Custom Search

World Cup 2014 - Brazil!







ZURICH, Switzerland -- Brazil has been awarded the 2014 World Cup finals, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced Tuesday.


FIFA president Sepp Blatter makes the announcement that Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup finals.
Blatter said Brazil now has "not only the right, but the responsibility to organize FIFA's World Cup 2014."
Blatter then handed the World Cup trophy to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who flew in for the announcement.

"Soccer is not only a sport for us," Lula said. "It's more than that: Soccer for us is a passion, a national passion."

He promised Brazil "will now, with great pride, do its homework." And, he added, "if everything works out well, we will win once again a World Cup."

Brazil was the only candidate to pitch to host football's global showpiece after South American rivals Colombia pulled out of the running in April.

However, Brazil had been told by FIFA it wasn't guaranteed the tournament simply because it was the only candidate, saying it had to provide a solid bid package.

Blatter said the lack of competition from other South American nations was one reason behind FIFA's decision Monday to do away with the rotation system that gave each continent a turn at hosting the World Cup. The decision takes effect with the 2018 tournament.

"We are a civilized nation, a nation that is going through an excellent phase, and we have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honor to organize an excellent World Cup," Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira said.

Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva, national team coach Dunga, veteran striker Romario and renowned author Paulo Coelho were among those making the trip to Zurich -- and the final decision was made by FIFA's executive committee after a 30-minute presentation.

"Of course, dreams demand hard work and we Brazilians are ready to face this task," Coelho said. "All the countries in the world have two teams -- the national squad and the Brazilian squad."

Brazil hosted the World Cup once before, 57 years ago. Since launching its bid for 2014, Brazil has emphasized why the country needs the World Cup, much more than what it has to offer the tournament.

"Over the next few years we will have a consistent influx of investments. The 2014 World Cup will enable Brazil to have a modern infrastructure," Teixeira said. "In social terms will be very beneficial."

"Our objective is to make Brazil become more visible in global arenas," he added. "The World Cup goes far beyond a mere sporting event. It's going to be an interesting tool to promote social transformation."

Tuesday's presentation was smoother than the one in July, which underlined Brazil's status as a developing nation with repeated images of its car factories and dry statistics.

Blatter had recently questioned Brazil's infrastructure and bid plans, but FIFA said last week that a stadium-inspection trip in August showed the country could put on "an exceptional" tournament.

However, there have been delays in hosting some major events, problems with violence in the streets and the public transportation system in the country is often overloaded.

The Brazilian soccer confederation estimates that the construction and remodeling of stadiums will require an investment of $1.1 billion, though that could vary significantly depending on the cities chosen to host games.

Brazil is home to 10 of the world's largest football stadiums, including the famous Maracana where more than 200,000 fans saw the home side lose 2-1 to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final.

Renovations have since reduced its capacity to 95,000 seats, with thousands more standing. E-mail to a friend


source: www.cnn.com

Dicas para quem vai estudar/trabalhar no exterior!



Dicas práticas de quem já foi para quem vai... Estudar no Exterior
Faça a reserva do curso com muita antecedência, para facilitar o pagamento e se preparar para a mudança.

Não vale a pena achar um curso de idioma por conta própria. As agências realmente facilitam tudo, ajudam na escolha da escola e do curso de acordo com seu perfil, intermedeiam todo o processo de inscrição (incluindo os pagamentos no exterior), dão apoio em caso de problemas e além disso conhecem as escolas e os preços são tabelados.

Não leve bagagem demais. Lembre-se de que é você quem vai carregá-la o tempo todo e que vai acabar comprando mais coisas enquanto estiver lá. No fim da viagem, o excesso vai custar muito caro.
Não saia do Brasil sem um plano de assistência medica internacional, que custa em média US$100 para 30 dias de cobertura. Lá fora, qualquer atendimento médico custa uma fortuna.

Carteirinha internacional de estudante também é indispensável, além de ser um documento importante, dá descontos em praticamente tudo.

Combinar o útil ao agradável
Não adianta dizer que você precisa fazer um curso de inglês (ou qualquer outro idioma) no exterior e sair correndo pra contratar o programa sem pensar muito sobre o que realmente você quer e o que você precisa.

