Flashback: The Fight for Women's Right to Vote

The year is 1913. A new president has been elected and is about to take office. But when he arrives at the train station in Washington, DC, few people are there to meet him. “Where are the crowds?” he asks. They are already on Pennsylvania Avenue, watching something the American public has never seen before: thousands of women, marching in the streets. What do they want? The right to vote. “The U.S. Constitution didn’t say one thing about who could vote in its initial form. All of the power over who could vote was left to the states.” Robyn Muncy is a history professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. She explains that in America’s political system, power is divided between the federal government and the states.  “That meant that suffragists in the late 19th century had a choice: They could either try to get a federal amendment … or, they could work state by state, where in a lot of cases, women had a lot more power at the state level.” Women decided to do both. The struggle for woman suffrage took place at the federal and state level from the 19th century through the 20th. “Suffrage” means the right to vote. The 19th century: grassroots campaigns in the states At first, only a few women were asking for suffrage. They said women had the same value as men, so they should have the same political and legal rights, too. These women traveled across the U.S., giving talks about equal rights and meeting with lawmakers in town after town. But Jean Baker, a historian from Goucher College in Maryland, says their ideas were not always popular.   “There are stories of the women being chased after they finished their lecture, and they might be going back to a home to spend the night. And people would be peppering them with all kinds of rotten eggs, et cetera, et cetera. “But they also suffered from the opposition of the majority opinion.” At the time, most people – including women – thought that women voting just wasn’t natural. They believed that men and women were fundamentally opposites. “That men were competitive, they were aggressive by nature, they were self-assertive by nature. And they belonged — they were fitted – for public life. “While women were by nature nurturing, cooperative and thrived really within the confines of their own homes.” Historian Robyn Muncy says that, nevertheless, suffragists operated grassroots campaigns across the U.S. They worked town by town, persuading their neighbors, persuading people in their churches, and then trying to persuade their state legislators to enfranchise women. By 1900, they had persuaded lawmakers in four states to give women the right to vote in all elections. They had also succeeded in getting more women to support their own suffrage. One big reason women were more willing to listen was industrialization. Things that women use to make in the home were increasingly being made in factories or sold in stores. “If you’re not producing the milk or going to collect the eggs in the morning that you’re going to feed your family, you don’t know if those eggs and that milk are pure, if they’re not contaminated in some way. “If you’re depending on drug companies to make drugs for your family rather than brewing things at home, you don’t know what’s in those drugs, you have no control over that. “And so as production moved out of the home, a lot of women began to think, whoa, if we’re going to guarantee the well-being of our families – if we’re going to do what women are supposed to do, care for our children, care for our families – we have to have public power.” The 20th century: A federal amendment In 1913, the suffrage movement took a dramatic turn. A 28-year-old American named Alice Paul decided to engage the president himself on the debate.   Woodrow Wilson was not inclined to support woman suffrage, but Alice Paul knew the newly elected president had a lot of power. His party, the Democrats, controlled the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. President Wilson could move forward an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee the right to vote for most women across the country. So Alice Paul began to get Wilson’s attention. Historian Jean Baker says: “She decided that she would have a parade the day before Woodrow Wilson arrives for his inauguration. So somehow she is able, almost single-handedly, to get 13,000 women to come to Washington. “The parade begins down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the women are immediately assailed. “Not just by the people – the males – watching, but by the police.” Alice Paul and her group changed the campaign for women’s votes into a more radical movement. But at first they did not get very far in changing political or public opinion. So four years later, after Wilson was re-elected, they decided to do something really wild. Nora Hoffman-White is with the National Woman's Party at the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument. “The National Woman’s Party was the first organization to ever picket the White House. And they really targeted President Wilson. They held out banners and signs directly focused at him. So a lot of them began ‘Mr. President.’ “’Mr. President, what will you do for woman suffrage?’ ‘Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?’” Women picketed the White House all day, five days a week. “There were hecklers. Lots of people would come to the picket. They started to attack the women, pull down their banners, destroy them. And when this fight would break out in front of the White House and police arrived, the women picketers were arrested.” Suffragists were sent to a prison in Virginia. There, the picketers were beaten. They were fed rotten food and denied medical treatment. When some women protested and went on a hunger strike, the jailers put tubes in their noses and forced them to eat. “The imprisonments and then the force feedings were obviously very, very harsh, and really affected the women in many ways. “But it did get them, again, a lot of media attention, and it started to change public perception. “People didn’t see them as these crazy ladies out on the picket line agitating for something that wasn’t right. But instead, people started to see them as women who were willing to die for their cause.” World War I Another factor in all this was World War I. President Wilson said the U.S. was fighting for democracy abroad. So, the suffragists asked, why doesn’t the U.S. have democracy here at home? How can the government continue to deny women the vote? Historian Jean Baker says the last straw comes when some Russian ministers arrive in Washington, DC. “And the women put up a sign saying ‘Help us!’ to the Russians. ‘Help us! Free us! We are not free citizens of the United States. We cannot vote.’” Finally, President Wilson cracked. He appealed to the Senate to support a constitutional amendment that said no citizen could be denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The next year, Congress passed the 19th amendment. But in order for the amendment to become law, a majority of states had to approve it, too. The struggle for woman suffrage all came down to the state of Tennessee. On the first vote, lawmakers there split, 50/50. Half said no, half said yes. Then, says Nora Hoffman-White, something unexpected happened. “On the second vote, a very young state representative named Harry Burn changes his vote. So he had voted no, and he changed his vote to yes. “So of course everybody wants to know what, what would change his mind on something that’s so important. And he shows a note from his mother that he had received.  And she in essence said, ‘Don’t keep them waiting, get ratification done. And, ‘Be a good boy, and take my advice.’ He said, ‘You know, you should listen to your mother’s advice,’ and he changed his vote. “So with his vote, Tennessee ratifies, and the amendment becomes law.” The 19th amendment The 19th amendment enfranchised most – but not all – women. Women in Puerto Rico and American Indians on reservations could not legally vote yet. And African-American women had the same problems that black men had at the polls. People used all kinds of barriers to prevent them from voting. But in the presidential election of 1920, more than 8 million women across the U.S. voted for the first time. Almost immediately, U.S. policies began to change. In 1921, lawmakers supported an act to improve the health of mothers and babies. In the 1930s, women voters helped push through the Fair Labor Standards Act, and part of the Social Security Act. While women do not always vote as a bloc in the U.S., there is no question that women voters have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries. At the same time, historian Robyn Muncy says that suffrage has helped change women’s roles in American society.    “As women gained the vote in the states, they were changing the very meaning of what it was to be a woman. They were changing the meaning of womanhood. They’re changing the meaning of democratic citizenship for women. That is no small thing.” That is our flashback to the fight for woman suffrage. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   suffragists - n.  people in the past who worked to get voting rights for people who did not have them grassroots - n. the ordinary people in a society or organization : the people who do not have a lot of money and power enfranchise - v. to give (someone) the legal right to vote bloc - n.  a group of people or countries that are connected by a treaty or agreement or by common goals

