Chris Rock Hosts Balancing Act at Oscars

There was more excitement about the discussion of diversity than the red carpet or the Oscars at the 2016 Academy Awards on Sunday night.    Host Chris Rock funny monologue did not soften the conversation but sharpened the racial issues in Hollywood instead. His opening lines set the tone. He welcomed the audience to the Academy Awards, in his words, “otherwise known as the white People’s Choice Awards.” He also said he thought about quitting the position of host after all the controversy over the lack of diversity. But he said he could not lose another job to Kevin Hart, another black comedian and actor. Some entertainers boycotted the Oscars because there were no people of color among acting nominees. That was true last year as well. Chris Rock took aim at both sides. Jada Pinkett Smith was the de facto leader of the boycott of the 2016 Oscars. She tweeted that she was angry her husband Will Smith did not get nominated for his work in “Concussion.” Rock said Sunday night that it was also unfair Will Smith got paid $20 million to star in “Wild Wild West.” The 1999 movie was a critical and financial failure. He also questioned Jada Pinkett Smith’s “boycott” of the Oscars. “Isn’t she on a TV show?” he asked, suggesting she was not invited to the movie awards. Throughout the show producers included references to the lack of diversity in Hollywood. A montage of some of the nominated movies replaced white actors with black actors. The crowd laughed the loudest at the sight of Tracy Morgan playing “The Danish Girl.” Actress Leslie Jackson took part in a spoof of “The Revenant” and screams “There are no actresses in this movie!” The Winners This year’s competition did not appear as heated as in some past Oscars. “Spotlight” was seen as having a pretty good chance at winning best picture, and it did. Many critics and movie fans believed that Leonardo DiCaprio had to win the best actor award for “The Revenant.” And he did. It was the actor’s sixth Oscar nomination but the first time he left with the Academy Award. Best Actress went to Brie Larson for playing a young woman held captive for years in “Room.” Mark Rylance of “Bridge of Spies” won best supporting actor. Best supporting actress went to Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl.” And, the leader of “The Revenant,” Alejandro González Iñárritu won the Oscar for best directing. It was his second win in a row. Last year, he took the trophy home for his film “Birdman.” The Academy of motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored "Son of Saul" with the Oscar for best foreign film. The Hungarian movie tells of two days in the life of a Hungarian prisoner working at the Auschwitz death camp. I’m Caty Weaver. ____________________________________________________________ Words in this Story diversity – n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization controversy – n. argument that involves many people who strongly disagree about something : strong disagreement about something among a large group of people de facto – adj. used to describe something that exists but that is not officially accepted or recognized montage – n. a mixture of different things spoof – n. a humorous movie, book, play, etc., that copies something in a silly and exaggerated way trophy – n. an object (such as a large cup or sculpture) that is given as a prize for winning a competition

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US Supreme Court Judge Speaks, 1st Time in 10 Years

United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shocked everyone during a court session on Monday. He asked several questions for the first time in 10 years. The Associated Press reported that the sound of Thomas’ voice drew gasps from some lawyers watching the Monday session. The case was an appeal by two men who say their guilty pleas for hitting their partners should not bar them from owning a gun. With about 10 minutes left in an hour-long hearing, U.S. Justice Department attorney Ilana Eisenstein was about to sit down. She noted there did not seem to be “any further questions” from the Supreme Court Justices. “Ms. Eisenstein, one question,” Thomas said. Justice Thomas then asked if a “misdemeanor violation of domestic conduct” should result in a “life-time ban” on the right to own a gun. Eisenstein responded that Congress moved in 1996 to ban people who attack their partners from having a gun because they pose a greater risk “of killing, by a gun, their family member.” But Thomas questioned if that made sense when the conduct at issue in the case before the Supreme Court did not involve a gun. Thomas last asked a question on February 22, 2006, in a death penalty case. In a speech to Harvard University in 2013, Thomas said he does not think asking questions is helpful. “I think we should listen to lawyers who are arguing their cases, and I think we should allow the advocates to advocate,” he said. Michael Fletcher, who co-wrote a 2008 biography on Thomas, said the recent death of his conservative court ally, Antonin Scalia, might have prompted him to ask questions. Scalia tended to ask more questions than any other justice. “The timing of his questions leads one to believe that it has something to do with Justice Scalia’s death,” Fletcher told VOA Learning English. “But at the same time it is hard to sustain the idea that he is trying to fill some void.” Unlike Scalia, Fletcher said, Thomas does not seem to enjoy “confrontations with his ideological opposites.” Fletcher’s book on Thomas was called, “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas.” Steve Wermiel, a law professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, said one reason Thomas may have spoken Monday is because the issue was on gun rights. Thomas, he said, has long been a strong believer in the Second Amendment. The amendment permits Americans to own guns. “Second, he often suggested that there was already too much questioning by the Justices and not enough time for the lawyers to make their arguments,” Wermiel told Voice of America. “With Justice Scalia gone, he may feel that there is more room for questions, but especially about a subject about which he cares deeply.”   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   misdemeanor – n. a crime that is less serious than a felony domestic – adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family tend – v. what often happens sustain – v. to provide what is needed for (something or someone) to exist, continue void – n. something missing confrontation – n. a situation in which people, groups, etc., fight, oppose, or challenge each other in an angry way ideological – adj. set of ideas and beliefs of a person or a group discomfort – n uncomfortable feeling  

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Syrian Ceasefire Lasts One Day

A ceasefire in Syria is underway, but frail. The calm in Syria was broken Sunday when six villages were hit by air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based human rights organization. The identity of the jets was not known. It was unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the truce. Militants from the Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked forces in Syria are not part of the ceasefire. Russia blamed Turkey for nine violations, according to the French news agency AFP.     The Syrian state media claimed “terrorist groups” fired mortars close to the Turkish border. A senior Saudi Arabian official alleged Syrian and Russian forces have committed violations in Syria. The United States and its partners targeted the Islamic State terror group Saturday and Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama said the Islamic State’s territory in Syria is shrinking. He said the number of Islamic State fighters in the field is decreasing. The reduced numbers, the president said, are because the jihadists are having problems recruiting to refill the fighting ranks. The temporary truce went into effect Friday. Members of the United Nations Security council endorsed the deal. One United Nations diplomat called the weekend ceasefire “reassuring.” I’m Jonathan Evans.   The staff at VOA News wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   underway – adv. happening now frail – adj. - easily damaged or destroyed mortar – n. a military weapon used to fire shells high into the air at a low speed alleged – adj. accused of having done something wrong or illegal but not yet proven guilty air strike – n. an attack in which military airplanes drop bombs jets – n. a fast airplane that has one or more jet engines recruit – v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces endorse – v. to publicly or officially say that you support or approve of something reassuring – adj. making someone feel less afraid, upset or doubtful

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American College Student Detained in North Korea

An American college student detained in North Korea last month has appeared in public in North Korea. Otto Warmbier appeared at a North Korean press conference and made a public statement apologizing and asking for forgiveness. The 21-year-old University of Virginia student was arrested last month before boarding a plane out of the country. He has been charged with committing a hostile act against the state, with the help of the United States. Warmbier said he removed a sign from a hotel in an area only for workers. He and his tour group stayed at the hotel. He said a member of his church asked him to bring the sign to the United States to show to others. Warmbier was reportedly in North Korea on a discount tour for college students, not a church group. North Korea has not said what punishment Warmbier may face. “I understand the severity of my crime, and I have no idea what sort of penalty I may face, but I am begging to the Korean people and government for my forgiveness,” Warmbier said. “And I am praying to the heavens so that I may be returned home to my family.” North Korea has often detained Americans and other foreign citizens on false charges. The detainees are usually forced to read statements to foreign journalists confessing to crimes against the state. Most experts say the detainees are forced to make the statements. When the detainees are released, they often say they did not make the statements voluntarily and that they do not agree with what they were forced to say. Experts say North Korea often tries to use the detainees in negotiations with the West. Companies that work with travelers bring people to North Korea so they can see how people live in the closed country. But the U.S. and Canadian governments say people should not travel to North Korea. I’m Mary Gotschall.   VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.  

