=========================================================
= 推荐最佳听力练习方法：
= ㈠下载听力MP3/RM。先不看原文，听写；
= ㈡参照原文纠正自己听写中的错误
============================================================

英语是我们新移民抵达加国后最大的问题,如果有好的英语可以很快的溶入当地的社会中.
即使是研究生也常常是哑巴英语,只会看专业文章,而听不懂别人讲的英文,也无法用嘴巴表达自己的想法.
而语音是非常重要的,它是记忆的一个重要环节.
扩大词汇量:它对于单词的记忆,也是非常有用的.因为根据单词的读音,很容易得到单词的拼写的.
学会表达的方式:学习一些常用的表达方式,句型.
而我们在国内常常抱怨没有好的英语环境来学习.其实这只是只是一个借口,因为你只要按照我现在提供的方法,就会有效的提高你的听力,纠正你的语音.
来!让我们一起每天
VOA慢速英语

推荐播放 软件 暴风影音 ,我以前用RealPlay,总是觉得不太爽，现在用暴风影音, 就可以播放所有格式的音频和视频文件。

下载地址比如:
http://www.skycn.com/soft/98.html
http://down1.tech.sina.com.cn/downlo...-16/5162.shtml

听写过程中,只能暂停,不许倒回. 比如,遇到不会的词,不要倒回去,比如'Cyber Monday' Cyber 是什么,我不知道啊,没关系, 记录成 'syber' ,'s...ber M..doy' 哪怕只记录音节's...b..',都是可以的.That's OK!
听写一遍后再听一遍,将听懂的部分 补充完整,例如 'M..day' 补充成'Monday'.
最后再对比原文.

推荐几个英语网站:
http://www.listeningexpress.com/
http://www.52en.com/
http://www.voanews.com/

顶！！献花支持！

Economics Report - Holiday Shopping on the Job? Call It 'Cyber Monday'

Economics Report - Holiday Shopping on the Job? Call It 'Cyber Monday'
Written by Mario Ritter
02 December 2005

I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.



For Americans, the traditional season to buy winter holiday gifts begins on the last Friday in November. "Black Friday" is the name for the day just after Thanksgiving Day. But lately there is a term for another popular shopping day that follows Black Friday: "Cyber Monday."

The term Cyber Monday comes from an observation made by people who study the holiday buying season. That is, lots of people may have gone into stores over the Thanksgiving weekend to look for gifts. But many wait until they return to work on Monday to buy online. Many people have faster Internet connections on the computers at their jobs than at home.

An Internet research company, comScore Networks, says Americans spent more than nine hundred million dollars online from Thanksgiving through Sunday. Then they bought four hundred eighty-five million dollars in goods over the Internet on Monday. The company says both amounts were twenty-six percent higher than last year.

What were the most popular sites for online shoppers? EBay is said to have had almost twelve million visitors on Monday. EBay is a site on which people sell goods to each other. Next were the Web sites of Amazon and Wal-Mart Stores.

Consumer spending represents two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States. And about one-fourth of all personal spending takes place during the holiday season. There are gifts to buy for Christmas, Hanukkah and the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa.

The day after Thanksgiving got the name Black Friday from the tradition of recording profits in black ink and losses in red ink. Black Friday may be a profitable time for sellers, but it is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year. Now the busiest day usually falls just before Christmas on December twenty-fifth.

Still, the National Retail Federation says more than sixty million people visited stores last Friday, eight percent more than a year ago.

The industry group says its expects holiday sales to increase by six percent over last year. There are concerns that high energy prices could cut into holiday spending, but those prices are down from their recent highs.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Internet users -- when they're not shopping -- can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

National Women's Hall of Fame Adds New Members, Including Hillary Clinton

National Women's Hall of Fame Adds New Members, Including Hillary Clinton

Written by Mario Ritter
02 December 2005
(MUSIC)

HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We hear music by Neil Young ‿/P>

Answer a question about open-source software ‿/P>

And report about new members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

National Women's Hall of Fame

The National Women’s Hall of Fame is the oldest organization that recognizes and honors important American women. The non-profit educational organization was established in nineteen sixty-nine with headquarters in Seneca Falls, New York. That is the town where the first Women’s Rights Convention was held in eighteen forty-eight. The National Women’s Hall of Fame recently honored ten more outstanding American women. Pat Bodnar tells us about them.

PAT BODNAR: A national committee of judges chose the honorees from the arts, science, government, education and other areas. They join two hundred seven other women honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame since nineteen seventy-three.



Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is among the newest Hall of Fame members. The wife of former President Bill Clinton is the first female United States senator from New York State. She is also the first former First Lady elected to the Senate.

The other living honorees are peace and health activist Betty Bumpers, architect Maya Lin and scientist Rita Rossi Colwell. Betty Bumpers helped establish the first national campaign to give children medicine to prevent disease. Maya Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., at the age of twenty-one. Rita Rossi Colwell was the first woman and the first biologist to head the National Science Foundation.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame also honored six women who are no longer living. Blanche Stuart Scott was a pilot in the early days of the airplane. Mother Marianne Cope was a Roman Catholic religious worker who cared for patients with Hansen’s disease, or leprosy. Patricia Locke worked to keep Native American languages from being forgotten.

Mary Burnett Talbert was active in the struggle for voting rights for women and civil rights for African-Americans. Ruth Fulton Benedict studied social sciences. She wrote the book “Patterns of Culture‿in nineteen thirty-four. That same year, Hall of Fame honoree Florence Ellinwood Allen became the first female judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.

Open-Source Software



HOST: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Nigeria. Semako Fasinu asks about open-source software.

Open-source software is a way in which businesses and individuals can offer the source code of a computer program to the general public. If a person has enough knowledge about computers and computer programming, he or she can change the program’s source code. The source code is like a set of directions that show the program how to operate.

People change the codes so that the program will operate in a way that will meet their needs. Sometimes changing the code will make the program run faster. Or it will take problems out of the program. These problems are called “bugs‿ and can cause a computer program to shut down.

People who change the source code of a computer program share these programs with each other on the Internet. Programmers enjoy being able to improve computer programs on their own. They enjoy being able to ask other people on the Internet for help with their programs. Working together, people can improve computer programs for the good of the group.

However, some computer software companies worry about open-source software. They think that if people are able to create and change their own software, they will not want to buy the companies‿products.

Many people say that open-source software is bad because the programs do not include security measures. They say that any person who is smart enough can change the programs in bad ways.

The people who support open-source software say that all computer programs should be free and ideas should be open to the public.

The Open-Source Initiative is a group that supports software sharing. The group says is it is hard to count the number of people who use open-source software because there are no sales of it. Linux is one of the most popular open-source operating systems. The Open-Source Initiative says Linux has between four million and twenty-seven million users.

The group says everyone who sends e-mail or uses the Web is using open-source software. Internet mail transports, Web servers, FTP servers and our own VOA mail system all use open-source software.

Neil Young

Neil Young has been writing and performing his music since the nineteen sixties. He formed two famous rock bands: Buffalo Springfield and, later, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. More recently, Young has been performing on his own. His latest album is called “Prairie Wind.‿Faith Lapidus tells us more.



FAITH LAPIDUS: Neil Young was preparing to record songs for his new album in March. Then his doctor told him he had an aneurysm, a weakened blood vessel in his brain. He wrote and recorded all the songs for the album during the week before he had an operation to fix the problem.

The songs on “Prairie Wind‿are influenced by country music. They are about change and the passage of time. Young sings about family, home, nature, religion and his childhood in Canada.

Four of the ten songs contain the word “prairie.‿nbsp; A prairie is an extensive area of flat grassland, like in the middle of North America. This song is called “Far From Home.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

Neil Young has performed many kinds of rock and blues music. He says country music has been his most successful communication with a lot of people. And he says his songs speak for themselves. Here is another song from “Prairie Wind.‿nbsp; It is called “Here for You.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

Some experts say Neil Young is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. They say his songs last through time. We leave you now with the title song from “Prairie Wind.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program.

Our show was written by Shelley Gollust, Katherine Gypson and Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. And our audio engineer was Darryl Smith.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

up! enjoy it together!

太好了，顶一下，

谢谢，楼主

It is too long and too difficult for me,but I must work hard on it.
Thanks and flower!

!

Not Just Child's Play: The World of Video and Computer Games

Not Just Child's Play: The World of Video and Computer Games
Written by Jerilyn Watson
04 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. This week our subject is video and computer games in the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Millions of Americans play video and computer games. The reasons are no mystery. The games can provide fun, action and, in some cases, education.

Players can lead their favorite sports team to victory. They can imagine they are secret agents like James Bond. They can form a nation and lead it through thousands of years of war and peace. They can develop their skills at card games like poker.

Game players may improve their reaction time and thinking skills. They may improve their ability to direct their thoughts, or learn word and number skills.

VOICE TWO:


Boy playing video game


Some experts worry about the possible harm to children who play video games that contain a lot of sex and violence. Yet some young people now study electronic games in college. In Los Angeles, for example, the University of Southern California has classes in game design. Other students there can learn about games as part of modern culture.

Industry officials say the United States had more than seven thousand million dollars in sales of video and computer games last year. It was an increase of four percent from the year before.

VOICE ONE:

Electronic games will be a popular gift during the winter holidays this month.

One recent night, some people lined up at stores at midnight. They waited to buy the new Xbox Three-Sixty game system by Microsoft. The Xbox Three-Sixty can play digital video discs and music. It can even handle conference calls.

Some players have returned the new system because of technical problems. But Microsoft said the rate of return was below the three to five percent that is normal with electronic products.

Sony leads the industry in worldwide sales of game systems. Microsoft is second, followed by Nintendo.

But Microsoft is the first to release its next-generation game system. Sony announced in May that it was preparing to launch its PlayStation Three in the spring of two thousand six. Next year is also when Nintendo plans to release its new system, called Revolution.

VOICE TWO:

Children are not the only ones who play electronic games. The Entertainment Software Association says almost one-fifth of Americans over the age of fifty played video games last year.

In fact, it says the average player is thirty years old. The players who buy the most games are an average age of thirty-seven.

The group also reports that forty-three percent of players are women.

VOICE ONE:

Some people play games on a personal computer. They use the keyboard to play. Or they connect a guiding device called a joystick.

Other people play on a video game system called a console which they connect to their television. Still others like to play games on small, handheld devices. Or they go to arcades to play on free-standing game machines.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The world of video games combines special effects, music, language and images. The best games have clear, colorful graphics. The images move at high speed with a depth similar to real life. Some have first-person perspective. This means you experience the action as though living it yourself.

Some people play games online. They might compete over the Internet against players on the other side of the world.

Some people play electronic games for money. More than seven hundred international gamers recently took part in the final competition of the World Cyber Games in Singapore. They played for a share of the four hundred thirty-five thousand dollars in prize money.

VOICE ONE:

Many players like games based on sports. The Madden series, for example, is very popular. These are named for television football commentator John Madden, a former coach.

And players have been known to spend hours playing games developed from spy films like the James Bond movies.

People who like frightening movies may also like a game series called “Resident Evil.‿nbsp; Players say the games make them feel like they are living inside their own horror film. In fact, two films have already been based on the series. "Resident Evil" became popular with a storyline about a company that makes a virus. Victims infected with the virus turn into the undead and eat other people.

VOICE TWO:

Many gamers are buying the newly released “Peter Jackson’s King Kong." In this game, the huge gorilla terrorizes humans just as he will in the new "King Kong" movie directed by Peter Jackson. It opens nationwide on December fourteenth.

A popular shooting-game series called “Doom‿led to an action film that opened in November. The movie "Doom" stars Dwayne Johnson, the professional wrestler and actor known as “The Rock.‿nbsp;


Grand Theft Auto video game

But the video game that sold best in two thousand four was “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.‿nbsp; It was strongly criticized, however, because of hidden sexual images. Stores temporarily removed the game from sale. Now only adults can buy the version that still has those images, but not many stores are selling it.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The National Institute on Media and the Family is a private research group. Several years ago, it found that almost eighty percent of American children played video games. Research last year found that girls played video games an average of about five hours weekly. Boys played an average of thirteen hours.

Another group, Children Now, says almost half of video games contain serious violence. And it says about half the violence shown in the games would injure or kill people in real life.

VOICE TWO:

Many doctors, educators and policy makers express concern about the effects of violent games. They point to studies that show that playing games with repeated violence is often linked to increases in aggressive thoughts, feelings and actions.

Where are the parents? The Entertainment Software Association says parents are present ninety-two percent of the time when games are bought or rented.

Even so, the group just announced that the Sony PlayStation Three will include parental controls. These controls let parents limit the kinds of games their children can play. The PlayStation Portable system released earlier this year already has that technology.

So does the new Xbox Three-Sixty from Microsoft. And Nintendo recently announced that its new system will also include parental controls.

The technology is based on ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. This group has rated games for families since nineteen ninety-four. The industry says eighty-three percent of all games sold last year were rated "E" for Everyone or "T" for Teen.

But some critics argue that self-rating by the industry is far from satisfactory.

VOICE ONE:

Some states want to stop sales of violent games to people seventeen and younger. On November ninth, a federal judge in Detroit blocked an attempt by the state of Michigan, at least temporarily. The judge acted on a request by the Entertainment Software Association.

Opponents of sales restrictions say the measures violate free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

All this action and debate shows how important electronic games have become.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Some games developed from traditional board games like backgammon or chess. Others grew from word games or from card games like solitaire and bridge. In eighteen eighty-nine, a playing-card company opened in Japan. The company led to Nintendo.

In nineteen fifty-eight, a scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York State developed a game he called "Tennis for Two." William Higinbotham played it on a scientific device called an oscilloscope. The scientist did not see that such a game could become widely popular. But others did.

By the early nineteen seventies, people were playing a video game called “Pong.‿nbsp; Two people would sit at a game machine and control a paddle to hit an electronic ball back and forth. Soon millions of people were playing "Pong." Many other games followed.

VOICE ONE:

Today, as computers keep improving, people keep designing new games. And the public keeps buying them. As games become more and more realistic, we can only imagine what the future will look like in this electronic world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

多好的铜子啊！向你学习！

楼主辛苦了~~谢谢

The Internet and Its Future

The Internet and Its Future
Written by Jill Moss
06 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:


The Internet links people to information and businesses.

And I’m Faith Lapidus with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the Internet computer information system and its progress and problems.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Last month, thousands of government representatives and information experts met in Tunis, Tunisia to discuss the future of the Internet. The United Nations organized the World Summit on the Information Society to discuss Internet growth in developing nations. But the three-day meetings also developed into a struggle over who controls the Internet.

