AUTHORS - John Grisham

John Ray Grisham, Jr. (born February 8, 1955) is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. Before becoming a writer, he was a successful lawyer working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel, A Time to Kill.

Last semester the book The Client by John Grisham was chosen for the  reading project called ONE BOOK, ONE SCHOOL. You can read the book, watch the movie on DVD and do exercices on the Alumni site - Practice Plus.

            At the  Alumni Libraries there are 19 titles by John Grisham.

AUTHORS - Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer (born December 24, 1973), is an American author best known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages.

The Alumni Libraries have all the Twilight novels: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, as books and audiobooks. Meyer also wrote The Host, a science fiction novel.

English Tips - Prepositions to show location

In Portuguese we have just one preposition (em) to express many meanings. But in English, for every situation there is a proper preposition. Don’t worry. Read some tips and practice a lot. Your English will be sharp.

AT denotes specific locations

• The women are at the supermarket.
• She lives at 3757 North 52^nd Street, apartment 10.

IN indicates geographical areas: city, continent, country, state, town

• He lives in Seattle, Washington, in the USA.

ON is used before names of streets, avenues, etc.

• Her house is on Paulista Avenue.

You can borrow these books from the Alumni library.

LIBRARY NEWS - Learning Center – Audio lab and Comlab

TOEFL test

For those going to do the TOEFL test, having fluency and speaking words correctly are some of the requirements for obtaining a good score on the test.

The Alumni Association offers great resources in its Audio and Com Lab for students interested in preparing for the TOEFL test.

There are CD-ROMs from many publishers, such as Longman, Kaplan, and Thomson, with the simulated tests, through which you can prepare for some of the difficulties you face, like the tension of answering the questions in the required time. You can use the TOEFL test software 5 days a week in the four Alumni units. Go for it!

PRONUNCIATION

Saying the words correctly and placing the right intonation is important to communicate without misunderstandings and without making a fool of yourself. This requires practice.

In the Alumni Learning Centers students find pronunciation materials from basic to advanced levels. The Audio Lab Program was especially designed for lower levels, while Pronunciation Practice is geared towards students from Level 5 and up who want to work on specific sounds and suprasegmental features. Com Lab materials include Pronunciation Power and English Plus Millennium.

There's no excuse not to use these resources! The labs are open from early morning to late evening, in all the branches. All you have to do is ask the attendant for the materials suitable for your level.

ENJOY IT! - Ozzy Osbourne in São Paulo

This tip is for fans of classic Heavy Metal genre. "The Prince of Darkness," Ozzy Osbourne, returns to Brazil for a series of concerts in five cities. The concerts are part of the promotional tour of the singer's latest album, Scream (Epic Records) and his latest single "Live Will Not Wait."

The concerts will be held in São Paulo Anhembi Arena on April 2 at 21:30.

On the site www.vagalume.com.br you have lyrics, music, chords and much more. 

Enjoy it!

TRAVEL GUIDE - New York

Every month we choose a country, city and give travel tips, its cooking, what's more interesting to do and see and who wants to improve your English, tips of where to study.

First destination will be New York City.

When to go?

The best time of year to travel to New York City is from late spring to early summer (June to mid July) and late summer to early fall (September to mid October).

In these months the weather is more pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold.

Another advantage is that the cost of travel is much smaller for both hosting and airfare.

And the city is beautiful with many flowers in spring and autum with yellow and red leaves, because New York is a heavily forested.

Where to go? What to do there?

Prepare an agenda with main events, fairs, exhibitions coming up in New York, is a clever tip for your trip. See the schedule of events on the official tourism website of New York, www.nycvisit.com/calendar-of-events. And in Portuguese this site is wonderful, www.vamosparanovayork.com/passeios.htm.

AUTHORS - Elizabeth Bishop (08/02/1911 - 2011)

This year, American poet Elizabeth Bishop would be celebrating her 100th birthday (08/02/1911- 1979).

She is considered one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. She won many awards and toured the world. She lived for 20 years here in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
The Alumni Libraries have the complete works of collected poems and prose. We also have a play about the poet: A Port for Elizabeth Bishop.

HOLIDAYS - ST. Patrick’s Day!

In the United States and Great Britain, the Irish communities celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. The Irish community in the United States is very big.
Who was St. Patrick and why is he important to the Irish?

Patrick was born in Britain in 389 AD. When he was 16 years old he was captured and taken to Ireland. He became a slave. After 6 years Patrick escaped to France by ship. There he became a priest. He returned to Ireland as a bishop in 432 AD. He converted most of the Irish to Christianity. There are legends about St. Patrick. One legend says that he banished all the serpents from Ireland. Another legend says that he used a shamrock to teach the Irish about the Trinity. Today the shamrock is still a symbol of Ireland and the Irish. On March 17 there are big parades in most American cities in honor of the Irish. Many shops and restaurants are decorated with green shamrocks.

ENGLISH TIPS - STEAL X ROB

You steal things but you rob people, places

HOLIDAYS - Carnival around the world

Brazil: The celebration is supposed to go on from the Saturday before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) until Mardi Gras Day, but in some Brazilian cities the celebration can last seven or eight days. People celebrate on the street, dancing with samba schools, or in ballrooms.

Bolivia: Bolivia has carnival parades for children and adults in the streets. Most everyone gets wet from water balloons and water buckets.

Caribbean Islands: There are multiple carnival celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti, like marching bands, crowning a Calypso King or Monarch and "Playing Mas"/Masquerade, a masquerade ball.

Venice, Italy: Many events are held in the canals, including shows, concerts, dances and water processions with masked rowers and decorated boats.

Cadiz, Spain: They celebrate with papier mâché figures and satirical songs copied from Venice’s celebration.

Germany: Carnival is called as "Fastnacht". There is a big parade through the main street.

New Orleans, USA: Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French). Usually there is one major parade and several large parades each day. The parades in New Orleans are organized by Carnival krewes. Krewe float riders toss throws to the crowds; the most common throws are strings of plastic colorful beads.