoke most in the chat. I love to talk, I love stories. It’s no surprise that I want to be a writer. It’s been a dream of mine, you know, since the days when my granddaddy used to tell me stories, when I was little,” said Niara.

“One thing I like is that we won’t be going to Brazil separately. I thought it was great that the SpokTV team joined us in your country, Niara, and that we all left together. Can you imagine each of us flying alone for hours, thinking about what was going to happen?”

“Whoa, Yoshi! You’re the most Zen of us! Did you really think you were going to worry about the trip? Can you imagine what Gunnar and I would feel like? I guess we’d have a nervous breakdown!” added Niara.

Everyone burst out laughing*. They laughed and laughed, and then the three friends carried on talking. Taking turns, they talked about all sorts of different things. Anyone who saw that close young to bug to annoy to burst out laughing to start laughing suddenly

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group of three would think that they had known each other since they were children. But that wasn’t true: the three had only known each other a little over a month, the time they had had to organize for the trip.

Niara, Gunnar and Yoshi had won the contest A Look at Brazil, set up by the Brazilian channel SpokTV. The people taking part had entered in one of three areas: video, text or music. The prize for each area was a trip to a few Brazilian cities to produce a documentary about Brazil.

Then each entrant had sent in a video, text or piece of music about Brazil. The aim of the constest was to find the people who could best capture* the spirit of the country. Niara was the winner for her writing, Gunnar had won with his music and Yoshi had made the winning video.

The only requirements had been that they spoke English fluently, so they could communicate during the production of the documentary, and that they knew a little Portuguese and something about Brazilian culture.

Of the three, Niara is the only one who speaks to capture to catch

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Portuguese fluently, because after all, she was born in Mozambique, one of the countries of the Portuguesespeaking community*. Gunnar and Yoshi both love Brazil and know some Portuguese words and expressions. All of them, however, still have a lot of trouble understanding the geography of the country.

At that moment, all three of them were looking at the open map of Brazil, marking the cities that they would visit and beginning to understand just how big Brazil is. It wouldn’t be possible to see even half of what they wanted to.

“Guys, do you remember what Nanda said?

Brazil is divided into five regions. Is that right? And each region has several states and each state has lots of counties and cities.”

“That’s right, Niara. It’s kind of difficult, isn’t it?

I guess we’ll understand everything better when we get there. It’s a shame that we won’t get to visit all the regions…”

“A real shame, Yoshi. We’ll just have to visit Brazil a few more times!”

“We haven’t even arrived and you’re already talking about going back!” said Gunnar. a community a group of people

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The three burst out laughing again.

“After our chats, I did a little bit of research about the cities that we’re going visit. We’re going to have so much fun. After all, it’s going to be so different from our cultures.”

“Especially yours, Yoshi. Researching the cities that we’re visiting is so you!” said Niara.

“Don’t pick on* me! What’s the problem? I like to research things. Anyway, you’ll be interested in what I found out. Everything is different in each of those places – the music, the food, and the traditions,” said Yoshi.

“I know! I can’t wait to see it all. Can you imagine writing about those beautiful things?” added Niara.

“And what about writing music in those places?” said Gunnar, “And coming up with a soundtrack for the documentary?”

“And what about filming it all? And taking pictures?” added Yoshi.

“It’s going to be magical, I’m sure!” Niara smiled and hugged* her new friends. It was another magical moment, but the flight was long and soon the three went to sleep, very tired. Their heads rested on each to pick on someone to criticize someone to hug to put your arms around someone in a friendly way

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other’s shoulders, as if they had always been friends.

When Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar arrived in São Paulo, a team from SpokTV was waiting for them at the airport: Nanda, the producer, Cauê, the presenter of the TV show How much do you really know about Brazil?, Hugo, the cameraman and Miriam, the boss of SpokTV. “Well, everyone, welcome to Brazil!” said Miriam, smiling. “This is the team that will be with you. Nanda, Cauê and Hugo are going to be in the same hotel in São Paulo to make sure that everything works out fine. So, let’s go! You guys must be really excited to see Brazil. Your trip’s going to be full of surprises for sure.”

“And when are we going to get to see Rio de Janeiro, Miriam?”

“Well, Gunnar, you’ll have to be patient. Rio will be the last city that you get to see. But, come on, you don’t have much time and there are so many places to see.”

From the moment they left the airport until they arrived at the hotel, everything was filmed and photographed; after all, they needed to record

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everything. Absolutely everything was going to be recorded during this trip.

The three friends looked excitedly out of the van windows. They went up Paulista Avenue and Miriam explained how important the main avenue was. She told them that the financial center of the city and country was there. She talked about the buildings, showing them where a few consulates were. She pointed out the Museum of Art of São Paulo, the famous MASP, and while they talked excitedly about the itinerary, Yoshi looked around at all the fantastic street art. He found it beautiful. Hugo explained that there was some really neat graffiti in several parts of the city, and if Yoshi wanted to film or photograph some of it, they could include that in the itinerary. Yoshi had already heard about the Gêmeos, twin brothers who were graffiti artists from São Paulo.

Hugo promised to take them to photograph the best street art in the city. He wanted them to understand the poetry of the walls or, like a friend of Hugo’s said, understand ‘the walls that speak’.

They decided to do that right away, but first they

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had to leave the suitcases at the hotel and visit the SpokTV head office.

“Get ready everyone, this is going to be one busy month!” said Miriam.

The next day, everyone got up early. They were going to visit the Museum of the Portuguese Language, so they stopped by Estação da Luz, the train station. The three friends were very impressed with some of the buildings at the station: copies of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey built with materials brought over from England. This time, Niara was the most impressed. She was thinking about stories. So many interesting things must have happened in that train station, when trains were the main means of transportation for the local population.

They left the station, but Cauê had to go back to get Niara, who seemed to be daydreaming.

“Hey you! What are you thinking about? We’ve been calling you for over five minutes and you didn’t hear us!” Cauê said, smiling.

“Really? I was miles away. I was thinking about so many things, so many stories.”

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“If this place did that to you, just wait till we go into the Museum of the Portuguese Language.

You’re going to love it, especially because you speak Portuguese!”

Gunnar and Yoshi saw Niara and Cauê talking excitedly as they walked toward them, and they both felt a little jealous. They had never talked about it, but they both thought Niara was beautiful.

When they arrived at the museum, Hugo asked, “Yoshi, do you have your camera ready? It’s important to record as much as possible; we can edit everything later, so don’t worry. And I’m going to record the behind the scenes action, everything you do!”

“Niara and Gunnar, don’t forget that you need to let us know everything that you want Yoshi, or Hugo, to film or photograph, because we need to get everything; we’re not coming back to any of these places, OK?” Nanda warned.

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After-reading Activities

Reading 1 Decide if the following statements are True (T) or False (F).

1 Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar are visiting Brazil with their schools.

