Sportscaster Robert Lee Moved Off Game Because of His Name

This is What’s Trending Today… United States Civil War General Robert E. Lee has been in the news a lot lately. In American history, Lee led the Army of the Confederacy of Northern Virginia from 1862 to 1865. The Confederacy was a group of Southern slave-holding states that withdrew from the Union and fought for independence from the U.S. government. Lee eventually surrendered, and the states re-joined the Union. Today, Americans are divided over whether statues of Robert E. Lee should be removed from public places. Some believe the statues represent an important part of Southern history. Others say they glorify traitors to the U.S., as well as America’s history of slavery and racial oppression. ​ The debate about Lee recently took a dramatic turn. In February, officials in Charlottesville, Virginia decided to remove a statue of Lee from a public park. Their decision led to a violent demonstration on August 11, in which white supremacists and others opposing the removal of the statue clashed with counter-protesters. One woman was killed when a white supremacist’s car struck counter-protesters. Now, the controversy over General Lee has a new twist. Sports network ESPN has decided not to send broadcaster Robert Lee to Charlottesville to cover the University of Virginia’s opening football game September 2.    ESPN said the decision was made, together with Robert Lee, “as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name.” “In that moment it felt right to all parties,” the ESPN statement said. It added: “It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play-by-play for a football game has become an issue.” ESPN’s decision drew a huge response on social media, with most commenters criticizing the action or making fun of it. Many people posted side-by-side pictures of the Civil War general and sportscaster Robert Lee, who is Asian American. “Yo ESPN, I think viewers will know the difference between Robert E Lee the confederate general and Robert Lee the football announcer,” tweeted Josh Jordan. “Nothing takes a stand against racism better than banning an Asian guy from a TV job because his name is Robert Lee,” wrote radio host Dana Loesch. She later tweeted: “Don’t tell ESPN about Lee Jeans, the official denim of confederate generals.” U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch also found humor in the story. “If you happen upon a civil war era Orrin Hatch in your reading do not be alarmed, that was also me,” he tweeted. Current ESPN broadcaster Bob Ley took to Twitter to make a joke about his name being similar to the other two Lees. “Rather worried my employee ID/pass may not admit me in the AM.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories from the Associated Press and other sources. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. Do you think ESPN did the right thing? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   glorify – v. make something seem better or more important than it really is​ twist – n. something that happens unexpectedly coincidence – n. when events happen at the same time in an unexpected way shame – n. something that is regretted topic – adj. subject people talk or write about conversation – n. discussion among people or a group denim – n. strong, thick material used to make clothes  

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How to Identify Gender Inequality in Teaching Materials

  Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part series on promoting gender equality in the classroom   Creating a classroom environment that treats women and men equally is important for the educational success of students. However gender equality does not stop with the teacher.  It is also important that the materials used are supporting equal treatment. In fact, many classroom materials, especially those that are older, may contain gender bias in activities, photos, or words. These materials can include textbooks, images, reading materials, written assignments, or even test materials.  Having students use materials like these in class can reinforce stereotypes about gender roles in society. Classroom materials that reinforce gender stereotypes can discourage students, weaken their motivation and limit their overall academic performance. This can result in fewer opportunities available to students when they finish their schooling. Background Research has found that stereotypes and gender bias in English language materials do exist. Several studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, have found that some texts underrepresent women, contain stereotypes about women or offensive comments about women. In addition, research has found that characterizations in teaching materials often show a male majority.  One study on high school English language textbooks in Iran found that male characterizations were used as much as 80% of the time. Identifying gender bias: case studies The first step is to understand how to identify gender bias in textbooks.  Examine the image below.  These images were taken from an English language textbook.  What do you notice about how the men and women are being portrayed? In this image there are six people, four men and two women, shown in different jobs.  The men pictured include a construction worker, a doctor, a police officer, and a truck driver.  The women shown include a farm worker and a food store employee. This image shows men and women in gender-stereotyped jobs in two ways.  First, male representation is double that of female. Second, the men generally are working in higher-level, more economically powerful jobs. Now look at a short reading activity from an actual English language textbook. What do you notice about the representation of men and women in the example? How does weather affect us? The weather of a place can affect our daily lifestyles in many ways This makes the weather forecast something of significance to us. Weather influences to a very great extent the sort of food we eat, what we wear, how we live and work. Despite the advances made in science and technology, farmers and their crops are still at the mercy of the climate and the weather. The fishermen, farmers, journalists, sportsmen, housewives and aeroplane pilots are some of the persons who are directly affected by the weather. The fishermen must be sure that there are no strong winds and excessive rainfall before going out to sea. Farmers must know the weather conditions so that their crops can be planted at the right time. Do you remember when the El Niño weather phenomena caused a vast amount of crops to be destroyed? Sportsmen cannot be engaged in sporting activities during certain weather conditions. Can you imagine a game of cricket or football being played during a period of heavy rainfall? The housewife, too, must know the weather for the day to be able to decide her daily activities, for example, laundry work. From the Global Education Monitoring Report's World Education Blog See more examples at Global Education Monitoring Report The piece discusses weather and how it affects people in different jobs. However, it refers to some of the jobs using masculine endings, such as “fishermen” and “sportsmen.”  The only specific reference to a woman is that of “housewife.” This enforces gender stereotypes in two ways:  First, it creates the impression that some of these jobs are meant for males only.  It also creates the impression that the job of staying at home and doing house activities is meant for women. Identifying bias: Materials and curriculum checklist It is important that teachers are skilled in identifying the signs of unequal gender representation in textbooks and other materials. A UNESCO checklist can help teachers check their materials for this problem. Here are some of its guidelines: Are the materials used by the teacher or students free from gender stereotypes? Do the materials show females and males an equal amount of times? Do the materials show females and males with equal respect, and potential (when talking about jobs, or the future, for example)? Does the curriculum reflect the needs and life experiences of both males and females? Does the curriculum promote peace and equality for males and females, regardless, of their race, class, disability, religion, sexual preference, or ethnic background? Improving your materials So, what can teachers do when they find gender inequities in teaching materials? The answer is: it depends. Some teachers are able to make changes to their materials or the way in which they use them. Other teachers may be able to create original teaching content. Here are some more UNESCO guidelines that might help such efforts. Make sure that males and females are shown equally in class materials. Make sure that the themes, subjects, and pictures used in class materials connect to the life experiences of both female and male students. Make sure that female and male students are not presented only in stereotypical ways. Make sure you use a balanced amount of materials written by male and female authors. Include women and men as examples of experts or leaders It requires additional work for teachers to review their materials for gender bias. But using gender-sensitive materials in class can help support the creation of more gender-sensitive attitudes among students.  It can also establish a stronger learning environment where all students are motivated to succeed. I’m Phil Dierking. And I’m Jill Robbins   Phil Dierking wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. What are other ideas for adapting teaching materials to be more gender-sensitive? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   bias – n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly​ characterization – n. the act of describing the character or qualities of someone or something​ curriculum – n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.​ discourage – v.  to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident​ gender – n. the state of being male or female​ opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done​ stereotype – n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic​

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What to Do with Contaminated Water from Fukushima?

