Lesson 1: Welcome!

Let's Learn English is a course for English learners. Certified American English teachers designed the course for beginners. There are 52 lessons. Every fifth lesson, there is a review of the previous lessons. 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 moves to Washington, DC. She meets Pete at her new apartment.  Speaking Watch the video and record yourself. Listen to yourself. Then listen to the video again. Pronunciation In careful speech, we say words with a small break. In everyday speech, the sounds come together with little or no break. Watch the video to learn about how the sounds change. Practice the example. Conversation  Pete: Hi! Are you Anna? Anna: Yes! Hi there! Are you Pete? Pete: I am Pete Anna: Nice to meet you Anna: Let's try that again. I'm Anna Pete: I'm Pete. "Anna" Is that A-N-A? Anna: No. A-N-N-A Pete: Well, Anna with two "n's" ... Welcome to ... 1400 Irving Street! Anna: My new apartment! Yes!   Writing Introduce yourself in the Comments section. Download the worksheet to learn the alphabet and numbers. For a fun way to learn the alphabet, watch the alphabet video below.  Learning Strategy Each week we teach a new learning strategy. The first one is Set a Goal. ​ When we set a goal, we decide what we want to do or learn. You are studying English with VOA Learning English. What do you want to learn? Here is an example: Pat works at a coffee shop. She wants to greet her customers in English. She sets a goal: "In three months, I will feel confident in greeting customers in English." Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. Setting a goal is an important learning strategy because it gives you a strong reason to keep studying.  What is your goal for learning English this year? Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section. See the Lesson Plan for more details. Listening Quiz Check how well you understand the lesson with this quiz. Play the video and choose the correct answer. New Words apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live. She lives in an apartment. meet - v.  to see and speak to someone for the first time. Pete meets Anna on the street. new - adj. not known before; recently bought or rented. Anna has a new friend. nice - adj. good and enjoyable . It is nice to see you. street  - n. a road in a city, town, or village. Anna lives on Irving Street. try - v. to make an effort to do something. Please try to say it again. welcome - interjection. used as a friendly greeting to someone who has arrived at a place. Welcome to America! _______________________________________________________________ Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. For more practice, each lesson has an activity sheet. In this lesson, you can use it to learn to say the letters and numbers.   For Teachers   ​Download a lesson plan for this lesson here. Let us know your thoughts about this lesson in our Comments section or send us an email. Grammar focus: BE + name in introductions;  BE + location Topics: Meeting people; Personal information;  Learning the Alphabet (Activity sheet);  Learning the Numbers 1-20 (video) Speaking & Pronunciation focus: Meeting people; Pronouncing linked sounds

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James K. Polk: Dark Horse

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents. James Knox Polk moved into the White House as the 11th president of the United States in 1845. Few had predicted that Polk would become president. Even he was surprised. Polk had come to his party’s presidential nominating convention nearly a year earlier with low expectations. But the top politicians, including former president Martin Van Buren, failed to win a majority of votes. Convention delegates tried again and again to agree on a candidate. Eventually, Polk was nominated. A small number of delegates supported him. Then the delegates voted again. This time, Polk received all 266 votes. He became the first dark horse candidate in U.S. history to be nominated by a major party. In other words, he was someone no one thought would win. But he did. Early life Polk was born in the southeastern state of North Carolina. When he was a child, his family moved west, to Tennessee. At the time, Tennessee had few white settlers. Some considered it the wilderness. Polk’s family did well there. His father became wealthy, buying land and enslaved people. His mother Jane, who followed strict, Christian religious teachings, gave her 10 children a good education. James was the oldest. He went to college, then studied law. When he was 25, he married an intelligent and wealthy young woman named Sarah Childress. The two never had children. But they worked together to launch Polk’s political career.   In time, Polk was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, then the national House of Representatives. There, he developed a close relationship with President Andrew Jackson. Since Jackson was called “Old Hickory,” Polk became known as “Young Hickory.”  When Polk left Congress and returned to Tennessee to become governor, he supported Jackson’s banking reforms. But soon the U.S. economy collapsed. Tennessee voters failed to re-elect Polk as governor – not once, but twice. So Polk returned to his plantations and waited for a chance to re-enter national politics. In 1844, Polk traveled to the city of Baltimore to attend the Democratic Party’s national convention. He thought he could perhaps win the nomination for vice president. Instead, he became the Democrats’ candidate for president. Several months later, he narrowly defeated the opposing party’s candidate in the national election. Why Polk won Historian Robert Merry wrote a book about Polk’s presidency. Merry says one reason Polk won the election was the issue of Texas. Polk wanted to make Texas a state. He thought the United States could take possession of the area peacefully. The other leading candidates did not. Merry says the other candidates were right – the United States eventually went to war with Mexico. But Polk spoke for the American people. In the 1840s, many Americans liked the idea of expanding the country. They believed in “manifest destiny” -- the idea that God wanted America to expand west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and take control of the continent. As a result, many voters supported Polk and his promise to add Texas to the United States. Polk took another unusual position in the 1844 election. He said if he won the presidency, he would serve only one term -- that is, four years. (Several previous presidents had served two terms.) Polk told voters presidents might abuse their power if they held office too long. One term, he said, would be enough for him. But Robert Merry says there was more to Polk’s one-term promise. It was a political bet. Polk thought if he said he would serve as president for only one term, other party leaders might help him win. Then, those politicians could try again to win the presidency in four years, instead of waiting eight. He was probably right. If Polk had not made the campaign promise, Merry says, Young Hickory would not have won. Presidency During the first days of his administration, James K. Polk famously listed the four things he planned to do as president. He wanted to reduce taxes on imports. He wished to establish an independent treasury. He hoped to settle the dispute with Britain over the Oregon border. And he wanted to get California for the United States. Less than four years later, Polk had realized each item on his list. He is remembered for greatly expanding the size of the United States. He successfully negotiated with Britain for U.S. control over territory in the west up to the 49th parallel. The agreement gave the U.S. the current states of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Below those states lay California. An American government minister once described California as the richest, the most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world. The official said the port of San Francisco was big enough to hold all the navies of the world. He said someday San Francisco would control the trade of all the Pacific Ocean. There was only one problem, from the point of view of the U.S. government. California was part of Mexico. At first, U.S. officials attempted to buy California from Mexico. But Mexican officials refused even to talk about selling California to the United States. Shortly after the U.S. Congress approved statehood for Texas in early 1845, Mexico broke relations with the U.S. all together. The following year, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and clashed with American soldiers. In answer, President Polk asked Congress to declare war. He did not think the conflict would last long. He believed the U.S. declaration would quickly force Mexico to sell him the territory he wanted. Polk was wrong. Historian Robert Merry says the war with Mexico lasted longer, was more expensive, and cost more lives than he expected. But in the 1848 treaty that ended the war, Polk got the land he had wanted. Mexico recognized the independence of Texas, and it sold the areas that are now all or part of the states of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and, yes, California. Legacy President Polk kept his promise to serve only one term. After four years, he retired from the presidency, traveled for a few weeks, and then returned to Tennessee to settle in a new home. Only three months after he left the White House, Polk died. He left behind a much larger country, but a divided one. The issue was again slavery. Southerners argued that they had the right to take enslaved people into California and other former Mexican lands. Northerners opposed any further spread of slavery. The question was this: did Congress have the power to control – or even ban – slavery in the new territories? I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.   Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.   See how well you understand this story by talking this listening quiz. Play each short video, then choose the best answer. ​ ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   convention - n. a large meeting of people who come to a place for usually several days to talk about their shared work strict - adj. carefully obeying the rules or principles of a religion or a particular way of life plantation - n. a large area of land especially in a hot part of the world where crops (such as cotton) are grown manifest destiny - n. a future event that is sure to happen; a destiny that can be clearly seen and that cannot be changed bet - n. a choice made by thinking about what will probably happen parallel - n. any one of the imaginary circles on the surface of the Earth that are parallel to the equator and that are shown as lines on maps expensive - adj. costing a lot of money ill - adj. not well or healthy  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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How to Keep Clothes From Smelling Bad

