Would You Like to Own a President?

  You are in luck if you want to buy a life-sized reproduction of a former American president. On January 14, a museum plans to sell off its entire statue collection of 43 presidents and their wives. They are being offered for sale at a public auction. The First Lady statues, it should be noted, are not life-size. The museum is in the historic town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is called the Gettysburg Hall of Presidents. The head of each statue is made of wax. The body is a combination of fiberglass and wood. The business is closing after 60 years. It says not enough people come to visit. Visitors could hear recordings of important speeches made by the presidents. Max Felt is the president of Gettysburg Tours, which operates the museum. He told the Baltimore Sun newspaper that his business had hoped for more visitors after the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. But attendance did not change much. In the summer of 1863, the Union army defeated Confederate forces at Gettysburg. The battle proved to be a turning point in the American Civil War. The Confederates were forced to withdraw and retreat to the South. President Abraham Lincoln made a famous speech in the town four months later. Lincoln spoke about freedom and equality of “all men.” In addition to the statues, the museum will be selling other objects at the auction later this month. I’m Dan Friedell. Matt Hillburn reported this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted his story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. If you could buy the statue of a president, which one would you buy? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   auction – n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most wax – n. a hard substance that becomes soft when it is heated and that is used to make various products (such as candles, crayons, or polish) fiberglass – n. a light and strong material that is made from thin threads of glass and that is used in making various products — often used before another noun tour – n. an activity in which you go through a place (such as a building or city) in order to see and learn about the different parts of it retreat – v. an act of process of leaving, especially from what is a difficult or dangerous situation

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English @ the Movies: 'A Chain Reaction'

Today on English @ the Movies we talk about the saying "a chain reaction." It comes from the film "I'm Not Ashamed." This is a true story about a teenage girl's religious faith. Do you know what "a chain reaction" means? Watch here to test your knowledge!

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January 5, 2017

A look at the best news photos and the most interesting photos from around the world.

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Groups Seek to Ban Smoking at U.S. Colleges and Public Housing

  New efforts are underway to make American college campuses and public housing off limits to cigarette smoking. Twenty colleges in the United States recently received grants to help make their campuses tobacco free. And in November, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced that smoking will become illegal at all public housing over the next 18 months. The federal housing department has over one million homes. “Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, healthy home free from harmful second-hand cigarette smoke,” Castro said. The move to ban smoking at public housing units and college campuses follows approval of state laws banning smoking at most workplaces. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids reports that 27 American states ban smoking in all indoor workplaces, including restaurants. California became the first state to ban smoking at most workplaces in 1995. Thirty-two countries had banned smoking at most workplaces as of 2012, the Tobacco Atlas reports. Those supporting smoke-free workplaces, public housing and college campuses give one major reason: the negative health effects of smoking. The Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] and the World Health Organization says the health effects of smoking are large. The CDC says cigarette smoking is the leading cause of “preventable deaths” in the United States. Smoking accounts for 480,000 deaths every year, it says. One Group Says New Rules Are Unfair A New York City smokers’ rights group opposes the new ban on smoking at public housing units. Audrey Silk is founder of Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment. She wrote President-elect Donald Trump, asking him to stop the ban after he becomes president on January 20. Silk says officials are going too far in trying to stop people from using a legal product. She told Trump the new federal housing rule would force old or sick people to walk outside their homes to smoke, even when the weather is bad. “At stake is the right of U.S. citizens to be left alone to engage in a legal activity in the privacy of one’s own home,” Silk said. It’s a Public Health Issue Say Supporters But supporters of smoking bans and smoke-free areas say the bad effects of second-hand smoke make it a public health issue. Some also say that college campuses are a good place to limit or ban smoking. Gary Reedy is chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, which recently announced anti-smoking grants to 20 U.S. colleges. He said it is important to stop college students from smoking, “to be successful in creating a tobacco-free generation.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 13 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke cigarettes. Reedy said that reducing the number of college students who smoke can lead to reduced smoking rates among older adults. His reasoning? Once a person starts smoking, it is hard to stop, Reedy says. The CVS Health Foundation is providing $3.6 million for the anti-smoking grants. The foundation was started by the American drug store company CVS. CVS stopped selling cigarettes in 2014. The American Cancer Society says about one third of America’s 4,700 college campuses are already smoke-free. Thomas Gibson is vice president for student affairs at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The school is one of the grant winners. He said Bowling Green wants to help urge students to not start smoking. Gibson said, “While approximately 90 percent of smokers start by age 18, 99 percent start by age 26." For those students who already smoke, the school wants to help them stop, he said. I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Pete Musto. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English.  Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   cigarette – n. a small roll of paper that is filled with cut tobacco and smoked campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school deserve – v. used to say that someone should get or have something stake – n. an interest or degree of involvement in something engage – v. to do something grant – n. money provided for some activity or purpose approximately – adv. almost exact

