Ivory Coast Taekwondo Champions Head to Rio

  African countries may be best-known for their track and field success at the Olympics. But interest in Asian martial arts has grown on the continent. African nations are sending 50 athletes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to compete in events such as taekwondo and judo. Three of those athletes represent Ivory Coast. A Korean Taekwondo expert introduced the exercise to Ivory Coast in the 1960s. It is now a popular after-school activity for children. Ivorian Taekwondo competitor Ruth Gbagbi will be making her second Olympics appearance. She also competed in the 2012 London Games but lost both her matches. She is 22 and competes in the 67-kilogram division. Mamina Koné and Cheick Cissé are the other two Ivorian taekwondo competitors at this year’s games. It will be their first Olympic experience. Taekwondo became an Olympic sport in 2000. Only three Africans have won medals in the event. Ivory Coast has one medal in its Olympic history.  Ivorian runner Gabriel Tiacoh took home a silver medal in 1984 for his second place finish in the men’s 400-meter event. All three of the taekwondo athletes from Ivory Coast won medals in recent African competitions. The director of the Ivory Coast team says the three athletes are on the same level as the best in the world. The competitors say they are setting an example for the next generation of Ivorian athletes. Moussa Berthé is 13. He has been doing taekwondo for five years. He says he learned “discipline, respect, dignity and wisdom” from his teachers. Berthé will be watching the national team compete in Rio. "They are examples to follow because they are champions, and they come from Ivory Coast so it encourages us to continue taekwondo," he said. The taekwondo competition begins in Rio on August 17. I’m Dan Friedell.   Emilie Iob wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. How do you think the African athletes will do at the Olympics? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   martial arts – n. any one of several forms of fighting and self-defense (such as karate and judo) that are widely practiced as sports medal – n. a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement wisdom – n. knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life discipline – n. a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders dignity – n. a way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control division – n. a group of teams or athletes in a section of a competition match – n. a contest between two athletes or teams  

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Everyday Grammar: Apostrophes

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Making Bamboo a Common Building Material

Bamboo is one of the world’s most useful plants. For thousands of years bamboo has been used in many different ways -- from food to medicine to clothing and, in small ways, as a building material. However, bamboo is not often used as a building material in the developed world. It is not made according to officially set measurements, or standards. It simply grows in the ground. A professor at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania is trying to change that. The professor and his students are testing the strength of bamboo. They are testing its radial load, or how much pressure or weight it can take before breaking. That pressure was too much. Kent Harries is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Harries says that testing methods for bamboo need to be the same for all. They need to be standardized. Building codes everywhere require strict standardization of tests for all materials, such as timber or concrete. But tests for bamboo have not been standardized. Standardizing test methods for bamboo will help to bring the plant into common use, or the mainstream. It will also give engineers and builders around the world a dependable standard – or as Harries says, a testing method they can hang their hat on. "If we standardize it, if we provide essentially documentation, test methods which the engineers can hang their hat on, we bring the material into the mainstream." Why is bamboo a great building material? Harries sees bamboo as a great building material. First, it is strong. The strength of at least three species of bamboo is similar to steel. Besides its strength, Harries says that bamboo has other features that make it a great building material. He says it is resilient, meaning it keeps its shape and strength even under pressure. "It's a remarkably strong material, remarkably resilient. It's optimized to be very tall. Obviously bamboo material, something like this, might grow 20 meters and it supports its own weight, and, of course, it also supports huge wind loads ..." Bamboo also grows quickly. Bamboo that is suitable for construction needs much less resources than wood. The harvest cycle of bamboo is about 3 years. Softwoods such as cedar, pine and spruce have a harvest cycle of about 10 years. And hardwoods that come from flowering plants such as oak, maple and walnut need more than 30 years. Harries says bamboo poles could be joined together into columns for building floors and roofs. In many countries they are already used for wall panel structures. Bamboo might have a bad reputation Bamboo is widely used as food for panda bears. It is also used for furniture or man-made building products such as flooring and window covers, or blinds. However, bamboo is not used much outside its native growing area. This is mostly because of its round shape. But there are other reasons too. Bamboo, it seems, has an image problem. People think – or have the mentality – that bamboo is a low quality building material. "It is viewed in much of the world as well, bamboo is for poor people, and so there's that mentality that we're trying to get over." I’m Anne Ball.   George Putic reported this story from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for VOA News. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English. Adam Brock 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   standard – n. a fixed official unit of measurement radial load -  adj. pressure or weight  that weighs on an object from a right angle standardized – adj. to change (things) so that they are similar and consistent and agree with rules about what is proper and acceptable hang (your) hat on – idiomatic phrase a skill or trait or whatever that you use or rely on mainstream – adj. the thoughts, beliefs, and choices that are accepted by the largest number of people resilient – adj. able to return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc. optimize – v. to make (something) as good or as effective as possible harvest cycle – n. the annual cycle of activities related to the growth and harvest of a crop. These activities include loosening the soil, seeding, special watering, moving plants when they grow bigger, and harvesting, among others. image – n. the idea that people have about someone or something mentality – n. a particular way of thinking  