When people exercise, their bodies sweat and their clothes get wet. And that means their clothes, like their bodies, can smell. This is especially true if they are wearing synthetic clothes—ones made of material not found in nature. These materials, like polyester, are designed to be lightweight, to move sweat away from a person’s body, and to dry quickly. But these clothes can keep that bad smell a body makes when it sweats. What causes the smell? Bacteria. For years, manufacturers have been making exercise and travel clothes with different kinds of anti-odor technology. Some add chemicals or put small holes in the garments to allow the sweat and smell to escape. Others use threads or small pieces of silver in the fabric. The goal is to make clothes that one can wear longer without having to wash them. That might not sound very pleasant. But it helps people who are carrying all their supplies for camping in the wilderness. Carl Botterud is such a person. For ten years, the California lawyer and his son have been camping in the High Sierra Mountains for a week at a time. Packing light, he did not want to take six pairs of underwear. “I was looking and found underwear that promoted its properties as comfortable, quick drying and doesn’t smell so you can wear it for multiple days while you’re out packing. So that sounded terrific. I bought a couple pair and they worked exactly as advertised.” Now he wears them every day at home too. “Now, when I’m at home I don’t wear them three days in a row, but they’re very comfortable when I exercise, going for hikes or long walks or going to the gym.” Silver kills bacteria and the smell Paul Westerhoff is a professor of Environmental Engineering at Arizona State University. He researched the effectiveness of silver in clothes to kill bacteria and how it impacts the environment. The study was published in Environmental Science & Technology last year. Researchers use zebrafish embryos to test whether a drug is toxic for humans. In the study, Westerhoff found the fish embryos were not harmed when exposed to silver in wastewater. He says silver is “quite toxic,” or harmful, to bacteria-- but not for humans. It is also used in bandages and food packaging. In clothing, silver releases ions that kill the bacteria, and the smell. Silver is used two ways in clothing. One uses a long thread of silver to cover a large area of the material. The other coats all the fibers with very small pieces of silver, called nanoparticles. They cannot be seen with your eye. Some of the silver gets washed away with the washing machine water. Researchers wanted to know if that makes the cloth less effective. So they washed the garments, many times. “Even after six and up to 20 washings you still kill over 99 percent of the bacteria, in most cases.” Westerhoff says the nanoparticle silver looks like a “better” choice. Much less silver is needed for each piece. That costs less, and there is less silver released into the wastewater. Impact of silver in the environment He is concerned about the impact of silver on the environment, but he says there is a process to take care of it.  “(But) we’ve done studies to show that most of this silver will go to a wastewater treatment plant where it gets removed with the bacteria/ and it’s pretty regulated in terms of where they go.” Now Westerhoff says he wants to find out if people really would wash their clothes less if they do not smell. Less washing helps the environment because less hot water is used, there is less wastewater and less energy is used to dry the material. Washing synthetic clothes less often would also mean less microfibers escaping with the wash water. Recent studies show that very small pieces of these synthetic fabrics come off every time they are washed. These microfibers are plastic, and are finding their way to rivers, oceans, into fish and even table salt in China. Both manufacturers and environmentalists are working to find solutions to this problem. Going back to wool Some people are going back to wearing more wool, a natural fabric, for outdoor activities. In the U.S., companies are making garments with merino wool—it is softer, lightweight and does not itch—or hurt your skin. Emma Walker is a writer and outdoor athlete. She says wool is “really comfortable” and does not smell. “I can wear a wool base layer next to my skin for days at a time without ever taking it off when I’m in the back country and it doesn’t itch.” And she says except for on the hottest summer days, she can still stay cool in wool. Rita Kourlis Samuelson works at the American Wool Council. Because bacteria are not attracted to wool, she says, it does not smell when you do. “You can wear wool and not wash it. I mean we have even had people wear a wool shirt for a hundred days, claiming that they’re odor free.” While they may favor one kind of fabric over the other, many athletes wear both wool and synthetics, depending on where they are, and what they are doing. I’m Anne Ball.       Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. See how well you understand the story by taking this reading quiz. ​ ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sweat – v. to produce a clear liquid from your skin when you are hot or nervous odor – n. a bad smell garment – n. a piece of clothing underwear – n. clothing that is worn next to your skin and under other clothing packing – v. when you take supplies in to camp in the wilderness terrific – adj. extremely good ion – n. an atom or group of atoms that has a positive or negative electric charge from losing or gaining one or more electrons nanoparticle – n. a microscopic particle regulate – v. to set or adjust the amount, degree, or rate of (something)  wool – n. the soft, thick hair of sheep and some other animals repellent – n. a substance that is used to keep something out or away

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Chinese Investing in Silicon Valley Companies

  American Mark Pavlyukovskyy created a company that provides materials people can use to build their own computer. Last year, when he was searching for people to invest in his company, he wanted someone who knew the Chinese market. Pavlyukovskyy did not have to travel to Beijing or Shanghai to find people knowledgeable about China. Silicon Valley in California is home to many Chinese with money to invest in small or start-up businesses.  Pavlyukovskyy was born in Ukraine. He now works in San Francisco. Last year nine people or groups invested $2.1 million in his company. One of the investors was a Chinese business based in Silicon Valley. Pavlyukovskyy said he was not just searching for investment money, but for people with “expertise and knowledge of the education market in China.” His company, called Piper, sells parts for a computer that children can build. Each computer kit sells for $299. The company has sold its kits to schools in Hong Kong. More than 150,000 kits have been shipped around the world. For the past 10 years, people and groups in Silicon Valley have invested in China as the country opened its markets and companies worked to expand there. But now Chinese companies are beginning to look outside China for places to invest. Chinese investors have already had an effect on the American real estate, energy and transportation sectors. But they have only recently begun investing in technology companies. Chinese investors looking for American creativity Now, Chinese groups and individuals are investing in Silicon Valley companies. It may take longer for these deals to be profitable than in real estate, but there is a greater chance to make a lot of money. David Cao was a computer programmer in Singapore before he launched an investment company in 2014. He says “this is the very beginning.” Chris Evdemon says many Chinese are investing in American companies because they believe more innovation is coming from the United States. In 2014, Evdemon launched Sinovation, the American part of Chuangxin, a leading Chinese investor in start-up companies. He has now invested in 38 new companies that deal with such things as robotics and education technology.  Chinese investors are interested in companies specializing in technology to improve digital entertainment. They also would like to invest in robotics, artificial intelligence and technologies related to the financial, health and education markets.  The U.S. Department of Defense is worried that technology that could increase America’s security may instead go to China. The department recently released a report about its concerns. The report questioned whether China and Chinese investors in Silicon Valley were gaining use of important technologies through their investments. I’m Dorothy Gundy.   Michelle Quinn reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow 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   kit – n. a set of parts that are put together to build something real estate – adj. property consisting of buildings and land sector – n. an area of an economy; a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs innovate – v. to do something in a new way; to have new ideas about how something can be done digital – adj. using or characterized by computer technology

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Young Immigrant Workers Unlikely to Move Back to Southern Europe

Young people who left Southern European countries to find work in Europe’s North are unlikely to move back home anytime soon. Thousands of young people moved north after an economic crisis hit their countries a few years ago. Unemployment rates in countries such as Spain, Greece, and Italy remain high -- between 25 and 45 percent. Roberta D’amore left her home in Italy in 2010. After completing her university education, it took her months to find a full-time job. Yet the job paid her only 500 euros a month. It provided no health care or other work-related benefits, like employer donations to a retirement plan. D’amore now works for an employment agency in Luxembourg. She has no plans to move back to Italy anytime soon. “Every time I go back the situation is worse when it comes to work opportunities,” she said. “It makes me sad that my country is not able to offer the young generation to start a life. If the situation would improve I could at least think about opportunities and go back.” Many of the unemployed youth from southern Europe move to major economies like Britain and Germany. Others go to smaller countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. Portuguese software engineer Jorge Lima says he moved to England because of the language. “There was little work in Portugal in my field and the work projects I get to work on here are much more interesting," he said. "Also the salary is more than twice as much. Most of my friends from Portugal have moved away to find better jobs.” Forced movement? Only three percent of Europeans live in a European Union (EU) member state different from their country of birth. Studies suggest the main reason is language barriers. For years, the EU has tried to ease restrictions on movement, but many young people going north feel their mobility is forced. More than four-million European youth were unemployed in 2016. A program called the EU Youth Guarantee was established to help Europeans under the age of 25 with employment and education. Yet a new report says the program “falls short of the initial expectations raised.” The Court of Auditors reported the findings. Matthias Busse works as a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies. He says the Youth Guarantee had a good effect. But he believes the total number of unemployed youth remains too large. The European Youth Forum works with the EU and policymakers in support of young people on issues such as employment. The forum represents 100 youth organizations. They like the idea of the Youth Guarantee. But they also believe that more financial aid and less government involvement is needed to make such programs successful. Seeking reform Allan Pall of the European Youth Forum says the current situation could lead to what he calls a lost generation if no reforms are made. “We see that young people are more likely to work in precarious jobs, unpaid, or zero-hour contracts or sometimes not even having contracts,” Pall said. “We are now seeing that countries like the United Kingdom and Greece have legitimized paying young people below the minimum wage, just because they are young.” One Spanish job seeker in Brussels spoke with VOA, but asked that his name not be identified in this report. He feels Belgian businesses are more likely to offer employment to the country’s citizens than foreigners. The college graduate says he faces several issues, such as how to negotiate in his new cultural environment and not being able to speak the local language.  He feels that even if he cannot find a job within his field, he will stay in Belgium. “This is something that I discussed with my family before coming here, there is a chance I don’t find anything,” he says. “But it’s more worth it to being a Belgian waiter with a better salary and better conditions than being one at home. And that is a very sad thing to say.” The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium assisted hundreds of Spanish people looking for work in Belgium and surrounding countries in recent years. Almost all were under 35 years old and 85 percent of them have a university education. Ramon Lopez of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce says it will be difficult to get these young people to return home. “In Spain, there were many qualified people for few jobs so the wages were quite low,” Lopez said. “When the people from Spain come here (Belgium), they are just happy with having a fair salary.” He adds the loss of educated, skilled youth means that the government now has to use public money to interest them in returning home. I’m Lucija Millonig.   Marthe Van Der Wolf reported on this story for VOA News. George Grow adapted her report for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   benefit – n. something that produces good effects; financial help; a service provided by an employer in addition to wages opportunity – n. a good chance for progress or forward movement salary – n. a fixed payment for services; wages initial – adj. of or related to the beginning of something precarious – adj. depending on the will or decision of another contract – n. a business agreement minimum – adj. the least amount of something; the lowest number graduate – n. someone who has successfully completed a study program We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.  