2 The three friends had already been together on other trips.

3 The contest required that the participants spoke Portuguese fluently.

4 Nanda, Cauê and Hugo did not stay in the same hotel as the three friends when they were in São Paulo.

5 Paulista Avenue is the financial center of Brazil.

6 The Gêmeos are twins and are well-known street artists.

7 At Estação da Luz, the main train station in São Paulo, people can see structures brought to Brazil from England.

T

F

■

✓ ■

■

■

■

■

■ ■

■ ■

■

■

■

■

Grammar 2 Complete the sentences with the Phrasal Verbs in the box.

Be careful with your tenses. find out

pick on

burst into

get up

come up with

pick on each other.

1 It is common for young people to ....................

2 They had so much fun during the trip that it was common for the kids to .................... laugthter now and then.

3 Everyone soon ................... that Niara was a fantastic writer.

4 With so much to see it was easy for Yoshi to .................... a fantastic video.

5 Cauê asked the kids to .................... early for the trip to Rio de Janeiro.

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Pre-reading Activities

Speaking 3 Work in pairs to devise a two-day itinerary in SĂŁo Paulo and then present it to another pair. Make notes below. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

Listening 3

4 Listen to track 3 and write three sentences about the beginning of Chapter 2: SĂŁo Paulo and its Surprises.

Work with a partner.

1 .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

2 .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

3 .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

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Chapter 2

Sao Paulo and its Surprises 3

They walked around the three floors of the Museum of the Portuguese Language. The three friends were open-mouthed, each for different reasons. For Niara, it was because the various exhibitions were in her own language. For Gunnar and Yoshi, it was because of the surprising sounds, projections and installations – wonderful expressions of art. Everything was new.

The language, so familiar to Niara, was very difficult for the others, and for Yoshi in particular. In the Language Plaza, a sort of ‘Language Planetarium’, with projected images and sounds, the three were amazed. All they could do was feel the emotions* that the place awakened in them. It was so simple, and at the same time so strong and deep. The sounds of the language were so beautiful…

The room was dark and the three friends sat together, Gunnar on the right, Yoshi on the left and Niara in the middle. Niara felt the light touch of Gunnar’s hand on her right hand and, incredibly*, at the same time, Yoshi’s hand touched her left hand.

It was a very special moment; the link between an emotion a deep feeling incredibly unbelievably

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Gunnar, Yoshi and Niara was so strong.

As soon as they left the room, Niara wrote something in the notebook she had been given by the producers. Then she said, “Yoshi, before we leave, I want you to record something. Gunnar, do you remember that music that you were whistling* last night?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I want it to be the soundtrack for something I am going to read, right here, at the entrance of the Museum of the Portuguese Language.”

And Niara read while Gunnar whistled and Yoshi got some great film of everything.

“This homeland is not mine, but this language is!

These hands are not mine, but they touch me without realizing it!

None of this belongs to me, but it is all part of me.

Mysteries.”

4

Afterward, everyone returned to the van. It was lunchtime, so they went to a restaurant. The three friends were silent, only Nanda and Cauê kept the conversation going. Hugo realized that there was something strange going on. Young people’s stuff, to whistle to blow air through your lips and make a tune

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he thought, since he was the oldest in the crew. Nanda and Cauê were some six or seven years younger than he was. The silence didn’t last long, because, while they were eating, Nanda described everything that they were going to do that day. She told them they were going to MASP and to Ibirapuera Park. Then, at night, she said, they would have dinner at a nice local pizzeria.

When they arrived at MASP, there was a show going on, as often happens at lunchtime. This time Gunnar got emotional, as he imagined himself playing there with his band. The band was still coming together, but he was already dreaming of how successful it was going to be in Brazil. “Wow! This space is awesome!” Gunnar was looking at the large open space under the museum.

“It’s huge, isn’t it?” said Cauê. “I’ve recorded a few shows here. This place is just great! There’s a street market here Sundays, but before you ask if we can come, we can’t! Sorry, Niara. By Sunday, we’ll be far away from here.”

“But just imagine skating here, it must be great!” said Yoshi.

“Well, enjoy it now, because from here, we have to

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go to Ibirapuera and tomorrow we’re going to see the Football Museum, the one you talked about so much in your emails, remember?”

How could they forget? They would also never forget anything they saw at Ibirapuera Park. Niara, Gunnar and Yoshi were very impressed* by the size of the park, with its museums and huge open area.

That afternoon, Yoshi took more than two hundred photos; he filmed Gunnar playing his guitar under a beautiful tree and photographed Niara from all sides.

Gunnar, Niara, Nanda and Cauê decided to go on a bike ride. Each rented one and went around the park, while Hugo and Yoshi recorded everything.

Afterward, Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar joined a group of young skaters. Not all of the skaters spoke English, so Niara started to explain in Portuguese why they were all there. They interviewed the skaters, while Yoshi recorded everything. Later, he went around on a skateboard he borrowed from a young girl, who was the best skater he had ever seen. It was an incredible afternoon. The day was beautiful and the three friends hardly noticed that it was a little cold. After all, it was winter in Brazil.

They didn’t even notice how easily they became part of impressed (here) surprised about something you didn’t expect

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the Brazilian group or how fast time went by. After a short while, they were all sitting under a tree, playing the guitar. Gunnar played his favorite Norwegian songs and learned to play a few Brazilian songs. Before leaving, Niara wanted to slackline* with a group practicing close by. In no time, she was part of the group.

And that was the day: music, photos, interviews and the usual conversations between young people from such different countries. And all this took place in an incredible park in the middle of a huge urban center.

Another thing they noticed was young people on dates everywhere in the park, holding hands as they walked under the trees. The three friends sighed*. It would be so easy to fall in love here, in beautiful, beautiful Brazil!

The next day was so exciting. Gunnar, Yoshi and Niara were really looking forward to visiting the Paulo Machado de Carvalho Municipal Stadium, better known as the Pacaembu Stadium. It’s the home of the Football Museum, a completely interactive museum, with incredible exhibits and guided tours. It’s so much more than a museum about the history of football; it’s a museum about the history of the Brazilian people.

Football and life: all their pain and happiness. Football to slackline to walk on a rope above the ground to sigh to breathe out slowly and make a soft sound

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is a great expression of Brazilian culture. It’s a sport that unites all people of different cultures, religions and social classes. And it mixes emotion, history and entertainment too. A sport packed with excitement, able to fill so many stadiums, all on the same day.

Nanda bought football jerseys for each of them. The friends chose the team jerseys they wanted themselves and Nanda also gave each of them a Brazilian national team jersey. It was yet another strange thing, but each of them chose to wear the Brazilian national team jersey later that day, although they hadn’t discussed it.

The most important moment of the afternoon could not be recorded, photographed, set to music or written about, except inside each of them. The three friends, with their eyes closed, hugged. They felt the rhythms of that place, feeling the music playing deep inside them, the text being written in their hearts and the photos taken in their minds.

Only Hugo realized what was happening, but he saw it from the outside. He filmed it, although he had no idea of the emotions Niara, Gunnar and Yoshi were feeling. They were all still feeling emotional as they packed their suitcases, ready to leave the next day. Next destination? The federal capital of Brazil.

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After-reading Activities

Vocabulary 1 Circle the words in each group that you feel do not belong to it. Explain why.

