William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe, Part Four

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Take a Break with Commas

  From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine you are taking a trip in a foreign country. You are driving a rental car that you got at the airport. What could help you find your way in this strange land? Signs, for one thing. Think of punctuation as a series of signs. These signals clarify your writing. They show your reader what words are important, and what belongs together. Punctuation marks, like traffic signs, show your reader what is coming: a full stop, a minor turn or a sudden change of direction, for example. One of the most important – and most debated – punctuation marks is the comma. Today on Everyday Grammar, we will report on common uses of the comma. We will also tell about the importance of commas in American law, and how they still influence the meaning of laws. Do not fear: unlike driving on busy American roads, this report will be fun! Common uses of commas The comma has many uses. Teaching guides say there are lots of ways to use commas in writing. Luckily, we can find patterns among all of these stylistic rules. The first, and perhaps most common, use of commas is to show a pause. Pauses are important in creative writing, such as poetry, and in speechwriting. In these kinds of writing, the relationship between written and spoken language is very strong. Historically, commas were used as a way to mark a short stoppage or break, instead of showing grammatical differences. However, in many kinds of modern writing, the comma serves a different purpose: to show what is different and what belongs together. Ann Longknife and K.D. Sullivan are writing experts. In their book, The Art of Styling Sentences, they note that commas generally serve two purposes: separating the main parts of a sentence and enclosing words and expressions. Consider the words you heard earlier in this report: "Today on Everyday Grammar, we will report on common uses of the comma. " The comma appears after the word "Grammar." Why is that? First, it shows the reader (in this case, Dr. Jill Robbins) that she needs to pause her voice. Second, the comma shows that what comes before it is serving a different grammatical purpose than what comes after it. In the example you heard, the phrase "In today's Everyday Grammar" gives information about what comes after the comma: "we will report on common uses of the comma." You could remove the words that come before the comma. So the independent clause, "we will explore common uses of the comma," could be its own sentence. Stylistic considerations and editing In The New York Times newspaper, Carmel McCoubrey writes that the difference between comma usage styles is not always clear. Even when operating under the same stylistic guide, McCoubrey writes, different people will want to put commas in different places. In other words, there is some level of personal choice when it comes to comma placement. Comma placement is important - not just for writing papers and stories. Consider these two following examples: Part of the dispute in a recent legal case was related to the meaning of an Oxford comma. An Oxford comma is a comma that is used before the conjunction in a series of nouns. In other words, the comma makes clear that the final term is different than the others on the list. A second - and perhaps more famous - debate involves the second amendment to the United States Constitution. Both supporters and opponents of gun rights have argued about the meaning of the law. They have argued that the use of commas in the amendment changes the meaning.  "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Some writers, such as Adam Freedman, say the commas in the law are arbitrary, and that the sentence is best understood by taking the commas out. He points out that different versions of the law may have different numbers of commas. He adds that historically, punctuation was not used in the same way it is today. These disputes center around one common idea: commas are supposed to make language clearer. However, the commas in the laws created misunderstanding. To go back to our examples of traffic signs, it would be like reading a road sign pointing in two different directions. Both directions cannot be correct. What can you do? So, if comma usage can be difficult for native speakers, what hope do English learners have? Luckily, there are two simple steps that can help you overcome problems with commas. #1 Put yourself in the reader's position The first is to put yourself in the reader's position. Ask yourself if you are using commas that send clear signals to your reader. Are you always using commas in the same way? If you were driving on a road, you would expect the same signs to be used in the same way over and over again. With that in mind, you should always try to use punctuation consistently so that you do not confuse your reader. #2 Use short, declarative sentences Another idea is this: write short sentences. In other words, limit the amount of information you include in each sentence. If your sentence has many pauses, then you are increasing the chances that you will confuse your reader. The next time you are reading in English, look for the commas. When and why does the writer use a comma? Is there a stylistic or grammatical reason they use the comma? How does the comma separate the different sentence elements? With time and effort you will learn how to use commas effectively. We will leave you with a song about punctuation from the American musician and actor, LL Cool J: ​ A comma means you slow down, Pause, take a breath, When I want to go to Spain, I hop onto my plane I’m Jill Robbins. And I'm John Russell.   John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rental – adj. of or relating to paying money in return for being able to use something that belongs to someone else enclose – v. to put something around (something) clause – n. part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb arbitrary – adj. not planned or chosen for a special reason punctuation – n. the act of adding marks or signs to clarify the meaning of sentences pause – n. a temporary break or stoppage conjunction – n. words that join together other words or groups of words overcome – v. to defeat; to reduce or overthrow confuse – v. to make someone unable to understand something consistently – adj. always acting in the same way

