May 1, 2017

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

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Lesson 1: Welcome!

Let's Learn English is a course for English learners. Certified American English teachers designed the course for beginners. There are 52 lessons. Every fifth lesson, there is a review of the previous lessons. Each week, there will be a new lesson with video showing the lives of young Americans. The lesson includes instruction in speaking, vocabulary and writing. There are also printable worksheets, assessments and lesson plans for individual learners and English teachers. We encourage you to follow the weekly lessons and share your progress with us through comments and email. Summary Anna moves to Washington, DC. She meets Pete at her new apartment.  Speaking Watch the video and record yourself. Listen to yourself. Then listen to the video again. Pronunciation In careful speech, we say words with a small break. In everyday speech, the sounds come together with little or no break. Watch the video to learn about how the sounds change. Practice the example. Conversation  Pete: Hi! Are you Anna? Anna: Yes! Hi there! Are you Pete? Pete: I am Pete Anna: Nice to meet you Anna: Let's try that again. I'm Anna Pete: I'm Pete. "Anna" Is that A-N-A? Anna: No. A-N-N-A Pete: Well, Anna with two "n's" ... Welcome to ... 1400 Irving Street! Anna: My new apartment! Yes!   Writing Introduce yourself in the Comments section. Download the worksheet to learn the alphabet and numbers. For a fun way to learn the alphabet, watch the alphabet video below.  Learning Strategy Each week we teach a new learning strategy. The first one is Set a Goal. ​ When we set a goal, we decide what we want to do or learn. You are studying English with VOA Learning English. What do you want to learn? Here is an example: Pat works at a coffee shop. She wants to greet her customers in English. She sets a goal: "In three months, I will feel confident in greeting customers in English." Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. Setting a goal is an important learning strategy because it gives you a strong reason to keep studying.  What is your goal for learning English this year? Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section. See the Lesson Plan for more details. Listening Quiz Check how well you understand the lesson with this quiz. Play the video and choose the correct answer. New Words apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live. She lives in an apartment. meet - v.  to see and speak to someone for the first time. Pete meets Anna on the street. new - adj. not known before; recently bought or rented. Anna has a new friend. nice - adj. good and enjoyable . It is nice to see you. street  - n. a road in a city, town, or village. Anna lives on Irving Street. try - v. to make an effort to do something. Please try to say it again. welcome - interjection. used as a friendly greeting to someone who has arrived at a place. Welcome to America! _______________________________________________________________ Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. For more practice, each lesson has an activity sheet. In this lesson, you can use it to learn to say the letters and numbers.   For Teachers   ​Download a lesson plan for this lesson here. Let us know your thoughts about this lesson in our Comments section or send us an email. Grammar focus: BE + name in introductions;  BE + location Topics: Meeting people; Personal information;  Learning the Alphabet (Activity sheet);  Learning the Numbers 1-20 (video) Speaking & Pronunciation focus: Meeting people; Pronouncing linked sounds