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Olympics May Help South Korea Overcome Political Problems

South Korean officials hoped 2017 would start with building excitement for the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The games begin on February 9, 2018. But instead, the country faces a political scandal involving president Park Geun-hye. South Korea’s Constitutional Court now has begun considering Park’s impeachment. The charges against Park involve her ties to long-time friend, Choi Soon-sil. Choi is on trial for fraud and abuse of power. Hundreds of thousands of people have protested the relationship between the two women, leading to Park’s impeachment. Park is accused of letting Choi influence her personal and political life. Opponents say Park pressured businesses to make large donations to organizations controlled by Choi. Myungji Yang is a political science professor at the University of Hawaii. She writes about politics in South Korea. She says the people of South Korea will be unhappy leading up to the Olympics if Park and Choi are not punished enough. “If they get really punished in a light way, I think people will be really frustrated, and then people will feel again like there’s no hope about this society to have fairness or equality.” Regardless of the result, South Koreans will choose a new president this year before the games take place. Some South Koreans are worried about the 2018 Olympic Games. Pyeongchang is a remote ski area in the country’s northeast. So far, it has struggled to raise people’s interest.   Pyeongchang is in the Gangwon province. Its governor, Choi Moon-soon, told Yonhap News that it has been difficult to create excitement for the games so far. “They’ve been overshadowed by the political situation,” he said. “It’s our priority to raise national and global interest.”   The political unrest combined with limited excitement has hurt sponsorship for the games. That means big businesses have not yet spent a lot of money on advertising for the Olympics. The Pyeongchang Organizing Committee (known as POCOG) told VOA it fell a little short of last year’s target of $778.5 million for sponsorships.   Kim Yujin is the manager of international media relations for the games. Kim said more sponsorships will be announced this year. “It may not be correct to say that the firms are reluctant to support Pyeongchang 2018 due to the current scandal, but considering its promotional effect, we are in close discussions with the firms.” There is also debate between the national government and the provincial government about who should be paying for the Olympic preparations. The costs are currently about $12 billion. POCOG says it hopes upcoming events in Pyeongchang will increase interest in the coming games. Ticket sales for the Pyeongchang Games start in February. South Korea’s popular music artists and movie stars are also expected to bring international attention to the 2018 Olympics.   POCOG hopes plans involving the central government will include some of these famous people. They should be able to spread the word about the games outside of Korea where Korean music, television shows and movies are popular. This is not the first time South Korea has prepared for the Olympics during a time of political unrest.   The country held its first democratic elections one year before the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Observers say the Olympics kept politicians in South Korea accountable since they knew the world would be watching before the games. Michael Breen is an author based in Seoul. He covered the 1988 Olympic Games. “Had the Olympics not been there, the dictatorship might have misbehaved, but the whole world was watching Korea then, the Olympics were waiting … that was the role that the Olympics served. It helped to restrain the dictatorship and allowed democracy to happen.” Both Breen and Yang said the current protests against President Park are not like the ones 30 years ago. Yang remembers living in South Korea then, and said protestors risked their lives to take part. “Nowadays, the demonstrations are more festival-like and family oriented. I think the atmospheres are completely different.” Yang says that is evidence that South Korea is more stable today than in the 1980s. In spite of the current unrest, Breen said he is confident South Korea will put on a “fantastic event” in 2018.   I’m Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by VOA’s Bruce Harrison. Mario Ritter was the editor. Do you think South Korea be back on track in time for the Pyeongchang Olympics? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong impeachment – n. the act of charging (a public official) with a crime done while in office fraud– n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person frustrated – adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something remote – adj. far away priority –n. something that is more important than other things sponsorship – n. an arrangement in which a sponsor agrees to give money to someone or something firm – n. a business organization restrain – v. to prevent (a person or animal) from doing something confident –adj. having the feeling or belief that you can do something well fantastic – adj. extremely good  