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State Department Directives Describe New Steps for US Visas

  The United States has told its diplomats overseas to identify groups whose members should be thoroughly investigated when they request a visa. The State Department sent a series of directives to U.S. embassies and diplomatic offices earlier this month. The department told them to investigate the social media messages and activities of visa applicants. It said officials should be looking for people who are suspected of terrorist ties or of having been in areas controlled by the Islamic State group. Another directive ordered embassies to set up security and intelligence working groups to establish guidance for “population sets.” It said these measures would identify which people require a detailed investigation before they are permitted in the United States. Even if someone is qualified for a visa, they could still be barred from entering the country if they do not meet the rules set by the working groups. The directives are the first evidence of a Trump administration plan for the “extreme vetting” of foreigners before they are given visas. Before becoming president, Donald Trump promised such a plan to American voters during the 2016 election campaign. The four documents sent between March 10 and March 17 do not tell which “population sets” are to be given additional examination. But one document says investigators should ask visa applicants about where they worked, who they worked for and where they traveled over the past 15 years. The document also tells investigators to ask applicants for all email addresses and social media names used over the past five years. The State Department said later it was withdrawing the questions until they are approved by another federal agency. The Reuters news agency first reported on the series of directives last week. Rights groups and others have criticized the directives and accused Trump of discriminating against Muslims. They note his recent executive order to block travelers from six countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. A federal judge has suspended the government’s enforcement of the ban. The rights group Amnesty International wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week. It said the documents “could provide license for discrimination based on national origin and religion. They could provide a pretext for barring individuals based on their nonviolent beliefs and expression. Social media checks, as well as demands for social media passwords at U.S. borders, have significant implications for privacy and freedom of expression.” Law professor Anil Kalhan leads the international human rights committee of the New York City Bar Association. He said the documents “will needlessly worsen visa processing backlogs” and may lead to applications for visas being wrongly denied. Some refugee aid groups and even State Department workers have said the visa investigation process is already very strong. Stephen Yale-Loehr is an immigration law professor at Cornell University’s law school. Last month, he told CBS News “we have a terrorist watch database. We have known immigration violators database. We have a criminal background check database that they have to go through. They don’t just take the visa applicant’s word. They do go through all of these computer databases to verify for themselves that it’s appropriate to issue the visa to a particular individual.” I’m Dorothy Gundy.   VOA’s Victoria Macchi and Smita Nordwall reported this story from Washington. VOA State Department Correspondent Cindy Saine provided information for the report. John Smith 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   applicant – n. someone who formally asks for something (such as a job or admission to a college); someone who applies for something qualify – v. to have the right to do, have or be a part of something vet – v. to investigate (someone) thoroughly to see if they should be approved or accepted for a job license – n. freedom to act however you want to (usually followed by to + verb) pretext – n. a reason that you give to hide your real reason for doing something implication – n. a possible future effect or result (usually plural) backlog – n. a large number of jobs that are waiting to be finished database – n. a collection of pieces of information that is organized and used on a computer verify – v. to prove, show, find out or state that (something) is true or correct issue – v. to give (something) to someone in an official way    

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Tillerson, Turkish Officials Discuss Plans to Defeat Islamic State

