Hoje você vai trabalhar com um texto. Para começar você fará algumas atividades para aquecer seu cérebro e direcionar você ao conteúdo do texto.
01. A promise that something will be done or will happen
02. A returned sum of money
03. Able to be obtained, used, or reached
04. Causing emotional or physical pain
05. Changed in some way
06. Changing the structure of the genes of a living thing in order to make it healthier or stronger
07. Choice, range or variety of something
08. Device with a screen on which words or pictures can be shown
09. Earliest form of something
10. Easy to recognize because experienced previously
11. Formed into a curving shape
12. Increases (someone's) attractiveness
13. Medical operation to improve a person's appearance
14. Popular at a particular time
15. Prevented movement through (something)
16. Repaired and returned to a good state
17. Ridiculous or unreasonable
18. The state of not having a job
19. Treated to produce useful materials which can be used again
20. Unluckily
Reflita sobre as seguintes questões:* What's your opinion about plastic surgery?
* Would you like to change anything in your body? What is it? Why?
* Do you think it's dangerous to have a plastic surgery? Why?
Mr Smith's New Nose
by Chris Rose (British Council)
"Well, Mr. Smith, if you prefer a different type of nose, we have a large selection available."
"I think this nose is a bit too small."
"Small noses are very fashionable this year, Mr. Smith, very fashionable."
"Do you think it suits me?" asked Mr. Smith.
"I think it looks very nice," said the shop assistant.
"OK, I’ll take it!"
On the airbus home, Mr. Smith called his wife on his wristphone.
"Hello dear! Do you like my new nose?"
Mrs. Smith looked at her husband’s new nose on the videophone monitor on the wall in the kitchen. "I think it’s a bit too small, dear," she said.
"Small noses are very fashionable this year," replied Mr. Smith, "very fashionable."
"It’s all so easy now," thought Mr. Smith. "A hundred years ago, it was impossible to change your body. Or almost impossible – there was the old-fashioned ‘plastic surgery’, but it was expensive, painful and dangerous. Ugh! Now, thanks to our 22nd century genetic engineering, we can change our bodies when we want!" He looked at his new small nose in the mirror, and thought about how fashionable he was. He was very happy with his new nose. The only problem now, he thought, was that he needed some new hair to go with his new nose.
He looked on the Internet for some new hair, but the Internet was so slow. Eventually he decided to go to Bodyco in person.
"Good morning, Mr. Smith," said the Bodyco shop assistant. "How can I help you today?"
Mr. Smith remembered the robot shop assistant in the Bodyco shop a few years ago. The robot was friendlier and more efficient, but too many robots made too much unemployment, and the robot was replaced by a human.
"I’d like some new hair, please."
"Certainly, Mr. Smith. What type of hair would you like? Short, blond hair goes well with a small nose. How about short, blond hair?"
Mr. Smith looked at his hair. It was old and grey. Yes, he thought, short and blond. When he was young he had short, blond hair. He wanted to look young again. "Yes, I’ll have short blond hair please. Could it be a bit curly as well?"
"Curly?" asked the shop assistant.
"Yes, you know, curly – not straight!"
"Yes, Mr. Smith, I know what ‘curly’ means, but curly hair isn’t very fashionable this year."
"Isn’t it?"
"No, it isn’t."
"But I like curly hair!"
"Very well, Mr. Smith – short, blond, curly hair. Would you like anything else? We have a special offer on ears this week."
"Ears?"
"Yes, Mr. Smith, the things you hear with."
"I know what ears are! What type of ears are on offer?" Mr. Smith went out of the shop with new short, blond, curly hair, and two new ears.
After this, his interest in his new body started to grow. In the next few weeks he bought new eyes (green, unusual but fashionable), new hands, new arms, new knees and new feet. Mrs. Smith was happy because Mr. Smith’s new feet didn’t smell as bad as his old feet. His body was now completely different. "Am I the same man I was a few weeks ago?" thought Mr. Smith. "I have a new nose, new hair, new ears, new eyes, hands, arms, knees and feet. But I have the same brain - so I think I’m the same man." He thought he was the same man, but he wasn’t sure.
One morning, he woke up and his new nose didn’t work.
"What’s the matter?" asked Mrs. Smith "My new nose doesn’t work – it’s blocked."
"Maybe you’ve got a cold," suggested Mrs. Smith.
"Maybe you’ve got a cold," suggested Mrs. Smith.
"That’s impossible! This is a genetically engineered Bodyco nose! It doesn’t get colds!"
But it was true – the new nose did not work. It was blocked and Mr. Smith couldn’t smell anything. He went back to the Bodyco shop.
"Good morning, Mr. Smith," said the assistant. "What would you like today?"
"I want a new nose," said Mr. Smith.
"You already want a new nose!" said the surprised shop assistant. "But you’ve only had this one for a month! Don’t worry, small noses are still fashionable!"
"No, you don’t understand," said Mr. Smith. "I want a new nose because this one doesn’t work!"
"That’s impossible," said the shop assistant. "You have a genetically engineered Bodyco nose. It can’t go wrong!"
"But it has gone wrong," replied Mr. Smith. "It’s blocked and I can’t smell anything".
"What have you used your nose to do, Mr. Smith?" asked the shop assistant.
"What have I done with my nose? That’s a stupid question! I haven’t done anything unusual with my nose. I’ve used it to breathe and to smell, as usual!"
"If you have not used your nose correctly, Mr. Smith, it is possible that it will not work correctly."
"That’s absurd!" shouted Mr. Smith. "I want my money back! I want a refund!"
"I’m afraid that we do not give refunds, Mr. Smith. There was no guarantee with this nose."
