Brazil 2014 - Host cities -Manaus and the Fifa World Cup in Amazonas

Brazil 2014 - Host cities Manaus and the Fifa World Cup in Amazonas There are a little over two years and two months to go before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Starting in this edition, Maganews brings you interesting facts on each of the 12 host cities. Below there follows information on Manaus, and in the following pages the focus is on the Amazon region .Manaus is considered to be the gateway [1] for tourists to the Amazon rainforest [2]. Boats [3] leave this port for the different regions of the Amazon. You can take a comfortable cruise [4] along the Rivers Negro and Solimões on a kind of floating [5] hotel. Manaus has no tradition in soccer and no large soccer clubs, butnevertheless [6] it was chosen to be one of thevenues [7] for the next FIFA World Cup. The largest stadium in the city, the Vivaldão, was demolished in order to build a new, larger and more modern stadium, called the “Arena Amazonia” and will have capacity for about 48,000 people. The cost is high: more than R$ 532 million. Besides its strong potential in eco-tourism, the city boasts other attractions. In the city center, visitors can see historic buildings, such as the Rio Negro Palace, the AmazonasTheater, the Palace of Justice, and the Municipal Market. The local food is freshly-caught fish and exotic fruit. One of the typical dishes is a stew [8], or chowder[9], called Caldeirada, in which the main ingredient is either tambaqui or tucunaré fish. A large, modern city The name Manaus is a reference to the indigenous manaós people, who lived there in the past. The capital of Amazonas has a population of 1.8 million people and is the most populous city in the North of Brazil.  This modern city is one of the richest cities in the country. One of the main sources of its wealth is the Manaus Free Zone, a major industrial and technological hub [10] which houses about 600 companies.  The Free Trade Zone was established by the Federal Government in 1967 to boost[11] economic development in the Amazon. The government offers tax breaks [12] for companies that set up in the region.   Vocabulary 1 gateway – portão de entrada 2 rainforest – floresta / selva tropical 3 boat – barco 4 cruise – cruzeiro 5 floating hotel – “barco hotel” 6 nevertheless – mesmo assim 7 venue – local / sede 8 stew – cozido 9 chowder – sopa espessa 10 hub – centro 11 to boost – acelerar / incrementar 12 tax breaks – benefícios fiscais