Old Airplanes Left in Elephant’s Shelter Get New Homes

Over 100 years ago, Britain’s military had about 2,000 de Havilland DH.9 airplanes. The military used the planes for British bombing raids over Germany during World War I. The DH.9s were known as “strategic bombers.” They were one of the first warplanes where pilots did not drop bombs by hand. The bombs were stored inside the fuselage, or main body, of the plane. Pilots released them by opening a door with a lever. The plane was large enough to carry two large bombs or four smaller ones. Of the 2,000 DH.9 planes used in World War I, only about six were saved. Or at least that is what people thought until about 20 years ago, when several DH.9s were discovered in rural India. Britain donated those planes to India, then a British colony, at the end of the war. The website AirHistory.org.uk says India received 60 of the aircraft. For many years, people thought nearly all the DH.9s were destroyed or used to supply parts for other planes. That changed in 1998, when a lover of historic aircraft found several DH.9s in India in an unusual place: a building where an elephant was once kept. Janice Black is the director of Britain’s Historic Aircraft Collection. “Sadly, the engines were taken out and the aircraft were put into an elephant stable. The engines were then used to help to pump water around the estate – which is where we retrieved them from. And the aircraft themselves were left in the elephants’ stable, which was fortunately very dry.” What was left of the old airplanes was purchased and shipped back to England for restoration. The repairs took about 60,000 hours. In 2007, the Imperial War Museum bought the first restored DH.9 for about $1.3 million, but it does not fly. The planes are important in the timeline of military history. But they were not especially successful warplanes. Their engines that were not very strong, so the military could not depend on them in battle. However, after the war, many were used to carry mail and even passengers. The Historic Aircraft Collection team is working to restore another DH.9. This time, they hope to make it airworthy and fly late this year. I’m Dan Friedell.   George Putic wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. What do you think of this historic airplane? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   strategic – adj. useful or important in achieving a plan or strategy lever – n. a bar or rod that is used to operate or adjust something on a machine, vehicle, or device stable – n. a building in which horses are kept, fed, and cared for estate – n. a large piece of land with a large house on it restoration – n. returning (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing or cleaning it

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Experts: US Would Not Need South Korea's OK to Strike North

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in says military action against North Korea cannot be carried out without his government's permission. However, former United States military commanders have a different opinion about the situation. For weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been exchanging threats. Through it all, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said that he would stand in the way of another battle on the Korean peninsula. According to Moon, who has long advocated for communication with North Korea, "Military action on the Korean Peninsula can only be decided by South Korea, and no one else can decide on a military action without South Korean agreement." Trump, however, has not ruled out unilateral military action by the United States. Last month, North Korea launched two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in the waters near Japan and South Korea. The test missiles, experts say, had the range to reach the United States. And the North has also threatened to launch missile tests around Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. General Burwell Bell is a retired Army General. He commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 2006-2008. "The United States retains the authority, capability and responsibility to defend itself from attack by anyone, including North Korea," he said. "In accordance with international law, the United States would not need South Korean approval [or] cooperation to strike the North with our own offshore military assets," the general said. "Those assets could be launched from the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the high seas near North Korea." Bell added that he believed President Moon would support the United States. David Maxwell is a retired colonel who commanded Army special forces units. He noted that the U.S. would certainly consult with South Korea before acting against the North. Such consultations would allow military forces to be ready for a counterattack by the North. Some experts believe the United States would definitely ask South Korea's permission before striking North Korea. “The United States and South Korea are close allies sworn to uphold each other’s security, and certainly the U.S. is committed to South Korea’s security on the peninsula,” said Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution. “As such, it makes little sense for America to propose or take independent action against North Korea, given how dramatically such action could implicate and endanger South Korean territory.” I'm John Russell.   VOA Korean's Baik Sungwon first reported on this story; Jenny Lee contributed to it. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   peninsula – n. a piece of land that is almost entirely surrounded by water and is attached to a larger land area unilateral – adj. involving only one group or country offshore – adj. located in the ocean away from the shore asset – n. military a weapon consult – v.  to talk about something with (someone) in order to make a decision uphold – v. to support or defend (something, such as a law)

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English @ the Movies: 'Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?'

