National Park in New Orleans Celebrates Jazz

  Our National Parks journey this week takes us to New Orleans, Louisiana, the city many consider to be the birthplace of jazz. New Orleans is a port city at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It holds one of the most famous cultural celebrations in America: The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, called Jazz Fest for short. This year, the event opened April 22 and continues through May 1. It is the 47th festival. Famous performers this year include Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. The first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival took place in 1970. That year, about 350 people attended the five-day celebration. Five years later, about 80,000 people attended the festival. Today, attendance is measured in hundreds of thousands. ​The festival’s original organizers said the event “could only be held in New Orleans, because here and here alone is the richest music tradition in America.” And, only in New Orleans could you find a whole national park honoring jazz. Today, we are exploring the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. The park includes sites important to jazz history in New Orleans. Visitors can walk around the city to see these sites. They include places located in the oldest part of the city -- the French Quarter -- as well as in the Louis Armstrong Park. Louis Armstrong is one of the greatest American jazz musicians. His voice, trumpet-playing skill and creativity continue to influence jazz artists today. Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901. Jazz was just beginning to develop when Louis was a boy. It grew out of the blues songs and ragtime music that had been popular at the turn of the century. Louis Armstrong discovered music early in life.  He was surrounded by it. By the time he was 18, he joined the Kid Ory Band, one of the finest bands in New Orleans. In the 1920s, Armstrong moved on to Chicago, and then New York, which had become major centers of jazz music. The trumpeter soon became one of the most famous musicians of his time. In the 1930s, he had his own big band, called Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra. But, his biggest hits came later in his life. In 1964, his version of the song “Hello Dolly” was the top hit around the world. And the song “What a Wonderful World,” recorded in 1968, was his final big hit. Armstrong died in 1971. In 1980, the city of New Orleans opened the Louis Armstrong Park to honor one of the city’s most famous sons. Among other sites, the park includes a statue of Armstrong himself and a place called Congo Square. Throughout history, the square had many names. Congo Square was once used as an area where slaves were permitted to perform African and Caribbean dances and drumming. The sounds played a role in the development of jazz. Today, the city holds the annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival there. Another stop within the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park is the J&M Recording Studio. It lies just south of Louis Armstrong Park, on Rampart Street. The studio operated from 1945 to 1955. Cosimo Matassa, a recording engineer, was the owner of the studio. He recorded some of the greatest jazz and rhythm and blues artists of the time. Today, the spot is a laundromat. But a small sign on the building points out its important place in music history. Next, we visit the Mint. A mint is a place that produces coins. The Mint started out as a place where U.S. and Confederate currency was made. But today, the Mint is a famous performing arts center and a museum full of jazz history. That museum is the Louisiana State Museum. Here, visitors can see Louis Armstrong’s first cornet -- a brass instrument similar to a trumpet. He bought it in New Orleans when he was 15 years old.   The National Park Service holds live educational performances at the Mint most days of the week. Many of those performances are streamed live online for viewers around the world to enjoy. ​Another park site is Preservation Hall, in the French Quarter. The word “preservation” means keeping or protecting for the future. By the early 1960s, traditional New Orleans jazz music was in danger of disappearing. Young people wanted to hear the music of Elvis Presley and other rock and roll stars. Not many young people were interested in listening to jazz. In 1961, Allan and Sandra Jaffe began using a small, old building on St. Peter’s Street as a music hall. Musicians there played traditional New Orleans jazz, sometimes just for their own enjoyment. Allan Jaffe was a tuba player. He played with what became known as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The Jaffes created Preservation Hall to protect and preserve the city’s traditional jazz sounds. Today, different bands play at the hall each night. Musicians also still play in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. They play in concert halls around the United States. They will even be playing on April 30 as part of this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I’m Ashley Thompson. And I’m Caty Weaver. Ashley Thompson wrote this report, with material from the VOA Learning English archives and the National Park Service. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________