The Internet grew out of research paid for by the United States Defense Department in the nineteen sixties and seventies. As a result, the United States government still has some control over it. In nineteen ninety-eight, the Commerce Department set up a non-profit organization to supervise the domain name system of the Internet’s World Wide Web. The Web is a major service on the Internet. The group, based in California, is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

VOICE TWO:

A domain name is a series of words separated by dots. It identifies an Internet Web site. ICANN also operates a list of Web site owners and approves new endings for Web addresses, such as dot-com, dot-net or dot-gov. The group guarantees that Internet users around the world do not visit different Websites using the same Web address.

For example, thanks to ICANN, a person in Cuba will see the same voaspecialenglish.com Website as someone in Belarus. ICANN also has some Internet policy powers. It can remove Web sites from the Internet. It also decides who can sell and list domain names.

VOICE ONE:

The European Union, China, Brazil, India and other countries want the United States to release at least some control over the World Wide Web. They believe that the Internet is an international resource that should be supervised by the United Nations or some other independent organization. The Bush Administration disagrees. It says that ICANN is the best way to guarantee an open, secure and dependable online environment. Heavy governmental controls, it says, would suppress Internet growth and development.

VOICE TWO:

Hours before the start of the Tunis conference, negotiators agreed to leave day-to-day supervision of the Internet with ICANN. The compromise proposal from the European Union calls for the creation next year of an international governance committee.

Governments, businesses and organizations will be able to discuss public policy issues, including Internet crime, junk mail and viruses. The committee, however, will not have powers to make rules.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The World Future Society estimated last year that about nine hundred fifty million people around the world were using the Internet. That number is expected to rise to more than one thousand million people within the next two years.

Most Internet communication is business-to-business, instead of personal electronic mail. Buying and selling goods and services over the Internet is growing around the world. The World Future Society estimates that two-point-seven million million dollars was earned through Internet commerce last year. But, there are risks involved with this e-commerce.

VOICE TWO:

For example, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than fifty-two thousand million dollars in goods and services were purchased last year through identity theft. Identity thieves steal personal information from Americans. They collect Social Security numbers, banking records and telephone numbers. They use this information to request loans, or to get credit cards in the name of the victim.

Identity thieves often use computer viruses to collect a victim’s personal information. They may also use spyware. These are programs that are loaded onto a computer without the owner’s knowledge. Spyware follows the computer user’s online activities. Identity thieves also use another method called Internet “phishing.‿These e-mail messages attempt to collect an Internet user’s personal information, such as credit card numbers, by acting like a real business.

VOICE ONE:

People can protect themselves from identity theft in several ways. Anti-virus and anti-spyware computer programs can help. So can firewalls. These are programs or devices that limit information coming through an Internet connection. Banks and individuals can also use Fob technology. A fob is a small device connected to a computer.

Every sixty seconds it creates a special series of numbers, or a code. A computer user must type the code created at the exact minute that the user she wants to see his or her online financial information or bank records.

VOICE TWO:

Advertisers interested in selling products over the Internet may use adware to identify possible buyers. Adware is a software program sent with free files or programs to a computer. Once loaded onto a computer, adware can collect information about a person’s interests. Adware can use this information to provide targeted sales messages to the computer user.

These unwanted sales messages are sent through a person’s e-mail. They can also be a problem for people using an Internet browser to find information. In this case, pop-up blockers can help. A pop-up blocker is a computer program that prevents unwanted sales messages from opening.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

One of the most popular kinds of communication on the Internet in through personal Web sites called blogs. Blog is a shortened name for a Web log. Anyone can create his or her own blog. A blog may contain stories, pictures, links to other Web sites and comments from visitors. Some people add information to their blogs every day.

Blogs offer a way to present news and political or personal information. Blogs have become a place for public expression on many subjects. The Blog Herald estimates that there are more than sixty million blogs around the world. People who have blogs are called bloggers. In the United States, many well known people have blogs. So do many other Americans, including teenagers and college students.

VOICE TWO:

Even United States soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are blogging. Troops are using their milblogs to share opinions, emotions and memories of lost soldiers. The United States military restricts troops from writing personal information about other soldiers. It also restricts operational security information from being published in a blog.

You can find blogs about a subject by using a special search engine created by Google. The Web address is blogsearch.google.com. That is b-l-o-g-s-e-a-r-c-h-dot-g-o-o-g-l-e-dot-com. Google is one of the most popular “search engines‿for the Internet. People use a search engine to find information about almost any subject on the Web.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

There are many ways to link computers with other forms of communication. For example, mobile telephones can send voice messages, color photographs and written information called text messages. They can even receive electronic mail. Small hand-held computer devices can store and read electronic books.

Starting next year, the world’s largest software company -- Microsoft -- will offer one hundred thousand books from the British Library’s collection. People will be able to search and read the literature on the Internet for free. Amazon.com -- the largest online bookstore -- plans to sell individual pages or parts of books over the Internet.

VOICE TWO:

Google has started its own project. The company has put thousands of library books and documents on the Internet. Last month, Google gave three million dollars to help the United States Library of Congress create a World Digital Library on the Web. This will be a collection of rare books, documents, maps and other materials from America’s library and other national libraries. The head of the Library of Congress says people will be able to learn about other cultures without traveling farther than the nearest computer.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

补充上语音。

Economics Report - Deep in the Heart of Texas, a Labor Union Expands

Economics Report - Deep in the Heart of Texas, a Labor Union Expands

Written by Mario Ritter
08 December 2005

I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.


Striking janitors in Los Angeles in 2000

Labor unions in the United States have been losing members for years. Not all are shrinking, however. The nation's fastest-growing union has recently added thousands of members in Houston, Texas. The expansion is the result of an effort to organize the workers who clean buildings.

The Service Employees International Union has close to two million members. It organizes workers in a number of service areas. These include health workers, government and public service workers and workers in property services.

In Houston, janitors at four major companies have voted to unionize. The American Arbitration Association recognized the decision as official on November twenty-ninth. Four thousand seven hundred janitors in Houston have now joined the Service Employees International.

That number is more than sixty percent of the janitors in large buildings in the city. It could increase to over seventy percent if workers at another company are able to unionize.

The Houston janitors say they want the union to help them negotiate better pay. They also hope for some form of health plan and retirement savings.

Currently, the janitors receive about five dollars and thirty cents an hour. That is a little above the national minimum wage of five dollars and fifteen cents. The minimum wage is the lowest pay that workers can receive.

Unionized janitors in cities like Chicago, New York or Washington, D.C., earn eleven dollars or more. But most cleaning workers around the country do not belong to unions. Many workers in low-paying service jobs are recent immigrants. Some are in the country illegally.

The Houston area is not known for organized labor activity. The union did not even have offices there. Organizers from Chicago supervised the effort.

In July, the Service Employees International Union split with the A.F.L.-C.I.O. That came as part of a major division within the country's main labor alliance.

Andrew Stern is president of the service employees union. He says twenty-first century unions must organize by industry across borders, to deal with huge international companies.

Fifty years ago, about thirty-three percent of privately employed workers in America were in a union. By the early nineteen eighties it was twenty percent. Today about thirteen percent of American workers belong to unions.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

现提起英语我头都大，头大也的学．

谢谢幸苦的楼主！！！

Saddam Hussein Trial Suspended Until December 21st

Saddam Hussein Trial Suspended Until December 21st
Written by Nancy Steinbach
10 December 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Baghdad has been suspended until after parliamentary elections. The elections will take place on Thursday. The trial is to continue on December twenty-first.



Saddam Hussein is on trial with seven other men. The charges involve the killing of more than one hundred forty people from the Shiite town of Dujail, north of Baghdad. They were executed after an attack directed at Saddam Hussein in nineteen eighty-two.

Gunmen from a Shiite party fired at a vehicle in which he rode through the town. The Iraqi leader was rescued after several hours of fighting. Later, his security forces attacked Dujail. They destroyed houses and businesses, and took away most of the men. Many never returned.

The trial began on October nineteenth. The seven other men charged include Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim. He was the Iraqi intelligence chief at the time of the killings. Another is Taha Yassin Ramadan. He was vice president from nineteen ninety-one to two thousand three. A third defendant is Awad Haman Bander Sadun. He was chief of Iraq's Revolutionary Court. He signed death sentences in connection with Dujail killings.

A group of five judges will decide the case. A chief investigating judge questions those who give evidence in the court. So far, those witnesses have described watching close family members being questioned, tortured and killed.

They have told how security forces destroyed crops and property in Dujail. And they have described being held for years in the Abu Ghraib prison. The men on trial, however, say the witnesses have not named them as connected in any way to these crimes.

Iraqi and American officials planned the trial after American troops captured Saddam Hussein in two thousand three. The officials say holding the trial in the country provides a good example for a democratic Iraq.

But violence has interfered with the trial. Two defense lawyers have been killed. Another has resigned. And officials have said they discovered a plot to attack the courtroom. Also, one of the judges left the trial when he learned that one of the defendants had signed an order for the death of his brother.

The defendants have shouted at the judges and other people in the courtroom. Saddam Hussein has denounced the court and told the judge to "go to hell." On Wednesday he refused to attend the trial. It continued without him. He has promised to be in court when the trial begins again on December twenty-first.

The former president could be executed if found guilty of the Dujail killings. But Iraqi government lawyers are preparing twelve other cases that could be brought against him in the future.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

支持楼主的辛勤工作。

Percival Lowell’s Work Led to the Discovery of the Planet Pluto

Percival Lowell’s Work Led to the Discovery of the Planet Pluto
Written by Mario Ritter
10 December 2005

(THEME)


VOICE ONE:

I’m Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English program People in America. Today, we tell about Percival Lowell whose work led to the discovery of the planet Pluto. His efforts and imagination helped change the history of astronomy in America.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Percival Lowell came from a New England family with a long history in America. The Lowell family first came to the colony of Massachussetts in sixteen thirty-nine. One of Percival Lowell’s ancestors, John Cabot Lowell, manufactured cloth. He became an important American industrialist in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries.


Percival Lowell

Percival’s father, Augustus Lowell, worked in the family cloth business. He settled his family in Boston, Massachusetts. Percival was born there in eighteen fifty-five. He had a younger brother, Abbott Lawrence, and a younger sister, Amy.

VOICE TWO:

Percival Lowell attended American and European private schools as a young man. He studied mathematics at Harvard University. After he finished his studies at Harvard in eighteen seventy-six, he traveled in Europe and the Middle East for a year. Then he worked as a financial officer in the cloth business of his grandfather. After several years, Percival realized he was not happy as a businessman. So he decided to travel to Japan to study its culture and language. While there, he was asked to go with a special trade group from Korea to establish trade relations with the United States.

VOICE TWO(cont):

In eighteen eighty-three, Mister Lowell traveled to Korea as a diplomat. He reported on a clash there between Korean and Japanese troops. Mister Lowell remained in East Asia for ten years. He returned home when each of his six books about East Asian subjects was published.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Percival Lowell also had an intense interest in astronomy and mathematics. In eighteen ninety-three he left Tokyo for the last time and returned to the United States. He decided to spend more time observing the planet Mars. He had studied observations by the famous Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He found notes that described markings on Mars that Mister Schiaparelli called “canali‿Mister Lowell came to believe that intelligent life created the markings on Mars.

VOICE ONE(cont):

In eighteen ninety-four, he built an observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona. He had the world famous telescope maker Alvan Clark and Sons make a telescope for his observatory. He began a program of observing not only Mars, but also Venus and Mercury.

VOICE TWO:

Mister Lowell published his first book about Mars in eighteen ninety-five. In it, he developed a theory that intelligent life had created waterways all over the surface of Mars. His theory was that Martians were trying to bring water to the warm areas near the equator of the planet.

Mister Lowell’s theories were based on what were serious scientific studies of that time. Yet his theories about life on Mars may have had more lasting influence on many writers of imaginary stories. Three years after Mister Lowell’s book was published, H-G Wells published his famous book “War of the Worlds.‿nbsp; Mister Wells‿story told of a Martian invasion of Earth. The Martians that he imagined lived on a dry and wasted planet. This is very similar to Mister Lowell’s description of Mars.

Mister Lowell’s theories about Mars also influenced Edgar Rice Burroughs. Mister Burroughs is best known for stories about “Tarzan.‿nbsp; He also wrote a series of books about an American who traveled to Mars and fell in love with a beautiful princess. The popular series began in nineteen twelve with “The Princess of Mars.‿nbsp;

VOICE ONE:

Mister Lowell’s book, “Mars and Its Canals,‿was published in nineteen-oh-six. In that book, he expanded his theory about Martian life. He said he could see changes in the seasons on the surface of Mars. He said the darkening of the Martian surface during some times of the year was caused by the growth of plants. His theory of Martian life became so complex that he made maps of cities and waterways on the planet.

Percival Lowell did not know that his eyes played a part in the markings he saw on Mars. Experts explain that the movement of air in the atmosphere and natural qualities of the human eye caused him to see markings that were not there.

VOICE TWO:

Percival Lowell also studied the effect of gravity on the planet Neptune. Small changes in the movement of Neptune led several astronomers to believe that an undiscovered planet was affecting Neptune’s orbit. Mister Lowell called it Planet X.

Mister Lowell himself searched for Planet X for two years starting in nineteen-oh-five. He made the search by comparing two pictures of the same part of the sky. The photographs would be taken several weeks apart. The astronomer would then check both photographs. An object in the solar system could be identified if it appeared to move from its place in the earlier photograph.

However, the first search failed. In fact, he failed to recognize Planet X in a few photographs. He searched again for it several years later. Percival Lowell did not have the chance to discover Planet X. He died suddenly in November, nineteen sixteen.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The search for Planet X did not restart at Lowell Observatory for years. Then in nineteen twenty-five, Guy Lowell, a relative of Percival, gained control of the observatory. He decided to seriously search for Planet X. He wanted to continue the work Percival had started.

In the following years, Percival’s brother, Abbott Lawrence, provided money to build a special photographic telescope. The new telescope was completed in early nineteen twenty-nine.

That year, an observatory official, V.M. Slipher, offered a young man a job working with the new telescope. The young man’s name was Clyde Tombaugh.

VOICE TWO

Mister Tombaugh got a job a Lowell Observatory after he sent drawings of his observations of Jupiter and Mars. He quickly learned how best to use the new photographic telescope at the observatory. He carefully planned his research to make the most of his time. On February eighteenth, nineteen thirty, he discovered an unusual object after less than one year of searching. The object moved slowly in the sky like a distant planet. Percival Lowell’s Planet X had been found!

On March thirteenth, Clyde Tombaugh and V.M Slipher announced the discovery of a new planet. The date was the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mister Lowell’s birth.

