Invictus

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng3dBb7BkY8&feature=related

SYNOPSIS

What does Nelson Mandela do after becoming president of South Africa? He rejects revenge, forgives oppressors who jailed him 27 years for his fight against apartheid and finds hope of national unity in an unlikely place: the rugby field. Clint Eastwood (named 2009’s Best Director by the National Board of Review) directs an uplifting film about a team and a people inspired to greatness. Morgan Freeman (NBR’s Best Actor Award winner and Oscar nominee for this role) is Mandela, who asks the national rugby team captain (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Matt Damon) and his squad to do the impossible and win the World Cup.

Source: http://invictusmovie.warnerbros.com/dvd/index.html#/Synopsis

"Invictus"

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

"Invictus" is a short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).
The title is Latin for `unconquered`; "undefeated".

Avaliação oral: 21/24 Maio

Oral Evaluation: 21st / 24th May

Human Diversity

The people of the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand are a mixture of many different nationalities.
These different people brought to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions.
These countries were also inhabited by native people with their own culture.

- Select a country and a native people or a nationality and write about the history of these people, customs and traditions;
- Collect information, stick pictures, write short captions for each photo and add your comments.

What does it mean to be Samurai?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1irR1Svx0&feature=PlayList&p=3880AE1769BD7BA1&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=38

They say Japan was made by a sword. They say the old gods dipped a coral blade into the ocean, and when they pulled it out four perfect drops fell back into the sea, and those drops became the islands of Japan. I say, Japan was made by a handful of brave men. Warriors, willing to give their lives for what seems to have become a forgotten word: Honor.

They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seem such discipline. I am surprised to learn that the word Samurai means, 'to serve', and that Katsumoto believes his rebellion to be in the service of the Emperor.

Winter, 1877. What does it mean to be Samurai? To devote yourself utterly to a set of moral principles. To seek a stillness of your mind. And to master the way of the sword

Matéria para o teste: 3 de Maio

(a matéria foi escrita no quadro no dia 23 de Abril)

Tema: "The Changing World of Work"
Textos - "The future of work", "Workplace technology" - atenção ao vocabulário
Páginas Manual: 144 até 156
Gramática: The passive (Manual: 144-145; Workbook: 38) / Clauses of concession (Manual: 156; Workbook: 39)

temas que vos possam ajudar na composição: the world of work, technology, self-employment/being an entrepreneur.

Good Work!

Short Story: "A Family Supper"

To think about...

"The primary theme in Ishiguro's story "A Family Supper," is the conflict between generations in changing Japan. Meaning the ways of past generations are giving way to new values that have not been fully developed in the younger generations."

"In Japanese culture it is an honourable thing to kill yourself if you have done something terrible."