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North Korea Sentences Korean-American to Hard Labor

A North Korean court has sentenced a Korean-American man to 10 years of hard labor. Kim Dong Chul was given the sentence on Friday after the court found him guilty on subversion charges. Kim is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He admitted last month that he had attempted to steal North Korean military secrets. His confession took place in front of reporters in Pyongyang. He was arrested in October 2015. His confession came a week after a North Korean court sentenced Otto Warmbier, an American college student, to 15 years of hard labor. The court acted after Warmbier said he had attempted to steal a propaganda banner. Observers note that North Korean officials likely pressured the confessions of both men. Tensions between the United States and North Korea have risen in recent months because of the North’s nuclear weapons and long-range rocket tests. The U.S., South Korea and Japan have increased their defense readiness in response to the tests. U.S. and South Korean forces held their yearly joint military exercises in March. Those exercises were described as the largest ever. Also in March, the United Nations Security Council approved the strongest sanctions yet on North Korea for its nuclear and missile activities. I’m Mario Ritter.   Fern Robinson reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   confession – n. a written or spoken statement in which a person admits to something, usually something wrong sanctions – n. action is taken to force a country to obey international law

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April 28, 2016

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

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US Lawmaker: More Operations in South China Sea

  The United States has increasingly carried out what have been called freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. This month, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited a warship in the South China Sea in an effort to show America’s commitment to security in the area. The exercises involve Navy ships and military aircraft. In a freedom of navigation operation, they are sent to areas where other countries have tried to restrict flights or shipping. The aim is to demonstrate that the international community does not accept such restrictions. The freedom of navigation operations have brought strong reactions from China. Now, some U.S. lawmakers have called on the Obama Administration to carry out more operations close to artificial islands China is developing in the disputed waterway. Bob Corker of Tennessee is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He expressed his ideas on Wednesday. He spoke before Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the committee. Corker said the freedom of navigation exercises have not slowed China’s land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea. “Neither the rhetoric nor the freedom of navigation operations have deterred or slowed down China’s land reclamation activities, including the stationing of military-related assets on these artificial islands.” He said that China could take further actions if an international court rules against it in its maritime territorial dispute with the Philippines. And he warned such a ruling could place American interests at risk. “But merely managing differences with China is not a successful formula, particularly when such management cedes U.S. influence and places American interests at risk in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.” In his comments, Blinken said the number of freedom of navigation operations carried out by the U.S. military has increased. He added that they will continue. Recent news reports, notably in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, say China may be considering plans to develop other areas beyond the Spratly Islands.  The reports say the U.S. Pacific Command has sent warplanes close to Scarborough Shoal, west of the Philippines. China is believed to have carried out survey work in that area. Those U.S. flights brought a sharp response from China. China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory. However, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims to different parts of the area. Nanjing University security expert Zhu Feng said he could not rule out Chinese construction of a lighthouse or a maritime monitoring post on Scarborough Shoal. However, he said a large land reclamation would there would be out of the question. The Wall Street Journal reported his comments. I’m Mario Ritter. Victor Beattie reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   artificial – adj. not natural, man-made maritime – adj. related to the sea or ocean formula – n. a plan or method for doing something monitor – v. to observe or watch navigation – adj. of or related to the watching and controlling the movement of a vehicle from one place to another commitment – n. a duty or responsibility deter – v. to prevent or stop ​

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Scientists: Monkeys Used Raft to Cross Ocean

