Big Powers Seek Trade, Influence in Southeast Asia

The United States is just one of many countries trying to increase its influence in Southeast Asia. Japan and Russia are also trying to increase trade, diplomatic and military relations with countries in the area. China has been Southeast Asia’s largest trade partner for many years. Now other countries, including Japan, are trying to increase their trade in the area. Over the past three years, Japan has invested more in ASEAN countries than in China and Hong Kong. Titli Basu is an expert on Southeast Asia. She says the decision by the United States to increase its influence in the area, and the increase in China’s economic and military power, is the reason Japan is focusing on the area. She said “the arrival of China as a major power has made Japan really impatient to redefine its role in the Asia-Pacific security order." Japan is working to increase trade as well as security and diplomatic ties. However, experts are concerned that tensions in the area will increase as other nations try to increase their influence. Richard Bitzinger is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He says countries like Russia, China and the U.S. are all trying to cooperate and to compete with each other. “There’s a lot of places where two countries -- Russia-China, China-the United States -- find lots of opportunities and common interests that make them want to cooperate," he said. "At the same time there are a lot of places where they collide and compete.” Russia is only now beginning to try to increase its influence in the area. It is selling arms to Vietnam and making energy exploration deals. Lo Chih-cheng is a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan. He says Russia is reacting to rising U.S. influence in Asia. He said, during the past few years, Russia has been preoccupied with events in Europe. Now, the country is trying to balance what it sees as U.S. influence in the region, says Lo. Leaders of Asian nations are working to keep tensions from becoming conflicts. Bitzinger says the possibility of accidental conflict is a growing concern. He says more advanced weapons are flowing into the region. Added to that, he says, are long-running disputes such as the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Experts worry even small disputes could quickly grow into a war. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA Correspondent Bill Ide reported this story from Beijing. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter 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   focus – v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific collide – v. used to describe situations in which people or groups disagree or are very different from each other preoccupied – v. thinking about something a lot or too much (often + with) region – n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

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Americans Mark Start of Hispanic Heritage Month

This is What’s Trending Today.... Thursday marked the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 through October 15. It celebrates the history and culture of people with ancestry in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas. The observance started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week. September 15 is an important day for many Latin American countries. Five of them -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua -- celebrate their independence on that day. In addition, Mexico and Chile mark the anniversary of their independence within the 30-day period. The hashtag #HispanicHeritageMonth trended Thursday on social media in the United States. One Twitter user wrote, “Be proud of who you are and the culture you bring to the table.  #HispanicHeritageMonth is about teaching others & showing pride.” Singer Camila Cabello is part of the American singing group Fifth Harmony. To mark the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, she published a story about her family. They immigrated to the United States when she was a child. She wrote, “I am so proud to be Cuban-Mexican. This country was built on immigrants. People who were brave enough to start over.” Her comments have been retweeted almost 15,000 times on Twitter. Many people reacted to the emotional story. One person wrote, “This story is so similar to my family's and I couldn't stop crying while reading.” Several U.S. lawmakers marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in a different way. They offered a bill to create an American Latino Museum in Washington, DC. The proposed museum would be part of the Smithsonian Institution. The bill has support from the country’s two main political parties.   Also on Thursday, the Pew Research Center published the latest information about the Hispanic population of the United States. It reported that 57 million Hispanics live in the U.S. That represents 18 percent of the total population. The center also said that Hispanics are the second-fastest-growing group in the country, after Asians.   And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Marsha James. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story bring to the table -  expresson. to provide something that will be a benefit to others      

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Five Things to Know About Political Polls in the U.S.