Mister Tombaugh continued to record the motion of the new planet for thirteen years. He found more than seven hundred small bodies that orbit the sun, called asteroids. He also discovered a number of star systems called galaxies.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

During his life, Percival Lowell did not enjoy the success he hoped to find in astronomy. He died long before the search for Planet X resulted in the discovery of Pluto. And his theories about waterways and complex life on Mars have been disproved. In nineteen sixty-five, NASA’s Mariner Four spacecraft showed that no waterways existed on Mars.

Yet, the institution Mister Lowell established in Flagstaff, Arizona, has made many discoveries in addition to that of Pluto. Evidence that the universe is expanding was first discovered at Lowell Observatory by V.M. Slipher. Also, the rings around the planet Uranus were discovered there.

Lowell Observatory now has four telescopes and is continuing to expand. It supports programs that bring astronomy to the public.

Astronomers at Lowell and many other observatories continue to search for life beyond our planet. Their efforts continue Percival Lowell’s tradition of scientific investigation.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written by Mario Ritter. It was produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Mary Tillotson.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

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French Doctors Perform a Partial Face Transplant; Medical, Moral Questions

French Doctors Perform a Partial Face Transplant; Medical, Moral Questions
Written by Katherine Gypson, Anne Pessala and George Grow
13 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:


This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. We begin this week with a report on the world's first partial face transplant.

VOICE ONE:

Then, a study shows that the drug tamoxifen can help prevent breast cancer in women at high risk.

VOICE TWO:

And, later, children and the importance of sleep.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:



Doctors in France have carried out the first partial face transplant. They took the nose, lips and chin from a woman who was declared brain-dead and used them to repair the face of another woman. The thirty-eight-year-old French woman who received the tissue had been severely injured in the face by her dog.

Last week the newspaper Le Parisien published a few comments that it said she made by telephone from her hospital bed. The woman, identified only as Isabelle D., said she was "doing very well." She asked that the media leave her and her family in peace.

VOICE TWO:

There were still questions, however, about how the woman came to be injured by her dog earlier this year. Some news reports have said she tried to kill herself with sleeping pills. There have been suggestions that her Labrador retriever was just trying to wake her. Her doctors have said repeatedly that she did not try to kill herself. The dog was put to death.

After the injuries, the woman was unable to speak or eat normally. She wore a mask to hide her injuries.

The injuries were so bad that doctors said it might be impossible to repair her face with normal methods. Faces have at least five kinds of skin. For this reason, normal repairs with other tissue do not work well for facial injuries. These operations can leave bad scars on the face.

VOICE ONE:

Medical progress has made it possible for several years now for doctors to transplant faces. But this is the first time they have performed the operation on a living patient. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States had been expected to perform the first operation.

Many doctors, however, say they will not perform a face transplant. There are medical and moral issues. Medical experts note that a person does not need a face to survive. Many people wonder how patients would react when they see someone else’s face on their body. A face is an important part of a person’s identity.

A face transplant could help an injured patient eat and speak. But those activities can be assisted other ways.

Then there is the question of where to find faces to transplant. Many doctors believe that people would not want to provide the faces of dying family members.

VOICE TWO:

The transplant operation in Lyon lasted fifteen hours. It took place late last month.

The doctors were not sure what the transplanted face would look like. They say the woman's new face looks very much like her old one.

In a way, the transplant created a third face. It combined the bone structure of the patient with the skin and muscles of the donor. Doctors say the patient looked at herself in a mirror and was very happy with her new face.

The nose, chin and lips came from a woman of the same age, blood type and skin color. The Sunday Times of London has reported that the tissue came from a woman who killed herself. It says her family gave permission for the transplant.

VOICE ONE:

The body often rejects organs from someone else. It could reject a new face. Transplant patients have to take strong medicines to prevent tissue rejection. But these medicines come with their own risks.

Many doctors say facial transplants should not be performed on people who just want to look better. They say the operation should be saved for patients who cannot eat or speak on their own without a new face.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, from Washington.

A study has confirmed that the drug tamoxifen can prevent breast cancer among women with a high risk of developing the disease.

Tamoxifen is a man-made hormone that blocks the action of the female hormone estrogen. Estrogen causes cancer cells to divide and spread. Earlier studies showed that tamoxifen reduces the chance of breast cancer developing again in women who had been successfully treated for the disease.

A research group in the United States organized the study with support from the National Cancer Institute. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the findings.

VOICE ONE:

The study began in nineteen ninety-two. It involved more than thirteen thousand women who were at high risk of developing breast cancer. All the women were thirty-five years of age and older. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. So women sixty years of age and older were chosen based on age alone.

About half of the women received tamoxifen. The others received an inactive substance, also known as a placebo. Neither the women nor their doctors knew which one the women were taking.

The study found that after five years, women who had used tamoxifen were forty-nine percent less likely to get breast cancer. Study organizers then told the women if they were taking the drug or the placebo. They did this so every woman in the study could decide if she wanted to take the drug.

VOICE TWO:

Recently, scientists reported final results of the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial. They found that the women who used tamoxifen for at least five years were about forty-three percent less likely to get breast cancer than the other women. There were one hundred forty-five cases of invasive breast cancer among the healthy women who took the drug. Two hundred fifty women who took the placebo developed the disease.

The study organizers also examined possible side effects of tamoxifen. There was almost no difference in the number of heart attacks between the tamoxifen users and women who took the placebo. Women who took the drug reported fewer broken bones in areas such as the hips, wrist and spine. But there was an increased risk of blocked blood passages, and also cancer in the uterus.

The study organizers noted that other methods for preventing breast cancer are being tested. But in their words, "Tamoxifen remains the only proven chemopreventive treatment for breast-cancer risk reduction."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Reducing the amount of sleep that students get directly affects their performance at school. An American study asked schoolteachers to look at the effects of sleep restriction in children between six and twelve years of age. The teachers found that children who stay up late have trouble thinking clearly and demonstrate more learning problems.

Gahan Fallone supervised the study at the Brown Medical School and Bradley Hospital in the state of Rhode Island. Doctor Fallone now works at the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. He presented the results last month at a science reporters conference in Washington, D.C. The publication Sleep also reported the findings.

VOICE TWO:

The teachers were asked to complete weekly performance reports on seventy-four schoolchildren. The study lasted three weeks. During the period, Doctor Fallone and his team controlled the amount of sleep the children received.

One week, the children went to bed and awoke at their usual times. Another week, every child was kept awake later than normal. Each night, the youngest boys and girls had less than eight hours of sleep. The older ones were limited to six and one-half hours. During the final week of the study, each child received no less than ten hours of sleep a night.

The teachers were not told the amount of sleep the students received. The study found that students who received eight hours or less had the most difficulty remembering old information. They also had trouble learning new information, completing difficult work and following directions.

VOICE ONE:

The study did not find that sleep restriction caused hyperactivity in the children. The teachers reported that students were, in fact, a little less active at school when they got less sleep.

Doctor Fallone says the results provide experts and parents with a clear message: When a child has learning problems, the issue of sleep must be considered among the possible causes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Katherine Gypson, Anne Pessala and George Grow. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. I'm Pat Bodnar.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Our programs are online at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

A Flower in Winter: The Poinsettia's Story

A Flower in Winter: The Poinsettia's Story
Written by Mario Ritter
13 December 2005


I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.



In many colder northern countries, poinsettias are a sure sign that Christmas is near. Nearly all sales of this flowering plant come at wintertime. Yet the poinsettia is native to Central America and needs warm weather to grow.

Red poinsettias are the best known. But there are about one hundred different kinds, and they come in several colors.

Here is how the poinsettia became one of America’s most popular flowers:

In eighteen twenty-five, a man named Joel Roberts Poinsett was appointed the first United States minister to Mexico. Mister Poinsett was a diplomat, but he was also interested in plants. He brought back examples of a colorful plant to the United States.

The botanical name for the plant is Euphorbia pulcherrima (yoo-FOR-bee-uh puhl-KEHR-ee-muh). In Latin, that means “most beautiful euphorbia.?nbsp; There are hundreds of members of the euphorbia family. Rubber trees, trees that produce castor and tung oil, and the cassava -- an important root crop -- are all members of this family.

Wild poinsettias can grow to four meters in size. They contain latex, like rubber trees.

The flowers of the poinsettia are very small. Around the flowers are colorful leaves called bracts. These make the plant popular.

In the nineteen twenties, Albert Ecke and his son Paul became interested in the poinsettia’s ability to flower in winter. Paul Ecke thought it would be good at Christmastime. The two started a farm near Encinitas, California.

At first Paul Ecke, and later his son, Paul Ecke Junior, grew large plants in fields. Then they sent them to growers by train. Growers could divide the large plants into cuttings, to raise smaller ones in greenhouses until the holidays.

In the nineteen sixties came poinsettias that grew best in containers. The Eckes started to sell cuttings from these new plants.

Today, five companies supply poinsettia cuttings for the world’s large growers. Three are European.

In the United States, there is Oglevee in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and the Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, California. The Ecke Ranch supplies about seventy percent of the cuttings used in the United States, and about half of the world supply.

Poinsettias are the most popular potted flowering plant in America, with sales last year of about two hundred fifty million dollars.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

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The Internet and Its Future
Written by Jill Moss
06 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

The Internet links people to information and businesses.

And I’m Faith Lapidus with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the Internet computer information system and its progress and problems.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Last month, thousands of government representatives and information experts met in Tunis, Tunisia to discuss the future of the Internet. The United Nations organized the World Summit on the Information Society to discuss Internet growth in developing nations. But the three-day meetings also developed into a struggle over who controls the Internet.

The Internet grew out of research paid for by the United States Defense Department in the nineteen sixties and seventies. As a result, the United States government still has some control over it. In nineteen ninety-eight, the Commerce Department set up a non-profit organization to supervise the domain name system of the Internet’s World Wide Web. The Web is a major service on the Internet. The group, based in California, is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

VOICE TWO:

A domain name is a series of words separated by dots. It identifies an Internet Web site. ICANN also operates a list of Web site owners and approves new endings for Web addresses, such as dot-com, dot-net or dot-gov. The group guarantees that Internet users around the world do not visit different Websites using the same Web address.

For example, thanks to ICANN, a person in Cuba will see the same voaspecialenglish.com Website as someone in Belarus. ICANN also has some Internet policy powers. It can remove Web sites from the Internet. It also decides who can sell and list domain names.

VOICE ONE:

The European Union, China, Brazil, India and other countries want the United States to release at least some control over the World Wide Web. They believe that the Internet is an international resource that should be supervised by the United Nations or some other independent organization. The Bush Administration disagrees. It says that ICANN is the best way to guarantee an open, secure and dependable online environment. Heavy governmental controls, it says, would suppress Internet growth and development.

VOICE TWO:

Hours before the start of the Tunis conference, negotiators agreed to leave day-to-day supervision of the Internet with ICANN. The compromise proposal from the European Union calls for the creation next year of an international governance committee.

Governments, businesses and organizations will be able to discuss public policy issues, including Internet crime, junk mail and viruses. The committee, however, will not have powers to make rules.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The World Future Society estimated last year that about nine hundred fifty million people around the world were using the Internet. That number is expected to rise to more than one thousand million people within the next two years.

Most Internet communication is business-to-business, instead of personal electronic mail. Buying and selling goods and services over the Internet is growing around the world. The World Future Society estimates that two-point-seven million million dollars was earned through Internet commerce last year. But, there are risks involved with this e-commerce.

VOICE TWO:

For example, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than fifty-two thousand million dollars in goods and services were purchased last year through identity theft. Identity thieves steal personal information from Americans. They collect Social Security numbers, banking records and telephone numbers. They use this information to request loans, or to get credit cards in the name of the victim.

Identity thieves often use computer viruses to collect a victim’s personal information. They may also use spyware. These are programs that are loaded onto a computer without the owner’s knowledge. Spyware follows the computer user’s online activities. Identity thieves also use another method called Internet “phishing.‿These e-mail messages attempt to collect an Internet user’s personal information, such as credit card numbers, by acting like a real business.

VOICE ONE:

People can protect themselves from identity theft in several ways. Anti-virus and anti-spyware computer programs can help. So can firewalls. These are programs or devices that limit information coming through an Internet connection. Banks and individuals can also use Fob technology. A fob is a small device connected to a computer.

Every sixty seconds it creates a special series of numbers, or a code. A computer user must type the code created at the exact minute that the user she wants to see his or her online financial information or bank records.

VOICE TWO:

Advertisers interested in selling products over the Internet may use adware to identify possible buyers. Adware is a software program sent with free files or programs to a computer. Once loaded onto a computer, adware can collect information about a person’s interests. Adware can use this information to provide targeted sales messages to the computer user.

These unwanted sales messages are sent through a person’s e-mail. They can also be a problem for people using an Internet browser to find information. In this case, pop-up blockers can help. A pop-up blocker is a computer program that prevents unwanted sales messages from opening.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

One of the most popular kinds of communication on the Internet in through personal Web sites called blogs. Blog is a shortened name for a Web log. Anyone can create his or her own blog. A blog may contain stories, pictures, links to other Web sites and comments from visitors. Some people add information to their blogs every day.

Blogs offer a way to present news and political or personal information. Blogs have become a place for public expression on many subjects. The Blog Herald estimates that there are more than sixty million blogs around the world. People who have blogs are called bloggers. In the United States, many well known people have blogs. So do many other Americans, including teenagers and college students.

VOICE TWO:

Even United States soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are blogging. Troops are using their milblogs to share opinions, emotions and memories of lost soldiers. The United States military restricts troops from writing personal information about other soldiers. It also restricts operational security information from being published in a blog.

You can find blogs about a subject by using a special search engine created by Google. The Web address is blogsearch.google.com. That is b-l-o-g-s-e-a-r-c-h-dot-g-o-o-g-l-e-dot-com. Google is one of the most popular “search engines‿for the Internet. People use a search engine to find information about almost any subject on the Web.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

There are many ways to link computers with other forms of communication. For example, mobile telephones can send voice messages, color photographs and written information called text messages. They can even receive electronic mail. Small hand-held computer devices can store and read electronic books.

Starting next year, the world’s largest software company -- Microsoft -- will offer one hundred thousand books from the British Library’s collection. People will be able to search and read the literature on the Internet for free. Amazon.com -- the largest online bookstore -- plans to sell individual pages or parts of books over the Internet.

VOICE TWO:

Google has started its own project. The company has put thousands of library books and documents on the Internet. Last month, Google gave three million dollars to help the United States Library of Congress create a World Digital Library on the Web. This will be a collection of rare books, documents, maps and other materials from America’s library and other national libraries. The head of the Library of Congress says people will be able to learn about other cultures without traveling farther than the nearest computer.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

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Trade Drives America's Foreign Policy in the Late 1800's

Trade Drives America's Foreign Policy in the Late 1800's
Written by Frank Beardsley
14 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the United States was not concerned much with events in other countries. It was too busy dealing with events inside its own borders. At that time, the nation was recovering from its civil war. It was expanding to the west. It was developing industries.

