Major League Soccer Improves and Grows

The Major League Soccer (MLS) season starts Sunday. Major League Soccer is the top professional soccer league in the United States. In many other countries, the sport is called football. The Portland Timbers, a team from Oregon, won the MLS championship last year. The Timbers will start defending their championship on Sunday, the first day of the new season. MLS was launched with 10 teams in 1996. In 20 years, the league has doubled in size and expanded into Canada -- with teams now in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. David Beckham helped bring international attention to MLS nine years ago when he agreed to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham was a star player from England. He had also played in Spain with Real Madrid. Players around the world started seeing MLS as more than just a place to earn a lot of money at the end of their careers. Ireland’s Robbie Keane also plays for the Galaxy. Before coming to the U.S., he played for Inter Milan in Italy, and Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool Football Club in England. Keane recently told Sky Sports that he knows of other European players who want to come to the United States. “Players I've played with are calling me up now from England and Spain and are really, really desperate to come over here because they can see how much the league has grown.” Brian Straus writes about soccer for Sports Illustrated and the magazine’s website, Planet Futbol. He says Keane is one of the best examples of foreign players who have left a mark on MLS. “Robbie Keane may be the best foreign signing in league history. He certainly has taken it seriously, has certainly respected the league and has delivered. The Galaxy won three championships since he came over." Some of the best MLS players come from countries like Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, England, Ireland and Spain. In fact, the quality of play is strong enough that even young American players are being sought out by major teams overseas. That almost never happened before. Chelsea, a famous team from England, recruited Matt Miazga in the offseason. Miazga is a 20-year-old from New Jersey. He started his career with the New York Red Bulls. Chelsea spent about $5 million to get Miazga from the Red Bulls. Patrick Nyarko of Ghana plays for Washington’s team, D.C. United. Nyarko attended college in the United States. He spent eight seasons playing for the Chicago Fire before moving to D.C. He says he is happy to be a part of a soccer league that is producing good players. "It’s improving. It’s growing probably faster than anyone would have thought. It’s getting there slowly but surely. I think it’s going to be one of the biggest sports in the United States. Word is spreading. You’ve got people, top-class talent coming into the league, and it’s got eyes on it. You know, you’ve got these young guys that do well and then make it overseas." Some of the famous players in MLS this year are David Villa of Spain, Andrea Pirlo of Italy and Frank Lampard of England. They all play for the New York City Football Club (FC). The Los Angeles Galaxy has Keane, Steven Gerrard of England and Nigel de Jong of the Netherlands. De Jong left the Italian team A.C. Milan over the winter to play in the U.S. Didier Drogba of the Montreal Impact is from Ivory Coast. He had 104 goals when he played for Chelsea. Kei Kamara of Sierra Leone is one of the best goal-scorers in MLS. He plays for the Columbus Crew. The Brazilian player Kaka plays for Orlando City. In the past, he played for Brazil’s national soccer team, and Real Madrid and A.C. Milan in Europe. Sebastian Giovinco of Italy was the MLS most valuable player in 2015. He plays for Toronto FC in Canada. Patrick Nyarko says he grew up following all the important soccer leagues around the world. He considers himself a “fan of the game” and a “soccer junkie.” Sometimes he cannot believe he is playing in the same game with some of his favorite players of all-time. When he was a first-year player with Chicago in 2008, he was “star-struck” to be on the same team with Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the famous Mexican player. “My three favorite soccer players of all time: you know, I have Thierry Henry, Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard. I have had the opportunity to play against two of them and I might have an opportunity to play against the third one on Sunday. I’m a fan. So even though I’m concentrating on the game, when it stops, sometimes I catch myself thinking – oh, I am on the field with so, so and so. It makes it pretty cool.” Sportswriter Brian Straus says the quality of play in MLS compares well with most of the world. But it is not yet at the level of play as places like Spain, England, France, Germany, Brazil and Argentina. “Those leagues are well ahead of MLS, which is trying to find its way in a country where soccer has been considered a viable pro sport for only 20 to 30 years. People forget that in 1990, when the United States qualified for the World Cup, it had been 40 years since the U.S. played in the sport’s biggest tournament. So, soccer here is still only a generation or so old. And considering that, MLS has made remarkable strides.” I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Are you excited for the start of the MLS season? Who are your favorite foreign players in the league? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   recruit – v. to contact people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces offseason – n. a period between seasons, when no games are played talent – n. a special skill or ability viable – adj. able to succeed cool – adj. very appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people starstruck – adj. feeling or showing great interest in famous people junkie – n. a person who gets an unusual amount of pleasure from watching or doing something most valuable player– n. the most important and successful player on a team or in a game

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English in a Minute: Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

This expression sounds unsettling. But....are Anna and Jonathan really talking about throwing out a baby? Let's find out!

