Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is Brazil’s second largest city. It is one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world and probably the most visited city in all of South America. Rio’s world famous carnival, its sandy white beaches and famous landmarks attract millions of visitors each year. The city has been chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the first time a South American city will be host to the event. Rio de Janeiro was Brazil’s capital until 1960.

History

Portuguese explorers first arrived at Guanabara Bay in January 1502. They thought that the bay was the mouth of a large river and named it Rio de Janeiro - River of January. In the 16th century, the French became the first European settlers to live permanently in the Bay area, but later on the Portuguese returned and drove the French away.

In the 18th century, gold was found in the region, and Rio de Janeiro became an important trading post for gold and sugar. It became the capital of the Portuguese colony in the New World.

Geography

Rio de Janeiro lies in the southeastern part of Brazil, near the Tropic of Capricorn. The second largest city of Brazil has a population of over 10 million. Among them are mainly Europeans and Pardos, a mixture of Europeans, Blacks and Indians.

Rio has a hot and humid climate with an average temperature of about 23 ° C. The best time to travel there is in the southern hemisphere’s winter months, when the humidity is lower and it is drier. The rainy season lasts from December to March.
Rio de Janeiro is surrounded by hills. In the middle of the city lies the tropical Tijuca Forest, one of the largest urban forests in the world.

Rio is one of Brazil’s major industrial cities, second only to Sao Paulo. It is a commercial and financial centre, with the headquarters of many foreign companies and banks .

Cityscape

The city of Rio de Janeiro surprises its visitors with a mixture of modern office buildings and colonial European architecture.

Sugar Loaf Mountain is the city’s most famous landmark. It is an almost 400 metre high rounded mountain, a popular destination for tourists, as well as Rio’s citizens.

A cable car, opened in 1912, brings tourists to the top of the scenic mountain where you can enjoy a breath-taking view of the city.

Mount Corcovado is a 700-metre high peak in the west of Rio de Janeiro. It is famous for Christ the Redeemer, a 38-metre tall statue of Jesus Christ spreading out his hands towards the city.

Favelas

Rio’s slums, called favelas, are a contrast to the beauty of the modern city. Almost a fifth of the city’s population live in shabby huts, without running water and sanitation. The low-income areas are located at the outskirts of the city, close to the mountainous regions.

Culture

Even though Brasilia is the capital city and Sao Paulo the largest city in the country, Rio de Janeiro has always been the cultural centre of Brazil.

Rio is famous for its carnival and colourful samba parades, which take place every year at the end of the carnival season. Two million people take to the streets every day. For four days, dancing schools and individual groups perform and show their talents.

Football is one of Brazil’s most popular pastimes. The legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was once the largest in the world. It was rebuilt to host the 2014 World Cup. In 2016, the stadium with a capacity of nearly 100,000, will hold the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Rio de Janeiro’s famous 5 km long Copacabana Beach shows people playing volleyball and soccer, or just lying in the sand. There are hundreds of hotels lined up along the beach; bars and nightclubs can be visited around the clock.

Problems

Despite its beauty and attraction for tourists, Rio de Janeiro has many problems. The most pressing is crime. Rio is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with more than 6000 murders every year. Apart from that drug trafficking and police corruption are widespread, especially in and around the favelas. Many of the city’s poor people are not employed, children do not attend schools.

Over the past years, growing traffic has become a major problem for city planners. Rio de Janeiro cannot expand because it is surrounded by mountains. In addition, the city’s services cannot cope with the growing pollution of beaches and other public places.

Words

apart from = not together, separately
around the clock = day and night
arrive = come to
attend = go to
attract = draw, invite, bring
average =usual, normal
bay = part of the sea that makes a curve into the land
breath-taking = wonderful, magnificent, great
cable car = object that hangs from a cable and brings people up and down mountains
capacity = the number of people that can watch something in a stadium
capital = important city, where the government works
century = a hundred years
cityscape = the way a city looks
colony = area controlled by a country that is far away
commercial= about business and the economy
considered to be = people think that
contrast = difference , the opposite, to look completely different
corruption = if you use your position or job in a wrong way, or if you take money from somebody
despite = even though
destination = place to go
drug trafficking = the buying and selling of drugs
employ = have a job
especially = above all
even though = while
exciting = thrilling, sensational, wonderful
expand = grow
explorer = someone who travels to a place to find out more about it
fifth = here: 20%
foreign = from another country
headquarters = the main building or offices of a large company or organization
hemisphere = half of the world
host = to organize an event
humid = when the air is very wet
humidity = wetness
in addition = also
landmark = an object, like a building or bridge, that is easy to recognize and that helps you know where you are
legendary = well-known, great
line up = to be next to each other
low-income = here: places where people do not get a lot of money for the work they do
mainly = mostly
mixture = combination
mouth = where a river flows into the ocean
opening ceremony = the first part of longer event
outskirts = the parts of town furthest away from the centre
pastime = something enjoyable that you do, a hobby
peak = top part of a mountain
perform = act
permanently = always, for good
popular = well-known and liked
population = all the people in a city or country
pressing = important, terrible
probably = most likely
public places = places where people go to
rebuilt = built again
Redeemer = person who frees you from the bad things in the world
running water = water that you get from pipes that the city builds
sanitation = removing dirty water and waste
scenic = beautiful
services = when you offer something that the population needs
settler = person who starts living in a place where not many people have lived before
shabby hut = small house that is in a bad condition
slum = area with houses that are in very bad condition
spread = stretch out
surrounded =bordered by
take to the streets = go and show themselves on the streets
trading post = place where people land with their boat in order to buy and sell goods
traffic = movement of cars, buses etc… on the streets
Tropic of Capricorn = an imaginary line 23,5° south of the equator
urban = city
widespread = common, all over the place

English Online

Articles in Easy Understandable English for Learners