UNIT 4

UNIT 4 OURO PRETO: PEOPLE, HISTORY AND PLACES

1. Warm Up

Pair Work – Describe the pictures above and try to discover which city is this.

Where is it? Have you ever been there? Would you like to visit (again)?

Do you know any historical place in your country? Do you like to visit it? Do you know

about the history of your city or country?

2. Reading

Second Reading

TIRADENTES Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes (August 16, 1746–-April 21, 1792), was a leading member of the Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira whose aim was full independence from the Portuguese colonial power and to create a Brazilian republic. When the plan was discovered, Tiradentes was arrested, tried and publicly hanged. Since the 19th century he has been considered a national hero of Brazil.

He began to be considered a national hero by the republicans in the late 19th century, and after the republic was proclaimed in Brazil in 1889 the anniversary of his death (April 21) became a national holiday.

As of now there is a city in the state of Minas Gerais bearing his name and major avenues and streets in countries like the Dominican Republic.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiradentes)

Pre-reading 1. Do you know anything

abou Inconfidência

Mineira?

2. Do you know who

Tiradentes was?

3. Is Tiradentes an important

character to Minas Gerais?

1. Who was Joaquim da Silva Xavier?

2. What was his plan?

3. What happened to him when the plan was discovered?

4. Is there any celebration to make people remind of him?

Pay attention!

The Past Simple Tense

The simple past is a tense used to describe complete actions or events

that took place in some time before now. The time can be specified by

using some adverbs, for example: yesterday, last night, last week, last

month, last year, and so on. It is important to keep in mind that the

formation of this tense is different if you are working with the verb to

be or if you are working with the other of the verbs. Let's begin then

with the verb To Be. Although the past form of the verbs is the same

for all the personal pronouns, the verb "to be" has two forms:

I was

he was

she was

it was

you were

they were

we were

you were

WAS for I, he, she, it and WERE for we, you , they. Look at these

examples:

She was worried about her grades in school.

Maurice and Martha were in Washington last week.

Joseph was very tired, but now he is fine.

Last Christmas we were in my grandma's house.

Yesterday they were very busy.

Remember that the past tense of "to be" follows the same structure

we explained before. So, when you want to turn these sentences into

questions you have to do the same changes you do for the present

tense. Look:

Was she worried about her grades in school?

Were Maurice and Martha in Washington last week?

Was Joseph was very tired?

Were they in your grandma's house last Christmas?

Were they very busy yesterday?

In the same way, if you want to change an affirmative sentence to

negative you just have to add the negative particle not after the verb

"to be":

She was not worried about her grades in school.

Maurice and Martha were not in Washington last week.

Joseph was not very tired, but now he is.

Last Christmas we were not in my grandma's house.

Yesterday they were not very busy.

Remember that the contractions of the verb "to be" and the negative

word not are common in spoken language.

Let´s Practice!

A. Complete with WAS or WERE.

1. Who ______________ Joaquim da Silva Xavier?

2. Tiradentes _______________ a hero.

3. The Inconfidência Mineira __________________ a revolutionary movement.

4. We _______________ at Tiradentes last month.

5. You _______________ traveling last month.

6. Mom and dad ___________________ amazed by Tiradentes City.

7. They _______________ eating at a nice restaurant in Tiradentes.

8. I ____________ in Tiradentes because of the festival.

B. Complete the text with WAS and WERE

ow meet Susan, someone who loves traveling. She went to Brazil and

visited a lot of places there. Let´s see what happened to her.

Susan is an American teenager and she enjoys traveling to meet different

places. Every time she can, she takes a bus or her own car and travel around. Last month

she had a very nice experience, because she took an international trip to Brazil, which

was one or her favorite countries.

In Brazil, she visited three interesting states:

São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.

First, she went to São Paulo. She went

downtown there to visit Avenida Paulista.

She felt that São Paulo was very similar to

New York, especially because of the huge

buildings and because she saw different

people moving too fast and working hard.

