Don't Cross the Line! Unless It's the Finish Line.

  Now, it’s time for the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories. On this show, we talk about common, expressions in American English. Today, we will talk about the word “line.” Line is a simple, four-letter word, but it has many meanings, making a simple word complex. We will begin with an easy expression – in line. Now, you can simply stand in line at a store, bus stop or at a theater. Not many people like standing in a line. But you can also be in line for something important like a job or a job promotion. Being in line for a better job is something most people would like!   Let’s say a friend of yours, Simone, is an accountant. She has a good job and is in line for a promotion at work. Simone doesn’t make much money. So, you hope she gets the high-level, better paying position. But, Simone doesn’t feel the same way. She has dreams of becoming a professional singer. She takes voice lessons every night and joins a singing group on the weekends. These activities change her lifestyle. She stays out late at night and comes in late to work. And she often sings at her desk! This behavior puts the likelihood of her promotion on the line. Something “on the line” is at a critical point or is at risk. Sometimes when using this expression, a person says simply there is a lot on the line or too much on the line, meaning that much can be lost. But let’s get back to Simone. You begin to feel worried about her double life as a singer. You just don’t think it is realistic. You want to tell Simone to fall in line, to follow the rules of her office. You remind your friend that her office has a hard line when it comes to showing up on time for work. A “hard line” means a severe, uncompromising way of acting. A hard-liner is someone who sticks to some policy or rule. So, her boss is a hard-liner when it comes to showing up for work on time. He also doesn’t like the accountants singing in front of the clients.                 But Simone doesn’t listen. In fact, things get worse. She often leaves town for weeks at a time, touring around the country with her singing group. Now, her job is really on the line. You walk the line between warning her about landing on the unemployment line and respecting her privacy. The expression “walk the line” has two meanings. One is to hold a position, usually on middle ground, between two very different choices. The other meaning of walk the line is the one Johnny Cash sings about. In his song, he sings about behaving well with the love of his life. “I find it very, very easy to be true. I find myself alone when each day is through. Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you. Because you're mine, I walk the line.” There is a fine line between wanting to help someone and interfering. A “fine line” means a very small difference. After thinking about it, you decide to lay it on the line! To lay it on the line means to talk very openly with someone. Often it is something that the person may not want to hear. So, you pull Simone aside and say privately, “Look. I’m going to lay it on the line for you. You need to take your job more seriously. Your whole career is on the line!” Or something along those lines. “Along those lines” means “something like that.”  At first, she seems thankful that you care so much. Then she tells you not to worry. A music producer, she says, offered her singing group a record deal! You don’t believe her. You say, “Don’t give me that line!” When you give, hand or even feed someone a line, you are not telling that person the truth. But be careful. “Giving a line” to someone” is much different from giving or getting a line on someone. When you give or get a line on someone or something you have given or gotten information on that person or that thing. For example, if I say “the librarian gave me a line on some great books” it means she gave me some information on some great books. So, the preposition “on” is very important in this expression. And you didn’t use “on” when you talked to Simone. So, she shouts back, “I’m not giving you a line. And how dare you accuse me of lying! You have crossed the line!” When you “cross the line,” you have gone too far in either your comments or in your behavior. Now, you tell her that watching a friend ruin her career is where you draw the line. That is your limit! This is similar to drawing a line in the sand. Again, it is a point you are not willing to go beyond. The bottom line is that you care about Simone and are worried about her. Here, the “bottom line” means the most important thing. After this fight, Simone treats you differently. She doesn’t answer your calls and doesn’t ride to work with you anymore. When you ask what is wrong, she simply says, “Nothing.” But you can read between the lines. You know there is something wrong even if she won’t tell you directly. “Reading between the lines” means you to try to understand something that is not openly communicated. After thinking about it, you realize that your comments were out of line. They were hurtful and unacceptable. Perhaps down the line she will forgive you. But not right away – maybe sometime in the future. Simone’s silence goes on for months. Then somewhere along the line -- you’re not sure when -- she seems to disappear from your life completely. You accept the fact that your friendship with Simone has reached the end of the line. It’s the end of the friendship. Then one day, she drops you a line! She writes you a letter, saying she forgives you. Included with the letter is a package and a set of tickets. Simone sent you her singing group’s new CD and two front row seats to their concert! Now, we are at the end of the line for this Words and Their Stories. Drop us a line and let us know when you thought of this program. I’m Anna Matteo.   “There’s a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend. There’s a fine, fine line between reality and pretend. And you never know ‘till you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb. There’s a fine, fine line between love and a waste of time.” Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. The song at the end is “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” from the musical Avenue Q. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   uncompromising – adj. not willing to change a decision, opinion, method, etc. : not willing to make or accept a compromise  