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Freudian Slip and Other Types of Psychobabble

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories! Each week, we tell about and explain sayings in American English. Today is it different types of psychobabble. Psychobabble is a fairly new word in the English language. For about 40 years, people have been using psychobabble to describe the language of popular psychotherapy. Psychotherapists are specialists in treating mental or emotional disorders. They talk with patients about their problems instead of using medicine or drugs. Psychobabble can be used in areas other than the world of psychotherapy. Often these words find their way into everyday language. Sigmund Freud is said to be the father of psychoanalysis. He opened up new ways of thinking about the mind. Freud and his work on unconscious, suppressed desires also led to several new expressions. Among these is the saying “a Freudian slip.” A Freudian slip is something people say accidentally that shows their true feelings. We also call this a slip of the tongue. Freud explored the feelings that people keep buried deep inside themselves. They fail to recognize they are keeping their feelings hidden. Those feelings are bottled up inside the individual, Freud said. And sometimes these bottled up feelings come out in uncontrolled ways. Here is an example. In 2004, Condoleezza Rice served as National Security Advisor to the president of the United States, George W. Bush. She was unmarried at the time and there were reports that she spent much of her time with the president and his wife Laura. At a dinner party one night, Rice was talking with a group of people. She reportedly said, “As I was telling my husb—as I was telling President Bush …” Some reporters wrote that Rice’s Freudian slip might have shown how she really felt about Bush. Sigmund Freud also defined parts of the human mind. In Freud’s thinking, a mind is divided into three parts. The ego is the part of the mind that senses and reacts to changes in the real world. The superego is the part that relates to ideas about what is right and wrong and to feelings of guilt. The id is the part of our unconscious minds that relates to one’s basic needs and desires. Of these three parts, it is the ego that is used in common expressions. If someone is said to be on an ego trip, they are only thinking of themselves. We also use this expression as a verb, saying that someone is ego tripping. To stroke someone’s ego is to praise them in order to get what you want. For example, if your supervisor is difficult to work with, just stroke his ego. Tell him he has the best ideas and that you are learning a lot from him!     If this boss is egocentric, all those nice comments just might work. Egocentrics are people who care too much for themselves and not enough about others. Egomania is the state of being egocentric. You could say an egomaniac lives in the state of egomania. However, an alter ego is the exact opposite of an ordinary personality. In literature, one of the most famous examples of an alter ego appears in the book "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson.                             This story became so famous that the saying "Jekyll and Hyde” now means a person who is different in moral character from one situation to the next. For example, you could say, “She has a real Jekyll and Hyde personality. One minute, she’s nice and quiet. The next she is shouting at people and insulting them.” Other personality types have made it out of the doctor’s office and into American English. Take a Type A personality, for example. A Type A is said to be aggressive and very competitive. Researchers started using this expression in the 1950s when they explored the connection between Type A personalities, stress and heart disease. In the 1970s, the term Type A found its way into everyday language. Type As are often described as overachievers, goal-oriented and driven. Such individuals have a hard time waiting in lines, taking it easy and getting away from work. Their main concern is their career. This may sound bad. But Type A people are actually highly effective in the workplace. And perhaps people who are a little Type A are also good at learning English. I’m Anna Matteo. ((But I don't care it's all psychobabble rap to me, Psychobabble, oh, psychobabble...))   Do you have an example of a Freudian slip? Is there someone in your life with an ego problem? Let us know in the Comments Section. Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. The song at the end is The Alan Parson’s Project singing “Psychobabble.” __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   bottled up  – idiomatic expression. control and refrain from showing insult – v. to do or say something that is offensive to someone; to do or say something that shows a lack of respect for someone overachiever – adj. someone who has much more success than is normal or expected especially at a young age goal-oriented – adj. works hard to reach good results in the work that they have been given