Combinar o útil ao agradável, já é um excelente começo.
Para transformar uma temporada de estudos no exterior em uma experiência que realmente valha a pena, você deve começar escolhendo o local onde quer estudar. Para isso vários fatores devem ser analisados com calma para garantir o investimento, o tempo, a oportunidade e a sua satisfação.
Tente imaginar os motivos que o fazem escolher uma cidade na Europa, na Ásia, na Oceania ou na America do Norte. Deve considerar também a cultura e costumes, o clima, o tipo de curso e sua duração, o tamanho da cidade e sem dúvida, os custos que a combinação de tudo isso pode resultar no seu bolso.

Idioma
Caso tenha intensão de aperfeiçoar uma língua estrangeira, a escolha do país estará diretamente ligada ao idioma que você quer aprender. Assim, se seu interesse é pelo inglês, poderá considerar um enorme leque de opções para os EUA, Canadá, Inglaterra, Irlanda, Austrália, Nova Zelândia, África do Sul, Malta. Para quem quer aprender espanhol, ficará entre a Espanha, Cuba, México, Argentina ou outro país latino-americano. Se a idéia é o francês, as melhores opções estão na França e no Canadá, especialmente a província de Quebec, que está cheia de escolas de francês para estrangeiros.
Importante: procure sempre saber se as escolas são registradas e certificadas em algum orgão educacional local ou organizações e associações internacionais, isso confirma a qualidade de ensino e seus serviços.

Tipos de cursos
Algumas pessoas querem simplesmente aprender um idioma, pois percebem a necessidade de serem, no mínimo independentes durante uma viagem de turismo.

Outras vivem as exigências do mercado de trabalho que o obrigam a manter-se atualizado. Ou estudantes universitários que precisam aperfeiçoar um idioma combinando atividades nas suas áreas de atuação. E aqueles que sonham com uma experiência de estudos convivendo de perto com a cultura de um povo. Para quem quer fazer um curso de graduação, pós-graduação, mestrado, doutorado ou qualquer curso que seja ministrado em outro idioma, é imprescindível antes da matrícula, já possuir dominio do idioma, comprovando através de exames específicos. Caso ainda não tenha otimo dominio, a sugestão é que se matricule antes em um curso de idiomas. Geralmente as escolas de idiomas costumam encaminhar os alunos para outros cursos, uma vez que ja tenham atingido o nível necessário exigido pelas universidades. Algumas universidades possuem curso de idioma para preparar os alunos.

Os Estados Unidos são muito procurados por intercambistas, já que suas escolas - High School são bem conceituadas. O Reino Unido, Canadá e Austrália também são bons destinos para os estudantes secundaristas.

Quem vai fazer graduação ou pós deve identificar se o país possui boas escolas no campo de estudos de seu interesse. Por exemplo, a Suiça, é reconhecida pelas excelentes escolas de hotelaria e gastronomia, enquanto a França e a Itália contam com renomadas escolas de artes e humanidades. Os Estados Unidos por sua vez, são o local ideal para quem quer estudar física, computação, matemática e ciências de forma geral.

Custos
Para não colocar o "carros na frente dos bois", antes de escolher o destino, coloque no papel quanto pode gastar. Além dos custos de passagem aérea, acomodação e taxas da escola, você precisará de dinheiro para sua alimentação, transporte, passeios e excursões extras, afinal o 'agradável ' também faz parte do programa.

Com a forte valorização do Euro nos últimos tempos, fazer um curso na França, na Espanha ou na Itália , não sai nada barato. Por isso, para quem quer estudar inglês, o Canadá e a África do Sul são alternativa bem mais em conta que o Reino Unido - até mesmo que os Estado Unidos. Isso também ocorre com cursos de espanhol na Argentina, devido ao baixo custo de vida atual.

