How Do Americans, Chinese See the Other?

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this week over international security issues. While they report slow progress over major disagreements, what do average citizens in those countries think about each other? A study by the Pew Research Center offers some answers. Only 38 percent of Americans said they have a positive view of China, according to a 2015 Pew survey. And in China, only 44 percent of people surveyed gave the United States a positive rating. Americans expressed concern about the large amount of U.S. debt held by China and the loss of jobs to China. Last year, the U.S. Treasury Department said China held $1.2 trillion in U.S. government debts. People polled in China said they believe the United States is trying to prevent China from becoming as powerful as the U.S. The views reflect some of the tensions between the nations’ leaders. The United States has opposed China’s construction of artificial islands and military facilities along the disputed South China Sea. And there have been disagreements over how to respond to recent North Korean nuclear and missile tests. A joint statement from U.S. and China after Thursday’s Obama-Xi meeting said both countries agreed to work together on nuclear security. The Obama administration said China has agreed to sanctions to protest recent North Korean nuclear tests. But Xi expressed opposition to a new missile defense system for South Korea, according to Chinese media reports. Such a system is being considered by U.S. and South Korean leaders to protect South Korea from a North Korean attack. At the start of his meeting with Xi, Obama said, “Of great importance to both of us is North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region.” Xi said China and the United States “have a responsibility to work together.” As for issues dividing the two nations, Xi said both sides could “seek active solutions through dialogue and consultation.” The two leaders met during a 53-nation conference on nuclear security in Washington, D.C. I'm Bruce Alpert.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in this Story   survey – n. an activity in which many people are asked questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something positive – adj. good of useful poll – v. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something reflect – v.  to make known your opinion artificial – adj. not natural or real facility – n. a building or large piece of equipment built for a specific purpose pursuit - n. seeking to get or do something stability – n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change

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'Cyrillic Jihadists' Bring Discipline to IS in Syria

Russian-speaking militants are the second-largest group of foreigners fighting for the Islamic State militant group. Nearly 5,000 fighters from the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have joined IS, according to the Soufan Group. The largest number of IS fighters – more than 6,000 – came from Tunisia, Soufan said. Soufan provides intelligence services to governments and businesses. The Russian-speaking fighters are among the Islamic State’s most brutal fighters. Some are part of the IS leadership. They have settled mostly near the Syrian city of Raqqa, where IS has made its capital. Many brought their wives and children. They are raising their children to be future militant fighters, sources told VOA. While their customs, race and ethnic background differ, these fighters have one thing in common -- they can read and write Cyrillic script. Cyrillic is the writing system used in Russia, which controlled the now independent Central Asian nations for decades. In their homes in IS-controlled Syria, residents can hear Friday prayers in Russian. Children study math and the Koran at a Russian- language school. Products from their home countries are sold at a Univermag Russian store. The men are experienced fighters, according to Salem al-Hammoud. He is a civic activist from the IS-controlled Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. He now lives in Turkey. “These fighters are very different from others in terms of discipline and military training compared to their Arab and African counterparts,” Al-Hammoud said. Some fought for Georgia in the 2008 war against Russia. “Given their combat experience, fighters from the North Caucasus are regarded as particularly strong fighters,” said Edward Lemon. He is a researcher at the University of Exeter in Britain. Some were drawn to the Islamic State by lack of jobs in their former Central Asian communities or in Russia. Babajon Karabayev is a former IS fighter who returned to Tajikistan. Karabayev was unhappy when he could not find work in Russia. Karabayev received money from IS. But he said left the group because he was not as committed as other fighters. Many of the Russian-speaking fighters come from migrant worker communities in Russia. Noah Tucker is managing director of registan.net, a website focused on Central Asia. He said Islamic State does a good job convincing Central Asian Muslims that their problems could be solved by joining the militant group. He said IS tells potential recruits: “You are Muslims, and your problems are caused by those who oppress Muslims.” Some experts said Russia encouraged militants to travel to Syria. Tucker said the Russian air force was able to bomb the Russian speaking fighters in Syria “with a level of impunity,” not possible in Central Asia. I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.   Mehdi Jedinia reported on this story for VOANews.com. Sirwan Kajjo, Fatima Tlisova, Firuz Bartov, Saeid Al-Kanassi and Mumin Ahmadi contributed to this story. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments or share your views on our Facebook Page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   brutal – adj. extremely cruel or harsh de facto - adj. used to describe something that exists but that is not officially accepted or recognized discipline – n. control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior counterpart – n. someone or something that has the same job or purpose as another combat – n. active fighting especially in a war particularly – adv. more than usually convince – v. to cause someone to believe that something is true encourage – v. to tell someone to do something impunity – n. without fear of punishment