  Scientists believe a species of monkeys used a raft to cross 160 kilometers of ocean from South to North America about 21 million years ago. The monkeys are similar to today’s capuchins, small monkeys that often perform with humans at the circus. Scientists found seven monkey teeth that became fossils in an area near the Panama Canal. The teeth were more than five million years old. Scientists think that is when the continents of North and South America came together. They said the teeth belonged to a species they call Panamacebus transitus. When the species lived, South America was not in contact with other continents. For that reason, South America has a strange variety of mammals. The animals grew and changed in interesting ways because they were separated from other animals. Jonathan Bloch works at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus. He said that Panama was farther south than any other place in North America. He said the monkeys might have swum, but probably rode on some kind of a raft. Surprising discovery Bloch believes these monkeys were the only mammals that were able to cross the waterway from South America to reach present-day Panama. The strip of land, known as the Isthmus of Panama, was formed about 3.5 million years ago. That land bridge permitted large numbers of animals to begin walking between the continents in one of the biggest mixing of species on record. Bloch said learning that monkeys lived in North America that long ago was a surprising discovery. For a long time, scientists thought that monkeys simply did not exist there. It would be like learning that Australia's kangaroos and koalas live in the wilds of Asia today.   This story is from the Reuters news service. The news first appeared in Nature magazine. Jill Robbins adapted this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   monkey - n. type of animal that is closely related to apes and humans and that has a long tail and usually lives in trees  fossil - n.  something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks mammal - n. a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin raft - n. a flat structure that is used for floating or sailing on water sloth - n. a type of animal that lives in trees in South and Central America and that moves very slowly kangaroo - n. an Australian animal that moves by hopping on its powerful rear legs koala- n. an Australian animal that has thick gray fur, large hairy ears, sharp claws for climbing, and no tail   Now it’s your turn. What do you think of this discovery? Write to us in the comments section.

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Reports: Prescription Drugs Found with Prince's Body

Media reports say police discovered prescription drugs with Prince when the entertainer was found dead at his home last week.   Several news organizations, including ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, are citing law enforcement sources as the basis of the information. They do not further identify the sources, however. The reports say prescription painkillers were found on the 57-year-old artist and in his home. The Minneapolis Star Tribune also reported that it was not clear whether the drugs were prescribed to Prince.   Prince died April 21. Doctors have completed an examination of his body but results are not expected for several weeks.   Several news groups also reported that Minnesota investigators have asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for help.   However, A Carver County police official Wednesday night said the DEA "is not part of the investigation at this time." DEA officials have not commented. I’m Caty Weaver.   The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. ­­­Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. You can also post a message on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   prescription – n. a medicine that a doctor officially tells someone to use cite – v. to write or say the words of (someone) painkiller – n. a drug that removes or reduces pain

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Maria Sharapova May Get a Second Chance

  Tennis star Maria Sharapova was almost in tears in early March when she told reporters in Los Angeles, California, that she tested positive for a banned drug. Sharapova said the drug meldonium came up on her test at the Australian Open in January. She said she made a “huge mistake.” Three of her major sponsors suspended their business relationships with her after the test results. The International Tennis Federation, or ITF, started an investigation in March and suspended Sharapova while it was gathering information. She was one of many athletes suspended earlier this year. Now, she and other athletes may get a chance to play again this summer in time for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil which start on August 5. The World Anti-Doping Association, known as WADA, monitors the drug-testing programs of 600 sports organizations around the world including the International Olympic Committee. Late last year, WADA announced it was adding meldonium to the list of banned drugs for 2016. The little-known drug was popular among athletes from Russia and countries in Eastern Europe. WADA says it detected the drug in 172 tests starting on January 1. ​The drug was so popular, the BBC reported almost 500 athletes at the 2015 European Games tested positive for it. The drug is supposed to help athletes work harder while training or during competitions by carrying more oxygen than usual to muscles. However, some athletes said, although they stopped taking the drug in 2015, it still showed up in their drug tests in 2016. That has created a dispute over the suspensions. WADA recently said it does not know how long it takes meldonium to leave the body, especially if athletes were taking it for a long time. WADA now says athletes who stopped taking the drug last year “could not reasonably have known or suspected” that it would still come up on a drug test this year. Some banned athletes now are permitted to compete in their sports while more research is being done on meldonium. Two of those athletes are a Russian gymnast and a triple-jumper from Bulgaria. Sharapova is still suspended. Her hearing is expected to take place soon, but the exact date has not been made public. The ITF is expected to rule sometime in the coming months. The Associated Press news agency reports that the ITF could take up to three months to announce its decision. That means Sharapova will likely not be able to play in the French Open when it opens on May 22. She won that competition twice. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting by VOANews.com. Mario Ritter was the editor. Do you think Sharapova and some other athletes should be able to go back to their sports? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   doping – n. the illegal use of a drug (such as a steroid) to improve an athlete's performance monitor – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time sponsor – n. a person or organization that pays the cost of an activity or event (such as a radio or television program, sports event, concert, etc.) in return for the right to advertise during the activity or event