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Bolivian President Signs Law Doubling Land Used to Grow Coca

  Bolivians have a new law that nearly doubles the amount of land where coca plants can be legally grown. President Evo Morales signed the measure into law on Wednesday. “We want to guarantee coca supplies for life,” he said. The measure raises the limit of coca crops Bolivian farmers can plant, from 12,000 hectares to 22,000 hectares. Morales is a former coca farmer. He still leads a coalition of coca farmers in Bolivia’s Chapare area. Coca is the main ingredient in the drug cocaine. The leaves of the coca plant have been used for many years in South America’s Andes Mountains in other ways. Coca can act like a stimulant. People also use it to reduce feelings of hunger and to ease pain and tiredness. When served as a drink, coca can prevent air sickness. But it is best known as the main ingredient in a dangerous drug. United States Drug Enforcement agents were working in Bolivia until Morales expelled them in 2008. He accused them of spying on him and helping the country’s opposition. “The United States just said that Bolivia and Venezuela failed in a demonstrable way in the war against drugs, Morales said during his speech Wednesday. “But the only things that can be demonstrated is that neither Bolivia or Venezuela can submit.” Opposition lawmakers are denouncing the new coca law. They say it will increase cocaine production and increase groups of drug traffickers. Some labor unions representing coca farmers also oppose the law. They say the crop grown in the Chapare area is not as good as that grown in what they call the “traditional regions.” They say it would instead be used in cocaine. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Kenneth Swartz reported on this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   stimulant –n. a substance that makes people feel more energetic submit –v. to do something without resisting regions –n. a part of a country that is different from other parts in some way   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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English in a Minute: Keep You on Your Toes

Is it a good or bad thing if something "keeps you on your toes?" Watch this week's English in a Minute to find out! Then, practice using this expression in the comments below.

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'Listening In' on Words to the Wise

  I’m Phil Dierking in the Learning English studio with reporter Anne Ball. So, last week Learning English had a show about some new words in the Merriam Webster online dictionary. We talked about binge-watch and Seussian and other interesting terms. Anne, did you hear the show? I did! It was fun. And our fans thought so too. They posted lots of comments on our website. So, why not doing it again, right? Anne, I know you’ve been looking this week for some interesting vocabulary. And, I suspect something kept appearing in the news, over and over. Yep. What word have you got for us to talk about, Anne? So, here, let's listen now to what White House spokesman Sean Spicer said to reporters. I think you’ll probably guess the words we're looking for, Phil. "And I think that what he wants them to do is to look into wiretapping, other surveillance, and again as I mentioned before, the other leaks that are threatening our national security."  Of course, the wiretap story. President Trump tweeted that Barack Obama tapped his phones. So, can you our audience what that means? So, wiretapping is a way to listen secretly to a person’s phone calls. It's kind of like a method of spying. Sometimes police do it to catch criminals, for example. Or a government might wiretap individuals to find terrorists. They use a small device inside a phone that lets them listen to what people are saying on the phone. Wiretaps can also connect directly to phone lines, which is where the expression originates. But on cop shows I have also heard characters talk about being wired. Is that the same? Oh I love those cop shows! It is similar. Sometimes, an undercover police officer, or intelligence agent, will attach listening devices to their bodies. This lets people in other locations hear whatever the agent or officer hears. They can listen to a conversation. The information might help them solve a crime, but it can also protect them from danger. Like if an officer or agent is threatened his colleagues will know. They can then send help.  That's right. The immediate surveillance can keep that officer safe. Surveillance is another great word to explain, Anne. I'm not sure our listeners know exactly what it means. Actually, I'm not even sure I know exactly what it means. Well, of course! And it's been in the news a lot. Surveillance is originally a French word, meaning "to watch or supervise." In American English it's used mostly in connection with police and intelligence actions. You often hear it paired with the word "under," like this: “The police have a suspect under surveillance,” meaning they're watching that person.  So you could say also that you kind of placed news reports “under surveillance” this week to find words to talk about, right! Yeah, Phil, that is right! I’m sorry. Did that “bug” you? Oh....Bug. Okay, I get it! Do you want to tell our audience about another form of electronic surveillance? So, you can secretly listen to activity in a car, a room, even a whole building by bugging it. Bugs are another word for little listening devices. So this is something that top-secret intelligence and police agents also use. I wonder if that use of "bug" came from the fact that the devices are like a small bug, or that they might annoy the person being listened to. Well, maybe a little of both. But I hope our fans enjoyed listening in on us today.  I had fun! And if you, our audience, like listening in on my conversation with Phil, let us know! Leave a comment on our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. Please let us know if there are some English words you want to talk about! I’m Anne Ball.  And I’m Phil Dierking.