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Students React to New SAT College Entrance Exam

  For VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. The new SAT college entrance exam has arrived. In March, hundreds of thousands of high school students took the redesigned test. The exam is getting some positive reviews from some early test-takers. High school students who took the test said the new SAT is more straightforward. The new exam focuses less on vocabulary words. It focuses more on everyday learning and analysis by students. On the old SAT, students lost points if they guessed the wrong answer. On the new SAT, students are not penalized for guessing. The College Board is the organization that produces the SAT. It says more than 463,000 test-takers signed up to take the new SAT in March. This number is a small increase from a year ago. For now, the College Board is only offering the exam to students applying for scholarships and financial aid. The exam will be open to all students in May. What’s new? The new SAT continues to test reading, writing and math, with an emphasis on analysis. Gone are some of those unusual vocabulary words. Test-takers will see more common words used in the classroom. Students will have to show that they understand meaning in different contexts. In math, students will see more algebra and problem-solving. They will no longer be tested on a wide range of math concepts. But the use of calculators is limited to certain questions. Overall, there are fewer questions — 154 on the new test plus one for the essay. The old test had 171 questions. Students will have a choice about whether to write the essay. A perfect score goes back to 1,600 with a separate score for the essay. Some early reviews Brian Keyes is a third-year student at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C. “There aren’t as many questions where it’s trying to trick you … It was much more straightforward,” he said His classmate Isabel Suarez said, “I liked it better than the old one. I thought that it was way more applicable to what we’ve been learning in school. The English was a lot easier for me than it was with the old one.” Suarez said she enjoyed the reading section. “My AP English class definitely really prepared me for it. I honestly enjoyed the grammar part because I like to pick out problems in writing. It was pretty fun actually.” AP stands for advanced placement. Students might test out of college courses if their grades and test scores from AP are high. Why did they change the test? This was the first change in the SAT since 2005. The head of the College Board says the new test has more familiar reading passages, vocabulary words and math. David Coleman is the president and chief executive officer of the College Board. “The sum of the redesign of the test is to make it much more like the work that kids are already doing in high school,” he said. Coleman added that the test was changed so that more students will feel like they have a chance to succeed. With fewer questions on the new test, Coleman said, there is more time for each of the reading and math questions. Tips from the experts Lee Weiss is Kaplan Test Prep’s vice president of college admissions programs. He has some advice for students taking the new SAT. “If you’ve been preparing and putting in your study time, then you should go in confident. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t perform well,” he said. Weiss says students should not skip the essay. Many of the top universities look at the essay. It is an important part of their admissions process. “Make sure you are writing a good, structured essay that answers the prompt,” said Weiss. “Make sure that you are varying your word choice and your sentence structure.” Ned Johnson is the president of PrepMatters, an SAT preparation company. He said students should not be too creative or artistic in their writing. Students should write in a clear, analytical style. Johnson says the math problems on the new test have a lot more words than before. The College Board has teamed up with online educator Khan Academy to offer SAT practice with the new exam — for free — to all students through quizzes and practice tests. The tests are available online. I’m John Russell Adam Brock adapted this story for Learning English from an Associated Press report. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   straightforward – adj. easy to do or understand : not complicated analysis – n. an explanation of the nature and meaning of something penalize – v. to punish (someone or something) for breaking a rule or a law context – n. the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning trick – v. to deceive (someone) AP – adj. Advanced Placement, a college-level course offered in high school prompt – n. a writing topic on a test varying – adj. to be different or to become different