Trabalho enquanto estuda
Se você quer trabalhar enquanto estuda, sem se preocupar com a imigração, os Países que permitem oficialmente que estudantes trabalhem durante o período de estudo, geralmente até 20 horas semanais, são: Austrália (para cursos superior a 14 semanas), Inglaterra (para cursos superiores a 28 semanas) e Irlanda (para cursos superiores a 25 semanas) e Nova Zelândia (para cursos superiores a 6 meses, desde que o aluno já tenha conhecimento de inglês equivalente a 5.0 IELTS). Dentre estes Países, apenas a Irlanda e a Nova Zelandia não possuem muita burocracia em relação a concessão de visto para estudantes Brasileiros. Mas é importante ter cuidado com escolas muito baratas. Por exemplo, existem algumas escolas que estão com número excessivo de Brasileiros, o que dificulta o aprendizado, outras colocam mais de 20 alunos por turma. Lembre-se portanto que, nem sempre o mais barato vai ser a melhor opção.

Cidade e Costumes
Estudar numa grande metrópole ou numa cidade pequena, vai depender do gosto pessoal. Se você é do tipo familiar e prefere ambientes calmos, é melhor optar por cidades no interior, além disso o custo de vida é mais baixo e os costumes do país normalmente estão mais bem preservados. Mas se você não abre mão de certa badalação e adora sair à noite, deverá optar pelos centros urbanos como Nova York, Toronto, Londres, Dublin, Auckland, Sydney ou Paris, já que a chance de conhecer gente do mundo inteiro é maior.

Ao viajar para outros países é inevitável encarar diferenças de cultura e costumes, muitas vezes um grande choque. Mas pense na experiência de vivenciá-las de forma aberta e flexível, sabendo que estes detalhes podem ser pontos positivos, podem se transformar numa fonte de prazer...mas o contrário também pode acontecer. Por isso, vale a dica: informe-se muito sobre a cultura e os costumes do país antes de escolhê-lo como o local dos seus sonhos.

Clima
Avaliar o clima do país e da cidade para o período do ano que você escolheu para encarar essa experiência, é essencial para que você não se arrependa depois. O inverno no Hemisfério Norte como Estados Unidos, Canadá e Reino Unido, costuma ser muito rigoroso, com temperaturas extremas que nós brasileiros não estamos acostumados. Nessas regiões as estações do ano são opostas às nossas, por isso se você é do tipo que odeia rajadas de vento e tem preguiça de sair da cama, evite escolher cidades de muito frio. Mas pense também no contrário, o verão em países tropicais como na África do Sul é tão (ou mais) quente que o nosso.

Acomodação
Outra coisa muito importante, escolher uma acomodação que esteja dentro do 'seu bolso', que lhe proporcione segurança, conforto (sem luxo) e refeições. Se você tem espírito para conviver com uma familia local, essa é uma opção adequada, sai mais barato e normalmente inclui refeições, um quarto só pra você e o convívio direto com a cultura local. E se não gostar...pode pedir na escola que mude para outro endereço. Ou se preferir algo mais informal e descontraído, existem opções de dormitórios estudantis, onde os quartos são individuais ou duplos e o convívio com estudantes estrangeiros acontece o tempo todo, mas nem todos oferecem refeições, o que as vezes acaba saindo um pouco mais caro.
Muita informação é aquilo que você deve esperar que sua agência lhe ofereça. Mas vale também pesquisar por conta própria, para que imprevistos e arrependimento não sejam seus companheiros de viagem.

Estágio no exterior: por que trabalhar fora do Brasil

Num mercado de trabalho cada vez mais competitivo, "diferenciar-se" é a palavra chave para profissionais com visão num futuro globalizado, onde possuir boa formação acadêmica tornou-se mero requisito básico.

A busca por profissionais qualificados é hoje a grande meta nas empresas. Estes profissionais devem adquirir qualificação através de fluência em, no mínimo um idioma, experiência profissional no exterior, cursos de aperfeiçoamento e especialização, capacitação em diferentes áreas e muito mais.

Avaliação de títulos e certificados pode não ser eliminatória, mas pode garantir melhor classificação em concursos, diferenciais durante um processo de seleção e vantagens ao assumir um cargo.

O jovem universitário deve começar a se preocupar em alcançar este status a partir dos 18 anos, pois existem vários tipos de programas de estágio profissionalizante no exterior, os quais permitem decidir, pela área de trabalho, local, duração, início e tipo de acomodação.