A TICKET OFFICE – FLOOR – ROOM – SUITCASE INSTALLATION – EXHIBITION – PAINTING – SCULPTURE Because it isn’t in a museum ...............................................................................................................

B GUITAR – SONG – MUSIC – LYRICS – SHOW – RECORD – PLAY – CHURCH ...............................................................................................................

C FORK – RESTAURANT – SPOON – CHEF – LUNCH – DINNER – KNIFE – FAIR ...............................................................................................................

D PARK – TREE – LAKE – JOG – BIRD – FISH – BICYCLE – AVENUE ...............................................................................................................

Grammar 2 Read the sentences below and choose the correct alternative.

1 Niara explained the reasons because / why they were in São Paulo.

2 The three young visitors would also not forget anything / something they saw at the park.

3 Yoshi took over than / more than 200 photos of the places they visited those first days.

4 Before leaving / leave Pacaembu stadium they ran across the soccer field.

5 The more precious / most precious moment was when the three friends hugged.

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Pre-reading Activities

Writing 3 In Chapter 3, our friends will visit the capital of Brazil, Brasília. Imagine you are with them and write a message to your family explaining why you are excited about going there.

Speaking 4 Look at some of the words that appear in Chapter 3 and discuss with a partner why you think they will be important in the story.

SUNSET – PLANNED CITY – ARCHITECTURE – SHAPE OF A PLANE – NATIONAL CONGRESS – SHOW OUTDOORS

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Chapter 3

Brasília, a Planned Capital 5

When the group arrived at the airport of Brasília, it was late afternoon. In the morning, they had stayed in São Paulo, visiting the Rock Galleria. Gunnar wanted to see it, because it was a famous center for Rock ’n’ Roll. He bought several band t-shirts and a cap that was fantastic, or so his friends said.

They left Brasília airport and headed for the hotel.

They thought the landscape looked a little strange.

They had traveled through some of the country and arrived at a totally different place, an open city.

“Aren’t there any big buildings here, like on Paulista Avenue?” Niara asked.

But before Nanda could answer, Yoshi suddenly shouted. Everyone was surprised, because he was usually so quietly-spoken and polite.

“Hugo bring the camera, quick! Quickly please!

What is that? Awesome! Look at that!”

Hugo did what he could, but he wasn’t able to record the exact moment when Yoshi saw the sunset.

“The sunset is fantastic this time of year here in Brasília, Yoshi. It’s the dry season and you often see people setting up their cameras and waiting to photograph sunsets like this. It’s so beautiful, as you 32

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just saw. One of the days here, we’ll wait for it, OK? That way you can take a photo, or maybe record a video, while Niara tells a story or reads something.

And Gunnar, can you think of a soundtrack for that moment, seeing that you already saw it today?”

“Good idea, Nanda!” said Gunnar.

“But today we aren’t doing much,” continued Hugo. “We’re going to leave things in the hotel and go out for dinner, because tomorrow’s going to be a really busy day.”

6

The next day, they woke up early and talked excitedly at breakfast.

“You know what, Cauê? I was really amazed when we stopped at that restaurant by the Paranoá Lake yesterday. The sky there is incredible! First, I thought it was because we were in a desert, but afterward, when we were coming back to the hotel, I realized it wasn’t that, because everywhere we went we could see the sky.

It was great. I can’t believe it! I mean, we’re in the capital of the country, aren’t we?” said Yoshi.

“Yeah, you’re right! But you know, Yoshi, there are many things in this city that are going to amaze you.

The sky is one of the things that I love the most about Brasília. It’s beautiful. This open sky is huge, it makes us 33

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feel closer to the stars, even though we’re in a large city.

But Brasília was planned. Everything here is man-made, including the Paranoá Lake, which surrounds the Plano Piloto. I don’t think you guys knew that, did you?”

“We didn’t! Incredible, Cauê! Everything planned…” said Yoshi.

“It’s really strange, a completely planned city!”

“Yes Gunnar! A planned city. And there are so many legends* about how Brasília was built and about why this place was chosen for the capital. But that’s a long story. We need to find someone here to tell us, because I don’t know the whole story. With a little luck, we’ll find someone. Let’s see!” said Cauê.

“Another amazing thing about this place is the architecture. The buildings are bold and really different,” said Hugo. “Most of them were designed by Oscar Niemeyer; he was a famous Brazilian architect.”

“That’s enough talking, let’s go see! The TV Tower is waiting for us!” said Nanda.

“Yes ma’am!” said Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar at exactly the same time, picking on Nanda.

On the way to the TV Tower, Cauê continued to talk about Brasilia. He told them that the planners built it so that it would always stay the same shape. And, because a legend a very old story

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it was planned, there were height limits for its buildings; housing blocks can’t have more than six floors. That’s why everyone who lives there has a wonderful view of the skyline. He also said that, from the top of the tower, it was possible to see that the earth really is round.

When they arrived at the top of the tower, they were amazed. It was all true: they could see for miles and miles around.

“I’ll explain so you can understand the geography of the city a little better. Look down there: what shape can you see?” asked Cauê.

“Hum. Well, it looks like a plane, Cauê,” said Yoshi.

“You got it, Yoshi!”

“Wow! How did you see that so fast?” said Niara.

“He’s very clever, Niara… it’s a Japanese thing!”

Yoshi smiled.

“But he’s right. Brasília was built in the shape of a plane. The body of the plane is called the Monumental Axis, because that’s where you find the monuments to the power of the Federal District and of Brazil. Across the body of the plane we have two wings. There, can you see?” asked Cauê.

Everyone nodded*.

“Well, that’s where most people live. Businesses, to nod to move your head up and down to show you agree

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schools and hospitals are all there, too. Look over there.”

“Wow! It’s incredible, Cauê!” said Gunnar, amazed.

“Yes Gunnar, but there’s something Cauê hasn’t told you,” said Hugo. “Here in Brasília it’s easy to find where you are, because there are two wings: the South Wing and the North Wing. The South Wing points south, and so, if you face the North Wing you’ll be facing north.”

Hugo paused for a moment.

“OK, now, in the lower part of the plane, just there,” he pointed, “we have the L2. That’s a road that runs across both North and South Wings. The L stands for Leste, or east in Portuguese. On the upper side, west, we have another road, W3, which also runs across the plane from north to south. Can you see it?”

Again the friends nodded.

Nanda also had something to add.

“And in the body of the plane, where the Monumental Axis is, you find the federal government buildings on the west – that’s the upper side. So that’s where the Government Palace is, along with the Palace of Justice and the State Departments. In the lower part of this axis you find the National Powers: the Ministries, the Palácio do Planalto, the Headquarters of the Brazilian Government, the Justice Palace, the 37

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Itamaraty Palace and the National Congress.”

“Wow! So many things, Nanda!”

“Yes, Yoshi, many things. It’s very difficult to take in everything. But that’s enough about politics; let’s take this opportunity to understand the fantastic geography of the city. We’re going to visit all these places so you can see them, take pictures and film them. We’re also going to see the cathedral, which is beautiful!”