  American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Ankara on Thursday for talks with Turkish leaders. Tillerson met with Turkey’s president and foreign minister. They talked about efforts to defeat the Islamic State (IS) group and how to reduce the number of refugees in the Middle East. United States-led forces are increasing their offensive to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from the militant group. Anti-Islamic State coalition partners are looking for ways to return security to areas from which militants have fled. They also want to give refugees a chance to return home. The talks in Ankara were held a day after Turkey declared an end to its seven-month-old military operation in northern Syria. The operation was aimed at clearing IS militants and Syrian Kurds from along the border between Syria and Turkey. Turkish officials have described the operation as a success. They did not rule out the possibility of future raids. It is not clear how the Turkish actions will change northern Syria, where the Syrian government, Islamic State, Kurdish forces and rebel groups are all competing for territory. Turkish troops are still guarding security areas, where the government also hopes to keep Kurdish forces from creating a self-governing territory. The government considers the Kurdish fighters an extension of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK. The group has been fighting for 30 years against government forces in southeastern Turkey. The Turkish operations in northern Syria are ending two weeks before Turkey’s planned constitutional referendum. Turkish voters are being asked whether to give new powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Professor Jonathan Adelman is with the University of Denver in the United States. He told VOA there is a good chance that the Turks are ending their campaign, but will keep their soldiers right where they are. “What really matters in Turkey right now is the feeling that Erdogan wants to win the upcoming election, and this could be, and probably is, tied to that, to say, ‘You see, I won. It’s all over. No more Turks are dying…’” Adelman says Turkish announcement also takes attention away from the fact that many extremists entered Syria from Turkey. “It also helps take attention away from the fact that thousands of terrorists went through Turkey on their way into Syria because Erdogan has failed in his basic effort, which was to destroy the Bashar al-Assad government.” Relations between Turkey and the United States have been tested by U.S. support for the Kurdish militia force YPG, which is fighting in Syria. In addition, Turkey wants the U.S. government to expel Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim clergyman living in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Turkish officials accuse him of plotting last year’s failed attempt to overthrow the government. I’m Caty Weaver. This story was based on reports from VOANews.com. George Grow adapted the information for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   basic – adj. of or relating to the main idea affairs – n. work or activities done for a purpose   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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South Korean Golfer Hits a Strike at Bowling Alley

  This is What’s Trending Today. Minju Kim is a young golfer from South Korea. Recently, she posted a number of photos of herself playing in California on Instagram. She even posed for a photo with professional golfer Adam Scott of Australia. Kim is not yet a famous player. She works as a golf teacher in South Korea. However, she has almost 15,000 followers on Instagram. Those followers and many golf fans around the world are reacting to a trick shot video she posted the other day. It already has over 40,000 views on her Instagram page, and other media organizations have posted it, too. It is a video of Kim hitting a golf ball while in a bowling alley. She drives the ball towards the pins, and knocks them all down. In bowling, that is called a “strike.” Golf.com posted the video on its Facebook page, and in less than a day, it had almost 600,000 views. The same video on Golf Digest’s Instagram page was played over 100,000 times. Some people think the video is great. They say it combines their two favorite sports. One Facebook commenter proposed it as a way for his friend to get a better bowling score. Golf Digest suggested the new sport could be called “gowling.” The video does have its critics. People are saying it is not real. They think the golf ball is not heavy enough to knock down the bowling pins. They also say the video is edited to show the pins falling down, but it is not clear that Kim hits them with the golf ball. On Facebook, Mark Brennan wrote: “everyone knows this is fake, right?” Kim took another shot and one pin remained. The next part of the video showed a close-up of a third shot knocking down the 10th pin, for what is called a “spare” in bowling. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Do you think Kim’s bowling-alley golf shot was real? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   drive – n. to hit or kick (a ball or puck) with a lot of force or speed edit – v. to prepare (a film, recording, photo, etc.) to be seen or heard : to change, move, or remove parts of (a film, recording, photo, etc.) fake – adj. meant to look real or genuine but not real or genuine

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March 30, 2017

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

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World's Oldest Spacewoman Sets Spacewalking Record