Esta é a chance de se qualificar no exterior sem correr risco de tornar-se clandestino e ser deportado. Este tipo de trabalho temporário é legal em vários países e muitos ainda incentivam e abrem portas para trabalhadores especializados.

A vantagem do candidato inscrever-se nos diferentes tipos de estágios ou trabalhos temporários remunerados é a facilidade e segurança de emissão da documentação, exigida pelos Consulados, para que sejam solicitados os vistos adequados para cada situação.

Bolsas de Estudo
Para estudar lá fora
Que instituições procurar e o que você precisa fazer para concorrer a uma bolsa de pós-graduação no exterior.

Estudar fora pode ser a peça que faltava para os seus planos de vida. Além da oportunidade de viver em outro país, quem estuda no exterior geralmente volta para o mercado brasileiro ultra-qualificado. Mas e quanto custa isso? Muito. No entanto, com um bom planejamento e uma boa bolsa de estudos, morar fora pode se tornar uma realidade mais tangível.

Existem, basicamente, três tipos de instituições para se bater à porta para conseguir bolsas de estudo no exterior. A principal fonte de recursos é o governo brasileiro, por meio de órgãos como Capes e CNPq. Mas os governos de outros países também têm interesse em atrair mentes brasileiras espertas. Em seguida estão as entidades privadas e públicas especializadas na concessão de bolsas, como o Instituto Ling, de Porto Alegre, a Fundação Estudar, de São Paulo, e a Comissão Fullbright, dos Estados Unidos.




fonte:www.estudarnoexterior.com.br

Rio de Janeiro


One of the major economic and cultural hubs of South America, the City of Rio de Janeiro sits at the heart of the Southeastern Region where 60% of the Brazilian GDP is concentrated. A cosmopolitan metropolis, known worldwide for its scenic beauty and its natural resources, the city provides a harmonious and agreeable environment for its inhabitants and visitors, for both leisure and work, which combined with its infrastructure, makes Rio an important center for commerce and services, with the advantage of a modern and diversified industrial sector. The City of Rio de Janeiro, which occupies an area of 1.261 Km2, and has a population of 5.850.544 (according to the IBGE 2000 census), recognizes that one of its main virtues is the kindness and hospitality with which its residents welcome all visitors.

The City of Rio de Janeiro receives annually more than 2 million foreign tourists, which according to EMBRATUR makes it the most visited city in the country, with an approximate share of 33% of the total number of foreign tourists. Added to this more than 5 million Brazilian tourists visit the city per year. With its ample infrastructure of tourism services, Rio de Janeiro is ranked among the top destinations in the world in reception for cultural, commercial, technical and scientific events – fairs, symposia, congresses, conventions and exhibitions. Its exuberant natural resources include 90 Km of beaches, the Tijuca National Park, which includes the largest urban forest in the world, with 3,200 hectares of Atlantic Forest, the State Parks of Pedra Branca, Desengano and Chacrinha, covering an area of 48.500 hectares, and the Rodrigo de Freitas, Jacarepaguá, Camorim, Tijuca and Marapendi lakes and lagoons.

Area:
State: 43.910 Km2
City: 1.261 Km2

Population:
State: 14.367.225
City: 5.850.544

National GDP:
R$ 864 billion

State participation in GDP:
R$ 96,9 billion (11,3%)

City participation in GDP:
R$ 72,5 billion

Per capita income in the State:
R$ 7.152,97 (US$ 3577)

Registered companies:
134. 379 in the State




source:http://www.rioconventionbureau.com.br/

C.R Flamengo


Flamengo only embraced football when a group of dissatisfied players from Fluminense Football Club broke away from the club following a dispute with the board. The players (Alberto Borghert, Othon de Figueiredo Baena, Píndaro de Carvalho Rodrigues, Emmanuel Augusto Nery, Ernesto Amarante, Armando de Almeida, Orlando Sampaio Matos, Gustavo Adolpho de Carvalho, Lawrence Andrews and Arnaldo Machado Guimarães) decided to join Flamengo because Borgeth, who was the team's captain, was also a rower for Flamengo. Admittance of the new members was approved on November 8, 1911. A motion against the club taking part in football tournaments was defeated, and the members assembly officially created the football team on December 24, 1911.

