Fluency News 52

Hello, everybody!

Sejam bem-vindos e bem-vindas a mais um episódio da nossa série de podcasts, o Fluency News! Aqui, você vai poder treinar a sua escuta e ficar por dentro do que está acontecendo no mundo, sempre com algumas das principais notícias da semana, tudo em inglês! Ao longo do episódio, nós também adicionamos explicações em português das coisas que achamos que precisam de mais atenção, assim você não perde nenhum detalhe!

No episódio desta semana, teremos um update da situação do Talibã, vamos dar uma olhadinha na premiação Emmy 2021, falaremos de uma história muito triste que aconteceu na Rússia e iremos também falar de algumas notícias sobre animais! Ah, não se esqueça de conferir o nosso Instagram @fluencytvingles para ficar por dentro de todas as novidades aqui da Fluency Academy.

Toda semana, temos um novo episódio do Fluency News, não deixe de escutar!

Este episódio foi escrito por Alessandro Ladelfa.

Episode Transcript

What is up, everyone! Welcome to another episode of Fluency News. I’m Scott Lowe, and I’m very excited to have you with me. Together, we’ll see some of this week’s most relevant news, and, if necessary, have some explanations in Portuguese.

Don’t forget to head over fluencytv.com. There, you’ll find the transcript of this episode, all of our sources, and free lessons in all the languages Fluency Academy teaches – which are 7! So, go to fluencytv.com to get 100% good and free content – such as videos, live streams, ebooks, other podcasts…

But, now, let’s get started with an update from last week:

We’ve been talking lately about the Taliban situation and now Afghan women are outraged by new Taliban restrictions on work. The Taliban’s effective ban on women working sank in on Monday, sparking rage over the dramatic loss of rights after millions of female teachers and girls were barred from secondary school education. The Islamic fundamentalists are tightening their control of women’s freedom one month after seizing power.
“I may as well be dead,” said one woman who was sacked from her senior role at the ministry of foreign affairs. “I was in charge of a whole department and there were many women working with me… now we all lost our jobs,” she said. The mayor of the capital Kabul has said that any municipal jobs currently held by women would be filled by men.
Hundreds of thousands of women have fought for and gained basic rights in the past 20 years, becoming lawmakers, judges, pilots, and police officers. Yet since returning to power on August 15th, the Taliban have shown no inclination to honour these rights. Many Afghan women fear they will never find meaningful employment.

Taliban officials said that women have been told to stay at home for their own security, but that they will be allowed to come back to work soon. “When will that be?,” a female teacher asked on Monday. “This happened last time. They said they would allow us to come back to work, but it never happened” she added. “It is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their education without any further delays,” the UN’s children’s agency UNICEF said.

Well, we’re gonna share with you new information about it as soon as we get it. In the meantime, let’s hope that the future holds a better course of action for those women.

Now I’ve got a question for you: how many of you watched the Emmy? Well, The 73rd Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles on Sunday and most nominees attended in person, although many British nominees appeared from a separate hub in London.

Netflix’s royal drama The Crown and Apple TV comedy Ted Lasso were the big winners at Sunday’s Emmy Awards. The Crown’s prizes included best drama series and four acting wins – for Gillian Anderson, Olivia Colman, Josh O’Connor and Tobias Menzies.”What a lovely end to the most extraordinary journey with this lovely family,” Colman said of her final series playing Queen Elizabeth II. The Crown’s victory in the best drama series category is not the first time a streaming service has won the top prize at the Emmys, but it does mark the first victory for Netflix.

Michaela Coel won outstanding writing for a limited series for her consent drama I May Destroy You. “I dedicate this story to every single survivor of sexual assault,” she said as she collected her award. Coel also used her speech to address aspiring writers, telling them: “Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable, I dare you.” She said staying away from social media could help them create their best work. “Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence,” she added.