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James Madison: Not Your Everyday Politician

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'William Wilson,' by Edgar Allan Poe, Part One

We present the first of four parts of the short story "William Wilson," by Edgar Allan Poe. The story was originally adapted and recorded by the U.S. Department of State. Let me call myself, for the present, William Wilson. That is not my real name. That name has already been the cause of the horror – of the anger of my family. Have not the winds carried my name, with my loss of honor, to the ends of the earth? Am I not forever dead to the world? – to its honors, to its flowers, to its golden hopes? And a cloud, heavy and endless – does it not hang forever between my hopes and heaven? Men usually become bad by degrees. But I let all good ness fall from me in a single moment, as if I had dropped a coat. From small acts of darkness I passed, in one great step, into the blackest evil ever known. Listen while I tell of the one cause that made this happen. Death is near, and its coming has softened my spirit. I desire, in passing through this dark valley, the understanding of other men. I wish them to believe that I have been, in some ways, in the power of forces beyond human control. I wish them to find for me, in the story I am about to tell, some small fact that proves I could have done only what I did. I would have them agree that what happened to me never happened to other men. Is it not true that no one has ever suffered as I do? Have I not indeed been living in a dream? And am I not now dying from the horror and the unanswered question — the mystery of the wildest dream ever dreamed on earth? I am one of a family well known for their busy minds. As a small child I showed clearly that I too had the family character. As I became older it grew more powerful in me. For many reasons it became a cause of talk among friends, and the hurt it did me was great. I wanted people always to do things my way; I acted like a wild fool; I let my desires control me. My father and mother, weak in body and mind, could do little to hold me back. When their efforts failed, of course my will grew stronger. From then on my voice in the house was law. At an age when few children are allowed to be free, I was left to be guided by my own desires. I became the master of my own actions. I remember my first school. It was in a large house about three hundred years old, in a small town in England, among a great number of big trees. All of the houses there were very old. In truth, it was a dream-like and spirit-quieting place, that old town. At this moment I seem to feel the pleasant cool ness under the shade of the trees, I remember the sweetness of the flowers, I hear again with delight I cannot explain the deep sound of the church bell each hour breaking the stillness of the day. It gives me pleasure to think about this school — as much pleasure, perhaps, as I am now able to experience. Deep in suffering as I am — suffering only too real — perhaps no one will object if for a short time I forget my troubles and tell a little about this period. Moreover, the period and place are important. It was then and there that I first saw, hanging over me, the terrible promise of things to come. Let me remember. The house where we boys lived and went to school was, as I have said, old and wide. The grounds about it were large, and there was a high wall around the outside of the whole school. Beyond this wall we went three times in each week, on one day to take short walks in the neighboring fields, and two times on Sunday to go to church. This was the one church in the village, and the head-teacher of our school was also the head of the church. With a spirit of deep wonder and of doubt I used to watch him there! This man, with slow step and quiet, thoughtful face, in clothes so different and shining clean — could this be the same man who with a hard face and clothes far from clean stood ready to strike us if we did not follow the rules of the school? Oh, great and terrible question, beyond my small power to answer! I well remember our playground, which was behind the house. There were no trees, and the ground was as hard as stone. In front of the house