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Candidates Busily Seeking Support in ‘Swing States’

  Pennsylvania television stations are broadcasting so many political advertisements that not even a small child can miss them. So, it was no surprise last week when two-and-a-half-year-old Benson Wyland repeated these words to customers and employees at a Chili’s Restaurant: “I’m Donald Trump and I approve this message.” Everyone laughed. Those are the words Trump and almost all candidates say at the end of their political messages. Trump is the Republican candidate for president. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic candidate. Both candidates are campaigning hard in Pennsylvania. Winning the state and its 20 Electoral College votes might decide who wins the presidential election and replaces Barack Obama. Election Day is Tuesday. The candidate with the most votes does not necessarily win. The winner is decided by the 538 members of the Electoral College. Each state and the District of Columbia has Electoral College votes, based on population. Pennsylvania is tied with the state of Illinois for fifth most Electoral College votes with 20. Both the Clinton and Trump campaigns are spending a lot of time seeking votes in Pennsylvania’s Dauphin County. It is located in the central part of the state. Over the weekend, both Trump and Vice President Joe Biden gave speeches in the county. Biden, a Democrat, was born in Pennsylvania and is campaigning for Clinton. Six percent more Dauphin County voters supported Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden over Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in the 2012 presidential election. The vote helped the Democrats win Pennsylvania and the presidential election that year. The Phone Keeps Ringing “We’re getting a lot of phone calls and four, five or six pieces of mail each day about the election,” said Carol Brechbill. "We don’t even jump up to answer the telephone unless we know who is calling us.” Brechbill is a Democrat who says she is open to voting for a moderate Republican. “But Trump is way out there, calling women names and defaming people,” she said. Brechbill said Clinton, unlike Trump, is well prepared to take over the most important job in the United States government. Brechbill said it is “reassuring” that FBI Director James Comey said on Sunday he has not changed his conclusion that Clinton should not face any charges for her handling of emails as U.S. secretary of state. Comey made the announcement Sunday after the FBI studied newly discovered emails. Jeff Haste is a Republican who serves on the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners, the local governing board. He first supported Marco Rubio and later Ted Cruz for the Republican presidential nomination. But both dropped out of the race after Trump won more votes in the Republican primary elections. Haste said he now solidly supports Trump. He forgives Trump for the comments he made about both Rubio and Cruz. For example, Trump said without evidence that Cruz’ father played a role in the assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963. “I’m an elected official and I know things are said in a political campaign that are taken back once people get elected,” Haste said. Haste said he believes Trump will make the changes needed in the American government to help middle class workers find better jobs. That does not mean he is happy with some of Trump’s statements about women and immigrants. Haste’s wife is of Latin American ancestry. He said they had a long talk after the October 7 release of a recording of Trump from 11 years ago. In the recording, Trump can be heard saying he can touch and kiss women without their permission because he is well-known. Not Voting for a Friend “I’m not voting for a friend,” Haste said of the election. “I might want to punch him out for some of the things he said. But I’m voting for president and I think he can do a lot of good for the country.” Carol Brechbill said she cannot understand people willing to put aside “Trump’s insults” and, in her words, “lack of specifics on how he would govern.” “To me, his behavior makes him totally unqualified to be president. I’m amazed that some very intelligent people are willing to overlook his comments and behavior,” Brechbill said. Traveling to Swing States On Saturday and Sunday, voters from states where the election results are not in doubt travelled to swing states like Pennsylvania to campaign. Donna Greene lives in Westchester County in New York State. New York is a state that is expected to give a big majority of its votes to Clinton. Over the weekend, Green made her second trip to Pennsylvania to campaign for Clinton. Green has made telephone calls and has visited peoples’ homes in support of Clinton. She marks down the names of people who say they plan to vote for Clinton. She gives the information to the Clinton campaign. On Election Day, the campaign will remind people to vote, and, if needed, help bring them to the voting place. Green reminded voters that their voting place had changed, while campaigning a few weeks ago in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Some people did not know. “Maybe, for some people that information means they will vote, instead of showing up at the wrong place and giving up and going home without voting,” Green said. Haste said he knows most people consider Clinton to have a big advantage in terms of get-out-the-vote efforts. But he said Trump supporters also are well organized. The Trump campaign is using social media networks effectively to reach voters, he said. “Right now there is a lot of energy for our candidate, Donald Trump,” Haste said.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. Have you been following the U.S. election? If so, what are your opinions? ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   defame - v. to hurt the reputation of someone by saying things that are false or unfair primary - n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a more important election or serve in a party position. assassination - n. to kill a famous or important person, usually for political reasons unqualified - adj. not having the skills, knowledge, or experience needed to do a particular job or activity amazed - adj. feeling or showing great surprise

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Janet Reno, First Female Attorney General, Dies

  This is What’s Trending Today.   Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, died Monday. She had Parkinson’s disease, which affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles. She was 78 years old. The attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice. Many people remembered her on social media sites Monday, making her name one of the top trending topics. Reno was the attorney general under President Bill Clinton for eight years, beginning in 1993. Reno grew up in Miami, Florida. She studied chemistry at Cornell University in the state of New York. She graduated from Harvard University’s school of law in 1963. Reno started her career at a legal office in Miami before joining public service. While Reno was U.S. attorney general, the Department of Justice was involved in a number of important cases. Reno ordered a raid of a religious group’s property in Waco, Texas during a standoff with government officers. The raid resulted in the deaths of nearly 80 members of the group. She was involved in the capture and prosecution of Ted Kaczynski, a man who sent bombs through the mail. Under Reno, the Justice Department brought charges against men who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. It also investigated and tried the case of men who bombed a government building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which killed more than 160 people. And her department brought an anti-trust lawsuit against the huge software company Microsoft. Towards the end of her time as attorney general, the Department of Justice was involved in a case involving a boy from Cuba. The boy, Elian Gonzalez, was born in Cuba. He lived with his mother in Florida. When the boy’s mother died, he continued living in Florida with his mother’s family. Reno said he should go back to Cuba to live with his father. Federal agents took the boy away and sent him back Cuba. Not everyone in the U.S. approved of her decisions. However, she was very visible during her term. Even the comedy television show Saturday Night Live included her in skits. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. Do you remember some of the cases Reno worked on? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   skit– n. a short, funny story or performance anti-trust– adj. protecting against unfair business practices that limit competition or control prices raid– n. an occurrence in which police suddenly enter a place in a forceful way to find criminals, illegal drugs, etc. standoff– n. an argument  