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US Presidential Race Could Be Clearer This Week

It could become clear this week who the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees will be. Twelve states will hold primary elections or caucuses Tuesday, called “Super Tuesday.” In most of those states, public opinion studies show Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton have much more support than other candidates. Last week, Trump said people “are so tired of these politicians -- all talk, no action. We are going to make America great again. We are going to win, win, win.” Republican candidates said they will try to stop or at least slow Trump’s campaign. Senator Marco Rubio said “Trump will never be the Republican nominee. We are not going to let the conservative movement, and the party of Ronald Reagan and the party of Abraham Lincoln be taken over by a first-rate con artist.” Trump answered that Rubio has not won any caucuses or primary elections. He said Rubio is hated in his home state of Florida. Clinton has also criticized Trump. After she defeated Senator Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina primary Saturday by almost 50 points, she said, “we do not need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers.” Senator Sanders says his campaign against Hillary Clinton is not over. He said “the middle class of this country has been shrinking and almost all new income and wealth has been going to the top one percent.” I’m Mario Ritter.   VOA Washington Correspondent Michael Bowman reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   movement – n. a series of organized activities in which many people work together to do or achieve something con artist – n. a person who tricks other people in order to get their money primary – n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election caucus – n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election ​

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Moderates Win Tehran Seats in Iran Elections

President Hassan Rouhani and his supporters have won most of the seats for a group that chooses Iran’s top religious leader. Rouhani and his allies, considered moderates, won 15 of the 16 seats held by the capital city Tehran on Iran’s 88-member Assembly of Experts. The results of the election were announced Monday. They are seen as a rejection of conservatives, including Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi. He was not re-elected as head of the Assembly. Voters also chose members of Iran’s 290-seat parliament. Official results are expected Monday or Tuesday. Unofficial results show reformers and moderates winning all of Tehran’s 30 parliamentary seats. Conservatives are winning in rural areas. Rouhani said Saturday the election has given the government more power to move forward on the agreement reached with Western powers to limit Iran’s nuclear activities. Iran’s state-run news agency reported that Rouhani said, “The competition is over. It’s time to open a new chapter in Iran’s economic development based on domestic abilities and international opportunities.” Rouhani strongly supported the nuclear agreement. Experts say the election results are a sign that Iranians support the agreement. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the winners of the elections to act in the interests of Iran and reject the influence of others. I’m Mario Ritter.   VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   domestic – adj. of, relating to or made inside a country

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Helping Children Too Much Is Hurting Them

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. "Helicopter parenting" describes a style of raising children where parents are over-protective and do too much. The term was used for the first time in the late (nineteen) sixties. It describes parents who hover over their kids at home and at the playground like a helicopter. Today, modern technology allows these helicopter parents to hover from even far away. They can give their children directions at any moment from anywhere. Author Julie Lythcott-Haims wrote a book titled How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kids for Success. In her book, she gives readers a closer look at this parenting style. She also explains why parents should stop it. Julie Lythcott-Haims says she experienced the effects of helicopter parenting firsthand when she worked as dean of first year students at Stanford University. The incoming students, or freshmen, she says, were very smart and accomplished on paper. But many were unable to take care of themselves. "They were turning to parents constantly for guidance, for problem solving, to have them make the choice about something." Oftentimes, Lythcott-Haims had to remind those parents that their kids were old enough to take care of themselves. However, one evening she discovered that she too might be a helicopter mom. "I came home one day - my own kids were 8 and 10 at the time - and I leaned over at dinner and began cutting my 10-year-old son's meat. And I realized, 'Oh my goodness, I'm over-helping my 10-year-old. He should be able to cut his own meat! It's my job to teach him. I haven't done that.' I'm on track to being one of those parents.’ I that's when I began to develop real empathy for parents and realized we're over helping with the best of intentions."   Over-parenting, she says, comes in three types: 1. The over-protective parent. "Over-protective. Parents who think the world is scary and unsafe and unpredictable. And therefore, I must protect and prevent.” 2. The over-directive parent. “Second type is the over-directive type -- the parent who says, I know best what leads to success and you will do as I say. You'll study these topics, you'll do these activities and you will be highly achieving at all of it.'” 3. And then there is the concierge parent. The concierge at a hotel is the person who takes care of all your needs and makes your stay as perfect as can be. “The third type is the concierge -- the parent who just wants to make life smoother -- from waking their kid up, to keeping track of their deadlines, to making sure they haven't forgotten anything, to having those tough conversations with the teacher to outright helping with the homework or maybe doing the homework for the kid." Lythcott-Haims warns this kind of parenting has many short-term wins but long-term costs that harm the child. She uses an area common to most children – a playground. Lythcott-Haims suggests letting your child get a little hurt. "If you're at the playground next to them, if they fall or slip, you're right there to catch them and they do not suffer, you know, the bruised knee or whatever it might be. If you're helping with your kid's homework, they are going to get better grade. Those are the short-term wins. The long-term cost is -- if your kid doesn't learn how to manage their own body on a playground, which is a lesson only learned by falling a few times -- they don't learn the long-term lesson." If you do your child's homework, it will be perfect. That is what she calls the short-term win. The long-term cost is that your child may not feel capable. And they not become a persistent learner, meaning they will give up easily when faced with a difficult problem to solve. “If you’re always helping with their homework, what you’re effectively telling them is, ‘Hey, kid, you’re not capable of being a fourth grader. Don’t worry. I’m going to help with your homework.' They begin to feel less capable. They begin very reliant on parents to correct and perfect their academic work. It’s not preparing them to be the persistent learners who will be successful in life. Four ways to stop over-parenting So what can parents do if they want to break the over-parenting “helicopter” cycle? Lythcott-Haims offers four ways to stop hovering over your children. "We have to stop saying 'we' when we mean 'our son or our daughter.' All too often a parent would say 'we are on the travel soccer team.' Well, no, your son is or your daughter is.” “The next thing is we have to stop arguing with all of the adults in our kids' lives. We need to teach our kids to advocate for themselves.” “The third thing is we must stop doing our kids’ homework.” “The fourth thing is we got to build skills, teach them to cross the street, teach them to make a meal, teach them to remember to put their own items in their backpacks, which becomes a briefcase one day." When kids have all the skills to take care of themselves, Lythcott-Haims says, they will be prepared for adulthood. I’m Anna Matteo.   Faiza Elmasry reported on this story for VOANews.com. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Are you a “helicopter parent”? Or were your parents a little too protective? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hover – v. to float in the air without moving in any direction, as with a helicopter firsthand – adj. coming directly from actually experiencing or seeing something empathy – n. the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions; the ability to share someone else's feelings intention – n. done in a way that is planned bruise – n. a dark and painful area on your skin that results from an injury capable – adj. able to do something; having the qualities or abilities that are needed to do something; skilled at doing something; able to do something well persistent – adj. continuing to do something or to try to do something even when it is difficult or other people want you to stop reliant – adj. needing someone or something for help or support advocate – n. one that supports the interests of another

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Trending Today: Leap Day

This is What’s Trending Today… Happy Leap Day everyone! That seemed to be on the minds of Twitter, Facebook and Google users everywhere on Monday, February 29. The hashtag #LeapDay was the top trending topic on Twitter Monday morning with almost 150,000 mentions. Google is known for greeting users on its search engine page with something called a Google Doodle. It celebrated Leap Day with an animation of a rabbit leaping between two other sleeping rabbits. One was marked 1, for March 1. The other was marked 28, for February 28. People all over the world clearly enjoyed posting photos to Twitter and Facebook of different things known for their leaping ability. Frogs, squirrels, cats and other animals jumped all day long. But here are some creative leaping things that caught our eye. First, the Juventus soccer team from Italy made a video of their star goalie Gianluigi Buffon leaping to prevent shots from making it into the goal. The American Ballet Theatre posted a photo of a pair of ballerinas in mid-flight. Major League Baseball got in the act with some of the amazing catches its players made last season. Even NASA posted a photo explaining why Leap Year is a necessity. If you did not know, it is because it takes 365.25 days for the earth to circle the sun. So every four years the calendar has an extra day to make up for the difference. But perhaps the most fun Leap Day message came in relation to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar win on Sunday night. After multiple nominations over the years, DiCaprio won his first Oscar for his role in the movie “The Revenant.” The Huffington Post said that he had to wait for a Leap Year to win, so he could have an extra day to celebrate. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What did you to do celebrate Leap Day? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   ballerina – n. a woman dancer who performs at a ballet amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder : causing amazement doodle – n. a kind of drawing that is made without much thought or preparation animation – n. a way of making a movie by using a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of objects (such as puppets or models) that are slightly different from one another and that when viewed quickly one after another create the appearance of movement  

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Oscars 2016 Winners

Here are the big winners at the 88th Academy Awards - Hollywood's biggest night - on February 28, 2016.

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The 88th Academy Awards

8:00 p.m. EST -- Oscar Coverage Begins! The 2016 Academy Awards ceremony is about to begin. The event in Hollywood, California, is the biggest night in the American film industry. The National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards Oscars to the year's best movies and movie makers. An Oscar can mean a huge boost to a career. This year, the ceremony is again under a cloud of criticism. Academy voters nominated only white actors in the acting categories. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has vowed to work to make the organization more inclusive. Comedian and actor Chris Rock is hosting the Oscars for the second year in a row.   