The new team used to train on Russel beach, and gradually gained the support of the locals, who closely watched their practice games. The first official match was played on May 3, 1912 and is, to this day, the most spectacular victory of the club, as the team defeated Mangueira 16 to 2. The first Fla-Flu (which would eventually become one of the most famous football derbies in the world) was also played in that year, on July 7, and was won by Fluminense, by 3 x 2.

On March 9, 2007, Flamengo earned a commemorative date in Rio de Janeiro state's official calendar. On that day, State Governor Sergio Cabral Filho signed Law 4998, declaring November 17th (the day the club was founded) "the Flamengo day".

Slang !


Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is often highly regional, specific to a particular territory.

Slang terms are frequently particular to a certain subculture, such as musicians, and members of minority groups. Nevertheless, usage of slang expressions can spread outside their original arenas to become commonly understood, such as "cool" and "jive". While some words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers. In spite of this, the process tends to lead the original users to replace the words with other, less-recognized terms to maintain group identity.

Slang and jargon

Being informal speech, slang should be distinguished from jargon, which is the technical vocabulary of a particular profession. Moreover, jargon may not be intended to exclude nongroup members from the conversation, but rather deals with technical peculiarities of a given field requiring a specialized vocabulary.

According to Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter,[1] an expression should be considered "true slang" if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

It lowers, if temporarily, "the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing"; in other words, it is likely to be seen in such contexts as a "glaring misuse of register."
Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people that are familiar with it and use the term.
"It is a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility."
It replaces "a well known conventional synonym." This is done primarily to avoid "the discomfort caused by the conventional item [or by] further elaboration."

Internet Slang

Internet slang/language is slang that Internet users have coined and promulgated. Such terms typically originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes, and many people use the same abbreviations in text messages. They are also very commonly used in instant messaging. The terms often appear in lower case, with capitals reserved for emphasis; for example, the pronoun "I" often appears simply as "i." People also use "u" to mean "you," and "r" to mean "are." Also, many times people do not use apostrophes or punctuation in correct spots. Example: hey im so bored r u?

Like most jargon, Internet slang aggrandizes authors and readers, causing them to appear to have specialized knowledge of a complex medium. However, there are cases where using Internet slang is considered ridiculous, due to association with the stereotype of the internet n00b.

Another feature common to Internet communication involves the truncation and morphing of words to forms that users can type more readily, and quickly. When new terms of internet slang are created, it takes time for them to become widely accepted. The small ring of friends using an instant messaging client most of the time is not enough. Web forums are a way to get new terminology out on the net, and accepted and used by a wide range of members of the internet community.


source:wikipedia

Present Perfect


Present Perfect
FORM
[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

You have seen that movie many times.
Have you seen that movie many times?
You have not seen that movie many times.
Complete List of Present Perfect Forms

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now


We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

Examples:

I have seen that movie twenty times.
I think I have met him once before.
There have been many earthquakes in California.
People have traveled to the Moon.
People have not traveled to Mars.
Have you read the book yet?
Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?
The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience


You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.

Examples:

I have been to France.
This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
I have been to France three times.
You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
I have never been to France.
This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
I think I have seen that movie before.
He has never traveled by train.
Joan has studied two foreign languages.
A: Have you ever met him?
B: No, I have not met him.


TOPIC 2 Change Over Time
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.

Examples:

You have grown since the last time I saw you.
The government has become more interested in arts education.
Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established.
My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
TOPIC 3 Accomplishments
We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.

Examples:

Man has walked on the Moon.
Our son has learned how to read.
Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
Scientists have split the atom.


TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.

Examples:

James has not finished his homework yet.
Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
Bill has still not arrived.
The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times
We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.

Examples:

The army has attacked that city five times.
I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
We have had many major problems while working on this project.
She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
Time Expressions with Present Perfect
When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.



Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.