Japanese officials are considering what to do with the large amount of poisoned water being stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The plant went into meltdown after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Huge water storage tanks around the center currently hold an estimated 750,000 tons of water poisoned with a radioactive substance called tritium. People objected last month when news reports said the owner of the center, TEPCO, planned to release the water into the Pacific Ocean. Environmental groups and local fishermen do not want the water released. Takahiro Kimoto is general manager of TEPCO’s nuclear division. He says the company has not yet made a decision. He told VOA that the ocean release was just one possible way to deal with the water. He said vaporizing would be another. “Since there may be an influence on the environment, and because there have been harmful rumors about what effects it may have on people and the environment, we are still consulting with various stakeholders before finally deciding on the solution,” Kimoto said. TEPCO says all nuclear power centers around the world release tritium into the environment. Tritium is considered one of the less dangerous radioactive substances, says Ken Buesseler. He is a marine radiochemist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. He is studying the effects of the Fukushima disaster on the Pacific Ocean. Buesseler spoke to VOA by Skype. “There's natural sources up in cosmic rays interacting in the atmosphere. And the biggest source by far was the weapons testing back in the 1960s. So you’re talking about adding to what’s already there.”  Buesseler says the timing of how the water is released would make a difference. “If it’s all released on one day, that’s a very different scenario for the oceans than if it’s released sequentially over the course of several years.” A system called ALPS is designed to purify, or remove, other more harmful material from the contaminated water. Buesseler says more supervision is needed. “Independently, I want to see for each tank, what are the levels not only of the tritium, which dominates by far the radioactivity, but all those minor elements, cesium, strontium, that are still there to some degree.” Japanese officials also have to remove the nuclear fuel from the damaged power center. Robots have recorded pictures of what looks like melted fuel rods inside reactor 3. But in other reactors, the very high levels of radioactivity damaged observation robots within minutes. TEPCO’s Kimoto says the company plans to announce a major policy plan in the fall. He says it will also announce at that time what method it will use to remove the fuel. The Japanese government estimates that cleaning the area affected by the meltdown will cost at least $190 billion. Experts predict the process will take at least 40 years. I’m Anne Ball. Anne Ball adapted this story for Learning English from several VOA News story. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   power plant - n. a building or group of buildings in which electricity for a large area is produced meltdown - n. an accident in which the core of a nuclear reactor melts and releases radiation tsunami - n. a very high, large wave in the ocean that is usually caused by an earthquake under the sea and that can cause great destruction vaporize- v. to change into vapor rumor - n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true stakeholder - n. a person or business that has invested money in something cosmic rays - n. a stream of energy that enters the Earth's atmosphere from outer space — usually plural scenario - n. a description of what could possibly happen sequentially - adv. relating to, or arranged in a particular order or sequence dominate - v. to have control of or power over (someone or something) rod - n. a straight, thin stick or bar

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Rockwell Painting Long Thought to Be Copy Sells for $1.6 million

  This is What’s Trending Today… Norman Rockwell is considered one of America’s most famous artists of the 20th century. He was known for painting traditional and small-town American scenes. His subjects included sports, war and images of American culture, such as a Thanksgiving dinner or a family praying together. Today, people who own original Norman Rockwell paintings can sell them for a lot of money. A family in Texas had enjoyed their Rockwell image for many years. They thought the picture hanging above their fireplace was a copy – not an original painting. But recently, a member of the family discovered the truth – the piece was in fact a signed Norman Rockwell masterpiece. It shows a group of baseball umpires looking up at the sky while deciding whether to cancel a game due to rain. Rockwell painted it as a study, a smaller work created in preparation for his famous piece “Tough Call” in 1948. ​Rockwell gave the study to one of the umpires featured in the piece. The image remained in the family. His completed “Tough Call” sits in America’s Baseball Hall of Fame. Once family members received confirmation the piece was a real, signed original, they decided to list it with an auction company. Chris Ivy is director of Sports Memorabilia at Heritage Auctions, which took in the painting. He said it was “remarkable” to find such an important Norman Rockwell original after so many years. It was also remarkable how much money the painting brought during the recent auction in Dallas, Texas. The company had predicted the masterpiece would bring in about $300,000. So nearly everyone was surprised when the painting sold for $1.6 million to an unnamed collector.   And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories from Reuters and other sources. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. If you unexpectedly found out you owned very valuable things, do you think you would sell them right away? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scene – n. a view or sight that looks like a picture original – adj. made first, not a copy masterpiece – n. work of art considered to be excellent quality umpire – n. person who oversees a game of sports and makes sure rules are followed study – n. artistic work created to prepare for a larger work auction – n. sale in which things are sold to the person offering the most money remarkable – adj. unusual or surprising; likely to be noticed  

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Venezuela Little Leaguers Get Help from Major League