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What It Takes: Willie Mays

00:00:02    OPRAH WINFREY: "Hattie Mae, this child is gifted," and I heard that enough that I started to believe it. 00:00:08    ROGER BANNISTER: If you have the opportunity, not a perfect opportunity, and you don't take it, you may never have another chance. 00:00:14    LAURYN HILL: It all was so clear. It was just, like, the picture started to form itself. 00:00:19    DESMOND TUTU: There was no way in which a lie could prevail over the truth, darkness over light, death over life. 00:00:27    CAROL BURNETT (quoting CARRIE HAMILTON): “Every day I wake up and decide, today I'm going to love my life. Decide.” 00:00:34    JOHNNY CASH: My advice is, if they're going to break your leg once when you go in that place, stay out of there. 00:00:39    JAMES MICHENER: And then along come these differential experiences that you don't look for, you don't plan for, but boy, you’d better not miss them. 00:00:52    ALICE WINKLER: This is What It Takes, a podcast about passion, vision, and perseverance from the Academy of Achievement's recorded collection. I'm Alice Winkler. On every episode of What It Takes, you'll hear a revealing conversation with someone who has changed the world: Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Linus Pauling, to name just a few. Their personal stories may be vastly different, but all of them are inspiring, and it's the Academy of Achievement's mission, after all, to show you don't have to be a superhero to make a difference. 00:01:27    Now some might argue that Willie Mays, the subject of today's episode, actually comes as close to being a superhero as any human, but in this 1996 interview, Mays said no. Go ahead and look up to him if you like, but a hero he is not. 00:01:46    WILLIE MAYS: When you’re talking about heroes, I think the heroes should come from your mother and your father, because they're the ones that have to teach you right from wrong. Now you can admire whomever you want to admire, but that particular person's not going to teach you. You’re going to go out and try to emulate whatever he does, but your mother and father's going to be there with you every day, from day in and day out. 00:02:13    They are your heroes, I feel. My father was my hero, you know? 00:02:19    ALICE WINKLER: Willie Mays’s father was a pullman porter on the trains, and a steelworker, who also played baseball on the steel mill’s Negro team. He made a good living, and so Willie never had to worry about going hungry, like a lot of the people he knew growing up in the 1930s. Willie Mays’s mother was a great athlete, too, a track star, so Mays admits he was born with an overdose of athletic prowess. 00:02:46     Talented as he was at sports, though, it didn’t occur to him that he would play in the major leagues, let alone become one of, if not the greatest all-around baseball players of all time. He was born into the segregated South, after all, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. So there were limits, but Willie Mays insists the circumstances didn’t fill him with anger. 00:03:11    WILLIE MAYS: Well, I was — like I say, I was very fortunate to play sports. All the anger in me went out. I had to do what I had to do, you know. And you — if you stay angry all the time then you really don't have a good life, you know. We knew what was going on, you know, but again, you — if you just stay focused on what is happening as far as your life is concerned, I don't think you have a hard time. 00:03:40    Sure, we went to an all-black school. I didn't — you know, it wasn't mixed or anything, and when you say there had to be some anger there, sure, but what good was it going to do? Who are you going to go to, to tell about what is happening as far as your community was concerned? So you — my father was a type of guy that would go and pull the punches for me when — like I said, when I had a job that I didn’t like and it wasn't good for me, he would say, "Hey, don't work. You’re going to play baseball." 00:04:14    And I really didn’t understand what he was talking about at that time, but he was saying, "You're not going into a cotton field, that's number one. That means picking cotton down there and putting it in the sack, carrying it on your shoulder. You're not going to do that. You're going to play baseball. You're going to be the best." 00:04:30    He just drilled it. I had the best shoes. I had the best glove, the best everything as far as sports was concerned. So my house was like a sporting goods shop. When kids didn’t have shoes, they'd come and get my shoes, wear them, bring them back. We had a good relationship in my community when I played, you know. 00:04:50     ALICE WINKLER: Willie Mays’s father may have done whatever he could to pave the way for his son to make it in sports, but he also insisted that Willie finish high school. When the Birmingham Black Barons made an offer to sign the 15-year-old, his dad struck a deal with the team’s manager. Willie would continue to go to school five days a week and play for the team on weekends and in the summer. His high school coaches actually weren’t too happy about the arrangement. 00:05:19     Once he went pro, Willie wasn’t allowed to play for his school teams anymore, and he had been the star of all three — football, basketball, and baseball. 00:05:30     WILLIE MAYS: Basketball was my second sport. Football was my first. Baseball was my last, but I picked baseball because it was the easiest of the three, and I don't think I had a problem with that, but the others I thought I would get hurt in, so I just picked that. And my father didn’t have money for me to go to college, and at that particular time, they didn’t have black quarterbacks, and I don't think I could have made it in basketball because I was only five-eleven, so I just picked baseball. 