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French Man Sets Cycling Record at Age 105

This is What’s Trending Today. World records can be set even if you are over 100 years old. Robert Marchand was born in 1911 in northern France. He enjoys riding a bicycle, and started cycling seriously when he was in his 60s. Marchand is now 105 years old. On Wednesday, a crowd gathered at the Velodrome National, about 30 kilometers outside of Paris. They were there to see how far he could travel in one hour. The record for one hour is held by Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, a former Tour de France winner. Wiggins covered 54.5 kilometers in 2015. Evelyn Stevens of the United States holds the women’s record. She went almost 48 kilometers in an hour last year. In 2012, Marchand set a record for riders over 100 years old when he traveled almost 27 kilometers in an hour. So the question many people asked this week was: “Could he break his own record?” Marchand set off on his record attempt as sports lovers cheered and photographers watched. He moved slowly, but steadily, around the cycling track. Marchand is relatively small. He is only 1.52 meters tall and weighs 52 kilograms. When the hour ended, he completed 92 times around the track. That is just over 22.5 kilometers. After the event, Marchand said he could have done better. He did not see his trainers telling him he only had 10 minutes remaining. “I would have gone faster. I would have posted a better time,” he said. But the news was still good, as he did set a new record for riders 105-years-old or older. “I’m now waiting for a rival,” he said. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Jill Robbins.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on news service reports. George Grow was the editor. How far could you ride a bicycle in one hour? Let us know in the comments section. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rival – n. a competitor; a person or thing that tries to defeat or be more successful than another steadily – adv. keeping up a firm pace track – n. an often circular path or road that is used for racing bicycle – n. a 2-wheeled vehicle that a person rides by pushing on foot pedals  

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Turkey Increases Internet Restrictions

  The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has often had a difficult relationship with the Internet. The government has repeatedly attempted to restrict news and social media websites during times of political unrest. The restrictions do not generally last very long or appear effective. Many Internet users in Turkey have turned to tools such as VPNs or Tor to avoid the measures. However, the Erdogan government’s thinking about the Internet may be hardening after recent events. They include the recent attack on an Istanbul nightclub, the killing of Russia’s ambassador and the government overthrow attempt by a military group. Politics and Social Media Observers and civil society groups say the Erdogan administration has been moving to restrict Internet and mobile phone access to the rest of the World Wide Web. They add that, for the first time, the administration is showing no signs of backing off any time soon. The Turkish leader has made clear that he does not like social media. Erdogan has criticized Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. "To me, social media is the worst menace to society," he said at a 2013 event. Zeynep Tufekci is an expert on technology and society at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She says Erdogan wants to show that social media hurts families and society. The reason for his statements and periodic blocking of social media sites, she says, is to try to keep the public's attention away from critical or embarrassing stories online. "Erdogan likely still has enough supporters to win elections, but to continue to win, he needs to keep them off social media,” Tufekci told VOA. “His game is to scare them about all that comes from social media.” Some researchers fear that the Erdogan government's recent suppression of free expression is a sign of things to come. "When there's an attack -- say an explosion -- nationwide restrictions are often imposed" said Alp Toker, a researcher and spokesperson with the organization Turkey Blocks. What is new – and more troubling – says Toker, is that these restrictions come with efforts to block links to TOR or VPN providers. These tools are popular for going around online censorship. Such services were restricted last month after the murder of the Russian ambassador to Turkey. In recent months, many media workers have also been imprisoned. These developments have many worried about what people can say. "People are afraid of speaking up, especially online," Toker said. Is there hope for Internet freedom? Free speech activists say that there may still be hope. Toker says Turkey can still win back its Internet freedom, but only if lawmakers and technology companies around the world start to notice what is happening. He added that "the rest of the world, particularly the U.S. and Europe, would be well advised to take a look at the situation in countries like Turkey and step up the effort to defend their own digital liberties." I’m Jonathan Evans.   Doug Bernard wrote this story for VOA News. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   menace – n. a threatening or dangerous person or thing. censorship – n. the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.​ embarrassing – adj. made to look foolish in public​ access – n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone​