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Winter Rains Bring Attention to Los Angeles River

  It’s time for spring-cleaning in Los Angeles. Usually that term relates to housekeeping: throwing away unwanted items, organizing closets, and washing places that have become dirty over the winter. But in this case, we are talking about the massive project of cleaning up the Los Angeles River in Southern California. The river runs about 80 kilometers and passes through 14 cities. It ends at the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach. Usually the riverbed has very little water. But not now. California received record-breaking rainfall over the winter. As a result, the river is full again. All the water has brought plants, animals, and trash. Lots of trash. Plastic bags, paper cups and even old pieces of furniture found their way into the river. In addition, water wiped out camps on the riverbank where homeless people were living. Now volunteers are working to clean up the mess. Volunteers Lauren Scott works for the American Chemistry Council. It is a business group. Many of the group’s members are companies that produce plastic items for people to use. Some of those items wound up in the river. Along with picking up trash, Scott is trying to figure out what her organization can do to prevent trash from getting into the waterway. “Because everyone wants a clean river that we can swim and boat and hike in.” Candace Cable was out cleaning up the river, picking up trash from her wheelchair. She is a Paralympic Athlete. She is part of a group working to get the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles. She hopes supporters of Los Angeles’ efforts to get the Olympics will help clean up the river, too. Christine Lee is a science applications engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, not too far from Los Angeles. She uses satellites to study water quality. She said waterways in cities are important for keeping plants, animals and people healthy. For example, the Los Angeles River helps control floods and keeps wetlands healthy. Wetlands are home to many important plants and animals. Some people feel like the annual cleanup is already making a difference. Residents are using walking and biking paths along the river more frequently than they used to. Lois Keller, another cleanup volunteer, said: “It’s been really exciting to start to see the river come back.” I’m Jill Robbins.   Mike O’Sullivan wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. Do you want to clean up a river in your city? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   massive – adj. very large and heavy wipe out – v. to destroy or cause great harm to something council – n. a group of people who provide advice or guidance on something propulsion – n. the force that moves something forward : the force that propels something

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Everyday Grammar: Grammar Rules

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American College Students Challenge Free Speech

For many years, American colleges and universities have let people speak on their campuses even if many students do not agree with their beliefs. College-aged students often do not agree with conservative political beliefs. But school officials believe that letting speeches by conservatives and others take place on campus can help lead to free and open debate. But recent protests show that beliefs about free speech on college campuses may be changing. Since February, protests have broken out at colleges across the country -- including the University of California-Berkeley, Middlebury College, the Claremont Colleges, and California State University, Los Angeles. Some of the protests turned violent. The protests started because conservative speakers were set to give talks about their beliefs. Some people have criticized the protesters for trying to prevent controversial speakers from being heard. Will Creely is the senior vice president of legal and public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He told VOA that those who support free speech are worried about the protests. He says schools should work harder to protect speakers who may have different political beliefs than many students. Last month, a student group at Middlebury College in Vermont invited Charles Murray to speak on the campus. Murray is a political scientist and a fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. His research has linked race and intelligence. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Murray a white nationalist.  Hundreds of protesters shouted as Murray tried to speak. Officials moved him to another building, where he spoke with Professor Allison Stanger. His discussion with her was shown online. College spokesman Bill Burger says that as Stanger and Murray left the building, they were “physically and violently confronted by a group of protesters” who “set upon [their] car, rocking it, pounding on it, jumping on and trying to prevent it from leaving campus.” Stanger was taken to a hospital. She left wearing a neck brace. She said during the dispute with protesters, one of them grabbed her hair and pulled her backward. In a message on Facebook, Stanger wrote: “I feared for my life.” Earlier this month, students at Claremont McKenna College in California targeted Heather MacDonald. She is a researcher at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a well-known critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Students said they disagreed with a book MacDonald published last year called The War on Cops. In it, MacDonald wrote that police officers are afraid to do their work because of increased attention from reporters following the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. Brown, who is black, was killed by a white officer. A student group invited MacDonald to speak on campus. But protesters stopped her from entering the building where she was to speak. She was forced to instead broadcast her speech on the internet. She did so from a room that was mostly empty; protesters had blocked people from entering. The protesters hit the room’s windows and shouted until MacDonald later said, “the cops decided that things were getting too chaotic and I should stop speaking.” Police officers then had to help MacDonald leave the building so she could safely escape the protesters. After her speech, more than 20 students signed a letter to David Oxtoby, one of the school’s presidents. They called MacDonald a “fascist.” The letter demanded that the university “take action” against an independent student newspaper for its reporting on the protests and for its “continual perpetuation of hate speech.” Oxtoby had previously condemned the protests and defended MacDonald’s right to speak on campus. He said the college supports “the exercise of free speech and academic freedom.” The students said MacDonald is a well-known figure and her beliefs have been reported many times by the news media. They said refusing to let her speak did not violate her rights. And they said MacDonald being on campus is “a form of violence.” Creely says incidents like the ones at Middlebury and Claremont are becoming increasingly common at American colleges. He called the trend “deeply troubling.” Creely also criticized university officials for accepting the demands of students. He says the students do not know enough about laws that protect free speech in the United States. He notes that “there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment. There is an unfortunately prevalent problem of students being unaware of the extent of their rights and the rights of their peers,” he said. In 2015, the market research group YouGov asked students about free speech. In the opinion study, 43 percent of the students questioned said “making sure that students have an environment free from discrimination, even if that means placing some limits on what students can say,” should be more of a concern for colleges than protecting the “absolute right to free speech.” Gallup did a similar study in 2016. It found that 52 percent of students believe their college or university should stop people from speaking on campus who have a history of making hateful comments. Forty two percent of students did not agree with the statement, however. The debate about First Amendment rights continued earlier this month when the University of California-Berkeley canceled a planned speech by conservative writer and speaker Ann Coulter. University officials said they were worried that police would not be able to control a possibly violent reaction to Coulter’s speech. Riots took place at Berkeley earlier this year when conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos was invited to speak. The riots caused $100,000 in damage to buildings on campus. The school’s decision to cancel Coulter’s speech was criticized by many people. So officials changed their decision. They set a time for her to speak, but the time they set was one during which fewer people would be on campus.  The student group that invited Coulter to speak did not like the plan. It sued the school on Monday, claiming it was discriminating against Coulter. Lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and the Berkeley College Republicans said in the lawsuit that “this case arises from efforts by one of California’s leading public universities, UC Berkeley, once known as the ‘birthplace of the Free Speech Movement,’ to restrict and stifle the speech of conservative students whose voices fall beyond the campus political orthodoxy.” The school said the charge that Coulter is being punished for her political beliefs is “untrue.” The school said it “welcomes speakers of all political viewpoints and is committed to providing a forum to enable Ann Coulter to speak on the Berkeley campus.” I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Pete Musto.   Joshua Fatzick wrote this story for VOANews.com Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted his report for Learning English. Ashley Thomson 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 controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument; likely to produce controversy confront – v. to oppose or challenge (someone) especially in a direct and forceful way neck brace – n. a device that supports the neck, usually after an injury cop – n. (informal) police officer chaotic – adj. in a state of complete confusion or disorder fascist – adj. a person who supports a government that is ruled by a dictator who controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government perpetuate – v. to cause (something that should be stopped, such as a mistaken idea or a bad situation) to continue trend – n. a general direction of change; a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common prevalent – adj. accepted, done or happening often or over a large area at a particular time; common or widespread extent – n. used to indicate the degree to which something exists, happens or is true peer – n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else stifle – v. to stop (someone) from doing or expressing something; to make something difficult or impossible orthodoxy – n. a belief or a way of thinking that is accepted as true or correct

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Former East German Plans Performance at US-Mexico Border