“Ah, Nanda! You haven’t told Gunnar what we’re going to do tonight!” said Hugo.

“No, I haven’t. It’s a surprise!”

“Ah! That’s not cool, Nanda, tell me, please!” said Gunnar.

“I want to know too, Nanda, tell us! Come on!” shouted Niara.

“No! It will be a surprise for the three of you! But before we go back down, I wanted to let you know something else, just so that you understand where we are at the moment. A little above where the Monumental Axis and the South and North Wings meet, is where the TV Tower is and that’s where we are now. It’s great to be here so we can tell you these stories and you can see the shape of the plane, the shape of Brasília perfectly.”

“It’s so nice of you!” said Niara, giving Nanda a hug.

That afternoon, they took pictures in several parts of 38

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the city. They were just as impressed with the geography of the city when they were on the ground. It wasn’t like São Paulo at all: it was very easy to get around, even by car. They thought the way the city was divided in areas and blocks was very interesting. But the three friends were excited all afternoon, wondering what Nanda’s surprise was going to be; they all really wanted to know, but no one asked again. When they got back to the hotel, they showered quickly, had something to eat and hurried out to find out what their surprise was.

They traveled through the city in the van, until they got to the Paranoá Lake area.

“There you go, my dear friends,” said Hugo, happily. “Here we are. Get ready for a typical night in Brasília at a show outdoors. We’re at the South Lake.

Do you see that big screen and that stage? That’s where we’re going. Today, Gunnar, three completely different Brazilian bands are going to play. You will get to know a few Brazilian rhythms. It’s going to be a really interesting mix: from rock to sertanejo universitário.”

“Wow! I can’t believe it! I thought we would just visit touristy places,” said Gunnar.

“Not at all, my friend, you need to see the real Brazil!

Just wait until you see Rio de Janeiro!”

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After-reading Activities

Speaking 1 Work with a partner and discuss the following issues explaining if you agree or disagree with the statements.

1 BrasĂ­lia is an important place to visit if you ever go to Brazil.

2 It is very boring to live in a city that was built according to a strict plan.

3 Cities where there are no tall buildings are more friendly than those where you do not find much space to look at the sky.

4 Streets should always have names, not numbers or letters.

Listening 5

2 Dictation. Listen to the extract from Chapter 3. Try to write a complete audioscript! Now compare your script with the text. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

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Pre-reading Activities

Reading & Writing 3 Complete the sentences below using your logic.

1 Pantanal, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, is a very hot place. When you travel to hot places you must take water with you. ..................

2 When you visit a World Natural Heritage Site like Pantanal, you must never ......................................................... .

3 Our three friends and their hosts visited a bay in the shape of a heart. Niara was inspired by the bay and ......................................................... .

4 In that area of the country there are several eco-friendly hostels where you must ......................................................... .

5 Storytellers always have nice and interesting ......................................................... .

Writing 4 People who live in wild places such as forests and wetlands always have myths and legends to tell. Make up a short story that could very well have been imagined by someone living near a lake in a big forest. ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................

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Chapter 4

Pantanal and its Charms, Stories and Legends 7

Music still ringing in their ears, the SpokTV team left Brasília and headed to Pantanal in the state of Mato Grosso. They arrived at Cuiabá Airport and from there they went to Pantanal by car. Nanda was keen to explain.

“Get ready, guys, what you are about to see now is different from everything that we have seen until now.

We’re on our way to Chacororé Bay, in Barão Melgaço, around 121 km from where we are now. Like everything else in Brazil, Pantanal is real big. We picked this bay because it’s the largest. It’s 64 km long by 16 km wide.

We also think it’s the most beautiful bay.”

“Sounds great, Nanda,” said Niara. “But there’s something I don’t understand. Here in Cuiabá it’s so hot today, but it’s winter in Brazil. What’s going on?”

“Ah, Niara! Here in Brazil everything is very different from the weather you’re used to. It’s hot almost all year round in Cuiabá. And I mean hot! After all, we’re right in the middle of South America. Also, if we were to go to the northeast, you would find very high temperatures, even in the winter.” Nanda paused for a moment. “It’s a shame we can’t visit that region this time; you’d love

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some of the cities in the northeast. From what I know of you all, Yoshi would love to see the island of the Red Sand. It’s incredible: a sandbank* over 2 km long that you can see at low tide. It’s in the county of Cabedelo, in the state of Paraíba. It is the same thing with the coral reefs* at Picãozinho, in Tambaú. Yes… I think you’ll have to come back.”

“Wow, Nanda, I would love to see those places,” said Yoshi. “But I also saw a few pictures of a place that I showed to Gunnar and Niara that I thought looked awesome: Jericoacoara. It’s in Ceará, right?”

“That’s right, Yoshi! We recorded a show there a few months ago. It’s a very beautiful place! It has the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen,” said Nanda.

Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar were more and more impressed with just how many different things there were in Brazil. They carried on with the trip, talking about other places they would not have time to see, at least on this visit to Brazil. That’s when Cauê started to explain a few things about Pantanal.

“Everyone thinks Pantanal’s a swamp*, but it isn’t. It’s actually a large area of wetlands. It’s one of the richest wetland areas in the world. It’s also the largest continuously a sandbank a small hill of sand in the sea a coral reef a beautiful hard natural structure in the sea a swamp an area of land which is always covered with water

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flooded area on the planet. It covers around seven per cent of the total area of Mato Grosso. We’re really proud of it and, in the year 2000, UNESCO made Pantanal a World Natural Heritage Site. It’s so amazing, there’s a fantastic variety of wildlife in this region: there are around 260 types of fish, 650 birds, 100 warm-blooded animals, 50 reptiles and 1,100 butterflies. Can you imagine?”

“I’m going to tell you something: I think I want to live in Brazil!” said Gunnar and everyone burst out laughing.

“And you haven’t seen much yet! Imagine what you’ll feel like after you’ve seen everything we’re going to visit! Then you’re really going to want to stay here,” said Cauê.

They soon arrived at the eco-friendly hostel, the simple hotel where they were going to stay while they were in Pantanal. The three friends didn’t rest up for a minute. They really wanted to see the Chacororé Bay, as they knew it was a mysterious place full of legends and stories. But what Niara found the most interesting was that Chacororé was heart-shaped. She was sure that a bay in the shape of a heart would have lots of stories and legends to share. She wanted to hear them all!

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The days they spent in Pantanal were days of pure emotion and wonder. They explored the trails around the hostel, horseback riding through the thick forest over little streams and flooded fields. They traveled around in a Jeep at night, so they could watch the behavior of night-time animals. They went on boat trips, so they could see the local flora and fauna, and they took canoes through the flooded fields.

Yoshi loved the photographic safari that they did on the Mutum River, an unusually beautiful river. Gunnar really liked the walk they did one day, when they left the hostel early in the morning to see the sunrise and watch the wildlife in Pantanal waking up. Niara really enjoyed getting to know Mr. Generoso, the best storyteller in the region.

They went on a horseback ride with Mr. Generoso, because he wanted to show them a special place in Chacororé. They rode for a while, and went across a river, when Mr. Generoso pointed out the place he wanted them to stop. They got off the horses and sat down underneath an extremely beautiful tree, very close to the river. That’s when Mr. Generoso started to tell a story.