00:06:02    There was no height limit then in baseball. You’d just go and play and have a good time. 00:06:07    ALICE WINKLER: It may not have been his number one choice, but lucky for baseball, Willie Mays realized he loved the game. 00:06:14     WILLIE MAYS: I love defense more than offense, and defense, to me, is the key to playing baseball. I know people say, "Well, you’ve got to score a run," but you’ve got to stop them before you can score runs, and I used to love to run at a fly ball. I used to love to throw a guy out, but of course, I played good offense too. 00:06:32    But I just felt baseball was a beautiful game, especially at night. 00:06:38    The sun — I mean, you have the lights out there, and all you do is go out there, and you're out there by yourself in center field, and it's just a beautiful game. And I just felt that it was such a beautiful game that I just wanted to play it forever, you know. When — where I used to go to — you know, when I was in Birmingham, I used to go to a place called Rickwood Field, and I used to get there — for a two o’clock game, I'm there at twelve o’clock. Because why can you make this kind of money playing sports? 00:07:07    It was just a pleasure just to have me go out and enjoy myself and get paid for it. I didn’t understand why people didn't want to play, you know. So it kept — stayed with me all the time when I — until I got to professional ball, and then when I got to professional ball, I would try and help everybody because the game was so easy for me, you know. And it was just, like, hey, walking in the park again. 00:07:31     ALICE WINKLER: So how did Willie Mays get to be as good as he was before he’d even gotten to high school? 00:07:36     WILLIE MAYS: I don’t know. It wasn’t hard. It wasn't anything that I had to look for. When you say, how did I get to be as good, well, I was there. If you're talking about throwing a football, I could throw a football farther — if you're throwing a baseball, farther than anybody in my community or anybody around that area. Basketball, I would score 20 points, stop. That was enough. We used to have — guys used to bet on things: "Hey, he's going to score 20 points tonight," you know. 00:08:07    So I would never bet, but the guys around me — because I could hear them: "You’ve got to get 20 tonight," so I would — I was probably one of the best basketball players in my area, and when you say how did I get that, I really don't know. I just was creative. I just did what I had to do. You know, some guys that are so-called superstars can't tell you how they do things. 00:08:31    It's creative. You just do it — and whatever comes out, it comes out good. I never had any training. I never had a guy say to me, "Do it this way. Do it that way." Every team that I was on, I was the last guy to get picked. I'm talking about as I'm growing up now. I was the last guy to get picked. The reason for that is that whatever a guy couldn't play, that's what I did. 00:09:00    If a guy can't — if everybody came out, there was a pitcher needed, I’d pitch. If there was a catcher needed, I’d catch, and then I caught, but if that was the first baseman, shortstop, whatever position they needed, that's what I played, and I felt I was the best athlete around that particular team that I could do that. Most of them couldn’t do that. Everybody wanted to play a position. It didn't matter what I played, you know. So I just had fun and enjoyed it. 00:09:31     ALICE WINKLER: And what about all the hard work? The countless hours of practice under one of the toughest, most demanding managers in baseball, Leo Durocher? Well, turns out... 00:09:41    WILLIE MAYS: Let me tell you something. I came out of the Army in 1954. I hadn't played in the Army. I hadn't played for, I would say, about five months, because in Newport News, Virginia, where I was located, we played — we didn’t play from September until around April or something. I get out of the Army, three months early. I get out in February, end of February. I show up at spring training. I get there at five — I mean, twelve o’clock. 00:10:11    The game started at 1:05. Leo said, "Go put on a uniform." I go put on a uniform. I haven't — I'm getting off the plane, though. I haven't thrown a ball, haven't seen a ball in five months. I put it on, on the plane. He said, "Want to play?" I said, "Okay, I’ll go out." First ball hit was over my head against the fence. This was in Phoenix then. It was on Central Avenue, okay? 00:10:35    Next ball hit through the middle. I threw out a run. I go on to third. Next ball. Then Leo said, "Gee, you want to hit?" First time up, home run. Now I never worked at anything pertaining to sports. I think I should have, but I think — now it's two things, two parts here. I think that all athletes should practice. They should practice because you want to know what's happening as far as where the game is concerned. 00:11:03    I didn’t have to do that. End of spring training, when people go out running, you know, like they run laps around things. I would go in and sleep. I would sleep until they got through. Then I would go out, and then I would go out and run around the bases for a minute, and then I would hit. That's my spring training. I'd never had any problem as far as my body was concerned. I was very blessed with a good body. Never got hurt. 00:11:30    Never was in the hospital. The only time I was in the hospital was when I would get exhausted a little bit and go in for a checkup or something, but I was blessed with a body that I didn’t have to do all that, you know. Like, if I went 0-for-5 or 0-for-6, and I didn't get a hit for two days, I wouldn't take any batting practice for, like, two or three days because I felt I was tired. So I would go in and just rest and go play the game. Show up — if the game is one o’clock, I’d show up at twelve, go play the game, go back home, come the next day, play the game. 00:12:03    Never practiced, never did anything, but then when I got my body back together, I would go out and let the opposition see me. Only because, the opposition, let them see me, that I still can throw. That means I'm not sick. I'm just resting. That means don't run. That means I still can throw. So you had to do all of that in order to play sports, but my body stayed the same all the time, but — now you're talking about young people. 