English in a Minute: That Ship Has Sailed

If someone says to you, "that ship has sailed," it might mean you have missed out on an opportunity. Learn how to use this expression in this week's English in a Minute!

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Saving Wild Areas May Have Unexpected Results

Wild horses, oxen and reindeer are returning to Siberia for the first time in 10,000 years. Their new home is Pleistocene Park, a wilderness area on Russia’s Kolyma River. The park opened in 1989. It was launched as an experiment to recreate an environment that disappeared long ago, during Earth’s Ice Age. Russian scientist Sergey Zimov imagined wild horses, musk ox and reindeer enjoying the grasslands. He says the animals will eat the plants and fertilize the soil. This will support the growth of grasslands. But that has yet to happen. The park is home to fewer than 200 animals.  David Nogues is an ecologist with the University of Copenhagen. He studies relationships between living things and their environments. What worries him about Pleistocene Park is what he calls the unknown. “Imagine, like, bringing new species that were not living in our ecosystem for 10,000 years. … We consider, the researchers in this study, that we researchers cannot predict yet what might be the consequences of this new conservation approach.” Nogues helped to write a report that urges restraint in “rewilding,” to save wild places. The report was published in the journal Cell Biology. The recovery of wolves in America's Yellowstone National Park is often noted as an example as successful rewilding. Ninety-one wolves were brought to Yellowstone in the 1990s. Since then, the park’s wolf population has increased five times. But the animals cause unexpected changes in the environment, something that Wolf Project Manager Doug Smith noted more than 10 years ago. He says wolves keep elk away from the park. This enables willow plants that elk eat to grow. "Songbirds, moose, muskrat, (and) mink – all these animals benefit when these willows come back.” Wildlife researchers are closely watching the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park. But the spread of the animals outside the park has angered local ranchers. They say cattle losses have increased with the wolf population. Rancher Richard Kinkie says because Yellowstone’s wolves are federally protected, he has few choices. “Certainly I would like to see the controls loosened up on us, so we can deal with wolves.” Ecologist Nogues says politicians and the public must consider the best science before launching a rewilding program. He argues that protecting biodiversity is a better first step to avoid the problem of species loss.   I’m Kathleen Struck.   Rosanne Skirble reported on this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted her report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments and on our Facebook page.  _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   ecosystem – n. functionality conservation – adj. of or related to the protection of animals, plants and other things in nature approach – n. method species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar  

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Large Cars on Top At New York Auto Show

SUVs – or sports utility vehicles – are very popular with Americans. The large vehicle is part truck and part car. Strength and size combined with comfort. Some well-known sports utility vehicles are the Jeep Cherokee, the Cadillac Escalade and the Toyota Land Cruiser. About 170,000 of those vehicles sell each year in the U.S. If you owned one of those cars, it would cost almost $100 to fill the tank when gas was most expensive. But these days, gas is cheap, and cars can go further while using the same amount of fuel. Some SUVs have hybrid engines – meaning they use battery power and stored energy along with gas to help move the car. Automakers like General Motors and Volvo think drivers in the U.S. might be more willing to consider larger vehicles again. At the New York International Auto Show, these car makers were showing off big SUVs with all sorts of nice components. The show runs until April 3. Uwe Ellinghause is the chief marketing officer for Cadillac. He says people think the XT5 SUV looks great. And even though it is large, it only uses a little more gas than a traditional sedan-style car. "Due to lightweight technologies, the weight of these SUVs is no longer so different to a sedan as it was in the past.” Stephanie Brinley is an auto analyst for the research company IHS. She says traditional cars will only save 1 or 2 miles per gallon (about 3.75 liters) compared to new SUVs. “The delta between a sedan and a comparably sized SUV for fuel economy, or crossover utility for fuel economy, is one or two miles to the gallon. It’s not that strong. So even if gas prices do come up again, it’s still a manageable penalty.” Lincoln Motor Company is part of the Ford Motor Company. Its president called the market for SUVs in the U.S., “red hot.” SUVs also sell well in China and the Middle East. Another kind of car is a crossover. That means it has some elements of an SUV and some elements of a regular car. It is somewhere in the middle. Brinley says she thinks the crossovers are popular because they allow the driver to sit higher than in a traditional sedan. Rob Peterson of Buick, a General Motors brand, says crossovers offer the best of both worlds: the ability to carry lots of people or cargo, but easy to drive like a car.  One of these cars on display was a Lincoln Navigator. It is a large SUV. You walk up three steps to get into the door! Also, it has gullwing doors, or doors that flip up rather than out, that you might find on a fancy sports car. The famous car from the “Back to the Future” movies had gullwing doors. Whether they go for a small, large or crossover SUVs, this year U.S. consumers will have plenty to choose from. I’m Dan Friedell.   Tina Trinh reported on this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted the report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What do you think about the auto makers trying to sell larger vehicles in the U.S.? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fancy – adj. not plain or common delta – n. the difference between one thing and another, usually small sedan – n. a car that has four doors and enough room for four or more people components – n. one of the parts of something (such as a system or mixture); an important piece of something characteristics – adj. showing the special qualities of a person, thing, or group    