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James K. Polk: Dark Horse

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents. James Knox Polk moved into the White House as the 11th president of the United States in 1845. Few had predicted that Polk would become president. Even he was surprised. Polk had come to his party’s presidential nominating convention nearly a year earlier with low expectations. But the top politicians, including former president Martin Van Buren, failed to win a majority of votes. Convention delegates tried again and again to agree on a candidate. Eventually, Polk was nominated. A small number of delegates supported him. Then the delegates voted again. This time, Polk received all 266 votes. He became the first dark horse candidate in U.S. history to be nominated by a major party. In other words, he was someone no one thought would win. But he did. Early life Polk was born in the southeastern state of North Carolina. When he was a child, his family moved west, to Tennessee. At the time, Tennessee had few white settlers. Some considered it the wilderness. Polk’s family did well there. His father became wealthy, buying land and enslaved people. His mother Jane, who followed strict, Christian religious teachings, gave her 10 children a good education. James was the oldest. He went to college, then studied law. When he was 25, he married an intelligent and wealthy young woman named Sarah Childress. The two never had children. But they worked together to launch Polk’s political career.   In time, Polk was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, then the national House of Representatives. There, he developed a close relationship with President Andrew Jackson. Since Jackson was called “Old Hickory,” Polk became known as “Young Hickory.”  When Polk left Congress and returned to Tennessee to become governor, he supported Jackson’s banking reforms. But soon the U.S. economy collapsed. Tennessee voters failed to re-elect Polk as governor – not once, but twice. So Polk returned to his plantations and waited for a chance to re-enter national politics. In 1844, Polk traveled to the city of Baltimore to attend the Democratic Party’s national convention. He thought he could perhaps win the nomination for vice president. Instead, he became the Democrats’ candidate for president. Several months later, he narrowly defeated the opposing party’s candidate in the national election. Why Polk won Historian Robert Merry wrote a book about Polk’s presidency. Merry says one reason Polk won the election was the issue of Texas. Polk wanted to make Texas a state. He thought the United States could take possession of the area peacefully. The other leading candidates did not. Merry says the other candidates were right – the United States eventually went to war with Mexico. But Polk spoke for the American people. In the 1840s, many Americans liked the idea of expanding the country. They believed in “manifest destiny” -- the idea that God wanted America to expand west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and take control of the continent. As a result, many voters supported Polk and his promise to add Texas to the United States. Polk took another unusual position in the 1844 election. He said if he won the presidency, he would serve only one term -- that is, four years. (Several previous presidents had served two terms.) Polk told voters presidents might abuse their power if they held office too long. One term, he said, would be enough for him. But Robert Merry says there was more to Polk’s one-term promise. It was a political bet. Polk thought if he said he would serve as president for only one term, other party leaders might help him win. Then, those politicians could try again to win the presidency in four years, instead of waiting eight. He was probably right. If Polk had not made the campaign promise, Merry says, Young Hickory would not have won. Presidency During the first days of his administration, James K. Polk famously listed the four things he planned to do as president. He wanted to reduce taxes on imports. He wished to establish an independent treasury. He hoped to settle the dispute with Britain over the Oregon border. And he wanted to get California for the United States. Less than four years later, Polk had realized each item on his list. He is remembered for greatly expanding the size of the United States. He successfully negotiated with Britain for U.S. control over territory in the west up to the 49th parallel. The agreement gave the U.S. the current states of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Below those states lay California. An American government minister once described California as the richest, the most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world. The official said the port of San Francisco was big enough to hold all the navies of the world. He said someday San Francisco would control the trade of all the Pacific Ocean. There was only one problem, from the point of view of the U.S. government. California was part of Mexico. At first, U.S. officials attempted to buy California from Mexico. But Mexican officials refused even to talk about selling California to the United States. Shortly after the U.S. Congress approved statehood for Texas in early 1845, Mexico broke relations with the U.S. all together. The following year, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and clashed with American soldiers. In answer, President Polk asked Congress to declare war. He did not think the conflict would last long. He believed the U.S. declaration would quickly force Mexico to sell him the territory he wanted. Polk was wrong. Historian Robert Merry says the war with Mexico lasted longer, was more expensive, and cost more lives than he expected. But in the 1848 treaty that ended the war, Polk got the land he had wanted. Mexico recognized the independence of Texas, and it sold the areas that are now all or part of the states of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and, yes, California. Legacy President Polk kept his promise to serve only one term. After four years, he retired from the presidency, traveled for a few weeks, and then returned to Tennessee to settle in a new home. Only three months after he left the White House, Polk died. He left behind a much larger country, but a divided one. The issue was again slavery. Southerners argued that they had the right to take enslaved people into California and other former Mexican lands. Northerners opposed any further spread of slavery. The question was this: did Congress have the power to control – or even ban – slavery in the new territories? I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.   Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.   See how well you understand this story by talking this listening quiz. Play each short video, then choose the best answer. ​ ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   convention - n. a large meeting of people who come to a place for usually several days to talk about their shared work strict - adj. carefully obeying the rules or principles of a religion or a particular way of life plantation - n. a large area of land especially in a hot part of the world where crops (such as cotton) are grown manifest destiny - n. a future event that is sure to happen; a destiny that can be clearly seen and that cannot be changed bet - n. a choice made by thinking about what will probably happen parallel - n. any one of the imaginary circles on the surface of the Earth that are parallel to the equator and that are shown as lines on maps expensive - adj. costing a lot of money ill - adj. not well or healthy  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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How to Keep Clothes From Smelling Bad