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English in a Minute: Get Roped Into

Is it a good thing or a bad thing to "get roped into" something? Find out in this week's English in a Minute!

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How Do You Talk About Everything?

  From VOA Learning English, this is Words and Their Stories. Today let’s talk about … everything. American English has many ways to talk about everything under the sun. Cradle to grave means an entire life cycle. A cradle is a bed for very young babies. And a grave is a burial place. So from cradle to grave means from birth to death. It could be used to describe something that happens over the course of a person’s life. For example, “I know a man who lived in the same country village his entire life -- from cradle to grave.” That is a literal use of the expression. This expression is often used in business, meaning the entire life cycle of a product or process. Here is an example: "Marcia is responsible for the life of this product from beginning to end." "In other words, she’s in charge from cradle to grave." "Correct. Check with her before changing anything."   Another less common way to say cradle to grave is womb to tomb. But that one rhymes. If you like food expressions, you can use soup to nuts, or from beginning to end. A dinner may start with soup and end with nuts. For example, you could say, “He explained the process to us from soup to nuts ... from beginning to end.” Everything from A to Z uses the alphabet to give a range of everything. It describes content more than process. It means that nothing important was left out. For example, “The rescue training covered everything from A to Z. The instructors taught everything you need to know for a successful rescue.” Everything but the kitchen sink is an expression that means a person included a lot of stuff – maybe too much stuff. Let’s say my friend is going camping for the weekend. And he packs too many things -- things he won’t possibly need, like an iron, a toaster and a television. I could say, “He prepared for a weekend of camping and packed everything but the kitchen sink!” We have many expressions that simply use the word “whole” to make fun phrases that mean “everything." For example, we have the whole ball of wax. When you say the whole ball of wax, you mean everything! This expression may have come from a practice in the 1600s, where land was distributed in a sort of lottery. The amount of each portion of land was concealed in a ball of wax and then drawn from a hat. But no one knows for sure if this is the origin. The origin of the whole nine yards is even more mysterious. It could come from the military, sports or even Scottish dress for men.   If you like to use expressions with known origins, use the whole enchilada. An enchilada is a Mexican dish. Vegetables or meat fill a tortilla, and is topped with a sauce. The whole enchilada means the entirety of something, especially something impressive or outstanding. For example, “He has a job with money, respect, and personal satisfaction -- the whole enchilada!” The word ”shebang” is also used this way. In fact, people used the whole shebang without knowing what a shebang actually is. Word historians do not agree on where “shebang” comes from either. One of the first recorded use of the whole shebang, meaning everything, is in the late 1800s. If you like expressions that are fun to say, use the whole kit and caboodle. And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. Let us know what you think of the show -- the whole show -- the whole kit and caboodle in the Comments Section. Or try using the expressions you have learned in this program. I’m Anna Matteo. "Now that you got a whole enchilada ..."   Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. The song at the end is Keb Mo’s “The Whole Enchilada.”    

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Real Dog Takes On Robot Dog

Many people are watching a video showing a real dog barking at a robot dog. The robot was made by Boston Dynamics, which is owned by the Internet search company Google. Like most of the company’s robots, it was designed for military use. But the military did not accept it, so Google is now showing it to the public. In the video, the robot dog plays with Alex -- a real dog reportedly owned by Andy Rubin, who helped create the mobile operating system Android. Rubin now heads a company called Playground Global. The robot weighs 75 kilograms -- ten times more than Alex. But Alex does not run away from the robot. The video shows him barking at the robot and preparing to attack it. The person controlling the robot directed it to move away from Alex. But this only seemed to make Alex bark louder. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOANews.com reported on this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   bark – v. to make a short, loud sound mobile - adj. easy to carry around or move  

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Kanye Tweets for Cheaper Textbooks

“Education puts Americans into debt before they even get a chance to get started,” he wrote. “We have to lower the price of textbooks.”