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Google's 'Minion' Joke Not So Funny

This is What’s Trending Today… Friday was April Fools’ Day. Google’s search engine has become famous for its April Fools' tricks over the years. This year, however, one trick Google played did not have many people laughing. The company added a button to its email service, Gmail. The button enabled users to send out a GIF of a minion. Minions first appeared in the 2010 movie “Despicable Me.” The small, yellow creatures starred in their own film last year.​ In Google’s GIF, a minion dropped a microphone. The GIF was meant to be a humorous, “end of discussion” comeback to long email messages. Sending the minion GIF would then mute - or silence the alert sound - for future messages. The “send” button for the minion was placed next to Gmail’s normal blue “send” button. The service soon received messages from angry users. Many had accidentally added the minion GIF to important business messages to their employer and co-workers. People also commented on social media about the not-so-funny April Fools' trick. Google Inc. apologized and cancelled the minion feature. The company said that because of a technical problem, the GIF “caused more headaches than laughs.” But not all of Google’s April Fools' jokes caused anger. Some were more light-hearted. Google Nederlands, for example, posted a video of the company’s new self-driving bicycles. The video says that people could get work done while riding a bicycle. It adds that young children could go anywhere they want on a self-driving bicycle. The video was a play on the company’s self-driving cars. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Lucija Millonig. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   GIF - n. short for Graphics Interchange Format microphone - n. a device into which people speak to record their voices or to make them sound louder mute - v. to make (something, such as a television) silent  

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North Korea Jams GPS, Launches Missile

North Korea has jammed GPS signals in South Korea and launched another missile into the Sea of Japan. The action came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama met with leaders of South Korea, Japan and China to discuss North Korean nuclear threat and its sanctions. Jamming GPS signals in South Korea The South Korean Defense Ministry said it has detected radio waves transmitted from the city of Haeju and Mount Kumgang. The radio waves are on the same frequencies used by the global positioning satellites, or GPS. The jamming activity affected more than 50 airliners and hundreds of South Korean fishing boats. South Korean officials called the North’s action "dangerous and reckless.”  But they said the jamming did not affect the U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, which North Korea has denounced. Separately, North Korea announced officially Friday that it is blocking web pages from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, the Voice of America and a number of South Korean media sites. It also said gambling and "sex and adult websites" have been blocked. Very few North Koreans have Internet access, but foreign residents and visitors have been able to access web pages previously. North Korea added that anyone who tries to access the blocked websites will be punished under North Korean law. It did not say what the punishment would be. Another missile launch South Korean military officials said the North also launched another missile into the Sea of Japan on Friday. The launch is the latest in a series of threatening actions to protest the U.S.-South Korean exercises. In early March, the Kim Jong Un government responded to the U.N. sanctions by launching several missiles into the sea and threatening nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States. I'm Dorothy Gundy.   Brian Padden, Youmi Kim and the AP reported this story from Seoul, South Korea. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What do you think about North Korea's response to sanctions? Please leave us a Comment and post on our Facebook page, thanks! ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   jam – v. to block a radio or broadcast signal frequencies – n. the number times that sound wave or radio wave is repeated access – n. a way of getting something  