  For the first 20 years of Markus Rindt's life, he knew there were limits on how far he could travel. Rindt grew up in East Germany. He could not go farther west than the border wall that divided Germany into two countries. “I grew up with walls around me,” he remembers. “It was a weird situation, to see that the world seems to end at this wall. You feel that it cannot be that the world ends here.” In October 1989, Rindt fled to West Germany through Czechoslovakia with other East Germans. Just one month later, the border wall came down. Six years later, Rindt moved to the city of Dresden. He currently lives in Dresden, where he leads a group of musicians called Dresdner Sinfoniker. For the nearly 30 years since the wall came down, Rindt has been making music and traveling. He sometimes expresses his political beliefs through music. Now, Rindt has something to say about the planned border wall between the United States and Mexico. And, he wants to 'say' it with a music performance. He wants to bring his orchestra to the U.S.-Mexico border for a music and arts performance. He is raising money through the Internet to help finance the project. He hopes the performance will take place on or around June 12 – the 30th anniversary of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's visit to West Berlin. That was when Reagan called on the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the wall between East and West Germany. “Our plan,” Markus Rindt says, “is a very big plan.” Political climate leads to series of performances Rindt told VOA that “this project is the most ambitious project so far. I have no idea if it [will work] in the end." He strongly objects to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to extend a wall along the Mexican border. “I feel the project is necessary in our time,” he said. “It is not only against this planned Trump wall, but against isolation[ist attitudes] around the world as well." That includes Europe where, last year, Britain voted to leave the European Union, and France, where nationalist Marine Le Pen is a leading candidate for president. #teardownthiswall Rindt believes Mexico’s government will approve his plans for a performance on the southern side of the U.S. border. He wants his orchestra to perform with 15 to 20 musicians and a children’s singing group from the Mexican city of Tijuana. However, he is not sure whether U.S. officials will let the Mexican musicians and children join his orchestra on the north side, in San Diego's Friendship Park. At the park, family members and loved ones on both sides of the border can talk to one another through holes in a closed, metal fence. Rindt has never been to the border between the United States and Mexico. He has invited U.S. and Mexican musicians to join the Dresdner Sinfoniker in June. And, he has raised more than half the money needed for his orchestra to travel there. Rindt knows he is not the first to attempt a cross-border music performance. Events like these have been happening for years. But Rindt hopes the event will grow hugely popular on social media. He wants musicians and artists to write about their performances using a hashtag linked to Reagan's speech: #teardownthiswall. 'There must be other ways' Rindt says he is not ignoring larger issues about the wall. He knows Trump says that the wall is needed for national security. “I’m aware of some problems: drugs, of course,” he said. “Some people will [say to] me 'what about drugs and criminals?' There must be other ways to solve such [a] problem.” Data shows that smugglers do work around border barriers. Trump recently told the Associated Press that: “People want the border." But, more Americans oppose the wall than support it. A public opinion survey from Quinnipiac University shows that 64 percent of Americans oppose plans to extend the current wall. Just after Trump's election in November, that number was 55 percent. I’m Alice Bryant. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   weird - adj. unusual or strange orchestra - n. a group of musicians who play usually classical music together and who are led by a conductor ambitious - adj. having ambition : having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous isolationist - adj. having the belief that a country should not be involved with other countries  challenge - n. a difficult task or problem hashtag - n. a word or phrase that starts with the symbol # and that indicates what a message on social media (such as Twitter) is about smuggler - n. to move (someone or something) from one country into another illegally and secretly survey - n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or questions in order to gather information about what most people think about something

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Business Grows in US Town That Embraces Refugees

Refugees often arrive in the United States with few clothes and other belongings. From these simple beginnings, most refugees rebuild their lives, overcoming language and cultural barriers. Some even set up small businesses, helping to improve the economy in the community where they have resettled. Yasha Ismailov is one such person. He owns and operates an automobile repair shop in Charlottesville, Virginia.  “We can fix any car. So you know, it happens a lot of times when nobody can fix it in town, they send it here. They know already we'll fix it if no one can fix it.” Ismailov bought the business, called Larry’s Auto, nine years ago. "When we came (to the) United States, we (were) working so hard (for the) first three years before we started (the) business. We (were) working for people, sometimes (working) double jobs. First, my job was painting, second job (was) installing the AC. Third, my job was electric..." Ismailov was born to a Meskhetian Turkish family in Uzbekistan. Meskthetians are an ethnic subgroup of Turks. They were expelled in railroad cars by the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, during World War II. Most of them were left in Uzbekistan. "My family had to run to Russia because (there was a) massacre in Uzbekistan (of) Turks in 1989." Ismailov was seven years old at the time of the attacks.  But Russian officials were not very welcoming. Meskhetian Turks were barred from Russian citizenship, owning property and holding jobs. When the United States began accepting Meskhetian Turks as refugees in 2004, Ismailov, his brother and parents were resettled in Charlottesville. Ismailov was 22 years old. He is now 35. “When we came to Charlottesville back in 2005, we just bring clothes. That’s all.” He says the International Rescue Committee (IRC) told him Charlottesville “was a nice place, good and ‘you will like it, so go there.’ We felt free. We felt better than over there. We felt safe.” Charlottesville is a small city about 190 kilometers from Washington, D.C. It is known as a place where refugees are welcome. More than 3,000 refugees have restarted their lives there since the late 1990s with the help of the IRC. Harriet Kuhr is the director of the group’s local office. “There are jobs for them here. And then, as they become more stable, they are opening their own small businesses. It really adds a lot of diversity, but it also adds economic impact. So the refugees are not takers. They’re giving back by helping the community grow economically.” Ismailov’s car repair business now has seven employees who work on about 150 cars a month. He has also begun to sell used cars. “We (are) still working so hard to try to do business better. The second business -- the dealer(ship) business -- is going so well, too. Now we almost sell like two, three cars every day...” Ismailov is now a U.S. citizen and owns his house. He married another refugee. “My life in America is good. I have two kids. I have my wife. They are in a good school. I have nice neighbors. I have (a) job, and nobody bothers me. I'm proud to be able to contribute to the community in Charlottesville. My daughter (is a) swimmer, and I hope one day she wins (an) Olympic medal for (the) United States.” Yet Ismailov worries about the increasing number of refugees around the world. “I (could) be one of them, too. I am lucky I am here, (but) they (are) not. I feel sorry about them. So I’d like to help them with something if I can.” I’m Alice Bryant.   VOA Correspondent June Soh reported this story from Charlottesville, Virginia. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow 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 install - v. to add something to an existing structure, such as a building AC - n. air conditioning massacre - n. the act of killing a number of people diversity - n. the act of having many differing parts subgroup - n. a smaller group within a larger group or community stable - adj. not changing; firmly established contribute - v. to give or supply something to others

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Media Rights Groups: Press Freedom 'Never Been So Threatened'

  Two media rights groups have reported a sharp drop in press freedoms around the world in 2016. The two groups note that much of the decline in media rights took place in democratic countries. Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders say North Korea, Syria and China were the countries with the most restrictions on media in 2016. They noted that all three countries were among the worst offenders of press freedoms in recent years. But what is changing is that democracies, such as the United States, also had a decline in press freedom last year. Jennifer Dunham is the research director for Freedom House. “One of the biggest trends we saw were declines in democracies, and this was one of the most disturbing trends we saw.” Dunham also spoke about U.S. President Donald Trump. She noted that Trump attacked media organizations and individual reporters during the 2016 presidential campaign -- and since his election. Dunham said free speech is still valued in the United States. “Right now, we are very concerned about the U.S., but we haven’t seen any kind of dramatic decline.” Delphine Halgand is the North America director of Reporters Without Borders. She says Trump’s criticisms of the media are making leaders in other countries more willing to limit press freedoms.   “This hate speech contributed to disinhibit attacks on the media almost everywhere in the world, including in democratic countries.” In its report last Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders said “media freedom has never been so threatened.” It said 62 percent of countries measured showed a decline in press freedom. The report said the reductions in press freedoms were sharpest in places where “the authoritarian strongman model has triumphed," such as Poland, Hungary and Turkey.     The report said the Middle East and North Africa continued to be the most dangerous area for journalists and media crews last year. Eastern Europe and Central Asia were also dangerous places for reporters. Reporters Without Borders identified five countries with the highest level of freedom for journalists last year. They are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Laos, Pakistan, Sweden, Myanmar and the Philippines were the countries with the most improvements in press freedom. I’m Caty Weaver.   VOA’s William Gallo and Chris Hannas reported on this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted their reports for VOA Learning English. George Grow 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   decline - n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality trend - n.a general direction of change dramatic- adj. sudden and extreme disinhibit - adj. make (someone or something) less inhibited      inhibited - adj. unable to act in a relaxed and natural way​ authoritarian - adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws : not allowing personal freedom

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The Lunatic Fringe: Life on the Edge of Society

English in a Minute: Crawl Out of the Woodwork

"Woodwork" is anything in a building or home that is made of wood. But what could this expression possibly mean?