N

CLAUDIO MANUEL DA COSTA

Cláudio Manuel da Costa ___________ born in the city of Vargem do Itacolomi (nowadays Mariana), to Portuguese João Gonçalves da Costa and Brazilian Teresa Ribeiro de Alvarenga. In 1749, he went to Lisbon, where he ____________ graduated in Canon law in the University of Coimbra, where he composed mostly of his poems. Returning to Brazil, to the city of Ouro P reto, in 1754, he became a lawyer and a goldsmith.

He __________ the secretary of Minas Gerais from 1762 to 1765, and a judge of lands from 1769 to 1773. He founded in Ouro Preto a Neoclassic literary academy called "Colônia Ultramarina" ("Ultramarine Colony") in 1768, where he wrote many of his poems and performed the theatre play O Parnaso Obsequioso.

During the 1770s and the 1780s, he became friends with Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, who exerced a great influence in Cláudio's work. According to studies made in mid-20th century, the preface of Gonzaga's Cartas Chilenas (Chilean Letters) ____________ written by Costa.

Along with Gonzaga and others, Cláudio __________ a member of the unsuccessful 1789 Minas Conspiracy. Arrested, he killed himself in prison in July 4, 1789.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Manoel_da_Costa)

Then she got to Rio de Janeiro. She was amazed by its beauty. The city, the

environment, people there, everything was perfect. She took many pictures in front of

Cristo Redentor and she stayed there for two days.

Finally she got to Minas Gerais. In Minas she went to Ouro Preto, a historical city. The

city was too beautiful and there were many

places to visit. First she visited the churches and

the museums. One of the most beautiful

churches she visited was Nossa Senhora do

Carmo. It was very elegant and there were many

works made by Aleijadinho and Ataíde. By the

way, she also visited a museum dedicated to

Aleijadinho that is in Nossa Senhora da

Conceição’s Church, another beautiful place.

The museum is divided into three parts. In one of them they have a temporary

exhibition that takes place every year. The others are constituted by Aleijadinho’s work

made in the XVIII century and some wealthy silver objects.

After the museum, she also had lunch in a very nice restaurant and she tried the typical

food served in Minas Gerais. It was delicious and well flavored. Then she went to Mina

do Chico Rei, a kind of cave where the slaves worked a long time ago. Chico Rei was a

slave in Brazil, but a king in his nation, he worked in the cave and then he bought it.

Now Dona Maria Barbara de Lima is the owner of it.

Finishing her trip, she visited the Itacolomi Park.

Itacolomi is a hill that was explored by the

Bandeirantes, or “followers of the banner”, because

of the gold they found near the Tripuí River. She

hiked there and it was very funny.

Before leaving Ouro Preto and Brazil, she sent a post card to her friend Sally and

bought her a souvenir. When she was flying back she thought how good her vacation

was.

Now talk to a friend and try to answer these questions orally. Who is Susan?

Where did she go?

Which place did she visit first?

Where did she go when she got to Minas Gerais?

After reading the text, would you like to visit Ouro Preto? Why (not)?

Now take a look at the words in italic. Which class of word do they belong to?

Pay attention!

The Past Simple Tense (2nd Part)

We already know the past tense of the verb to BE. The past tense for

the other verbs in English is a little more complicated. Some are

regular verbs and follow one rule. Others are irregular verbs and their

forms are very different from the infinitive.

It requires that you learn the past form of every verb.

Let's begin with the regular verbs:

These verbs form their past by adding the particle -ed at the end of

the infinitive. For example:

want -------> wanted

copy -------> copied

sign -------> signed

fade -------> faded

watch -------> watched

Now, see the verbs in context:

My mother and her sister wanted to go shopping yesterday.

She copied many things and now she does not have money.

You signed a contract with a very important company.

Congratulations!

The snow flakes faded slowly.

My family always watched "The Wonder Years".

