English Exercise Nov, 24

Read this text and answer the questions below.


God may indeed be Brazilian after all
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10134215

WHEN Francisco Suares, a Portuguese explorer, wrote home to his brother in Lisbon about Brazil's natural bounty in 1596, he declared himself “ashamed to write it, fearing that I shall not be believed.” And so it remains today. Brazil's forests are bigger than anywhere else's. Its soil is so fertile that some trees grow to full maturity quicker than people do. Beneath the soil lie huge mineral deposits that are raw material for China's double-digit growth. Brazil is already on its way to becoming an alternative-energy superpower. And as if to prove a popular saying that “God is Brazilian”, it now seems that there are billions more barrels of oil than previously thought lying beneath deep waters off the country's coastline.

Just how many billions is unclear, but Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, announced earlier this month that it reckons the Tupi oilfield contains between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels. That may not quite yet put Brazil in the same league as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, as Dilma Rousseff, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's chief of staff who also chairs Petrobras's board, excitedly proclaimed. But the higher estimate would make the Tupi field alone equal to all of Norway's reserves. It contains light crude, which is less expensive to refine and therefore worth more. And there may be other big deposits to be found nearby.


Despite these caveats, it is reasonable to assume that Brazil's economy and currency will get a boost when the oil starts flowing, it is hoped, in 2010. The discovery might also tip the balance of power in South America further in Brazil's favour. Already self-sufficient in oil, Brazil is now likely to become a significant exporter. That may reduce the clout of Venezuela's oil-rich president, Hugo Chávez, in the region. As if to underline this, Petrobras announced on November 13th that it was pulling out of a joint venture in Venezuela.


Exercises


1) What is this text about?

2) According to the text, what are the main oil producers nowadays?

3) Choose the alternative that contains only adjectives

a) Popular / mineral / sorne / billion
b) deep / board / reserves / light
c) big / “state-controlled” / expensive / raw
d) many / chairs / deep / soil

4) Verify these affirmatives below:
( ) After this episode, Brazil is the most powerful country in terms of oil.
( ) Venezuela produces more oil than Brazil
( ) The Brazilian economy will be affected by the new oil field only in 2010.