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Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump May Become Presidential Nominees Soon

  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are expected to win almost all of the primary elections and caucuses set for Tuesday. If they do, Clinton and Trump will greatly increase their lead of delegates and likely become their parties’ nominees. Saturday, Clinton received about 75 percent of the votes in the South Carolina primary election. She received strong support from African-American voters in South Carolina. This could help her on Tuesday, when voters in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia decide who they will support. These states have large numbers of African-Americans. Public opinion studies show Trump has more support than other candidates in many of the so-called “Super Tuesday” states. This week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie began campaigning for Trump. Until recently, Christie was a presidential candidate.  Super Tuesday is the most important day of the presidential campaign. The person who wins the most elections on that day almost always becomes the nominee of their political party. I’m Jonathan Evans. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it into VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   delegate – n. a person who is chosen or elected to vote or act for others primary – n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election  

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Everyday Grammar: Understanding Fast Talkers

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Oceans To Hold More Plastic Than Fish by 2050

There will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050 unless more recycling takes place. That is what a new report from the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation warns. If the current trend continues, the report said, oceans will contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in 2025. By 2050, plastics will weigh more than fish, the report said. The problem is that each year at least 8 million tons of plastics end up in oceans around the world. The report said this is the same as dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. Not all plastic ends up in the ocean because someone throws a plastic bottle into the water. Plastic containers and other trash thrown onto streets and sidewalks often are swept into oceans. The debris travels from storm drains during rain storms, said the environmental group Marine Defenders. Some end up in gyres. A gyre is a big whirlpool that traps and moves the plastic in circles. Unlike other types of trash in the ocean, the plastic never bio-degrades. That means it does not break down. There is a way to slow the amount of plastics going into the oceans -- people can recycle more. That is a major recommendation of the report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The report’s authors say that currently only about 14 percent of plastics are recycled. It said research in Europe shows as much as 53 percent of plastic could be recycled using available technology. The report says that another solution is using less plastic for packaging products. But that is not likely to happen, the report’s authors say. “Given plastic packaging’s many benefits, both the likelihood and desirability of an across-the-board drastic reduction in the volume of plastic packaging used is clearly low,” the report said. But the authors note reducing the use of plastics should be tried “where possible.” For decades, scientists warned that plastics are killing fish. The Natural Resources Defense Council said research shows that fish are dying from choking after eating plastics. Another cause of death is that plastics cause “intestinal blockage and starvation,” the environmental group said. I’m Mario Ritter. Bruce Alpert reported and researched this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   recycling – n. to make something new from something that has been used before trend – n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common dump – v. to put (something) somewhere in a quick and careless way garbage – n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown out packaging – n. material used to enclose or contain something choke – v. to become unable to breathe usually because something gets stuck in your throat

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The World's 10 Places 'On the Rise'

  Earlier this month, we introduced you the top American destinations ‘on the rise.’ The expression ‘on the rise’ means that something is becoming better or more popular. This week, we take on the world. The travel website TripAdvisor used traveler reviews to choose its top 10 World Destinations on the Rise. The list represents 10 cities that saw the biggest increase in positive traveler reviews in the past year. 1. Tulum, Mexico. The number-one pick? Tulum, Mexico. The seaside city is on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. It is known for its beaches, warm, clear waters, and Mayan ruins. Tulum was one of the last cities built by the ancient Mayans, the pre-Columbian culture in Mesoamerica and Central America. Beyond the city’s beaches and Mayan sites, Tulum is also famous for diving and snorkeling. Adventurous travelers can explore caves and underground rivers.             2. Cartagena, Columbia. The number-two destination on the rise also sits along the Caribbean coast. The Colombian city of Cartagena has a walled historic old town, beautiful colonial architecture, and famous beaches, like Bocagrande. Cartagena’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is a great place to try ceviche, a South American dish of marinated raw fish or seafood. But, there is more than the historic town and nearby beaches. Tourists can also visit a nearby mud volcano. It is a 15-meter-tall mud bath that locals believe has healing properties. 3.  Porto, Portugal. The number three world destination on the rise is also seaside city. Porto, Portugal sits on Atlantic Coast. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Douro River flows by the city on its way to the sea. The Douro River Valley is known for its high-quality wine. Its most famous is port. Port wines are sweeter and higher in alcohol content than most wines. Above the Douro river is one of Porto’s most iconic sites. The Dom Luis bridge opened in 1886. A student of Gustave Eiffel -- of Eiffel Tower fame -- designed the bridge. The top level is for walkers; the lower level is for cars. The bridge provides beautiful views of the river and city.   4. Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The number four world pick was also America’s number one Destination on the Rise. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the country’s most-visited national park. Gatlinburg offers excellent hiking and fishing. The 100-meter-tall Gatlinburg Space Needle provides views of the surrounding Smoky Mountains. 5. Moscow, Russia. Moscow, Russia is number five. Russia’s capital city of 10 million is the political, historical and economic center of the country. The famous Red Square is just the beginning of the city’s architectural wonders. The buildings that surround Red Square include Lenin’s Mausoleum, the colorful Saint Basil’s Cathedral, and the churches and palaces of the Kremlin. A ten-minute walk from Red Square is one of the world’s most famous theaters, the Bolshoi. Visitors can attend a Russian ballet or opera performance. The Bolshoi Ballet company has performed for hundreds of years.  It was established in 1776. 6. Brighton, England. Number six is Brighton, England. This English Channel beach town is less than an hour by train from London.  The railway between London and Brighton was completed in 1841. The city soon became a popular getaway spot. Brighton joined together with the neighboring town of Hove in 1997 to form one city: Brighton and Hove. It is England’s largest seaside resort town. Visitors enjoy the water, the entertainment on Brighton Pier, and good weather.   7. New Delhi, India. The seventh world destination on the rise is New Delhi, India. British architects designed India’s huge capital in the 1930s. It is one of 11 areas of Delhi. New Delhi represents modern India. But, it also has a lot of historic sites. New Delhi’s Red Fort was the center of India’s Mughal rule from the 1600s to the middle 1800s. Today, it houses many world-class museums. Nearby is Chandni Chowk, one of the city’s largest and oldest markets.   8. Banff, Canada. Number eight is Banff, Canada. Banff is surrounded by the towering Canadian Rocky Mountains. The resort town sits within Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park. Skiers come in the winter to take on the steep slopes of the Rockies. The town is south of the picturesque, mirror-like Lake Louise, a Banff National Park icon. The area is home to wildlife like grizzly bears and elk. 9. Lima, Peru. Ninth on the list is Lima, Peru. The Peruvian capital is a mix of energy and history. Visitors can explore ancient Incan ruins, study Spanish colonial architecture, or experience Lima’s nightlife. The Pacific Ocean is nearby, as are beachside restaurants and hotels. Although it is a coastal city, Lima is actually the world’s second driest capital city, after Cairo, Egypt.   10. Iguazu Falls, Brazil. The tenth and final world destination on the rise is Brazil’s Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls sits along the border of Brazil and Argentina. The park area is the country’s second-most visited destination. The park's most famous waterfall, Devil’s Throat, is actually 14 falls that come together. Along with huge waterfalls, the park is home to many different animals, including howler monkeys, butterflies, endangered jaguars and big anteaters.

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Lesson 4: What Is It?

Let's Learn English is a new course for English learners. Certified American English teachers designed the course for beginners. The course continues for 52 weeks. Each week, there will be a new lesson with video showing the lives of young Americans. The lesson includes instruction in speaking, vocabulary and writing. There are also printable worksheets, assessments and lesson plans for individual learners and English teachers. We encourage you to follow the weekly lessons and share your progress with us through comments and email.   Summary Anna is new to Washington, DC. She meets her friends to go out for coffee. Anna has many things in her bag.   Conversation      ANNA: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! PETE: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! ANNA: Hi! PETE: How are you two? MARSHA: I am great! ANNA: You know, Pete, I am new to D.C. The city is big. PETE: Yeah. But you learn a little more every day. How's the new apartment? ANNA: The new apartment is great! Let's get coffee! MARSHA: Anna, do you have a pen? ANNA: Yes. I have a pen in my bag. ANNA: I have a … PETE: It is not a pen. It is a book. It is a big book. ANNA: Yes. Yes it is, Pete. I know I have a pen, though… ANNA: I have a .... MARSHA: It is not a pen, Anna ... a toy? ANNA: I have a .... PETE: And it is a pillow! ANNA: Pete, Marsha, I know I have a pen.  MARSHA: Anna, it is a map.  PETE: Why do you have a map of the world? ANNA: Pete, Marsha. Now I know I have a pen. PETE: And now you have a lamp. MARSHA: Anna. ANNA: I have a pen! Let’s get coffee!   Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. This lesson's learning strategy is focus. Use this learning strategy when you need to get information from listening or reading. Decide what you need to learn and pay close attention when you listen or read.  Here is an example of how to use focus: In the video, Anna has some strange things in her bag. Watch the video for this lesson and focus on the name of each thing she takes out of her bag. After you watch the video, try to say or write all the things in Anna's bag. If you cannot say five things, play the video again. Write a comment in the Comments section about how using this strategy worked for you. At the end of the video, can you write or say all the things in Anna's bag? Focus is an important learning strategy because it helps you learn new information more quickly. See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for more details on using this strategy.   Listening Click on the video below to practice your listening skills. Each question has a video. Play the video and choose the correct answer. Speaking Practice Listen and practice saying the new words for this lesson. Practice the grammar and question structures. Pronunciation Practice Often English speakers do not say the word "and" carefully. Watch the video to learn about this reduced form in American English. Writing Download the worksheet. Practice writing the names of common objects.   New Words bag - n. a soft container used to hold money and other small things big - adj. large in size book - n. a set of printed sheets of paper that are held together inside a cover or a long written work coffee - n. a dark brown drink made from ground coffee beans and boiled water lamp - n. a device that produces light little - adj. small in size  map - n. a picture or chart that shows the rivers, mountains, streets, etc., in a particular area pen - n. a writing instrument that uses ink pillow - n. a bag filled with soft material that is used as a cushion usually for the head of a person who is lying down  toy - n. something a child plays with world - n. the earth and all the people and things on it _______________________________________________________________ For Teachers See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Additional practice material: Printable Activity Worksheet on common objects.   Grammar Focus BE + Noun Be + Adjective + Noun BE + Not + Noun HAVE + Noun   Topics Greetings Names of common objects Negation

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Is There More Lying In This Election?