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November 7, 2016

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

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Next US President Faces Economic Concerns

  Many Americans want the presidential election campaign to end as quickly as possible. Political observers say it has been one of the most negative campaigns in many years. The top two candidates have little, if anything, good to say about each other. Some observers have already begun to think about what will happen after the election. They say it will be very difficult to lead the government in one of the largest economies in the world at a time of economic uncertainty. William Galston was an aide to Bill Clinton when he served as president. “Very simply, elections have consequences. You are being hired to do a job and the American people’s understanding of what they’re hiring you to do is based on what comes out of your mouth during the campaign.” Galston notes that if Donald Trump is elected president, he will be forced to announce the full cost of building a wall between the United States and Mexico. Building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants is one of Trump’s main campaign promises. The Republican Party presidential candidate has said that the project would cost $12 billion. But independent estimates suggest it would cost more than three times that much. Galston says Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s candidate, would have other questions to answer if she is elected. Clinton would be forced to explain how much her planned programs would cost and how she would put them in place. “She’s talked about a children(’s) family policy. She’s talked about a big infrastructure program. She’s talked about comprehensive immigration reform. These are all the sorts of things that the American people will hold her responsible for doing.” Maya MacGuineas is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group is non-partisan, meaning it stays away from party politics. MacGuineas says whoever wins the presidency will have a difficult time keeping campaign promises.    “Donald Trump, for instance, has promised not to fix entitlement programs -- Medicare and Social Security. Hillary Clinton has promised not to raise taxes on any family making below $250,000. Well that sounds nice, but if you want to spend as much as she wants to, you can’t fix this problem from just taxing the rich alone.” She also says the next president will also have to deal with slow economic growth and a job market that worries many Americans. In addition to slow-rising wages and growing income inequality, the federal government must deal with its growing debt. Experts believe it will be $20 trillion by the end of the year. “Hillary Clinton, basically, would keep the status quo. Donald Trump would make it worse. So Hillary Clinton comes out significantly ahead, but neither of them has a plan to do what we’re looking for and therefore nobody gets a passing grade.” The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says Trump’s plan would add $5 trillion to the debt. It says Clinton’s would add about $200 billion. Neither candidate has a plan to reduce the budget deficit.  I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.     VOA’s Mil Arcega reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the 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   negative – adj. harmful or bad; not wanted uncertainty – n. the quality or state of being uncertain; something that is doubtful or unknown; something that is uncertain consequence – n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region or organization to function properly comprehensive – adj. including many, most or all things entitlement program – n. a government program guaranteeing access to some benefit by members of a specific group and based on established rights or by legislation status quo – n. the current situation; the way things are now passing grade – n. showing that you completed a test or class in an acceptable way

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FBI: No Charges for Clinton After Review of New Emails