You already know that to make interrogative sentences we need an

auxiliary. In the present we used DO and DOES. For the past tense we

use DID:

Did your mother and her sister want to go shopping yesterday?

Did she copy many things and now she does not have money?

Did you sign a contract with a very important company?

Congratulations!

Did the snow flakes fade slowly?

Did your family always watch "The Wonder Years"?

Just apply the structure of the present tense to the past to form

negative sentences:

My mother and her sister did not want to go shopping yesterday.

She did not copy many things and now she has money.

You did not sign a contract with a dishonest company.

Congratulations!

The snow flakes did not fade slowly.

My family did not watch "Pokemon".

Do not forget that when you use an auxiliary the main verb remains

unchanged.

Let´s Practice!

Put the verbs in the correct form.

1) Susan _______________________ Brazil last year. (visit)

2) Chico Rei ____________________ in a cave. (work)

3) Susan _______________________ to São Paulo (travel) and

__________________ (visit) Avenida Paulista.

4) Susan _______________________ to visit Rio Grande do Sul. (want)

5) Susan __________________________ in a very good hotel. (stay)

Click here and practice more.

For negative sentences, click here.

Pay attention!

The Past Simple Tense (3rd Part)

We saw the past tense of the regular verbs, now go to Susan’s

text again and see that some verbs in italic are not followed by –

ed. It is time now to see what happens to irregular verbs. Basically,

they follow the same structure of the regular verbs, but you cannot

just add -ed to the infinitive. These verbs have their own form for the

past:

write -------> wrote

see -------> saw

bring -------> brought

take -------> took

sing -------> sang

come -------> came

These examples illustrate the changes:

Monica wrote a nice article.

We did not see your parents yesterday.

I brought many presents from Australia.

Ana's brother did not take a difficult test.

That boy sang awfully in school.

Did they come home late last night?

Let´s Practice!

Put the verbs in the correct form.

Susan ______________________ to Brazil to visit some places. (go)

She __________________ beautiful monuments there. (see)

Susan ____________________ a great time. (have)

She ______________________ a post card to a friend. (send)

She _____________________ lots of souvenirs. (buy)

Click in the links bellow for more exercises:

Exercises on simple past

Irregular verbs in the simple past

Past simple tense practice

Simple past questions

How about writing to a friend telling him or her on a good experience you had?

What would you like to be when you were a child?

Would you like to be a famous star? Why (not)?

What would you do to be a famous star?

Now fill in the blanks with the missing words.

Drive My Car Danni Carlos

Composição: Lennon / McCartney

Asked a girl what she ______________ to be

She _____________ baby, "Can't you see?

I wanna be famous, a star on the screen

But you can do something in between"

Baby you can drive my car

Yes I'm gonna be a star

Baby you can drive my car

And maybe I’ll love you

I ___________ that girl that my prospects were good

And she _____________ baby, "It's understood

Working for peanuts is all very fine

But I can show you a better time

Baby you can drive my car

Yes I'm gonna be a star

Baby you can drive my car

And maybe I’ll love you

Baby you can drive my car

Yes I'm gonna be a star

Baby you can drive my car

And maybe I love you

I ____________ that girl I could start right away

And she ___________, "Listen me I’ve got

something to say

I _________ no car and it's breaking my heart

But I've found a driver and that's a start"

Baby you can drive my car

Yes I'm gonna be a star

Baby you can drive my car

And maybe I’ll love you

All the missing words in the text above are

verbs. Which tense are all of them in?

1. Listen to the song again and choose the right alternative:

1.1 What does the girl want to be?

( ) A teacher.

( ) A doctor.

( ) A superstar.

( ) A veterinarian.

1.2 Who is going to drive her car?

( ) Probably her father.

( ) Her best friend .

( ) Her probably lover.

( ) Her particular driver.

2. Now that you know the song, try to act out the scene described. Work in pairs

and make a dialog to role play the song.