00:12:32    I think young people, when they go into sports, should practice. They should take orders as far as the manager, you know, whatever he gives you. I was lucky. I managed myself. Every manager that I had said, "Hey, play your game. You know what you have to do, but I have to manage the other 24 guys." I understood what he was saying to me, but I didn’t get out of line. I didn’t make mistakes. I would have a manager like Leo. 00:13:02     If you make a mistake, one hundred dollars. If you make not just a mistake — one mistake, then that's a hundred dollars. If I made another mistake, two hundred dollars. So I used to make maybe three mistakes a year, out of 154 games, so I had to do a lot of things where other guys can make mistakes all the time and nothing — you know, nobody said anything because they were supposed to make mistakes. Not me. 00:13:27    ALICE WINKLER: Playing the game of baseball may have been a walk in the park, but being one of the first black players to integrate baseball was not. Willie Mays told the Academy of Achievement in this interview about the earliest days when he was signed to a minor league team where he was the only African American player. 00:13:46     WILLIE MAYS: And we played in a town called Hagerstown, Maryland. Oh, I'll never forget this day, on a Friday, and they called you all kinds of names there, nigger-this, nigger-that. And I said to myself, "Hey, whatever they call you, they can't touch you. Don't talk back." Now this was on a Friday, and the Friday night I hit two doubles homerun. They never clapped. 00:14:15    The next day, I hit the same thing. There was a house out there, in the back there. I hit that twice. Now they start clapping a little bit. You know how that is. You know, they clap a little bit. By Sunday, there was a big headline in the paper, "Do Not Bother Mays." You know? Understand what I'm saying? They could call you all kinds of names. Now these were the first two games I played, and by Sunday, I come to bat, they’re all clapping for you. 00:14:43    And I'm wondering, "Wait a minute. What happened to the Friday? What happened to the Saturday?" This is running through my mind now. I couldn’t stay with the ball club, and when they dropped me off in Hagerstown, downtown in the black area, about two o’clock in the morning, three players came through the window, and they slept on the floor. 00:15:07    There's — one of my right fielders, Hank Rowland, one of the catchers, Herb Perelto, and another guy, Bob Easterwood, slept on the floor until about six o’clock in the morning. And I said, "Hey, man, I don't need any help here." I said, "I think I can handle whatever happens." "No, no, no. We’re going to stay here." They stayed with me until six o’clock in the morning. They got up, went back out the window, and came back around four o’clock, picked me up. 00:15:35    We drove back to the ballpark. Nobody knew about it. But I did. I was so thankful, not because of what happened to me. It's because those guys understood my problems. They knew that, hey, if something would happen, I might have gotten hurt, or I would have hurt somebody, and then I wouldn't have had a career. So my first three or four days in the minor league were my crucial days, and I over — you know — came that without any problem. 00:16:05    ALICE WINKLER: A year later came the call from New York Giants Manager Leo Durocher. It was time. 00:16:12     WILLIE MAYS: I said, "No, I don’t want to come, Leo. I think I'm having a good year here. I don't think I want to come up there." So he said, "Be on the next plane." That's the way Leo talked. "Be on the next plane." So I'm on the next plane. Actually, I was on the road. I didn’t even go back to get my clothes. They had to send for — when they called me, and I was in a movie, and it came across the screen and said, "Willie Mays, report to the box office." 00:16:38    Now I'm saying to myself, "Who knows me in Sioux City? This is my first time." So I go to the phone there, and Leo says, "Go to the hotel. I want to talk to you." You know, Leo had those — he had a very, very deep voice. "Go to the hotel, and I want to see you." So I went there, and I hear — Mr. Storm got on the phone, and he says, "We'd like to have you in New York. Do you think you can play a piece — how much can you hit? Can you hit 250?" I said, "I can walk that." 00:17:04    You know? So he says, "Okay, you be on the plane the next morning." You know, so that was Leo. You know, he was one of those guys; he had so much confidence in himself that he put it all in other people, you know. 00:17:15     ALICE WINKLER: But for the first time, Willie Mays found himself lacking confidence. 00:17:20     WILLIE MAYS: Not because of playing. I was nervous because I couldn’t hit. I was crying. I'm telling you. I — we had a pitcher by the name — he was coaching at that time. It was Freddie Fitzsimmons. He was my first-base coach, and he was, like — my guy would pitch me a lot of batting practice and stuff, so I was crying in there at my locker, and he came in, and he saw me, so now he goes to Leo, and he tells Leo, "Well, you better go see about your boy. He's in there crying." 00:17:51     You know, because I had played four games. I didn't get any hit, or got one hit, or whatever, you know. So I'm — hey, I'm nervous now. He’s going to send me back very quickly because that's the way they do it in the majors. If you don't hit, you’re gone, you know. So he came out, and again, he said to me, "Hey, you’re my center fielder. Don't you worry about anything else. Just go on home and relax." You know. So Leo Durocher was like my father away from home. 00:18:18     ALICE WINKLER: Leo Durocher is the guy who is cited as having coined the expression, “Nice guys finish last.” Actually, that’s not exactly what he said, but close enough, and it’s odd because Willie Mays has always been pretty universally thought of as a very nice guy, and he for sure never finished last. Among his many achievements, along with the 660 home runs and a place in the Hall of Fame, is a single catch he made on September 29, 1954, during the World Series. For baseball fans, it’s known simply as The Catch. 00:18:57     ANNOUNCER: There's a long drive, way back in center field! Way back, back! It is caught by Willie Mays! Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people! 00:19:15    WILLIE MAYS: People talk about The Catch, and I think — and I've said this many times, that I made better catches than that many times in regular seasons. But, of course, during the regular season, you didn't — and in my time, you didn’t have a lot of television, so a lot of people didn't see me play. A lot of people didn't see me do a lot of things, but I think the key to that particular play was the throw. 00:19:41    I knew I had the ball all the time. I — in my mind, because I was so cocky at that particular time when I was young, whatever went in the air I felt that I could catch. That's how sure that I could — I was — you know, be about myself. When the ball went up, as I'm running, I'm running backwards, and I'm saying to myself, "How am I going to get this ball back into the end field? How am I going to get this ball back in the field?" 00:20:05    Now as I'm — I got halfway out. Well, as I'm catching the ball, I said, "Oh, I know how I'm going to do it." And I said, "You stop!" And this — I'm visualizing this as I'm running, and I — it's hard to tell people that, you know, how — what I'm doing as I'm running. And I know people say, "Well, you can't do all that and catch a ball." And I said, "Well, that's what I was doing, okay?" I was running, and I was running. I'm saying to myself, "How am I going to get this ball back in the end field?" 00:20:33    So now as I'm — I catch the ball. If you watch the film closely, I catch the ball, I stop immediately, I make a U-turn. Now if I catch the ball and run and turn around — Larry Doby, who is on second, Al Rosen on first — Larry can score from second because Larry told me — I didn’t see this. Larry has told me many times, "Willie, I was just about home when you caught the ball. I had to go back to second and tag up and then go to third." 00:21:01    So he would have scored very easily, so I said, "Well, as I'm running, I’ve got to stop and make a complete turn." You watch the film, and you'll see what I'm talking about. I stopped very quickly, made a U-turn, and when I threw the ball, I'm facing the wall when the ball is already in the end field. So when you talk about The Catch, the throw was the most important thing because only one guy advanced, and that was Larry from second to third. 00:21:33    Al was still on first, and that was the key, to me, with the whole World Series. 00:21:38    ALICE WINKLER: It was one of the most famous catches of all time, for sure, but did Willie Mays think of it as his best catch? 00:21:46    WILLIE MAYS: I made a catch in Ebbets Field off a guy by the name of Bobby Morgan, and it was in the tenth inning, bases loaded. A ball was hit over the shortstop — on a line over the shortstop. Now you’ve got to visualize this — over the shortstop. I go and catch the ball in the air. I'm in the air, like this, parallel. I catch the ball. I hit the fence. Ebbets Field was so short that if you run anywhere, you’re going to hit a fence. 00:22:20     So I catch the fence, knock myself out, and the first guy that I saw — two guys. It was two guys — when I opened my eyes, were Leo and Jackie, and I'm saying to myself, "Why is Jackie out here?" Jackie came to see if I caught the ball, and Leo came to see about me. So I'm saying to myself, "This guy is thinking, ‘Very cool.’” You know? I'm talking about Jackie now. He wasn't even on the field. He was in the dugout. 00:22:48     Now I — this is my thinking. He may have a different reason, you know, but that was my best catch, I think. 00:22:54     ALICE WINKLER: After a lifetime of hits and runs and defensive plays, what did Willie Mays say was the greatest challenge of his career? 00:23:03    WILLIE MAYS: The greatest challenge, I think, is adjusting to not playing baseball. The reason for that is that I had to come out of baseball and come into the business world, not being a college graduate and not being educated to come into the business world the way I should have, and, instead of people doing things for me, I had to do things for myself. 00:23:33    I think that was nerve-racking for me because, after coming out of baseball, being this star for so many years, and now all of a sudden you're not the star, and that was frightening to me. I had to learn how to live life outside, but I'm a very lucky guy, you know, because I had so many things that I had to go through, and I had so many people that had helped me over the course of so many years, that I never had many problems. 00:24:08    Because if I had a problem, I could sit down with someone, and they would explain the problem to me, and the problem becomes like a baseball game. You're at home plate now. How do you get to first? How do you get to second? How do you get to third? Now, when you get back to home, the problem is solved, and that's when I used the business world. I used it as a baseball game, and once you start thinking the way you've been taught to think over so many years, you have no problems. 00:24:40    MUSIC: SAY HEY (THE WILLIE MAYS SONG) 00:24:40    When he hits the ball, it’s long gone man He hits it farther than Campy can Swings the bat like a little lead pipe When they reach the ball it’s overripe Say hey (Say who?) Say Willie Say hey (Say who?) Swinging at the plate Say hey (Say who?) Say Willie That Giants kid is great 00:25:07    ALICE WINKLER: That's Willie Mays, baseball legend, speaking to the Academy of Achievement in 1996. Next time you’re in the market for great stories and a dose of inspiration, come visit us again, or maybe you’ve got time for another one right now. Thanks for listening today to What It Takes. I’m Alice Winkler. 00:25:29    Funding for What It Takes comes from the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation. 00:25:33    MUSIC: SAY HEY (THE WILLIE MAYS SONG) 00:25:33    When Willie served his Uncle Sam He left the Giants in an awful jam But now he’s back, and he’s Leo’s joy              And Willie’s still a growing boy Say hey (Say who?) Say Willie Say hey (Say who?) Swinging at the plate Say hey (Say who?) Say Willie That Giants kid is great That Giants kid is great Say Willie Whatcha gonna say? Say hey