Examples:

Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
They have had three tests in the last week.
She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far.
My car has broken down three times this week.
NOTICE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.

Examples:

I went to Mexico last year.
I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
I have been to Mexico in the last year.
I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.
USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)


With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.

Examples:

I have had a cold for two weeks.
She has been in England for six months.
Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

You have only seen that movie one time.
Have you only seen that movie one time?





source: englishpage.com

Donald Trump - 10 lessons of 'The Apprentice'


10 lessons of 'The Apprentice'

By Del Jones and Bill Keveney, USA TODAY


Here are 10 possible lessons:

#1: Rich people fascinate the rich and the young.

In TV, you can never be too rich or too young. The Apprentice gets high marks for both.

In income, the show's audience ranks No. 1 among prime-time series, with a median household income of $68,093. It ties for No. 1 in prime time with NBC's The West Wing for the highest percentage of young adults with incomes of $75,000 or higher, a statistic likely to cause salivating among advertisers trying to reach affluent audiences.

As for the youth factor, with a median viewer age of 38.6, The Apprentice audience averages seven years younger than NBC's median and is its third-youngest series after Average Joe and Fear Factor.

Show stats are good overall, too. It's the No. 1 new series and No. 7 among all shows, averaging 19.6 million viewers. In the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old group, it's No. 1 among new shows and No. 3 overall.

#2: Mark Burnett plus The Donald equal a hit.

Trump and producer Burnett have conjured ratings magic. And it could last. Although it's too early to say whether The Apprentice will be as durable as Burnett's Survivor, now in its eighth installment and showing no signs of slowing, NBC has ordered two more Apprentice cycles, and analysts believe it has legs.

"The concept itself seems so intriguing and so ripe for going down many different avenues," says David Marans of media agency MindShare. "I don't think Mr. Trump is going to be fired any time soon."

The large field of 16 contestants, a number similar to such hits as Survivor, American Idol and The Bachelor, benefits the show, Marans says. Five or six are bound to be interesting, and the show doesn't live or die based on one of their personalities.

How would the show do if the larger-than-life Trump left? Marans, referring to Trump's penchant for the media spotlight, doesn't think that's a relevant question: "He wants to get off TV? Yeah, right."

Trump is a main source of the show's popularity, Marans says. Reports about problems at Trump's casino holdings won't affect his TV following, because viewers are drawn to the Manhattan mogul primarily for his personality.

"If you put this show on and had (Microsoft's) Bill Gates as the star instead, forget it," Marans says.

#3: The Apprentice is to the real business world what Homer Simpson is to real fatherhood.

Business practitioners and experts have argued since Day One about whether the program teaches anything of substance. It lost viewers such as Marion Sandler, co-CEO of Golden West Financial, who found it so unrealistic that she couldn't stomach it after watching for six weeks.

The Apprentice, many complain, is a cartoon version of the real world. The show's ad campaigns are completed in a day, and firings are done without even a call to the legal department or human resources.

Donald Trump is a modern day Mr. Dithers, the boss in the comic strip Blondie who often fires Dagwood without checking with anyone.

A whole legion of people, including some who run businesses, do find lessons in The Apprentice. Buckingham, who rarely misses an episode, says it's possible the rest of the world could learn something from America's conviction that employees should be held accountable for their failures.

Such accountability is foreign to Europeans, says Marcus Buckingham, who is British and co-author of First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. He doubts if the show would succeed elsewhere with the "You're fired" ending. "In the U.K., they would do a thoughtful postmortem about who was the fairest player," he says.

#4: Back-stabbing and treachery exist everywhere, not just in your workplace.

Although For the Love of Money is an excellent theme for the opening credits (with Trump's pursed-lip glare as he boards his jet), Apprentice could just as easily have used another O'Jays song: Backstabbers.

Ereka Vetrini trashing Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. Omarosa dissing Heidi Bressler. Everybody giving the shiv to poor, napping Sam Solovey. Knife jobs are great fun, as long as you're not the one who ends up bleeding.

In general, contestants have been encouraged to go after each other; it's good for ratings. As losing project managers were hauled before The Donald with subordinates, the best hide-saving strategy was to blame someone else.

