English in a Minute: To Have a Lot on Your Plate

Someone who has "a lot on their plate" is probably very busy...maybe too busy. Find out more about this expression in this week's English in a Minute!

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Sequoia and Kings Canyon: A Land of Giants

  This week on our national parks journey, we visit a land of giants, high up in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Here you will find the largest living things on Earth, as well as the tallest mountain in the continental United States. It is also home to the deepest canyon in America. Welcome to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park! The park gets its name from the area’s ancient sequoia trees. They are among the oldest trees on the planet. Millions of years ago, different kinds of sequoias grew in many different places. Only two kinds exist today -- the redwood and the giant sequoia. Both are found in California. Redwoods are taller, but the trunks of giant sequoias are much bigger. Sequoia National Park’s forests are thick with giant sequoias. Many of the trees are several thousand years old. The largest is called General Sherman. It is named after a U.S. general in the civil war, William Tecumseh Sherman. The tree is 31 meters around. It stands almost 84 meters tall. And, it continues to grow. It sits within the park’s Giant Forest. The forest is home to over 8,000 sequoia trees. General Sherman is more than 2,200 years old. It is the world’s largest tree in terms of the amount of wood it contains. The National Park Service says if the tree were cut down it would provide a huge amount of wood construction planks. It says if they were laid end-to-end, they would stretch for almost 200 kilometers. Protecting the sequoias In the late 1800s, people grew concerned about logging activity in the area. They sought to protect the giant sequoias from being cut down for wood. One of those people was Walter Fry. In 1888, he came to the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a logger himself. He spent five days with a team of loggers trying to take down a single giant sequoia tree. Fry then decided to count the tree’s rings to learn its age. The answer shocked and saddened him. The tree they had cut down was more than 3,200 years old. He and his team of loggers had ended thousands of years of growth. The experience led Fry to change jobs. He became a naturalist. He studied the trees and measured the size of fallen sequoias. He also joined the fight to protect them from future loggers. When a petition was created to urge Congress to create a national park in the area, Fry was the third person to sign it. Sequoia National Park was established on September 25, 1890. It became the country’s second national park, after Yellowstone. Fry went on to become the first civilian supervisor of Sequoia. In 1940, Congress established another park neat Sequoia: Kings Canyon. It and Sequoia National Park have been managed together since 1943. Kings Canyon is home to the deepest canyon in the United States as well as a famous sequoia forest called Grant Grove. Here you will find the world’s second-biggest tree, the General Grant tree. It is over 3,000 years old. Beyond the trees Along with the world’s biggest trees, the area is also home to one of America’s highest peaks: Mount Whitney. It measures 4,414 meters. It is the tallest mountain in the United States outside of Alaska. It lies in the eastern part Sequoia National Park. While many visitors travel here to witness the giant sequoias, some visitors come here to climb Mount Whitney. The climbing trail itself begins at an elevation of over 2,400 meters, already very high for some people. Many hikers experience altitude sickness while trying to reach the top. More than 30,000 people try to climb Mount Whitney each year. Only about 10,000 reach the top. Of course, the park offers less extreme hikes, as well. One of the most popular is the Moro Rock trail. Moro Rock itself rises more than 2,000 meters. But hikers only need to climb the final 90 meters to reach the top. From there, they are rewarded with stunning views -- the towering Sierra Nevada mountains and kilometers of giant sequoia forests. Climbers are also get a view of the 90-kilometer-long Kaweah River, which runs through a deep canyon. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is a home to a richly diverse animal world. More than 300 species of wildlife live in the park. Mammals include the tiny white-footed mouse, the grey fox and the bobcat. Black bears are also common. Bird species include the California quail, the Northern Owl and the acorn woodpecker. There are also many animals that swim, slither, hop or crawl. Visitors might see a Northern Pacific tree frog, a western pond turtle, or the colorful rainbow trout. If you are lucky, you will not run into one of the park’s poisonous wild rattlesnakes. But do not let bears and snakes scare you away. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is too extraordinary to miss. The words of the late naturalist John Muir perfectly describe a visit to this great park: “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” I’m Caty Weaver.  And I’m Ashley Thompson. Ashley Thompson wrote this report with materials from the National Park Service and the VOA Learning English archives. Caty Weaver was the editor.  _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   giant - n.  a person or thing that is very large trunk - n. the thick main stem of a tree plank - n. a long, thick board that is used especially in building something logging - n. the act of cutting down trees in an area for wood petition - n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