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August 24, 2017

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

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Academic Writing: Common Patterns, Part Two

The Everyday Grammar team often receives questions about academic writing. Students around the world want to improve their academic writing so that they can gain admission – and succeed – in a college or a university.  In this week's report, we are going to explore one pattern that is commonly used in academic writing.  You will learn to recognize this pattern, and you will learn how you can use it in your own writing.  In addition, you will learn about the times you might not want to use it. Common Structure: noun+that-clause The structure we are exploring is this: noun + a that clause. The structure is often used to evaluate, or judge, a topic or idea.  A that-clause is a group of words beginning with the word that. A clause has both a subject and a predicate. The predicate shows what is said about the subject.  The noun might come at the beginning or middle of the sentence. Consider the following examples:  "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." "This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think." In the first example, the that-clause follows the noun fact at the beginning of the sentence.  In the second example, the that-clause follows the noun belief at the middle of the sentence.  In both cases, the noun plays an important part in showing how a writer evaluates an idea. In other words, the noun helps show how the writer is taking a position and making a claim about something.  Let's study these sentences in greater detail.  #1 Showing Certainty  Think back to the first example sentence we gave you, "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." Academic writers often use the noun + a that clause structure to express certainty.  In the sentence, the noun fact plays an important role. When the writer uses the word fact, he or she is showing certainty. It shows that the writer does not consider the point to be a subject of debate.  The that-clause contains the idea that the writer is certain about – the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic. Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are grammar experts. They note that academic writers often use nouns or noun phrases such as conclusion, fact, little doubt, and no doubt to express certainty.  The that-clause can have any number of words or ideas. The important point is that it has a subject and a predicate. #2 Showing Possibility  A second common use of noun + a that clause is to express possibility. Consider our second example, "This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think.""  Here, the noun belief suggests possibility – it is possible for historians to change the way they think. Whether this is correct or not depends on the reader's opinion – and the persuasiveness of the author's argument. Conrad and Biber note that other nouns commonly used to show possibility include claim and assumption. Sometimes writers will use the noun possibility itself.  What can you do? The structures we have discussed today are common in academic writing. If you are writing for other purposes, you might want to use more direct language.  Take our example, "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." You might read this in an academic publication. This structure might not be the best choice for other situations – writing an opinion piece in the newspaper or an email to your supervisor, for example.  In those cases, it might be better to use more direct language. For example, you could write, "Here are the reasons why the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic…" Or simply, "People have long debated the theory of evolution."  Remember: you have many choices to make when you write a sentence. Learning when to use certain structures can be a long, difficult process. But, we bring this lesson to a close with the belief that you will succeed! I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant.   John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   evaluate – v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way predicate— n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject contentious –adj.  likely to cause people to argue or disagree

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'Accidental Refugee' Sees Trouble, Tragedy and Success