When people exercise, their bodies sweat and their clothes get wet. And that means their clothes, like their bodies, can smell. This is especially true if they are wearing synthetic clothes—ones made of material not found in nature. These materials, like polyester, are designed to be lightweight, to move sweat away from a person’s body, and to dry quickly. But these clothes can keep that bad smell a body makes when it sweats. What causes the smell? Bacteria. For years, manufacturers have been making exercise and travel clothes with different kinds of anti-odor technology. Some add chemicals or put small holes in the garments to allow the sweat and smell to escape. Others use threads or small pieces of silver in the fabric. The goal is to make clothes that one can wear longer without having to wash them. That might not sound very pleasant. But it helps people who are carrying all their supplies for camping in the wilderness. Carl Botterud is such a person. For ten years, the California lawyer and his son have been camping in the High Sierra Mountains for a week at a time. Packing light, he did not want to take six pairs of underwear. “I was looking and found underwear that promoted its properties as comfortable, quick drying and doesn’t smell so you can wear it for multiple days while you’re out packing. So that sounded terrific. I bought a couple pair and they worked exactly as advertised.” Now he wears them every day at home too. “Now, when I’m at home I don’t wear them three days in a row, but they’re very comfortable when I exercise, going for hikes or long walks or going to the gym.” Silver kills bacteria and the smell Paul Westerhoff is a professor of Environmental Engineering at Arizona State University. He researched the effectiveness of silver in clothes to kill bacteria and how it impacts the environment. The study was published in Environmental Science & Technology last year. Researchers use zebrafish embryos to test whether a drug is toxic for humans. In the study, Westerhoff found the fish embryos were not harmed when exposed to silver in wastewater. He says silver is “quite toxic,” or harmful, to bacteria-- but not for humans. It is also used in bandages and food packaging. In clothing, silver releases ions that kill the bacteria, and the smell. Silver is used two ways in clothing. One uses a long thread of silver to cover a large area of the material. The other coats all the fibers with very small pieces of silver, called nanoparticles. They cannot be seen with your eye. Some of the silver gets washed away with the washing machine water. Researchers wanted to know if that makes the cloth less effective. So they washed the garments, many times. “Even after six and up to 20 washings you still kill over 99 percent of the bacteria, in most cases.” Westerhoff says the nanoparticle silver looks like a “better” choice. Much less silver is needed for each piece. That costs less, and there is less silver released into the wastewater. Impact of silver in the environment He is concerned about the impact of silver on the environment, but he says there is a process to take care of it.  “(But) we’ve done studies to show that most of this silver will go to a wastewater treatment plant where it gets removed with the bacteria/ and it’s pretty regulated in terms of where they go.” Now Westerhoff says he wants to find out if people really would wash their clothes less if they do not smell. Less washing helps the environment because less hot water is used, there is less wastewater and less energy is used to dry the material. Washing synthetic clothes less often would also mean less microfibers escaping with the wash water. Recent studies show that very small pieces of these synthetic fabrics come off every time they are washed. These microfibers are plastic, and are finding their way to rivers, oceans, into fish and even table salt in China. Both manufacturers and environmentalists are working to find solutions to this problem. Going back to wool Some people are going back to wearing more wool, a natural fabric, for outdoor activities. In the U.S., companies are making garments with merino wool—it is softer, lightweight and does not itch—or hurt your skin. Emma Walker is a writer and outdoor athlete. She says wool is “really comfortable” and does not smell. “I can wear a wool base layer next to my skin for days at a time without ever taking it off when I’m in the back country and it doesn’t itch.” And she says except for on the hottest summer days, she can still stay cool in wool. Rita Kourlis Samuelson works at the American Wool Council. Because bacteria are not attracted to wool, she says, it does not smell when you do. “You can wear wool and not wash it. I mean we have even had people wear a wool shirt for a hundred days, claiming that they’re odor free.” While they may favor one kind of fabric over the other, many athletes wear both wool and synthetics, depending on where they are, and what they are doing. I’m Anne Ball.       Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. See how well you understand the story by taking this reading quiz. ​ ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sweat – v. to produce a clear liquid from your skin when you are hot or nervous odor – n. a bad smell garment – n. a piece of clothing underwear – n. clothing that is worn next to your skin and under other clothing packing – v. when you take supplies in to camp in the wilderness terrific – adj. extremely good ion – n. an atom or group of atoms that has a positive or negative electric charge from losing or gaining one or more electrons nanoparticle – n. a microscopic particle regulate – v. to set or adjust the amount, degree, or rate of (something)  wool – n. the soft, thick hair of sheep and some other animals repellent – n. a substance that is used to keep something out or away