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April 1, 2016

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

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Opening Day: Baseball's New Season

It is professional baseball season once again in America. You may remember that in November, the Kansas City Royals won their first championship in over 30 years. They defeated the New York Mets in the 111th World Series. The World Series is played between the champions of the two leagues that make up Major League Baseball. They are the American League and the National League. The Royals are in the American League. Sunday is opening day for the 2016 baseball season. Six teams will play in three games. The Royals and the Mets will face each other again in one of those openers. The teams that made it into the playoffs in 2015 are expected to do well again this year. The Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among them. The experts study new players, and team changes and game schedules to try to predict which teams will be the winners and losers. But there are almost always surprises on the field. For example, the Royals were not expected to be serious competition in 2014, but the team made it all the way to the World Series. They lost that year to the San Francisco Giants. Not too long ago, the Colorado Rockies also got to the World Series even though the team did not win many games early in the season. Baseball teams play 162 games from April until early October. Players can get injured, traded and experience slumps. It is a long, unpredictable season. Some people say that is what makes the game fun. How will Major League Baseball handle the U.S. government’s decision to engage Cuba? There are some stories that will be good to follow during the 2016 season. Some of the best players currently in Major League Baseball are from Cuba or have Cuban roots. Cuban Yoenis Cespedes was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets last summer. He was the Mets’ most important players as they moved up in the standings, made the playoffs and ultimately went to the World Series. Jose Fernandez grew up in Cuba, but his family defected in 2007, when he was a teenager. Fernandez went to high school in Florida. In 2013, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. That means he was the league’s best new player. The Tampa Bay Rays of Florida played the Cuban national baseball team at a recent exhibition game in Cuba. U.S. President Barack Obama attended the game with Cuban president Raul Castro. The game was seen as a symbol of decreasing tensions between the United States and Cuba. If the two countries could play a baseball game together, perhaps they could work together to resolve their differences. Tampa Bay won the game, 4-1. There will probably be some negotiations in the future between the two governments and Major League Baseball. Officials will consider whether Cuban baseball players will be able work in the U.S. in the future without defecting. President Obama says Cuban people should be able to work for American companies in in Cuba without sacrificing their citizenship. In the past, the only way players from Cuba could make it to Major League Baseball was by escaping from their homeland. In July, the U.S. and Cuba established diplomatic relations. The U.S. eased restrictions against Cuba. The first two Cuban baseball players expected to take advantage of the closer ties are brothers Yulieski and Lourdes Gourriel. The brothers left the Cuban National Team earlier this year during a tournament in the Dominican Republic. Will exciting, young players break the unwritten rules? Baseball is one of the oldest sports in the U.S. There is debate about exactly when the first baseball game was played. But historians agree it happened before 1900. Baseball has a lot of traditions, like most sports. These traditions include unwritten rules of behavior. For example, newer players are expected to show respect to more experienced players. That apparently includes restraining reaction to a great home run hit. A home run is when a player hits the ball so far he can travel around all four bases in one trip. He scores as a result. And the home run also means that anyone already on base scores also. In recent years, some young players have wildly celebrated their home runs. They might throw their arms in the air or dramatically throw their bat to the ground. Many older players find such behavior unsportsmanlike. Bryce Harper, of the Washington Nationals, is one of the best young players in baseball. Harper recently told ESPN the Magazine that he is tired of hearing older players complain about the young. He is only 23, but has played in the Major Leagues for four seasons.   He said, “There’s so many guys in the game now who are so much fun.” He said he thinks it is too bad those players are restricted by the unwritten rules about behavior on the field.   What will new technology teach us about baseball this year? Baseball is one of the oldest sports in the U.S. But it is modern in its use of new technology. The technology helps people understand how players do their jobs. For example, a system called PITCHf/x has been in every major league stadium since 2006. The system tracks and records the path of a pitch and its speed. In baseball, the pitcher throws balls to a catcher and the batter tries to hit them. If the batter does not swing, an umpire decides whether the pitch was a good pitch or in the strike zone. If the pitch was in the zone and the batter does not hit it, the umpire calls it a strike. After three strikes the player is out. He loses his chance to hit the ball.  Another system uses radar and cameras to track how the ball moves after it is hit. It also records the movement of defensive players on the field. In 2015, the system showed that the hardest hits in baseball travel over 160 kilometers per hour. The fastest runners are only a little slower than Olympic running champion Usain Bolt. In other words, some players are very fast runners. The system also shows how far some players run to catch balls and how quickly they react to batted balls. Some players ran more than 17 meters in under two seconds to catch a ball. Other players showed they could throw the ball over 150 kilometers per hour. A report on MLB.com explains that some teams are using this information to provide better treatment to their players and to compare players and teams. I’m Dan Friedell. And I’m Marsha James.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Are you excited for the baseball season? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story    stadium – n. a large sports center advantage – n. a good or desirable quality; gain complain – v. to say that you do not like something slump – n. a period of time when a team or player is doing poorly defect – v. to leave a country, political party, organization and go to a different one rookie – n. a first-year player in a professional sport playoffs – n. a series of games that is played after the end of the normal season in order to decide which player or team is the champion — usually plural