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News Words: Birthright Citizenship

Birthright citizenship are a couple of long words. Find out what they mean and why they are important with your News Words hosts.

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Commonly Confused Words: Part Two

  From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. This week, we continue explaining commonly confused words in the English language. Ashley: That reminds me…Adam, do you still have my grammar book that I let you borrow last week? Adam: No, I lied the book down on your desk yesterday. Ashley:  You mean, you laid the book on my desk yesterday. Adam: Lie, lay, laid, lied…what’s the difference?  Ashley: That’s a hard question to answer. Both words have several definitions. But an easy way to remember the difference is this: “Lay” is a transitive verb. That means it requires an object in the sentence. “Lie” is an intransitive verb. That means it does not require an object.  You said you put the book on my desk. “Book” is the object of the sentence, so you need the transitive verb “lay.” Adam: I think I get it now. That seems easy enough. Ashley: Well, the difference between these two words is a little more complex than that. Let’s keep going. Lay and lie Lay means “to put or set something down in a flat position.” The past tense of lay is laid. Sometimes, it is used with the word “down.” For example, “He laid the newspaper down on the table.” Or, “The mother laid the baby down for a nap.” Notice there is an object in each sentence: “newspaper” in the first, and “baby” in the second. The verb lie has several meanings. It can mean “to be in a flat position on a surface,” such as a bed. With this definition, it is also sometimes used with the word “down.” For example, “The doctor told him to lie down on the examination table.” Remember, lie is an intransitive verb. The subject is doing the action, not an object. To make these two words even more confusing, the past tense of lie is lay [L-A-Y]. For example, “Last night, she lay in bed unable to fall asleep.” In this example, even native English speakers might use the past tense of lay, which is laid. Listen to this famous song by Simon and Garfunkel. In this example, they are using the transitive verb lay followed by the direct object me. Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down    present  past  past participle  transitive  Lay The chicken lays eggs.  Laid The workers laid the foundation for new school.  Laid He has already laid his cards on the table.  intransitive  Lie Don’t lie on the grass.  Lay She lay on the bed.  Lain The food had lain on the counter for too long.    Affect and Effect These next commonly confused words sound - and look - almost the same: affect and effect. But the one-letter difference changes a lot. Let’s start with effect [E-F-F-E-C-T]. Effect can act as a noun or, in rare cases, a verb. As a noun, effect means “a change that results when something happens.” For example, “The Chinese economy has an effect on global markets.” Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] is usually used as a verb. Affect means “to influence.” In other words, affect means “to have an effect” on something or someone. For instance, “The Chinese economy affects global markets.” Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] can also be a noun -- but it is much less common. As a noun, affect is “an emotion or desire that influences behavior.” As mentioned before, effect can also be used as a verb. Used a verb, effect has a similar meaning to affect. It means “to cause something or make something happen.” For example, “President Obama has tried to effect a change in the country’s health care policy.” Again, effect is rarely used as a verb. If you are confused, just remember this: effect is usually a noun, and affect is usually a verb.    noun  verb    Effect   The law had no effect. a change   The president used his power to effect change. (rare) to cause    Affect   She took the bad news with little affect. (rare) an emotion or desire that influences behavior   The Chinese economy affects global markets. To influence   Than and Then Finally, we have than and then. Than [T-H-A-N] is both a preposition and conjunction. It is used when comparing things. For example, “I am taller than my sister.” Or, “Canada is larger than Mexico.” Then is most often used an adverb. It can mean “at that time.” It can also be used when describing what happens next. For example, “I fed my dog, and then I walked my dog.” You can also use then when describing something that must be true if something else is true. We call this an “if/then statement.” For example, “If it is raining, then the concert will be canceled.” And that’s Everyday Grammar for this week. Join us again next week as we take a look at more examples of commonly confused words! I’m Ashley Thompson. And I’m Adam Brock. Ashley Thompson wrote this article. Adam Brock and Hai Do were the editors.