  Jessi Calzado-Esponda lives in the United States but spent her early years in Cuba. Her family lived in Havana. Electric power was undependable. The 29-year-old woman says her family would turn to music when the neighborhood lost power. “Music was always part of my life even from a very young age. I remember that sometimes when the lights would go out in Cuba, all my family would come out with guitars and there would be singing and there would be some dancing.” This memory is one of few Calzado-Esponda has from her childhood on the island nation. She left at age seven – but not by choice. Her aunt had decided to flee from Cuba on a small raft. The young Calzado-Esponda and her grandmother stopped just to say goodbye. But disorder broke out and the little girl and her grandmother were on the raft when it launched. Neither could swim. So, Calzado-Esponda became an accidental refugee, floating away from her home. “Literally in the blink of an eye, I lost my mom, my immediate family and my beloved Cuba,” Calzado-Esponda said. She would not see her family again for almost 20 years. The United States Coast Guard found the raft at sea and took the child and her relatives to the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They lived there for several months before they were moved to Tampa, Florida. That is when Calzado-Esponda’s American life began; it is a story almost as unusual as the one that got her to the United States. At one time homeless, she later launched a travel agency which specializes in group trips to Cuba. Homeless in America Calzado-Esponda remembers her first years in the U.S. as happy ones, but she missed her parents and brother. Several years after their arrival in Tampa, Calzado-Esponda’s aunt killed herself. “It was like losing a second mother all over again,” Calzado-Esponda said. The severe financial loss made the situation more complex. Her aunt had worked in a good-paying job. Calzado-Esponda and her grandmother had little money and moved into a homeless shelter. “It was just really, really, really hard,” Calzado-Esponda told VOA. Sharing a bedroom with strangers and having to eat meals at set times were not things she was used to. But something wonderful happened when she was about 12 years old. A music teacher and shelter volunteer took an interest in Calzado-Esponda. The teacher urged her to play the piano and other musical instruments. This led to a six-year study program with what was then the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs. She received financial aid to pay for her training. Traveling with the choir, Calzado-Esponda developed a love of traveling, which would be important later in her life. During that period, the homeless shelter helped her grandmother find a job. Calzado-Esponda says her grandmother never learned to speak English or drive a car. But she was able to earn enough to move out of the shelter and into an apartment. “Little by little, of course we struggled here and there, but we made it. And, again, it was a lot to do with the community and the support that we got from our community.” Cuba Inspires Calzado-Esponda moved in her twenties to Washington, D.C. She found a job in the office of a U.S. congressman. But at 27, she suddenly faced another major challenge. A car accident left her with a severe brain injury. The injury forced her to leave her job. The young woman suffered some memory loss. She could not remember people’s names or what she said to others. She was often sick to her stomach and her back hurt. Calzado-Esponda says the injury was one of the most heartbreaking things she had experienced. But, slowly she recovered. She says she still has some really hard days but that she chooses to “get up the next day and try again.” Calzado-Esponda got a visa to return to Cuba when she learned her mother was sick. It had been twenty years since she left the island accidentally. She had never returned. Sadly, the day before Calzado-Esponda arrived in Cuba, her mother died. “So, the very first time I ever met my whole family was at my mom’s funeral. And it’s one of those things that’s very surreal and it’s also very bittersweet.” She says she was amazed at the love and support she received. Just after the visit, then-President Barack Obama announced an easing of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. That is when Calzado-Esponda started her travel agency. She named it Cuba Inspires. After more than a year of operation, her business is off to a good start. Among her first clients were the reality television stars, the Kardashians. Calzado-Esponda hopes to build on her success with events, such as the U.S./Cuban youth choir competition, for which she recently won permission. She sees herself as an unofficial ambassador. ​ "I’ve always considered the United States and Cuba kind of like two divorced parents and, like, the United States being my father, Cuba being my mother. And it is my job to kind of bridge the differences between both of them, because I love both of them." I’m Dan Friedell. And I’m Caty Weaver.   June Soh reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted her report for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   aunt – n. the sister of one’s father or mother; the wife of one’s uncle or aunt raft – n. a flat structure for transportation on water blink of an eye – expression – very quickly choir – n. a singing group apartment – n. a room or several rooms that is used as a place to live client – n. someone who uses the professional services or advice of another divorce – v. to legally end one’s marriage; to make or keep separate We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Girl Scouts Accuse Boy Scouts of Stealing New Members