  On November 8, the American people will vote for the next U.S. president in this year’s general election. Donald Trump is the Republican Party candidate and Hillary Clinton is the candidate for the Democratic Party. Before election day, people following the presidential campaign will see many polls. A poll is a public opinion study. Research organizations ask people questions about the candidates to find out who they support. For example, one of the polls is run by a professor at a university in the U.S. state of Connecticut. People who work for the polling service call likely voters on the telephone. They ask the person who answers the call questions about the election. In most cases, it is “if the election were held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, for whom would you vote?” Sometimes the questions include more candidates or are related to campaign issues. Since the party conventions this summer, Clinton has held a lead over Trump in most national opinion studies. The website RealClearPolitics shows that Clinton leads Trump by about three percentage points in an average of national polls. But sometimes the poll numbers change. On September 6, a poll was released showing Trump slightly ahead of Clinton. This can be confusing for many observers.  How can one poll be so different from others? Here are some things to remember when you are looking at polls: Poll averages are better than a single poll It is better to look at websites that combine the results of several polls to get the best idea of national opinion. Not all polling groups are the same Some polls target specific groups of people. Many polls make sure they collect many different opinions. Sometimes, however, polling organizations receive money from groups that support a specific political issue. It is important to look at which group carried out the poll along with the results. A poll’s method is important Some polls are using new technology. Traditionally, polls are done over the phone. But that is slowly changing. Many polls are now done online. While online polls can produce good information, it is sometimes hard to reach as many different types of people over the Internet. Also important is the size of the poll. Try to find out how many people were polled before believing its results. ​ The state in which a poll is carried out also is important Polls that study opinion in states where one candidate does not have a clear lead are the most important. According to the politics website Politico, those states include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado and Iowa. These states are known as “swing states,” because the voting there may “swing” the election in the direction of one candidate. Swing states are important because the candidate who gets the most popular votes does not always win the election. The election winner is the candidate who gains the most electoral votes in the electoral college. A state’s electoral college votes are generally determined by the popular vote in each state. Polls are not predictions Polls only show how people feel at one moment in time. They do not show what will happen in the future. Public opinion may change before the general election on November 8. Some things that could change the opinions of voters include: the debates on television, the release of the candidates’ tax or medical records, and unexpected illnesses. I’m Dan Friedell. William Gallo wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. Will you be following the polls ahead of the U.S. election? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   general election –n. a regular election that involves voters and candidates throughout an entire country poll – n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something swing – v. to move backward and forward or from side to side while hanging from something

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Adventures with Adverbials: Part 1

  From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. The 1954 American film On the Waterfront helped make actor Marlon Brando a star. Brando played the main character, a dockworker named Terry Malloy. In the film, Malloy meets face-to-face with a gangster at a seaport. The two men fight in front of many dockworkers. The fight is terrible, and it lasts a long time. You may not realize it, but describing this fight scene can teach you a lot about the structure of the English language. In fact, telling about this fight scene can show you how to use adverbial prepositional phrases. Do not be frightened. This report will be much less painful than the hard punches thrown by Marlon Brando's character! What are adverbials? Adverbials are words or terms that give information about time, place, reason or the way something is done. They answer questions like How often? Where? Why? When? They are traditionally defined as modifiers of verbs. Adverbials take several shapes – adverbs,* verb phrases, and subordinate clauses, for example. Today, we begin our report on adverbials with one of the most common adverbial structures: the prepositional phrase.** Adverbials Adverbials are important because they can change or amend almost any of the basic sentence patterns in English. In other Everyday Grammar stories, we explored five common sentence patterns that form the basic structure of many sentences in English. You can read about these patterns on our website. Adverbials are one of the reasons that sentences are longer than the basic sentence structures. Adverbials add more information to a sentence.   One of the most useful ways to include more information is to add a prepositional phrase. The Prepositional Phrase A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends in a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. Prepositional phrases generally have two parts: the preposition and the object of the preposition.     Learning and understanding prepositions is important. Of the 20 most commonly used words in English, eight are prepositions. The object of the preposition is often a noun phrase – a group of words that acts like a noun in a sentence. Do not worry - all of this sounds much more complex than it actually is! Think back to the movie from the beginning of the story, On the Waterfront. On is a preposition. The Waterfront is the object of the preposition.   The name of the film, On the Waterfront, is an example of a prepositional phrase. Putting together prepositional phrases English often puts together groups of prepositional phrases to make sentences longer. Now consider this sentence that tells about the fight scene in On the Waterfront: Terry Malloy fought. Do you remember how we told you that adverbials give information about place, time, or reason?  If you wanted to describe the fight scene from the movie, you could add a prepositional phrase to tell where Terry Malloy fought. Terry Malloy fought (where?) on the Waterfront. You can add a second prepositional phrase to tell about how long he fought. Terry Malloy fought (where?) on the Waterfront (how long?) for three hours. Then, you could add another prepositional phrase if you wanted to tell about when he fought. Terry Malloy fought (where?) on the Waterfront (how long?) for three hours (when?) on Saturday. Now, you do not want to include too many prepositional phrases in a sentence. That might confuse, or lose, your reader. However, you can still see that you can build a long sentence from a simple starting point such as "Terry Malloy fought". You can move adverbial prepositional phrases Adverbial prepositional phrases are fun because you can move them to different places in the sentence. Moving adverbial phrases lets you emphasize or highlight different words in the sentence. There is one general rule you should remember: You can move time phrases easier than other kinds of prepositional phrases. This idea is not as complex as you might think. Consider our example: Terry Malloy fought on the Waterfront for three hours on Saturday. You can move the phrases to say this: For three hours on Saturday Terry Malloy fought on the Waterfront.   You see that the phrases have moved, but the sentence has all of the same words -- and it still has the same meaning! Or you could say this: On Saturday Terry Malloy fought on the Waterfront for three hours. In these two examples, the phrases that tell about time are in the front of the sentence. English speakers usually do not put the ‘location’ or ‘place’ adverbial phrase at the beginning of the sentence. You might read a sentence like this, but it is not as common: On the Waterfront Terry Malloy fought ​ for three hours on Saturday.   This sentence could be used in poetry or writing. However, it has a more artistic feel to it. In general, English speakers do not speak this way. So, what are the advantages of adverbials? Recognizing and understanding adverbials will help you with your speaking and writing. You can use adverbials to play up certain words in the sentence – a common strategy in political speeches, for example. Adverbial prepositional phrases can be difficult, but learning how to recognize and use them will help improve your writing and speaking skills. They will also help you on your next English test, too!   I’m Jill Robbins. I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant.   John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. *There are several types of adverbials. One common type is the adverb. Adverbs modify verbs; the easiest to recognize are the –ly adverbs, such as suddenly, quietly, or nervously. You can read more about these types of adverbs here: http://ift.tt/2cYGQLa **Prepositional phrases can modify verbs or nouns. When they are acting as adverbials, they are modifying a verb. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story character – n. a person in a story or play; a person who does funny or unusual things gangster – n. a member of a criminal group scene – n. a part of a play or movie in which a particular action takes place phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence prepositional phrase – n. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends in a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase – n. a group of words that acts like a noun in a sentence adverbial prepositional phrase – n. a prepositional phrase that modifies or describes a verb

