ESTRATÉGIA

SCANNING FOR IMMEDIATE INFORMATION

Procure pelas informações mais evidentes: números, datas, nomes, nomes de países,
informações que não dependem de conhecimento de inglês. Isso ajudará a ter maior controle
da leitura.

WARM-UP
You are going to read a text about wars and landmines. Answer the following questions:
1. Are there wars around the planet right now? Can you mention one?
2. What happens to civilians during a war?

BEFORE READING
Scan the text pages and find out:
1. The most heavily mined country:
a) Egypt
b) Angola
c) Vietnam
d) Rwanda

2. Two mined countries in Africa:

a) Iran and Iraq
b) Egypt and Angola
c) Croatia and Rwanda
d) Egypt and Afghanistan
 LANDMINES: HIDDEN KILLERS

Between 1945 and 1992, there were 149 wars, killing more than 23 million people. During the
last decade of the 20th century, it is estimated that child victims included:
2 million killed;
5 million disabled;
12 million left homeless;
1 million orphaned or separated from their parents;
10 million psychologically traumatized.

Of all weapons, few are more persistent and more lethal

to children than landmines.
Every year these deadly devices kill or mutilate hundreds
of children while they are planting crops, herding animals or
just playing.
There are about 110 million landmines still in the ground
– waiting. And they remain active for decades.
“A landmine is a perfect soldier,” said one Red Khmer1
general. “Ever courageous, never sleeps, never misses.”

Most heavily mined countries

Number of land-mines per square Estimated total number of land-
Country
mile mine
Bosnia and Herzegovina 152 3,000,000
Cambodia 143 10,000,000
Croatia 137 3,000,000
Egypt 60 23,000,000
Iraq 59 10,000,000
Afghanistan 40 10,000,000

1
Red Khmer (Khmer Vermelho) nome dado aos seguidores do Partido Comunista da Kampuchea, que foi o partido
governante no Camboja de 1975 a 1979.
 Angola 31 15,000,000
Iran 25 16,000,000
Rwanda 25 250,000
Source: United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs.
Note: There is too little information about some countries, such as Viet Nam to include them in the
estimates.

Total number of landmines

110 million in 64 countries

Human cost of landmines

800 deaths a month, mostly innocent civilians, with
thousands more mutilated

Dollar cost of landmines

To buy one:
$3 - $10
To remove one:
$300 - $1,000

KEY WORDS: Kill – children – victim – landmine – weapon - soldier

EXERCISES

READING POWER

A – WORKING WITH WORDS

1. Find the correct meaning for the words below:

WEAPON
a) órfão b) arma c) mina d) vítima

REMAIN
a) permanecer b) remar c) principal d) matar

DEADLY
a) morrer b) matar c) mortal d) morto

CROP
a) safra b) guarda c) copo d) floresta

HERD
a) ouvir b) ouvido c) pastorear d) bocejar

2. Circle the words related to war:

Weapon children landmine

Crop kill soldier
Ground orphan death

3. Match the columns:

a) landmines ( ) refere-se aos portadores de deficiência

b) homeless ( ) refere-se às minas terrestres
c) disabled ( ) refere-se às pessoas que não possuem um lar

4. Check the correct answer:

1. “The most heavily mined countries” refers to:

a) countries with very fat people.
b) countries with a great number of mines in the ground.

2. “Five million disabled children” refers to:

a) children with no parents.
b) mutilated children.

B – READ THE TEXT AGAIN.

C – ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

1. What is the total number of landmines in 64 countries, according to the text?

______________________________________________________________

2. How many wars were there between 1945 and 1992?

______________________________________________________________

3. Why is Vietnam not included in that table of mined countries?

______________________________________________________________

4. How much does it cost to remove a landmine?

______________________________________________________________

D. CHECK WHAT IS TRUE ACCORDING TO THE TEXT:

1. ( ) Landmines cause 800 deaths a month.

2. ( ) Most victims are civilians.
3. ( ) A landmine is very expensive.
4. ( ) Landmines are more lethal than soldiers.
5. ( ) There are less than 110 million landmines still in the ground.
6. ( ) Landmines remain active for decades.
7. ( ) Children from urban areas are the most frequent victims of landmines.

E. ACCORDING TO THE TEXT:

1. Check what happens to children during wars:

( ) They are psychologically traumatized.
( ) They are perfect soldiers.
( ) They are separated from their parents.
( ) They are mutilated.
( ) They never sleep.

2. What is more expensive: to buy or to remove a landmine?

______________________________________________________________

3. Explain the meaning of the underlined sentence:

“A landmine is a perfect soldier… never sleeps, never misses.”

______________________________________________________________
4. When are the children hurt by landmines?

______________________________________________________________

F. PROBLEM SOLVING:
How many people die every year because of wars? _____________________
WORD POWER

FALSE FRIENDS
Attend: frequenter, comparecer
Pretend: finger
Answer: atender (telefone, porta)
Intend: pretender
Understand: entender

A. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE FALSE FRIENDS JUST MENTIONED:

1. The telephone is ringing. Are you going to ________________________ it?

2. They ________________________ to go to Europe next year.
3. I ________________________ English classes at night.
4. Do you ________________________ the exercise?
5. She ________________________ that she is rich, but we know that she is poor.

SUFIXO LESS
(indica: sem, falta de)
Complete o quadro
NOUN ADJECTIVE
Home Homeless
Land Landless
Tooth
Meaning
Speech
mother

B. SUPPLY THE SUFFIX LESS AND MATCH THE WORDS TO THEIR MEANINGS:

a) home homeless ( a) sem teto

b) hope ( ) sem sentido
c) taste ( ) sem poder
d) meaning ( ) sem esperança
e) power ( ) sem gosto
f) mother ( ) sem palavras
g) speech ( ) órfão de mãe

C. FILL IN THE SENTENCES WITH THE WORDS FROM EXERCISE B:

1. I can’t understand your composition; It’s ________________________.

2. In our economic system the poor people remain ________________________.
3. I don’t like fast food. It’s ________________________.
4. Many young people feel ________________________ about their future.
5. Every time the teacher talks to me, I am ________________________.
6. Sometimes I’m so lonely that I feel like a ________________________ child.

Bibliografia:

AMOS, PRESCHER, PASQUALIN – Sun 1, 2. Ed, SP: Richmond Publishing, 2004.