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US Intelligence: Top Russian Officials Tried to Influence 2016 Election

  United States intelligence leaders say they believe high-level Russian officials were directly responsible for attacking American computers during the 2016 election campaign. The intelligence leaders met with a U.S. Senate Committee in Washington Thursday. They said that Russia hacked the computers and released documents from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in an effort to interfere in the presidential election. Only “Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized the recent election-focused data thefts and disclosures,” they said in a prepared statement.       The U.S. leaders are Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre. They called Russian cyber-attacks a "major threat" to national interests. WATCH: Clapper on Russia hacking Clapper said there is no evidence that Russia actually changed any vote counts. He said the intelligence agencies are unable to say how the information might have changed any American minds or votes. Arizona’s John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the hearing that “every American should be alarmed” by Russia’s actions. He added that “Congress must set partisanship aside” in investigating and preventing cyber-attacks on America. On Wednesday, McCain called the Russian interference “an act of war.” WATCH: McCain on Russia hacking “I’m not saying it’s an atomic attack,” he said. “I’m just saying that when you attack a nation’s fundamental structure, which they are doing, then it’s an act of war.” Evidence of Russian hacking U.S. intelligence agencies have said they have evidence that Russia hacked the emails of Democratic Party officials. Critics say the hacking was meant to help Donald Trump, the candidate of the Republican Party, win the presidential election. But President-elect Donald Trump has questioned those claims. On Thursday, President Barack Obama received a report on the investigation he ordered into the possible foreign interference in the election. Trump is expected to receive the same information in a briefing in New York City on Friday. The president-elect has questioned reports that Russia interfered in the vote. He took to Twitter late Tuesday, taking aim at the intelligence agencies. Trump suggested they still do not have proof that Russia broke into the DNC’s computers and gave the documents to the WikiLeaks website. Can Julian Assange Be Trusted? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denied that the Russian government gave his group stolen documents. He appeared on Fox News television earlier this week. On Wednesday, Trump tweeted this message: “Julian Assange said ‘a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta’ - why was DNC so careless?” Trump was talking about thousands of emails and documents that hackers took from the DNC’s computers and from John Podesta, the chief of Hillary Clinton’s election campaign. On Thursday, Trump fired back at critics on Twitter: “The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange - wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people to make up their own minds as to the truth. The media lies to make it look like I am against ‘Intelligence’ when in fact I am a big fan!” Clapper and other intelligence officials told the Senate committee Thursday that they put no credibility into what Assange says. US-Russia relationship Ukrainian political scientist Lilia Shevtsova is an expert on Russian government. She told VOA that some foreign policy experts in Russia are calling for increased communication between it and the United States. She said Obama moved toward such a policy in 2008 when Dmitry Medvedev was Russia’s president. But she said the effort failed. Shevtsova said Russian experts continue to call for increased communication. Valery Garbuzov is the director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies. He told VOA that many Russians are hopeful that Trump’s presidency will lead to improved relations between the two countries. Garbuzov said he is not sure Trump will be able to quickly improve U.S. relations with Russia. I’m Anne Ball. And I’m Dan Friedell.   Anne Ball wrote this story for VOANews.com. Her story was based on reports from VOANews.com, the Associated Press and Reuters. 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   hacked – v. use of a computer to break into data in a system disclosure – n. the act of making something known partisanship – n.  a person who strongly supports a particular leader, political party or cause reliance – n. the state of needing someone or something for help, support, etc. credibility - n. the quality of being believed or accepted as true, real, or honest

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Have You Been Using the Perfect Progressive?