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Millions Across Southern Africa Face Food “Insecurity”

  Almost 40 million people in southern Africa are expected to face food “insecurity” in early 2017. That number comes from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Chimimba David Phiri serves as FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa. He said "The high levels of unemployment, and sluggish economies, means that the main way people are able to access food is through what they themselves produce.” “Assisting them to do this will provide lifesaving support in a region where at least 70 percent of people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods,” he said. Millions of people across southern Africa are dealing with food shortages because of dry weather conditions. Scientists have linked the drought to the weather event known as El Nino. FAO officials say southern Africa is experiencing its most severe drought in 35 years, while prices for maize and other crops have risen. Officials said 23 million people “urgently need support to produce enough food to feed themselves,” so they are not dependent on humanitarian assistance until the middle of 2018. Farmers must be able to plant by October. “Failure to do so will result in another reduced harvest in March 2017, severely affecting food and nutrition security and livelihoods in the region,” FAO officials warned. In Zimbabwe, the U.N. agency is helping farmers hurt by the dry weather. Last month, FAO started giving biofortified maize and bean seeds to farmers. Those seeds are designed to produce crops high in valuable nutrients. Agricultural experts say a good harvest is necessary next March to help families escape the country’s food crisis. “We have had two bad (growing) seasons, and a lot of farmers do not have adequate seeds,” said FAO’s David Phiri. “We need to support the farmers to have the seed that they need for them to grow this season, and also to avoid a problem of having continued humanitarian support.” In Zimbabwe, many children are not getting enough to eat. In March, the U.N. Children’s Fund said the country is facing its worst child malnutrition rates in 15 years. Rural areas have been hit hard. Now, farmers are getting the seeds designed to produce crops with more nutrients. Mirriam Chagweja is a farmer from Silobela, about 300 kilometers southwest of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. She planted some of the fortified maize and beans in her field in February. She received her seeds as part of a program supported by the British government. Britain is also providing financial support for the FAO program. “I would encourage others to go on board and join,” Chagweja said. She said she got more beans from these seeds compared to the other kinds of beans. The seed program is targeting about 127,000 small farm households in eight areas. Then it will move out to other parts of the country, FAO officials said. I’m Anne Ball. Sebastian Mhofu reported this story for VOANews.com. Anne Ball adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sluggish – adj. slow livelihood – n. way to make a living drought – n. a severe lack of rain and water biofortified – adj. crop that has been created to have higher levels of nutrients adequate – adj. enough malnutrition – n. not getting enough nutrition to be healthy fortified – adj. strengthened

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September 9, 2016

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

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US, Russian Astronauts Return to Earth After 6-Month Space Station Mission

One American astronaut and two Russians landed safely in Kazakhstan Wednesday after spending nearly six months on the International Space Station. The U.S. space agency NASA announced that American astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonauts Alexy Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka returned to Earth this week. Their journey from the space station to Earth took about three and a half hours. Astronaut Jeff Williams has now spent more time in orbit than any other American. He has spent 534 days in space during four separate missions. It is a Russian cosmonaut who holds the world record: Gennady Padalka has spent 879 days in space. NASA wrote about Jeff Williams’ experience at the space station. The U.S. space agency said Williams performed five space walks during his time there. During one of the space walks, Williams installed a station where commercial space flights can stop.  NASA said Williams played an important role in getting the space station ready for a private U.S. space industry – not just government-operated missions. Williams also commented on his experience on social media. He posted a picture of Earth’s outer atmosphere and wrote, "I will certainly miss this view!" Russian Anatoly Ivanishin took command after Williams left the station. The Russian cosmonaut remains in the space station with American Kate Rubins and Japan’s Takuya Onishi. I’m Anne Ball. Joshua Fatzick wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Kelly J. Kelly 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 cosmonaut – n. an astronaut in the space program of Russia or the former Soviet Union mission - n. a job or project that someone is given to do commercial - adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services role - n. a part that someone or something has in an activity or situation view - n. a way of thinking about something; the things that can be seen from a given area or place