In one telling boardroom session, Kristi Frank made a fatal mistake. She accepted responsibility for her actions.

#5: Back-stabbing and treachery sure are fun to watch.

Though many real-life businesses favor collegiality, The Apprentice has attracted viewers by opting for the shark tank.

Sabotage earns face time on TV. Whether deliberate or not, Omarosa, who returned last week along with some other competitors, grabbed the spotlight with her inattention to travel arrangements for the assignment, a mistake that could scuttle finalist Kwame's chances to win the $250,000 job with Trump.

If back-stabbing is fun, front-stabbing can be even more entertaining. Just one highlight: Omarosa (again!) told Trump that Heidi had no class, with an offended Heidi just a couple of seats away.

#6: Winners ultimately rise above the treachery.

The program would lead you to believe that it's better to be a jerk than to be jerked around.

But notice the two finalists, says Paul Argenti, a professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Trump has narrowed the field to educated, conscientious hard workers who invested the least effort in deceit. Gone are catty Omarosa and Heidi.

The program has two opposing messages. The overt one is that treachery, displayed in episode after episode, is the way to get noticed. The more subtle one, which emerged late, is that treachery can be a turnoff and ultimately self-defeating: "You can't get ahead back-stabbing," Argenti says. That's the advice he delivers to his students.

#7: Shake it; don't break it.

Or, as Trump says, use those God-given assets. Be attractive. Be sexy — to a point. In the early going, Trump didn't object to the women's flirting or drinking with customers to run up the bar tab. The male team lost the first four tasks, and it looked like the main lesson would be to outsource all work to women.

When the teams went coed, the fox factor suffered, but everybody could still bicker and back-stab, which kept viewers coming back for more.

And sex appeal carried the women only so far. Trump's assistant, Carolyn Kepcher, finally unloaded on the women for their tactics, and then Trump systematically canned seven women in a row and finished them off by eliminating early front-runner Amy Henry last week.

Still, the finalists are almost handsome enough to be on the cover of GQ. That supports the latest research by Harvard's Markus Mobius and Wesleyan's Tanya Rosenblat, who found that physically attractive workers have an edge. They are more confident and have better communication and social skills. As if that weren't enough, they are wrongly considered more able than they really are by their employers.

#8: Winning isn't everything.

Kwame or Bill will win, but who is the candidate everyone remembers? Omarosa, who could host an Apprentice for divas. Whether trash-talking her competitors, overacting an injury or deliberately (or accidentally) sabotaging finalist Kwame, she's big enough to go by just one name. (If Trump gave her a company to run — perhaps into the ground — that would probably be worth a spinoff.)

#9: Mom was right.

Not everyone can look like a model, but a fundamental lesson from The Apprentice is that boring parental advice matters, Argenti says. To get ahead, get a good education. Bone up on interview skills. Good grooming makes up for bad genes. And work hard.

Troy McClain of Boise was a popular contestant who went a long way on personality and promise, though lacking a college degree. But when Troy went head to head in the boardroom with Kwame, Trump opted for the guy with the Harvard MBA.

Kwame is almost certain to win, Argenti predicts. The controversial, entertaining contestants such as Omarosa and Sam drove up the ratings. Now they're history. Steady, disciplined effort is what Kwame and Bill are about and what got them to the finals.

#10: Lee Iacocca who?

There's been a long-standing discussion about the celebrity CEO or the rock-star CEO. Although CEOs are paid like stars, Trump and Gates are probably the only ones who can walk down streets and get recognized like athletes or actors.

Trump's success has made other CEOs realize that true celebrity might be within reach. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Richard Branson, the British founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, are the first copycats with reality shows on the way to ABC and Fox. Enjoy.

One bonus lesson. When investing your own money, go with boring.

This was not obvious on The Apprentice but came out during the series in numerous media reports about Trump's financially troubled casino company. Research behind the best-selling business book Good to Great found that the best-performing companies were run by CEOs who preferred to be anonymous.

So go ahead and turn your TV to NBC. But put your 401(k) money in companies that are run by the boring and mundane.

Contributing: Gary Levin