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President Trump First 100 Days

April 29th is the 100th day of Donald Trump's presidency. The power of a president is usually greatest in his first 100 days. Learning English looks at what happened in the early days of the Trump presidency.

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Going to College on 'Words to the Wise'

  Today’s we are going to school on ‘Words to the Wise.'  I’m Caty Weaver. Here with me in the Learning English studio is Pete Musto. Hi Pete! Hi Caty. So, we got a comment on an earlier Words to the Wise program from Ahmed. He wrote: “Thank you very much for your help. I would like you to talk about curriculum and tertiary education.”  So, that’s why we’re going to school today. That's right. And that’s why it's great you are here, Pete. Pete is an education reporter for Learning English. And he is quite the scholar when it comes to university education issues. Well, that’s kind of you to say, Caty. So, I guess scholar can be our first education word to define. A scholar is a person who has studied a subject a lot and is knowledge about it as a result. The adjectival form is scholarly. People often call research publications, scholarly journals. The Journal of American Medicine is a famous one. Experts usually write the pieces found in scholarly publications. And sometimes these experts are university professors. Now, we all know what a professor is, but there are kind of professors that confuse me. What is an adjunct professor, Pete? And, is it the same as an associate professor? No, no, no. Adjunct mostly means part time, with no permanent tie to the college or university. The adjunct professor usually teaches just one or two classes. The teaching agreement with the school is often made individually for each course. Oh, OK. So, an associate professor has a permanent position. These are full-time professors, and together, professors and teaching staff, make up what's called the faculty. That's right.  So professors usually have tenure. I think that's another term we should explain, right Pete? Tenure is something professors can earn over time, right? Oh yes. And it is important. It means permanent employment with a university. It usually provides the teacher with strong protection against dismissal. But, it's mostly common in the United States. Professors in other countries don't really have tenure. And, of course, the word tenure is not only used for academic settings. Your tenure at a job, for example, refers to your period of service. But, when most people hear the word, they think of higher education, or what our friend Ahmed called “tertiary education.” Tertiary comes from the Latin, right -- for three or third? That’s right. So, university is the third part of a person’s formal education. First, there is primary school, then secondary school and, finally, higher education or tertiary education. Ahmed also used the term curriculum. Some English learners may not be familiar with that word. Curriculum is the program of study for a subject. The program of study will include many different courses. Right. A course is a series of classes on a subject. For example if you seek a degree in psychology, your curriculum might require courses in human behavior, personality development and cognitive psychology. So, psychology sounds like an interesting major. A major is what we call the central academic subject of your college studies. So schools usually require students to declare their major by the end of their second year. You are able to change your major at most universities in the United States at any point. Sometimes it can be a really good idea. Absolutely. So, does all this tertiary education talk make you wish you were back on a college campus, Caty? If you mean walking around a beautiful university’s grounds…sure! But I can do without the homework, tests and papers! Yeah, I agree with you. I think I'll just stick to academic vocabulary for now. Maybe we could even do another education Words to the Wise soon.  To be sure...many more words to cover. And we’d love for our fans to keep posting messages about what subjects they’d like to hear about. A big thanks to Ahmed! I’m Caty Weaver. And I’m Pete Musto. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scholar - n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it adjunct - n. ​something that is joined or added to another thing but is not an essential part of it associate - n. a member of a group or organization who is at a level that is below the highest level​ staff  - n. ​a group of people who work for an organization or business​ tenure  - n. ​the right to keep a job (especially the job of being a professor at a college or university) for as long as you want to have it tertiary - adj. related to education at the college or university level  primary - adj. ​happening or coming first familiar  - adj. ​frequently seen, heard, or experienced​ curriculum - n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc. course  - n. ​a series of classes about a particular subject in a school​ major  - n. ​the main subject studied by a college or university student​ campus - n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc.

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Wins and Losses for President Trump’s First 100 Days

  No president has had a first 100 days like Donald Trump. He won confirmation of a new Supreme Court nominee and ordered the bombing of a Syrian air base. He moved to cancel policies by former President Barack Obama and promised to stop North Korea’s expanding nuclear program. But he received almost as much attention for his tweets. He often uses Twitter to criticize the news media and his political opponents, sometimes unfairly, according to fact checkers. But Trump also uses Twitter to explain what his administration is doing. On Thursday morning, he explained why he decided not to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement, hours after aides said he was considering doing so. The  tweet read: “I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed...” Mark Peterson is chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He said, “As a general proposition, there hasn't been a first 100 days like what we have experienced with President Trump.” Joshua Stockley, a political science professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, said the start of the Trump presidency has been frantic. By frantic, he means wild and hurried activity.       Among the most frantic were the five days leading to Saturday, the 100th day of his presidency. On Wednesday, Trump offered a new proposal for what an aide said is “one of the biggest tax cuts in American history.” That same day he invited the entire United States Senate to a briefing on North Korea. Senators were told Trump plans to pressure North Korea to pull back on its nuclear weapons program and that war is a last resort. Trump also continued to issue executive orders. By Saturday, the White House said the total should reach 30, the largest number in a president’s first 100 days since President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Orders blocked and setbacks But three executive orders related to immigration have been blocked by federal judges. Two were orders to temporarily block travel from some Muslim majority nations. Another would cut federal funding to local governments that fail to enforce immigration laws. The court decisions were not Trump’s only setbacks. During the campaign, Trump, a Republican, promised to repeal and replace Obama’s health care bill, known as Obamacare. But a congressional vote on a repeal bill was cancelled because there were not enough votes to pass it. A newly negotiated health care plan could get a vote soon, but approval remains uncertain.   Adding to Trump’s problems are FBI and congressional investigations into whether members of Trump’s presidential campaign worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Sean Spicer is Trump’s chief spokesman. He said that Trump has been carrying out his promises, particularly on reducing illegal immigration. “I think we feel very proud of what we've been able to accomplish and fulfill the promises that he’s made to the American people,”  Spicer said. Tweets getting attention Sometimes Trump’s policy announcements get less attention than his tweets, often written in the early morning hours. That was the case with four Trump tweets on March 4 that charged Obama with wiretapping his phones at Trump Tower during the election. One of them said, “How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” Members of Congress and the U.S. FBI director said Obama did not wiretap Trump. Country still divided A Washington Post/ABC News poll this week found that only two percent of people who voted for Trump regret doing so. But with Democrats and many independents expressing negative views, Trump’s approval rate averages 42 percent, according to Real Clear Politics. That compares to an average approval rate of 69 percent for the last 12 presidents nearing 100 days into their presidencies. Peterson, the UCLA political expert, said the good news for Trump is that people who voted for him still support him. Many who voted against Trump are over their shock of his surprise victory, but remain fearful of what Trump will do as president, he said. Susan Roberts is a political science professor at Davidson College in North Carolina. She said many cannot get used to Trump after eight years of President Obama. Obama was often described as “no drama Obama.”  By “no drama,” people meant that Obama  generally appeared calm. Supreme Court choice important to Trump voters Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a Christian conservative group. Perkins said a major reason Trump voters continue to back him is his choice of conservative judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. “This is why so many people went out to vote for Donald Trump, getting a conservative Supreme Court justice and hopefully more,” Perkins said.   Trump on TV 24/7 People who watch American cable news or late-night comedy programs are used to seeing lots of Donald Trump. On Comedy Central this week, “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah discussed the first three+ months of the Trump presidency. “It’s 100 days in Trump time. For us, it’s 15 years,” Noah said. ​In an interview this week with Reuters, Trump said his first 100 days as president were difficult. "I loved my previous life, I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. I actually...this is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier." I'm Bruce Alpert and I'm Ashley Thompson.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English based on reports by VOA News, the Associated Press, Reuters and other sources. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   terminate - v. to end something proposition - n. a plan or proposal presented to a person or group of people to consider last resort - n. an action taken only when everything else has been tried and failed repeal - v. to officially make a law or regulation no longer valid particularly - adv. more than usually accomplish - v. to get something done view -  n. an opinion or way of thinking about something previous - adj. existing or happening before the present time  

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Play Recreates Parts of Trump Cabinet Confirmation Hearings