“The Chacororé Bay has another old name, the Xarayes Sea. The name Chacororé comes from the local Bororo name A-KO-RORÉ. It means a place where 45

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people can hunt and fish for food. Usually the bay is calm.

But sometimes Chacororé gets mad and she shows it with waves. ‘She’ because we call her the Lady of the Waters.

This world is full of sea life and local people think the water has magic powers. When a fisherman, or a swimmer, makes a lot of noise, the waters get upset and they make big, big waves. If you shout, you can make magical beings come out of the lake. The legend says that when there’s some sort of noise, the waters of the bay change color, too. They become darker when the big waves form.”

“Wow, Mr. Generoso, can we make that happen? If we make a lot of noise now, will the waves get bigger?” asked Niara.

“Well, it usually happens later in the day, early in the evening, but as I said, Chacororé is magical – here anything is possible.”

Suddenly, they heard a noise coming from the trees.

At the exact same moment, Niara felt something cold on her back and shouted. Of course, she was sure that it was the waters of the bay, upset by the noise. She could almost see magical beings...

Nanda, Hugo, Cauê and Yoshi jumped up, trying to understand what was going on. Then they realized

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that Gunnar wasn’t there. Only Mr. Generoso had seen Gunnar climb the tree. From up there he had thrown some water onto Niara, to play a trick on her. She’d been so excited about the story. When they realized what had happened, they all burst out laughing, but, just like any good storyteller, Mr. Generoso had a warning for them.

“Gunnar, you shouldn’t joke about these legends.

There are things you don’t understand here. The waters of Chacororé have a very long memory and they’ll remember what you did just now. Be careful or the waters will get you...”

Gunnar was silent and a little scared. He remembered that their last night there would be a Pantanal music show, right on the banks of the river. But Mr. Generoso was a very smart man. He changed the subject and talked about the terrible dry weather at the bay a few years ago; then there had been no rain for months and very little water. But the bay had recovered and it was beautiful once again.

On the last night in Pantanal, the people at the hostel organized their music night with local guitar players. The rhythm really spoke to Gunnar: it was

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incredible. The guitar players played beautiful songs, which he had never heard before. They sang about love and the past. The light from the fire was magical, and everyone was sitting around it. Nanda put her head on Cauê’s shoulder and Niara put hers on Yoshi’s. It was quite romantic. When Gunnar saw the scene, he stopped listening to the music.

“Hey, Yoshi!” he said. “Take some pictures of the circle of guitar players: you haven’t taken any pictures at all tonight!”

“Ah, Gunnar, don’t bug me! Hugo can do it, I’m feeling lazy.”

“I’m not asking Hugo! After all we came here to record these moments, didn’t we?” said Gunnar.

Yoshi eventually got up, and luckily he was able to capture Gunnar’s scared expression the moment a sudden wind picked up his guitar and blew it far away.

That’s when one of the guitar players said, “Hey, little boy! When the wind takes your guitar like that, it’s because, for some reason, you woke up the enchanted serpent* that lives in the Chacororé Bay! Now you are linked to this place forever! You can go back home, but this place will always be in your heart!” an enchanted serpent a magical snake

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After-reading Activities

Reading 1 Answer the following questions with as much detail as possible.

1 Why did the organizer choose ChacororĂŠ Bay for their visit to Pantanal?

Because it is the largest bay and the most beautiful bay. ...............................................................................................................

2 What does Nanda mean when she says that in Brazil everything is different from what Niara is used to in terms of weather? ...............................................................................................................

3 Why do you think Gunnar wants to live in Brazil? ...............................................................................................................

4 What kind of means of transportation did our friends use while in Mato Grosso? ...............................................................................................................

5 How would you describe the last evening the group spent at the hostel? ...............................................................................................................

Grammar 2 Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. More then one answer is sometimes possible. at the airport right .................. sunset.

1 The plane arrived ........

2 The expedition went .................. the hotel .................. the forest .................. a Jeep.

3 They were .................. their way .................. the lagoon when the horse felt sick and did not want to continue the journey.

4 Pantanal is one .................. the richest ecosystems .................. the entire world.

5 Those were days .................. pure emotion and adventure.

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Pre-reading Activities

Writing 3 Imagine you are about to visit the Amazon Rainforest.

Close your eyes and try to imagine the sounds of an immense forest. What do you see, hear and imagine?

Write a few sentences about your deepest feelings at this very moment. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

Listening 8

4 Listen to the first part of Chapter 5. Are the statements True (T) or False (F)?

T 1 The visit to the rainforest was a special ✓ moment.

■ 2 The friends had all visited the rainforest before. ■ 3 They traveled for fifty kilometers.

■ 4 The hotel was not an important place.

■ 5 People can stay at the hotel in winter and in summer.

■ 6 The group was impressed by the White River. ■ 7 The river wasn’t very wide.

■

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F

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Chapter 5

The Amazon Rainforest: Secrets and Mysteries 8

It was a very special moment when the three friends arrived at the wild, beautiful Amazon Rainforest. The three had never seen anything like it. They traveled for about fifty kilometers on a boat to their hotel, in the middle of the forest. The hotel was an important place; carefully planned so that tourism was sustainable*. It was incredible and had been specially-built so that people could stay all year round, both in the floods and in the dry season. The size of the Black River really impressed the group. At several points it was like sailing on the ocean, as they couldn’t see either bank of the river.

9

“Wow, I feel like I’m in the heart of the forest!” said Gunnar. “And listen, what can you hear? Listen to it!

That’s the music of nature! Close your eyes, Niara, now feel it! Can you feel that sound in your heart?”

Niara closed her eyes, and she felt it. She felt the birds singing, leaves falling, the water running, and there were other sounds she didn’t know. Yoshi was totally silent.

He was enjoying the moment in his heart. He didn’t even know what to photograph, because he had never seen so much natural beauty in his life. Hugo filmed sustainable not causing damage to the environment

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everything, and everything the three did was recorded, while Cauê did the talkover on Expedition Brazil. Nanda had organized everything.

The Amazon Rainforest left a deep impression on the hearts of Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar. The next day, they were able to see the homes of the Amerindians who live in the region – a wonderful experience*. Mrs. Gereninha, a wise storyteller from the forest, had a warning for Niara.

“Look, you’re a beautiful young girl and you need to understand something about this place. You must watch out for the river dolphins. What I’m about to tell you usually happens at night during the festivals in June, but it also happens during the festivals in July. On these nights, the river dolphins come out of the water and turn into handsome young men, I mean really handsome! They wear white suits and hats, so girls can’t see their heads. River dolphins are smart and they know they have to leave before the sun comes up. If a young man in a white suit asks you to dance, you must run away from him: dolphins are really good talkers, you know. Many young girls have disappeared; the dolphins take them to the bottom of the river and they are never seen again. So, be careful, my lovely young friend.