As production increased, the United States began trading more and more with other countries. And it needed a new foreign policy to defend its interests. I'm Bob Doughty. Today, Maurice Joyce and Larry West discuss America's foreign policy in the late eighteen-hundreds.


Henry Cabot Lodge
VOICE TWO:

A growing number of lawmakers called for a new foreign policy. One was Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts. Lodge said the great nations of the world were taking control of the world's undeveloped areas. As one of the great nations, Lodge said, the United States must not fall out of this line of march.

Another lawmaker said: "Fate has written our policy. The trade of the world must and shall be ours." Some of these ideas came from the writings of Captain Alfred Mahan. He was head of America's Naval War College.

Mahan wrote that all the great nations in history had possessed great sea power. He said the United States must build up its sea power, too, if it wanted to be a great nation.

Sea power, Mahan said, was more than a strong navy. It was an economy that could produce goods for export. It was trade ships that could carry the goods. It was colonies that could supply raw materials and markets. And it was overseas naval bases that could defend American interests far from home.

VOICE ONE:

The Washington Post newspaper described America's growing power this way:

"A new understanding seems to have come upon us, an understanding of our strength. And with it, a new feeling -- we want to show our strength. We are face-to-face with a strange fate. The taste of empire is in the mouth of the people."

The Washington Post was not speaking for everyone, of course. In fact, many American presidents of the late eighteen hundreds did not have this taste for empire. Yet they were forced to face the future. Changes were coming. And it was their responsibility to guide the nation through the changes.

For this reason, the United States entered into several agreements with foreign lands during the late eighteen hundreds.

VOICE TWO:

In eighteen seventy-eight, for example, the United States signed a treaty with Samoa. The United States agreed to help the South Pacific islands settle any differences with other nations. A few years later, the treaty was put to a test.

A group of Germans living in Samoa forced the islands' ruler from power. They replaced him with a ruler who was more friendly to Germany.

For a time, it seemed the United States and Germany would go to war. But when American warships arrived in Samoa, so did a big storm. The storm smashed both American and German ships. Neither side was left with a force strong enough to fight.

In eighteen eighty-nine, the United States, Germany, and Britain agreed that Samoa should be an independent kingdom. For ten years, local leaders attempted to establish a strong government. Their efforts failed. In eighteen ninety-nine, Germany took control of Samoa's large western islands. The United States took control of the smaller islands to the east.

VOICE ONE:

Events in another group of Pacific Ocean islands affected American foreign policy in the late eighteen hundreds. These were the Hawaiian islands.

Hawaii was an important port for American trade ships sailing between the United States and China. Good relations between Hawaii and the United States were necessary to keep the port open to American ships.

In eighteen ninety-one, Liliuokalani became queen of Hawaii. She was not friendly to the United States. A group of American businessmen and planters in Hawaii plotted to oust her.

The group started an uprising. Then it called on the United States for protection. Queen Liliuokalani was forced to surrender. The businessmen and planters formed a new government. They wanted Hawaii to be part of the United States. By the end of the century, Congress had made Hawaii an American territory.

VOICE TWO:

The United States also offered to serve as a negotiator in several international disputes during the late eighteen hundreds. One dispute involved Britain and Venezuela.

Both countries claimed land that bordered the British colony of Guiana on the northeast coast of south America. The situation became tense when gold was discovered in the disputed area. The United States offered to negotiate an agreement. Britain refused the offer. The United States offered again. Britain refused again.


President Grover Cleveland
Finally, President Grover Cleveland asked the United States Congress to appoint a committee to decide the border. Before the American committee had a chance to Meet, Britain and Venezuela agreed to let an international committee decide.

VOICE ONE:

In eighteen ninety-five, Cuban rebels revolted against the colonial government. They tried to destroy the economy of the island by burning private property.

Spain sent a large force to Cuba to crush the revolt. Thousands of persons were arrested and put into prison camps. Many died of hunger and disease. Spain was denounced for its cruelty.

VOICE TWO:

It was difficult to get a true picture of what was happening in Cuba. American newspapers sent reporters to the island. But much of what they wrote about never happened. The reporters knew very well that exciting and horrifying stories sold newspapers. So, they made up stories about bloody battles and Spanish cruelty. One incident has become famous in American newspaper history.

Publisher William Randolph Hearst sent artist Frederic Remington to Cuba to paint pictures of the fighting. Remington spent several months in Havana. He saw no fighting. He sent Hearst a message. Things were quiet, Remington said. There would be no war. Hearst sent back this answer: "You supply the pictures. I'll supply the war."

VOICE ONE:

The newspaper built up strong public feeling against Spain. Soon, many Americans were calling for war to free Cuba from Spanish rule.

William McKinley was president. He did not want the United States to become involved. He did, however, offer to help Spain find a solution that would return peace to the island. Spain refused the offer. It attempted to improve the situation in Cuba by itself.

Spain called home the military commander accused of cruelty. It stopped putting people in prison camps. It offered equal political rights to all Cubans. And it promised them self-rule in the future.


President William McKinley
VOICE TWO:

President McKinley welcomed Spain's policy statements. He felt Spain should be left alone to honor its promises to the Cuban people. He said the United States would not interfere. At about that time, however, riots broke out in Havana. President McKinley said it was his responsibility to protect the lives and property of Americans living there. So, he sent the battleship "Maine" to Havana.

During the early weeks of eighteen ninety-eight, President McKinley waited for Spain to act on its promises to Cuba. He saw little progress. Relations between the United States and Spain became tense. Then, on the night of February fifteenth, a powerful explosion shook the battleship Maine in Havana harbor. The ship sank. More than two hundred fifty American sailors were dead.

VOICE ONE:

No one knew what caused the explosion on the battleship Maine. The United States said it was an underwater bomb. Spain said it was something on the ship itself.

There was some evidence the explosion was caused by an accident in the ship's fuel tanks. Yet some people in the United States blamed Spain anyway. They demanded war. They cried: "Remember the Maine!"

That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators were Maurice Joyce and Larry West. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

Teen Taught by Mom Wins Top Science Competition

Teen Taught by Mom Wins Top Science Competition
Written by Nancy Steinbach
14 December 2005

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Education Report.


Michael Viscardi
A sixteen-year-old boy from California has won first prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Michael Viscardi of San Diego does not go to high school. His mother teaches him at home.

His mother has a doctorate in neuroscience; his father is a software engineer.

Michael does, however, attend advanced math classes at the University of California, San Diego. He worked on his project with his professor.

The project involved a mathematical problem first developed in the nineteenth century by the French mathematician Lejeune Dirichlet. The winning research shows solutions to the problem. One of the judges said the young man’s work could lead to new developments in heat flow and other areas of physics. One possible use is in designing the shape of airplane wings.


Ann Lee and Albert Shieh
The Siemens Westinghouse competition awards a top prize of one hundred thousand dollars for college to one individual and one team. The team prize this year went to two students from Arizona, Anne Lee and Albert Shieh. They will share one hundred thousand dollars in college money.

They improved computer programs used to study large amounts of genetic information. The two did their work at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona Their research could lead to finding genetic changes that cause some disorders.

The Siemens Foundation joined with the College Board and six universities to start the competition in nineteen ninety-eight. This year, more than one thousand six hundred students took part.

Experts from the universities judge competitions in six areas of the country. The individual and team winners from those areas then compete nationally. They demonstrate their research projects to a group of university professors and scientists. The top winners were chosen last week.

The Siemens Foundation created the competition to improve student performance in math and science in the United States. It is open to American high school students who develop independent research projects in the physical or biological sciences or mathematics.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

雨后彩虹 说:

LZ,这段怎么没有听力可下载?

点击展开...

谢谢你的提醒,谢谢你的
The Internet and Its Future
Written by Jill Moss
06 December 2005

我已经补充上了

Owners of the New York Stock Exchange Vote for Change

Owners of the New York Stock Exchange Vote for Change
Written by Mario Ritter
16 December 2005

I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.



In April, the New York Stock Exchange proposed to join with Archipelago Holdings. On December sixth, members of the exchange approved the merger by a vote of ninety-five percent.

The New York Stock Exchange is two centuries old. It is the biggest in the world in terms of the value of the stocks traded. The Big Board lists almost two thousand eight hundred companies. They have a combined worth of almost twenty million million dollars.

Archipelago is less than ten years old. It is a trading technology company based in Chicago. It developed one of the first electronic trading systems. It now trades over eight thousand stocks. Many are also listed on other exchanges.

The combined company will be called the N.Y.S.E Group. Current members of the N.Y.S.E. will own seventy percent of the new company. Archipelago shareholders will own thirty percent of it.

The New York Stock Exchange still uses an "open outcry" system. Traders shout offers to buy or sell stocks on the trading floor. But trading electronically has become more and more important.

John Thain is the chief executive officer. He talks of a "hybrid market" that combines human and electronic trading systems. Mister Thain says developing both gives investors the best price on trades.

Increasing electronic trading is only part of the merger deal. Since nineteen seventy-one, the New York Stock Exchange has been organized as a non-profit corporation. The current owners are the almost one thousand four hundred members known as seatholders.

The new owners will be shareholders. The exchange will become a public company like other major stock exchanges. And, like other public companies, it will have to report financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The New York Stock Exchange is a self-regulatory organization. It enforces its own rules for some of its members. The National Association of Securities Dealers supervises investment traders and trading companies. Some companies are supervised by both the exchange and the association.

Some lawmakers and the Securities Industry Association are suggesting changes. They want to make policing the market simpler.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Internet users can read and hear our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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Asia-Pacific Leaders Form New Group to Improve Area's Future

Asia-Pacific Leaders Form New Group to Improve Area's Future
Written by Nancy Steinbach
17 December 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Two meetings this week in Asia could set the direction for the future of world trade, and the future of Asia itself.

In Kuala Lumpur, leaders of sixteen countries held the first East Asia Summit. The leaders met Wednesday in the Malaysian capital to plan for a united future. They agreed to create a group that will work together to improve economic, security and political conditions in Asia.


Participants of the EAS meeting in Kuala Lumpur

The new sixteen-member group will include both China and India.

The leaders represented the ten members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. They also represented Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The sixteen-member group will represent about three thousand million people, half the world's population. And it will represent about twenty percent of world trade.

Both numbers are expected to increase in the future. An expert on Asia says it will have three of the four largest economies in the world by two thousand fifty.

Some Asian leaders say the new group is needed because East Asia does not want to lose trade and influence to the Americas and Europe. Supporters say the new group could become an economic force like the European Union in the future.

But that will take work. For now, the sixteen leaders from Asia and the Pacific have agreed to meet again next year. They plan to meet in the Philippine capital, Manila, just after the next ASEAN meeting.

The other big meeting in Asia this week is the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization. There are protests outside, as at earlier meetings.

The W.T.O. has one hundred forty-eight members. It is the only international organization that negotiates trade rules. The last ministerial conference two years ago in Cancun, Mexico, ended without a new trade agreement. Objections by poor countries to agricultural support programs and trade barriers in wealthy ones were major issues.

The United States, the European Union and Japan said they have been trying to avoid such problems in Hong Kong. They announced plans for thousands of millions of dollars in aid to poor countries. They also announced plans to end import taxes on goods from some of these nations. Some officials, however, said the proposals came with too many conditions.

The W.T.O. had hoped for a free trade agreement by the end of last year on trade in farm and industrial goods and services. Now the hope is to have one completed by the end of two thousand six. But in Hong Kong Friday, Reuters news agency said rich nations were arguing over protected farm markets. And developing countries threatened to block any deal that did not give them better prices for bananas, sugar and cotton.

European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the talks were, if anything, "going backwards." The meeting is to end on Sunday.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Spirit of the Season: Christmas Music and Traditions in America

Spirit of the Season: Christmas Music and Traditions in America
Written by Shelley Gollust
18 December 2005

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: Millions of Americans will celebrate Christmas on December Twenty-Fifth. It is the most widely celebrated religious holiday in the United States. For the past few weeks, Americans have been preparing for Christmas. I'm Bob Doughty. Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman tell us about American Christmas traditions and music on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

People have been buying gifts to give to family members and friends. They have been filling homes and stores with evergreen trees and bright, colored lights. They have been going to parties and preparing special Christmas foods. Many people think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Johnny Mathis thinks so, too.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many Christians will go to church the night before the holiday or on Christmas Day. They will celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christian ministers will speak about the need for peace and understanding in the world. This is the spiritual message of Christmas. Church services will include traditional religious songs for the holiday.

One of the most popular is this one, "Silent Night." Here it is sung by Joan Baez.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Many other Americans will celebrate Christmas as an important, but non-religious, holiday. To all, however, it is a special day of family, food, and exchanging gifts.

Christmas is probably the most special day of the year for children. One thing that makes it special is the popular tradition of Santa Claus.

Young children believe that Santa Claus is a fat, kind, old man in a red suit with white fur. They believe that -- on the night before Christmas -- he travels through the air in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He enters each house from the top by sliding down the hole in the fireplace. He leaves gifts for the children under the Christmas tree.

Here, Bruce Springsteen sings about Santa Claus.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Americans spend a lot of time and money buying Christmas presents. The average American family spends about eight-hundred dollars. Stores and shopping centers are crowded at this time of year. More than twenty percent of all goods sold during the year are sold during the weeks before Christmas. This is good for stores and for the American economy.

VOICE ONE:

Some people object to all this spending. They say it is not the real meaning of Christmas. So, they celebrate in other ways. For example, they make Christmas presents, instead of buying them. Or they volunteer to help serve meals to people who have no homes. Or they give money to organizations that help poor people in the United States and around the world.

VOICE TWO:

Home and family are the center of the Christmas holiday. For many people, the most enjoyable tradition is buying a Christmas tree and decorating it with lights and beautiful objects. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, people gather around the tree to open their presents.

Another important Christmas tradition involves food. Families prepare many kinds of holiday foods, especially sweets. They eat these foods on the night before Christmas and on Christmas day.

For many people, Christmas means traveling long distances to be with their families. Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack sing about this holiday tradition.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Another Christmas tradition is to go "caroling." A group of people walks along the street. At each house, they stop and sing a Christmas song, called a carol. Student groups also sing carols at schools and shopping centers. Let us listen to the choir of Trinity Church in Boston sing "Carol of the Bells."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Not everyone in the United States celebrates Christmas. Members of the Jewish and Muslim religions, for example, generally do not. Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah. And some black Americans observe another holiday, Kwanzaa. Yet many Americans do take part in some of the traditional performances of the season. One of the most popular is a story told in dance: "The Nutcracker" ballet. The music was written by Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky in eighteen ninety-one.