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Don’t Be Fooled

And that brings us to the end of another Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. Just kidding! To kid. To tease. To joke and fool around. They all mean about the same thing. If you kid, you make fun in a playful way. Teasing can be playful or mean spirited. It depends. To joke around is to have fun with someone. To fool someone is to try to make them believe something that is not true. And that is the purpose of April Fools’ Day. April 1st is known as the day to fool people with practical jokes, pranks or harmless tricks. But how did this tradition begin? Some say April Fools’ Day began as one big mistake. Many centuries ago, people in the Western world used the Julian calendar. They celebrated the New Year on April 1st. However, when people began using the Gregorian calendar, the New Year was moved to January 1st. Those who forgot the change and tried to celebrate New Year's Day on the wrong date were teased and called "April fools." This is just one of the many theories behind the origin of April Fools’ Day. But the tradition remains the same – trying to fool someone. The fool is a common character in art, music and literature. William Shakespeare is famous for his fools. And fools make for great pop songs. Fools are found in many words, expressions and proverbs. To be foolhardy means to do something that are too dangerous or risky. For example, it is foolhardy to hike up a mountain during a heavy snowstorm. If something is foolproof, it is planned or made so well that nothing could go wrong. Not even a fool could mess it up. "Look, I don’t want to get into trouble. This plan of yours sounds risky." "My plan is foolproof. Nothing will go wrong as long as you do exactly as I say." There are many expressions using the word "fool." If you are on a fool’s errand you are doing something that is pointless. For example, asking a friend who has no money for a loan is a fool’s errand. Fool’s gold is iron pyrite. Iron pyrite is a brassy yellow mineral that is often mistaken for gold. Miners who did not know much about the properties of gold would often mistake iron pyrite for the real stuff. A fool’s paradise is not a vacation spot for fools. It is a state of being happy for foolish or unfounded reasons. Here is an example: “Monica is so happy these days. She thinks she is getting a raise at work.” “But she is always late. She misses her deadlines. And her boss doesn’t really like her.” “I know. She is living in a fool’s paradise.” Even a smart and reasonable person can be a fool at times. You can be a fool for love, a fool for money or a fool for success. Basically, you can be a fool for anything that causes you to lose control or lose touch with reality. In this song, Connie Francis sings that everybody’s somebody’s fool. “And there are no exceptions to the rule. Yes, everybody’s somebody’s fool.” Fools also find themselves in many common proverbs. For example, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” This means that if you are not careful with your money you will soon not have any.   Another proverb is, “There is no fool like an old fool.” This means if an older person behaves foolishly, it seems worse than when a younger person does the same. An older person should know better. Then there is the proverb, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” This means that if you are tricked once by someone, they are to blame for fooling you. But if you let the same person fool you again, the blame is all your own. When George W. Bush was president, he infamously messed up this proverb in a speech. We end this show with yet another “foolish” proverb, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” English poet Alexander Pope wrote this line in his 1709 poem An Essay on Criticism. Songwriter Johnny Mercer turned it into a classic song. "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread ..." Share a “foolish” expression from your language. Or practice using one of these expressions in the Comments Section. I’m Anna Matteo. "So open up your heart and let this fool rush in..."   Anna Matteo wrote this program for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. The song and singer of the music heard in this piece includes, in order: “Chain of Fools,” Aretha Franklin; “A Fool Such As I,” Elvis Presley; “Everybody Plays the Fool,” The Main Ingredient; “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” Elvin Bishop; “What Kind of Fool,” Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb; “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” Connie Francis; “Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread,” Rosemary Clooney. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   practical joke - n. a joke involving something that is done rather than said : a trick played on someone : a prank intended to trick or embarrass someone or cause physical discomfort prank - n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

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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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