  A theatrical production about American politics opens in New York City next month. On May 11, The Public Theater will present a staged reading of All The President’s Men? No, not the book, All The President’s Men, which told about two reporters and their investigation of Watergate -- the biggest political scandal in American history.  Unlike that book and movie about Watergate, the title of this new work ends in a question mark. And the show is performed as a sort-of “reality theater.” The words the actors will speak are direct testimony from the sometimes-angry Senate confirmation hearings for four nominees to President Donald Trump’s cabinet. All four were confirmed. They are Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Health and Human Services chief Tom Price and Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The show will be held at the theater called Town Hall. The show's cast has yet to be announced, but it is expected to include some famous names. “All the President’s Men?” is among several recent artistic productions created in reaction to Trump's election as president. British writer Howard Jacobson just published a humor novel called Pussy. An HBO television series about the 2016 election is in the works. And, Robert Schenkkan's play “Building the Wall,” which imagines Trump’s presidency turning dictatorial, can be seen at a theater in Los Angeles. Britain’s Nicholas Kent created and directs All the President's Men? He led the staged reading of the work Monday at London’s Vaudeville Theater. The director said he wanted to understand what Trump, the “outsider” politician, really stands for. He said, “I thought the best way of finding out about the whole philosophy behind the Trump presidency would be to look at the Senate confirmation hearings. Because the beliefs of the people involved would come out of that, and their backgrounds would come out.” Kent, a former artistic director in London's Tricycle Theatre, has overseen other fact-based plays. His work The Riots examined England's 2011 riots. His Guantanamo - Honor Bound to Defend Freedom looked at the U.S.-led war on terror. And his play, The Great Game, explored Afghanistan's history of conflict. For his latest project, Kent watched 50 hours of Senate hearings. He said, at first, “it was a little like watching paint dry.” But, he said, over time the important issues came out during the testimony. In his words, “The questioners, and the questions asked, were as revealing as the answers in many ways.” The four cabinet nominees were little known to most Americans. Tillerson is a former head of the energy company ExxonMobil. Sessions served 10 years in the Senate and, earlier, was Attorney General for the state of Alabama. Tom Price is a medical doctor. He served many years in the U.S. Congress representing the state of Georgia. And Scott Pruitt was formerly Attorney General of Oklahoma. Kent said he chose these four men because he believed they generally represent how America will be governed. He said, “I'm not trying to do a satirical portrait in any way whatsoever. I'm trying to look at their beliefs.” Kent says the president himself appears in the show only through “a few tweets.” “It's the administration that's going to make the man, as we've already seen,” the director said. He noted that two of Trump's campaign promises -- to halt travel by people from countries considered centers of terrorism and to end Obamacare -- have been blocked by courts and Congress. Kent said Trump can tweet forever but, he added, “It is actually the machinery of government and the people under him, who are going to carry out his policies, that are the most interesting.” I’m Caty Weaver. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scandal –​ n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong title –​ n. the name given to something (such as a book, song, or movie) to identify or describe it​ testimony –​ n. something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising to tell the truth​ philosophy –​ n. a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live​ background –​ n. the experiences, knowledge, education, etc., in a person's pas​ reveal –​ v. to show (something) plainly or clearly​ portrait –​ n. a detailed description of something or someone​  

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Can Technology Help Vietnam's Energy Dilemma?

  The Vietnamese government is dealing with an important question: how can the country supply its growing energy needs without destroying the environment? Trilliant is a software firm for electricity grids. It says that Southeast Asia in general will see energy use grow 80 percent in the next 20 years. But for Vietnam, growth will be closer to 200 percent. The answers to the problem might lie in a combination of technology, renewable power, and greater energy efficiency. However, the issue is a complex one for Vietnam's officials. They see coal as an inexpensive way to fuel the economy. By 2030, dozens of new coal power plants will open despite the pollution they emit. Although Vietnam just increased the price it pays to solar power investors, the market for renewable energy is still small. Vietnam faces the same problem many countries do -- economic growth comes at a price. Vo Van Hoan is the chief of staff  at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Hoan explains that Vietnam is taking part in the global technological revolution. The number of factories has grown in recent years as electronics have overtaken rice and coffee as a leading export. The growth, Hoan says, also brings pollution, deforestation, and other damages linked to climate change. Technology can be a problem, but it can also be a solution. It could help decrease the economy's harm to the environment, especially by addressing the country's energy needs. One such technology is the smart meter, an electricity meter that connects to the internet. Trilliant and the Saigon Hi-Tech Park finished a smart meter project in a manufacturing area that houses Intel and Samsung. The devices alert authorities when there is a power outage. They also detect tampering and measure power quality. Smart meters get information every 15 minutes, so that people can see and make decisions about their electricity consumption in real time. Another technology that could help developing economics is energy-efficient lighting, such as LED bulbs. Chinn Lim is the lead public sector strategist at Autodesk, which makes software for architecture, engineering, and manufacturing. Based in Singapore, Lim said his company is consulting with Vietnamese government agencies about how to cut energy waste. Lim said it is becoming more popular for buildings to be fitted with efficient lighting, such as LED bulbs and lights that can be programmed to shut off on their own. He added that a common application of emerging technology is to study traffic patterns, in the hopes of improving fuel use. In Singapore's case, Lim adds, the government simulates various building arrangements to see the impact on traffic. Smart bulbs and smart meters might offer small changes, but with more power blackouts expected in the near future, Vietnam needs all the progress it can get. I'm John Russell. Ha Nguyen reported this story from Ho Chi Minh City. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   inexpensive - adj. low in price​ emit - v. to send (light, energy, etc.) out from a source global - adj. involving the entire world​ alert - v. to make (someone) aware of something detect - v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.) grid – n. a network of electrical wires and equipment that supplies electricity to a large area renewable – adj.  restored or replaced by natural processes : able to be replaced by nature efficiency – n. the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy : the quality or degree of being efficient meter – n.  a device that measures and records the amount of something that has been used tampering – n. that act of changing or touching (something) especially in a way that causes damage or harm bulb – n. a glass bulb or tube that produces light when it is supplied with electricity consumption - n. the use of something (such as fuel) efficient - adj. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy consult - v. to talk about something with (someone) in order to make a decision simulate - v.  to look, feel, or behave like (something)

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Influencing North Korea Not Easy for China

U.S. President Donald Trump and many experts have said that China’s support in efforts to limit North Korea’s weapons programs is important. The Trump administration told U.S. senators Wednesday that sanctions and diplomacy were needed to get North Korea to return to negotiations. The United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea have all placed sanctions on North Korea to force it to end its nuclear weapons program. However, China’s willingness and ability to pressure its neighbor is not fully clear. Additional energy cuts possible Some observers in China say the government is doing all it can to restrain North Korea. China cut coal imports from North Korea earlier this year. It also is reducing financial flows to the North. Lu Chao is a North Korea expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in northeast China. Lu says Chinese banks have stopped banking activities with North Korean banks. “China has imposed the harshest sanctions ever against North Korea, the effect of which may take some time to kick in, but they will be effective,” he said. Recent reports have said the price of gasoline in the capital, Pyongyang, more than doubled. This has led some experts to say that China is the cause. However, some analysts say North Korea could be saving gasoline to prepare for a future import ban. Others say that, as tensions rise, the military is getting the gasoline. China is unlikely to place new sanctions on North Korea by itself, observers say. However, North Korea could face greater restrictions if it continues to violate U.N. resolutions. These could include gasoline import cuts or other energy products. Cai Jian is director of the Center for Korea Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. He told VOA that such a move would have a big effect on North Korea’s nuclear weapons development. However, he said such moves “will also affect the livelihood of its people. So, we have to be cautious about these harsh sanctions, which should only be imposed as a last resort.” Close allies, strained ties China has been North Korea’s main ally for many years. They are often described as being as close as “lips and teeth.” However, relations between the two countries have been strained since leader Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011. Talks between North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States, known as the six-party talks, have not taken place since 2007. Kim Jong Un has now carried out three nuclear tests and more than 20 long-range missile launches. Unlike his father, leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un has not visited China. His uncle, Jang Song Thaek was said to have had close ties with China. He also called for opening the North’s economy. But he was executed in 2013. China recently tried to send its diplomat for nuclear issues, Wu Dawei, to North Korea. However, that move was rejected. China has not been satisfied with North Korea’s actions. But experts such as Daniel Pinkston say China is unlikely to place so much stress on North Korea that the government collapses. Pinkston is with Troy University in Seoul, South Korea. “I just don’t see the Chinese doing that,” Pinkston says. “They’ don’t believe it is in their interest and I think they are probably right.” Communications more difficult Recent opinion pieces in Chinese state media have warned North Korea not to carry out tests banned by U.N. Security Council sanctions. Bong Young-shik is with the Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. He says China has warned leaders in Pyongyang not to go too far. “That’s a very stern warning to Pyongyang, to warn Pyongyang not to engage in any outright provocations that will be perceived by the United States as North Korea has crossed the redline.” North Korea was a major issue that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed during their meeting in early April in Florida. Euan Graham is an international security expert with the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, Australia. He says it is a problem that there is no one on the North Korean side who handles relations with China as Jang Song Thaek had. “There’s no central person like Jang Song Thaek, who for many years was the main channel,” Graham said. “So, it’s not as easy, and the Chinese, I think, have genuine frustrations.” I’m Mario Ritter.   Bill Ide reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   Harshest –adj. the most difficult or most harmful kick in –v. take effect, to happen sanctions –n. actions taken against a country to cause it to obey international law, usually in the form of economic restrictions provocations –n. actions taken to cause someone to get angry or to cause a response redline –n. a limit frustrations –n. the state of not being able to do something