VOICE ONE:

The ballet is about a young girl named Clara. Clara is celebrating Christmas with her family and friends. One of her Christmas presents is a little device to open nuts -- a nutcracker. It is shaped like a toy soldier. She dreams that the nutcracker comes to life as a good-looking prince.

Professional dance groups in many American cities perform the ballet at this time of year. They often use students from local ballet schools to dance the part of Clara and the other children in the story. This gives parents a chance to see their children perform.

VOICE TWO:

We leave you with "The Waltz of the Flowers" from "The Nutcracker." It is played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Eugene Ormandy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Today's program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced and directed by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

楼主学习之余还不辞辛苦,一定要支持啊~~~谢谢

palmer 说:

Asia-Pacific Leaders Form New Group to Improve Area's Future
Written by Nancy Steinbach
17 December 2005

点击展开...

nice voice except the picture becauce I saw a dog who is second man from right hand in it .

Thanks!

Aim 说:

nice voice except the picture becauce I saw a dog who is second man from right hand in it .

点击展开...

是一个恶心的家伙

Where Did the English Language Come From?

Where Did the English Language Come From?
Written by Paul Thompson
21 December 2005

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we present the first of two programs about the history of the English Language.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

More people are trying to learn English than any other language in the world. English is the language of political negotiations and international business. It has become the international language of science and medicine. International treaties say passenger airplane pilots must speak English.

English is the major foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe. School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age. English is the official language of more than seventy-five countries including Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Africa.

In countries where many different languages are spoken, English is often used as an official language to help people communicate. India is good example. English is the common language in this country where at least twenty-four languages are spoken by more than one million people.

VOICE TWO:

Where did the English language come from? Why has it become so popular? To answer these questions we must travel back in time about five thousand years to an area north of the Black Sea in southeastern Europe.




Experts say the people in that area spoke a language called Proto-Indo-European. That language is no longer spoken. Researchers do not really know what it sounded like.

Yet, Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. These include the languages that became ancient Greek, ancient German and the ancient Latin.

Latin disappeared as a spoken language. Yet it left behind three great languages that became modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and one of the languages that developed into English.


VOICE ONE:

The English language is a result of the invasions of the island of Britain over many hundreds of years. The invaders lived along the northern coast of Europe.

The first invasions were by a people called Angles about one thousand five hundred years ago. The Angles were a German tribe who crossed the English Channel. Later two more groups crossed to Britain. They were the Saxons and the Jutes.

These groups found a people called the Celts, who had lived in Britain for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders fought.

After a while, most of the Celts were killed, or made slaves. Some escaped to live in the area that became Wales. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages. The result is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English.

Old English is extremely difficult to understand. Only a few experts can read this earliest form of English.


VOICE TWO:

Several written works have survived from the Old English period. Perhaps the most famous is called Beowulf. It is the oldest known English poem. Experts say it was written in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person who wrote it is not known.

Beowulf is the story of a great king who fought against monsters. He was a good king, well liked by his people. A new book by Seamus Heaney tells this ancient story in modern English.

Listen as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of this ancient story.

(“BEOWULF")

VOICE ONE:

The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north beginning about one thousand one hundred years ago. Fierce people called Vikings raided the coast areas of Britain. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value.

VOICE ONE (cont):

In some areas, the Vikings became so powerful they built temporary bases. These temporary bases sometimes became permanent. Later, many Vikings stayed in Britain. Many English words used today come from these ancient Vikings. Words like “sky,‿nbsp; “leg,‿“skull,‿“egg,‿nbsp; “crawl,‿‿lift‿and “take‿are from the old languages of the far northern countries.

VOICE TWO:

The next invasion of Britain took place more than nine hundred years ago, in ten sixty-six. History experts call this invasion the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror led it.

The Normans were a French-speaking people from Normandy in the north of France. They became the new rulers of Britain. These new rulers spoke only French for several hundred years. It was the most important language in the world at that time. It was the language of educated people. But the common people of Britain still spoke Old English.


VOICE TWO (cont):

Old English took many words from the Norman French. Some of these include “damage,‿nbsp; “prison,‿and “marriage.‿nbsp; Most English words that describe law and government come from Norman French. Words such as “jury,‿ “parliament,‿and “justice.‿nbsp;

The French language used by the Norman rulers greatly changed the way English was spoken by eight hundred years ago. English became what language experts call Middle English. As time passed, the ruling Normans no longer spoke true French. Their language had become a mix of French and Middle English.

VOICE ONE:

Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now. Many written works from this period have survived. Perhaps the most famous was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet who lived in London and died there in fourteen hundred. Chaucer’s most famous work is “The Canterbury Tales,‿written more than six hundred years ago.


VOICE ONE (cont):

“The Canterbury Tales‿is a collection of poems about different people traveling to the town of Canterbury. Listen for a few moments as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of Chaucer’s famous “Canterbury Tales.‿/P>

(CANTERBURY TALES PROLOGUE)

Now listen as Mister Scheer reads the same sentences again, but this time in Modern English.

(CANTERBURY TALES PROLOGUE)

VOICE TWO:

English language experts say Geoffrey Chaucer was the first important writer to use the English language. They also agree that Chaucer’s great Middle English poem gives us a clear picture of the people of his time.


Some of the people described in “The Canterbury Tales‿are wise and brave; some are stupid and foolish. Some believe they are extremely important. Some are very nice, others are mean. But they all still seem real.

VOICE ONE:

The history of the English language continues as Middle English becomes Modern English, which is spoken today. That will be our story next time.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Shirley Griffith.


VOICE ONE:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week to hear the second part of the History of the English Language on the VOA Special English program, EXPLORATIONS.

Giving to the Needy, and Making Sure the Money Is Well-Spent

Giving to the Needy, and Making Sure the Money Is Well-Spent
23 December 2005
I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons basketball team helps buy holiday gifts for 9-year-old Shakima Johnson, displaced from her Mississippi home by Hurricane Katrina. At right is her mother, Wykima.Americans gave almost two hundred fifty thousand million dollars to charity in two thousand four. It was a five percent increase to a new record for giving in the United States. The estimates are from the Giving USA Foundation. The group says about seventy to eighty percent of Americans give yearly to at least one charity.
Charities are non-profit organizations. They might raise money to provide services, or to support the social good.
Americans can reduce their taxes by giving to charities. The federal tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service, recognizes donations to official charities. But many people give to charities even without saving on the taxes they owe.
Individuals provide about seventy-five percent of all donations. The largest share of charitable giving goes to religious groups. The Giving USA Foundation says more than thirty-five percent of all giving in two thousand four went to religious organizations. Some Americans give a percentage of their pay to religious groups.
Schools and other education-related organizations were second on the list. They received about thirteen percent of all charitable giving in two thousand four.
Many people want to know how their gifts are being spent. They want to be sure the money is not wasted or misused. Not long ago, in the Washington, D.C., area, the local leader of a national charity stole nearly half a million dollars from the group.
There are organizations that examine how charities spend the money they receive. These groups include Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy. They also include the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau. Such groups provide reports or ratings that measure how effectively charities spend money.
Charity Navigator says seventy percent of the groups it studies use at least three-fourths of their money to support their causes. Charities that spend too much on administrative or operating costs are not considered to be carrying out their purpose.
Charity-rating groups get information from a tax document called Form Nine-Ninety. Charities are not taxed, but they must report their financial information each year to the Internal Revenue Service.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Holiday Gifts: So What Have Americans Been Buying This Year?

Holiday Gifts: So What Have Americans Been Buying This Year?Written by Nancy Steinbach
23 December 2005
(MUSIC)
HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.
I'm Doug Johnson. On our special holiday show this week:

We hear music popular at this time of the year ‿/P>
Report about a short story writer and his famous story ‿/P> And tell about some popular holiday gifts.
Holiday Gifts
Millions of American families will celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah next week. One part of these celebrations is giving and receiving gifts. Faith Lapidus tells us about some of the most popular gifts for young people this year.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Many American young people want electronic gifts. At the top of the list is the Apple iPod or other digital music players. These electronic devices have appeared for the first time on the National Retail Federation’s yearly list of the most popular toys.
Last year, these devices were popular with adults. But experts say their use has greatly increased among young people. The new Microsoft Xbox Three-sixty is another popular gift for young people this year. The Xbox Three-sixty is a new kind of video game player system.
Recent newspaper reports say that stores may have sold all of their supplies of the most popular toys before the holidays begin.
These include an interactive doll called “Amazing Amanda‿that expresses feelings. Another is the iDog, an electronic dog that connects to a digital music player. It can lift its ears and move its head in time to the music.
Another toy that connects to a digital music player is called “Iz." This device permits its owner to create music and sound effects by moving parts of its body. Reports say that one surprise best selling toy this year is called “ChatNow.‿It is two cell phones that permit communication free of charge between people within a distance of about three kilometers.
A group of college students in the state of New Jersey went to a shopping area and asked more than five hundred people about their holiday spending this year. The students were doing market research for their business class. They found that many people like to buy young people gift cards. These look like credit cards. They are worth a set amount of money that can be spent at one store.
Buying a gift card is a good way to solve the problem of what to buy someone. But gift cards have restrictions. They can lose some or all of their value unless they are used within a period of time. Business experts say gift cards earn a lot of money for stores. People often spend more money than the amount of the card. And some of the people who receive gift cards never even use them.
O. Henry
HOST: Have you ever read anything by the American writer known as O. Henry? He was the writer who first developed the short story into a recognized kind of literature. One of his best loved stories is popular during the Christmas holiday. Bob Doughty tells about his life and work.
BOB DOUGHTY: O. Henry was the name used by William Sidney Porter. He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in eighteen sixty-two. His mother died when he was three years old. He left school at the age of fifteen to work in his uncle’s drug store. He moved to Texas five years later. He lived in the city of Austin where he got married, worked in a local bank and owned a weekly newspaper.
William Sidney Porter had bad luck in Texas. His wife became sick, their baby died and his newspaper failed. Then he was accused of stealing money from the bank where he worked. He fled to Honduras, but returned to be with his sick wife. She died in eighteen ninety-seven. Porter was sentenced to prison.
That is where he started to write. His first story was published in a national magazine in eighteen ninety-eight. After being released from prison in nineteen oh-one, Porter went to New York City. He published more stories, all under the name O. Henry. No one really knows where he got that name.
O. Henry’s first book was a short story collection called “Cabbages and Kings‿ It was published in nineteen-oh-four. O. Henry published thirteen other collections of short stories. He wrote six hundred stories during his life. He wrote so quickly that he could complete about one story a week.
Porter tried to forget his past, but could not. He did not have any good friends. He began to drink too much alcohol. A second marriage failed. He died of tuberculosis in New York City in nineteen ten. He was forty-eight years old.
The stories by O. Henry are well known for their surprise endings. One of his stories takes place during the Christmas season. It is called “The Gift of the Magi‿(MAY-jie). It tells how a poor young husband and wife express their love for each other at Christmas. But I will not tell you any more about it. You can hear “The Gift of the Magi‿Saturday on the Special English program AMERICAN STORIES or on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.
Holiday Music
HOST: Next week, Americans will celebrate three holidays. The Christian holiday Christmas is on December twenty-fifth, as always. Christians celebrate the day as the birthday of Jesus. They gather around an evergreen tree that they have placed in their homes and exchange gifts. Tradition says that Santa Claus travels to every house on the night before Christmas and leaves gifts for the children.

Many Americans also attend church, go to Christmas parties and sing holiday songs. Listen as Nat King Cole sings “The Christmas Song.‿/P> (MUSIC)
The African-American celebration of Kwanzaa begins every year on December twenty-sixth. It is celebrated for seven days. Kwanzaa does not replace Christmas. It honors black culture, especially the importance of the family. People celebrating Kwanzaa may gather for a family meal or party and light candles. They may also play African music, like this song, from South Africa. It is performed by Dark City Sisters. It is called “Sekusile‿(si-KOO-sel-lay).
(MUSIC)
This year, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah starts the night of December twenty-fifth. This eight-day holiday celebrates the Jewish people’s successful battle for religious freedom more than two thousand years ago. Jews around the world light candles and exchange gifts. They also play games and sing songs of joy. We leave you now with a popular Hanukkah song that describes one of those games ‿“The Dreydl Song‿
(MUSIC)
I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our special holiday program. Our show was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer.
Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

楼主圣诞快乐~~

Christmas Music with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Christmas Music with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Written by George Grow
24 December 2005

I’m Shirley Griffith with a VOA Special English program for the Christmas holiday.

Christians around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. In the United States, people are observing the Christmas holiday in homes and religious centers. Music has always been an important part of Christmas. Holiday music fills the air. Today, we will hear a program of Christmas music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

(MUSIC)



That was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with “Joy To the World.‿nbsp; The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the largest singing groups in the world. It has more than three hundred singers.

(MUSIC)

The members of the choir offer their time and skills without payment. All choir members are Mormons who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Many Christmas songs sound most beautiful when sung by a large group. Here is the choir performing a Ukrainian song, “Carol of the Bells.‿

(MUSIC)

“Silent Night‿is perhaps the best known of all Christmas songs. An Austrian clergyman named Joseph Mohr wrote the words. His friend Franz Gruber wrote the music. The song was performed for the first time at a religious service on the night before Christmas in eighteen eighteen.

At that time, it was performed with a single musical instrument -- a guitar. Here are the men of the Tabernacle Choir with “Silent Night.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is based at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. The choir made its first recording in nineteen ten. Since then, it has made more than one hundred fifty recordings.

One recording of holiday music is called “A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas.‿nbsp; You are listening to music from that recording.

(MUSIC)

This is Shirley Griffith. We hope you enjoyed our program of Christmas music. This program was written and produced by George Grow. Our studio engineer was Greg Burns. All of us in Special English wish you a very happy holiday season.

What Are You Doing on New Year’s Eve?

What Are You Doing on New Year’s Eve?
Written by Jerilyn Watson
25 December 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Two thousand six is just about here. Today we look at some of the ways that Americans celebrate the New Year.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:



In America, the best-known place to be on December thirty-first is Times Square in New York City. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in the cold. They crowd together and wait for midnight. It feels like a huge party.

The people count down the final seconds. “Ten ‿nine ‿eight ‿‿nbsp; All eyes watch a huge glass ball as it slides down a pole on top of a tall building. Someone in the crowd says it looks like a bright piece of snow. Someone else says it looks like thousands of stars. This is a famous Times Square tradition.

VOICE TWO:

When the ball reaches bottom, it is twelve o'clock. People shout “Happy New Year!‿nbsp; There is lots of excitement. More than a ton of confetti, little pieces of paper, rains down on the crowd.