Learning more…

Read Susan’s text again and look for the words that are underlined. Do you know the

meaning of them?

The words that are underlined are called sequencers. They usually help us when we are

writing a text and we need to organize it.

Read the text below and try to fill in the blanks with the appropriate sequencer:

If you have any doubt, click here.

How to plug-in your PS3 for the first time

__________ you connect the console to a plug with the

respective cable included inside the package.

__________ that you connect the RGB cable included to a

TV. (or a composite cable that you can buy in lots of

stores) Additionally you can connect a HDMI cable if you

have one (and a TV compatible with high definition).

____________, turn your console on using the button on

the back.

Reading Clue

When you are reading a

text, maybe you will not

understand every single

word. Do not worry about

this. It is possible to

comprehend most of the text

even when you do not know

exactly what every word

means.

3. Reading

Do you know anything about Ouro Preto?

Have you ever been there?

Why is this city so important to Minas Gerais?

Now read carefully about the history of Ouro Preto:

Second Reading Find these facts.

1. When was the city founded?

2. Why was Ouro Preto the focal point in the 18Th

century?

3. Which are the famous artists that lived in Ouro

Preto?

4. What happened in Ouro Preto before Brazil

became a republic?

5. For how long was Ouro Preto the capital of Minas

Gerais

4. Pay Attention!

Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known,

however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,

however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following

example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g.

You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

HISTORY Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) was the focal point

of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule. The city contains well preserved colonial architecture, with few signs of modern urban life.

Churches decorated with gold and the works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto a tourist destination. In colonial times art was fairly advanced and developed into the "Barroco Mineiro", with many sculptors (Aleijadinho), painters (Mestre Athayde), composers (Lobo de Mesquita family), poets (Thomas Gonzaga).

In 1789, Ouro Preto became the birthplace of the Inconfidência Mineira, a failed attempt to gain independence from Portugal and form a Brazilian republic.

In 1876, the Escola de Minas (Minas School) was created. This school established the technological foundation for several of the mineral discoveries in Brazil.

Ouro Preto was capital of Minas Gerais from 1822 until 1897, when the needs of government outgrew this town in the valley. The state government was moved to the new, planned city of Belo Horizonte.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouro_Preto)

]

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or

is dropped)

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

Simple Present Active: Rita writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

Present Perfect Active: Rita has written a letter.

Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.

Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.

Hilfsverben Active: Rita can write a letter.

Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.

Let’s Practice A. Rewrite the sentences using Passive voice.

Example:

Peter writes a letter.

_________________

Answer:

A letter is written. or

A letter is written by Peter.

1. Julia rescued three cats.

2. The students handed in the reports.

3. Maria crashed into the blue car.

4. Alex learned the poem.

5. Steven has forgotten the book.

6. The mechanic has not repaired the DVD recorder.

7. They play handball.

8. Sue puts the rucksack on the floor.

9. The girls had lost the match.

10. The teacher is not going to open the window.

B. Rewrite the sentences to the passive voice. Pay attention to the modal verbs.

1. I can answer the question.

2. She would carry the box.

3. You should open the window.

4. We might play cards.

5. You ought to wash the car.

6. He must fill in the form.

7. They need not buy bread.

8. He could not read the sentence.

9. Will the teacher test our English?

10. Could Jenny lock the door?

C. Make five affirmative sentences and ask a friend to make questions for them

orally.

Ex.: YOU: Charles washed the car.

FRIEND: Who washed the car?

In pairs, discuss these questions below:

What do you think about love?

Have you ever felt in love?

What would you do if you had a real love and then it finished?

Listen to this song and pay attention, because there are some words that don’t belong to

it. Try to exclude them and complete with the correct ones.

It Must Have Been Love

Roxette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbCWOC5szfk&feature=fvst

Composição: Per Gessle

It must have been love but it’s over now...