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'The Blue Hotel,' by Stephen Crane, Part One

We present the first of four parts of the short story "The Blue Hotel," by Stephen Crane. The story was originally adapted by the U.S. Department of State. The audio was recorded and produce by VOA Learning English. The Palace Hotel at Fort Romper was painted a light blue, a color of blue found on the legs of a certain bird that makes it bright in any surroundings. The Palace Hotel, then, looked always loud and screaming in a way that made the bright winter scenes of Nebraska seem only a dull gray. It stood alone, and when the snow was falling, the town two hundred yards away could not be seen. When a traveler came from the railroad station, he was obliged to pass the Palace Hotel before he came to the group of low houses which was Fort Romper. It was believed that no traveler could pass the Palace Hotel without looking at it. Pat Scully, the hotel owner, had proved himself a master at choosing paints. It is true that on clear days, when the long lines of trains swept through Fort Romper, passengers were surprised at the sight. Those that knew the brown-reds, and the dark greens of the eastern part of the country laughingly expressed shame, pity, shock. But to the citizens of this western town and to the people who stopped there, Pat Scully had performed a wonder. As if the displayed delights of such a blue hotel were not sufficiently inviting, Scully went every morning and evening to meet the trains that stopped at Romper. He would express greetings and welcome to anyone he might see hesitating. One morning when a snow-covered engine dragged its long string of cars to the station, Scully performed the marvelous trick of catching three men. One was a shaky and quick-eyed Swede, with a great, shining, cheap bag; one was a tall, sun-browned cowboy, who was on his way to a job near the Dakota border; one was a little silent man from the east coast, who didn’t look like it and didn’t announce it. Scully practically made them prisoners. He was so quick and merry and kindly that each probably thought it would be cruel to try to escape. So they followed the eager little man. He wore a heavy fur cap pulled tightly down on his head. It caused his two red ears to stand out stiffly, as if they were made of tin. At last, Scully grandly conducted them through the door of the blue hotel. The room which they entered was small. It was occupied mostly by a huge stove in the center, which was burning with great force. At various points on its surface the iron had become shiny and glowed yellow from the heat. Beside the stove, Scully’s son, Johnnie, was playing a game of cards with a farmer. They were quarreling. With loud words Scully stopped their play, and hurried his son upstairs with the bags of the new guests. He himself led them to three bowls of icy water. The cowboy and the Easterner washed themselves in this water until they were as red as fire. The Swede, however, merely placed his fingers in the bowl. It was noticeable throughout these proceedings that the three travelers were made to feel that Scully was very kind indeed. He was giving out great favors. Afterward they returned to the first room. There, sitting about the stove, they listened to Scully shouting at his daughters, who were preparing the noon meal. They employed the silence of experienced men who move carefully among new people. The Swede was especially silent. He seemed to be occupied in making secret judgments of each man in the room. One might have thought that he had the sense of foolish fear which accompanies guilt. He looked like a badly frightened man. Later, at dinner, he spoke a little, directing his conversation entirely to Scully. He said that he had come from New York, where he had worked for ten years as a suit maker. These facts seemed to interest Scully, and afterward he told that he had lived at Romper for fourteen years. The Swede asked about the crops and the price of labor. He seemed hardly to listen to Scully’s lengthy replies. His eyes continued to wander from man to man. Finally, with a laugh, he said that some of these western towns were very dangerous; and after this declaration he straightened his legs under the table, nodded his head, and laughed again, loudly. It was plain that this had no meaning to the others. They looked at him, wondering and in silence. After dinner, it was decided to play a game of cards. The cowboy offered to play with Johnnie, and they all turned to ask the Swede to play with the little Easterner. The Swede asked some questions about the game. Learning that it wore many names, and that he had played it under another name, he accepted the invitation. He came toward the men nervously, as though he expected to be attacked. Finally, seated, he looked from face to face and laughed sharply. This laugh was so strange that the Easterner looked up quickly, the cowboy sat with his mouth open, and Johnnie paused, holding the cards with still fingers. Afterward there was a short silence. Then Johnnie said, “Well, let’s begin. Come on now!” They pulled their chairs forward until their knees touched under the table. They began to play, and their interest in the game caused the others to forget the strange ways of the Swede. Suddenly the Swede spoke to Johnnie: “I suppose there have been a good many men killed in this room.” The mouths of the others dropped open and they looked at him. “What are you talking about?” said Johnnie. The Swede laughed again his loud laugh, full of a kind of false courage. “Oh, you know what I mean all right,” he answered. “I don’t!” Johnnie protested. The card game stopped, and the men stared at the Swede. Johnnie evidently felt that as the son of the hotel owner he should make a direct inquiry. “Now, what are you trying to say?” he asked. The Swede’s fingers shook on the edge of the table. “Oh, maybe you think I haven’t been anywhere. Maybe you think I don’t have any experience?” “I don’t know anything about you,” answered Johnnie “and I don’t care where you’ve been. I just don’t know what you’re trying to say. Nobody has ever been killed in this room.” The cowboy, who had been steadily gazing at the Swede, then spoke: “What’s wrong with you, fellow?” Apparently it seemed to the Swede that he was powerfully threatened. He trembled, and turned pale near the comers of his mouth. He sent an appealing glance in the direction of the little Easterner. “They say they don’t know what I mean,” he remarked bitterly to the Easterner. The latter answered after long and careful thought. “I don’t understand you,” he said calmly. The Swede made a movement then which announced that he thought he had met attack from the only place where he had expected sympathy, if not help. “I see that you are all against me. I see—” The cowboy felt as though he had lost his senses. “Say,” he cried, as he threw the cards fiercely down upon the table, “say, what are you trying to do?” The Swede jumped up. “I don’t want to fight!” he shouted. “I don’t want to fight!” The cowboy stretched his long legs slowly and carefully. His hands were in his pockets. “Well, who thought you did?” he inquired. The Swede moved rapidly back toward a corner of the room. His hands were out protectingly in front of his chest, but he was making an apparent struggle to control his fright. “Gentlemen,” he almost whispered, “I suppose I am going to be killed before I can leave this house! I suppose I am going to be killed before I can leave this house!” A door opened, and Scully himself entered. He paused in surprise as he noted the terror-filled eyes of the Swede. Then he said, “What’s the matter here?” The Swede answered him quickly and eagerly: “These men are going to kill me.” “Kill you!” shouted Scully. “Kill you! What are you talking about?” The Swede put out his hands helplessly. Scully turned upon his son. “What is this, Johnnie?” The lad had become ill-tempered. “I don’t know,” he answered. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.” He began to pick up the cards, gathering them together angrily. “He says a good many men have been killed in this room, or something like that. And he says he’s going to be killed here, too. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s probably crazy.” Scully then looked for explanation to the cowboy, but the cowboy simply shook his head. “Kill you?” said Scully again to the Swede. “Kill you? Man, you’re crazy.” “Oh, I know,” burst out the Swede. “I know what will happen. Yes, I’m crazy—yes. Yes, of course, I’m crazy—yes. But I know one thing—” There was suffering and terror upon his face. “I know I won’t get out of here alive.” Scully turned suddenly and faced his son. “You’ve been troubling this man!” Johnnie’s voice was loud with its burden of undeserved blame. “Why, good God, I haven’t done anything to him!” The Swede broke in. “Gentlemen, do not trouble yourselves. I will leave this house. I will go away, because—” he blamed them with his glance— “because I do not want to be killed.” “You will not go away,” said Scully. “You will not go away until I hear the reason of this business. If anybody has troubled you, I will take care of him. This is my house. You are under my roof, and I will not allow any peaceful man to be troubled here.” He looked threateningly at Johnnie, the cowboy, and the Easterner. “Don’t, Mr. Scully, don’t. I will go away. I do not want to be killed.” The Swede moved toward the door which opened to the stairs. It was evidently his intention to go at once for his bag. “No, no,” shouted Scully commandingly; but the pale-faced man slipped by him and disappeared. “Now,” Scully angrily to the others, “what does this mean?” Johnnie and the cowboy cried together: “Why, we didn’t do anything to him!” Scully’s eyes were cold. “No,” he said, “you didn’t?” Johnnie repeated his words. “Why, this is the wildest madman I ever saw. We didn’t do anything at all. We were just sitting here playing cards, and he—” The father suddenly spoke to the Easterner. “What have these boys been doing?” The Easterner thought again. “I didn’t see anything wrong at all,” he said at last, slowly. Scully began to shout. “But what does it mean?” He stared fiercely at his son. “I ought to beat you for this, my boy.” Johnnie was wild. “Well, what have I done?” he screamed at his father.   Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. What is the best way to stop people from fighting? What do you do to stay calm when you start to get angry? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. See how well you understand this part of the story by taking a listening quiz. Play each short video and choose the best answer. Download a lesson plan to use with this story here.   _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sufficiently – adv. having or providing as much as is needed cowboy – n. a man who rides a horse and whose job is to take care of cows or horses especially in the western U.S. occupied – adj. being used by someone or something cards – n. a game played with a set of small pieces of stiff paper that are marked with symbols or pictures to show its value quarrel(ing) – v. to argue about or disagree with something nervously – adv. in a way showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen courage – n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous evidently – adv. in a way that can be easily seen or noticed apparently – adv. used to describe something that appears to be true based on what is known tremble(d) – v. to shake slightly because you are afraid, nervous or excited eagerly – adv. in a way that shows you are very interested undeserved – adj. unfair or unjustified

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English @ the Movies: 'Got Our Work Cut Out For Us'

On English @ the Movies we tell you about the saying "got our work cut out for us." It is from the movie "Norm of The North." This animation film is about a polar bear and his friends trying to save their Arctic home. Watch or video to find out what "got our work cut out for us" means.

