THE MAN, THE BOY, AND THE DONKEY / THE OIL SPILL

Hello, everyone. Here's something for your enjoyment: an Aesopo fable.
The vocabulary is appropriate for pre-intermediate students on. Notice I said ON, because this fable still is, and will always be, a very good lesson.

(The text as well as the pictures were copied from Learn American English)

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey

A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side, a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?"
So the man put the boy on the donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides."
So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along."
Well, the man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your hulking son?"
The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders.

They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.
"That will teach you," said an old man who had followed them:
Please all, and you will please none!
VOCABULARY:
youngster: a young person
lout: an oaf or a rude person; a person whose behavior is bad. (this is not a popular word in the U.S.)
passers-by: people who walk or drive past someone
jeer: to criticize someone
struggle: fight; physical resistance
drown: to die in the water
please: to make someone happy (use of this word as a verb is quite different from its use as a polite request.)

                          Gulf of Mexico and oil spill by NASA


The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has unleashed the use of many different nouns, verbs, and adjectives, some of which might be new to you if you are following the story on television or in the newspaper:
gush (v.) = uncontrolled movement of liquid such as water, blood, and oil.
Oil is gushing from the bottom of the ocean.
spoiled (adj.) = ruined; destroyed
The marshlands of Louisiana might be spoiled for generations. (20 - 30 years)
fuddle around (v. phrase) = to try to find a solution; working at something with incompetence.
BP is fuddling around with solutions to the problem, but they have failed to find one.
alternative (noun or adj.) = a new choice; a replacement for something
It's time for the world to start looking seriously at alternatives to the use of fossil fuels for energy.

Highlighted Words:
Spill X Pour: in Portuguese there is only one verb (derramar). But pour is on purpose (He poured some tea in her cup) and spill is by accident (Her cup was so full that she spilled some tea on the floor)
Unleash: To release or loose from or as if from a leash: unleashed the guard dogs; unleashed his rage. (According to Answer.Com)
On (tv): As I always say, ON communication. On the radio, On television, On a DVD, On a film, On the telephone...
In: ON a page, but IN a book; or In the newspaper

One important word when when talking about oil disaster is
LEAK (which means vazamento ou goteira)

Now I invite you to read the text bellow and then watch the video. You'll be glad to know, I suppose, that our country was mentioned in a positive way.

With five times more oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico than originally estimated and the price tag for last week's explosion predicted at $8 billion, questions about BP's response and level of responsibility are mounting.
BP official Doug Suttles addresses economic and environmental questions.Doug Suttles, the energy company's chief operating officer, admitted some responsibility for the disaster "because we're the lease holder," but assigning blame, he said, should come after the cleanup.
"I can tell you we're not worried about that right now," he said. "Who's ultimately responsible for what will come out over time through an investigations process."
The new leak estimate is about 5,000 barrels a day, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Suttles told "Good Morning America" he still believes it to be between 1,000 barrels -- the company's original estimate -- and 5,000.
The Deepwater Horizon rig was reportedly not equipped with a shutoff switch that could have been used to try to close the well. Such switches are not required in the United States, but are used in other countries such as Norway and Brazil.
Watch the Video now



Como diria o Boris Cazoy, ISSO É UMA VERGONHA! Quanto mais pesquisei a Net, mais me convenci de que se houvesse real interesse, esse derramamento já teria sido controlado.
Essa postagem tem tudo a ver com a anterior. No fundo, tudo não passa de questões políticas e/ou financeiras.