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Americans Who Gave Up Passports Tell Why

Donna-Lane Nelson was so upset after giving up her U.S. citizenship that she threw up. “Like the day I was divorced, this was one of the saddest of my life,” Nelson wrote of the day in 2011 her paper work to renounce U.S. citizenship was approved. In 2011, Nelson was one of nearly 2,000 Americans to give up their citizenship. Last year, a record 4,279 people gave up their American citizenship, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. This year, the Google search “How to move to Canada?” surged as businessman Donald Trump won seven of 11 Republican contests on Super Tuesday. Peter Spiro is a Temple University law professor. He is not sure if those who oppose Donald Trump would consider leaving the U.S. “Trump, if he wins, may be president for only four years (eight years if he wins a second term) and giving up your citizenship cannot be reversed,” Spiro said. Why do people give up U.S. citizenship? Most of those giving up their U.S. citizenship do so for tax reasons. The surge, Spiro said, is due to a 2010 law to increase enforcement of an existing law requiring U.S. citizens to pay taxes on worldwide income, not just money earned in the United States. Joyce Angio of Quebec, Canada, gave up her U.S. citizenship last year. She is an English as a Second Language teacher at Université Laval in Quebec City. Angio never planned to live in Canada. But in 1973, while studying French in Quebec City, she met a man who would become her husband. Angio said she had no idea Americans must pay taxes on income earned outside the United States. Even her father, an accountant, she said, never told her, “Joyce, you'd better file every year because the U.S. law requires” it. In 2013, she learned that the U.S. government was ready to collect fines on Americans who did not pay U.S. taxes while living outside the country. “Emotions: I hesitated for two years,” Angio wrote in an email to Voice of America. “Lost sleep. Read. Discussed. Debated. Cried twice in front of the Consul on the date I was given to formally renounce my citizenship. Felt heartbroken the day I had to go back to pick up my cancelled passport.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans pay their taxes. “Offshore tax evasion undermines confidence in our tax system and deprives the United States of revenues necessary to protect and provide for its citizens,” Lew said in a statement. Donna-Lane Nelson lives in Switzerland. She also writes a blog and has reported for trade newspapers. It was not just the tax burden that led her to give up U.S. citizenship. It was all the additional paper work, she said. Also playing a role was the refusal of Swiss banks to accept deposits from U.S. citizens. Banks, Nelson said, want nothing to do with increased reporting required now by the U.S. government. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Americans living abroad are required to pay income taxes based on their “worldwide income.” They can exclude up to $100,800 from their income as well as certain housing costs, the Treasury Department said. The State Department estimates 7.6 million Americans live outside the United States. Better enforcement can bring in an extra $800 million a year to the United States government, according to a congressional report. Spiro, the Temple University law professor, said the cost of filing and paying taxes on Americans overseas is falling most heavily on people of “modest means.” The United States, he said, is the only major country that taxes its citizens on income earned overseas. Downsides of giving up U.S. citizenship As for downsides of giving up citizenship, there definitely are some. Fees for completing the application process went up recently from $450 to $2,350. And before Americans can give up their citizenship, they must settle U.S. tax liabilities covering the last five years, according to the Treasury Department. U.S. Tax Services is a private tax services company. It says Americans who renounce their citizenship can still return to the U.S. for short visits. But longer visits are a problem. ”For example, if a relative who lives in the U.S. were to become sick, you would not be allowed to simply move to the U.S. to take care of them,” Tax Services says in its guide to renouncing citizenship. “Or if your kids end up residing in the U.S., you would not be able to simply move in with them as you grow older.” Angio, the Canadian English instructor, said she can use her Canadian passport to continue regular visits with friends and family in the United States. “The difference is emotional,” Angio said. “I'm bitter that I have to use the non-citizen line at the airport. I'm resentful that the immensely wealthy will still find clever ways to illegally hide their money while I had to make a painful decision to renounce.” I'm Bruce Alpert.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   threw up – v. to have the food, liquid, etc., that is in your stomach come out through your mouth divorce – v. the ending of a marriage by a legal process reverse – v. to change something to an opposite state or condition surge – v. to move very quickly and suddenly in a particular direction renounce – v. to formally give up something exclude – v. period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job evasion – n. the act of avoiding something that you do not want to do or deal with modest – adj. not very large in size or amount resentful – adj. having or showing a feeling of anger or displeasure about someone or something unfair immensely – adv. very great in size or amount

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Silent Monks Learn to Speak for Revenue