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The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte

We present “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte.  Here is Jim Tedder. John Oakhurst was a gambler.  He had lived in the small western town of Poker Flat for only a short time.  He had defeated many people at cards.  He had also won a lot of their money.  For that reason alone, he was not well liked. On the morning of November twenty-third, eighteen fifty, he saw some men talking as he walked down the main street of town. As he came near, they got quiet. He said to himself, “Hmmm, I guess they are talking about me. And that can’t be good.” Oakhurst was right. Some of the town’s leaders had met secretly and decided to force some people to leave. They thought Poker Flat would be a better place to live if those people were gone. Besides Oakhurst, two women of low morals were led to the edge of town. They were the “Duchess” as she was called, and “Mother Shipton.”  A man called “Uncle Billy” was added to the group. He was known to drink too much. Some people thought that he had also stolen some gold. They had no proof. But that did not matter. Uncle Billy was just no good, and he had to go. The “outcasts” were told that if they ever came back, they would be killed. So, the four of them slowly rode out of town. The “Duchess” cried and said she would probably die on the road. Mother Shipton and Uncle Billy cursed. “Mother” said she would like to “cut the heart out” of the people who done this to them. But John Oakhurst rode in silence. He thought all of life was a gamble. He had just run into some bad luck. That was all. The outcasts were headed for Sandy Bar, a camp not too far away. But it was high up in the cold Sierra Mountains, and the path was anything but smooth. Around noon, Mother Shipton became so tired she fell off her horse. She said that was as far as she was going today. Oakhurst tried to make them move on because they had no food or fuel. But the three would not listen. Instead they began to drink alcohol that Uncle Billy had hidden. Soon they were quiet and asleep. Oakhurst did not drink. He stood nearby and watched them. He began to think about his life and about how lonely he was. Yet he was stronger than his three companions. He could have left them there and set off alone. But he did not. Then, he heard someone call “John Oakhurst.” A young man named Tom Simson came riding up. The gambler knew Tom. They had once played cards and Oakhurst had won. But after the game, he told young Tom that he was too easy to beat. And he gave him back his money. Tom said Oakhurst would be his friend for life. Tom was not alone. From behind a tree came his new wife, a girl named Piney Woods. Her father had not wanted her to marry Tom. So they had run away. Tom told Oakhurst that he had a little food. He also showed him an old log house just off the path. Years of harsh weather had nearly ruined it. But it was all they had, and it would have to do. The women could spend the night in there. The men would make a fire and sleep on the ground by the door. The night seemed to pass quickly. But the weather became colder.  The wind increased, and it began to snow. Oakhurst had a bad feeling. He turned to where Uncle Billy had slept, and found him gone. He had left the others and even taken their horses. Oakhurst said Uncle Billy had probably gone for help. But he knew better. The group of five decided to wait for the snow to stop before traveling farther. They no longer had horses. From here on, they would be on foot. By the third day out from Poker Flat, the snow had gotten deep. They could no longer see the path. Food was running low. Everything around them was white and cold. One week later they still had not moved. The snow had continued to fall and was deeper than ever. And it continued to fall. It formed a prison they could not escape. Still, they could see smoke rising from the warm fires in the houses down below in Poker Flat. The site seemed especially cruel. But the little group of outcasts tried to keep up their spirits. They tried to stay as warm as they could. They sat together by their own open-air fire. And Tom Simson pulled a small accordion from his pack. Piney Woods played the instrument. They all sang songs. The music took on a defiant quality, a quality of resistance. But the outcasts had to listen to the sad cries of their mostly empty stomachs. The hunger got worse with each passing day. At midnight on the tenth day, Mother Shipton called Oakhurst to her side.  She said, “Give this to the young ones.” In a bag was all her food. She had not eaten for days. She had saved the food for the others. She turned quietly to the wall of the log house, and died. John Oakhurst began to think that none of them would live out the storm. He gave Tom Simson a pair of snowshoes and asked him to try to walk back to Poker Flat for help. He guessed it would take Tom at least two days, if not more, to get there. Tom kissed his new bride and left on foot. Soon he was out of sight. The Duchess and Piney were surprised, and frightened, when Oakhurst also turned to leave. “You’re not going, too,” they cried. He said, “Only a little way. I need to find us some help.” At that time of year, daylight did not last long. When night came, Oakhurst had not returned. The two women were too hungry, weak, and cold to even add more wood to the fire. They passed the stormy night holding each other close. And that is the way they were found the next morning when help arrived from Poker Flat. They had frozen to death during the night. The rescuers from town said that they had been right to force the outcasts to leave Poker Flat. But they never thought the punishment would end up like this. Justice was one thing, but freezing people to death was not their aim. And then they thought of the gambler. Where was he? What had happened to him? They searched as best they could. And then, they found him. Under a tall tree a playing card was stuck into the wood by a knife. On the card was written: “Beneath this tree lies the body of John Oakhurst, who had some bad luck starting the twenty-third of November, eighteen fifty. He handed in his cards on the seventh of December, the same year.” Oakhurst sat there, cold and still. They said he looked peaceful. A single bullet from a small hand gun nearby had ended his life. John Oakhurst had been both the strongest, and the weakest, of the outcasts of Poker Flat.   “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte was adapted for VOA Learning English and read by Jim Tedder. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   gambler - n. a person who risks money or other possessions when playing a game prison – n. a place where a person is kept as punishment for a crime cruel - adj. causing or helping to cause suffering; terrible and unfair outcast - n. someone who is not accepted by other people snowshoe - n.  a light, wide frame that is attached to your shoe to make it easier to walk on soft snow without sinking ​