The final award of the night, outstanding limited or anthology series, went to Netflix’s chess drama The Queen’s Gambit. In a highly competitive category, it won ahead of I May Destroy You, Mare Of Easttown, The Underground Railroad and WandaVision.

Netflix’s combined total of 44 wins this year, and it towered above its nearest competitor – HBO and its HBO Max streaming service with 19. That makes this year the first time Netflix has won more Emmys than HBO, which has dominated the ceremony for years. Disney+ won 14, while Apple TV won 10.
Na notícia anterior, há o uso do phrasal verb to tower above que é usado quando quisermos falar que alguma coisa ou alguém é mais alto que outra pessoa ou outra coisa. Por exemplo, although she’s only 10, Anna towers above her mother que significa embora ela só tenha 10 anos de idade, a Anna é mais alta que a sua mãe. A notícia traz esse verbo na fraseit (netflix) towered above its nearest competitor – HBO e, aqui, a ideia trazida não é de uma altura física (como no exemplo da Anna), mas é mais relacionada a uma questão de competição: a Netflix está mais alta do que a HBO porque ela ganhou mais prêmios no Emmy.

Switching the topic, now let’s see an unhappy story in Russia. A gunman killed six people and injured 28 others at a university in the Russian city of Perm.

The assailant walked on to the campus on Monday morning and started shooting. Students and teachers barricaded themselves inside the university building, while others were seen screaming and jumping from windows. Authorities said the attacker, a student at the university, was injured and detained by police.

One professor at the university described students leaping out of buildings: “They jumped out in some horror, screaming,” he told the BBC. “One of the students told me that it was a shooting. I heard pops, everyone began to scatter in different directions. I went to my students in the second building and continued to hear the pops”. Other students locked themselves into classrooms in a bid to escape the gunman. “There were about 60 people in the classroom. We closed the door and barricaded it with chairs,” a student, Semyon Karyakin, said.

The gunman reportedly acted alone and said he had no political or religious motives. In a social media post, he also said he was consumed by hatred and intended to do harm to others. “I’ve thought about this for a long time, it’s been years and I realized the time had come to do what I dreamt of,” he said on a social media account attributed to him that was later taken down.
Essa é uma história muito triste! Pelo menos o agressor foi detido pela polícia. Na notícia, não se sabe ao certo qual policial que atingiu e deteve o agressor, por isso que há a passagem the attacker was injured and detained by police. Essa formação que é muito comum nos jornais é chamada de passive voice, voz passiva. Por exemplo, se eu quiser dar foco no autor da ação, eu posso dizer the boy broke the vase (o menino quebrou o vaso) que é a voz ativa. Agora, se eu não quiser mencionar o autor da ação, eu poderia dizer the vase was broken (o vaso foi quebrado) que é a voz passiva. Vemos então que a voz passiva é muito usada quando queremos dar foco no resultado de uma ação e não em quem a fez. Muitas vezes é usada nas notícias porque não sabemos o autor da ação, então o foco é atribuído ao resultado da ação.

Tough story indeed, but right away let’s see some great news: let’s talk about life. Three endangered J-pod orcas are pregnant, say researchers. Durban of SEA, Inc. and Fearnbach with the SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation and Research (SR3) flew a drone, noninvasively, at least 100 feet over the whales and noticed the changes in J36, J37 and J19.

“We need to work together to give these pregnant whales every chance of success,” said Scott Rumsey, deputy regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “The more they can forage undisturbed, the better their odds of contributing to the population”.

“It gives us a sense of hope,” said Josh McInnes, a researcher with the University of British Columbia’s Marine Mammal Research Unit. “This population is trying to survive.” There are currently only 74 of the endangered southern resident killer whales and there’s hope the new pregnancies could increase those numbers, but researchers say it’s cautious optimism.

