Conversações diárias: agradecemos por seu trabalho voluntário

Seis estudantes de diferentes partes do mundo se encontram. O que eles têm em comum? São todos intercambistas estudando em uma universidade americana durante um semestre. Ao longo do semestre, eles aprendem mais inglês, conhecem sobre a cultura americana e ficam sabendo mais sobre suas áreas de estudo. 

Esta série Conversações Diárias* é sobre seis estudantes e suas experiências durante um semestre em uma universidade nos EUA. Essas conversas são para alunos de inglês de nível intermediário ou superior. 

A série Conversações Diárias é uma ótima maneira de melhorar seu inglês. Os leitores de nível mais avançado podem aprender ainda mais rápido revendo este post original na íntegra em inglês.

Three students volunteer at a fall festival. In this conversation, the students (Peter, Akinyi and Lee) talk about the activities at the festival.

Peter: I thought we were all meeting up here this morning. Where are Lucía, Ajay and Jana?

Akinyi: Ajay and Jana are helping Lucía with a huge midterm project for one of her classes. You’re stuck with us.

Lee: But we’re ready to help!

Peter: Well, thanks for volunteering to help out at the fall festival. It’ll be a lot of fun, and all the money goes to the children’s hospital in town.

Akinyi: Could you explain one thing to me first? What exactly is a fall festival? I volunteered without knowing what I was getting myself into.

Lee: Me too!

Peter: Now I really appreciate that you volunteered! A fall festival is like an outdoor fair with a fall theme. There’s food and music, as well as games for children. This one is an off-campus event near a farm, so there’s even going to be a corn maze.

Lee: A corn maze? Like a maze made of corn?

Peter: Exactly. You have to walk through tall cornstalks trying to find your way out of the maze. Just when you think you’re finding your way, suddenly you come to a dead end, and you have to turn around and try a different path.

Akinyi: And what happens if you can’t find your way out?

Peter: There are people who will help you. You won’t be stuck in the maze forever.

Agora vamos rever o vocabulário.

To be stuck with someone or something [ficar preso a alguém ou alguma coisa] means that one is forced to take care of or deal with someone or something. In this context, it is said as a joke.

To volunteer [voluntariar] means to offer to do something without being paid to do it or without being asked to do it.

A fall festival [festival de outono] is a type of outdoor celebration or fair in the fall. Fall festivals have a fall theme, often with seasonal food and drink, music, games and crafts.

The phrase without knowing what (one) was getting (one)self into [sem saber em que (alguém) estava se metendo] means that the person did not know the details of a situation in advance.

An off-campus event [evento fora do campus] is an event that does not take place on the campus of a school.

A maze [labirinto] is a complicated system of paths or passages that people try to find their way through for fun. A corn maze is a large maze created in a cornfield. Cornstalks are cut down to create the paths.

A dead end [rua se saída] is a road or path that is closed at one end and does not join another road or path. As a result, one must turn around to exit a dead-end path.

A cornstalk [espiga de milho] is the thick, tall stem of a corn plant.

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