  Editor's note: See An Introduction to Verb Tenses for the first story in this series. For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. This is the last in our four-part series on verb tenses. Make sure you see our episodes on progressive and perfect tenses before trying to learn the perfect progressive tenses. For English learners, the perfect progressive tenses can be scary. But they are more straightforward than you might think. When you talk about grammar, perfect means “complete,” and progressive means “unfinished.” Perfect progressive sentences focus on the completion of an action that is, was or will be in progress. Think about this sentence in the past perfect progressive: “I had been waiting for three years by the time my application was approved.” In this example, the emphasis is on duration of the first verb waiting. Perfect progressive tenses often answer the question how long? There are three perfect progressive tenses: the present perfect progressive, the past perfect progressive, and the future perfect progressive.   Past Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Progressive Future Perfect Progressive PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSES It had been snowing for two days before it stopped. Had been + -ing verb + for/since It has been snowing all month long. Has/have + -ing verb + for/since It will have been snowing for three days by the time it stops. Will have been + -ing verb + for/since   Present Perfect Progressive Let’s start with the present perfect progressive. You form the present perfect progressive by using have been (or has been) followed by an –ing verb. For instance, “She has been sitting in class since early this morning.” The action, sitting, is continuing. But the emphasis is on the completed part of the action. Here are some more examples: I have been waiting for 20 minutes. I have been studying since I was a child. It has been snowing all day long. In all of these sentences, the emphasis is on how the finished activity relates to the present. A time reference is not required to use the present perfect progressive. Sometimes we use it to refer to recently completed actions. Imagine your friend comes to your house with red, puffy eyes. You might say, “Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?” Or you notice that a co-worker is looking tanned. You might ask, “You look tanned. Have you have been sunbathing?” Remember that stative verbs cannot be used in any progressive tense. A stative verb describes unchanging situations, often mental states such as realize, appear and seem. You should not say, “I’ve been knowing you for a long time.” If you have a stative verb, use the present perfect: “I have known you for a long time.” Almost all native speakers will contract, or shorten the pronoun that comes before have or has. “I have been” will sound like, “I’ve been.” Expert grammarian and teacher Betty Azar tells English learners: “Don’t expect slow, careful pronunciation of helping verbs in normal conversation.” Past Perfect Progressive Let us move on to the past perfect progressive. The past perfect progressive emphasizes the duration of a past action before another action happened. For example, “I had been smoking for 10 years before I quit.” You form the past perfect progressive by using had been followed by an –ing verb. Notice how the past perfect progressive often includes the adverbs for and since to express duration. You will also see the adverbs before, when or by the time used to introduce a second action. The second action uses the simple past tense. Here are some more examples: I had been studying for 12 years by the time I graduated from high school. She had been living there since she was a child. He had been teaching for 12 years before he was certified. The past perfect progressive can also describe a recently completed action. For instance: My clothes were wet because it had been raining. He was talking loudly because he had been drinking. Future Perfect Progressive We will end with the future perfect progressive. The future perfect progressive describes the duration of an action as it relates to a future event. There are two ways to form the future perfect progressive. Both require two actions. One is by using “will have been” plus a present participle, followed by “when” or “by the time” and the second action. For example, “I will have been working for 35 years by the time I retire.” Notice that the second planned action, retire, is in the simple present. The simple future is never used with the second action. The other way to form the future perfect progressive is using “be going to have been” plus a present participle followed by “when” or “by the time” and the second action. The order of the actions can be reversed with either form. For example, “By the time the plane arrives, I am going to have been waiting for five hours.” With the future perfect progressive, it is not always clear if the ­­–ing verb started in the past or will start in the future. For example, “The doctor will have been working for 24 hours by the time his shift is finished.” The future perfect progressive is rare because it is difficult to know the duration of an activity relative to another future event. And those are the three perfect progressive tenses in English. We have been talking about verb tenses for several weeks now. It is time to move on to other topics. We leave you with a present perfect progressive song by the music band "Foreigner." "I’ve been waiting for a girl like you To come into my life" I’m John Russell. And I’m Jill Robbins.   Adam Brock wrote this story for Learning English. Jill Robbins and Kathleen Struck were the editors. What do you think is the hardest verb tense of the ones you’ve studied? Write to us in the Comments section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   straightforward – adj. direct, not complicated puffy – adj. larger than normal contract - v. to make (something) smaller or shorter certified – adj. having met the official requirements that are needed to do a particular type of work episode - n. part of a longer program, such as a film or television series tanned - adj. becoming more brown in color graduated - v. successfully completed a study program duration - n. the time during which something continues participle - n. a form of a verb that is used to change a noun or verb