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Northeast Nigeria Rebuilds, Prepares for Schools to Open

  Schools are to open in Nigeria this month, but millions of children may not be able to attend. Nigeria has one of the world’s largest populations of children who are not in school -- about one-third of the country’s schoolchildren, according to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund. Many school-age children cannot go to classes because of attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the northeast. The terrorists believe Western education is wrong. They not only destroy schools -- they also kill teachers, and have forced more than 2.7 million people to flee. UNICEF says 1,200 schools in Nigeria were closed because they were damaged, looted or used to shelter displaced people. However, officials are trying to get more children into schools this year. Not just Chibok More than two years ago, Boko Haram terrorists attacked the Government Secondary School in Chibok, kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls and destroyed many of the school’s buildings. The school in Chibok was not the only one attacked by Boko Haram. Musa Inuwa Kubo is the education minister for Borno, the northeastern state where much of the conflict between government troops and the terrorists has taken place over the last seven years. Kubo says Boko Haram has destroyed more than 134 schools. The state government has taken steps to open most of the schools in Borno state by moving internally displaced people -- or IDPs -- out of classrooms. Kubo says the state government has also started rebuilding destroyed schools. But not all schools will open. Kubo says 15 schools are in areas too dangerous for classes to start. Displaced people UNICEF spokesman Toby Fricker says some schools will have to deal with a large increase in the number of students. Many people have fled to the state capital Maiduguri. Fricker says the move could mean that students who may not have been able to attend school in their home areas can go to classes in the areas to which they have fled. “You really have a lot of displaced people who are in towns, or even in internally-displaced camps, and in some cases have easier access to education because of the location, in terms of the travel to school is not as far...” Rebuilding Chibok The kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls caused people throughout the world to criticize Boko Haram. Some of the girls were able to escape immediately. But only one girl has been rescued since the attack. The attack also damaged the Chibok school. Eventually, the government had to destroy it. People said students were left without anywhere to study. But now Nigerian Army troops are rebuilding classrooms and dormitories. Parents of the missing girls support the rebuilding of the school. Esther Yakubu says if her kidnapped daughter Dorcas Yakubu is rescued, she would let her attend classes in Chibok. “I would send her to that school," she said. "Only that she cannot sleep in the school anymore.” She says if her daughter had not slept at the school overnight, she would not have been kidnapped. I’m Pete Musto.   Chris Stein reported this story for VOANews.com. It was adapted for Learning English by Christopher Jones-Cruise. Kelly Jean Kelly 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   loot – v. to steal things from (a place, such as a store or house) during a war or after destruction has been caused by fire, rioting, etc. access – n. a way of being able to use or get something (usually + to) dormitory – n. a building on a school campus that has rooms where students can live according - prep. as stated or reported by internally - adj. existing or happening within a country, organization or system

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Pre-Teens Enter Universities in Canada, US

Jeremy Shuler and Cendikiawan Suryaatmadja, also known as Diki, are starting a new year in school. Both boys are 12 years old. But unlike other children, Diki is studying physics at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He also is taking classes in mathematics, chemistry and economics. Jeremy is now taking classes at Cornell University in the American state of New York. He is the youngest student to ever enroll at Cornell. He is already skilled at calculus – high-level math that often deals with rates of change. The two boys are among a growing number of children enrolling in universities. Diki is from West Java, Indonesia. He moved to the Canadian province of Ontario for his schooling. He will live with his father near the university while he completes his studies. The boy taught himself English in about six months by living in Singapore. While there, he read English language reports and watched English motion pictures with subtitles.   Jeremy Shuler is the son of two aerospace engineers from Texas. "The classes are kind of easy, so far. I know they'll be harder pretty soon," he told the the Associated Press. American Michael Kearney, born in 1984, remains the youngest ever person to have completed a study program at a college or university. He was eight years old when he graduated from college. He went on to teach college students while still a teenager. I’m Dorothy Gundy. This report was based on a story from VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. George Grow 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 enroll – v. to enter someone as a member of something motion picture – n. movie; film subtitle – n. words that appear on a video screen during a movie, video or television show and that show what the actors are saying aerospace – adj. of or related to travel in and above the Earth’s atmosphere and the vehicles used in such travel  