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Chinese Investing in Silicon Valley Companies

  American Mark Pavlyukovskyy created a company that provides materials people can use to build their own computer. Last year, when he was searching for people to invest in his company, he wanted someone who knew the Chinese market. Pavlyukovskyy did not have to travel to Beijing or Shanghai to find people knowledgeable about China. Silicon Valley in California is home to many Chinese with money to invest in small or start-up businesses.  Pavlyukovskyy was born in Ukraine. He now works in San Francisco. Last year nine people or groups invested $2.1 million in his company. One of the investors was a Chinese business based in Silicon Valley. Pavlyukovskyy said he was not just searching for investment money, but for people with “expertise and knowledge of the education market in China.” His company, called Piper, sells parts for a computer that children can build. Each computer kit sells for $299. The company has sold its kits to schools in Hong Kong. More than 150,000 kits have been shipped around the world. For the past 10 years, people and groups in Silicon Valley have invested in China as the country opened its markets and companies worked to expand there. But now Chinese companies are beginning to look outside China for places to invest. Chinese investors have already had an effect on the American real estate, energy and transportation sectors. But they have only recently begun investing in technology companies. Chinese investors looking for American creativity Now, Chinese groups and individuals are investing in Silicon Valley companies. It may take longer for these deals to be profitable than in real estate, but there is a greater chance to make a lot of money. David Cao was a computer programmer in Singapore before he launched an investment company in 2014. He says “this is the very beginning.” Chris Evdemon says many Chinese are investing in American companies because they believe more innovation is coming from the United States. In 2014, Evdemon launched Sinovation, the American part of Chuangxin, a leading Chinese investor in start-up companies. He has now invested in 38 new companies that deal with such things as robotics and education technology.  Chinese investors are interested in companies specializing in technology to improve digital entertainment. They also would like to invest in robotics, artificial intelligence and technologies related to the financial, health and education markets.  The U.S. Department of Defense is worried that technology that could increase America’s security may instead go to China. The department recently released a report about its concerns. The report questioned whether China and Chinese investors in Silicon Valley were gaining use of important technologies through their investments. I’m Dorothy Gundy.   Michelle Quinn reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   kit – n. a set of parts that are put together to build something real estate – adj. property consisting of buildings and land sector – n. an area of an economy; a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs innovate – v. to do something in a new way; to have new ideas about how something can be done digital – adj. using or characterized by computer technology

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Young Immigrant Workers Unlikely to Move Back to Southern Europe