Did you know that U.S. General John Pershing shot 49 terrorists with bullets covered in pig’s blood? No? But presidential candidate Donald Trump told that story to at least 2,000 people at a campaign rally recently. The story is nothing more than Internet rumor, according to Snopes.com. It found “nothing that documents” the story about General John Pershing in the Philippines more than 100 years ago. Trump’s story on General Pershing is one of a large number of untrue or unconfirmed statements from the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Is this an unusual campaign season? There is no “scientific way” to know if more lies are being told in this campaign than any other, according to Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan. “With that said, I think it is fair to say Donald Trump is” going beyond “norms for inaccuracy among top presidential candidates,” he said. Long history of telling a lie in politics Telling a lie or falsehood is not new to American politics. Even the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, known as “Honest Abe,” did not always tell the truth. He did not tell members of Congress about negotiations to end the Civil War in 1865, according to a 2014 James Conroy book on Lincoln. It is called, “Our One Common Country: Abraham Lincoln and The Hampton Roads Peace Conference Of 1865.” A newspaper backing John Adams for president in 1800 said that if his opponent, Thomas Jefferson, was elected, terrible things would happen. “Murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will be openly taught and practiced,” the newspaper said. That information comes from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Telling a lie in the 2016 campaign PolitiFact.org is a news site that studies and rates the accuracy of claims from government officials and political candidates. Among leading Republican presidential candidates, Politifact reviewed 93 statements from Trump and rated 77 percent of them as false. It rated 59 percent of Senator Ted Cruz’s 79 statements and 42 percent of Senator Marco Rubio’s 136 statements as false. Cruz is from Texas, and Rubio from Florida. On the Democratic side, the site rated 28 percent of Hillary Clinton’s 150 statements and 32 percent of Bernie Sanders’ 64 claims as false. The website also has a “Pants on Fire!” rating for the most inaccurate claims from the candidates. Trump again leads all candidates in that rating. During his victory speech in New Hampshire in February, Trump called the 5 percent unemployment rate reported by the government as “phony.” He said, "The number's probably 28, 29, as high as 35. In fact, I even heard recently 42 percent." Not true, according to PolitiFact. Trump rejected PolitiFact’s criticism. He said the group is a “left-wing group” and treats him unfairly. PolitiFact said it holds conservatives and liberals to the same fact-checking standards. During a January debate in Iowa, Senator Cruz claimed that President Barack Obama’s health care program is the nation’s “biggest job killer.” Not true, Politifact said. “Not only has the number of jobs gone up, but the number of unwilling part-timers has gone down.” In January, Senator Rubio said to the Meet the Press news program that he would not negotiate prisoner exchange with Iran. The Republican candidate said, “When I become president of the United States, … it will be like Ronald Reagan, where as soon as he took office the hostages were released from Iran." Not true. Politifact wrote, “The Carter administration negotiated the deal months before Reagan’s inauguration, without involvement by Reagan or his transition team. Rubio’s claim is an imaginative re-reading of history.” PolitiFact labeled false Hillary Clinton’s statement: “We now have more jobs in solar than we do in oil." And it also called false this statement by Bernie Sanders: “Not one Republican has the guts to recognize that climate change is real." Lou Jacobson, a senior correspondent for PolitiFact, said some voters want candidates to tell the truth and do not like it when they do not.  Other voters, however, “do not always trust or believe” reports that “their candidate” is not telling the truth, he said. Trump is not only delivering more false statements than his top competitors for president. He has been a victim of a few, as well. FactCheck.org said this about a Ted Cruz advertisement ,saying Trump bulldozed the home of an elderly widow to build a parking lot for his New Jersey casino: “The ad leaves the false impression that the widow lost her home, and she didn’t,” FactCheck said. What did happen was that a government agency, acting on behalf of Trump, tried to obtain the home. But the courts blocked them. I'm Bruce Alpert.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or our Facebook Page. Share your views on what is being said in the U.S. presidential campaign. What do you think is untrue? _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rumor -- n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true inaccuracy – adj. not correct adultery – n. sex between a married person and someone who is not that person's wife or husband incest – n. sexual intercourse between people who are very closely related inauguration – n. to introduce a newly elected official into a job or position with a formal ceremony transition – n. a change from one government to another bulldoze – v. knock down widow – n. a woman whose husband has died

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Children in Ukraine Suffering From Conflict

The United Nations Children’s Fund says more than one half-million children have been suffering over the past two years because of the Ukraine conflict. Their rights are unprotected and their basic needs unmet, says UNICEF. And the 580,000 children living near the areas controlled by Russian-supported rebels may suffer emotional problems for the rest of their lives. Giovanna Barneris is the UNICEF representative in Ukraine. She told VOA that children are not being properly educated or housed, and cannot play. She said they have seen violence and fighting, and need psychological help. She said it is cold in eastern Ukraine. Fuel shortages and the high cost of coal put children at risk of becoming sick. And she warned that diseases could increase because the area lacks health services and medicine. She said children are also at risk of stepping on land mines or other unexploded devices. She told VOA there is no system for counting the number of children killed or hurt by these devices. She said information from the Ministry of Health is “unrealistic” and not reliable. Soon after the conflict began, the Ukrainian government stopped sending support to people living in areas controlled by rebels. People who depend on those payments are hurting. Barneris says the government has not restarted the payments, but Russia is trying to ease the suffering by giving money to people in the area. I’m Mario Ritter.   Lisa Schlein in Geneva reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   basic – adj. forming or relating to the most important part of something psychological – adj. of or relating to the mind unrealistic – adj. not showing people and things as they are in real life reliable – adj. able to be believed; likely to be true or correct    

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From Child of Freed Slaves to Millionaire