American Astronaut Peggy Whitson set the world record on Thursday for most spacewalks ever made by a woman.  She set the record while floating out of the International Space Station to set up a new parking spot for commercial crew capsules. SpaceX and Boeing are building the capsules. It was the eighth spacewalk of Whitson’s career.  A spacewalk is when an astronaut performs a task or mission while outside of their spacecraft in space. Whitson and her spacewalking partner, station commander Shane Kimbrough, took the spacewalk in order to complete work on the space station’s docking port.  Kimbrough disconnected the port during a spacewalk last Friday and then flight controllers in Houston moved it to a new location Sunday.  For Thursday’s spacewalk, the astronauts needed to hook up important heater cables to the docking port. They also needed to install shields to protect against strikes by micrometeorites. The port will serve as the second of two docking ports for the future SpaceX and Boeing crew capsules. An unexpected turn of events The mission did not go completely as planned, however. During the spacewalk, the astronauts lost one of the important cloth shields needed for the space station. NASA says it is not yet clear who let the shield go or how it floated away. The shield is to be attached to the station or astronauts at all times. Each shield weighs about 8.2 kilograms. When unfolded, the shields are about 5 kilometers thick, NASA says. The astronauts did report that the three remaining shields were successfully installed. Breaking records Midway through Thursday's spacewalk, Whitson was set to break another record. She beat the current time record for total spacewalking time by a woman. The record was 50 hours and 40 minutes. It was held by former space station resident Sunita Williams. Williams will be one of four NASA astronauts who will make early test flights of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules. The first flight of these capsules could take place as early as next year. Whitson, who is 57, has been in orbit since November. She is the world’s oldest and most experienced spacewoman. This is her third stay at the space station. She has spent more than 500 days off the planet. That is more days than any other woman. Whitson is set to return to Earth in June. But she may stay in space for an extra three months, until September. NASA is hoping she can return to Earth then on an extra seat in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. It is expected to launch next month and return in September. I’m Phil Dierking   This story was originally written by Marcia Dunn for the Associated Press.   Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English.   Ashley Thompson was the editor. Have you ever set a record?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   astronaut – n. a person who travels in a spacecraft into outer space​ capsule – n. a small part of a spacecraft that is separate from the rest of the spacecraft and that is where people live and work​ commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services​ micrometeorites – n. a micrometeoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere.​ spacewalk – n. a task or mission performed by an astronaut outside a spacecraft in space​ spacecraft – n. a task or mission performed by an astronaut outside a spacecraft in space​

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News Words: Integration

Learn the meaning of integration with News Words.

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US First Lady Honors International Women of Courage

  United States first lady Melania Trump has recognized 13 women activists with the State Department’s Women of Courage Award. Trump said the women being honored had shown strength in the face of great danger. "These honorees on the stage with me have fought for their rights and for the rights of others. Each battle forces, such as governments, the courts, gender bias, terrorism, war and corruption, and were willing, in each moment, to face harsh penalties including imprisonment and death." The award is called the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award. The winners have shown support of peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and empowerment of women at personal risk. More than 100 women from 60 countries have received the awards since it was established in 2007. An international group of women receive recognition The women being honored come from countries around the world. This year’s winners include Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as “Mother Mushroom,” of Vietnam. The environmental activist and blogger has been in prison since October 2016. The state department has called for Quynh’s immediate release since her detention. State Department spokesperson Grace Choi told VOA, “We believe that international recognition for her courage and advocacy will help bring attention to her work to address corruption and promote human rights in Vietnam.” Natalie Ponce de Leon was attacked with acid in Colombia three years ago. She used the attack to help pass a law in January of 2016 increasing punishments for people who use chemical agents in attacks. Major Aichatou Ousmane Issaka was one of the first women to join the army in Niger in 1996. She was honored for causing people to think about the issue of gender in conflict areas. Veronica Simogun of Papua New Guinea was in the U.S. for the first time. She was honored for her campaign to protect women from violence related to their gender. Simogun told VOA, “I am fighting for equality, gender justice in my country.” She added, “Women’s voices need to be heard, and there should be equality for women and children.” Other recipients include Bangladeshi activist Sharmin Akter who fights early and forced marriages. Two African rights activists are Malebogo Molefhe of Botswana and Rebecca Kabugho, a political and social activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deputy director of the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq, Jannat Al Ghezi, was among those honored. So was Cindy Arlette Contreras Bautista who started and directs the group Not One Woman Less in Peru. Sister Carolin Tahhan Fachakh is a member of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (F.M.A) group in Syria. From Turkey, Saadet Ozkan received recognition for her education and gender activism. And human rights activists Sandya Eknelygoda of Sri Lanka and Fadia Najib Thabet of Yemen also received the award. The award ceremony was held Wednesday. Now the women will travel to several American cities for individual International Visitor Leadership Programs. Afterwards, they will again gather in Los Angeles, California, to discuss cooperation in improving the lives of women and girls everywhere. The event was one of the rare public appearances by the wife of U.S. President Donald Trump who has been in office for a little more than two months. I’m Jill Robbins. And I'm Mario Ritter. Nike Ching reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   gender –n. related to the state of being male or female bias –adj. favoring one side over the other