  The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it has studied newly discovered emails in its investigation of U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. FBI Director James Comey said the new emails did not change the bureau’s earlier decision. The FBI again decided that no charges should be brought against Clinton for her use of a personal email server while she was U.S. secretary of state. Comey sent a letter to members of Congress with his findings two days before the U.S. presidential election. The FBI launched an investigation in 2015 into Clinton’s use of a private email server. Investigators tried to find out if Clinton had sent secret government information through the private server. The emails were written before she became the Democratic Party’s candidate for president. In July, Comey announced the FBI investigation had not found enough evidence to charge Clinton with a crime. But he did say the investigation found she had been “extremely careless” in her email practices.   On October 28, Comey sent a letter to Congress stating that the FBI had found a new group of emails that could be important to the investigation. The emails were discovered in a separate investigation involving former Congressman Anthony Weiner, the husband of top Clinton advisor Huma Abedin. Comey was criticized by many Democrats and some Republicans for the FBI’s decision to make the email investigation public. The decision came as opinion studies showed the presidential race becoming close in the days before the election. The critics argued that the decision could possibly change the minds of voters and influence the outcome of the election. Some also suggested Comey’s action may have violated the U.S. Hatch Act, which sets limits on the political activities of federal employees. In his latest letter, Comey wrote that FBI investigators had reviewed a large number of newly discovered emails since October 28. “Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state,” he wrote. Historically, federal government agencies have attempted not to get involved in politics during election campaigns. The Clinton campaign welcomed Comey’s latest decision regarding the investigation. “We were always confident nothing would cause the July decision to be revisited. Now Director Comey has confirmed it,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on Twitter.   Trump reacted by saying Clinton is “being protected by a rigged system.” He also questioned how the FBI could have examined all the emails, which reportedly numbered in the hundreds of thousands. “You can't review 650,000 new emails in eight days. You can't do it, folks,” Trump told supporters during a rally Sunday.  I’m Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. This report was based on information from Reuters and the Associated Press. Mario Ritter was the editor. Do you think the FBI was correct in going public with details about its investigation so close to the presidential election? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   practice – n. ​ a custom, tradition or activity confident – adj. being very certain that something is true or will happen rig – v. to control or affect an election or game in a dishonest way in order to get a desired result rally – n. large, public meeting in support of someone or something  

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American Voters Will Decide on More Than Just the Presidency

  American voters are electing more than a new president and vice president on Tuesday. Voters will also be filling all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives. In addition, they are deciding 34 U.S. Senate races, 12 state governorships and hundreds of local issues. The issues include legalization of the drug marijuana, gun control, health care and even the minimum wage. The website Ballotpedia.com reports there are a total of 154 statewide measures on ballots in 35 states, affecting over 200 million people. The site reports that 82 million people live in states where voters could legalize marijuana. Reports say more than 21 million live in states where voters could increase the minimum wage -- the lowest wages permitted under the law. Ballot measures to increase restrictions on gun ownership could affect more than 50 million people. Taxes on tobacco products could increase for more than 51 million people. In California, voters will decide if the state government should ban plastic bags -- those used in many stores. They also are being asked whether the state should require men in pornographic films to wear condoms. Voters in Maine will decide if they want their state to create a system of voting that requires one or more votes until the winner receives a majority of the ballots.  The website Curbed.com says voters in 25 states are being asked to approve spending a total of $200 billion on transportation infrastructure, such as road improvements. Politico.com reports medical marijuana could soon be legal in a majority of the states. And the number of states that ban executions could reach 21 -- the highest in American history.     I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise. Christopher Jones-Cruise wrote this story for VOA 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   minimum wage – n. an amount of money that is the least amount of money per hour that workers must be paid according to the law bag – n. a container made of thin material (such as paper, plastic, or cloth) that opens at the top and is used for holding or carrying things condom – n. a form of birth control used by men

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A New Invention: Shoes that Grow with a Child