Hers is a “rags to riches” story. Madam C.J. Walker went from poverty -- being the daughter of freed slaves -- to being a wealthy African-American businesswoman. She was a millionaire at a time when African-American women usually cleaned houses or worked other jobs for low pay. Madam C.J. Walker made her money making and selling cosmetics to African-American women. Her great-great granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles, researched and wrote a book about her: “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker.” “Madam Walker for me was a woman who embodied the great American dream. A person who had an idea, and she parlayed it into a fortune. But more important, she used that fortune and she used her influence to try to make a difference in her community.” Walker made her fortune developing and creating hair-care products for African-American women. Bundles says no one else was filling that demand. So, she says, Walker took a very small idea, and turned it into a big company. Born to Freed Slaves She was the first child in her family born into freedom, in 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. Her parents had been slaves, but gained their freedom in 1865. They named her Sarah Breedlove. Sadly, Walker was orphaned at 7 years old. She married at 14, but her husband died when she was 20. In 1888, she moved north to St. Paul, Minnesota. There she worked as a poor washer woman, cleaning other people’s clothes. Bundles says it was where Walker learned some of her marketing skills, and developed her drive to succeed. She learned from women at church. They were involved in the National Association of Colored Women, and Walker learned about organizing and holding meetings, about gathering women to work together for a common cause. “She had had to survive as a washer woman. So she had to be good at marketing her skills, even then, but she took that to the next level. Marketing her products. She traveled all over the United States after she married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker. They were in Denver and then they traveled throughout the Southern and Eastern United States.” "A Secret Formula" Like other early cosmetic businesswomen, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, Bundles says Madam Walker embellished her stories about her products. “Well, everybody said they had a secret formula that no one else could see, but it a really basic system of vegetable shampoo and ointment with sulfur.” A’Lelia Bundles grew up using Madam C.J. Walkers’ silverware on her dining room table, but never knew her. She has studied her great-great grandmother for more than four decades. She says Madam Walker was a marketing and distribution genius. “I have to say, I’m continuously amazed, not only at the way that she can still inspire others, but at some of her really innovative approaches to advertising, to marketing, to developing products, and to having really high standards about the quality of her products.”   Marketing and Distribution Madam Walker knew how to get the word out about her products. She would advertise in the newspapers that African-Americans read. She had cards printed with her information on them. At a time without airplanes, telephones or the Internet, she traveled across the country and spread the word of her company. In each town they visited, she and her husband went to both the Black churches -- the Baptist and the AME, or African Methodist Episcopal, churches. That way she could speak with all the women in the different churches. She used “before” and “after” pictures in ads, to show how well her products worked -- something still done by companies today. Empowering Women She also employed women at the top levels of her business. That was also rare then. Walker gave women power at a time when women could not even vote in the U.S. But her factory manager, her national sales manager and her bookkeeper were all women. “So she had a much bigger vision than just selling hair products. It was empowering women. It was helping them to understand their role in the community as leaders.” And lead she did. She organized and trained women to sell her products. She had her first conference for her sales women in 1917. That management practice became well-known decades later by a later cosmetic businesswoman named Mary Kay Ash. But Mary Kay did not start her company until 1963. When Walker held her sales conferences, she gave out prizes not just to women who sold the most. She also rewarded those who gave to charity and were involved in political causes, Bundles says. Her sales agents discussed making money for buying real estate and educating their children, as well as giving to charity. By the time Walker died on May 25, 1919, she had trained thousands of women in the Walker System of Hair Culture. She left tens of thousands of dollars to charitable organizations, educational institutions and political causes.  Bundles says Walker was a “workaholic,” who was driven to succeed. When asked about the secret to her success, Walker herself said, “…whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.” But she also had a sense of humor, and she loved art and music. She liked the old and the new -- opera and the new ragtime music coming out at that time. Walker owned three automobiles in 1913, when less than 10 percent of licensed drivers were women. She even shipped one of them, along with her personal driver, when she took a business trip to Central America and the Caribbean. Charity and Political Work With her fortune, Walker supported both the arts and political groups. She worked hard to end lynching. Lynching is when a mob, usually a group of white people, would kill an African-American person by hanging or setting them on fire, for a made-up crime they did not commit. The Equal Justice Initiative says that nearly 4,000 African-Americans were killed by lynching in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950.   Walker’s company still survives to this day, but it is owned by a different company, Sundail Brands. Last Tuesday, the company announced it will start selling a new line of Madam C.J. Walker hair care products. Beginning in March, they will be available at Sephora stores in the U.S. They have new ingredients, but, the company says the products carry on Walker’s spirit. Richelieu Dennis is CEO of Sundail Brands. He said these products continue Madam C.J. Walkers’ legacy to help every woman feel sure of herself. “It’s also a dream come true not just for us, but for the millions of women who have been touched by the legacy of Madam C.J. Walker and the millions more who will be inspired to reach their own levels of greatness by hearing her story.” Madam Walker “absolutely was a woman ahead of her time,” says her great-great granddaughter. She was a rich and successful businesswoman when women -- especially African-American women -- could not get high paying jobs. And, she made the hair-care products not just to build her own fortune, but also to use that money to help her community. I’m Anne Ball.   Anne Ball wrote this story. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What do you think about Madam C.J. Walker’s life? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section and visit our Facebook page ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rags to riches – phrase. someone who was poor and then became wealthy cosmetics – n. beauty products and make-up embody – v. to represent something in a clear and obvious way parlay – v. to use something to get something else of greater value fortune – n. a very large amount of money orphaned – v. to cause a child to lose its parents embellish – v. to make something more attractive or appealing ointment – n. a smooth substance that is rubbed onto the skin to heal a wound or reduce pain or discomfort sulfur – n. a yellow chemical element used in medicine or gunpowder genius –n. a very smart person innovative – adj. introduce or use new ideas or methods bookkeeper – n. a person whose job is to keep financial records for a business workaholic – n. a person who chooses to work a lot, and always thinking about work legacy – n. something that comes from someone in the past, how the person is remembered

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Federal Government Owns Almost Half of Western US

The United States government owns nearly a third of the nation’s land, including nearly half of Western states. In the rest of the country, the federal government owns just 4 percent of the land. For most Americans, federally-owned -- or public -- land is not a major issue. But for people who live in the West, federal or public land ownership can be an issue. The federal government owns almost 47 percent in the Western states of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. In Nevada, the U.S. government owns 85 percent of the land. Farmers and ranchers who depend on land for their livelihood have clashed with government officials about how to use the land. Having land helped to create a strong federal government. But by the mid-1800s, the government was selling land in the West to encourage people to move there. The Congressional Research Service is an agency that gives information to the U.S. Congress. It says the federal government gave away or sold about 522 million hectares of federal land between 1781 and 2013. Few people live on or near federal land in the West. Much of the land is national forests, places for wildlife to live without being hunted, parks used to protect and grow plants and animals, and recreation areas. Much of the land is used for fishing, grazing, hunting and logging. The federal government still buys land. But since 1990, federal or public lands have decreased by more than 3 percent, or 9.5 million hectares. Some state lawmakers in the West want the federal government to release more land. They have written bills, or legislation, that call on their state to take control of federal lands. But fishermen and hunters who use the lands worry that if the state takes control, the land will be sold to private owners. They may then be unable to use the land. Many people have different goals and plans for the land. It will continue to be an issue for citizens, industry and politicians. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Dora Mekouar reported on this story for VOANews.com. Kathleen Struck edited this report for VOA Learning English We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   encourage – v. to make (someone) more likely to do something park – n. a large area of public land kept in its natural state to protect plants and animals recreation – n. something people do to relax or have fun; activities done for enjoyment graze – v. to eat grass or other plants that are growing in a field or pasture log – v. to cut down trees in an area for wood

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Egypt Says It Sentenced Boy, 4, to Prison in Error

The Egyptian military admitted last week it made a mistake when sentencing a 4-year-old boy to prison for life. A mistaken identity and confusion inside the Egyptian court system led to the error. A 16-year-old boy was to be sentenced for murder. But a 4-year-old was sentenced because he had a similar name. Ahmed Mansour Qurani Ali was wrongly convicted for playing a part in a Muslim Brotherhood riot in 2014. Ali’s lawyer provided documents which proved Ali was 1 year old at the time. The teenager the military meant to convict was Ahmed Mansour Qurani Sharara. Fox News reported that the military has not announced what the next steps will be for the child and his family since the error was admitted. The conviction of a 4-year-old child for the crime of murder is the latest embarrassment for the Egyptian court. The court has been accused of secrecy and too many arrests of citizens. More than 40,000 people have been imprisoned in Egypt during the past two years, the BBC reported. I’m Jim Dresbach.   United Press International reported on this story. Jim Dresbach adapted the story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   convicted – v. to prove that someone is guilty of a crime in a court of law teenager – n. a person aged from 13 to 19 years embarrassment – n. the state of feeling foolish in front of others

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Just Breathe

Hello and welcome to VOA Learning English’s Words and Their Stories! Every week, we bring you some common words, expressions and idioms used in the United States. Today we are going to breathe. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathing keeps us alive. Deep breathing can lower our blood pressure and calm an over-active mind. Today, we visit the seaside as we explore many expressions that have to do with breathing. Two friends are taking a much needed break from work. We join them as they sit on the beach, burying their feet deep in the sand. This morning they are taking scuba lessons. They breathe in the cleansing ocean air. And they breathe out the frustrations of the work they left behind. Let’s listen. "This is the life! I am so glad we took this vacation." "Me, too. Sitting here listening to the ocean and the seagulls, I can finally breathe easy." "No work for the next 14 days! That’s breathing easy!" "Work was killing me. Right up until I left for the airport, my boss was there … breathing down my neck the whole time. ‘Yes, boss, I finished the report. Yes, I contacted the client. Yes, I submitted the proposal.’ Advertising is such a non-stop industry." "Bosses need to know that it doesn’t help to breathe down someone’s neck. People need a little breathing room to get things done." "That is the truth. Well, I am breathing a sigh of relief to finally be away from work. Hey, how are things with your job?" "It’s better. Several months ago, I was so busy working on a political campaign that I hardly had time to breathe." "I know! I didn’t see you for months during that campaign. I wondered when you were going to come up for air." "And working with politicians … that can be challenging. They start to breathe their own fumes." "In what ways are they breathing their own fumes?" "They believe what the public and media say about them. They won’t listen to anybody and they think they know best." "I don’t have to deal with that type at my office. But one colleague of mine is really getting on my nerves. She sucks all the air out of the room. She’s loud, talks all the time, and always has to be the center of attention." "I also worked with a guy who sucked the air out of a room, too. But he left. The person who replaced him is pleasant and has many new ideas -- a real breath of fresh air." "That’s great. You know, talking about fresh air, how about this ocean air? So much better than a polluted city. I could stay here forever." "Wouldn’t it be nice if we could win the lottery? That way we could just stay here on the beach and not worry about making money." "I wouldn’t hold your breath for that to happen. The odds of winning the lottery are not in your favor. But it sounds like you need to breathe a little life into your career. Maybe it’s time to look for another job." "Well, in fact, I have a lead on a great job. But I won’t know until next month. So, don’t breathe a word to anyone about it." "I promise. My lips are sealed. But, really, would you listen to us? We want to get away from work and here we are talking about it." "Ha, you’re right. It’s time to put work talk aside. Here comes our scuba instructor. Speaking of breathing and coming up for air, let’s not forget to do that during our scuba lesson, literally." And that’s it for this Words and Their Stories. Let us know what you think of the program or practice using these expressions on our website, at LearningEnglish.VOANews.com I’m Anna Matteo.   "Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe And to love you. All I need is the air that I breathe, Yes to love you, All I need is the air that I breathe..."   Anna Matteo wrote this program for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor and joined her “on the beach.” The song at the end of the program is “The Air That I Breathe,” by the Hollies.