Young people who left Southern European countries to find work in Europe’s North are unlikely to move back home anytime soon. Thousands of young people moved north after an economic crisis hit their countries a few years ago. Unemployment rates in countries such as Spain, Greece, and Italy remain high -- between 25 and 45 percent. Roberta D’amore left her home in Italy in 2010. After completing her university education, it took her months to find a full-time job. Yet the job paid her only 500 euros a month. It provided no health care or other work-related benefits, like employer donations to a retirement plan. D’amore now works for an employment agency in Luxembourg. She has no plans to move back to Italy anytime soon. “Every time I go back the situation is worse when it comes to work opportunities,” she said. “It makes me sad that my country is not able to offer the young generation to start a life. If the situation would improve I could at least think about opportunities and go back.” Many of the unemployed youth from southern Europe move to major economies like Britain and Germany. Others go to smaller countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. Portuguese software engineer Jorge Lima says he moved to England because of the language. “There was little work in Portugal in my field and the work projects I get to work on here are much more interesting," he said. "Also the salary is more than twice as much. Most of my friends from Portugal have moved away to find better jobs.” Forced movement? Only three percent of Europeans live in a European Union (EU) member state different from their country of birth. Studies suggest the main reason is language barriers. For years, the EU has tried to ease restrictions on movement, but many young people going north feel their mobility is forced. More than four-million European youth were unemployed in 2016. A program called the EU Youth Guarantee was established to help Europeans under the age of 25 with employment and education. Yet a new report says the program “falls short of the initial expectations raised.” The Court of Auditors reported the findings. Matthias Busse works as a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies. He says the Youth Guarantee had a good effect. But he believes the total number of unemployed youth remains too large. The European Youth Forum works with the EU and policymakers in support of young people on issues such as employment. The forum represents 100 youth organizations. They like the idea of the Youth Guarantee. But they also believe that more financial aid and less government involvement is needed to make such programs successful. Seeking reform Allan Pall of the European Youth Forum says the current situation could lead to what he calls a lost generation if no reforms are made. “We see that young people are more likely to work in precarious jobs, unpaid, or zero-hour contracts or sometimes not even having contracts,” Pall said. “We are now seeing that countries like the United Kingdom and Greece have legitimized paying young people below the minimum wage, just because they are young.” One Spanish job seeker in Brussels spoke with VOA, but asked that his name not be identified in this report. He feels Belgian businesses are more likely to offer employment to the country’s citizens than foreigners. The college graduate says he faces several issues, such as how to negotiate in his new cultural environment and not being able to speak the local language.  He feels that even if he cannot find a job within his field, he will stay in Belgium. “This is something that I discussed with my family before coming here, there is a chance I don’t find anything,” he says. “But it’s more worth it to being a Belgian waiter with a better salary and better conditions than being one at home. And that is a very sad thing to say.” The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium assisted hundreds of Spanish people looking for work in Belgium and surrounding countries in recent years. Almost all were under 35 years old and 85 percent of them have a university education. Ramon Lopez of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce says it will be difficult to get these young people to return home. “In Spain, there were many qualified people for few jobs so the wages were quite low,” Lopez said. “When the people from Spain come here (Belgium), they are just happy with having a fair salary.” He adds the loss of educated, skilled youth means that the government now has to use public money to interest them in returning home. I’m Lucija Millonig.   Marthe Van Der Wolf reported on this story for VOA News. George Grow adapted her report for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   benefit – n. something that produces good effects; financial help; a service provided by an employer in addition to wages opportunity – n. a good chance for progress or forward movement salary – n. a fixed payment for services; wages initial – adj. of or related to the beginning of something precarious – adj. depending on the will or decision of another contract – n. a business agreement minimum – adj. the least amount of something; the lowest number graduate – n. someone who has successfully completed a study program We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.  

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Winter Rains Bring Attention to Los Angeles River

  It’s time for spring-cleaning in Los Angeles. Usually that term relates to housekeeping: throwing away unwanted items, organizing closets, and washing places that have become dirty over the winter. But in this case, we are talking about the massive project of cleaning up the Los Angeles River in Southern California. The river runs about 80 kilometers and passes through 14 cities. It ends at the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach. Usually the riverbed has very little water. But not now. California received record-breaking rainfall over the winter. As a result, the river is full again. All the water has brought plants, animals, and trash. Lots of trash. Plastic bags, paper cups and even old pieces of furniture found their way into the river. In addition, water wiped out camps on the riverbank where homeless people were living. Now volunteers are working to clean up the mess. Volunteers Lauren Scott works for the American Chemistry Council. It is a business group. Many of the group’s members are companies that produce plastic items for people to use. Some of those items wound up in the river. Along with picking up trash, Scott is trying to figure out what her organization can do to prevent trash from getting into the waterway. “Because everyone wants a clean river that we can swim and boat and hike in.” Candace Cable was out cleaning up the river, picking up trash from her wheelchair. She is a Paralympic Athlete. She is part of a group working to get the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles. She hopes supporters of Los Angeles’ efforts to get the Olympics will help clean up the river, too. Christine Lee is a science applications engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, not too far from Los Angeles. She uses satellites to study water quality. She said waterways in cities are important for keeping plants, animals and people healthy. For example, the Los Angeles River helps control floods and keeps wetlands healthy. Wetlands are home to many important plants and animals. Some people feel like the annual cleanup is already making a difference. Residents are using walking and biking paths along the river more frequently than they used to. Lois Keller, another cleanup volunteer, said: “It’s been really exciting to start to see the river come back.” I’m Jill Robbins.   Mike O’Sullivan wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. Do you want to clean up a river in your city? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   massive – adj. very large and heavy wipe out – v. to destroy or cause great harm to something council – n. a group of people who provide advice or guidance on something propulsion – n. the force that moves something forward : the force that propels something