When Omar Romero hit a walk-off triple to beat the Dominican Republic, his teammates mobbed him to celebrate the win like any team would. The young baseball players from Venezuela are playing in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania this year. Even though their country is suffering from a severe economic recession, they were able to come to the United States with the help of some major league baseball players from Venezuela. Rougned Odor plays for the Texas Rangers. He learned to play baseball in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Venezuelan team that is playing in the World Series is from the town. “I know everybody on that team, in that league,” Odor told the Associated Press news agency in Texas recently. “And that’s why I tried to help those kids.” The players had to fly to Caracas to get their visas -- permission to go to the United States. Odor paid for their plane tickets. The visas cost about $170. San Diego Padres player Jhoulys Chacin paid for their visas. Chacin also came from Maracaibo and played on a Little League team in Venezuela in 2000. “I know how big a deal it is for the young guys, so they deserve to go,” Chacin said Sunday in San Diego. “I’m glad I could help them come here to play in the Little League World Series. That was one of my dreams when I was young.” Only three parents of players on the Venezuelan Little League team were able to travel to Pennsylvania. A man from Venezuela who now lives near Williamsport let them stay at his house. I’m Dorothy Gundy.   The Associated Press news agency reported this story from South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Christopher Jones-Cruise 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   celebrate - v. to do something special or enjoyable for an important event major league baseball - n. one of the four major professional sports league in the U.S.

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Angolans Vote in Historic Election

  President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is the only leader that the majority of the 22 million people who live in Angola have ever known. He will soon leave office after 38 years in power. Many Angolans are preparing to vote for the first time. Almost all of those who have marked ballots in the past have never seen one without Santos’ name on it.    Ana Maria Espirito Santos Monteiro is 60 years old. She has never voted because she did not believe there was a reason to do so. That is because dos Santos has often been accused of rigging elections. Monteiro told VOA that she is going to vote for the first time Wednesday because she does not believe rigging will be widespread in the next election. She says she hopes it will be transparent and fair. Monteiro supports the CASA-CE opposition party. It was formed in 2012 and controls eight seats in parliament. CASA-CE faces strong competition from the MPLA, which has ruled the country since 1975. The party has nominated foreign minister Joao Lourenco to be Dos Santos’ successor. But many younger voters are unhappy with the MPLA. They blame the party for the country’s economic inequality. Louis Gabriel is a 27-year-old student. He said he cannot find a job. “I think this year will be different because Dos Santos is not running,” he said. But not all first-time voters want change. Gaspar Domingos said he is staying with the MPLA. “I am very expectant because I believe that the MPLA is the big family, is the first community,” he said. Critics of Dos Santos do not think there will be much change. They say the ruling party has intimidated voters. Rafael Marques is a reporter and critic of Dos Santos. He believes Angolans already know what the results of the election will be. “The question is whether the MPLA will try to understand how disaffected, how unhappy the population is and give more space to the opposition,” he said. Opposition leaders are hopeful, but polls predict an MPLA win. I'm John Russell.   VOA Correspondent Anita Powell reported this story from Luana, Angola. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. Christopher Jones-Cruise edited the story. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rig – v. to control or affect (something, such as a game or election) in a dishonest way in order to get a desired result successor – n. a person who has a job, position or title after someone else; someone who succeeds another person disaffected – adj. no longer happy and willing to support a leader, government, etc. poll – n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something  

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venezuela

When Omar Romero hit a walk-off triple to beat the Dominican Republic, his teammates mobbed him to celebrate the win like any team would. The young baseball players from Venezuela are playing in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania this year. Even though their country is suffering from a severe economic recession, they were able to come to the United States with the help of some major league baseball players from Venezuela. Rougned Odor plays for the Texas Rangers. He learned to play baseball in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Venezuelan team that is playing in the World Series is from the town. “I know everybody on that team, in that league,” Odor told the Associated Press news agency in Texas recently. “And that’s why I tried to help those kids.” The players had to fly to Caracas to get their visas -- permission to go to the United States. Odor paid for their plane tickets. The visas cost about $170. San Diego Padres player Jhoulys Chacin paid for their visas. Chacin also came from Maracaibo and  played on a Little League team in Venezuela in 2000. “I know how big a deal it is for the young guys, so they deserve to go,” Chacin said Sunday in San Diego. “I’m glad I could help them come here to play in the Little League World Series. That was one of my dreams when I was young.” Only three parents of players on the Venezuelan Little League team were able to travel to Pennsylvania. A man from Venezuela who now lives near Williamsport let them stay at his house. I’m ______________.   The Associated Press news agency reported this story from South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Christopher Jones-Cruise 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   celebrate - v. to do something special or enjoyable for an important event major league baseball - n. one of the four major professional sports league in the U.S.