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Threatened

Australia’s National Coral Bleaching Task force says the country’s Great Barrier Reef is facing the “worst mass bleaching event in its history.” The reef is a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage site. It has more than 400 species of coral and 1,500 kinds of fish. It is the only reef that is a Heritage site, a place that is named by UNESCO as having special cultural or physical significance. The reef is along the northeastern coast of Australia. It is three quarters the size of the western American state of California. Bleaching happens when sea temperatures rise. Higher temperatures cause the coral to force out colorful algae. The coral becomes white. If the water temperature falls, the process could reverse. Algae could return to the coral. If it does not, the coral could die. Researchers examined aerial surveys of more than 500 reefs north of the city of Cairns. The researchers said most of the reefs suffered from severe bleaching. Terry Hughes leads the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce. He said “this has been the saddest research trip of my life.” “We flew for 4,000 kilometers in the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef and saw only four reefs that had no bleaching. The severity is much greater than in earlier bleaching events in 2002 or 1998,” he said. Hughes also said “it’s still too early to tell just what the overall outcome will be. We will continue to conduct underwater surveys along the Great Barrier Reef in the coming months as the full impact of this mass bleaching event unfolds.” Hughes said the most of the severe bleaching was in the northern part of the reef. He says the southern part was not as affected because of “cloudy weather that cooled the water temperatures.” He said the bleaching was likely made worse by the strong El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean. The Washington Post reports there have been three recorded mass bleaching events -- in 1998, 2010 and this year. All three took place at the same time as the El Niño event. I’m Ashley Thompson.   VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants; a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus coral – n. a hard material formed on the bottom of the sea by the skeletons of small creatures algae – n. simple plants that have no leaves or stems and that grow in or near water aerial – adj. taken or seen from an airplane pristine – adj. not changed by people; left in its natural state survey – n. an act of studying something so as to be able to make a judgment about it unfold – v. to happen as time passes  