The crowd does its duty and tries to sing "Auld Lang Syne," a traditional song of friendship at the New Year. Most people only know the first few words. The song is pretty much a mystery. But a fun mystery.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

People arrive in Times Square while it is still daylight. After dark, at about six o’clock, the New Year’s Eve ball is raised to its highest position. By this time thousands of people are gathered for the celebration ahead.

They ooh and aah when the thousands of little lights in the ball come on. Then everyone waits for midnight. People who have never met talk as if they have known each other all their lives. Visitors from around the world are excited to experience this New York moment.

VOICE TWO:

The first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square took place in nineteen-oh-four. The owners of a building on Times Square held that first party on the roof of their building. Three years later, a New Year’s ball joined the celebration.

The ball has been dropped every year except for two years during World War Two. In nineteen forty-two and 'forty-three, crowds still gathered in Times Square, but there was little to celebrate.

VOICE ONE:

Lots of Americans will be out someplace special for dinner and dancing on New Year's Eve. Some people like to be on a boat when the New Year arrives.

In Chicago, Illinois, for example, people can choose from several special holiday trips on Lake Michigan. These cruises include dinner and dancing to music performed by a band.

Two hours later, midnight will reach the West Coast. In Southern California, some people will be out on boats in the Pacific Ocean.

VOICE TWO:

Some Americans will have parties at home and invite all their friends.

(SOUND)

And no party will be complete without noisemakers -- and a traditional midnight kiss.

Other people will spend a quiet evening at home. They might even be asleep when the clock strikes midnight.

Now for a musical question -- Nancy Wilson asks, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?‿/P>

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Some people do too much on New Year’s Eve. To reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents, people will be urged to use a designated driver. This is one person who drinks little or no alcohol while out with friends. That way the designated driver can safely drive the other people home.

In many cities, free tax service will be offered to take people home if they have been drinking.

VOICE TWO:

Many cities will also hold what are called First Night celebrations. These are events without any alcohol. Local artists in Boston, Massachusetts, organized First Night celebrations in nineteen seventy-six.

People in Boston can choose among hundreds of performances and exhibits around the city. People can look at huge statues made of ice. Families can watch fireworks early in the evening. Later, fireworks light the midnight sky.

VOICE ONE:

After the celebrations on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day is often a quiet day.

Many people spend the first day of the New Year at home. Some watch football games on television. Millions like to watch the college game traditionally played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day.

This year, the big game will be played on January fourth. The Rose Bowl Game will serve as the national championship game in college football. The University of Southern California will play the University of Texas Longhorns. The Trojans of Southern California are the two-time defending national champions.

VOICE TWO:

The Rose Bowl Game traditionally follows the Rose Parade in Pasadena. The parade is a show of motor-driven floats covered in flowers. They make a beautiful sight.

But the one hundred seventeenth Rose Parade will take place this year on Monday, January second. That is because January first is a Sunday. When that happens, the parade takes place on the following day.

VOICE ONE:

Some people invite friends to their home to visit on New Year’s Day. In some parts of the country, children and adults still follow an old custom from Europe on January first. They go from house to house singing to friends and neighbors.

One popular song wishes people love and joy in the New Year. Listen now as the Christ Church Cathedral Choir sings the “Wassail Song, ‿arranged by Gustav Holst.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many Americans follow traditions that they hope will bring them good luck in the New Year. Some start the year by eating black-eyed peas or cabbage.

In the South, some people prepare a traditional food called Hoppin‿ John. It contains peas, onions, bacon and rice. Children long ago were said to like it so much, they hopped around the room while waiting for it to cook.

VOICE ONE:

Asian-Americans might eat fortune cookies at the New Year. Fortune cookies contain small pieces of paper with a short message telling about a person’s future.

And there are other things people do to celebrate the New Year. Some Latinos, for example, stand on a chair and eat grapes.

Whatever you do to welcome the New Year, we wish you a very happy two thousand six.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Bird Flu and Beyond: Health News in 2005

Bird Flu and Beyond: Health News in 2005
Written by Cynthia Kirk
28 December 2005

I’m Doug Johnson with the VOA Special English Health Report.

We look back this week at some of the top health stories for two thousand five.

Doctors in France made world news with a partial face transplant. But a more important story was the concern about avian influenza.

The h-five-n-one virus appeared in birds in Europe for the first time. Yet the only known human cases were still in East Asia.

Chickens are vaccinated at a farm in Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, 16 Dec 2005


The World Health Organization says there have been around one hundred forty confirmed cases since two thousand three. About half the people died.

Most of the victims had touched or been around infected poultry birds, or surfaces with the virus. But the worry is that it could change into a form that spreads easily from person to person.

Several countries are working on vaccines to protect against avian influenza. The effectiveness cannot be known, however, until the virus enters the general population.

If that happens, the drug Tamiflu is the best-known treatment. Yet just last week researchers said resistance to the drug may be more common than experts had thought.

Other health stories in two thousand five involved diseases already well-established. Experts said three million more people died of AIDS-related conditions. Almost five million more became infected. AIDS has killed more than twenty-five million people since nineteen eighty-one.

Treatment efforts have improved. But the United Nations said only one area of the world has not had an increase in the number of H.I.V. cases in the past two years. There was no change in the Caribbean, which is the second hardest-hit area after southern Africa.

Worldwide, an estimated forty million people are now living with the virus that causes AIDS.

Our final story of the year deals with chronic diseases, like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Experts say chronic diseases are the major cause of death and disability among adults worldwide.

Thirty-five million people were expected to die from chronic diseases in two thousand five. Health officials say that is two times as many deaths as from infectious diseases, pregnancy-related disorders and nutritional problems combined. Yet they say a better diet, more exercise and less or, better still, no smoking can often reduce the risk of chronic disease.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. Our year in review can be found on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Doug Johnson, wishing you a happy and healthy two thousand six.

William McKinley: The Twenty-Fifth President of the United States

William McKinley: The Twenty-Fifth President of the United States
Written by Frank Beardsley
28 December 2005
(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

The Making of a Nation-- a program in Special English.

(THEME)

On December Tenth, eighteen-ninety-eight, the United States and Spain signed a treaty in Paris officially ending the war between them. The fighting had stopped much earlier.

Spain had made the first move toward peace after its forces surrendered at Santiago, on the Cuban coast. A few weeks before, the United States Navy had destroyed Spain's Atlantic Naval Fleet. The American Naval victory ended any chance that Spain could win the war.

VOICE TWO:

Late in July, the French ambassador in Washington gave President William McKinley a message from the Spanish government. Spain asked what terms the United States would demand for peace. President McKinley sent an immediate answer.

Spain, he said, must give up Cuba. It must also give to the United states the islands of Puerto Rico and Guam. And he said Spain must recognize the right of the United States to occupy Manila in the Philippines. The future of the Philippines, he said, would be decided during negotiations on a peace treaty.

VOICE ONE:

McKinley's terms seemed severe to Spain. But Spain had no choice. It could not continue the war. So, ten weeks after war broke out, Spain agreed to stop the fighting and accept the American terms. It signed a peace agreement in Washington on August Twelfth.


William McKinley

A Spanish note protested sadly that the agreement took away the last memory of a glorious past. "It expels us from the western hemisphere, which became peopled and civilized through the proud efforts of our fathers."

VOICE TWO:

The two countries agreed to meet in paris to negotiate details of a peace treaty. The talks opened October First. The two sides agreed quickly on the issue of Cuban independence, and an American take-over of Puerto rico and Guam. But they could not agree on what to do about the Philippines.

At the beginning of the talks, the United States was not sure if it wanted all or only part of the Philippines. At first, President McKinley wanted Spain to give up only Luzon, the main island. Then he decided that the United States should demand all of the Philippines. McKinley explained later how he made this decision.

VOICE ONE:

"I thought first we would take only Manila. Then Luzon. Then other islands, perhaps. I walked the floor of the White House many nights. More than once, I went down on my knees and asked God to help me decide.

"And one night," said McKinley, "It came to me this way: "That we could not give the Philippines back to Spain. That would be cowardly and dishonorable. We could not turn them over to France or Germany, our trading competitors in Asia. That would be bad business. We could not leave them to themselves.

They were not ready for self-government. So, there was nothing for us to do but to take them all. And to educate the Filipinos, to civilize them, and make Christians of them.

"With that decision," said McKinley, "I went to bed and slept well."

VOICE TWO:

Spain, however, did not want to give up the Philippines. It protested that the United States had no right to demand the Islands. True, Americans occupied Manila. But they did not control any other part of the Philippines.

The two sides negotiated for days. Finally, they reached an agreement. Spain would give all of the Philippines to the United States. In return, the United States would pay Spain twenty-million dollars.

With this dispute ended, the peace treaty was quickly completed and signed. But trouble developed when President McKinley sent the treaty to the United States Senate for approval.

VOICE ONE:

Many Americans opposed the treaty. They thought McKinley was wrong to take the Philippines. Opponents of the treaty included former President Cleveland, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, labor leader Samuel Gompers, writer Mark Twain, and others.

They organized anti-imperialist groups in many cities to oppose the treaty. They made speeches and published newspapers explaining their opposition. Imperialism, they said, had ruined ancient Rome. And it would ruin the American republic.

They said colonies halfway around the world would be costly to protect. A large army and navy would be needed. They said colonial policies violated important democratic ideas upon which the United States had been built. We went to war with Spain, they said, to free Cuba from its colonial masters...not to make ourselves masters of the Philippines.

VOICE TWO:

Republican Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts led the Senate fight for the treaty. The opposition was led by the other Massachusetts senator, George Hoar, also a Republican.

Senator Lodge appealed to national pride. He urged the Senate not to pull down the American flag. Rejection of the treaty, he said, would dishonor the president and the country. It would show that we are not ready as a nation to enter into great questions of foreign policy.

Senator Albert Beveridge of Ohio also spoke in support of the treaty. Senator Beveridge said the Pacific would be of great importance in coming years. Therefore, he said, the power that rules the Pacific will be the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is -- and forever will be ‿the United States

VOICE ONE:

Senator Hoar spoke strongly against the treaty. He said that taking over the Philippines would be a dangerous break with America's past.

He said the greatest thing the United States had was its tradition of freedom. To take the Philippines, he said, would deny that tradition. It would violate the Constitution and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence: the idea that all men are created equal...and that government exists only with the permission of the governed.

VOICE TWO:

The Senate vote on the treaty was set for February sixth. It seemed that the opposition had enough votes to reject it. But several things happened before the vote.

William Jennings Bryan, the leader of the democratic party, opposed the take-over of the Philippines. But he urged Democratic senators to vote for the treaty. Bryan was looking ahead to the presidential election in nineteen-hundred. He believed that the Philippines' take-over would cause the United States nothing but trouble. He could put the blame for all the trouble on the Republicans. Then -- if he was elected president -- the Democrats could give the Philippines their independence.

Bryan succeeded in getting seventeen Democrats and Populists in the Senate to vote for the treaty.

VOICE ONE:

Two days before the vote was taken, violence broke out in the Philippines. President McKinley, without waiting for the senate to act, ordered the American military government in Manila to extend its control throughout the Philippines.

The leader of the Philippine rebels, Emilio Aquinaldo, opposed the order. Rebel forces prepared to fight. On the night of February fourth, thirty-thousand rebels attacked American forces around manila. Sixty Americans were killed, and more than two-hundred-seventy were wounded. Rebel losses were much higher.

VOICE TWO:

News of the rebel attack caused some Senators to change their minds about the Philippines. Some who had opposed the treaty now agreed with the "Washington Star" newspaper that: "the Filipinos must be taught to obey."

Eighty-four Senators were present for the vote on the treaty. To pass, the treaty needed a two-thirds majority -- fifty-six votes. One by one, the Senators voted. Then the count was announced.

Fifty-seven of the lawmakers had voted yes. Only twenty-seven had voted no. The treaty was approved. The Philippines belonged to the United States.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, the Making of a Nation. Your narrators were Steve Ember and Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

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Yearly Camp Offers Free Medical Care in Gujarat, in Western India

Yearly Camp Offers Free Medical Care in Gujarat, in Western India
Written by Jill Moss
01 January 2006

I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Development Report.


A young baby with Gangrene of the right leg

Doctors expect to treat more than twenty thousand people this month at a special medical camp in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The two-week camp takes place each year during January at a hospital in the village of Bidada. This year, the camp opens on January second. A non-profit organization called the Shree Bidada Sarvodaya Trust organizes the event.

Doctors from India, the United States and England will treat the patients. Manilal Mehta is one of the organizers of the medical camp. He tells us that patients come from all over India, especially since the hospital in Bidada opened a new treatment center. The center was built as a result of the deadly earthquake in Gujarat in January of two thousand one.

Children as well as adults are treated at the medical camp. Doctor Mehta says doctors treat patients for more than twenty medical problems and diseases. Hundreds of operations will be performed. Doctor Mehta says about one thousand minor operations were done last year. More than three hundred patients with serious problems were sent to hospitals in Mumbai.

The Bidada medical camp began thirty-one years ago. At first, doctors treated only patients with eye diseases. Then the organizers expanded the camp to help people with other problems. Doctor Mehta says about two-and-a-half million patients have been treated since the camp began in nineteen seventy-four.

People in India, the United States and other countries give money to operate the medical camp. About two hundred doctors and other medical workers from Mumbai take part in the yearly event. They work with a medical team of about fifty members from the United States. All of those involved in the camp provide their services without being paid.

Many of the doctors were born in Kutch but are now living in the United States. Some of them have been returning to the camp for many years. The doctors from the United States also teach local Indian doctors about developments in medical science.

The Shree Bidada Sarvodaya Trust also organizes smaller medical camps for patients at other times of year. The organization operates the hospital in Bidada as well as Maru Hospital in Mumbai. These hospitals treat about three hundred patients each day.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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With McKinley Dead, Theodore Roosevelt Becomes America's Youngest Leader

With McKinley Dead, Theodore Roosevelt Becomes America's Youngest Leader

Written by Frank Beardsley
04 January 2006

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

The war between the United States and Spain in eighteen ninety-eight was one of the shortest in American history. The fighting lasted about three months. Yet that short war led to long-term changes for America. Victory made the United States an increasingly important world power.

This is Shep O'Neal. Today, Larry West and I tell about those developments.

VOICE TWO:

The United States received several of Spain's island colonies as part of the peace agreement. The most important was the Philippines.

Many Americans thought the United States should not have overseas territories. But President William McKinley thought the Philippines were unprepared for independence. He decided to keep the islands and prepare the people for self-government in the future.

A Filipino nationalist group led by Emilio Aguinaldo rejected American control. Aguinaldo declared the formation of a Philippine republic. And he started a guerrilla war against the occupying forces.

VOICE ONE:

The rebellion in the Philippines became a major issue in America's presidential election of nineteen hundred.