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Highly Contagious Virus Sickens Million, Costs Billion

  From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. Everyone knows about the flu and the common cold. But what about norovirus? If you have never heard of norovirus, you are not alone. Most people haven’t. The fact that people do not know its name does not mean it is rare. The virus is actually very common. Norovirus infects 700 million people each year, mainly in the developed world. This video from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further explains the norovirus. The virus is a very aggressive intestinal illness. It causes nausea, vomiting and the worst diarrhea most people have ever had. It is also a killer. More than 200,000 people a year die from this virus. Medical costs linked to norovirus can be as high as $60 billion dollars a year. These costs include lost productivity at work because of personal illness or caring for a sick child. Because of this high price tag, health experts say norovirus is worth researching. Bruce Lee is a professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Lee and his colleagues estimated the cost of the illness in 233 countries, regions and territories around the world. He says norovirus is responsible for about 50 percent of all stomach and intestinal illnesses in those regions. Lee and other researchers report their estimates in the journal PLoS One. Their calculations are thought to be the first regarding the global impact of norovirus. Lee says that he and his team wanted to quantify -- or put into numbers -- and characterize the impact of the norovirus. "We were interested in quantifying or better characterizing the impact of norovirus because it's something that you've heard of but if you think about it, you're not really sure what the impact, how often does it occur, how widespread is it." In fact, Lee says, the actual number of people who get sick with norovirus may be much greater. Many people, he says, may just think they have a stomach bug when they actually have norovirus. A stomach bug is an informal way to describe something such as a germ that causes intestinal illness. Again, here is Bruce Lee. "So people may suffer with the symptoms and they think, 'well, I've got a stomach bug', quote-unquote, and 'I've got some food poisoning' and they never really report it or get diagnosed." Lee hopes greater awareness will lead to control measures. These measures include washing hands and disinfecting food preparation areas. He adds that there is another important factor to consider: sick workers who still go to work. When a worker is sick, he says, they often feel obligated to still go to work. This is especially true for people in food service jobs who may lose wages if they miss work. Sick people working around food can contaminate, or spread viruses to, many people. Sick workers instead, he says, should be encouraged to stay home. "Many times, people who work in restaurants or the food preparation industry feel obligated to show up to work even though they’re sick, because many folks are on wages and they can't afford to miss a day, even a day. And so, they'll come in sick and then they'll end up contaminating food and spread it to many other people." There is currently no vaccine for norovirus. However, Lee says there are experimental vaccines under development. He says he hopes will one day a vaccine will help contain the spread of the virus. I’m Anna Matteo.   In the Comments Section, practice using the words in this article relating to viruses.  Jessica Berman wrote this for VOA News in Washington, D.C. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rare – adj. seldom occurring or found intestinal – adj. affecting, occurring, or living in the intestine : of, relating to, or being the intestine quantify – v. to find or calculate the quantity or amount of (something) characterize – v. to describe the character or special qualities of (someone or something) impact – n. to have a strong and often bad effect on (something or someone) widespread – adj. common over a wide area or among many people obligated – v. to make (a person or organization) do something because the law requires it or because it is the right thing to do contaminate – v. to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it

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US Holocaust Museum Show Inspires Hungarian Art Students