Mr. Smith was so angry that he didn’t know what to say. He walked out of the shop, and didn’t say anything. But now he had a big problem: a useless nose. Fashionable, yes. Useful, no.
Unfortunately, his problem started to grow. The next morning he woke up and found he couldn’t hear anything. Then his new blond hair went grey. Then his new knees didn’t move. Then he couldn’t see a thing with his unusual green eyes. His fingers fell off, one by one. Eventually, Mrs. Smith put him in their aircar and flew to the Bodyco shop. She carried her husband into the shop, because now he couldn’t walk.
"Good morning Mr. Smith," said the shop assistant. "What can I do for you today?"
"Mr. Smith wouldn’t like anything new at all today, thank you," replied Mrs. Smith. "But he would like his old body back!"
"I’m afraid we don’t give refunds, Mrs. Smith."
"I don’t want a refund," explained Mrs. Smith. "I want my husband’s original body again! I liked it more than this new one!"
"I’m afraid that’s very difficult, Mrs. Smith," said the shop assistant. "We are an environmentally-friendly company. All our old bodies are recycled."
"But the new body parts that you sold him don’t work! What can he do now?"
"He could buy a reconditioned body."
"What’s a ‘reconditioned’ body?"
"It’s an old body that has been modified."
"Can I have a look at one?"
"Certainly." The shop assistant spoke to his computer, and a reconditioned body appeared. It was a very familiar body. Mrs. Smith recognised the big nose and the grey hair.
"But that’s my husband!" shouted Mrs. Smith. "That’s the original Mr. Smith!"
"Yes, that’s right," said the shop assistant. "We reconditioned Mr. Smith’s old body".
"Can he have his old body back then, please?"
"Certainly, Mrs. Smith. That’ll be 100,000 euros please"
"100,000 euros!" shouted Mrs. Smith. "That’s very expensive, isn’t it?"
"Mr. Smith has been reconditioned!"
Mr. Smith got his own body back, and Mrs. Smith flew him back home in the aircar.
"I’m myself again!" he shouted.
"Not exactly," said Mrs. Smith. "You have been reconditioned."
"What does ‘reconditioned’ mean?"
"Well," said Mrs. Smith. "I think it means that you have a new brain!"
"I think that will be very useful," said Mr. Smith.
"I think so too, dear" said Mrs. Smith.
Hint! É importante que você anote todas as palavras novas e tente usá-las em outros contextos. Sempre que estiver estudando use um dicionário Inglês-Inglês, mesmo que virtual, pois eles dão muitos exemplos de uso o que ajudará, e muito, você a adquirir muitos novos vocábulos!
Responda às questões abaixo sobre o texto e depois confira as respostas:
01) What parts of the body did Mr. Smith change?
02) What's Mr. Smith's wife's opinion about his new nose?
03) Are small noses tacky?
04) What's Mr. Smith's opinion about the "old-fashioned plastic-surgery"?
05) What type of hair did Mr. Smith choose?
06) Why did Mr. Smith have the impression he was the same man even after all those changes?
07) Did Mr. Smith have problems with his new body? What happened?
08) What's a refund?
09) What did Mrs. Smith wanted when she went to Bodyco shop?
10) How much was Mr. Smith's reconditioned body?
Vocabulary! Aproveitando o assunto aprenda alguns health problems (problemas de saúde). Veja o clipe abaixo e preste atenção nas figuras e nas pronúncias.
01) What parts of the body did Mr. Smith change?
02) What's Mr. Smith's wife's opinion about his new nose?
03) Are small noses tacky?
04) What's Mr. Smith's opinion about the "old-fashioned plastic-surgery"?
05) What type of hair did Mr. Smith choose?
06) Why did Mr. Smith have the impression he was the same man even after all those changes?
07) Did Mr. Smith have problems with his new body? What happened?
08) What's a refund?
09) What did Mrs. Smith wanted when she went to Bodyco shop?
10) How much was Mr. Smith's reconditioned body?
Answers:
01) He changed his nose, hair, ears, eyes, hands, arms, knees and feet.
02) She thought Mr. Smith's new nose was a bit too small.
03) No, they aren't. They're very fashionable.
04) In his opinion the "old-fashioned plastic surgery" was expensive, painful and dangerous.
05) He chose short, blond curly hair.
06) Because he still had the same brain.
07) Yes, he started having problems with his nose because it got blocked and he couldn't smell anything. After that he couldn't hear anything, his blond hair went grey again, he couldn't see anything, his fingers fell off one by one and he couldn't walk anymore.
08) A refund is the sum of money you paid for something but you want it back because you are not satisfied with what you bought.
09) Mrs. Smith wanted her husband's old body back.
10) 100.000 euros.
Vocabulary! Aproveitando o assunto aprenda alguns health problems (problemas de saúde). Veja o clipe abaixo e preste atenção nas figuras e nas pronúncias.a cold
(resfriado)
He has a cold.
a headache
(dor de cabeça)
He has a headache.
a fever
(febre)
He has a fever.
a sore throat
(dor de garanta)
He has a sore throat.
a cough
(tosse)
He has a cough.
a stomachache
(dor de barriga)
He has a stomachache.
an earache
(dor de ouvido)
She has an earache.
a runny nose
(coriza)
He has a runny nose.
a stuffy nose
(nariz congestionado)
He has a stuffy nose.
a sunburn
(ensolação)
He has a sunburn.
a toothache
(dor de dente)
He has a toothache.
a cut
(corte)
He has a cut.
a cramp
(cãibra)
She has a cramp.
a broken leg
(perna quebrada)
He has a broken leg.
a bruise
(hematoma)
He has a bruise.
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Roberto Santos