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VOA English Newscast 1400 UTC April 1, 2016

  From Washington, this is VOA News.       I’m Steve Karesh reporting. Indian police said Friday they have detained five officials of IVRCL. That is the construction company that was building the bridge that collapsed Thursday in Kolkata, killing at least 23 people and injuring 80 more.   Earlier on Friday, police said they have opened a case of culpable homicide against the construction firm. Seetha Peddapathi is IVRCL's chief lawyer. "IVRCL and its concerned staff will cooperate with the investigation. We will give the maximum support what we have to give. We are anxious to know why it happened as well. We want to know the reason why it happened." The bridge had been under construction for at least nine years. In a case which has generated international interest as a test of press freedom, the trial of two Turkish journalists has resumed. The defendants are facing charges of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization for their reporting, in which they alleged that the government was smuggling arms into Syria. They could get sentences of life in prison if found guilty. Protesters have gathered at the courthouse in Istanbul chanting, "Free press, free society." Hans-Dietrich Genscher, a long-serving German diplomat at the forefront of the struggle to reunite East and West Germany, has died at the age of 89. Genscher served as foreign minister of West Germany, and later of the unified Germany. He is credited with negotiating Germany's reunification and the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1990. The French justice minister expects the top suspect in the November terrorist attack in Paris will be extradited from Belgium to France within 10 days. Salah Abdeslam has been jailed in Belgium since his arrest on March 18th. Abdeslam's lawyer said his client wants to cooperate with authorities.   This is VOA News. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Newscast   construction – adj. of or related to the building of something culpable – adj. guilty of doing something wrong homicide – n. the acting of killing another person staff – n. a group of people who work for a business or other organization maximum – adj. the highest number or amount possible anxious – adj. afraid, especially about what may happen; showing fear or nervousness journalist – n. a reporter or writer for a news organization resumed – v. to begin again; re-started espionage – n. the activity of spying alleged – v. claimed smuggling – v. moving someone or something from one country to another, either illegally or secretly chanting – v. saying many times, usually loudly with other people forefront – n. the most important position or part extradited – v. sending someone to another state or country for trial client – n. a person who pays someone else or an organization for services authorities – n. officials   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ​

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At Least 20 Dead in Indian Bridge Collapse

At least 20 people died and hundreds were injured in a bridge collapse in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday. Witnesses said many people and vehicles, including two buses carrying more than 100 passengers, were under the bridge when it fell. They also said construction workers had set up camps near the bridge site where they would sleep and cook.Before rescue teams arrived, local residents and firefighters used their bare hands to try to rescue people trapped under the debris. The collapsed bridge is in a busy commercial area of Kolkata. Its location has made it difficult for rescue operations. Access to the area is blocked on both sides by buildings, and the streets are blocked with heavy traffic. Reuters reports that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, rushed to the scene of the collapse. She said that rescuing those trapped is her “top priority.” Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster will be punished. Yet she faces questions about the safety of the construction project. The Telegraph newspaper reported last November that Banerjee wanted the bridge - already five years overdue - to be completed by February. Project engineers said they were concerned over whether this would be possible, the newspaper said at the time. Construction workers had been on a strict schedule to complete the bridge. The disaster could affect the West Bengal election next month. AN Indian company, IVRCL, was building the 2-kilometer bridge, its website said. IVRCL's director of operations said the company was not sure of the cause of the disaster. I'm Anne Ball.    Ashley Thompson adapted this story from VOANews.com and Reuters reports. Kathleen Struck was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story debris - n. the pieces that are left after something has been destroyed rush - v. to move or do something very quickly or in a way that shows you are in a hurry operations - n. an activity of a business or organization — usually plural    

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