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English @ the Movies: 'I'm Just Ordinary'

Our English @ the Movies phrase is from the movie "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." The film is about children and their special powers. There is a boy who says, "I'm just ordinary." Does it mean he thinks he is like the other children? Watch, listen, and find out.

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Remembering Sept. 11, 2001

  This is What’s Trending Today. Sunday is September 11. It is the 15th anniversary of the day thousands of people were killed in a terrorist attack in the United States. Early that morning, two airplanes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. All the people on the planes were killed, along with thousands of people in the buildings. Another airplane crashed into the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. The Pentagon is the office of the U.S. Department of Defense. A fourth airplane crashed in a rural part of Pennsylvania, when passengers fought back against terrorists who were planning to crash it into a Washington, D.C. landmark. On social media, people are posting messages about their memories of that day, using the hashtags #NeverForget and #September11. Ben Sturner lives in New York City. On Thursday, he posted a photo to Twitter showing the reflection of light off one of the new towers at the old site of the World Trade Center. It was shared and liked thousands of times.   States and cities around the U.S. are remembering people who died. Staten Island is a small part of New York City. It is an island in New York harbor, close to the Statue of Liberty and the location of the World Trade Center. Many people in that small community died. The local newspaper is remembering their lives by tweeting their photos one at a time.  On Friday morning, many U.S. lawmakers gathered outside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to remember those who were killed. They participated in a moment of silence and also sang “God Bless America.” Some people will run almost 400 kilometers from the Pentagon to New York City to honor the firefighters, policemen and rescue workers who saved many lives that day. They started on Friday in Virginia and will finish on Sunday in New York City. But the anniversary of September 11, 2001, would not be complete without some businesses promoting sales. In the U.S., that is a big mistake. Many people used Twitter and Facebook to complain about a small mattress store in Texas that made a commercial related to September 11. The video featured a woman standing in front of two stacks of twin-sized mattresses. The World Trade Center buildings were also called the Twin Towers. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. How will you remember September 11, 2001? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   tower – n. a tall, narrow building or structure that may stand apart from or be attached to another building or structure rural – adj. of or relating to the country and the people who live there instead of the city reflection – n. an image that is seen in a mirror or on a shiny surface harbor – n. a part of the ocean, a lake, etc., that is next to land and that is protected and deep enough to provide safety for ships moment of silence – n. a public way of remembering a sad event by staying quiet for a short period of time bless – v. to ask God to care for and protect (someone or something) complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, uncomfortable, etc., or that you do not like something twin – n. either one of two similar things that form a pair; also used to describe a mattress for one person to sleep on stack – n. a usually neat pile : a group of things that are put one on top of the other  

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'The Diamond Lens' by Fitz-James O'Brien, Part Two

