Haiti, a country under eternal reconstruction

It seems that nature has not been kind to Haiti. The earthquake on January 12 aggravated the chaos and th poverty in the country. According to the United Nations, up to January 23 rd the official number of dead was 111,000 and 200,000 had been injured. It has been estimated, however, that the final death toll could be 200,000. Thousands of houses have been destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. Before being hit by the earthquake the country was struck by a hurricane in 2008. However, nature cannot be held chiefly responsible for the Haitians' suffering. In this country of nine million souls, over half are living below the level of extreme poverty, earning just a dollar a day. It is the poorest country in the Americas. The country is very, very underprivileged' there is a lack of schools, jobs, hospitals, transport, security, infrastructure, basic sanitation, and ' mainly ' political stability. In political terms Haiti has always been in conflict. From the second half of the 19 century until the beginning th of the 20 t h century, 16 Heads of State were overthrown or assassinated.

(Taken from Telegraph Newspaper)

GLOSSARY

injured = ferido

death tool = número oficial de mortos

struck = atingido

chiefly = principalmente

Heads of States = Chefes de Estado

to be overthrown = ser deposto

Linguistic Awareness

Most humans use language readily and on most occasions successfully without much cognitive knowledge the nature of language. Because language is mostly unselfconsciously used to accomplish daily tasks, not much thought is given to the actual complexity of language. David McMillan, in his graduate thesis "Miscommunications in Air Traffic Control", points out that the ease with which we use language(s) to communicate in our daily lives and the usual lack serious consequences for miscommunication mask the fragility of human language as a vehicle for clear communications. The apparently simple use of language actually requires a sophisticated interaction of complex processes, and our usually successful daily experience with language belies its complexity. In daily life, miscommunication occurs but rarely results in anything other than minor inconvenience, minor embarrassment, or lost time. In air traffic control communications, however, the stakes are dramatically higher and communication errors have the potential for far more serious consequences.

GLOSSARY

to accomplish = executar

to belie = camuflar, ocultar

embarrassment = constrangimento

stakes = riscos

What do you think of when you hear the word beauty? Chances are that you would envision someone young and beautiful, someone in good health. Today the words health and beauty have become so confused, almost standing as synonyms for each other, that they are almost impossible to differentiate. But if you think for a moment, why do you buy a certain kind of health food? Surely, yes, you want to maintain good health, but more likely, you bought it mainly because it contains fewer calories, thus allowing you to eat more and maintain your good looks. This is a normal reaction because disease prevention, as a part of good health, feels so distant while the benefits of beauty are so immediate.

Cosmetics, skin care and plastic surgery constantly tempt us to make that decision, wavering between using slight tricks to improve upon or help the natural and actually adding or removing parts to the body. In the USA alone, 696,904 people have cosmetic surgery, and the numbers seem to be on the rise in this youth-worshipping, health- conscious culture. People really think that attractiveness indicates good health. It's just that they're mistaken about it.

GLOSSARY

to envision = visualizar

thus = assim, desta forma

to tempt = tentar

to waver = oscilar

slight tricks = pequenos macetes

youth-worshipping = cultuador da juventude

According to the text, the words "health" and "beauty" nowadays