Keep away from the river dolphins at night time!” an experience an event you live through

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Swimming close to the river dolphins was the most amazing experience that the three friends had had up to that moment. The dolphins were sweet and beautiful, with deep, dark eyes. The strangest thing was that Niara was the first to touch the river dolphins and the first to be able to swim next to them. Nanda and CauĂŞ watched the three young people and thought about what the friends must be feeling, living so many deep emotions so far from their homes and their families. Hugo filmed everything; he was happy to do it and happy to be part of the group.

A day that would mark the lives of each one of them was the day they visited an Amerindian village. They met the Katawaka people and found out that they earned their living by fishing. They had thought that there was only one group of indigenous* people and that they were called Amerindians. They were a little embarrassed when they discovered that there were many, many different groups and surprised that they had known so little about the indigenous people of Brazil.

Gunnar was in love with the music and the rhythms of the Katawaka and enchanted by the sounds of the forest. Yoshi was really impressed when he learned how indigenous the very first people or plants to live in a place are indigenous

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the Katawaka people educated their children. He and Niara were interested that Katawaka children received the things that they would use in their jobs and at home when adults from their fathers, because fathers taught their children how to use them. That way, the children learned to respect people, animals and nature. Fathers often take children fishing, just so that they can watch. Later the children play at fishing: that’s how they learn to be fishermen. The children also learn by listening to stories told by older people.

Katawaka children play a lot and live their childhood to the fullest. Childhood is very important to the Katawaka people. But the three friends were amazed at the way the Katawaka see fear. They don’t see it as something bad: they see it as natural and as a way of getting over difficulties. Fear exists in life and children learn to face life through children’s play and games.

The next day, the three friends flew over the rainforest.

To see the rainforest from above is a rare opportunity – it was heart-breakingly beautiful. Yoshi didn’t know if he should film what he could see, or take pictures or just look down at the rainforest that filled his heart with happiness. He did a little bit of everything. When they returned to Manaus, his eyes filled with tears. He 56

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tried to hide them because, after all, he was shy and quiet and perhaps not used to showing his feelings.

From Manaus, they went on another unforgettable ride to find out everything they could about the Pororoca.

“Can we really surf the Pororoca, Nanda?” asked Gunnar.

“Sure you can, Gunnar! It’s great! I think you guys are going to love it, but I could only get one board. I’m afraid you’re going to have to take turns, if you want to surf.”

There was silence on the boat. The boys didn’t want to say anything, but they didn’t know how to surf. Everyone in the team smiled; they knew the boys couldn’t surf and they knew neither of them wanted to say. Niara was lost in her own world – the world of words – writing down everything she saw on the boat ride. She didn’t seem to have heard Gunnar’s question or Nanda’s answer.

Cauê explained all about the Pororoca. He told them that they can only see it in the Amazon and that it happens when the waters of the Amazon River meet the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He also told them that he thought it was one of the most beautiful natural events. He explained that Pororoca came from the Tupi word ‘poro’roka’, meaning ‘big boom’.

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“Cauê forgot to explain that the Pororoca happens when the sea level is high and the water comes into the river mouth,” said Nanda. “When the waters meet, it causes really large waves to form. You know, they can be up to ten meters high and five or six wide. Waves can travel at speeds of thirty, thirty-five kilometers. It’s totally crazy!”

“But listen, when we get closer, keep your eyes and ears open – our guide’s probably going to repeat this again, but since I’ve been here before, I know what’s going to happen. In the moments before it happens, all noise, all sounds stop. The rainforest goes absolutely silent. That’s the sign that you’d better look for a safe place, so that your boat isn’t damaged by the strong waves. Or it’s a sign for you to get onto your surf board, ready for a really great wave. These days, the Pororoca is a real tourist attraction and there’s a really neat surfing championship where the winner is the one who stays on the wave the longest.”

It was impossible to describe everything that happened on that trip. The three young friends had never seen anything like it, or even dreamed that anything as amazing as the Pororoca existed.

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After-reading Activities

Reading 1 Put the events below in the order they appear in the story. a

1 The group went 50 km on a boat to their hotel, in ■

b

■

c

■

d e

■ ■

the middle of the forest.

A unique experience for them was to see the homes of the Amerindians that live in the region.

Niara, Katsuo and Gunnar felt ashamed of knowing so little about the people who live in the Amazon region.

Yoshi cried when they flew back to Manaus.

Niara was the first to touch the dolphins in the river.

Speaking 2 Think of a very important experience you have had in your life. How would it compare with what Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar are living in Brazil? Make notes below. Share your thoughts with a partner. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

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Pre-reading Activities

Grammar 3a Before you read Chapter 6, complete the questions with a word from the box. climb

cry

see

see

stay

swim

see a famous statue?

1 Will they ...............

2 Will the three friends .................... in the ocean?

3 Will they .................... another beautiful sunset?

4 Will they .................... a mountain?

5 Will Yoshi .................... at the end?

6 Will the friends .................... in Brazil?

3b What do you think will happen? Answer the questions in 3a. Read Chapter 6 and check your answers.

Vocabulary 4 Which of the following words would you NOT expect to find in Chapter 6 Rio de Janeiro is Beautiful! ? Now read the text and check your answers.

POLLUTION – FOREST – TIDE – BEACH – WATERFALL – BRIDGE – SUGARLOAF – SUNSET – HILL – COCONUT – CABLE CAR – TRAIL – LIBRARY – STADIUM

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Chapter 6

Rio de Janeiro is Beautiful!

10

The Expedition Brazil team finally landed in Rio de Janeiro where the three friends were going to experience their last adventures in this wonderful country. On the flight to Rio, Yoshi was heartbroken. He couldn’t believe that they would have to leave after Rio. There were other amazing things to see in Brazil: the Gaucho Mountains, the Iguazu Waterfalls and so on. He was even more upset when Cauê spoke about the Route of Happiness in Rio Grande do Sul. He thought he would give anything to visit those places.

Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar were amazed when they passed through Flamengo, Marina da Glória, and when they saw Sugarloaf, which they planned to visit the next day. They were excited when they looked across and saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer in the distance.

There were so many beautiful things everywhere.

They took everything to their wonderful hotel on Copacabana Beach, and rested up for a few minutes.

Then they all went for their first swim in the ocean. The day was beautiful and the sea was calm, but very cold.

To warm themselves up, the three had fun running

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in the sand, diving and sunbathing. After lunch, they went on a bike ride through Copacabana, visiting Leme, Ipanema, and Leblon. They went by the Garden of Allah to reach the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The afternoon would end with the sunset in Arpoador.

“Guys, I can’t believe that we’re in Rio!” said Yoshi.

“This place is very beautiful!”

“Yes, Yoshi. And you know, even though I’m from São Paulo, I must say that Rio de Janeiro is really beautiful, the most beautiful city I know,” said Nanda, smiling.

“Isn’t there a song that goes ‘Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful’?” asked Niara. “The bike ride along the beach was awesome, Nanda. It was so beautiful! And it’s funny, we went through Copacabana, we got to Ipanema and everything changed. What’s that huge hill at the end of the beach?”