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Asian Countries Worry About Protectionism

  Asian countries are increasingly concerned that popular anger in the U.S. and Europe might hurt their exports and lead to a global economic slowdown. Voters in industrialized countries are frustrated with job losses in industries such as steel and automobile manufacturing. Many blame the losses on globalization and free trade policies. These were reportedly major issues in the British vote to leave the European Union. They also have been energetically discussed in the U.S. presidential election. Some experts are calling these concerns protectionism, or seeking to protect or block off a country’s market from foreign businesses. Frederic Neumann co-directs Asian economics research for HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. He said, “Rising protectionism could throw sand in the wheels of the global trading system and so start to gum it up.” Effects of Britain’s vote on world markets had results The vote in Britain resulted in wild changes in financial markets around the world. Major East Asian countries were no exception. They reacted with short-term economic measures meant to stabilize their markets because of the June 23 vote. South Korea ordered an increase in government spending. China let the value of its currency fall. And Japan has said it is considering taking measures if the value of the Japanese yen continues to rise. However, reaction in Asia to the heated disputes over trade in the West, especially in the U.S., has been somewhat muted.  Peter Drysdale heads the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy. He said anxiety in Asia is eased by the perception that a more thoughtful discussion will develop over time. “The rhetoric coming out of the political campaign in the United States of course does disturb policy leaders elsewhere in the world including Asia,” Drysdale said. Both parties voice opposition to free trade deals U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has attacked free trade agreements (FTA) during his campaign. He called for renegotiating or withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA, with Canada and Mexico. He also said he opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That trade agreement includes the United States and 11 other Pacific countries. Trump has criticized trade deals, but he is not alone. The Democratic Party presumptive nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, also voiced opposition to the TPP during her campaign. She has, however, supported free trade agreements in the past.  She spoke in support of the NAFTA deal as first lady of the U.S. with her husband, former president Bill Clinton. He signed the agreement into law in 1993. Clinton also supported the TPP when she was President Barack Obama’s secretary of state.  As a presidential candidate, however, she said the final version was not good for American workers. Some experts see her change in position as, at least party, a reaction to her opponent in the primary elections Bernie Sanders. He has been outspoken in his opposition to trade deals. However, President Obama is hopeful that the U.S. Senate will approve the TPP after Congressional elections in November. Economists said Asian countries could take further measures to open up their economies and increase investment in Western countries. Drysdale said this could ease anti-trade anger in the West. He added that is already happening to some extent. “Investors in India and China and elsewhere in the region are looking to put plants and investment into industrial countries and the United States in particular,” he said. Frederic Neumann of HSBC said American companies do complain of complex regulations blocking market access to Korea although an agreement is in place. Officials in Seoul say South Korea has a trade surplus of about $10 billion with the U.S.  But, they note that South Korean companies invest more in America than U.S. companies invest in Korea. Last week, Republican candidate Trump took specific aim at the U.S. free trade agreement with South Korea. He said the deal doubled the U.S. trade deficit with its East Asian ally and lost nearly 100,000 American jobs. I’m Mario Ritter. Brian Padden reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sentiment –n. feelings or an attitude held by a large number of people muted –adj. not strong, limited perception –n. an opinion, a way of seeing things rhetoric –n. public speech meant to persuade others to do or support something disturb –v. to throw into confusion, to worry or upset

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Small Dinosaur Suffered from Jaw Tumor