On a 500-hectare estate of rolling hills in the Virginia countryside live 11 Trappist monks. There used to be almost 70. But the decision to become a monk is not as popular as it once was. This might explain why: The monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict, which dates from the 6th century. They have given up their worldly possessions. They have promised to remain in the same community under a vow of “stability.” They agree to remain celibate, and they live separately from the world. And silence is maintained as much as possible.  “The first rule of St. Benedict is ‘listen.’ He believed in a restraint of words. It’s a particular message for our era, in which words have become so cheap,” explained Father James Orthmann. He is originally from New York City, and has lived at the Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia for 39 years. Now, he is 65.        The Benedictine monks’ motto in Latin is Ora et Labora, or in English, “Pray and Work.” Each day, the monks pray for eight hours, sleep for eight hours, and work for eight hours. The work can be manual labor, sacred reading, or charity. And they pray. The monks pray five times a day at 3:30 and 7 in the morning, 2 and 5:30 in the afternoon, and 7:30 in the evening. They sing medieval chants in English, and every two weeks they pray all 150 Psalms or inspirations from the Bible. By about 7:45 pm each evening, they go to bed. But the monks and the abbey are facing a difficult reality. The number of monks has declined since the abbey was founded in 1950. At its peak, there were 68 monks. Today, there are just 11, and many are older than 70. “Nowadays, it’s hard to recruit new monks,” said Father James. “It’s a huge adjustment in our culture, much more than when I entered 39 years ago.” “Advertising for monks doesn’t work,” said Kurt Aschermann, a lay person -- or helper -- who promotes the abbey as a volunteer. The target market for monks is men between the ages of 35 and 55. Men of that age have enough life experience to know they want to join the monastery. Candidates must pass a background check, said Father James. They live at the abbey for three months to see if it’s right for them. They participate as active members for one year, but are not formal members yet. Then they are considered novices for two years. They finally take “simple vows,” then “solemn vows.” Lastly, they have to sell all their possessions before they are formally monks in the Trappist brotherhood. Adapting to Modern Realities Because fewer men have entered the monastic service, the abbey has taken some innovative steps to ensure its survival. “We are changing our relationship with the society around us,” said Father James. “There is an inter-penetration and an interaction with non-monastic people.”    For example, Holy Cross Abbey has launched “Monastic Immersion Weekends” for both men and women. Those have been “wildly popular,” said Aschermann. During the immersion weekends, you can spend 48 hours living the life of a Trappist monk. People of any religion – or no religion – can come. “There are lots and lots of people who find monastic life to be an interesting lifestyle,” said Aschermann. “But they have wives and children and jobs. Very few have the capacity to give up everything and go to the monastery.” The immersion weekend gives people a taste of monastic life. Last year, the abbey offered a free event on the 100th birthday of Thomas Merton, a famous Benedictine monk. All 50 tickets were claimed in just two hours, said Aschermann.  The Holy Cross Abbey also rents rooms in a retreat house where up to 16 guests can come for weekend or weekday visits. No religious study is required. Guests can come to enjoy the scenery and quiet around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. Englishman Ralph Wormeley, a friend of George Washington, bought the property in 1730 and named it the Cool Spring Estate. There is an historic house on the grounds that was built around 1784. It was built by the Wormeley family and sits next to the abbey. The monks also raise money by selling fruitcake and creamed honey in their gift shop. In addition, they sell hooded T-shirts with the Abbey logo, scented soaps and biscotti.  The monks are self-sufficient financially. And they’ve become innovative about raising income from the estate. They rent pasture to a local farmer, who grazes black Angus cattle on the property. They lease land to another farmer who is growing organic vegetables. And they offer “eco-friendly” burials that are less expensive than usual burial methods. You can be buried with a monument made out of local rocks. “Last November, we won a Lord Fairfax award for an outstanding farm since 2010,” Father James noted proudly. History of the Benedictine Communities The first Benedictine monastery in the U.S. was St. Vincent, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1832 by Bonifice Wimmer, a German monk. He brought Benedictine nuns from Germany to serve in Pennsylvania and other states. Today, there are more than 2,000 Benedictine monasteries on six continents, according to “Christian Spirituality: The Classics.” Holy Cross Abbey is one of 12 Trappist monasteries for men, and five for women in the United States. Trappist monasteries are also called Cistercian monasteries, and they follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Deep prayer is practiced in other religions, as well. Zen Buddhists emphasize meditation as a path to spiritual enlightenment. Sufism explores an inner mystical dimension of Islam. And Kabbalah is a branch of Judaism that promotes spirituality through mysticism. I’m Mary Gotschall.   Mary Gotschall wrote this story for VOANews.com. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you have an opinion about this topic? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below, or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   estate – n.  a large piece of land with a large house on it monk – n.  a member of a religious community of men who usually promise to remain poor, unmarried, and separated from the rest of society  motto – n. a short sentence or wording that expresses a rule guiding the behavior of a particular person or group charity – n. the act of giving money, food, or other help to people who are sick or needy medieval – adj. of or relating to the Middle Ages; of or relating to the period of European history from about A.D. 500 to about 1500 recruit – v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces immersion – n.  complete involvement in some activity or interest fruitcake – n.  a very sweet baked good that contains nuts, fruits, and spices T-shirt – n.  a shirt that has short sleeves and no collar and that is usually made of cotton  biscotti – n. an Italian food containing almond biscuits. mystical – adj.  having a spiritual meaning that is difficult to see or understand          