Lay a whisper on my pillow Leave the winter on her ground

I wake up lonely, there’s air of silence In the bedroom and at around

Touch me how, I close my eyes And dream afraid

It must have been love but it’s under now It must have been good but I lost it somehow

It must have been love but it’s under now From the moment we touched til the time had run out

Make-believing we're together That I'm sheltered by your art

But in and outside I've turned to water Like a teardrop in your fall

And it's a hard winter's day I dream away

It must have been love but it’s under now It must have been good but I lost it somehow

It must have been love but it’s under now It's where the water flows It's where the wind blows

It must have been love but it’s under now It must have been good but I lost it somehow

It must have been love but it’s under now From the moment we touched til the time had run out

It must have been love but it’s under now It must have been good but I lost it somehow

It must have been love but it’s under now It's where the water flows It's where the wind blows

Now answer these questions:

What is this song talking about?

What must you do when love is coming to an end?

Pay attention!

Must

"Must" is most commonly used to express certainty. It can also be used to express necessity or strong recommendation, although native speakers prefer the more flexible form "have to."

"Must not" can be used to prohibit actions, but this sounds very severe; speakers prefer to use softer modal verbs such as "should not" or "ought not" to dissuade rather than prohibit.

Examples:

This must be the right address! certainty

Students must pass an entrance examination to study at this school. necessity

You must take some medicine for that cough. strong recommendation

Jenny, you must not play in the street!

Using "Must" in Present, Past, and Future

Most modal verbs behave quite irregularly in the past and the future. Study the chart below to learn how "must" behaves in different contexts.

Modal Use

Positive Forms

1. = Present 2. = Past

3. = Future

Negative Forms

1. = Present 2. = Past 3.

= Future

You can

also use:

must

certainty

1. That must be Jerry.

They said he was tall

with bright red hair.

2. That must have been the right restaurant.

There are no other restaurants on this street.

3. NO FUTURE FORM

1. That must not be Jerry.

He is supposed to have red

hair.

2. That must not have been the right restaurant. I guess

there is another one around here somewhere.

3. NO FUTURE FORM

have to

must not

prohibition

You must not swim in that

river. It's full of crocodiles.

You must not forget to take

your malaria medication while your are in the tropics.

Prohibition usually refer to the near future.

must

strong

recommendation

(Americans

prefer the form "should.")

1. You must take some

time off and get some

rest.

2. SHIFT TO "SHOULD" You should have taken

some time off last week to get some rest.

1. You mustn't drink so

much. It's not good for

your health.

2. SHIFT TO "SHOULD" You shouldn't have drunk so

much. That caused the accident.

should

3. SHIFT TO "SHOULD"

You should take some time off next week to get some rest.

3. SHIFT TO "SHOULD"

You shouldn't drink at the party. You are going to be the designated driver.

must

necessity

(Americans

prefer the form "have to.")

1. You must have a

permit to enter the

national park.

2. SHIFT TO "HAVE TO"

We had to have a permit to enter the park.

3. We must get a permit to enter the park next

week.

1. SHIFT TO "HAVE TO"

We don't have to get a

permit to enter the national

park.

2. SHIFT TO "HAVE TO"

We didn't have to get a permit to enter the national park.

3. SHIFT TO "HAVE TO"

We won't have to get a permit to enter the national park.

have to

REMEMBER: "Must not" vs. "Do not have to" "Must not" suggests that you are prohibited from doing something.

"Do not have to" suggests that someone is not required to do something.

Examples:

You must not eat that. It is forbidden, it is not allowed.

You don't have to eat that. You can if you want to, but it is not necessary.

Let’s practice? Here you will find some exercises to help you.

Now that you have learnt something about Ouro Preto and some personalities who lived

there, it is your turn to write a short biography about some place or someone. Go to the

internet and check if there is something about your neighborhood, city or about a

famous personality you know in English. If there is not, write about it and post it at

Wikipedia site or at another site or blog you think it is interesting. Make your research

through books and the internet, but do not forget to mention the source.