  For the first time ever, scientists have discovered a tumor in the remains of a dinosaur. Researchers at the University of Southampton in England found the deformed jaw of a dinosaur. The smaller-than-normal dwarf dinosaur is called a hadrosaur. It is a duck-billed dinosaur. The hadrosaur lived nearly 67 to 69 million years ago. It was found in what is called the “Valley of the Dinosaurs.” That valley is in the Transylvania area of western Romania. Dr. Zoltan Csiki-Sava was involved in finding the diseased hadrosaur. To investigate the tumor, her team was invited to Micro-CT scan the jawbone. “The tumor in this dinosaur had not developed to its full extent at the moment it died,” the doctor said. “[The tumor] could have indirectly contributed to its early demise.” Kate Acheson is a PhD student researcher at the University of Southampton. She said the duck-billed dinosaurs were at higher risk for tumors than other dinosaurs. The tumor is known as an ameloblastoma. That is a benign non-cancerous tumor that is found in the jaws of human and other animals. Researchers say the dinosaur likely did not suffer any pain during the early stages of the tumor. The dinosaur died before being fully grown. Researchers are not sure if the tumor caused the death of the hadrosaur. I’m Anne Ball.   The staff at VOA News wrote this story. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Adam Brock 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   tumor – n. a mass of tissue found in or on the body that is made up of abnormal cells dinosaur – n. one of many reptiles that lived on earth millions of years ago duck-billed – adj. have a projecting jaw, or beak, like a duck deformed – adj. not having the normal or expected shape especially because of a problem in the way something has developed or grown hadrosaur – n. a planting-eating dinosaur with jaws flattened like the bill of a duck dwarf – adj. smaller than normal size demise – n. an end of life ameloblastoma – n. a rare, benign tumor appearing in the lower jaw benign – adj. not causing death or serious injury; without cancer  

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Doctors in Uganda Are Only a Click Away

  Social media is filling a big demand in Uganda for individuals who have medical questions or need health care. The African nation has just one doctor for every 25,000 people. It is especially hard for those in rural areas to get care. A 24-hour medical hotline was set up to help meet their needs. The service uses social media to let Ugandans speak directly with certified doctors and pharmacists. People can make telephone calls to the office of the Medical Concierge Group in Kampala. But most use free messaging services like WhatsApp instead to contact the office’s trained specialists. The use of social media helps the group keep costs low and offer the hotline service for free. The hotline’s call center receives about 50,000 questions a month. Dr. Yvette Wibabara works there. She says the questions often relate to local health outreach programs. “Certain seasons they publicize about health topics, menstruation, immunization. So depending on what’s going on with the UNICEF publications, that’s what they get here most. The other platform we have is incoming and outgoing calls. [telephone rings] Here we go.” The man on this call had a question about his wife. He is worried she suffers from a medical complication after giving birth. Sometimes the call center brings in specialists to discuss health issues. On the day a VOA reporter went, a Ugandan cancer specialist was using Twitter to answer questions. Workers at the center spend a lot of time correcting common health myths, such as that vaccinations are dangerous.  Dr. John Mark Bwanika said the hotline also gives people the chance to raise questions they would be too embarrassed to ask their local health provider. “The questions are quite varied and straight out. But a lot of the questions, especially from the young people, are on sexual reproductive health issues. Things like, how do I use a condom? Where do I get testing for HIV? Where do I get post-abortion care?” Bwanika said another reason many people use the hotline is to find the nearest care provider. The Medical Concierge Group keeps records of doctors and specialists throughout the country. The hotline plans to expand its service in Uganda to other African countries.  I’m Bryan Lynn. Lizabeth Paulat reported this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Would you use social media apps to connect with a doctor? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hotline – n. a service available to the public for offering information certified – adj. officially recognized for meeting certain set standards complication – n. a disease or condition that happens in addition to another disease myth – n. an idea or story that is believed by many people, but is not true  embarrassed – adj. feeling or showing shame or awkwardness  

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English in a Minute: A Fish Out of Water

Have you ever felt like a "fish out of water?" Find out what this common expression means in this week's English in a Minute!

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Live Broadcast of Deaths Raised Ethical Questions

