A Última Biblioteca
Em 2087, num futuro distópico, a Dra. Elena Martinez guarda os últimos livros numa biblioteca subterrânea secreta e luta para salvar o conhecimento humano do apagamento imposto pelas empresas e pelos algoritmos.
preservar—to preserveRead this in the PortuStories app
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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
No ano 2087, quando a maioria dos livros físicos tinha sido destruída, uma mulher chamada Dr. Elena Martinez dedicava a sua vida inteira a preservar os últimos documentos impressos da humanidade numa biblioteca subterrânea secreta.
In the year 2087, when most physical books had been destroyed, a woman named Dr. Elena Martinez dedicated her entire life to preserving the last printed documents of humanity in a secret underground library.
Durante vinte anos, Elena tinha preservado aproximadamente cinquenta mil volumes em condições ideais de temperatura e humidade, protegidos das radiações solares crescentes que tornavam a superfície terrestre praticamente inabitável. O governo corporativo que controlava o mundo tinha tentado repetidamente destruir a biblioteca, acreditando que a literatura impressa era uma ameaça ideológica ao seu monopólio informacional absoluto.
For twenty years, Elena had preserved approximately fifty thousand volumes under ideal conditions of temperature and humidity, protected from the increasing solar radiation that had made the Earth's surface practically uninhabitable. The corporate government that controlled the world had repeatedly tried to destroy the library, believing that printed literature was an ideological threat to its absolute information monopoly.
The remaining 5 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| preservar | to preserve; to keep safe for the future |
| preserva | preserves (3rd person singular present of preservar) |
| preservou | preserved (preterite of preservar) |
| preservava | was preserving (imperfect of preservar) |
| preservará | will preserve (future of preservar) |
| preservados | preserved (masculine plural past participle) |
| preservação | preservation; the act of keeping something safe from harm |
| biblioteca | library; a place where books are kept |
| última | last, final (feminine) |
| último | last, final (masculine) |
| subterrânea | underground (feminine); below the earth's surface |
| maioria | majority; the greater part |
| físicos | physical (masculine plural); tangible, material |
| destruída | destroyed (feminine past participle) |
| dedicava | dedicated (imperfect of dedicar) |
| inteira | entire, whole (feminine) |
| impressos | printed (masculine plural) |
| humanidade | humanity; humankind |
| volumes | volumes; books as physical objects (plural) |
| volume | volume; a single book |
| condições | conditions; circumstances (plural) |
| ideais | ideal (plural); perfect, optimal |
| temperatura | temperature |
| humidade | humidity; the amount of moisture in the air |
| protegidos | protected (masculine plural past participle) |
| radiações | radiations (plural); energy emitted in waves |
| radiação | radiation; energy emitted from a source |
| solares | solar; relating to the sun (plural) |
| crescentes | growing, increasing (plural) |
| tornavam | made, rendered (imperfect, 3rd plural of tornar) |
| superfície | surface; the outside layer of something |
| terrestre | terrestrial; of or relating to the Earth |
| praticamente | practically; almost, nearly |
| inabitável | uninhabitable; not safe to live in |
| governo | government; the system ruling a country |
| corporativo | corporate; relating to large corporations |
| controlava | controlled (imperfect of controlar) |
| tentado | attempted (past participle of tentar) |
| repetidamente | repeatedly; again and again |
| destruir | to destroy; to completely ruin or demolish |
| acreditando | believing (gerund of acreditar) |
| literatura | literature; written works, especially fiction and poetry |
| impressa | printed (feminine); produced by a printing press |
| ameaça | threat; something that may cause harm |
| ideológica | ideological (feminine); relating to ideas and beliefs |
| monopólio | monopoly; exclusive control over something |
| informacional | informational; relating to information |
| absoluto | absolute; complete, without exception (masculine) |
| missão | mission; a task or purpose one is committed to |
| textos | texts; written works (plural) |
| texto | text; a piece of writing |
| própria | own, very (feminine emphatic adjective) |
| conhecimento | knowledge; what is known and understood |
| existir | to exist; to have real being |
| fora da | outside of; beyond the limits of |
| rede | network; a system of connected things |
| digital | digital; relating to computer technology |