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Everyday Grammar: Grammar Rules

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American College Students Challenge Free Speech

For many years, American colleges and universities have let people speak on their campuses even if many students do not agree with their beliefs. College-aged students often do not agree with conservative political beliefs. But school officials believe that letting speeches by conservatives and others take place on campus can help lead to free and open debate. But recent protests show that beliefs about free speech on college campuses may be changing. Since February, protests have broken out at colleges across the country -- including the University of California-Berkeley, Middlebury College, the Claremont Colleges, and California State University, Los Angeles. Some of the protests turned violent. The protests started because conservative speakers were set to give talks about their beliefs. Some people have criticized the protesters for trying to prevent controversial speakers from being heard. Will Creely is the senior vice president of legal and public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He told VOA that those who support free speech are worried about the protests. He says schools should work harder to protect speakers who may have different political beliefs than many students. Last month, a student group at Middlebury College in Vermont invited Charles Murray to speak on the campus. Murray is a political scientist and a fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. His research has linked race and intelligence. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Murray a white nationalist.  Hundreds of protesters shouted as Murray tried to speak. Officials moved him to another building, where he spoke with Professor Allison Stanger. His discussion with her was shown online. College spokesman Bill Burger says that as Stanger and Murray left the building, they were “physically and violently confronted by a group of protesters” who “set upon [their] car, rocking it, pounding on it, jumping on and trying to prevent it from leaving campus.” Stanger was taken to a hospital. She left wearing a neck brace. She said during the dispute with protesters, one of them grabbed her hair and pulled her backward. In a message on Facebook, Stanger wrote: “I feared for my life.” Earlier this month, students at Claremont McKenna College in California targeted Heather MacDonald. She is a researcher at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a well-known critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Students said they disagreed with a book MacDonald published last year called The War on Cops. In it, MacDonald wrote that police officers are afraid to do their work because of increased attention from reporters following the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. Brown, who is black, was killed by a white officer. A student group invited MacDonald to speak on campus. But protesters stopped her from entering the building where she was to speak. She was forced to instead broadcast her speech on the internet. She did so from a room that was mostly empty; protesters had blocked people from entering. The protesters hit the room’s windows and shouted until MacDonald later said, “the cops decided that things were getting too chaotic and I should stop speaking.” Police officers then had to help MacDonald leave the building so she could safely escape the protesters. After her speech, more than 20 students signed a letter to David Oxtoby, one of the school’s presidents. They called MacDonald a “fascist.” The letter demanded that the university “take action” against an independent student newspaper for its reporting on the protests and for its “continual perpetuation of hate speech.” Oxtoby had previously condemned the protests and defended MacDonald’s right to speak on campus. He said the college supports “the exercise of free speech and academic freedom.” The students said MacDonald is a well-known figure and her beliefs have been reported many times by the news media. They said refusing to let her speak did not violate her rights. And they said MacDonald being on campus is “a form of violence.” Creely says incidents like the ones at Middlebury and Claremont are becoming increasingly common at American colleges. He called the trend “deeply troubling.” Creely also criticized university officials for accepting the demands of students. He says the students do not know enough about laws that protect free speech in the United States. He notes that “there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment. There is an unfortunately prevalent problem of students being unaware of the extent of their rights and the rights of their peers,” he said. In 2015, the market research group YouGov asked students about free speech. In the opinion study, 43 percent of the students questioned said “making sure that students have an environment free from discrimination, even if that means placing some limits on what students can say,” should be more of a concern for colleges than protecting the “absolute right to free speech.” Gallup did a similar study in 2016. It found that 52 percent of students believe their college or university should stop people from speaking on campus who have a history of making hateful comments. Forty two percent of students did not agree with the statement, however. The debate about First Amendment rights continued earlier this month when the University of California-Berkeley canceled a planned speech by conservative writer and speaker Ann Coulter. University officials said they were worried that police would not be able to control a possibly violent reaction to Coulter’s speech. Riots took place at Berkeley earlier this year when conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos was invited to speak. The riots caused $100,000 in damage to buildings on campus. The school’s decision to cancel Coulter’s speech was criticized by many people. So officials changed their decision. They set a time for her to speak, but the time they set was one during which fewer people would be on campus.  The student group that invited Coulter to speak did not like the plan. It sued the school on Monday, claiming it was discriminating against Coulter. Lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and the Berkeley College Republicans said in the lawsuit that “this case arises from efforts by one of California’s leading public universities, UC Berkeley, once known as the ‘birthplace of the Free Speech Movement,’ to restrict and stifle the speech of conservative students whose voices fall beyond the campus political orthodoxy.” The school said the charge that Coulter is being punished for her political beliefs is “untrue.” The school said it “welcomes speakers of all political viewpoints and is committed to providing a forum to enable Ann Coulter to speak on the Berkeley campus.” I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Pete Musto.   Joshua Fatzick wrote this story for VOANews.com Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted his report for Learning English. Ashley Thomson 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 controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument; likely to produce controversy confront – v. to oppose or challenge (someone) especially in a direct and forceful way neck brace – n. a device that supports the neck, usually after an injury cop – n. (informal) police officer chaotic – adj. in a state of complete confusion or disorder fascist – adj. a person who supports a government that is ruled by a dictator who controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government perpetuate – v. to cause (something that should be stopped, such as a mistaken idea or a bad situation) to continue trend – n. a general direction of change; a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common prevalent – adj. accepted, done or happening often or over a large area at a particular time; common or widespread extent – n. used to indicate the degree to which something exists, happens or is true peer – n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else stifle – v. to stop (someone) from doing or expressing something; to make something difficult or impossible orthodoxy – n. a belief or a way of thinking that is accepted as true or correct