Recent shootings broadcast on live streaming apps are raising ethical questions about the use of the technology. The most recent case happened this week outside St. Paul, Minnesota. Police shot a man in his car during a traffic stop and the aftermath of the shooting was broadcast live over Facebook by the victim’s girlfriend. The girlfriend sat in the passenger seat as she streamed a 10-minute video on Facebook Live that was later posted on YouTube. The video shows the man, 32-year-old Philando Castile, bleeding and slumped over in the driver’s seat after being shot. She said police pulled the car over for having a broken tail light. The officer asked to see the driver’s license and registration. She said her boyfriend then told the officer he had a gun that he was licensed to carry. But she said “the officer shot him in the arm four or five times” as he reached for his wallet.  The girlfriend later cried in the video while explaining, “police shot him for no apparent reason, no reason at all.” Her boyfriend was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer involved in the shooting was put on leave while the incident is being investigated. The officer is heard in the video saying: “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.” The woman responds: “You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.” Video streaming is more popular Deadly police shootings, especially those involving black victims and white officers, are widely covered in the U.S. media. Multiple incidents happened just in the last few weeks. Some shootings are discovered only after someone captured them on video. Television networks and local stations fill their broadcasts with social media video footage shot by witnesses on phone cameras. During coverage of the police killings in Dallas, broadcasters showed video from the chaotic scene of people running away right after shots were fired. In another video, a man hiding inside a building gave updates on the police search for a suspect nearby. But the popularity of streaming apps such as Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope have now made it possible for killings and other crimes to be broadcast live. Darrell West is vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings. He says the rise in live streaming shows that we have become “a reality culture.” “It’s possible to live stream a wide range of activities. Some perfectly benign, but others such as crimes and killings - even beheadings in the case of ISIS [also known as Islamic State] - that are very problematic. So it definitely raises a lot of ethical issues.”  West even sees the streaming technology being used by mass killers or terrorists in future attacks to reach a live audience.  “It’s only a matter of time before some mass murderer wears a body camera and live streams the crime. The technology is there, we are seeing it applied in other areas, and it’s not expensive for criminals to get a hold of that kind of technology,” he said. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, was using Facebook during his attack on the Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people. He used Facebook to search the terms “Pulse Orlando” and “shooting” from inside the nightclub. He did not live stream the massacre, but did post messages about it. Video streaming raises the possibility that news networks might also decide to broadcast these live feeds. Darrell West said the networks will need to be cautious, but he predicts they will decide to show some of the live videos. “If there’s a really big event going on, like a crime or mass killings, they are going to put it on the air. Because there is going to be extensive public interest in that, and people want to know what happened. And the best way to tell them what happened is through live videos.” Chicago killing was streaming live Another killing was captured on a live Facebook stream last month in Chicago. Police said 28-year-old Antonio Perkins, a suspected gang member, was shot June 15. Perkins was live streaming on Facebook during the shooting. The 14-minute video showed him standing outside, together with friends, and talking into the camera. About six minutes into the video, he looks to his right and says, “Boy stop playin.” At that point, gunshots can be heard, the man collapses, and his phone falls to the ground. A few more shots are heard.    People at the scene can be heard on the video saying, “Oh my God. Call the police! Hurry up!” Police arrive shortly and Perkins is rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. That shooting was captured as part of a real-life event, and technology experts say this will happen again and again. Robert Thompson is the Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. He said the rise in live streaming came about because almost everyone now carries a phone with a video camera. It also provides a way for people to broadcast internationally through the internet, which appeals to many people. “Now just because you happen to post a video on Facebook, doesn’t mean the whole world is going to watch it. But you’ve got the potential for the whole world watching it.” Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, explained to a Facebook Live audience Thursday why she streamed the police shooting and final moments of Philando’s life. “I wanted to put it on Facebook and go viral so that the people could see. I want the people to determine who was right and who was wrong,” she said Robert Thompson said that with so many camera-capable phones out there, “every now and again, you are going to capture – just as life goes on – really horrible things happening.” The positive side of that, he says, is capturing crimes that would go unnoticed before. “With all of this recording, I think an awful lot of things are happening that people are having to account for, in a way that would not have been the case before.” But Thompson said other broadcasts by criminals or terrorists will be planned specifically for the camera.  “A lot of these bad things are done for the sake of the recording they are going to get. You could make the argument, pretty soundly, that September 11 was planned as a television production.” Despite the ethical issues with live streaming technology, Thompson said it is nearly impossible to stop. “Technology is relatively neutral. How do you only take the good from this and not the bad?” Darrell West agrees that there are very few ways for social media companies or the government to regulate live streams. “The genie is out of the bottle and there’s no way to put it back in. We can’t go back.” He added: “It used to be the first impulse was to call 911, now the first impulse is, grab your camera and take pictures and record videos.” I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn reported this story for VOA Learning English. Additional information came from the Associated Press and Reuters. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   ethical – adj. relating to questions of right and wrong behavior slump – v. to fall to the side while sitting or leaning chaotic – adv. state of complete confusion and disorder benign – adj. not causing harm or damage predict – v. to say something that will happen in the future brutality – n. cruel, harsh or violent treatment encounter – n. an unexpected or casual meeting with someone genie – n. a magic spirit that looks like a person impulse – n. a sudden strong urge to act  

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The Otherworldly Beauty of Badlands National Park