Our story is called "The Diamond Lens. " It was written by Fitz-James O'Brien. Today we will hear the second and final part of the story. Here is Maurice Joyce with part two of "The Diamond Lens." When I was a child, someone gave me a microscope. I spent hours looking through that microscope, exploring Nature's tiny secrets. As I grew up, I became more interested in my microscope than in people. When I was twenty years old, my parents sent me to New York City to study medicine. I never went to any of my classes. Instead, I spent all my time, and a lot of my money, trying to build the perfect microscope. I wanted to make a powerful lens that would let me see even the smallest parts of life. But all my experiments failed. Then one day, I met a young man, who lived in the apartment above mine. Jules Simon told me about a woman who could speak to the dead. When I visited Madame Vulpes, she let me speak to the spirit of the man who invented the microscope. The spirit of Anton Leeuwenhoek told me how to make a perfect lens from a diamond of one hundred forty carats. But where could I find a diamond that big? When I returned home, I went to Simon's apartment. He was surprised to see me and tried to hide a small object in his pocket. I wanted to discover what it was, so I brought two bottles of wine to his apartment. We began to drink. By the time we had finished the first bottle, Simon was very drunk. "Simon, I know you have a secret. Why don't you tell me about it?" Something in my voice must have made him feel safe. He made me promise to keep his secret. Then he took a small box from his pocket. When he opened it, I saw a large diamond shaped like a rose. A pure white light seemed to come from deep inside the diamond. Simon told me he had stolen the diamond from a man in South America. He said it weighed exactly one hundred forty carats. Excitement shook my body. I could not believe my luck. On the same evening that the spirit of Leeuwenhoek tells me the secret of the perfect lens, I find the diamond I need to create it. I decided to steal Simon's treasure. I sat across the table from him as he drank another glass of wine. I knew I could not simply steal the diamond. Simon would call the police. There was only one way to get the diamond. I had to kill Simon. Everything I needed to murder Simon was right there in his apartment. A bottle full of sleeping powder was on a table near his bed. A long thin knife lay on the table. Simon was so busy looking at his diamond that I was able to put the drug in his glass quite easily. He fell asleep in fifteen minutes. I put his diamond in my pocket and carried Simon to the bed. I wanted to make the police think Simon had killed himself. I picked up Simon's long thin knife and stared down at him. I tried to imagine exactly how the knife would enter Simon's heart if he were holding the knife himself. I pushed the knife deep into his heart. I heard a sound come from his throat, like the bursting of a large bubble. His body moved and his right hand grabbed the handle of the knife. He must have died immediately. I washed our glasses and took the two wine bottles away with me. I left the lights on, closed the door and went back to my apartment. Simon's death was not discovered until three o'clock the next day. One of the neighbors knocked at his door and when there was no answer, she called the police. They discovered Simon's body on the bed. The police questioned everyone. But they did not learn the truth. The police finally decided Jules Simon had killed himself, and soon everyone forgot about him. I had committed the perfect crime. For three months after Simon's death, I worked day and night on my diamond lens. At last the lens was done. My hands shook as I put a drop of water on a piece of glass. Carefully, I added some oil to the water to prevent it from drying. I turned on a strong light under the glass and looked through the diamond lens. For a moment, I saw nothing in that drop of water. And then I saw a pure white light. Carefully, I moved the lens of my microscope closer to the drop of water. Slowly, the white light began to change. It began to form shapes. I could see clouds and wonderful trees and flowers. These plants were the most unusual colors: bright reds, greens, purples, as well as silver and gold. The branches of these trees moved slowly in a soft wind. Everywhere I looked, I could see fruits and flowers of a thousand different colors. "How strange," I thought, "that this beautiful place has no animal life in it." Then, I saw something moving slowly among the brightly-colored trees and bushes. The branches of a purple and silver bush were gently pushed aside. And, there, before my eye, stood the most beautiful woman I had ever seen! She was perfect: pink skin, large blue eyes and long golden hair that fell over her shoulders to her knees. She stepped away from the rainbow-colored trees. Like a flower floating on water, she drifted through the air. Watching her move was like listening to the sound of tiny bells ringing in the wind. She went to the rainbow-colored trees and looked up at one of them. The tree moved one of its branches that was full of fruit. It lowered the branch to her, and she took one of the fruits. She turned it in her tiny hands and began to eat. How I wished I had the power to enter that bright light and float with her through those beautiful forests. Suddenly, I realized I had fallen in love with this tiny creature! I loved someone who would never love me back. Someone who is a prisoner in a drop of water. I ran out of the room, threw myself on my bed and cried until I fell asleep. Day after day, I returned to my microscope to watch her. I never left my apartment. I rarely even ate or slept. One day, as usual, I went to my microscope, ready to watch my love. She was there, but a terrible change had taken place. Her face had become thin, and she could hardly walk. The wonderful light in her golden hair and blue eyes was gone. At that moment, I would have given my soul to become as small as she and enter her world to help her. What was causing her to be so sick? She seemed in great pain. I watched her for hours, helpless and alone with my breaking heart. She grew weaker and weaker. The forest also was changing. The trees were losing their wonderful colors. Suddenly, I realized I had not looked at the drop of water for several days. I had looked into it with the microscope, but not at it. As soon as I looked at the glass under the microscope, I understood the horrible truth. I had forgotten to add more oil to the drop of water to stop it from drying. The drop of water had disappeared. I rushed again to look through the lens. The rainbow forests were all gone. My love lay in a spot of weak light. Her pink body was dried and wrinkled. Her eyes were black as dust. Slowly she disappeared forever. I fainted and woke many hours later on pieces of my microscope. I had fallen on it when I fainted. My mind was as broken as the diamond lens. I crawled to my bed and withdrew from the world. I finally got better, months later. But all my money was gone. People now say I am crazy. They call me "Linley, the mad scientist." No one believes I spoke to the spirit of Leeuwenhoek. They laugh when I tell them how I killed Jules Simon and stole his diamond to make the perfect lens. They think I never saw that beautiful world in a drop of water. But I know the truth of the diamond lens. And now, so do you.   You have just heard "The Diamond Lens" by Fitz-James O'Brien. It was adapted by Dona de Sanctis. Your storyteller was Maurice Joyce. Download activities to help you understand this story here. Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Have you ever work on something so much that it harmed other parts of your life? What are you more interested in than anything else in the world? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story Anton Leeuwenhoek  - a Dutch tradesman and scientist, best known for his work on the development and improvement of the microscope and also for his contribution towards the study of microbiology carat -  n. a unit for measuring the weight of jewels (such as diamonds) that is equal to 200 milligrams drunk - adj. having drunk so much alcohol that normal actions (such as talking, thinking, and moving) become difficult to do commit - v. to do (something that is illegal or harmful) drop - n. a very small amount of liquid that falls in a rounded shape​ wrinkle - n. a small line or fold that appears on your skin as you grow older — usually plural Now it's your turn. What do you think the lesson of this story is? What would you tell the narrator?