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April 28, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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South African Baseball Player Gets First Major League Hit

Gift Ngoepe of South Africa spent almost nine years playing baseball in the United States. He was in the minor leagues, the professional level below Major League Baseball. He started his career when he was 18. He is now 27 years old. He played for teams that are part of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization, in cities like Bradenton, Florida; State College, Pennsylvania; and Indianapolis, Indiana. He played over 700 games before finally getting promoted to the Pirates on Wednesday. When he entered the game against the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, he made history as the first African player in the Major Leagues. And then he did something even more special: he got a hit in his first at-bat against Jon Lester, one of the best pitchers in baseball. As it rolled into center field, Ngoepe rounded first base and clapped his hands. His teammates smiled and cheered. The television announcer said “at 2:49 South Africa time, Gift Ngoepe has made history.” The game stopped and the ball was taken out of play in honor of his first hit. “Awesome stuff, remarkable stuff,” the other announcer said. Ngoepe is from Pietersburg, near Johannesburg. Before the game, he said “it’s been my dream since I was a 10-year-old boy.” He said he hoped his appearance in the Major Leagues would inspire more Africans to consider playing baseball. He started playing because his mother worked for a baseball team in Randburg. After the game, Ngoepe said his success in the Major Leagues “means a lot to the people back home,” and “it doesn’t matter where you come from and no matter where you are or who you are, you can still make it.” I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press, VOA News and MLB.com. Hai Do was the editor. How do you feel about Ngoepe reaching the Major Leagues? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ___________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   promote – v. to change the rank or position of (someone) to a higher or more important one clap – v. to change the rank or position of (someone) to a higher or more important one awesome – adj. to change the rank or position of (someone) to a higher or more important one remarkable – adj. unusual or surprising; likely to be noticed

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Sentence Relatives: Showing Feeling, Interpreting Information

  “The Big Lebowski” is an American movie that has developed a large following. Since its release in the late 1990s, the film has been shown at film festivals, colleges, and special events. Many college students have spent evenings watching this film instead of doing their homework. One famous quote from the movie is this: "And even if he's a lazy man - and the 'Dude' was most certainly that, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide." You can learn a lot from this quote about a lazy man. You can learn about a common feature of everyday speech in America: the use of adjective clauses. In today's report, we are going to explore how Americans use a type of adjective clause, sometimes called a sentence relative, in everyday speech. What is a clause? A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate. It does not act as a sentence on its own; instead, it is part of a longer sentence. One common type of clause is the relative clause. These clauses begin with relative pronouns such as that or which and act as adjectives in a sentence. For example, consider the sentence "The book that my friend gave me is very boring." In the sentence, the words "that my friend gave me" make up a relative clause that acts as an adjective for the noun, book. Today, we are discussing how Americans use adjective clauses that begin with the word which. You will often hear speakers use these clauses to modify an entire idea, not just a noun. Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are English grammar experts. They say these special clauses that always use which are called sentence relatives. If this sounds difficult to understand, don’t worry. We will give you many examples to clarify this point. Today we are going to show you two of the most common uses of sentence relatives.        Common functions 1. Expressing a feeling or value judgement Americans often use sentence relatives when they are expressing a feeling or a value judgment. For example, a speaker may be talking about an idea. The sentence relative gives more information about the idea. Consider this famous scene from the 1954 film, On the Waterfront: "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let's face it." Here, the main idea is that the character sees himself as a failure. The sentence relative which is what I am expresses a feeling or value judgment about his situation. Marlon Brando's fictional character does not feel good about his life! He is saying that, in his opinion, his life has little value. Speakers do not always use sentence relatives to talk about their unhappiness. Indeed, speakers can use these structures to show happy feelings, too. Consider this example: "Two schools sent him acceptance letters, which is great news!" Here, the sentence relative which is great news shows the speaker's feelings about the statement in the first part of the sentence. This is an optimistic, positive use of a sentence relative; you will hear it often in everyday speech. 2. Interpreting information Americans also commonly use sentence relatives to interpret information. Consider this line from the 1960 film, The Apartment: "Our home office has 31,259 employees - which is more than the entire population of, uh, Natchez, Mississippi." In the quote, the sentence relative, which is more than the entire population of, uh, Natchez, Mississippi, interprets information in the main part of the sentence. The main part of the sentence is: Our home office has 31,259 employees. Using a sentence relative is a quick way to give and interpret information. If the same scene did not have the sentence relative. It might sound like: "Our home office has 31,259 employees. 31,259 employees is more than the entire population of Natchez, Mississippi." These lines are not as interesting as the line you heard from the movie. Why? Probably because it repeats information while the line from the movie uses the sentence relative to give new information. What about the Big Lebowski? Now that we have discussed two common uses of sentence relatives, think back to the film, The Big Lebowski. "And even if he's a lazy man - and the 'Dude' was most certainly that, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide." Did you notice that the quote has one of the sentence relatives we talked about today? Can you recognize how the speaker is using it? Do you think it is to express a feeling, to interpret information, or to show something else? Write to us in the comments section of our website, or on our Facebook page. Closing thoughts Sentence relatives are very common in speaking.  They are polite and acceptable in almost any situation. You will hear them every day in American workplaces, schools, airports, and so on. However, you should know that the structures we have talked about today are not as common in different kinds of writing. While you might read them in a newspaper or in fictional writing, say Conrad and Biber, you are less likely to see them in academic writing. That's all for today's program. We will be back next week, which means you will get to learn more grammar! I'm Alice Bryant. And I'm John Russell.   John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   lazy – adj. not liking to work hard or to be active clause – n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb predicate – n. grammar : the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject relative – adj. grammar : referring to a noun, a part of a sentence, or a sentence that was used earlier pronoun – n. grammar : a word (such as I, he, she, you, it, we, or they) that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase  modify – v. grammar : to limit or describe the meaning of (a word or group of words) interpret – v.  to explain the meaning of (something) academic – adj. usually used before a noun : of or relating to schools and education

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Childbirth Drug Greatly Reduces Bleeding Deaths

  A drug used to treat severe bleeding could save thousands of lives for mothers giving birth. A global trial of the drug found it reduced the risk of bleeding deaths during childbirth by nearly one-third. The study involved 20,000 women in 21 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. The trial was carried out by London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The drug is called tranexamic acid. It is low-cost and researchers said it does not cause serious side effects for mothers or babies.    The drug was first developed by Japanese scientists in the 1960s, but no long-term studies of it were completed until now. The drug is used to treat mothers for severe bleeding during childbirth, also known as postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. More than 100,000 women die of the condition each year. Haleema Shakur is the project director for the trial. She says despite medical advances in many countries, severe bleeding after childbirth remains a big problem in some parts of the world. “It’s one of the biggest killers of mothers. You know, mothers go into childbirth expecting everything to happen normally. But in Africa and Asia, about 10 percent of women will end up with severe bleeding.” The drug works by stopping blood clots from breaking down after a mother gives birth. The treatment can prevent the need for doctors to perform surgery to find the source of bleeding. Shakur said the best results were reported when the drug was given to women as soon as possible after childbirth. “The earlier you give it – so within the first three hours of giving birth – the better the effect. Overall we saw a 20 percent reduction in death due to bleeding, whereas in women who received the treatment within the first three hours, it was 30 percent.” The next step will be to get the drug where it is needed and provide training to doctors and nurses on how to use it. During the trial, women were given the drug through an intravenous (IV) line in a hospital setting. But researchers are looking for easier ways to administer the drug so it can be more widely used in small clinics and rural areas. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Henry Ridgwell reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   trial – n. test of how good something works maternal death – n. death relating to pregnancy and childbirth blood clot – n. when blood becomes thick, sometimes causing a blockage surgery – n. medical treatment involving a doctor cutting into the body to remove or repair parts intravenous – adj. entering the body through a vein  

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