there was a small garden, but we stepped into this garden only at very special times, such as when we first arrived at school, or when we left it for the last time, or perhaps when father or mother or a friend came to take us away for a few days. But the house! — what a delightful old building it was — to me truly a palace! There was really no end to it. I was not always able to say certainly which of its two floors I happened to be on. From each room to every other there were always three or four steps either up or down. Then the rooms branched into each other, and these branches were too many to count, and often turned and came back upon themselves! Our ideas about the whole great house were not very far different from the thoughts we had about time without end. During the five years I was there, I could never have told anyone how to find the little room where I and some eighteen or twenty other boys slept. The schoolroom was the largest room in the house — and I couldn’t help thinking it was the largest in the world. It was long and low, with pointed windows and heavy wood overhead. In a far corner was the office of our head-teacher, Mr. Bransby. This office had a thick door, and we would rather have died than open it when he was not there. Inside the thick walls of this old school I passed my years from ten to fifteen. Yet I always found it interesting. A child’s mind does not need the outside world. In the quiet school I found more bright pleasure than I found later, as a young man, in riches, or, as an older man, in wrongdoing. Yet I must have been different indeed from most boys. Few men remember much of their early life. My early days stand out as clear and plain as if they had been cut in gold. In truth the hotness of my character and my desire to lead and command soon separated me from the others. Slowly I gained control over all who were not greatly older than myself — over all except one. This exception was a boy who, though not of my family, had the same name as my own, William Wilson. This boy was the only one who ever dared to say he did not believe all I told him, and who would not follow my commands. This troubled me greatly. I tried to make the others think that I didn’t care. The truth was that I felt afraid of him. I had to fight to appear equal with him, but he easily kept himself equal with me. Yet no one else felt, as I did, that this proved him the better of the two. Indeed, no one else saw the battle going on between us. All his attempts to stop me in what I wanted to do were made when no one else could see or hear us. He did not desire, as I did, to lead the other boys. He seemed only to want to hold me back. Sometimes with wonder, and always without pleasure, I saw that his manner seemed to show a kind of love for me. I did not feel thankful for this; I thought it meant only that he thought himself to be very fine indeed, better than me. Perhaps it was this love he showed for me, added to the fact that we had the same name, and also that we had entered the school on the same day, which made people say that we were brothers. Wilson did not belong to my family, even very distantly. But if we had been brothers we would have been near to each other indeed, for I learned that we were both born on the nineteenth of January, eighteen hundred and nine. This seemed a strange and wonderful thing.   Download a lesson plan to use with this story here. Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Have you ever had a friend who sometimes made you angry? How do you deal with that person? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   horror - n. a very strong feeling of fear, dread, and shock degree(s) - n. an amount or level that can be measured or compared to another amount or level suffer(ed) - v. to experience illness, or injury, or physical or emotional pain church - n. a building that is used for Christian religious services bell - n. a hollow usually cup-shaped metal object that makes a ringing sound when it is hit perhaps - adv. possibly but not certainly playground - n.  an outdoor area where children can play garden - n. an area of ground where plants, such as flowers or vegetables are grown delightful - adj. very pleasant branch(ed) - v. to divide into smaller parts