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US Officials Worry Budget Cuts Could Hurt Aid Efforts

With over 20 million people nearing starvation in four countries, the United Nations (UN) is asking for $5.6 billion in emergency aid. For now, UN members have only offered about 20 percent of that amount. Officials say the world is facing one of the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. The UN’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has declared a famine in northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. A famine means that a very large number of people are starving because of food shortages. The United States provides about 28 percent of the world’s humanitarian aid, the most of any nation. But some warn of large cuts if the U.S. Congress approves a Trump administration proposal. It calls for a cut of about $50 billion in the State Department budget. The State Department oversees foreign assistance programs. The Republican Party controls both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Top Republicans in the House and Senate say Congress is likely to reject the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by the president. New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican, is chairman of a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. He said his goal is to get more U.S. aid to help starving people. Pregnant women suffering from famine may be too weak to survive pregnancy, Smith said at a subcommittee hearing this week. If they survive, he said, their children are likely to be “stunted,” meaning well short of normal weight and height. That makes them more at risk of disease, and people in a weakened condition have a more difficult time surviving, UNICEF officials said. They added that 22 million children are hungry, sick and unable to attend school in the four countries. World counts on United States Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Democratic Party. Cardin said he is concerned President Trump has not spoken publicly about the starvation crisis and has proposed cuts in foreign aid. “If the U.S. is not in the leadership, the international community is not going to respond,” Cardin said. Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He predicted Congress will not approve the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by President Trump. But he said action is needed immediately to deal with the starvation crisis, long before a new budget is passed. “We understand that people today as we sit here are dying. What is it that we can do right now today to help try to meet the needs over the next two weeks?” Corker said at a hearing last week. Gregory Gottlieb is with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He told Corker that if his agency received more flexibility on rules for food aid, it could feed an additional five million people a year. Nancy Lindborg is president of the U.S. Institutes of Peace, an independent, federal office. She said a lot of the starvation in the four nations facing famine is a product of war and other conflicts, not food shortages. Lindborg said armed groups are killing livestock, destroying food supplies and closing down markets. On March 16, one reporter asked Budget Director Mick Mulvaney if the proposed budget cuts will cause, in their words, “some of the most vulnerable people on Earth to suffer?” Mulvaney said that Trump is following up on his campaign promise to put America first. “The President said specifically hundreds of times -- you covered him -- I'm going to spend less money on people overseas and more money on people back home. And that's exactly what we're doing with this budget,” Mulvaney said. I’m Ashley Thompson.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on VOANews.com, the Associated Press and other sources. George Grow 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   respond - v. to say or write something as an answer to a question or request flexibility - n. able to change or to do different things livestock - n. farm animals such as cows and that are kept, raised, and used by people vulnerable - adj. people at risk specifically - adv. in a definite and exact way

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Red Bull Heir Avoids Legal Action after Crash