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World Nomad Games Come to a Close in Kyrgyzstan

  This is What’s Trending Today... The 2016 Rio Olympics are over and the Paralympics are just beginning. But in between, a much different kind of international sporting event took place in Central Asia. Instead of running, swimming, and basketball, athletes took part in sports like eagle hunting, traditional stick wrestling, and yurt-building. Thursday marked the final day of the World Nomad Games. Nomads are groups of people who move place to place instead of living in one place all the time. Competitors from more than 40 countries gathered in eastern Kyrgyzstan for the six-day event.   It included more than 20 sports and games that are traditional to nomadic cultures around the world. The unique event has trended this week on social media. ​   People on Twitter described the World Nomad Games as “intense” and “alive with color and history” and “crazier and cooler than the Olympics.” ​Kok-boru is one of the sports people are talking about a lot. Two teams compete for control of a headless goat. The goal is to carry the body to the other team’s side. It is especially difficult because the players are on horseback. The popular game is played under different names all across Central Asia. The Kok-boru finals were held Thursday. The team from Kyrgyzstan defeated Kazakhstan by a score of 15 to 3. China finished third. Another popular event was yurt-building. A yurt is a temporary home used by nomads in Central Asia. It is round and covered with animal skins.     In the competitive yurt event, teams were able to build the whole shelter in less than 13 minutes. This was only the second World Nomad Games. Kyrgyzstan was home to the first Games as well, in 2014. But this year’s event was much larger and received more media attention. With the World Nomad Games now over, new fans of the event are already waiting for the next one. One Twitter user asked, “Who wants to go to this next year?” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I'm Dorothy Gundy.    Ashley Thompson wrote this report. Caty Weaver was the editor.  Photos by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Amos Chapple _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fan – n. a person who likes and admires someone (such as a famous person) or something (such as a sport or a sports team) in a very enthusiastic way unique – adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else crazy – adj. very strange or unusual cool – adj. very fashionable, stylish, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people attention – n. notice, interest, or awareness

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