“It’s Two Brothers’ Hill. That view of the beach is a postcard of Rio. And before you ask if we have time to surf, we do. One of the days here we’ll take you to Prainha and Grumari. There you can surf. But we will also have a day to practice Stand Up Paddle*, so everyone can try standing on a surf board!” said Nanda.

Thinking of the Amazon, Niara and Nanda burst a paddle a piece of wood you can use to move some types of boat

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out laughing, but the boys didn’t think the joke was at all funny.

The three friends felt incredible as they left the Garden of Allah on their bikes and cycled to the lagoon.

Right there, in the middle of town was a huge lake and it was beautiful. There was another amazing thing: they could see the statue of Christ the Redeemer again from there. They stopped to drink some coconut water and they watched some people doing water sports and others having fun in paddle boats. Of course, Niara wanted to go on a paddle boat, and Gunnar followed her.

On the way back, they stopped to watch the sunset in Arpoador. Everyone went for a swim before going up to the stones. Everything looked even more beautiful from there. When the sun went down and people stood enjoying its beauty, Yoshi couldn’t hold back his tears. And, of course, that day, dinner was in a restaurant by the beach.

When they arrived at Praia Vermelha to go up to Sugarloaf in a cable car, Nanda received a call on her cell.

She smiled, thanked the person and then smiled at Cauê and Hugo. Before they went up the mountain, they saw the Claudio Coutinho Track, on Praia Vermelha. There 64

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they saw several tamarins. The little monkeys were so cute! The friends learned that there were trails* all the way up Sugarloaf. Gunnar liked the idea of going up a trail, but Cauê said he needed to experience going up in the cable car first. Then he promised that they could go up the Pedra da Gávea Trail another day.

They took the cable car from Praia Vermelha to Urca Hill and then from Urca Hill to Sugarloaf. Gunnar was so excited. The three were open-mouthed when they arrived at the last stop of the cable car. Up there they had a 360° view of the incredible beaches of Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema, Flamengo and Leblon. Cauê pointed out Pedra da Gávea, Corcovado with the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Guanabara Bay with Botafogo Inlet. Hugo also showed them the downtown area, Santos Dumont Airport, Governor’s Island and the Rio-Niterói Bridge.

That afternoon, they went to visit an amazing social project in the community of Pavão-Pavãozinho, in Copacabana. That was the trip Nanda had arranged on her cell while they were in the cable car. Niara was very interested in the project’s work and she really enjoyed reading stories to the children at the library. Yoshi took lots of pictures of every minute of the visit and recorded Niara a trail a mountain path

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reading to the children. Gunnar loved the capoeira class.

He loved the rhythm and nodded his head as he watched this unusual mix of martial art and dance. He even tried to learn to play a berimbau, one of the local instruments.

The friends hadn’t expected to be able to get to know the community from inside. They visited the homes of some of the teenagers in the community, from where the view of Copacabana beach was really unexpected.

Hugo’s aunt had invited some friends to a samba circle on the hill and the three friends were really happy to find out more about samba and how it too came from Africa. And once again, Gunnar was surprised at the Brazilian rhythms. “Rio is all this, a mix of rhythms and people, there’s city, forest, lake, everything together. No wonder people call it the Wonderful City,” said Nanda.

The next few days, Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar explored the Tijuca National Park, part of the Atlantic Forest and the Biosphere Reserve of Rio de Janeiro. They learned that the park is divided into four parts: the Tijuca Forest, Carioca Mountain, Pedra Bonita with Pedra da Gávea and Freed Blacks/Covanca. They were amazed to find out that it is about 3.5% of the county,

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but were really impressed that such a large green area exists in the middle of a city, especially a city with a population of several million! The three friends hiked along the Pedra da Gávea trail and when they arrived at the top, tired but happy, they stood for a long time, looking at the view.

They did so many things in Rio: they walked through the Paineras, the Mesa do Imperador and the Vista Chinesa, had a swim at the Horto waterfalls and visited the Botanical Gardens and the lovely Park Lage. They were sad that they couldn’t go into the Maracanã, because of building work.

They just saw it from the outside, but that was enough to get an idea of what the famous stadium looked like.

The day they went out to surf, first they went to Joatinga Beach, but they couldn’t get to the beach because the sea was in, and there was no way to get to the stones.

They enjoyed the day looking at the stones and from there went to Prainha and Grumari, such beautiful beaches!

Another really memorable day was when they went up the Corcovado by train. They were so excited when they saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer up close. Then they looked down and saw the whole city spread out before them. It was really an incredible

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sight. The three friends just hugged each other.

The three friends spent their final days in Brazil editing the material for their documentary. Of course, the SpokTV team were the professionals: they planned to finish everything and put Gunnar, Yoshi and Niara’s material together with Cauê and Hugo’s material.

They had enough for a whole week, which would be divided into episodes. Of course, everyone, absolutely everyone, cried a lot as they watched the videos and looked at the photos. Their trip to Brazil had left such a deep impression.

Nanda had planned to take the friends to two more events. An amazing band was playing on Copacabana beach. Feeling the beat and the hot rhythm of the songs, which Niara wrote about, and watching the crowd singing and diving into the sea at night, were incredible experiences. Yoshi managed to get some really good film of that night, including some photos of Niara. He kept those pictures to himself.

The goodbye celebration was fantastic; a luau beach party at Leme, with guitars, typical Brazilian foods and lots of crying and hugging. Nanda spoke for everyone.

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“Well, my dear friends, you’ll be missed, but not for long. We have some things to say to you all.”

“Way to go!” said Cauê.

“First, we want to tell you that we’d like to do Expedition Brazil part two, so that you can go places that we couldn’t see this time. We didn’t go to Minas Gerais to see historical cities like Ouro Preto, Diamantina, Pico da Bandeira.”

“Wow!” said the three friends together.

“Anyway,” continued Nanda, “hopefully we can continue with this experience. And the second thing is that we have a few small challenges* for each one of you.

Now Niara, your challenge is to write a travelogue about everything you experienced here, and we want to read some of your poetry in there. What do you think?”

Niara didn’t know what to say, but after a few minutes’ silence she agreed, of course!

“Gunnar, your challenge is to go back to your country and write some songs using the great mix of rhythms and sounds that you’ve found here in Brazil, do you agree?”

“But of course I agree!”

“Yoshi, for you, we don’t have a challenge, we have an invitation. We’re going to start recording in the a challenge a mini-competition

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south of the country and we need another camera to work with Hugo. The board of SpokTV allowed us to invite you to go with us. So, hope you don’t mind, but we called your parents and asked for their permission.

They said yes! We’ve arranged everything so that you can stay here with us for four months, but it’s your choice. What do you think? Do you want to stay?”

Yoshi didn’t know what to say. He was embarrassed: he knew he was going to cry and, yes, he cried! Then he gave Nanda a long hug. Then he hugged Cauê, Hugo, Niara and Gunnar. They were all waiting for his answer. Would he say yes or no? A few silent minutes felt like forever, until Yoshi said, “Fine! When do we leave for the south?”

Everyone laughed and hugged for a long while, but there are no photographs or film of that moment, because this time Hugo was part of the Expedition Brazil group hug.