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How Much Medical Information Must Presidential Candidates Release?

  Recent stories about American presidential candidates have raised questions about how much candidates should say about their medical history while running for office. In the United States, no law requires presidential candidates or presidents to release medical records or information about their health to the public. But one recent study of likely voters found that 86 percent of those questioned said a candidate's health is important to their vote. Most presidential candidates are over age 50. This issue affects somewhat younger candidates, too. John F. Kennedy was the youngest person to be elected U.S. president. He was 43 years old when he won the election of 1960. Kennedy had Addison's disease and back pain that were treated with drugs before he was elected. This information was not released to the public.   In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president with a clear disability: He had polio. Few photographs survived of Roosevelt sitting in his wheelchair. Late in his presidency, he also suffered from heart disease. The public never heard about his heart problems until Roosevelt died, just months into his fourth term in office. The U.S. Constitution is clear that once a president has died, the vice president takes office. But questions have arisen throughout American history about what happens when a president is unable to carry out his or her duties, like when under anesthesia. Or the president could be in a coma and unable to communicate. Following Kennedy’s death, Congress passed the 25th Amendment to the constitution. That amendment states, in part, that when a president is incapacitated, the vice president and members of the president’s cabinet can act. They can make a formal declaration to the leaders of the Senate and House that the president is unable to carry out his duties. The vice president then immediately can act for the president. But the amendment has never been used, even when former President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. President Barack Obama has released reports of his physical examinations periodically throughout his presidency and once during his campaign. He was not legally required to do so. This move has become a tradition for presidents in the years since the passing of the 25th Amendment. In 2008, Obama defeated U.S. Senator John McCain for the presidency. During the election campaign, McCain released more than 1,000 pages of his medical records to the public. McCain was 72 years old at the time. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Esha Sarai wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted her report 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   anesthesia – n. loss of feeling in a person's body or part of the body through the use of drugs page – n. a written record, the material written on a piece of paper incapacitated – v. making someone of something unable to work coma – n. a condition similar to deep sleep; being unable to communicate 

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Jennifer Webb-McRae: 'I'm Passionate About Doing Justice Every Day'