  From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. Children grow quickly, especially their feet. But many families cannot buy new shoes each time a child needs them. As a result, about 300 million children around the world go barefoot. Those children risk picking up diseases and parasites from the soil. An American man may have a solution for those barefoot kids – a shoe that grows with the child. VOA correspondent June Soh traveled to Idaho to interview Kenton Lee. We bring that story to our Learning English audience. Kenton Lee is the creator of The Shoe That Grows. He explains how the shoe works and how it is able to last so long. "It grows in three places: the front; it can also grow on the side with Velcro; and on the back with our buckle. It can last up to five years. The bottom is compressed rubber like tire rubber. The top is just high-quality leather." The shoe comes in two sizes: small that fits children aged 4 to 9 and large for children aged 9 to 14. Lee says he got the idea for the shoe while working as a volunteer in an orphanage in Kenya. "… and there was a little girl in a white dress walking next to me. And I just remember looking down and seeing how small her shoes were. They were just way too small for her feet. They were so small, she had to cut open the front of her shoes to let her toes stick out. And I just remember thinking, wouldn't it be nice if there were a pair of shoes that could grow with her feet." However, Lee says it was not easy to turn his idea into a reality. "I kept writing down I should do this because of this or because of that. All these reasons why it really was important for me to try to make the shoes that could grow and try to help." Finally, in 2009 Lee founded a non-profit organization called Because International. In the office of Because International, Lee keeps a pair of his own shoes to help him remember his promise. "I told myself I would not get new shoes until the idea was done. So, those are the shoes that I wore for a little over five years. But once we finally made The Shoe That Grows happen, then I finally got some new shoes." Because International works with several partner organizations. Together, they have sent more than 50,000 pairs of shoes to 70 countries. "The majority of our shoes are going to East Africa – so, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia. And then also a lot of our shoes go to Haiti, Nicaragua, some of the Central American countries as well." Lee says many of these areas do not have good sanitation. As a result, illness spreads easily. Children pick up diseases and parasites through the soles of their bare feet and fall sick. "It’s really heartbreaking. They stay sick for a long time. They’re not able to afford the medical care. So, a lot of them just really fall behind. They don't go to school. And they don't learn and grow as a child should." A pair of shoes, he says, gives more than protection. It gives a child self-worth and more chances to succeed. "Because it's a small thing that really does make a big difference to keep them healthy and happy and having more chances to succeed." Kenton Lee adds that his goal is to help get The Shoe That Grows to as many children as he can around the world. For the Health & Lifestyle report, I’m Anna Matteo.   June Soh wrote this story for VOA News. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly edited it.   __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   Velcro – trademark used for a nylon fabric that can be fastened to itself buckle – n. a fastening for two loose ends that is attached to one and holds the other by a catch compressed – adj. pressed together : reduced in size or volume (as by pressure) rubber – n. an elastic substance that is obtained by coagulating the milky juice of any of various tropical plants, is essentially a polymer of isoprene, and is prepared as sheets and then dried high-quality – adj. very good, well-made, etc. leather – n. animal skin that is chemically treated to preserve it and that is used in making clothes, shoes, furniture, etc. volunteer  – n. a person who does work without getting paid to do it orphanage  – n. a place where children whose parents have died can live and be cared for : a home for orphans sanitation – n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets, etc. heartbreaking – adj. causing great sadness, disappointment, etc.    

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Robot Can Help With Farm Work

  In the American state of Idaho, a robot moves between lines of fruit trees and grapevines. It is doing farm work. Called “IdaBot,” this robot is a prototype, or model. An engineering team at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, developed IdaBot. It looks like a small military tank. But, it is armed with cameras and radio frequency sensors instead of guns. It moves slowly through an orchard, spraying chemicals on each plant that needs treatment. It can do other jobs too, including watching over crops and harvesting them. How the robot works The robot uses radio frequency identification in its work. This process uses electronic devices on the trees or grapevines to identify them. As the IdaBot moves through the orchards, it “reads” the devices on the plants to learn what it needs. Josh Griffin is one of the project leaders.  He explains how the robot works. “You can program into the IdaBot, trees number one, and trees number five need chemicals. Each tree will have a radio frequency identification tag on it. The IdaBot would use the signal from the tag to determine which tree it is next to. When it is next to tree five, it will spray chemicals on tree number five, when it is on tree number one, it will spray the chemicals there.” Griffin, an assistant engineering professor, says the robot can work on its own. It can also work with other technology, like drones – small pilotless planes. In an experiment, a drone carried a special camera that captures images of grapevines or fruit trees.The image information is processed through a computer program. The color of the image lets the robot know how much chemical the plants need. Griffin says the robot can help farmers save money on labor. It also saves money by reducing the use of chemicals. And that helps the environment. “It automatically, without human intervention, applies the chemicals and then it does so in very low pressure. So, it does so very precisely. The chemicals go where you want them to go, not over spraying to other areas.” Fruit Counting Application The robot team of students and professors is also developing a Fruit Counting Application for the IdaBot. It uses a vision system to correctly estimate the size of the fruit crop. Duke Bulanon, another assistant engineering professor, works with Griffin on the project. He explains that the system will use several different kinds of cameras—color, near-infrared and stereo cameras. They will take images from each tree as IdaBot moves along the orchard. “Then we will use those images and create a computer program to estimate the number of fruits on each tree.” Farmer Michael Williamson owns an orchard in Caldwell, Idaho. He says he is looking forward to trying out the computer program on his trees. “I am very excited about this experiment and this machine that can count our fruit. We can get a better price for our customers if we pre-order or pre-sell our fruit months in advance. Sometimes it can be better than 20 percent. And that is the important part about the fruit counting.” Being able to get a correct count of the fruit helps in many ways. Farmer Williamson says if they have a correct count of the fruit, he can predict how many people he needs for the harvest. He can also predict how many shipping boxes he will need to ship them. And, he says, he can predict the market. What will it cost? How much would farmers have to pay for this robot? Big pieces of farm equipment can be expensive. But Griffin estimates a basic IdaBot that uses radio frequency identification technology would be relatively low-cost. “We do anticipate that it will be fairly affordable. You know, kind of on the order of maybe buying a pickup truck or something like that.” The researchers expect the money the farmers save by using this robot would also help consumers—because they will find lower fruit prices at the market.   I’m Anne Ball.   This story was written June Soh for VOA News.  Anne Ball adapted it for Learning English.  Caty Weaver 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   prototype ­– n. a model of something radio frequency sensors – n. electronic devices on an item that stores information and gives it to a person or computer orchard – n.  a group of trees where food, like fruit or nuts, are grown automatically – adv. something that works or happens without being directly controlled by a person precisely – adv.  very accurate and exact advance – n. before something happens accurate – adj. free from mistakes or errors anticipate – v. to think of something that will or might happen in the future pickup truck– n. a vehicle with an open back and low sides