William Jennings Bryan
The Republican Party re-nominated William McKinley as president. And it nominated a hero of the Spanish-American War, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt, as vice president. The Democratic Party, for the second time, nominated Congressman William Jennings Bryan as president. It nominated a former vice president, Adlai Stevenson, as vice president again.

VOICE TWO:

William Jennings Bryan campaigned against the American take-over of the Philippines. He received support from a new group, The Anti-Imperialist League. Members included leading American politicians, businessmen, and writers.


Theodore Roosevelt
President McKinley did not campaign much. He let vice presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt do it. Roosevelt spoke of America's success as a new economic and political power in the world. He said the Republican Party was responsible.

The majority of voters liked what Roosevelt said. They elected the Republican candidates.

VOICE ONE:

The Republican victory destroyed the hopes of many nationalists in the Philippines. With William McKinley in the White House again, they saw little chance of gaining independence. Nationalist leader Emilio Aguinaldo, however, refused to surrender. As long as he remained free, the guerrilla war would continue.

For months, American forces tried without success to find him. Finally, with the help of a tribe of Filipino mercenary soldiers called the Maccabebe Scouts, they captured him. Aguinaldo signed an agreement to support the United States.

With this agreement, the rebellion ended on the island of Luzon. But it continued for more than a year in the southern Philippines. Hostilities ended officially on July fourth, nineteen-oh-two.

VOICE TWO:

American occupation of the Philippines made the United States a major power in the far east. As such, it began to develop new policies toward Asia. Especially a new policy toward China.

Americans had been trading with China for years, but not heavily. As the American economy grew, however, businessmen saw China -- with a population of four hundred million people -- as a great market for American products.

Other countries were interested in this market, too. Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia all claimed special rights in parts of China. They began to divide the country into areas called "spheres of influence. " It seemed these areas could become foreign colonies. Then the United States would be cut off from trading directly with China.

To prevent that from happening, American Secretary of State John Hay proposed what became known as the "open door" policy.

VOICE ONE:

Secretary Hay asked the nations involved to agree to equal trading rights for all countries in all parts of China. No nation, he said, should interfere with the rights or powers of any other nation in China.

No one welcomed the proposal. But no one rejected it, either. Most of the nations involved said they agreed with the idea. But they said they could not approve it unless everyone else did.

Secretary Hay refused to wait for them to act. So in may, nineteen hundred, he announced that all the nations involved had given their approval to the "open door" policy. The new policy was tested very soon. Within a month of Hay's announcement, violence broke out against foreigners in China.

VOICE TWO:

The attacks were led by a secret group called "Righteous, Harmonious Fists." Foreigners called its members "Boxers." Boxers hated all foreign influence in China. They organized in areas where foreign influence was strongest. They killed Christian missionaries and Chinese who had accepted the Christian religion. They also destroyed foreign industries, especially railroads.

The Chinese government in beijing supported the Boxer Rebellion. It permitted the boxers to occupy the capital.

The rebellion lasted about two months. It ended when an allied force of American, British, French, German, and Japanese soldiers reached Beijing and ended the Boxer occupation.

VOICE ONE:

The foreign powers began to negotiate with China on paying for damages. The United States was worried about the results. It believed some of the nations involved would use the Boxer Rebellion as a way to gain more control over Chinese territory.

Secretary of State Hay quickly announced America's policy on the issue. The United States, he said, wanted a settlement which would bring peace and safety to China. The settlement must protect China's territorial rights so it would not be divided into foreign colonies.

Britain and Germany agreed. With their help, Secretary Hay got the others to accept money -- not territory -- as payment for damages. The final settlement forced China to pay three hundred thirty-three million dollars. The United States used some of its share to pay for the education of Chinese students in America.

VOICE TWO:

The results of the boxer rebellion and the Spanish-American War made clear that the new century would have a new world power: the United States. And this new power had a president with the political skills to do the job: William McKinley.

William McKinley
In September, nineteen-oh-one, President McKinley made a major foreign policy speech at the Pan-American Fair in Buffalo, New York. He spoke about the importance and the promise of America's new position in the world.

The next day, President McKinley went to the fair's temple of music. He planned to spend several hours meeting the public and shaking hands.

VOICE ONE:

A young man waited in line to see him. When the young man stepped in front of McKinley, McKinley reached out to shake his hand. Two shots rang out from a gun the man had hidden under a cloth. One of the bullets struck McKinley in the stomach.

The president was taken to an emergency hospital on the fairgrounds. He was not conscious. The bullet had damaged his stomach, pancreas, and one kidney. But doctors did not believe he was in danger of dying.

VOICE TWO:

The man who shot McKinley was Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz was an anarchist. He believed all rulers were enemies of the people. He believed the people had the right to kill them. Czolgosz also was mentally ill. He had tried to join several anarchist groups. They refused to accept him, however, because of his mental condition.

After shooting President McKinley, Czolgosz explained why he had done it. He said it was not right for one man to receive so much public honor, while he received none.

VOICE ONE:

For two days, the president remained in a coma. Then his condition changed. He regained consciousness and was able to talk. He rested and became stronger.

Then the president's condition changed again. An infection developed in his wound. It spread throughout his body. In another few days, he was dead.

VOICE TWO:

Vice President Roosevelt hurried to Buffalo. He went to the house where the president's body lay. Then he went to another house to be sworn in as president. He was forty-two years old -- the youngest man ever to hold the office.

Roosevelt declared that the administration would go on as before. "It is my aim," he said, "to continue unbroken the policy of President McKinley for the peace, the prosperity, and the honor of our beloved country."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators were Shep O’neal and Larry West. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

(MUSIC)

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As Boomers Age, Times Change in the U.S. Labor Market

As Boomers Age, Times Change in the U.S. Labor Market
Written by Mario Ritter
09 June 2006
I’m Mario Ritter with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

The oldest of America's baby boomers are sixty years old this year. Almost one-fourth of Americans alive today were born in a population explosion between nineteen forty-six and nineteen sixty-four. As they retire, they will leave a labor market very different from the one they entered.

In the middle of the twentieth century, one worker in three was a member of a labor union. Now it is one worker in eight.

American unions had their greatest influence in the fifties and sixties. In nineteen fifty-five, the American Federation of Labor joined with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The first president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O, George Meany, was a political force until he stepped down in nineteen seventy-nine.

Service Employee International Union president Andrew Stern

Andrew Stern
Last July, the federation suffered a split that included the loss of the fastest growing union in the country. The Service Employee International Union has almost two million members. Its president, Andrew Stern, says unions today must organize workers at big international companies.

He supports a new labor federation, Change to Win. The unions in Change to Win together claim six million members. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. now has about nine million.

Industrial changes have hurt some unions more than others. Automobile industry unions have traditionally been among the strongest. But many of those jobs have disappeared as General Motors and Ford shrink their North American operations.

G.M. faces a strike threat at a major parts supplier. Delphi is seeking to cancel union agreements and cut pay. The United Auto Workers voted last month to permit a strike. Delphi, formerly part of G.M., is under bankruptcy court protection from its creditors.

As the economy has changed, major new employers are companies like Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart says unions are not needed in its stores. It says it does not need a “middle man??in its relationship with its employees.

And now unions are facing a television campaign that uses humor to present a serious message. A group has gathered what it calls "a wealth of information" about the political and criminal activities of the American labor movement.

The Center for Union Facts says it is supported by foundations, businesses, union members and the general public. It does not name its supporters.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

Planning a Wedding Becomes a Marriage of a Million Details

Planning a Wedding Becomes a Marriage of a Million Details
Written by Jerilyn Watson
12 June 2006
(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week -- weddings in America.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:



Australian model Narelle Payne in wedding dress by fashion designer Caroline Herrera
Each year, more than two million weddings take place in the United States. The Association for Wedding Professionals International says more than eighty thousand million dollars is spent on those weddings. And that does not include honeymoon travel for the newlyweds.

Some people have big weddings and invite everyone they know. Some have small, simple weddings and invite only their closest friends and family members. And some elope. They get married first and tell people later.

Still another choice is a "destination wedding." These are popular now. The bride and groom invite a small group of guests to travel to someplace special for the ceremony. Think of it as a wedding and honeymoon all in one.

VOICE TWO:

June is the beginning of summer. It is also considered the traditional start of the wedding season.

Hollywood has had a lot of fun with weddings. In the summer of two thousand five there was the movie "Wedding Crashers." Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn play two friends who trick their way into weddings. Why? Simple: to meet women.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:


Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey in "The Wedding Planner"
Many couples organize their weddings themselves. But some hire a wedding planner to organize everything for them. The planner helps the bride find a wedding dress as well as dresses for her bridesmaids.

The planner helps find a place for the reception after the ceremony. And the planner organizes all the details for the celebration, from the flowers to the food to the entertainment.

In the movie "The Wedding Planner," Jennifer Lopez stars as a highly organized planner with a suddenly disorganized personal life. She falls in love with a doctor, played by Matthew McConaughey. Only he turns out to be the man who is supposed to marry her most important client.

(SOUND)

VOICE TWO:


Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride"
Hollywood has also had fun with wedding planners. In the Steve Martin and Diane Keaton movie "Father of the Bride," Martin Short plays their daughter's "wedding coordinator."

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

Traditionally the bride's parents pay for the wedding. But Americans now get married at an older age than they once did. So working couples might pay for some or all of the wedding themselves. “What a wonderful idea,??once joked a real-life father of the bride.

VOICE TWO:

Couples can have a religious ceremony. Or they can have a civil wedding before a judge or other public official. Or they can have both. The couple might also read special vows they have written for each other.

Many ceremonies share common customs. For example, the bride may wear a long white dress and have a white veil over her face. The veil is pulled back when the newlyweds kiss at the end of the ceremony.

The groom traditionally wears a tuxedo. If the suit is black and the shirt is white, picture in your mind a penguin. A nervous penguin.

An old tradition says brides should wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. These four things are supposed to bring good luck.

Different cultures have their own traditions. At African-American weddings, for example, there is "jumping the broom." This is an old tradition where couples jump over a broomstick laid on the ground.

VOICE ONE:

America is known as a nation of immigrants. Each group brings its own wedding customs and traditions to the mix. But one tradition at most weddings is music. Many people hire D.J.s, disc jockeys, to play recorded dance music. A wedding might also have live music.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many couples hire small chamber groups to play classical music before and at the end of their wedding ceremony. One musical tradition is "Trumpet Voluntary."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Another classical favorite at weddings is “Sheep May Safely Graze??by Johann Sebastian Bach:

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Some couples want to get married in a famous place like Disneyland or Las Vegas. The eightieth floor of the Empire State Building in New York City is a popular place for weddings. Couples can enter a competition for a chance to get married there on Valentine’s Day.

Couples sometimes hold their wedding in a romantic place where they met. Or they choose a place that will not be too far for all the guests to travel. Or they hear about a beautiful place where many other people have gotten married.

Many couples get married on the beach in Hawaii and the mainland, or travel to Mexico or an island in the Caribbean.

With a destination wedding, the celebration often lasts three days. All the guests are invited to a dinner on the night before the wedding. Then there is the ceremony and the meal that follows. And often there is an early morning breakfast the following day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Thanks to the Internet, couples can make a lot of their wedding preparations online. Technology has also made it easier for other people to decide what to give them for a wedding gift.

The future newlyweds can go to stores and choose the gifts they would like to receive. The information is entered into a list on a wedding registry at each store. Then their friends and relatives can choose what to buy.

This means the bride and groom get things they want. It also means they avoid many of the things they do not want ??like three toasters for their morning bread.

Some couples planning a wedding create their own Web sites so they can provide information to the people they invite.

VOICE TWO:

With all the planning that goes into some weddings, it is easy to forget what the event is all about. A Protestant minister in Maryland advises couples to remember one thing. Their wedding is over quickly, but their feelings for each other have to last a lifetime.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. And we invite you to listen against next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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Fighting World War Two: Powerful Germany Begins to Face Defeats

Fighting World War Two: Powerful Germany Begins to Face Defeats

Hitler decided early in the war to attack the Soviet Union. It was a mistake that divided his troops and supplies. Transcript of radio broadcast:
16 November 2006

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

In December nineteen forty-one, the United States was at war.

It declared war against Japan after Japanese planes destroyed American air and naval forces in Hawaii. And a few days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

President Franklin Roosevelt quickly decided that America could not fight major campaigns in the Pacific and in Europe at the same time. He and his advisors decided to fight first against the Germans and Italians. Then, when victory in Europe seemed sure, the United States could turn to fight the Japanese in Asia.

VOICE TWO:

This left the Japanese free to extend their power throughout Asia and the western Pacific. Soon after the attack at Hawaii, Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong, Malaya, and the Philippines. American land and air forces in the Philippines were destroyed or captured. And Manila fell to Japanese troops. In February, nineteen forty-two, Japan's forces won a great victory against the British in Singapore.

Japanese forces marched into Burma. They attacked Ceylon and captured the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese military forces seemed too strong to stop.

VOICE ONE:

President Roosevelt sent some forces to the Pacific. And he began to re-build the American naval forces destroyed at Pearl Harbor. But he sent most of America's military strength to Europe. The United States rushed troops and war equipment to help Britain survive against Hitler's Germany.

In an Allied invasion craft bound for the beach at Sicily, men huddle together. Ahead lies the enemy and, for some, death.<br />
Artist's image of an Allied invasion craft headed for the beach at Sicily
American military leaders wanted to fight Germany quickly by launching an attack across the English Channel. But British Prime Minister Winston Churchill opposed this.

He and others feared such an invasion might fail. So, British and American forces attacked Italian and German occupation troops in North Africa. They defeated them, then crossed the Mediterranean Sea to attack enemy forces in Sicily. Within weeks, they pushed the Germans out of Sicily to the Italian mainland. The Allied invasion of Italy followed.

VOICE TWO:

Hitler could not strengthen his forces in North Africa and Italy, because Germany also was fighting hard in the Soviet Union.

Hitler's decision early in the war to attack the Soviet Union was a serious mistake. It divided his men and materials. His plan was to defeat Soviet forces quickly with one strong attack. But he failed. And his failure cost him valuable troops and supplies that might have helped him win the battles for North Africa and Italy.

Germany's attack on the Soviet Union began with great success.

In the middle of nineteen forty-one, a German force of more than three million men invaded the Soviet Union. It captured the Ukraine, took control of Kiev, and marched deep into Russia.

VOICE ONE:

The situation changed the following year. Soviet forces under Marshal Zhukov won a terrible, fierce battle for the city of Stalingrad [Volgograd]. A great many German soldiers died from cold and hunger during the bitter winter months that followed.

Zhukov's forces attacked the German troops and pushed back the invaders. Other Soviet troops forced Nazi soldiers away from the city of Leningrad [St. Petersburg].