  Jennifer Webb-McRae always knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. “I really never wanted to be anything else when I grew up. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and that was because my family kind of put that notion in my head. They used to tease me and say I argued every point, so I should grow up and be a lawyer.”  But neither Webb-McRae, nor her family, knew how far she would go -- all in her home state of New Jersey. “I am the Cumberland County prosecutor, which means that I am the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the county of Cumberland. There are 21 county prosecutors throughout the state. I happen to be the first African American and first female prosecutor of Cumberland County.” Webb-McRae was raised in Vineland, New Jersey. She received her law degree just 40 minutes away from home, from Camden School of Law at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  Early on, Webb-McRae was interested in family law.  She clerked for a judge involved in that field. He became a lifelong mentor. However, she found she had a passion for criminal law when she worked with the juvenile justice system. “I was fortunate enough to get a job very quickly at the Office of the Public Defender representing juvenile defendants. So it was interesting because it gave me a passion for criminal justice, but it also kind of suited that social work element of me to want to do justice and help serve the whole person and kind of started me on my way in the criminal justice world.” Webb-McRae says her responsibilities as Chief Prosecutor of Cumberland County are complex. “There are a lot of hard issues that you face when you have to made decisions that affect people’s lives in the criminal justice system. However, with some of the national issues that are going on in our country, with you know with Ferguson, with mass incarceration, with a lack of confidence in law enforcement. It’s been a challenge being the first African-American prosecutor.”     Sometimes the challenges might feel personal. "Also being a mother of an African-American boy, to reconcile that I have a role to play in this system and how to do that responsibly. One of the things that we work really hard on, and I hopefully have brought to the forefront, is that I understand that my primary responsibly here is to prosecute people who break the law in Cumberland County as well as protect the citizens of this great county.” There are many ways to serve that purpose, however. Webb-McRae says she works to help people make good choices, especially when they are young. She recognizes the power of peer pressure that children face. She notes the strong “no-snitching” culture among young people that can block needed intervention. To battle this, Webb-McRae launched an Annual Back to School Initiative.  After just six years in existence, the program now involves 40 schools. McRae and her office staff attend over 30 back-to-school events each year. They share information about programs that help keep kids safe.  Earlier this year, Webb-McRae also launched a community engagement series. “With Ferguson, with police-involved shootings, it’s important that we dialogue with the communities in times of rest and when things are calm, so that we can capitalize on those relationships when we have unrest or we have crises that we all have to deal with together.” Prosecutor Webb-McRae hopes her example will inspire girls in Cumberland County. “I’m passionate about what I do. I’m proud to be career woman. I’m proud to a role model for other young women who are embarking to be decision makers and I'm passionate about doing justice every day.” Jennifer Webb-McRae plans to continue to grow in her career. She hopes to become a judge someday. Her belief in community involvement, public service and justice will continue. “I believe that everyone is a stakeholder in our community and everyone has a right and a vested interest to make sure that the justice system is fair and just and equitable for everyone. Our system is not perfect, our justice system across the country certainly is not perfect, but I’m passionate about doing my little part to make it better. I believe in action and moving the ball forward.” I’m Marsha James. Marsha James wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Try this video quiz to test your understanding of the story.   Next time on People in America, meet David Titcomb,  Managing Director for the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York: _____________________________________________________________    Words in This Story   notion n. an idea or opinion tease   v. to laugh at and criticize (someone) in a way that is either friendly and playful or cruel and unkind clerk v. a person whose job is to keep track or records and documents for a business or office mentor n. someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a person passion n. a strong feeling or enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something incarceration n. the state of being put in prison reconcile v. to find a way of make exist or be true at the same time. embark – n. to begin a journey stakeholder n. a person or business that has invested money in something vested interest n. – a personal stake or involvement in an undertaking of state of affairs, especially one with an expectation of financial gain. equitable adj. dealing fairly and equally with everyone

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Jennifer Webb-McRae: 'I'm Passionate About Doing Justice Every Day'

Jennifer Webb-McRae is the first female and first African-American prosecutor in Cumberland County, New Jersey. Learn what she is passionate about in this episode of People in America.

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Next on People in America: David Titcomb

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What is Pneumonia and How Do You Get it?