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Former East German Plans Performance at US-Mexico Border

  For the first 20 years of Markus Rindt's life, he knew there were limits on how far he could travel. Rindt grew up in East Germany. He could not go farther west than the border wall that divided Germany into two countries. “I grew up with walls around me,” he remembers. “It was a weird situation, to see that the world seems to end at this wall. You feel that it cannot be that the world ends here.” In October 1989, Rindt fled to West Germany through Czechoslovakia with other East Germans. Just one month later, the border wall came down. Six years later, Rindt moved to the city of Dresden. He currently lives in Dresden, where he leads a group of musicians called Dresdner Sinfoniker. For the nearly 30 years since the wall came down, Rindt has been making music and traveling. He sometimes expresses his political beliefs through music. Now, Rindt has something to say about the planned border wall between the United States and Mexico. And, he wants to 'say' it with a music performance. He wants to bring his orchestra to the U.S.-Mexico border for a music and arts performance. He is raising money through the Internet to help finance the project. He hopes the performance will take place on or around June 12 – the 30th anniversary of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's visit to West Berlin. That was when Reagan called on the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the wall between East and West Germany. “Our plan,” Markus Rindt says, “is a very big plan.” Political climate leads to series of performances Rindt told VOA that “this project is the most ambitious project so far. I have no idea if it [will work] in the end." He strongly objects to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to extend a wall along the Mexican border. “I feel the project is necessary in our time,” he said. “It is not only against this planned Trump wall, but against isolation[ist attitudes] around the world as well." That includes Europe where, last year, Britain voted to leave the European Union, and France, where nationalist Marine Le Pen is a leading candidate for president. #teardownthiswall Rindt believes Mexico’s government will approve his plans for a performance on the southern side of the U.S. border. He wants his orchestra to perform with 15 to 20 musicians and a children’s singing group from the Mexican city of Tijuana. However, he is not sure whether U.S. officials will let the Mexican musicians and children join his orchestra on the north side, in San Diego's Friendship Park. At the park, family members and loved ones on both sides of the border can talk to one another through holes in a closed, metal fence. Rindt has never been to the border between the United States and Mexico. He has invited U.S. and Mexican musicians to join the Dresdner Sinfoniker in June. And, he has raised more than half the money needed for his orchestra to travel there. Rindt knows he is not the first to attempt a cross-border music performance. Events like these have been happening for years. But Rindt hopes the event will grow hugely popular on social media. He wants musicians and artists to write about their performances using a hashtag linked to Reagan's speech: #teardownthiswall. 'There must be other ways' Rindt says he is not ignoring larger issues about the wall. He knows Trump says that the wall is needed for national security. “I’m aware of some problems: drugs, of course,” he said. “Some people will [say to] me 'what about drugs and criminals?' There must be other ways to solve such [a] problem.” Data shows that smugglers do work around border barriers. Trump recently told the Associated Press that: “People want the border." But, more Americans oppose the wall than support it. A public opinion survey from Quinnipiac University shows that 64 percent of Americans oppose plans to extend the current wall. Just after Trump's election in November, that number was 55 percent. I’m Alice Bryant. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   weird - adj. unusual or strange orchestra - n. a group of musicians who play usually classical music together and who are led by a conductor ambitious - adj. having ambition : having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous isolationist - adj. having the belief that a country should not be involved with other countries  challenge - n. a difficult task or problem hashtag - n. a word or phrase that starts with the symbol # and that indicates what a message on social media (such as Twitter) is about smuggler - n. to move (someone or something) from one country into another illegally and secretly survey - n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or questions in order to gather information about what most people think about something