In this week’s national parks journey, we explore a unique landscape in the north central United States. The land is big and mostly flat. There are endless fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. Colors of green and gold paint the earth for kilometers. But as we travel west, the farmland gives way to wild grasses. It grows tall here under a huge blue sky. Farther on, however, the grass becomes much shorter. A strong dry wind blows continuously from the west. Suddenly, the land is torn and rocky, dry and dusty. The green is gone. Now we are surrounded by light reds and browns. Purple and gold hues can be seen as well. All around are broken, disorganized forms. There are sharp walls of rocks, and hills and valleys of all sizes and shapes. Welcome to Badlands National Park in the state of South Dakota. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, this whole area was grassland. Then forces of nature destroyed the grass in some parts. Water and ice cut into the surface of the Earth, splitting open some of its oldest rocks. Nature beat at the rocks, wearing them away. The result is one of the strangest sights, a place of otherworldly beauty. All together, the Badlands cover more than 15,000 square kilometers. About 10 percent is part of the national park. The area is a study in extremes. Temperatures in the summer have been as high as 46 degrees Celsius. In the winter they have dropped to as low as 41 degrees below zero. Life in the Badlands is difficult. Its name comes from the Lakota Native Americans. They called the area “mako sica” or “land bad” because of the extreme temperatures and harsh landscape. The term “badlands” has come to be used for areas where soft rock is eroded in a very dry climate.         Looking at a rock wall in the Badlands is like looking back through time. The layers and colors in the Badlands’ strange formations were formed over millions of years. The long history of the Badlands began some 65 million years ago, around the time the dinosaurs died out. A huge sea covered the middle of North America. It was drying up. The land at the bottom of the sea was black shale rock. That shale is now at the bottom of the Badlands. The next level of rock is from what geologists call the Oligocene Epoch. That period began about 37 million years ago. At that time, the Badlands area was warm and wet. A jungle grew there. A large number of warm-blooded animals lived in the jungle. Some of these animals were buried in the mud left behind by floods. Over millions of years, their bodies turned to rock. These fossil remains are a record in stone of what ancient animals looked like. The Badlands holds the world’s richest collection of fossils from the Oligocene Epoch. The area contains fossils from rhinos, horses, and huge cats. Because of this evidence here, we know that the period was great for mammals. Their total population worldwide increased greatly. And they grew in body size to take over the land left by the dinosaurs. About 28 million years ago, the environment of North America became much drier and cooler. The jungle disappeared. The land in the center of the continent became a prairie. A prairie is a large open area of grassland. The prairie here is one of the world’s largest. The Badlands were created on the western edge of this great prairie. They started to take shape as rain, wind, snow and ice beat down on the land. The rain and ice tore deep cuts in the soft earth. Over time, they became wider and deeper. The wind dried the earth and blew away the top soil. Today, rain comes to the Badlands mostly in sudden, fierce storms. Often, the area’s rivers are cooked dry by the hot sun and wind. Yet when it rains, the rivers flood. Their waters cut ever deeper into the soft earth. The Badlands are very dry, but they are not a desert. They are filled with many living things. There are short native grasses and wildflowers. The national park is home to many animals. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs live here. Prairie dogs are small animals that dig tunnels in the earth and live underground. Every living thing in the Badlands must be able to survive the extreme conditions. That includes the humans who have called the area home. Several hundred years ago, the Sioux tribe of Native Americans lived all around the Badlands. At the time, the Badlands were rich with animals. There were wolves and bears, bighorn sheep and deer. The most important animal to the Sioux, however, was the bison. They look like huge, hairy wild cattle. The Sioux way of life was completely organized around hunting bison. They used every part of the animal. They ate the meat. They made clothing and tents from its fur and skins. They used the bones as tools. They even boiled the feet to make a sticky substance to hold things together. White settlers who came West also hunted bison. In fact, they hunted bison until very few remained. They also planted crops where the bison had once fed. In time, the Sioux way of life on the Great Plains came to an end. The settlers and the federal government did not respect Native American cultures. The government expected the Sioux Indians to learn to farm. But the Badlands harsh environment was not good farmland. With few bison left to hunt, the Indians were sent to live on a reservation next to the Badlands area. Becoming a national park The Badlands became a national monument in 1939. Congress declared it a national park in 1978. More than 1 million people visit Badlands National Park each year. The park is now a protected area for bison. The National Park Service moved bison back into the Badlands. The animals are doing well. So are the bighorn sheep, foxes, coyotes, golden eagles, and prairie dogs. Most of the wild animals must be watched from a distance, especially the bison. The Park Service says a full-grown bison can weigh as much as a small car. It can run faster than a horse, And it can become angry and dangerous easily. Today, of course, the history of the Badlands continues to be written. As measured in geological time, the Badlands are being destroyed rapidly. The area, with its unusually soft rock, is being worn away at a rate of one centimeter per year. In a few more million years, the Badlands will be worn away, forever. I'm Ashley Thompson.  And I'm Caty Weaver.  _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   otherworldly - adj. seeming to belong to or come from another world harsh - adj. difficult to experience; unpleasant erode - v. to gradually destroy (something) or to be gradually destroyed by natural forces (such as water, wind, or ice) geologist - n.  a scientist who studies rocks, layers of soil, etc., in order to learn about the history of the Earth and its life jungle - n. a tropical forest where plants and trees grow very thickly soil - n. the top layer of earth in which plants grow reservation - n. an area of land in the U.S. that is kept separate as a place for Native Americans to live