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Social Business Starters on the Rise

Social entrepreneurs – people who create start-up companies that would help the environment, health care or agriculture – are on the rise. These entrepreneurs use innovation to tackle important economic and social problems. They can be for-profit or non-profit entities. Funding for social entrepreneurs is increasing. This is coming from foundations, institutional investors and individuals. Kiplinger is a personal finance publication in Washington, D.C. It reported that the amount of assets in socially responsible investing – focused on companies doing good in the world – almost doubled, from $3.74 trillion in 2012 to $6.57 trillion in 2014.  Globally, interest in socially responsible investing is growing even faster. The 2014 Global Sustainable Investment Review said that between 2012 and 2014, global assets rose to $21.4 trillion from $13.3 trillion – an increase of 61 percent.    The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, in Geneva, Switzerland, is an example of a foundation that advances social entrepreneurs around the world. Each year, working with the World Economic Forum, the foundation searches the globe “for outstanding social innovators, with business models that are proven to drive social and environmental change,” said their website.   Getting rich is not the primary aim of social entrepreneurs. Instead, their focus is on fulfilling their mission to improve society.  “While profits are ideally generated, the main aim is not to maximize financial returns for shareholders, but to grow the social venture and reach more people in need,” said the Schwab Foundation website. Usually, social entrepreneurs reinvest their profits in the enterprise to expand it.  Kristin Groos Richmond is co-founder of Revolution Foods and one of the social entrepreneurs selected by the Schwab Foundation. Her company, in Oakland, California, is dedicated to providing fresh food, prepared daily, for families and schools, and is active in 11 states across the U.S. and Washington, DC. Richmond said social entrepreneurs are driven by their values. She gave the following advice to aspiring social entrepreneurs: “Align yourself with a team, a board and investors who believe in your mission.” Many social entrepreneurs create novel solutions to solve world problems. Bart Weetjens, a Belgian social entrepreneur, is an example. He kept rats a childhood pets, then realized they could be put to work detecting land mines. He founded the non-profit organization APOPO in 1997. APOPO has used specially trained rats on leashes to clear more than 13,200 unexploded bombs from minefields in Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Cambodia, according to the National Geographic.    APOPO uses African giant-pouched rats, which are huge, cat-sized rats native to central Africa. They have “an extraordinary sense of smell,” said the National Geographic. The rats are lightweight enough to walk across the mines without setting them off. And their sensitive noses can sniff out explosives buried in the ground, even decades after a war has ended.             In addition, many business schools – both in the U.S. and other countries – now offer courses in social entrepreneurship. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is an example. It is ranked by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s top business schools. Wharton Online offers a five-week class on social entrepreneurship, four to six hours a week, through Coursera, a global e-learning platform. Graduates of the course receive a certificate and “learn how to develop, test and deploy high-impact solutions to society’s toughest problems,” according to Coursera’s website. Social entrepreneurs have also won increased media attention. For example, Forbes showcased “30 Under 30” – the top social entrepreneurs younger than 30 from around the world.  One honoree, Sejal Hathi, age 25, was a molecular biology student at Yale, who sought to help girls globally. She founded Girltank (www.girltank.org), a for-profit start-up, to identify and develop girls with potential to be high-impact leaders. The website refers to it as “the she lab for social entrepreneurship.” “Girltank creates a virtual tank for young women interested in social entrepreneurship to utilize the collective genius of the group to brainstorm ideas and solutions, crowd-sourcing funding for their ventures, and receive peer-to-peer mentoring,” according to the website.           I’m Mary Gotschall.                Mary Gotschall wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you have an opinion about this topic? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below, or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   start-up – n. a new business innovation – n.  the act of introducing or using new ideas or methods tackle – v. to deal with (something difficult) asset – n. something that is owned by a person, company, etc. — usually plural fulfill – v. to succeed in achieving (something) : to make (something, such as a dream) true or real maximize – v. to increase (something) as much as possible : to increase (something) to a maximum aspire – v. to want to have or achieve something (such as a particular career or level of success)  novel – adj.  new and different from what has been known before leash – n.  a long, thin piece of rope, chain, etc., that is used for holding a dog or other animal crowd-source – v.  the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community mentor – v. to teach or give advice or guidance to (someone, such as a less experienced person or a child)  

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English in a Minute: Living Under a Rock

You might have missed something if someone asks you if you have been "living under a rock!" Find out what this expression means in this week's English in a Minute!

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Planning Powerful Presentations

Editor's note: When teaching public speaking, Professor Charles Lebeau divides presentation into three aspects. The three aspects of a presentation are: the physical message, the visual message, and the story message. In our earlier article, (Improve Your Public Speaking With Body Language) we learned about one aspect of improving public speaking skills, the physical message. In this article, we will look at the visual and story messages.   English is the language of many international conferences.  Sometimes a speaker might use a kind of “World English” that audience members do not understand. This can be true even for listeners who are native speakers of English. For this reason, Professor Charles Lebeau says the visual message is important. The visual message includes pictures, charts and other aids a speaker presents during the talk. A non-native speaker of English can understand a picture. It can help carry the message when the presenter’s words are hard to understand. “The visual message becomes a central part of the communication process because everyone can understand a graph; everyone can understand a flow chart; everyone can see the words on the slide.” When you prepare a presentation, you might want to show how much you know about a subject. But does the audience care how much you know? Listeners more likely want to understand the main point of your presentation. So how do you organize your talk to get that point across? Professor LeBeau says this can depend on the culture of your audience. Cultural styles of presenting ideas American language expert Robert Kaplan studied different cultural thought patterns in the mid-1960s. He helped English language teachers understand the differences between English rhetoric and that of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian. English speakers prefer a ‘linear’ style, which has one main idea. The speaker supports that idea with details or arguments, and then closes the talk by restating the idea. In other cultures, however, speakers may bring in other ideas before returning to the main point. Charles LeBeau says some of his students prepare a speech without thinking of the main idea. “Sometimes the bigger problem is the point that they want to make is not clear. They are not thinking clearly about, “What is the key point in my presentation? And how do I want to say that, where do I want to say it?” For presentations in English, the best time to make that point is at the beginning. Speakers should make a plan to present their ideas in the order that is common in English rhetoric. When we write our ideas down without such a plan, they are not clear and our presentation will not be well organized. “I think they prepare the presentation kind of as a stream of consciousness activity, then finally at the end of this process they figure out, oh, what do I want to say, what is the key point in this? And it ends up being at the end of the presentation.” Professor LeBeau says he often sees the engineers he works with give a lot of technical information in their speeches. They want to tell everything they know. But the audience may have trouble understanding which information is related to the speaker’s main point. We can tell the story with facts and numbers, if they help, and then repeat the point. “In an English language presentation, what we try and do is make it more linear. And by that, I mean, it’s more of a story - we use data, and we use evidence, we use numbers, but only to help us tell the story more clearly.” Five tips for preparing your presentation Preparing the story message helps speakers give a successful presentation. Professor LeBeau gives these five tips for academic presentations, such as those given at professional conferences. 1. Understand the difference between a title and a topic. A topic is general, but a title is more specific. Make sure the title explains the benefit of your subject. 2. Provide an image for those who are not experts in your subject. Explain how your research relates to other fields. 3. Work on transitions (linking words or phrases) as you go from image to image. These should make the connections between your ideas clear. Professor LeBeau says transitions serve as bridges to each new image. 4. Look at each image from the audience’s point of view. What questions might they have about each image? Prepare an extra image that would help explain the most difficult question you expect. 5. Rehearse your presentation with a timing device. At most conferences, there is a time limit. It is disrespectful to take more than your share of the time. Cut your presentation to fit the time you are permitted. Professor LeBeau understands the difficulty many students of public speaking face. “Learning a new culture for presentation is really, really tough for many people, as it is with all language learning. Presentation, or course, is a part of language learning. There’s culture in everything we do in English, as well as in presentation.” Using these tips for improving your presentations in English should help make the process easier.  I’m Jill Robbins. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. The video below demonstrates an academic presentation. It is from the DVD accompanying Speaking of Speech Level 2. Now it’s your turn. What techniques help you to give a good academic presentation?  ​ ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   data - n. (plural) facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze, or plan something academic – n. of or relating to schools and education title – n. the name given to something to identify or describe it topic – n. someone or something that people talk or write about transitions - n. words that connect between parts of a composition or speech, such as first, second, third, in addition, furthermore, and so on. rhetoric - n. the art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or influence people stream of consciousness - n. the continuous series of thoughts that occur in someone's mind especially when they are expressed in writing as a constant flow of words   ​