  This week, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made news -- not for what she said, but for her health. Her political campaign announced that Clinton had pneumonia after she appeared weak at a public event in New York City. The former Secretary of State left the event suddenly. A video showed several people helping her into a waiting vehicle. So, what is pneumonia? And how does it spread? Simply stated, pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. It is treatable and preventable. However, pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under five. And it was still responsible for nearly one million deaths in 2015. That information comes from the World Health Organization. Pneumonia most often results from a bacteria called the Streptococcus pneumoniae. But viruses like influenza, and even fungi can cause pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common kind of the disease. Pneumonia can often result from the flu. Once the disease gets in a person's lungs, the air sacs, or alveoli, that take in oxygen, fill up with fluid. This makes breathing difficult and painful. It can limit the amount of oxygen a person takes into their body with each breath. It also causes coughing and an increase in body temperature. This makes the person feel cold. Those most at risk are the very young, the older adults (over the age of 65) and anyone with a weak immune system. Identification and Treatment The signs of pneumonia look like those of the flu and the common cold. So, it is best to seek out trained medical help. The American Lung Association says a doctor will listen to your lungs for "crackling, bubbling, and rumbling sounds" while you breathe. A follow up chest X-ray test may also be necessary. For viral pneumonia, doctors can tell the patient to take anti-viral medication. The disease can often last 1-3 weeks in people, who are generally healthy. For people who get bacterial pneumonia, treatment for mild cases can include antibiotics, rest and fluids. The recovery time is similar to that for viral pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is another bacterial form of the disease, and known as “walking pneumonia.” It is generally mild, but a full recovery may take an extended period of time, especially for the young, unhealthy and older adults. Prevention Preventing pneumonia requires the same steps used to prevent colds and the flu. The American Lung Association states that pneumonia is often spread through coughing or even breathing. The group warns that people who don't show signs of pneumonia can also spread the disease. It urges Americans to get a flu vaccination every year. In addition, "Children younger than 5, and adults 65 and older should get vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia." The American Lung Association also urges people to wash your hands early and often, don't smoke and get plenty of rest and exercise. I'm Ashley Thompson.   Kevin Enochs reported on this story for VOANews.com. Anna Matteo adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fungi - n. plural for the word fungus. any one of a group of living things that often look like plants, but have no flowers, and that live on dead or decaying things coughing - v. forcing air through one's throat with short, loud noises immune system - n. the body's natural defenses against disease crackling - adj. a series of short, sharp noises bubbling - adj. of or related to small balls of air or gas inside a liquid rumbling - adj. a low, heavy sound or series of sounds

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Baby Orangutan Born at Washington's National Zoo

  This is What’s Trending Today: Happy News! For the first time in 25 years, a baby orangutan was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C. Zoo officials say they are “cautiously optimistic” that the baby boy will survive and thrive—or do well. The Zoo posted video of the baby “vocalizing” or making sounds to his mom, Batang. She is holding him gently and looking at him closely. His birth is important because he is part of a critically endangered species. In one photo that the zoo posted, the baby is seen looking at his mother’s face. He was only one hour old. The newborn’s parents are female Batang and male Kyle. Both orangutans are 19 years old. The zoo’s animal care staff has observed Batang nursing her infant, who has been keeping close to his mother. The zoo provided updates of Batang’s pregnancy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #OrangutanStory. As news breaks, they will continue to share behind-the-scenes photos and videos with the public. Orangutans have long orange- or reddish-color hair. The hair grows unevenly on their bodies. They have large jaws, flat noses and their faces curve inward. Their arms are much longer than their legs, which helps them swing through the forests where they live in the wild. They grasp with their hands and feet. They share almost 97 percent of the same DNA as humans. They are highly intelligent. Orangutans are listed as critically endangered, mostly because of habitat loss. Their population has dropped more than 50 percent over the past 60 years.  “Each and every birth of a critically endangered species is significant, but it is all the more exciting, and this is a historic moment for our Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” said Meredith Bastian, curator of primates. Zookeepers have been training Batang to care for her infant for the last several years. They taught Batang how to safely hold a new baby by using a toy. So far, it seems, all is going for mom and baby boy.   And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Anne Ball. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   cautiously - adv. careful about avoiding danger or risk​ optimistic - adj. having or showing hope for the future : expecting good things to happen grasp - v. to take and hold (something) with your fingers, hands, etc.

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Thailand Is 'Hot' Over American Sriracha Sauce