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'How to Move to Canada'

  This is What’s Trending Today… The Google search “How to move to Canada” reached an all-time high this week, right after Super Tuesday in the United States. On Super Tuesday, 13 states and one territory voted to choose their preferred Republican Party and Democratic Party presidential candidates. It was the most important day yet in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump both won seven states on Super Tuesday. Trump now has one-third of the total delegates needed to win his party’s nomination.  As Trump gets closer and closer to the Republican nomination, it seems, more and more Americans are looking into moving to Canada. Simon Rogers is a data editor at Google. He tweeted about the sudden search increase. He wrote earlier this week: “Searches for "How can I move to Canada" on Google have spiked 350 percent in the past four hours #SuperTuesday.”   But that was only the start of the Google trend. The Google search “How to move to Canada” actually spiked more than 1,000 percent this week. The travel search engine Kayak took notice. Using the hashtag #1waytocanada, it offered 10 winners on Twitter one-way plane tickets to Canada. An official from the Canadian city of Toronto also offered help to Americans looking to move to their neighbor to the north. Toronto City Councillor Norm Kelly tweeted: “To all my American followers tweeting at me tonight, here’s the link.” His tweet included a link to the web page “Apply to Immigrate to Canada.” ​Norm Kelly’s post has been re-tweeted more than 46,000 times. And, a resident of Canada’s Cape Breton created the website CBifTrumpwins.com. The island off Canada’s east coast is “experiencing a bit of a population problem,” as the site says. The website also says Cape Breton would welcome “all, no matter who you support, be it Democratic, Republican or Donald Trump.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I'm Dan Friedell.    Ashley Thompson wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Would you move to another country if a politician you did not like won an election? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   spike - v. to increase greatly in a short period of time ticket - n. a piece of paper that lets the user see a show, travel on a vehicle or take part in an event

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March 4, 2016

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

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Ramon Castro, Brother of Cuban Revolutionaries, Dies at 91

Ramon Castro, a Cuban rancher and the older brother of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and President Raul Castro, died last week in Havana at age 91. The New York Times said his death was announced in a brief report by the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Granma. Ramon Castro and his famous younger brothers, Fidel and Raul, grew up on a farm in the village of Biran in eastern Cuba. They attended Roman Catholic schools. Ramon was born on Oct. 14, 1924. “Once grown, Fidel and Raul headed off to Havana for studies, then the business of launching a revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista, who seized power in a 1952 coup,” reported The Washington Post. Ramon studied agricultural engineering at the University of Havana. He and his brothers were jailed by the former government of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1953.       After the 1959 triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel rose to power. Granma said Ramon Castro “aided his brothers’ efforts as their revolution progressed,” according to The New York Times. After his brother Fidel took power, Ramon often worked as a consultant for the government ministries of agriculture and sugar. In the early 1960s, he oversaw sugar production in eastern Cuba and helped increase output.  He preferred to stay on the family farm in Biran, a rural town in eastern Cuba. His parents, Angel Castro and Lina Ruiz, had large family land holdings there, reported Reuters.  Ramon Castro was two years older than his brother Fidel and looked a great deal like his famous brother. Ramon founded several state companies, including ones that transported sugar cane and produced oranges. He also was involved in agricultural research, according to the Washington Post.  Ramon was married to Aurora Castillo and had five children.  Raul Castro, 84, replaced Fidel, 89, as Cuba’s President in February 2008. Fidel resigned because of illness. Raul was his defense chief and chosen successor. He has led the Cuban government since then, and said he would step down in 2018. I’m Mary Gotschall.   Mary Gotschall wrote this story for Learning English. She used information from Reuters, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Do you have an opinion about this topic? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below, or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   revolution – n. the usually violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one coup – n.  from the French phrase coup d’etat, meaning a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence sugar cane – noun  a tall grass that is grown in warm places as a source of sugar successor – n. a person who has a job, position, or title after someone else   

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