A day later, Gunnar and Niara left together to go home. This time they were leaving a friend behind. Yoshi stayed in Brazil, but if all goes well, soon they’ll see each other again for Expedition Brazil part two, who knows?

This time they got the group hug photo of all the group. Miriam was at the goodbye party and took this great photo. Just look at it!

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After-reading Activities

Vocabulary 1 List at least 10 adjectives that came to your mind when you read about Rio de Janeiro. Then, write a paragraph and see if the same adjectives can be applied to the place where you live or another city you know.

Writing 2 While waiting for their flights at the airport, Niara, Yoshi and Gunnar decided to send a farewell message to Nanda, CauĂŞ and Miriam. They wanted to show them how thankful they were for having been on such a fantastic expedition.

Help our friends write the message.

Speaking 3 Look at all the pictures in the book and discuss with a partner.

1 Which picture you liked the most and why.

2 What you would have illustrated if you had the chance to draw two more pages and why.

3 What you think of the front cover.

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Focus on...

Peoples and Regions of Brazil Brazil is divided into five regions.

NORTH North includes the states of Tocantins, Acre, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Amapá and Amazonas. The Amazon rainforest is here and many different groups of indigenous peoples live in the area. Food in the area is based on cassava and fish.

There are several festivals like Círio de Nazaré and Parintins Festival, the largest celebration of boi-bumbá, a type of show with lots of dance and music.

Indigenous people Did you know that there are more than 300 indigenous peoples throughout Brazil? Well, 80 of those groups are in Amazonas alone! The Katawaka people, referenced in this book, do not exist, but they were inspired by conversations with members of the Mundurukú and Maraguá peoples.

MIDWEST This region includes the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goiás and also the Federal District. Although it also has a strong indigenous influence; food in the area is influenced by Minas Gerais and São Paulo, and the region is well-known for its chicken, corn and

fish. Cavalhadas are very popular festivals here:

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they feature country music and rodeo.

NORTHEAST It includes the states of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão. This region is famous for its beaches. Bumba meu boi, Maracatu, Frevo and Carnival are some of the famous celebrations and festivals. Strongly influenced by African slaves, popular dishes are based on cassava, corn, fish stews and the insides of animals. It’s the land of capoeira (a type of Brazilian martial art) and of Cordel Literature (popular literature) and home to various religious groups.

SOUTHEAST It includes the states of Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Important cultural events are the Feast of the Divine, Carnival, the Cowboy Festival and the Folia de Reis. Some indigenous peoples, like the Guarani, survived the urbanization and live in protected areas. The local cuisine has strong Portuguese, Italian, and African influences, as we can see in feijoada - a typical dish of the area.

SOUTH South includes the states of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná. This region takes some of its culture from its European migrant communities: Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian, and Asian migrant communities: Japanese and Russian. Some cities celebrate their traditions in festivals such as the Grape Festival and Oktoberfest and in dances like the fandango and pau de fita.

Barbecue is a specialty.

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Focus on...

Music to Suit all Tastes Brazilian music is diverse; there is music to suit all tastes and preferences.

You can find Brazilian popular music, classical music, samba, samba-reggae, national rock, country music or sertaneja, funk, rap, pagode, axé, forró, frevo, traditional music and folk.

Sertanejo The musical styles are known all over Brazil, but some originate in certain regions or cities. For example, sertanejo comes from the Midwest and is usually sung by a duo. Today we have the sertanejo universitário (university country music), from Goiânia, and it is sung by young people, hence the name sertanejo universitário.

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Funk carioca In Brazil, funk is very popular in Rio de Janeiro. Also known as funk carioca, it started in the poorer communities, but the rhythm became very popular with young people, and in Brazil as a whole. Just play funk at party and you’ll find out what happens: the dance floor fills up!

Axé In Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil, axé is the local rhythm, and it mixes frevo from Pernambuco, with Afro-Brazilian rhythms, reggae, merengue, forró, maracatu and other Afro-Latin rhythms.

MPB - Música Popular Brasileira Brazilian popular music has excellent singers and songwriters and some are famous internationally. A few important names are Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Elis Regina, Nara Leão, Rita Lee, Milton Nascimento, Djavan, Marisa Monte, Paulinho da Viola, Cartola, and Pixinguinha. They all have interesting stories and musical journeys.

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos is one of the most important Brazilian and Latin-American composers to date. His many orchestral, chamber, instrumental, choral and opera works successfully combine Brazilian folk music with stylistic elements of European classical music.

His most celebrated work is Brazilian Bachian-pieces, written for various combinations of instruments and voices.

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Test Yourself 1 Mark True (T) or False (F) and correct the false statements.

T ✓ 1 Brazil is divided in five regions.

■ 2 The capital of Brazil is located in the southeastern region of the country.

■ 3 Cordel is a type of literature which is very common in the midwest of Brazil.

■ 4 Brazilian cuisine has never been influenced by other cultures and peoples.

■ 5 Fish is a staple food in most of the country.

■ 6 There are no German or Russian communities ■ in Brazil.

7 There is music to fit all tastes around Brazil.

■ 8 Heitor Villa Lobos is a modern composer.

■ 9 Sertaneja music is usually sung by a group of four singers.

■ 10 MPB stands for Música Popular Bahiana.

■

F

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

2 Think back about Expedition Brazil. Who or what is being described in the sentences below?

1 A young Norwegian man who wants to be a musician.

2 One of the countries belonging to the CPLP – the Community of Countries where the official language is Portuguese – mentioned in the book.

3 A contest promoted by SpokTV. 4 An interactive museum where you can learn a lot about soccer.

5 A city planned to look like an airplane.

6 A sandbank over 2km long which shows up when the tide is low.

7 Creatures that come out of the water and turn into handsome young men.

8 Sport consisting of standing up on a surfboard.

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Syllabus Topics Travel, friendship, emotions, experiences, people Tenses Present Simple: states, habits Past Simple: finished time Past Continuous: actions in progress at a specific time in the past, interrupted actions Present Perfect Simple: indefinite past, unfinished past Past Perfect: narrative Futures: will, present continuous, going to Verb forms Imperatives Passives: present, past simple, present perfect -ing forms: after verbs, prepositions Conditionals: 1st conditional: possible present/future 2nd conditional: hypothetical present/future Reported speech/thought: statements, questions Modals Can, could: ability, permission Must, have to: obligation Should: strong advice Clauses Defining, non-defining clauses, Purpose clauses Simple connectives So + adjective, such (a) + adjective + noun

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Te e n

Readers

Stage 1 Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist Maureen Simpson, In Search of a Missing Friend Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables Geoffrey Chauser, Canterbury Tales Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Stage 2 Maria Luisa Banfi, A Faraway World Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden Mary Flagan, The Egyptian Souvenir Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Liz Ferretti, Diar Diary...

Angela Tomkinson, Loving London Stage 3 Charles Dickens, David Copperfield Anonymous, Robin Hood Mary Flagan, Val’s Diary Maureen Simpson, Destination Karminia Jack London, The Call of the Wild Anna Claudia Ramos, Expedition Brazil