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Everyday Grammar: Demonstratives

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Study Explains Why Some Soccer Referees are Better than Others

  Soccer fans around the world love to question the calls that the referees make during games. One common insult is to say the referee must not be able to see well. A new study says most referees can see just fine. Belgian and British researchers found that the best referees, however, are able to pay attention to the parts of a play where a foul is most likely to happen. These referees can ignore other less-important parts of a play. Inexperienced referees, however, are not as precise, or exact. The study was published in October in the journal “Cognitive Research.” Werner Helsen was a co-author of the study. He is a sports scientist and a professor at Belgium’s University of Leuven. He also helps train officials for FIFA and UEFA, the governing body of European soccer. Helsen said there have been several studies done on soccer players. Researchers have studied how some of the best athletes see the games they play. Researchers ask the players to look at pictures or videos of a game. They follow the players’ eyes to see what they look at first and for how long. Before the new study, researchers had not examined soccer referees in the same way.  Referees who call games from top soccer leagues and lower soccer leagues took part in the study. Helsen and his team showed 40 referees videos of soccer games. The researchers used special technology to watch how their eyes moved. Helsen said the best referees focused their eyes on the most important parts of plays. That means they did not pay attention to what Helsen called “irrelevant” -- or unimportant -- details. The best referees do not, in fact, have better vision than the others. But they do have more experience and they know what they should look for. “It is the meaning your mind can give to something you are looking at that makes the big difference and that makes the difference between being elite, or not elite.” Helsen compares what the best referees see on the field to what an experienced doctor might see from an X-ray. A less-experienced doctor might take longer to look at an X-ray to find the problem. Soccer organizations like FIFA and UEFA want to have the best referees at the biggest games. But there are not many chances for referees to practice calling foul plays. Helsen says referees need more chances to train and practice -- just as soccer players do. “The refereeing is practice-poor. We need to find more tools to give them more experience outside the game.” Helsen and other researchers are working on a website that can help train referees. It is called “Perception 4 Perfection.” Referees used the website before the 2016 European Championship tournament. They looked at 700 videos that showed how a soccer team can be offside. It is a difficult call to make because players are moving very fast. The referee needs to see three things at the same time: the ball, the offensive team’s player and the defensive team’s player. After watching the videos for less than 24 hours, the skill level of some of the referees increased by 30 percent. Helsen and his group are working on another on project that could make referees’ jobs easier. They are studying whether slow-motion video replays should be used to review disputed calls. It is something already being used for sports like tennis, baseball and American football. I’m Dan Friedell. Joe De Capua wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted his report for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Will you be less critical of soccer referees now? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   foul – n. an action that is against the rules and for which a player is given a penalty call – n. a decision made by an official in a sports contest precise – adj. very accurate and exact irrelevant – adj. not important cue – n. something that indicates the nature of what you are seeing, hearing, etc. elite – adj. the best or most successful at a task practice – n. the activity of doing something again and again in order to become better at it offside – adj. in a position in a game (such as football or hockey) on the opponent's part of the field where you are not allowed to be; not onside slow-motion – n. a way of showing action that has been filmed or photographed at a speed that is slower than the actual speed replay – n. a recording of something (such as an action in a sports event) that is being shown again referee – n. a person who makes sure that players act according to the rules of a game or sport  

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