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Explainer: Confederate Monuments

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Trump Announces New Plan for Afghanistan

Editor's Note: An audio for this story will be added when it is available.   President Donald Trump says that the United States must continue fighting in Afghanistan in a conflict that he once called a “complete waste.” In a televised speech to the nation, Trump said his “original instinct was to pull out.” But he said he changed his mind after a series of meetings with his Cabinet members and top military advisors. Trump said a “hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists – including ISIS and Al Qaeda – would instantly fill.” He added the U.S. must prevent Afghanistan and the region from giving shelter to Islamist militants. “We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” he said. The president said, going forward, U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan will be based on conditions on the ground. He said no time period would be set for withdrawal. And, he said the U.S. would not announce future military plans, including troop numbers. “America's enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out. I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will.” For years, Trump has criticized the U.S. effort in Afghanistan and called for a "speedy withdrawal" of U.S. troops. As president, Trump has questioned whether sending more troops is wise. "We're not winning," he told advisers in a July meeting. But Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has argued that a U.S. military presence is needed to protect against a continuing threat from Islamist militants. On Sunday, Mattis said the president’s plan involved more than just Afghanistan, saying it amounted to a full "South Asia strategy." And, earlier Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke on the phone with leaders of Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan to discuss the new U.S. “regional strategy.” U.S. generals have advised Trump to send as many as 4,000 troops to retake territory from the Taliban. The group now controls nearly half of Afghanistan. But Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" foreign policy, has been resistant to commit more troops to the country. James Dobbins was a U.S. special diplomat to Afghanistan and Pakistan under former President Barak Obama. Before Trump spoke Monday night, Dobbins said the president has only a choice between "losing and not losing." "Winning is not an option," Dobbins told VOA's Afghan Service. More U.S. troops could help train more members of the Afghan special forces, says Michael Kugelman, a South Asian expert at the Wilson Center. The new strategy, Kugelman added, has to consider Pakistan’s role in the region. Pakistan, he said, “happens to play a key role in the war in Afghanistan because, among other things, leaders of the Taliban insurgency have used Pakistan as a sanctuary.” Currently, there are about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Most are advising Afghan forces but some are involved in operations against the Taliban and the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate. That number is down from nearly 100,000 troops in August 2010. The war in Afghanistan started in October 2001 under President George W. Bush after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington "Most Afghans are not expecting any fundamental change in U.S. policy," said Aimal Faizi, an Afghan journalist and aide to former President Hamid Karzai. "Afghanistan has become a global issue. Any U.S. strategy based on the assumption that Washington alone decides the way forward in Afghanistan is a terrible mistake," he said.   Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters news reports. Caty Weaver was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story      

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Exercises to Help 'Tech Neck'