Dawn Noren, a research fishery biologist, said the situation is particularly concerning because pregnant orcas eat 25 percent more. The last baby boom, she said, was in 2015 and 2016. Six whales were born but only two are still alive. “I’ll be happy when I see that the calves are there because sometimes they’re stillborn,” Noren said “Sometimes they die soon after birth.”.The best way people can help out is to give the expecting mothers their space.

Uma palavra chave nesta notícia é calves. Muito comumente usada, calves, que é o plural da palavra calf, pode significar bezerro, o bebezinho da vaca. Porém, essa palavra também pode ser usada para nos referirmos aos bebezinhos de outros mamíferos, como dos elefantes e das baleias. Como esta notícia fala de orcas, a palavra calves aqui está se referindo aos bebês das orcas, e não aos bezerros.

Still talking about animals, EU lawmakers seek end to science experiments on animals. The European Union should intensify efforts to phase out the use of animals in scientific research, lawmakers have said in a resolution.

The European Parliament on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution calling for an end to scientific research on animals in the EU. And an overwhelming majority of legislators approved the resolution in a move that was praised by animal rights groups.

According to figures released by the European Commission, the 27-member bloc collectively used over 8 million animals in scientific research in 2018. While the numbers are in yearly decline, MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) are calling to speed up the phaseout process. The parliament also said it recognizes the contribution of animal testing to medical advances, including COVID-19 vaccines.

“MEPs understand that there are cases where animal experiments are still needed to gain scientific insights for certain diseases due to the current unavailability of non-animal methods,” the statement said, adding that in these exceptional cases, testing should only take place in conditions that “minimize pain, distress and suffering” inflicted on animals.

Para 100% de compreensão dessa notícia, outro phrasal verb deve ser destacado: to phase out. Esse verbo frasal é usado quando quisermos falar de parar gradualmente de usar um sistema, um produto, etc. Mas cuidado com outro phrasal verb muito parecido: to phase in que literalmente tem um sentido oposto de phase out, ou seja, phase in é usado quando quisermos falar de introduzir gradualmente um sistema, produto, etc. Assim, a notícia acima The European Union should intensify efforts to phase out the use of animals in scientific research usa phase out porque a notícia quer trazer a ideia de parar gradualmente de usar animais em testes científicos.

What about you? What do you think about animals being used in experiments?

Alright, and with that positive and hopeful story, this episode comes to an end. I hope you’ve liked this week’s episode and that you’ve trained your English skills here with me. But remember: when it comes to learning a new language, it’s important that you be in touch with the new language as much as possible. So, don’t hesitate to go to our content portal, fluencytv.com, to have access to free lessons in 7 different languages.

E se você quer evoluir o seu inglês, espanhol, francês, italiano, alemão, japonês ou mandarim, aprendendo com os professores da Fluency TV, inscreva-se na nossa lista de espera. Assim quando a gente abrir uma nova turma você vai ter uma chance ainda melhor de conseguir uma vaga! É só se inscrever clicando no link na descrição desse episódio. É super rápido e assim você não arrisca perder a próxima turma e ficar meses esperando uma nova chance!!

There’s a new episode of Fluency News every week, and we’ll be waiting for you. Peace out.

Stories:

Afghan women outraged by new Taliban restrictions on work
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghan-women-outraged-by-new-taliban-restrictions-on-work/articleshow/86363394.cms
Emmy Awards 2021: The Crown and Ted Lasso sweep major categories
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58620247
Russia shooting: Gunman kills six at Perm University
‍https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58623160
With 3 pregnant J pod orcas, boaters told to keep away
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/with-3-pregnant-j-pod-orcas-boaters-told-to-keep-away/
https://www.cheknews.ca/three-endangered-j-pod-orcas-pregnant-say-researchers-885300/
‍EU lawmakers seek end to science experiments on animals
https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2021/09/16/European-Parliament-adopts-resolution-vote-for-European-Commission-action-to-end-EU-animal-testing
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-lawmakers-seek-end-to-science-experiments-on-animals/a-59199058