| visionária | visionary (feminine); foreseeing future developments |
| imaginado | imagined (past participle of imaginar) |
| distopias | dystopias (plural); imaginary oppressive societies |
| similares | similar (plural); resembling something else |
| atual | current, present (adjective) |
| poesia | poetry; literary art in verse form |
| falava | spoke, talked (imperfect of falar) |
| liberdade | freedom, liberty |
| revolução | revolution; a fundamental change in political power |
| infinito | infinite; without limits (masculine) |
| expressão | expression; the conveying of ideas and feelings |
| individual | individual; belonging to a single person |
| assistentes | assistants; helpers (plural) |
| selecionados | selected (masculine plural past participle) |
| acreditava | believed (imperfect of acreditar) |
| diversificado | diversified, diverse (masculine) |
| fundamental | fundamental; absolutely necessary |
| sobrevivência | survival; the act of continuing to live |
| longo prazo | long term; extending far into the future |
| juntos | together (masculine plural) |
| palavras | words (plural) |
| essência | essence; the fundamental nature of something |
| civilizações | civilisations (plural) |
| passadas | past (feminine plural) |
| riqueza | richness, wealth; abundance of something valuable |
| perspectivas | perspectives; points of view (plural) |
| algoritmo | algorithm; a set of rules for solving a problem |
| inexoravelmente | inexorably; unstoppably, relentlessly |
| erradicar | to eradicate; to completely destroy or remove |
| sofrido | suffered, endured (past participle of sofrer) |
| tentativas | attempts (plural) |
| tentativa | attempt; an effort to do something |
| invasão | invasion; an unwanted intrusion or attack |
| encontrado | found, discovered (past participle of encontrar) |
| criativas | creative (feminine plural) |
| esconder | to hide; to conceal from sight |
| valiosos | valuable (masculine plural) |
| técnicas | techniques (plural); methods or skills |
| técnica | technique; a skilled method |
| remontavam | dated back to (imperfect, 3rd plural of remontar) |
| antigos | ancient, old (masculine plural) |
| embalando | wrapping (gerund of embalar) |
| artefatos | artefacts; objects of historical or cultural significance (plural) |
| selantes | sealants; substances used to seal things (plural) |
| argon | argon; an inert gas used for preservation |
| armazenando | storing (gerund of armazenar) |
| compartimentos | compartments; enclosed spaces for storing things (plural) |
| havia excavado | had excavated (pluperfect of escavar) |
| pessoalmente | personally; by oneself |
| profundidades | depths (plural); deep levels |
| maiores | greater, larger (comparative plural) |
| rapaz | boy; a young male person |
| dezasseis | sixteen |
| enviado | sent (past participle of enviar) |
| movimento | movement; an organised group working for change |
| resistência | resistance; organised opposition to a regime |
| clandestina | clandestine (feminine); secret, hidden |
| operava | operated, worked (imperfect of operar) |
| cidades | cities (plural) |
| subterrâneas | underground (feminine plural) |
| simples | simple; straightforward |
| aprender | to learn; to acquire knowledge |
| máximo | maximum; the greatest amount |
| pudesse | could (imperfect subjunctive of poder) |
| proibidos | forbidden, banned (masculine plural) |
| reconheceu | recognised (preterite of reconhecer) |
| imediatamente | immediately; without delay |
| potencial | potential; the capacity for future development |
| instruí-lo | to instruct him (infinitive + pronoun) |
| sistematicamente | systematically; in an organised, methodical way |
| guiando | guiding (gerund of guiar) |
| absorvia | absorbed (imperfect of absorver) |
| vorazmente | voraciously; with great eagerness |
| frequentemente | frequently; often |
| dezoito | eighteen |
| desesperado | desperate; feeling hopeless urgency (masculine) |
| perdido | lost (past participle of perder); gone forever |
| para sempre | forever; for all time |
| memória | memory; the capacity to remember |
| ficção científica | science fiction; a genre imagining future technology |
| cuidadosamente | carefully; with great care |
| já | already; now |
| ainda | still; yet; even |
| nunca | never |
| sempre | always; forever |
| apenas | only; just; merely |
| sobretudo | above all; most importantly |
| também | also; too; as well |
| contudo | however; yet; nonetheless |
| ao longo de | over the course of; throughout |
| não apenas | not only; not just |
| cada vez maiores | increasingly greater; ever larger |
| de entre | from among; from within (a group) |
| longo prazo | long-term; over an extended period |
| por dia | per day; each day |
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