The April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are an extreme weather event that has affected the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the first days of April 2010. At least 212 people have died, 161 people have been injured (including several rescuers), while at least 15,000 people have been made homeless. A further 10,000 homes are thought to be at risk from mudslides, most of them in slums built on the hillsides above downtowns. Damage from the flooding has been estimated at 23.76 billion reais (US$13.3bn, €9.9bn), about 8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Rio de Janeiro State.

The flooding has particularly affected the city of Rio de Janeiro, where at least 60 people have died, and its surrounding area. Deaths have also been reported in the cities of Niterói (132), São Gonçalo (16), Paracambi (1), Paulo de Frontin (1), Magé (1), Nilópolis (1) and Petrópolis(1). Several municipalities, including Niterói and municipalities to the east such as Maricá and Araruama, have declared states of emergency or of public calamity. The Governor of Rio de Janeiro State, Sérgio Cabral, declared three days of official mourning for the dead.

Heavy rain started at around 5 p.m. local time on Monday 5 April in Rio de Janeiro city, and continued for 24 hours, with a total of 28.8 cm of rain falling, more than was predicted for the whole of April and the heaviest rainfall for thirty years. Rio de Janeiro mayor, Eduardo Paes, admitted that the city’s preparedness for heavy rainfall had been “less than zero,” but added “there isn’t a city that wouldn’t have had problems with this level of rainfall.”

A further landslide hit a slum in Niteroi late on April 7. It is thought to have killed at least 150, although the toll is expected to rise.

(Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2010_Rio_de_Janeiro_floods_and_mudslides )

1. According to the text :

VF

00 – It hasn’t rained in Rio de Janeiro for 30 years.

11 – There were no fatal victims in the flooding.

22 – There was rain before, but this is worst in 30 years.

33 – There was a mourning for the victims.

44 – Few people died in the flooding.

2. According to the text:

VF

00 – Slums weren’t affected by the flooding.

11 – A lot of people lost their homes.

22 – Rio de Janeiro wasn’t prepared for this kind of rain.

33 – People are happy because the weather is rainy and cool.

44 – Mudslides means deslizamentos de terra in Portuguese.

4. Mark T for true and F for false:

VF

00 – “The April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are an extreme weather event that has affected the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the first days of April 2010.” The word underlined can be replaced by WHICH without changing the meaning of the sentence.

11 – “The April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are an extreme weather event that has affected the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the first days of April 2010.” The word underlined can be replaced by WHO without changing the meaning of the sentence.

22 – “The April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are an extreme weather event that has affected the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the first days of April 2010.” If we OMIT the word underlined, the sentence will be grammatically incorrect.

33 – “The flooding has particularly affected the city of Rio de Janeiro, where at least 60 people have died, and its surrounding area.” The word underlined is a relative pronoun and refers to the flooding.

44 – “The flooding has particularly affected the city of Rio de Janeiro, where at least 60 people have died, and its surrounding area.” The word underlined is a relative pronoun and refers to city of Rio de Janeiro.

4. Mark V for the alternatives which the words underlined were correctly replaced by OBJECT PRONOUNS and F for those which it doesn’t occur:

VF

00 – Floods are destroying Rio de Janeiro. – IT

11 – People lost their houses– THEM

22 – We saw your sister on TV. – HIM

33 – Tell your father we are truly sorry. – HIM

44 – I am going to help my mother. – HER

5. Mark V for the sentences which are grammatically correct anf F for those which are incorrect:

VF

00 – We ourselves saved the kids.

11 – She moved the car by himself.

22 – They helped each other.

33 – He hurt herself while he was trying to escape.

44 – They saw themselves reflected in the water.

GABARITO

1. FFVVF
2. FVVFV
3. VFVFV
4. VVFVV
5. VFVFV