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News Words: Automate

This week's news word is a sign of the times.

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Neftalie Williams: Skateboarding Is a 'Tool for Cultural Diplomacy'

  Skateboarding involves riding and performing tricks on a small oval board attached to four wheels. It can be considered a recreational activity, an art form or a method of transportation. Neftalie Williams says skateboarding is his passion. “When I'm skateboarding I feel free. It gives me the space to do what I want to do and sort of tune out the rest of the world. All I do is what feels good to me, what feels great under my feet and it lets me belong to a larger community. So I feel it all, all at the same time.” As a young adult, Williams gained a larger view on skateboarding. “Right when I got to be about 20 years old, that's when I decided that not only was skateboarding important but it's something that I should really, really be involved in --- not just working on being an amateur sponsor skater, but that skateboarding meant more to more people and it was a way to sort of connect communities everywhere. "So, for me, I started thinking about skating in a broader context. I ended up putting together my own skateboarding camp for kids in New England because that was me wanting to give back to the sport that gave me so much life. And a lot of my good friends have now become pro skaters and they were counselors at my camp at that time. So, that was my first foray into making things bigger for skateboarding as a whole.” Neftalie Williams is a researcher and lecturer with the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC). He teaches a course called “Skateboarding and Action Sports in Business Media and Culture.” Williams studied skateboarding in college and received a master’s degree in Public Diplomacy from USC. He is first professor in the United States to teach the sport. “I am the first professor of skateboarding and action sports here in the U.S.,especially at a major university, USC. I've been looking at how skateboarding can be used as a tool for cultural diplomacy. So, when it came time to bring the class together, they knew that I'd been working out in the field in Cuba and Brazil and South Africa and that we were trying to find new ways to engage youth all over the world. "So, when it came time to propose having a class that talked about it, they looked at the fact that I had the experience, that I also had all the ties within the skateboarding network to bring in great people -- leaders in the field -- and that we were really also looking at the role of gender in new sports and how to actually make inroads and communicate with our youth. They thought it was a really great idea and we went forward.” The course has proven to be popular among students. But, Williams has kept the class size small, permitting just 25 students to officially register for the course. Examining skating as a tool for cultural diplomacy worldwide, Williams joined forces with the U.S. State Department, becoming the first skateboarding and academic sports envoy in U.S. history. “One of the things I'm the most proud of is being the first skateboarding envoy for the U.S. government. We worked with the embassy in the Netherlands to engage the Syrian refugees who'd been granted asylum in the Netherlands. It was an amazing project and not only was it engaging the Syrian refugees, but it was also engaging the youth of the Netherlands. Both of those groups are going to be the future of the Netherlands populace. "So, by having them both together they got to know one another, be totally engaged with each other and to spend time knowing what the future of the Netherlands was going to look like.  And it wasn't just, 'this is a project for those kids or this is just something for the elite.' For some of those kids it was the first time they ever got to see skateboarding up close. And they all became immediate parts of the skateboarding community.” Because the skateboarding diplomacy project was so successful in the Netherlands, the State Department has asked for Williams’s help in creating skateboarding projects in other countries. “So we're creating a plan right now to take skateboarding globally as an envoy. Some of the other countries that the U.S. government would like to engage using skateboarding as a tool for cultural diplomacy are Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Ethiopia.” In addition to his work empowering and uniting skateboarding communities, Neftalie Williams is chairman of Cuba Skate, designed to create people-to-people exchange between communities in Cuba and the U.S. “Cuba Skate is our nonprofit that's based in D.C. and here in L.A. and what we do is we bring boards back and forth to the kids that are in Cuba and we also promote educational exchange between the skaters that are here, skaters globally and the skaters that are in Cuba. "So one of the main things that are important with our working with Cuba Skate is that there are no skate shops on the