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What Is the Future of the Circus in America?

  Many Americans think a circus must have elephants, lions, dancing bears and acrobats. But circuses are changing. In May, after traveling the country for almost 150 years, the large Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will close. But different kinds of circuses are still successful. They include Cirque du Soleil. It combines music, acrobatics and story-telling. Adam Woolley operates Circus Now, a non-profit group that supports efforts by circus performers to combine traditional circus skills like acrobatics, juggling and the trapeze with storytelling. Woolley says circuses have been changing for many years by increasingly telling stories. “Circus artists have been producing new and incredible circus acts and apparatuses and shows that have an artistic context and theatrical storylines, or well-drawn characters. And this has been happening around the world for the past 10, 15 years or so.” One of those circuses is the Race Horse Company from Finland. It was part of the Circus Now festival in New York this month.  Acrobat Rauli Kosonen started the circus with a few other performers nine years ago. “I think it’s really pure art form, in the sense that you can really feel the risks -- there’s a lot of risks, so you can get a lot of adrenaline while you watch it if there is kind of tricks that make your heart bounce. Because it’s real. They can see that if they make a mistake, they might get hurt. So, I guess that’s always been why circus is appealing. It reminds us that, uh, we’re humans.”  Kosonen has been injured many times during his performances. “Well, I had three operations and its part of the job; sometimes you don’t get lucky.”  Kendall Rileigh is one of the founders of New York’s Only Child Aerial Theatre. He says, with his group, telling a story, or a narrative, is even more important than the skills of performing in a circus. He says the skills the performers learn are designed to drive and support the story. In a former factory in Brooklyn, Rileigh’s performers are preparing for the latest show -- called “Asylum.”  Co-founder Nicki Miller says there is a story, but none of the performers speaks. The story is told through acrobatics, dance, music and projected images and shadow. “We would describe it as a theater piece that includes a lot of aerial work, dance, some recorded music, some live music and overhead projection and shadow. So, the story is told, rather than through dialogue, through the conversation of all of those theatrical vocabularies, instead.”  Adam Woolley says the Only Child and Race Horse performers simply want to entertain people.  “With lots of practice and hard work, we can accomplish the impossible. That’s the core idea that everyone in circus believes in and that everyone in circus tries to impart to the audiences, is that ‘I have dedicated my life to this seven minutes of performance and honed my skill to the place where I’m going to accomplish something in front of you now that you did not think could be done.’” I’m John Smith.   Correspondent Jeff Lunden reported this story from New York. John Smith adapted the story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   acrobat – n. someone who entertains people (as at a circus) by performing difficult and often dangerous acts (such as swinging from a bar or walking on a rope high in the air) trapeze – n. a short bar that is hung high above the ground by two ropes and that is held by circus performers who perform athletic tricks on it incredible – adj. extremely good, great or large apparatus – n. a tool or piece of equipment used for specific activities context – n. the situation in which something happens : the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens adrenaline – n. a substance that is released in the body of a person who is feeling a strong emotion (such as excitement, fear, or anger) and that causes the heart to beat faster and gives the person more energy appealing – adj. having qualities that people like; pleasing or attractive shadow – n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light overhead projector – n. a device that shows information or pictures on a wall or screen by shining a light through a sheet with the information or pictures on it vocabulary – n. words that are related to a particular subject; all of the words known and used by a person core – n. the most important or basic part of something impart – v. to make (something) known to someone hone – v. to make (something, such as a skill) better or more effective accomplish – v. to succeed in doing (something)

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Mexico Launches Effort in US to Help Migrants