  From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. When we do the same movements with our bodies over and over again, we overuse some muscles. And that overuse can lead to strain and injury. Sometimes those problems can come from doing sports. But exercise professionals say they are now seeing another cause for muscle problems: hand-held technology devices. Staring down at your phone or tablet for long periods of time puts great tension on your neck and spine. Many people who use tech devices also hunch their shoulders forward. Experts say this posture puts strain on the entire upper body. Muscle strain linked to hand-held technology has become such a common condition that it now has a name: tech neck. Kimberly Fielding, an exercise teacher in New York City, explains that constantly looking down at our devices creates an unnatural curve in our spine. This can cause nerve pain and other problems. "A lot of the curves of the neck can change, so instead of the cervical spine going inward, the curve can be a little bit different and it causes nerve pain and herniation(s) and different muscle tension headaches -- different things that really can reduce quality of life." How do you know if you have tech neck? Common symptoms of tech neck are neck pain, loss of feeling in your hands and fingers, headaches -- both mild and severe -- and poor posture. In the worst cases of tech neck, you can lose the strength in your hands and fingers. Fielding noticed that many of her clients were coming to her for help with this “forward head posture.” So, she created a class to directly address the problem of tech neck. The class uses different exercises to release tension in the upper body and strengthen back and neck muscles. The class also works on breathing and posture. For a quick fix, Fielding has a simple suggestion -- hold your phone at eye level. "You can see the eye line change right away. So the gaze is horizontal now, and they're very aligned." A student of Fielding, Yasmin Venable, says the exercises have helped her release tension. "I feel like I used to carry a lot of tension, especially in my upper arms and have like this, 'ehh' feeling and now I feel like . . . I have a neck now!" Fielding says these exercises may feel uncomfortable in the beginning because the neck muscles may have become weak. "It's a little uncomfortable, but it's because those muscles a lot times, right, are so weak from being overstretched and being in this other position." What can you do? However, you don’t need to take a class like Fielding’s. You can take simple steps to improve tech neck. Take breaks from using your technology. Stand up and stretch your legs often. Also, give your eyes a break by closing them throughout the day. Move your eyes to the screen not your neck, head or shoulders. Do neck exercises. Experts at the website Spine Universe recommend these three neck stretches. 1. Chin Stretch Move your chin towards your chest. Hold for 5 seconds. The stretch should feel comfortable from your neck to the base of your skull. Repeat 10 times. 2. Side Tilt Tilt your head to the right. Bring your ear close to the shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds. Bring your head back to center, and then tilt it to the left, again holding for 20 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times on each side. 3. Side-to-Side Head Rotation Rotate your chin towards your right shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds. Bring your head back to the center, and then rotate it to the left, again holding for 20 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times on each side. And if your tech neck symptoms get worse, see a health care professional. And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report. I’m Anna Matteo.   Tina Trinh reported this story for VOA News in New York. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English and added additional reporting from several websites. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. Do you or someone you know have tech neck? Let us know in the Comments Section. ____________________________________________________________ Quiz Now, test your understanding with this short quiz. ​______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hunch – v. to bend your body forward and down so that your back is rounded curve – v. to turn or change from a straight line, shape, or path to a smooth, rounded one cervical spine inward – adv. toward the inside of something herniation – n. abnormal protrusion of an organ or other body structure through a defect or natural opening in a covering membrane, muscle, or bone posture – n. the way in which your body is positioned when you are sitting or standing horizontal – adj. positioned from side to side rather than up and down : parallel to the ground align – v. to arrange things so that they form a line or are in proper position tilt – v. to move (your head, chin, etc.) up, down, or to one side rotate – v. to move or turn in a circle

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US, South Korea Seem to Scale Back War Games

  The United States and South Korea have begun 10 days of joint military exercises on Monday. But the exercises will have fewer troops, vehicles and other equipment than last year. Military leaders say these exercises, also known as war games, are needed to maintain operational readiness. But there are concerns that a show of force could again increase tensions in the region. The yearly US-South Korea war games are large military planning and coordination exercises. They are designed to respond to computer-simulated North Korean attacks. About 17,500 American troops will participate in this year’s exercises, along with 50,000 South Koreans. That is down from 25,000 American troops in 2016. Military leaders say these annual war games are needed to train new soldiers in the region. Grant Newsham is with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo. He said, “What we are talking about here is warfare. It’s not practicing for a parade, so you have to constantly be updated.” North Korean officials have long objected to the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. They have called the exercises “rehearsals for invasion.” Last year’s war games included planning military strikes to kill the leadership in Pyongyang. Recently, the U.S. and North Korea have exchanged strong language over possible North Korean missile tests. But North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reduced tensions by suspending plans to fire missiles toward the U.S. territory of Guam. The move came after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” and would respond to any attack with “fire and fury.” Some political experts suggest the United States seems to have responded to North Korea’s restraint by reducing the size of this year’s exercises. On Sunday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis denied that North Korea’s objections were the reason for the reduced number of troops in this year’s war games. "This is an exercise for the defense of Korea. It's a combined exercise and it's all worked out way in advance by the alliance.” On Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the joint exercises are defensive in nature. He added that they are not intended to increase tensions on the Korean peninsula. He warned North Korea to, in his words, “not exaggerate our efforts to keep peace.” China and Russia have also called for the suspension of the joint military exercises. The countries also want North Korea to suspend its missile and nuclear tests. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Brian Padden wrote this story for VOANews. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in this Story   exaggerate – v. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is in advance – phrase - before a future event or time; before something happens war games – n. military training activities done to prepare for fighting in a war

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