VIV'S ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

By Viv Quarry. Edition Number 6 The 23rd of July 1998.

Study English in England with Cicero International - See Viv for information & discount.

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 Well, the World Cup is over and Viv is disappointed, as is the rest of Brazil.

What happened? Everybody has their own theory, but I think that, unfortunately, the Brazilian team and manager underestimated what it would be like to play against the home team in the final. Most teams became very weak the moment a player was sent off (including England), and playing against the home team is like playing against 12 men, with the crowd being the extra player.

Why did Brazil concede two goals? In my opinion, because somebody forgot to watch Zidane, who despite not scoring before the final, was always going to be France's most dangerous player.

Why wasn't Brazil able to score? Ah! now we come to the much debated Ronaldo story. Everyone in the media seems to be more interested in what happened after his convulsions. I am more interested in why a player who has often been in high stress situations before, should suffer a few hours before the final. Epileptic? Rubbish. Any doctor will tell you that you don't just become an epileptic, it depends on family history. Was it stress? Rubbish. If stress caused convulsions, then sportsmen and women, politicians and business people would all be having convulsions various times a year! Were the players paid to lose the final? Rubbish. It's an insult to the entire team and technical staff. I think that every one of the players would gladly have exchanged a million dollars and much more to win the title for the fifth time. Well then, what happened?

I believe that something was put either in Ronaldo's drink or food which induced the convulsions. Roberto Carlos has also said that he felt pains all over his body before the match, was he poisoned too?

This theory can only be disproved if samples of everything given to Ronaldo to eat and drink were analysed by a neutral forensic laboratory after the

convulsions occurred. Was

this done?What do you think? Email me (See below).

On a lighter note, what really happened was that, by accident, the medical staff gave Ronaldo medicine which hadn't been falsified!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's New?

Viv has now joined the 20th century. I now have an e-mail address:

viv_q@hotmail.com  (THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS NO LONGER FUNCTIONS - USE THE GUEST BOOK TO CONTACT VIV)

If you have access to the internet here are some nice sites to practice your English:

Grammar:

SEE INTERNET PRACTICE ON THIS WEB SITE.

Britain & London:

SEE TRAVEL AND TOURISM ON THIS WEB SITE.

The essay of the month for July is by Cynthia Valença. I've tried to fit in the last part of my 'letter from Rio' too. There is one spelling mistake and one wrong word, can you find them?

Holidays?

Viv will not be travelling to the UK until the 17th of August at the earliest.

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