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Woman, Born in 1972, Celebrates 11th Birthday

Tammy Radencic was born in 1972. She will be celebrating her 11th birthday on February 29. What? “Hi, I’m Tammy Radencic. And I’m a Leap Year baby.” Leap Year happens only once every four years, on February 29. Babies born on February 29  have to wait four years before they see their next birthday on the calendar. About 200,000 people in the U.S. celebrate a birthday on February 29. Around the world, there are about 5 million, says Reuters. Radencic is one of them. She lives in South Carolina. Radencic is not yet 50, but she has passed some other milestone birthdays, like 16, 21 and 30. Some birthdays come and go without much fanfare. But in a Leap Year, she says, the birthday is extra special. “For the Leap Year babies, when you actually know that day is coming, you’re going to wake up and say ‘Oh, today is actually my birthday.’ I’ll tell you, it is a very special feeling. Unfortunately this year the 29th is on a Monday. I have dentist appointment, I have calls with clients, so unfortunately I’m not going to have anything that’s really celebratory on the fact that I do have an actual birth date this year.  But it still will be very special to wake up and know, you know, that today is actually my birthday.” The reason these people only get to celebrate the exact anniversary of their birth every four years has to do with the difference between the calendar year and the solar year. It takes the Earth about 365.25 days to circle the sun. So how do you factor in the extra quarter of a day? You add in an extra day every four years to catch up. That is where February 29 comes in. Sherri Riddle lives in New Jersey. She was born in 1968. “OK, my name is Sherri Riddle and I’m a Leap Day baby. I’m turning 12.” Riddle says she did not understand that something was different about her birthday until somewhere between her fourth and eighth year. She did know one thing: she had a bigger party for her fourth birthday than any of the years before. As an elementary school student, other kids teased her about not having a “real” birthday each year. That’s one reason why her birthday was extra special every fourth year. “They had a bigger party for me that year and I have pictures. And I remember that day. I remember things that happened that day. And I knew it was more special, but I didn’t know why. And then for my eighth birthday, they had a bigger party again. Mostly, it’s been a really good experience.” Some people born on February 29 say the quirky birth date is not always easy. Radencic says her father tried to bribe the doctor with $200 when she was born. He wanted her birth certificate to read February 28 instead of February 29. And the unique birthday does cause some headaches when it comes to filling out forms on computers or applying for official documents. Some computer programs that require dates are not set-up for an entry of February 29 as the birthday. Radencic says for a while, her driver’s license and birth certificate had different birth dates. She grew up in North Carolina, and that state did not let her put February 29 on her license. So whenever she had to travel to a place like Canada, where you did not need a passport, she would always get questioned at the border about the difference between the two documents. “It’s really been problematic for me. And I know that those things may seem minor, but it’s things that nobody ever would understand. Or even think you’d have to go through without having that particular birth date. So it’s yeah, not been fun.” Everyone knows what it is like to get birthday wishes from friends on Facebook. The social media site reminds people that it is your birthday each year, and you get a cascade of well-wishes. But what if your birthday is February 29? Radencic says on the off years, she does not get many birthday greetings on Facebook, because the service does not send out a reminder. Only her true friends know it is her birthday. Janet Murphy of California has a 21-year-old granddaughter. She likes to joke that she and her granddaughter will be the same age this year. Murphy was born 1932. When Murphy turned 4, she lived in Ohio. The local newspaper had a big party for leap year babies, and she attended. “I wore a pretty blue dress that my great aunt made for me. I felt very special,” Murphy says. “My parents made me feel quite special every leap year.  For many years my mother sent my picture to be published in the local newspaper. It turned out to be a page full of happy faces celebrating each leap year.” Murphy says she has enough good friends who help her celebrate her birthday on “the last day of February” every year. She plans to have two celebrations this year. One on Sunday, and one on Monday. Since her name was sometimes in the newspaper as a Leap Year baby, a man who was on his way to serve in the Korean War found out about her in 1952. They became pen-pal friends. Then four years later, Murphy received a special surprise from the man – 12 red roses! Heidi Herman lives in Arizona. She was born in 1968. She says she does not celebrate her birthday when it is not a leap year. “So yeah, I’m very excited there is an actual day for it.” This year she will celebrate her birthday with a trip to the Grand Canyon. She is even more excited that in 2020, February 29 is a Saturday. So she will have an even bigger party that year. On her second birthday, Herman says she understood her birthday was something special. In the United States, when people turn 21-years-old, they like to have a big party. That is because a person is legally allowed to drink alcohol at 21. Their friends will take them out to a bar or restaurant to have a good time. Herman remembers what happened in her 21st year. “Every leap-ling would say their 21st birthday is difficult. I remember (be) cause mine, that I did go out to celebrate obviously, because being 21. But my birthday is the last day of February and I am adamant about that. If you insist on celebrating each year it’s gotta be the February 28. I wasn’t born in March. So I went out on February the 28th. Half the bouncers had a good time about it and they laughed and let me in. But a couple of them really gave me a hard time. And one of them said fine, if you want to go to the back door and try it there, good luck with that. Otherwise we can go ahead and call the cops. They get a little harsh on some of that.” February 29 is not just for birthdays. Some people get married on February 29 or they get engaged on February 29. There is a legend that if a woman asks a man to marry her on February 29, he cannot say no. People have their first dates on February 29. Important moments in history happen on February 29. Did you know Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for her performance in “Gone With the Wind” on February 29, 1940? There are some small difficulties that come with being born on February 29. But for the most part, these women do not mind. After all, for people like Herman, it is the only birthday they know. “I never really had a problem with it. I’ve always felt like my birthday is super special.” I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you know someone born on February 29? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fanfare – n. a lot of talk or activity showing that people are excited about something tease – v. to laugh at and criticize (someone) in a way that is either friendly and playful or cruel and unkind quirky – adj. unusual especially in an interesting or appealing way unique – adj. very special or unusual cascade – n. a large number of things that happen quickly in a series adamant – adj. not willing to change an opinion or decision : very determined harsh – adj. unpleasant and difficult to accept or experience legend – n. a story from the past that is believed by many people but cannot be proved to be true

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BBC 'Culture of Fear' Led to Sexual Assaults

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was found guilty of “serious failings” that allowed television celebrity Jimmy Savile to sexually abuse nearly 100 people. Savile was one of Britain’s top celebrities from the 1960s until his death at age 84 in 2011, reported France 24. A report released Thursday after a long investigation found that Savile assaulted 72 people and raped eight. BBC commissioned the report after victims came forward after Savile died. Police launched Operation Yewtree, an investigation into Savile and other celebrities from the same era. Five celebrities were convicted and imprisoned, including children’s TV presenter Rolf Harris and 1970s rocker Gary Glitter, reported the Times of India. The allegations claimed Savile used his celebrity status to assault women, and even children as young as eight years old. The abuse started in the 1950s and continued for five decades, according to The International Business Times. Dame Janet Smith, a former High Court judge, led the inquiry, which produced a 793-page report. Nearly 120 witnesses who worked at the BBC told the inquiry that they had heard “rumors and stories” about Savile’s sexual conduct, according to France 24. Savile hosted a popular music chart show on BBC called “Top of the Pops.” He used his celebrity status to abuse young people, the investigation found. His usual tactic with young girls – and in some cases boys – was to invite them to watch him perform and then make a sexual approach on them in his dressing room, the report said. The Smith report said the BBC staff knew about the complaints of sexual abuse by Savile. But they did not alert senior management because of a “culture of fear.” Smith said BBC’s culture was “deeply deferential,” and the staff were “reluctant to speak to managers about complaints,” reported Radio New Zealand.  However, the Smith report said there was no evidence that the BBC as a corporation knew about Savile’s sexual crimes. So the company cannot be convicted of any offense, reported The International Business Times. BBC director-general, Tony Hall, said he accepted the report’s conclusions and “would launch an independent audit of the organization’s whistle-blowing and child protection policies,” reported France 24.  Savile died without facing prosecution. I’m Mary Gotschall.           Mary Gotschall adapted this story for Learning English. Her report was based on information from The International Business Times, Radio New Zealand, France24 and the Times of India. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you have an opinion about this topic? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below, or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   celebrity – n. the state of being famous imprison – v.  to put (someone) in prison  allegation – n. a statement saying that someone has done something wrong or illegal inquiry – n.  an official effort to collect and examine information about something  rumor – n.  information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true tactic – n. an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a particular goal deferential – adj. a way of behaving that shows respect for someone or something offense – n.  a criminal act whistle-blowing – n.  the act of revealing wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority prosecution – n.  the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty  