  At first look, the black-and-white photograph seems sweet and innocent. The image was taken in 1929 in Bremen, Germany. Nine neighborhood boys stand together. They are smiling as they look at the camera. But, the photograph is the start of a dark story that is part of a new exhibit. The show, called “Some Were Neighbors,” is at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Many years after that photograph was taken, and after the end of World War II, one of the men in that old photo put it in the mail. He sent it and a letter to another man in the photo, seen standing with a bicycle. The man with a bicycle was Jewish. During World War II, Nazis murdered his mother. Later, he became a rabbi. In the letter, the other man explained that he had worked as a Nazi guard at Germany’s Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. But, he wrote, he “never touched a Jew.” The rabbi wrote back to the sender of the letter. He said, “What I wanted to hear...was how he felt about his job. Did he think that killing Jews was the proper thing to do?” He never got an answer. The questions the rabbi asked the guard are central to the “Some Were Neighbors” exhibit. Millions of ordinary people saw the crimes of the Holocaust. They saw the crimes take place in city squares, in stores and schools, in the countryside and other places. The Nazis found people all across Europe who willing to take part in their crimes. “Some Were Neighbors” explores what moves people to behave certain ways in difficult situations. The exhibit challenges viewers to understand a dark period of history. It also examines the importance of social responsibility. Zsuzsanna Kozák runs the Visual World Foundation in Budapest, Hungary. The non-profit organization works to support peace through video and media literacy. Last year, Kozák and other educators gathered at the U.S. museum for an international conference on Holocaust education. The museum organized the conference with UNESCO. The conference brought together teams from 10 countries that have limited educational material on the Holocaust and other genocides. Those countries were Hungary, India, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, South Korea, Rwanda and Turkey. Each country’s team left with a project plan. Kozák and the team from Hungary used the “Some Were Neighbors” exhibit to create a traveling student art project. The project centered on the Holocaust. But, it aims to create a discussion about current tensions in their country, including a large new border fence that blocked migrants from entering Hungary. The anti-discrimination project is called “Your Decision.” Kozák’s team worked with educators from six Hungarian schools. The students were from the very young to college age. The students explored ideas of tolerance – or accepting difference. Each group studied pieces of the “Some Were Neighbors” exhibit, such as a film clip of a Holocaust-era public shaming, or the Bremen neighborhood boys’ photo. Each group was asked to make art communicating the ideas they had studied. The students’ works were displayed at an exhibit last week in Budapest at the Canadian embassy. Teenagers from a Jewish school in Budapest made a three-dimensional copy of the Bremen neighborhood boys’ photograph. They separated the man who received the letter and another boy from the rest of the group. Zsuzsanna Kozák was born in 1974. She recalled not learning much about World War II history in school. “There is such a cultural silence,” she said. Peter Fredlake directs the Holocaust museum’s teacher education program. He said the “Some Were Neighbors” exhibit tries to change people’s understanding of what the Holocaust was. The Hungarian student art project, he said, “pushes back against the Holocaust narrative Hungarians hear today, one that ignores personal responsibility and claims victimhood.” Fredlake said that since the international conference, the other nine countries’ teams have also been exploring new ways for talking about genocide. The Hungarian students’ art project will be on display at the six participating schools starting in May. It will then move on to sites like the International Jewish Youth Camp in Hungary and to a gallery in Austria. Kozák said she hopes the art project will be seen in many places, for many years, because intolerance “is a universal challenge.” I'm Ashley Thompson. Carol Guensburg reported this story for VOA News. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story rabbi - n. a person who is trained to make decisions about what is lawful in Judaism​ proper - adj. correct according to social or moral rules ordinary - adj. not unusual, different, or special challenge - v. to test the ability, skill, or strength of (someone or something) literacy - n. knowledge that relates to a specified subject tolerance - n. willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own narrative - n. a story that is told or written genocide - n. the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group gallery - n. a room or building in which people look at paintings, sculptures, etc.

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