By the middle of nineteen forty-four, Nazi forces throughout the Soviet Union were retreating. And Soviet forces were preparing to push them over the border and invade Germany themselves.

VOICE TWO:

The fighting by land forces was terrible. Huge numbers of soldiers and civilians were killed. Fighting also was fierce on the seas. The two sides had been fighting on the oceans from the first day of the war, when a German submarine sank a British ship.

The main goal of the German navy during the war was to prevent the United States from sending ships to Britain with war materials, food, and troops. At first, the Germans were very successful. Some people in Britain were hungry in nineteen forty-one, because so few food-carrying ships could cross the ocean.

German submarines were the greatest danger to ships crossing the Atlantic. They could hide below the surface and attack without warning.

The submarine problem did not improve until new technology was developed in nineteen forty-three. Allied scientists improved sonar and radar systems that helped find submarines on the surface and underwater. More of the enemy submarines were found and destroyed. The Allies slowly gained control of the Atlantic.

VOICE ONE:

Surface warships of the two sides fought a number of traditional naval battles. But airplanes had a more important part than in the past. British planes and ships destroyed a powerful German battleship, the Bismarck.

The most famous air battle of the war in Europe took place over the English Channel. Luftwaffe pilots from Germany tried to destroy the smaller British air force. But they failed to do so, mainly because of the skill of the British fliers. The British victory in the air helped prevent a German invasion of Britain.

VOICE TWO:

In May, nineteen forty-two, the British air force made an attack on Germany with one thousand bomber planes. It was just the first of many such attacks by United States and British planes.

The planes bombed German military and industrial centers. They also bombed civilian targets in an effort to teach the German people the price of Germany's aggression. The German cities of cologne, Dresden, and Hamburg suffered terrible damage. The allied bombing attacks continued until the war's end in nineteen-forty-five.

VOICE ONE:

Hitler's victories in the early months of the war had caused fear in the hearts of people throughout the world.

Hitler and his allies had won battle after battle. They had captured western Europe, except for Britain, and had invaded the Soviet Union. They had seized North Africa. And their submarines controlled the Atlantic Ocean.

Germany continued to seem strong during the first months after the United States entered the war in Europe. But the situation began to change. German strength and control were greatest in November nineteen forty-two. After then, the mighty German military machine began to slow down.

VOICE TWO:

Germany and its allies suffered serious losses in the first six months of nineteen forty-three.

German losses were extremely heavy in the Soviet Union. One hundred sixty thousand German troops died at Stalingrad [Volgograd], and more than one hundred ten thousand others surrendered.

Two hundred fifty thousand German and Italian troops were captured in North Africa. Many more thousands were killed or captured in Sicily and Italy. German submarines were being destroyed in the North Atlantic, allowing more allied troops and supplies to reach Britain.

VOICE ONE:

By the end of nineteen forty-three, Hitler and his armies no longer seemed so strong. But German forces continued to occupy France, Belgium, and much of the rest of western Europe. Now, the time had come for the Allies to invade German-held Europe from Britain.

Allied forces planned the greatest military invasion in history to break the German control of Europe and win the war. That invasion, the famous D-Day battle of Normandy, will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English. Your narrators were Harry Monroe and Jack Weitzel. THE MAKING OF A NATION is written by David Jarmul.

Allowances: A Lesson in Personal Finance for Kids

Allowances: A Lesson in Personal Finance for Kids
Children can learn important ideas about dealing with money. Transcript of radio broadcast:
17 November 2006
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.


The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.

In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.

At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.

The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.

Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.

Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.

Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.

Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future.

Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance.

A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.

Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on.

That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about economics, and download MP3 files and transcripts of our weekly reports, at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

Thanksgiving Day: Filled With Family Traditions and, Oh Yea, Food

Thanksgiving Day: Filled With Family Traditions and, Oh Yea, Food
Some families serve ham. But the traditional main dish is turkey. Transcript of radio broadcast:
20 November 2006

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Our subject this week is what the writer O. Henry called the one day that is purely American -- Thanksgiving.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Preparations for Thanksgiving dinner
Preparations for Thanksgiving dinner
This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. This is the one hundred forty-third official observance of the holiday. But the tradition is much older. Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest festival like those found in many cultures.

Today the holiday is a time of family reunions, parades and watching football games on television. And, oh yes, food. For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving is a day spent cooking, eating and talking.

VOICE TWO:

Thanksgiving is what the social scientists call a civil holiday. It is not religious but it does have spiritual meaning. For some families, Thanksgiving may be the only time of year when everyone gets together. The government says the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for long-distance travel as people return from gatherings.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Paul Hillier leads the Theatre of Voices in a traditional Shaker song, "Give Good Gifts to One Another." The recording is from the album "Home to Thanksgiving -- Songs of Thanks and Praise."

Thanksgiving is also when thoughts start to turn to other kinds of gifts. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the traditional start of the shopping season for Christmas and the other winter holidays.

VOICE TWO:

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, 2005
Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, 2005
And speaking of traditions, a popular Thanksgiving tradition is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Employees of the huge Macy's department store on Herald Square organized the first parade in nineteen twenty-four. Many of them wanted to hold a big parade like the ones in Old World Europe. So they dressed in costumes and borrowed some animals from the zoo. They also carried small balloons that floated just overhead.

VOICE ONE:

A few years later came big balloons, the kind that the parade is famous for. But they burst. The parade planners soon learned better ways to control the balloons.

In nineteen thirty-four, a big Mickey Mouse balloon made of rubber appeared in the parade for the first time. Mickey Mouse remains a popular character in the parade.

But for three years during World War Two, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade had to be cancelled. The military needed rubber for the war effort.

VOICE TWO:

Two and one-half million people are expected on the streets of Manhattan this Thursday to watch the parade. Millions more will see it on television. And, as always, there will be lots of things to see, including eight hundred performing clowns.

But all eyes will be on the huge balloons that will rise almost fifteen meters above the streets. Many of the balloons are based on popular cartoon and game characters. Plans call for the balloons to be filled with helium gas on Wednesday.

VOICE ONE:

Workers control the balloons with ropes, but that can be difficult. They have to make sure that winds do not blow the balloons into buildings or parade-watchers. But accidents can happen. There have been two in recent years.

Last year, ropes from a big balloon caught on a streetlight. Two sisters were injured when pieces of the streetlight fell on them as they watched the parade.

The accident was similar to what happened in nineteen ninety-seven. The victim was a woman on the street. She was injured so badly that she was in a coma for almost a month. But she survived.

And just last month that same woman, Kathleen Caronna, had something else to be thankful for. She was not home when a small plane hit the Manhattan building where she lived. Her apartment was heavily damaged, and the crash killed both people on the plane.

After the balloon incident last year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed a committee to improve the safety of the parade. This year, more steps will be taken to measure the wind and to report the information to the balloon controllers.

VOICE TWO:

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is marking its eightieth anniversary this year. The parade traditionally includes invited marching bands. But now, in addition, the parade will have its own marching band.

Two hundred musicians and dancers will take part in what is called the Macy's Great American Marching Band. The young musicians will represent all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Now we come to the part of the holiday that Thanksgiving memories are often made of -- the big Thanksgiving Day meal. Some families serve ham. Others serve a meatless dinner. But the traditional main dish is turkey. Most people cook the bird in an oven; some prepare the turkey other ways, like fried in oil.

photos com thanksgiving turkey 150
Turkey on Thanksgiving is usually served with a bread mixture inside. Some Americans call it stuffing; others call it dressing. Popular side dishes on Thanksgiving include cranberries, sweet potatoes and green beans. Then for a rich, sweet dessert there is often pumpkin pie or pecan pie.

Many Thanksgiving tables also are heavy with other dishes, often brought by guests. And if the guests eat all that is served, they too will feel heavy.

Some people like fruit soup, green salads and baked potatoes with their turkey. Others like baked squash, creamed onions, creamed spinach and corn pudding. Many people eat more at Thanksgiving than any other time of the year.

VOICE TWO:

For people who do not have much food, or a home to go to at Thanksgiving, charity groups play an important part. To help the needy, religious and service organizations across the country serve special Thanksgiving meals.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Tradition says the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in sixteen twenty-one. The Pilgrims were religious dissidents who fled oppression in England. First they went to the Netherlands, then left to establish a colony in North America. They ended up at what later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Their trip across the Atlantic Ocean and their first months on land were difficult. About one hundred Pilgrims arrived just as autumn was turning to winter. About half of them died during the cold months that followed.

VOICE TWO:

As the story goes, when spring came the Pilgrims planted crops with the help of an American Indian named Squanto. By the end of summer there was a good harvest of corn and barley. There was enough food to last through the winter. The Pilgrims held a celebration of thanks for their harvest. A nearby Indian tribe, the Wampanoags, took part and the feast lasted three days.

But modern Indians have noted that the friendship did not last for long. Other English settlers who arrived later did not need help from the Indians the way the Pilgrims did. The Indians and the settlers were at war within a few years. Many of the Wampanoag Indians died in battle or from diseases that arrived with the settlers.

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, as the American colonies grew, other communities held thanksgiving or harvest celebrations. Later, different states celebrated Thanksgiving on different days.

But a nineteenth century writer and editor, Sarah Hale, believed that all Americans should give thanks on the same day. For years she campaigned for a national holiday. Her wish came true in October of eighteen sixty-three with a declaration from President Abraham Lincoln. He invited Americans to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to God.

At the time, it might not have seemed that Americans had much to be thankful for. It was in the middle of the Civil War. The great Battle of Gettysburg had just taken place that summer in Pennsylvania. Yet the war that divided the nation also, in the end, united it.

And, as the spirit of tradition guides millions of people to holiday gatherings this week, Thanksgiving remains that most American of days.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. To learn more about American life, and to download MP3 files and transcripts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Health of Africans and Women Top Concerns of Next WHO Chief

Health of Africans and Women Top Concerns of Next WHO Chief
Bird flu expert Margaret Chan will take office in January, becoming the first Chinese to head a major UN agency. Transcript of radio broadcast:
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China's Margaret Chan smiles after being nominated new World Health Organization WHO Director General

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.


The next chief of the World Health Organization wants the performance of the W.H.O. to be judged by two measures. One is improvements in the health of the people of Africa. The other is improvements in the health of women.

Margaret Chan says the W.H.O. must help all people, but especially those in greatest need. Doctor Chan will begin a five-year term as director-general in January. She will replace Lee Jong-wook of South Korea who died in May.

She will be the first Chinese head of a major United Nations agency. China nominated her, but she says she considers her nationality secondary to the interests of the W.H.O.

The Chinese government has been criticized for slow reporting of public health emergencies. W.H.O. officials say lack of cooperation has hurt the agency's ability to follow the spread of disease. Doctor Chan says she hopes her new job will give her more influence with government officials.

Margaret Chan is a bird flu expert. The fifty-nine-year-old doctor completed her medical training at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She also studied public health at the National University of Singapore.

She joined the Hong Kong Department of Health in nineteen seventy-eight. She became its director in nineteen ninety-four. Three years later she had to deal with an outbreak of the h-five-n-one virus that included the first known cases in humans.

Doctor Chan ordered the killing of all poultry birds in the city to control the spread of the virus. She won international praise. She was also praised for her handling of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, in two thousand three.

She joined the World Health Organization later that year. Most recently she served as assistant director-general for communicable diseases. She was also the representative of the director-general for pandemic influenza.

Earlier this month, a series of votes by a nominating committee narrowed the list of candidates for director-general. On the final ballot, Margaret Chan defeated Mexican Health Minister Julio Frenk twenty-four to ten.

Then the World Health Assembly approved her nomination at a special meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The assembly represents all one hundred ninety-three member nations in the W.H.O.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. For MP3 files and transcripts, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

At Thanksgiving, Turkeys Fly Out of Stores

At Thanksgiving, Turkeys Fly Out of Stores
A look at America's fourth most popular meat. Transcript of radio broadcast:
20 November 2006



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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


Flock of turkeys
American turkey producers will raise close to two hundred seventy million of the big birds this year. That is the estimate of the National Turkey Federation, an industry group. Tens of millions will be the traditional star of Thanksgiving holiday meals this Thursday and next month at Christmas.

Americans eat more turkey throughout the year, and more of it in general, than in the past. The federation says people ate an average of seven and one-half kilograms of turkey last year. But they ate three times as much pork, four times as much beef and five times as much chicken.

Lamb was a distant fifth in popularity behind turkey.

Turkeys produced more than three thousand million dollars in farm earnings last year. The five top producing states were Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia and Missouri. The top five export markets for turkey meat from the United States were Mexico, China, Canada, Russia and Taiwan.

Turkey is sold many ways -- frozen, fresh, whole, cut into parts, ground up like hamburger, thinly sliced, roasted, fried, smoked. People eat it in sandwiches, in soups, in salads, in sausages and more. But at Thanksgiving people generally buy a whole bird -- in some cases, all prepared and ready to serve.

Modern turkeys are designed for industrial production and for a market where white meat is more popular than dark. The federation says a turkey usually has about seventy percent white meat.

Turkey hens lay eighty to one hundred eggs in a season. Producers use artificial insemination to fertilize the eggs. The turkeys grow quickly. In fourteen weeks, a hen weighs seven kilograms and is ready for market. Males take eighteen weeks to reach fourteen kilograms.

Most turkeys are raised what is known as the conventional way. But some higher-priced birds are raised outdoors, without antibiotic drugs and with a diet of feed grown without chemicals.

Some small farms raise what are called heritage turkeys. These native birds are smaller and take longer to grow. But they mate naturally and have more of a balance of dark and white meat. Heritage turkeys have a stronger taste that some people like.

But turkeys are sold by weight, and people often buy big ones for the holidays. So price may be the biggest consideration of all.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. You can learn more about Thanksgiving at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Shep O'Neal.

谢谢

thanks.

VOA慢速英语是很好的提升词汇和锻炼听说准确性的材料,因为其涉及的话题都很适用.这里是我个人的建议:
1.对有些词汇基础的且不急于参加任何外语考试的英语爱好者,要认认真真把它学完,确保词汇及听说准确性都过关.这样在词汇得以扩充的同时,那慢慢悠悠的节奏可以固化在你的脑海里,让你不知不觉地就可以用自己的话给说出来.
2.对于有一定词汇基础且有考试需求的learner来说,当词汇随之扩充到一定程度时,即慢速英语进行到一半前后时,要注意每天结合一点VOA标准英语,正常语速,学中用,用中学,等慢速英语结束后自然过渡到VOA标准英语.
3.对于有一定词汇基础和一定听力水准的英语爱好者,直接在线收听VOA或CNN或BBC现场广播,毕竟这才是真实语境. 慢速英语听起来很闹心,你坚持不下去的.

都下了，谢谢了

我的水平太差了，一句都听不懂！不过，我会努力的。