In 2012, the driver of a Ferrari, an expensive Italian sports car, hit a motorcycle police officer in Bangkok, Thailand, dragged him along the road and fled. A trail of brake fluid led investigators to the home of one of the country’s richest families. The car belonged to Vorayuth Yoovidhya. His grandfather co-found the Red Bull energy drink company. Forbes magazine estimates the family’s net worth is around $10 billion. The first reports said a family employee had been driving the car, which was heavily damaged -- its windshield shattered. After top officers visited the house, Vorayuth, who was 27 at the time, went to the police station with his father. The Yoovidhyas paid $15,000 bail at the police station and Vorayuth went home. Almost five years later, Vorayuth has avoided legal action against him. The statute of limitations on some of the charges against him – will end this year. Government lawyers have ordered Vorayuth to court to hear the charges against him, but he has not appeared. His lawyer has given different reasons for the absence, including sickness and involvement in international business deals. Enjoying family’s wealth Many people thought Vorayuth was hiding in Thailand or overseas, living a quiet life and hiding his identity when in public. But the Associated Press news agency reports that the Thai man is not hiding. It found that, within weeks of the accident, Vorayuth was out in public enjoying his family’s wealth. AP says he often flies around the world on company airplanes, attends car races, and drives around London in a costly sports car. The AP says it tracked him easily by reading social media messages. Reporters for the news agency found Vorayuth and his family on vacation in Luang Prabang, Laos, at a $1000 a night hotel. The reports say the family ate at a costly restaurant, visited temples and swam in the hotel pool before flying home to Bangkok. The lawyer for the Yoovidhya family did not answer Associated Press requests to talk to Vorayuth. Police officer was first to leave family’s farm Police Sergeant Major Wichean Glanprasert was the victim of the hit-and-run. It happened in the morning of September 3, 2012 on one a main road in Bangkok. The youngest of five children, Wichean was the first in the family to leave the family’s coconut and palm farm. He paid for his parents’ care until they died. He helped his sister, who had cancer. He had no children, but planned to pay for his brother’s children to attend college. Vorayuth’s lawyer met with Wichean’s family. They accepted a payment of about $100,000. In exchange, they agreed not to demand that Vorayuth face criminal charges. Comronwit Toopgrajank was the head of Bangkok’s police department when the accident happened. Many people believed Vorayuth’s wealth and his family’s power would keep him from being punished. But Comronwit promised the driver would be punished. “We will not let this police officer die without justice, believe me,” Comronwit said. “The truth will prevail in this case. I can guarantee it.” But when Comronwit retired in 2014, Vorayuth had not been punished. Comronwit now says “I am disappointed.” A culture of impunity Critics say the lack of progress in the case shows that rich people in Thailand are not held responsible for violating the law. The country has struggled with the rule of law for many years. Chris Baker is a British historian. He and his Thai wife have written a lot about inequality, wealth and power in Thailand. He said he is not surprised that Vorayuth has not been tried. “There is most certainly a culture of impunity here that big people -- which means, roughly, people with power and money -- expect to be able to get away with a certain amount of wrongdoing,” he said. “This happens so often, so constantly, it is very clearly part of the working culture.” Vorayuth is not the only child of a rich family who has not been punished for a suspected crime. Last year, the son of a rich Thai businessman was speeding in his car when he hit a smaller car. The crash killed two graduate students. No legal action has been taken. In 2010, a 16-year-old daughter of a rich former military officer crashed her car into another vehicle, killing nine people. The girl was sentenced to two years but did not go to prison. She was instead ordered to do community service. The strong ties between money, power and politics in Thailand have led to government overthrows and violent protests. In 2006, a billionaire prime minister was found guilty of corruption. He avoided jail by living outside of Thailand. In 2011, his sister came to power. The military removed her from office. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is a former commander of the Thai Army. He says he will fight corruption and crime. But the lack of action against Vorayuth and other rich people make it difficult for Thais to believe him. Police spokesman Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen said his agency has done everything it is able to do to charge Vorayuth. And the agency has told Vorayuth’s lawyers that he must appear at the prosecutor’s office on Thursday, March 30. “I am not saying it is a case where the rich guy will get away with it,”' said Krissana. “I can’t answer that question. But what I can answer is, if you look at the timeline here, what we did, by far there is nothing wrong with the inquiry officers who are carrying out the case.” Pokpong Srisanit is a law professor at Thammasat University. He says the situation is “not normal,” but appears to be legal. He says Thai law is flawed by the statute of limitations. If enough time passes between a crime and the legal action to deal with it, people can escape punishment. I’m Jonathan Evans. And I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.   The Associated Press news agency reported this story from Bangkok. John Smith adapted the report for Learning English. Hai Do 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   trail - n. marks, signs, ... left behind by someone or something brake fluid - n. oil used in device to slow or stop a vehicle shatter - v. break into many small pieces bail -n. money given to a court to allow a prisoner to leave jail and return later for a trial statute of limitation - n. a law that states the amount of time that must pass before a crime can no longer be punished prevail - v. to win, especially in a long or difficult contest disappointed - adj. sad, unhappy rule of law - n. a situation in which the laws are obeyed by everyone impunity - n. freedom from punishment roughly - adv. not exactly but close in meaning constantly - adv. happening all the time inquiry - n. request for information flawed - adj. having a mistake, fault or weakness

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