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Business Grows in US Town That Embraces Refugees

Refugees often arrive in the United States with few clothes and other belongings. From these simple beginnings, most refugees rebuild their lives, overcoming language and cultural barriers. Some even set up small businesses, helping to improve the economy in the community where they have resettled. Yasha Ismailov is one such person. He owns and operates an automobile repair shop in Charlottesville, Virginia.  “We can fix any car. So you know, it happens a lot of times when nobody can fix it in town, they send it here. They know already we'll fix it if no one can fix it.” Ismailov bought the business, called Larry’s Auto, nine years ago. "When we came (to the) United States, we (were) working so hard (for the) first three years before we started (the) business. We (were) working for people, sometimes (working) double jobs. First, my job was painting, second job (was) installing the AC. Third, my job was electric..." Ismailov was born to a Meskhetian Turkish family in Uzbekistan. Meskthetians are an ethnic subgroup of Turks. They were expelled in railroad cars by the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, during World War II. Most of them were left in Uzbekistan. "My family had to run to Russia because (there was a) massacre in Uzbekistan (of) Turks in 1989." Ismailov was seven years old at the time of the attacks.  But Russian officials were not very welcoming. Meskhetian Turks were barred from Russian citizenship, owning property and holding jobs. When the United States began accepting Meskhetian Turks as refugees in 2004, Ismailov, his brother and parents were resettled in Charlottesville. Ismailov was 22 years old. He is now 35. “When we came to Charlottesville back in 2005, we just bring clothes. That’s all.” He says the International Rescue Committee (IRC) told him Charlottesville “was a nice place, good and ‘you will like it, so go there.’ We felt free. We felt better than over there. We felt safe.” Charlottesville is a small city about 190 kilometers from Washington, D.C. It is known as a place where refugees are welcome. More than 3,000 refugees have restarted their lives there since the late 1990s with the help of the IRC. Harriet Kuhr is the director of the group’s local office. “There are jobs for them here. And then, as they become more stable, they are opening their own small businesses. It really adds a lot of diversity, but it also adds economic impact. So the refugees are not takers. They’re giving back by helping the community grow economically.” Ismailov’s car repair business now has seven employees who work on about 150 cars a month. He has also begun to sell used cars. “We (are) still working so hard to try to do business better. The second business -- the dealer(ship) business -- is going so well, too. Now we almost sell like two, three cars every day...” Ismailov is now a U.S. citizen and owns his house. He married another refugee. “My life in America is good. I have two kids. I have my wife. They are in a good school. I have nice neighbors. I have (a) job, and nobody bothers me. I'm proud to be able to contribute to the community in Charlottesville. My daughter (is a) swimmer, and I hope one day she wins (an) Olympic medal for (the) United States.” Yet Ismailov worries about the increasing number of refugees around the world. “I (could) be one of them, too. I am lucky I am here, (but) they (are) not. I feel sorry about them. So I’d like to help them with something if I can.” I’m Alice Bryant.   VOA Correspondent June Soh reported this story from Charlottesville, Virginia. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story install - v. to add something to an existing structure, such as a building AC - n. air conditioning massacre - n. the act of killing a number of people diversity - n. the act of having many differing parts subgroup - n. a smaller group within a larger group or community stable - adj. not changing; firmly established contribute - v. to give or supply something to others

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