  The Mexican government says it is spending $50 million to increase legal aid to migrants who fear the U.S. will send them back to Mexico. The new effort is a response to President Donald Trump's policies on illegal immigration, the Associated Press reported. Last week, all 50 Mexican consulates in the U.S. launched legal assistance centers to form partnerships with nonprofit groups. The consulates will also find lawyers to help those who fear the president's policies. The effort comes as the U.S. and Mexico continue their disagreement over Trump's plans for a border wall. Trump wants Mexico to pay for the wall. Mexico says it will not. In February, the Trump Administration also released new rules for aggressively detaining and deporting immigrants. These policies include increasing the number of federal enforcement officers and strengthening cooperation with local law enforcement agencies. Putting legal matters first Jose Antonio Zabalgoitia is Miami's Mexican consul general. Last week, he said that these centers would provide real support for the rights of Mexican migrants. He also said that the consulates will put legal matters first. He said the consulates did not need to seek so much legal support for Mexican people in the past. “But now, we need to protect them against an eventual deportation,” he said. Mexican consulates are forming partnerships with law schools, immigration clinics and nonprofit groups that take legal action for immigrants. Mexican lawyers who can send legal cases to organizations or clinics work at the centers. The centers are also talking to private law offices interested in donating legal services. Worried about their children Consulates of Mexico and other Central American nations have received numerous requests from migrants. Migrants are concerned about many issues including what will happen to their children who were born in the U.S. Zabalgoitia said there has been a sharp increase in requests for official documents and for assistance. He noted that many people are in need of birth records, Mexican passports and other documents. Zabalgoitia said he used to sign two birth records each week. Recently he signed 15 in one day. The increasing demand comes from people like Gloria Portillo. She went to the Mexican consulate in Phoenix, Arizona last week to renew her passport. Her visa is no longer current. She is now starting the process of becoming a legal resident. Although she is married to a U.S. citizen, she fears something may stop her from legally staying in the country. Speaking about her friends and family living in the U.S. illegally, she said, “We've been here all of our lives, we have kids, and of course we're afraid to be deported.” Consular offices are becoming very busy. The Philadelphia mission also covers Delaware and southern New Jersey. For that mission, daily appointments at the consulate have doubled to 400 people, Consul General Alicia Kerber-Palma said. Near Boston, Mexican diplomats have been meeting with families at churches and community events to explain complex issues. For example, they explain that, without citizenship in both countries, it is difficult to claim U.S.-born children after deportation. ’Fear of going back to Mexico’ About 500,000 Mexican immigrants live in Houston, Texas. Mexican diplomats in Houston said requests for Mexican birth records have risen 50 percent since Trump announced new measures to limit illegal immigration. Oscar Solis is a first secretary of the Mexican consulate in Houston. He said that feelings toward migrants have become less open and friendly. “It's like in wars. They come for one person and many who are innocent — or not really involved — end up paying.” Divina Ciriaco is a 45-year-old woman who cleans houses. She lives in the Miami area. She is gathering all the Mexican documents she would need for her U.S.-born boy to go with her if she is deported. “We live in fear of going back to Mexico, to the violence, the poverty we suffered,” said Ciriaco. She migrated with her husband and two children 20 years ago from the Mexican state of Guerrero. She gave birth to her third child in Miami. “Now, it's just a matter of waiting for that day to come,” she said. I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Bryan Lynn.   Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   migrant - n. a person who moves from one place to another, especially to find work consulate - n. the building where a consul works and sometimes lives consul - n. a government official whose job is to live in a foreign country and protect and help the citizens of his or her own country who are traveling, living, or doing business there immigration clinic - n. a center at a university where law students legally represent immigration clients from all over the world; often the clients are low-income and undocumented resident - n. someone who is permitted to live in a country

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Study: Millions of Asians Paid Bribes for Public Services

  A study released this week shows corruption remains a big issue in East Asia. The group Transparency International spoke with more than 20,000 people about their recent experiences with corruption in 16 Asian and Pacific countries. The study finds that about 900 million people in 16 Asia-Pacific countries have made an illegal payment to a government official to receive services. The group talked to 22,000 people between July 2015 and January 2017. About a third of those asked said they had paid a bribe in the last year. The study found that police are the most likely officials to demand an illegal payment. About 20 percent of those asked said they believed corruption had lessened. Forty percent said they believed it had worsened. In China, almost three-quarters of those asked said corruption had worsened since the last Transparency International report on corruption in the Asia-Pacific was released in 2013. Rukshana Nanayakkara works for the group in Singapore. He spoke to VOA this week about the report.  “A lot of people still don’t trust their government when it comes to fighting corruption.” Nanayakkara says people in seven countries pay the most bribes. “India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and China as well have very high bribe-paying rates.” Of those seven countries, he says one is clearly the worst. “India and their government -- again, which came (into office) on an anti-corruption platform -- is doing very, very poorly in their fight against corruption. More than 65 percent of the people in India have to pay bribes in accessing public services. Anybody who lives in India wouldn’t take it as a surprise -- it’s a day-to-day reality of a lot of people. This is the same problem in Vietnam.” Nanayakkara says the study found that some nations, including Australia, do not have a corruption problem. “Japan, South Korea and Thailand -- they all have (a) very low bribe-paying culture in the countries.” The group says corruption lessens the amount of food that people eat and prevents people from getting educated and receiving health care. It called on governments preparing their U.N. Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 to include anti-corruption targets along with a reduction in poverty and hunger and improvements in education and health care.                     I’m Anne Ball.   VOA Correspondent Victor Beattie reported this story from Washington. John Smith adapted the story 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   bribe – n. something valuable (such as money) that is given in order to get someone to do something platform – n. the official beliefs and goals of a political party or candidate access – v. to be able to use, enter or get near (something)  

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March 10, 2017

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

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English @ the Movies: 'To Take Charge'

On English @ the Movies today we talk about the saying "to take charge." It is from the movie "Monster Trucks." This movie is about a teenage boy, his truck and a monster friend. What do you think "to take charge" means? Watch the video, take the quiz and see if you get it right!

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