Hello, everyone!‍

Sejam bem-vindos e bem-vindas a mais um episódio da nossa série de podcasts, o Fluency News! Aqui você vai treinar a sua escuta e ficar por dentro do que está acontecendo no mundo, sempre com as 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, nós falamos sobre a doação que a criadora de Friends fez para uma universidade, sobre Jacob Hopkins, que foi infectado com Covid voluntariamente, e sobre o novo musical Matilda.
Temos uma página de dicas de inglês no Instagram, vá conferir! @fluencytvingles
Toda semana, temos um novo episódio do Fluency News, não deixe de escutar! See you!

Transcrição do episódio

What is up, folks! It’s great to have you here with me for another episode of Fluency News! I’m Scott Lowe, one of your native teachers here at Fluency Academy. You probably already know how this podcast works, but let me give you a quick run-down: we’re going to go over some interesting stories, from all over the world, in English. After each one, I’ll pop in in Portuguese to give some explanations on things that we think deserve a little more attention, or might be important for you to know!

Antes de a gente ver o que tá rolando pelo mundo, deixa só eu te lembrar que a Fluency Academy tem cursos de idiomas sensacionais pra você que quer se aprofundar em um novo idioma, ou aprender do zero! As matrículas estão fechadas no momento, mas na descrição desse episódio, você encontra o link pra nossa lista de espera. Assim, você vai ser uma das primeiras pessoas a ficar sabendo quando nós tivermos novas turmas! Se inscrevendo na lista de espera você também tem chances de conseguir descontos incríveis, e só leva uns minutinhos pra completar sua inscrição. O link tá na descrição, corre lá!

Now, let’s jump in!

We’re going to start this episode by talking about the donation that the author of the popular sitcom “Friends” made. 

Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the series about a group of close friends was an instant hit when it premiered in 1994, and it has remained one of TV’s most popular shows after its end in 2004. 

Despite its success, though, the comedy was repeatedly criticized for its lack of diversity, with numerous observers wondering how the characters existed in a predominantly white and straight environment even though the series was set in New York City.

In the last few years, Kauffman has had a dramatic change of heart. While the show was on air, Kauffman felt it was being unfairly targeted, she now feels that the criticisms about “Friends” were legitimate.

The series’ failure to be more inclusive, Kauffman says, was a symptom of her internalization of systemic racism in society. 

Deciding to act on it, she donated $4 million to her former university, the Boston area’s Brandeis University. The Marta F. Kauffman ’78 Professorship in African and African American Studies will reward students in the study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and African American studies. The money will also assist the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, and provide new opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship.

‍Você sabe o que sitcom significa? Essa palavra é usada para descrever séries de comédia, como Friends, How I Met Your Mother e The Big Bang Theory, por exemplo. É a abreviação de “situation comedy”. É um gênero de comédia que se centra ao redor de personagens fixos, e situações engraçadas e comuns do dia a dia. Qual é a sua sitcom favorita? A minha é It’s always sunny in Philadelphia. ‍

Our next story today is an interesting one. Would you willingly infect yourself with a possibly deadly disease to help others? That’s what Jacob Hopkins did. 

A year into the pandemic, Hopkins allowed doctors to infect him with a precisely calibrated suspension of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Hopkins was the first of 36 healthy young Britons to participate in a “human challenge” study of the most consequential virus on the planet.

Knowing the minute details of a coronavirus infection is critical to vaccine and drug designers, to public health officials, and to those caring for patients. 

Reported in the journal Nature Medicine, the findings made clear that young people have been potent drivers of pandemic spread. Further analysis of the findings is expected to give insights into how the immune system resists infection, and why some people become infected while others do not.

Jacob Hopkins, a then 22-year-old history student at Newcastle University, saw an ad on social media and decided to take part. The prospect of playing some small role in this historical moment gave him a sense of mission.

“All I did was sat in a room,” said Hopkins. “But I was so proud and happy to be a part of this. I was really part of something special.”

‍Há muitas semelhanças entre o inglês e o português. É claro, há muito mais diferenças! Aqui nessa história, nós temos um ponto interessante. Em português, quando estamos falando de alguém que se disponibiliza a ser material de estudo para ciência, nós chamamos essa pessoa de “rato de laboratório”, certo? Em inglês, apesar de podermos dizer “lab rat”, é muito mais comum chamar essas cobaias de “guinea pig”, que é “porquinho da índia”. Tem o mesmo significado, mas as duas línguas usam animais diferentes para descrever a mesma coisa! Não é legal?‍

Let’s end this episode with some exciting news for 90s kids and fans of musicals! Matilda is coming to the big screen, in musical form!

Roald Dahl’s children’s story about a little girl with telekinetic powers and abusive parents became a beloved film in 1996, produced, directed and starred by Denny DeVito. 

Dennis Kelly adapted the novel to stage in 2009, and now it’s being adapted again.

Matilda, Matthew Warchus’s film version of the hit West End musical is to open this year’s London film festival

The musical, which stars Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull, Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey and newcomer Alisha Weir in the title role, will kick off the 66th festival on 5 October, two months before its nationwide release.

The film version also features Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough as Matilda’s parents.

Tricia Tuttle, festival director, said: “Like so many people who have been lucky enough to see it, I am a massive fan of this original stage musical, with Tim Minchin’s infectiously brilliant songs bringing new depth to a classic of children’s literature. With screenwriter Dennis Kelly, Matthew Warchus has smartly adapted his own production for the screen with absolute verve and gusto.”

‍Os fãs de Matilda podem comemorar com “gusto”. Essa palavra não parece ser do inglês, não é? Apesar de soar bem espanhola, essa palavra usada em inglês vem do italiano! Em inglês, “gusto” significa “com entusiasmo”, “com vigor”, “com paixão”. Idiomas não são incríveis? ‍

And this is the end of today’s episode, folks! I hope you had a good time here, and as always, we’ll be waiting for you next week! Lembra que o contato diário com o inglês é essencial para o seu aprendizado! Você pode continuar estudando, é só ir no nosso portal, fluencytv.com, pra ter acesso a milhares de conteúdos gratuitos! You’ll also find the transcript of this episode and all of our sources, so don’t forget to check it out. I’ll see you soon. Peace!

‍Stories‍

‍‘Friends’ lack of diversity ‘embarrassed’ its co-creator. So she made a $4-million decision
https://revistamonet.globo.com/Series/noticia/2022/06/autora-pede-desculpas-por-falta-de-diversidade-em-friends-com-doacao-de-20-milhoes-de-reais.html
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-06-29/friends-diversity-marta-kauffman-brandeis-university‍

‍The man that caught Covid on purpose
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2022-06-30/is-it-okay-to-catch-the-coronavirus-for-the-sake-of-science-challenge-trial-ethics‍

‍Matilda becomes a musical
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jun/30/matilda-musical-movie-starring-emma-thompson-to-open-london-film-festival

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