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Former US Army Reservist Identified as Dallas Gunman

  Five police officers were shot and killed at a protest in Dallas, Texas, Thursday night. Seven other officers and two civilians were wounded in the deadly ambush, said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. The wounded were taken to local hospitals. Most were later released. No links to foreign terrorist groups have been reported. The ambush came the same week as two separate shootings of black men by police officers who are white. Both men died. Images of those shootings were captured on video. They have fueled public anger over the use of deadly force by police officers against minorities.   In Dallas, one suspect said to target whites In Dallas, police said the ambush Thursday night was a “well-planned” attack carried out by several people. The U.S. military has confirmed one of the people is a former Army Reservist who served in Afghanistan. Media reports identified him as Micah Xavier Johnson. Three other people were also detained in connection with the deadly attack. They have yet to be identified. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said police trapped one of the suspects after the attack. Brown said the suspect told a negotiator he wanted “to kill white people, especially white officers." He reportedly said he was acting alone and had no ties with any group. Police set off an explosion that killed the suspect after the negotiations broke down. Police used a bomb robot to set off an explosive device near him, the police chief said. Later Friday, Brown said the investigation showed “this was a well-planned, well thought out, evil tragedy by these suspects. We won’t rest until we bring everyone involved to justice.” Reaction centers on unity President Barack Obama spoke about the attack during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, where he is attending a NATO meeting. He said the shootings were a "vicious, calculated and despicable attack" on officers who were performing their jobs.  The president said police have "an extraordinarily difficult job," and the shootings are "a wretched reminder" of the dangers police face. In Washington, Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke to reporters. She urged unity in the face of the week’s divisive events. She asked Americans to, in her words, “Turn to each other, not against each other.” Lynch’s Justice Department is investigating the two earlier shootings involving police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan also spoke about the Texas shootings from the floor of the House of Representatives. He said, “An attack on the people who protect us is an attack on all of us. Our hearts are with the Dallas Police Department. Our hearts are with the victims, and especially with their loved ones.”   Dallas protest in reaction to two incidents this week About 1,000 people had gathered in downtown Dallas Thursday night to protest the police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. On Wednesday, a Minneapolis police officer shot and killed 32-year-old Philandro Castile in his car during a traffic stop. The man’s girlfriend and a child were also in the car. The woman recorded part of the incident live on video and posted it to the Facebook social media site. The other police shooting took place Tuesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot several times while being held by police.  Several violent protests have followed cases of police use of deadly force over the past two years. Protests in Baltimore, Maryland, became riots after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a young black man. He died of injuries while being held by police in April 2015. The Governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency and called the National Guard in to ease the violence. And, in August 2014, the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, led to intense protests that lasted for weeks. Concern over these and other incidents led to the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement. It seeks to bring attention to what supports say is disproportionate police use of deadly force against blacks. Groups supporting law enforcement officials want Americans to remember the concerns of police officers and their families. They note the number of law enforcement deaths. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund keeps statistics of officers who have been killed in the line of duty. That group says 124 officers were killed in 2015. I’m John Russell. Fern Robinson, Cindy Saine, Joshua Fatzick and Esha Sarai reported this story for VOANews.com. Mario Ritter adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   ambush – n. hiding and waiting for a target to appear calculated – adj. planned out carefully despicable – adj. very bad, deserving of being denounced disproportionate – adj. not balanced, too much to one side or another

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