A Tall Order

The sky isn’t the limit for an architect building the world’s first invisible skyscraper.

Charles Wee, one of the world's leading high-rise architects, has a confession to make: he's bored with skyscrapers. After designing more than 30, most of which punctuate the skylines of rapidly expanding Asian cities, he has struck upon a novel concept: the first invisible skyscraper.
As the tallest structure in South Korea, his Infinity Tower will loom over Seoul until somebody pushes a button and it completely disappears.
When he entered a 2004 competition to design a landmark tower, the Korean-American architect rejected the notion of competing with Dubai, Toronto, and Shanghai to reach the summit of man-made summits. “I thought, let's not jump into this stupi... Ver mais

Masters of War

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly.

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain.

BOB DYLAN. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Nova Yo... Ver mais

The Road Not Taken (by Robert Frost)

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Disponível em: www.poetryfoundation.org. Acesso em: 29 nov. 2011 (fragmento).

Estes são os versos finais do famoso poema The Road Not Taken, do poeta americano Robert Frost. Levando-se em consideração que a vida é comumente metaforizada como uma viagem, esses versos indicam que o autor

A internet tem servido a diferentes interesses, ampliando, muitas vezes, o contato entre pessoas e instituições. Um exemplo disso é o site WeFeedback, no qual a internauta Kate Watts

If You Can’t Master English, Try Globish

PARIS — It happens all the time: during an airport delay the man to the left, a Korean perhaps, starts talking to the man opposite, who might be Colombian, and soon they are chatting away in what seems to be English. But the native English speaker sitting between them cannot understand a word.
They don't know it, but the Korean and the Colombian are speaking Globish, the latest addition to the 6,800 languages that are said to be spoken across the world. Not that its inventor, Jean-Paul Nerrière, considers it a proper language.
“It is not a language, it is a tool,” he says. “A language is the vehicle of a culture. Globish doesn't want to be that at all. It is a means of communication.”
Nerrière doesn't see Globish in the same light... Ver mais

Disponível em: http://1.bp.blogspot.com. Acesso em: 30 jul. 2012.
Implementar políticas adequadas de alimentação e nutrição é uma meta prioritária em vários países do mundo. A partir da campanha If you can't read it, why eat it?, os leitores são alertados para o perigo de

Languages and cultures use non-verbal communication which conveys meaning. Although many gestures are similar in Thai and English such as nodding for affirmation many others are not shared. A good example of this is the ubiquitous “Thai smile”. The “smile” carries a far wider range of meanings in Thai than it does in English culture. This can sometimes lead to serious communication breakdowns between Thais and English speakers.

An example from my own early experience in Thailand illustrates the point. When confronting the Thai owner of a language school with administrative problems, complaints regarding student numbers in the class were met by a beaming smile and little else. I took this to mean lack of concern or an a... Ver mais

Tennesse Mountain Properties
Description
Own a renovated house for less than $290 per month!!!!!!!! New windows, siding, flooring (laminate throughout and tile in entry way and bathroom), kitchen cabinets, counter top, back door, fresh paint and laundry on main floor. Heat billsare very low due to a good solid house and an energy efficient furnace.
Disponível em: www.freerealestaeads.net .Acesso em: 30 nov. 2011(adaptado).
Em jornais, há diversos anúncios que servem aos leitores. O conteúdo do anúncio veiculado por este texto interessará a alguém que esteja procurando

I read a study that measured the efficiency of I locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list ... That didn't look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And a man on a bicycle blew the condor away. That's what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.

JOBS, S. Disponível em: www.msnbc.msn.com. Acesso em: 28 fev. 2012 (adaptado)

... Ver mais

Turning Brown
A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, “Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?” “Because,” his dad explained, “after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color.” There was a long silence. Then the son asked softly, “Daddy, are you talking to me?”
Disponível em: http://hayspost.com. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2011.
Considerando os participantes da conversa nessa piada, nota-se que o efeito de humor é obtido em função