island. So, what we want to do is foster entrepreneurship in the youth so that they can create their own skate shops, their own cooperatives, give them a blueprint to look at how businesses are run here in skateboarding, [and] how they can run their own educational facilities there in Cuba.” A major issue in the Cuban skateboarding community is its growing female membership. “Cuba has a very large skate populous, and it's growing all the time. With skateboarding being moved to the Olympics, hopefully in the future, it's nice to see that so many women are starting to take up skateboarding there and that there is no disparity between the men and women on the island.” However, Williams says there are a few barriers Cuba Skate faces. "The biggest obstacles that we face in Cuba skate is that we still have travel restrictions. There's still an embargo in place and that makes our work a little difficult. The good thing, though, is that we have our hearts in a light place because we know that progress is being made on both sides.” Neftalie Williams believe skateboarding teaches self-expression, among other things. “One of the most amazing thing that skateboarding teaches you is how to re-imagine yourself and the world around you. That’s very important because we have skaters all over the world who particularly in Cuba don't have access to resources. So, they've got to now look at themselves and figure out, 'how do I exist in this space?' "Skateboarding also teaches you how to persevere, because there aren't people to teach you how to do tricks or having large teams involved in the skate. You learn how to do it on your own. The other thing is skateboarding teaches you is to build a family and to build a community. That's amazing because most sports don't do that. This is something that's just inherent in skateboarding.” Neftalie started in skateboarding as a teenager. He says he, and other neighborhood kids, chose skateboarding because bicycles were too costly. “Skateboarding was something that all the kids in my building started doing after we looked at how expensive it was to get bikes and so it was really something great to be involved in. So it didn’t matter what part of town you were from; skateboarding was something that everyone got into.” Williams says the sport has given him so much. He says he hopes his work in skateboarding and the community will help ensure that the next generation of leaders is smarter and more culturally aware. “Skateboarding to me is freedom. It's family. It’s education. It's transportation. It's really the most amazing thing in the whole wide world. It gives us the freedom to do whatever we want anywhere. And that's something that...that's the most important thing to me. That freedom and that ability to communicate globally.” 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. Next time on People in America, meet Melody Bales, the Lady from Haiti. Listening Quiz See how well you understand this story by taking a listening quiz. Play each video, then answer the question. Words in This Story      tune out – phrasal verb to stop paying attention to what other people are doing or saying amateur sponsor - n. the provision of merchandise nad equipment and sometimes monetary payments to a skateboarder who has made specific time and effort commitments to a sponsor context – n. the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning counselor – n. a person who provides advice as a job lecturer – n. someone who teaches at a college or university on a temporary basis engage – v. to get and keep someone’s attention, interest gender – n. the state of being male or female foray - n. an attempt to do something especially for the first time  inroad – n. used to describe a situation in which someone or something becomes more successful or important academic – n. a person who is a teach in a college or university granted – v. to agree to do, give or allow something asked for or hoped for amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder populace - n. the people who live in a country or area elite – n. the people who have the most wealth and status in society envoy – n. a person who is sent by the government to represent it in dealing with another government people-to-people - adj. having or showing strong emotions or beliefs blueprint - n. a detail plan of how to do something foster – n. to help something grow or develop facility – n. something such as a building or large piece of equipment that is built for a specific purpose disparity- n. a noticeable and often unfair difference between people or things embargo – n.  a government order that limits trade in some way obstacles – n. something that makes it difficult to do something access – n. a way of getting near, at or to something or someone persevere – v. to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult inherent – adj. belonging to the basic nature of someone or something expensive – adj. costing a lot of money ensure – v. to make something sure, certain or safe

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