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'Fuller House' Now on Netflix

This is What’s Trending Today… “Full House” was an American television show from the 1980s to the 1990s. It was among the most popular TV shows of its time. The show followed a widowed father who asks his friends to help him raise his three young girls. The last episode of “Full House” aired in May 1995. But on Friday, the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the U.S. was “Fuller House.” The new show is the long-awaited sequel series that follows the now-adult characters from “Full House.”  The streaming service Netflix released 13 episodes of the new series at midnight Friday. “Fuller House” trended throughout the night and into Friday morning on Twitter and Facebook. The actors on the show were among the top 10 U.S. Google searches, as well. Longtime fans of “Full House” admitted that they stayed up all night to watch the entire season. ​ Excited fans tweeted about having waited more than 20 years for the sequel.     But…some viewers were not impressed with “Fuller House.” And television critic Hank Steuver of The Washington Post called the show, “a retread,” an “exhumation” and “just dreadful.” He says the show is not “some golden treasure of family-friendly programming.” Although most of the main characters from the original “Full House” have returned for “Fuller House,” the show’s youngest character, Michelle Tanner, did not appear. Michelle was played by twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The Olsens are now active in the fashion world. The two did not agree to appear in the first season of the new show. One episode of “Fuller House” even joked about their absence. One of her sisters on the show asks where Michelle is. Her father, Danny Tanner, responds: “Oh, she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Have you ever seen Full House or Fuller House? What do you think of these American sitcoms (situational comedies)? Let us know!  _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   retread – n. something that uses ideas, stories, etc., that have been used before exhume – v. to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting empire – n. a very large business or group of businesses under the control of one person or company​ dreadful – adj. very bad or unpleasant widowed – adj. used to describe a woman whose husband has died or a man whose wife has died

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Infant Swept From Father's Arms In Fiji Cyclone

After Cyclone Winston blew through Fiji last weekend, 42 people were dead, and four were still missing, including an infant. The winds of Cyclone Winston reached more than 285 kilometers per hour. It was the strongest storm in Fiji's recorded history. The infant's parents told a local journalist that they lost hold of their child in the strong winds and flood waters. The child's father told Fiji One Television that his family ran from the home where they were taking shelter. He said that they were expecting powerful winds, but not the flood waters. The father said that when the winds began to rise, his family tried to run for safety and keep their 10-month-old son above water. "The water level was up to my neck," the father said. "The house began to fall and waves began to pound on us." He said they have not yet found their firstborn son.   Emergency Response "There are Fijians out there who are without water, without a roof over their heads, without food and without essential services," said the Prime Minister of Fiji. Emergency workers faced many difficulties helping people, including power outages, fallen phone lines and road blocks. Government officials have closed schools until Monday. They plan to use the buildings as shelters for the hundreds of people who have been left homeless. The government lifted a curfew that it had put in place. However, it asked people to limit their movements as much as possible. Concerned about an increase in the number of mosquitoes, the government also asked people to not leave standing water. "It is likely that smaller villages across Fiji will have suffered the most, given their infrastructures would be too weak to withstand the power of a category 5 cyclone," said Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for UNICEF in the Pacific. "Families may have lost their homes and crops, therefore leaving them without shelter, food and a livelihood." Fiji, a group of more than 100 islands, is in the South Pacific Ocean. It is around 2,800 kilometers from Australia's east coast. I'm John Russell.   John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. The Associated Press and CNN provided information included in his report. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you have cyclones where you live? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section and on our Facebook page.  ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   cyclone – n. an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm with very high winds that turn around an area of low pressure firstborn – adj. born first mosquitoes – n. a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood

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'Little Messi' Gets Autographed Jersey

Earlier in February, a young boy in Afghanistan made international headlines showing his homemade Lionel Messi soccer jersey. Messi is a soccer player from Argentina who plays for the Barcelona professional team in Spain. Murtaza Ahmadi, who is five years old, drew Messi’s number, 10, on a blue-and-white striped shopping bag. Argentina’s national team jersey has blue-and-white stripes like the shopping bag. On February 25th, Messi sent the boy a real jersey with his autograph. It said “with much love,” in Spanish. The United Nations Children’s Fund delivered the jersey. Messi also sent a Barcelona team jersey. Many people say Messi is the best player in the world. That is why even a boy in Afghanistan -- who cannot afford to buy a jersey -- knows of Messi. People called the boy “little Messi” after pictures of his jersey spread. The boy’s father told CNN getting the jerseys was one of the happiest moments of his son’s life.  The soccer federation in Afghanistan says it is still working to find a way for “big” Messi to meet “little Messi.” I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports from VOANews.com. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you think “little Messi” will ever meet “big Messi”? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   autograph – n. the signature of a famous person

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'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,' by Mark Twain

A gambling man places money on a frog jumping competition only to learn a hard lesson.

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Infantino Wins FIFA Presidency

Gianni Infantino of Switzerland is the new FIFA president. Infantino won after the organization voted a second time on Friday in Zurich. Infantino takes over world soccer’s governing body two years before the next World Cup. FIFA is stuck in a bribery and corruption scandal from last year. Authorities in both Switzerland and the United States are investigating FIFA’s finances. They are looking at how money is spent and how World Cup tournaments are awarded. Infantino finished ahead of three other candidates. He defeated Sheikh Salman of Bahrain 115 to 88 in the second vote. Infantino will replace Sepp Blatter, another Swiss, who was banned by FIFA’s ethics committee late in 2015. He made unauthorized payments to a colleague. Blatter led the organization since 1998 and served five terms. Infantino is the general secretary of UEFA, the organization that runs soccer in Europe. He is 45. Infantino spoke in Spanish, English, French and Italian during his campaign speech, appealing to FIFA members in their own languages. He promised to restore the image and respect of FIFA, saying “everyone in the world will applaud us.” Infantino will serve the remainder of Blatter’s final term until May 2019. Then there will be another election. FIFA did more on Friday than just vote for a new president. It made some anti-corruption reforms. A president can no longer serve more than three four-year terms. There will be independent spending reviews. And the executive committee will now be called the FIFA Council, and reserve more positions for women. The next World Cup will be held two years from now, in Russia. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. The New York Times and the Associated Press provided information used in his report. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you think the new FIFA president will help soccer around the world? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong restore – v. to put or bring (something) back into existence or use  

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VOA English Newscast: 1500 UTC February 26, 2016

  From Washington, this is VOA News.       I’m Steve Karesh reporting. U.S. President Barack Obama says if the conflicting parties in Syria halt all violence as agreed, it could be a first step toward ending the chaos. VOA's Zlatica Hoke has more. “President Obama said a cessation of hostilities in Syria is scheduled to start Friday at midnight, but acknowledged that even under the best of circumstances, all violence is not expected to end immediately. ‘Everybody knows what needs to happen, and that is all parties that are part of this cessation of activities need to end attacks, including aerial bombardment. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach areas under siege. And a lot of that is going to depend on whether the Syrian regime, Russia and their allies live up to their commitments.’ Obama said the fight to destroy Islamic State will take time, but he said concerted coalition efforts have weakened the group substantially in the past year. Zlatica Hoke, VOA News, Washington.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for an end to the violence in South Sudan, telling the country's president the government must step in and protect the people.   "My message to the leaders of South Sudan is clear: put peace above politics, pursue compromise, overcome obstacles, establish the transitional government of national unity and do not delay.” On his fourth trip to Juba on Thursday, Ban also announced the U.N. is allocating $21 million in protection and relief funds for South Sudan. Rebel leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal in August, agreeing to run a unity government for 30 months before holding elections, although after this fighting still continues in the country. This is VOA. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Newscast   parties – n. sides; individuals or groups involved in some action chaos – n. disorder cessation – n. stoppage; a halt in some action scheduled – v. planned at some time midnight – n. the middle of the night; 12 o’clock at night acknowledged – v. admitted; confirmed circumstances – n. conditions that affect a situation or event aerial – adj. performed by air allowed – v. permitted siege – n. a situation when police or troops surround a building or city as part of efforts to get control of it regime – n. a form of government commitment – n. promise concerted – adj. done in a planned way, usually by several people or groups substantially – adj. of or involving a large amount, size or number pursue – v. seek overcome – v. to defeat someone or something; to successfully deal with something obstacle – n. something that blocks your progress or path transitional – adj. of or related to change allocating – v. dividing and giving out for a special purpose relief – adj. providing help funds – n. money used for a special purpose We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ​

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