The Girls Scouts of America is accusing the Boy Scouts of America of secretly trying to recruit girls. Girl Scouts President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan wrote a letter to Boy Scouts President Randall Stephenson. In it, Hannan said her organization was upset to learn that the Boy Scouts were talking to young parents about creating programs for their daughters. "We were disappointed in the lack of transparency as we learned that you are… testing the appeal of a girls' offering to millennial parents," she wrote. Hannan also said in her letter that she thought the Boy Scouts were being dishonest about being only for boys. Instead, she said, the Boy Scouts are creating a model for both boys and girls. Membership in the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts has declined in recent years. Both organizations have lost more than 1 million members from their highest rates. In answer, top leaders met this month to discuss working together. However, Hannan wrote that she believed the Boy Scouts had already started to create coed programs that would damage the Girl Scouts. The letter was first reported by BuzzFeed News. Decline in membership The Boy Scouts confirmed in a statement to The Washington Post that it is considering including girls in its organization. However, the organization said it is not doing so to increase its numbers. Instead, it is responding to requests from families who want their daughters to be a part of the same organization as their sons. "The Boy Scouts of America believes in the benefit of single-gender programs," said Effie Delimarkos, director of national communications for the Boy Scouts, in a statement. But, she added, many boys and girls are not in either the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts. So, Delimarkos wrote, the Boy Scouts are trying to help families by creating programs that fit into their busy lives. The programs aim to “deliver character development and values-based leadership training,'' Delimarkos said. Some women outside the Girl Scouts have asked the Boy Scouts to include girls. In February, after the Boy Scouts announced it would admit transgender children in its programs, the National Organization for Women (NOW) praised the group. It asked the Boy Scouts to honor its promise to “help all children by permitting girls to gain full membership." NOW said it was inspired by the efforts of a 15-year-old New York City girl, Sydney Ireland, to act like her older brother, who is an Eagle Scout. Unlike the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts have continued to allow only girls in their programs. They say empowering girls is their most important purpose. I’m Phil Dierking    This story was originally written for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.  Do you think the Boy Scouts should allow females into their organization?  Should Girl Scouts allow males to join?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story    coed - adj. having or including both men and women empower - v.  to give power to (someone) gender - n.  the state of being male or female  millennial - n. a person who was born in the 1980s or 1990s recruit - v.  to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc. transgender - adj. of or relating to people who feel that their true nature does not match their sex at birth

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Malia Obama Moves in for First Year at Harvard

This is What’s Trending Today… While many people were busy looking at the solar eclipse on Monday, something else happened at Harvard University in the state of Massachusetts. Malia Obama, the eldest daughter of former U.S. president Barack Obama, moved into her room at Harvard University. Harvard is one of the most famous universities in the United States. Both Barack and Michelle Obama attended law school at Harvard. Malia graduated from high school in Washington, D.C. last year. She spent what is known as a “gap year” doing an internship with a film producer in New York City. Many people used social media to post messages saying they saw Malia or her famous parents on campus. One Twitter user, Kyle, wrote: “Malia Obama is moving into her dorm like 30 yards from mine as I’m typing this…” The Boston Globe newspaper sent a reporter to the campus to ask Malia questions. The reporter saw her standing outside an old brick building, talking with other students. She looked like any other freshman, the reporter wrote. The word freshman refers to a first-year college student. Malia told the reporter she could not speak with him, but “politely returned a handshake.” The reporter spoke with the parents of another student who lives in the same building, known as a dormitory, as Malia Obama. The parent said she was glad her son would be living in a building that probably would be a little safer than the others. Another daughter of a president is starting at a new school this week, too. That is Tiffany Trump. She is going to law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Malia and Tiffany are the latest in a long line of famous young people going to colleges. Chelsea Clinton went to Stanford University in the 1990s when her father was president. Actress Emma Watson, from the Harry Potter movies, recently went to Brown University. She followed the footsteps of actresses Jodie Foster at Yale and Brooke Shields at Princeton University in the 1980s. Ellis Cashmore is a sociology professor. He told The Washington Post that college campuses are filled with smart, experienced young people. In many cases, they have done just as many interesting things as the celebrities. He said other students would look “pathetic” if they were caught taking photos of Malia Obama. Malia Obama has one big advantage compared to Chelsea Clinton or Tiffany Trump. Her father is no longer president. Chelsea came to California with her parents aboard Air Force One, the president’s airplane. She drove to campus along with a number of other cars, known as a motorcade, that protect the president. She was protected by the U.S. Secret Service. The Secret Service will still keep an eye on Malia, too. But probably not in the same way it will watch over Tiffany Trump. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Anna Mateo. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on reports by the Boston Globe and Washington Post. Hai Do was the editor. How do you think Malia Obama will do at Harvard? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   internship – n. the time a student or recent graduate spends working at a job in order to get experience politely – adv. showing good manners or respect pathetic – adj. very bad, poor, weak sociology– n. the study of society, social institutions and social relationships advantage– n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others keep an eye on– v. to keep watch over, observe

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Largest Single US Lottery Payout Gives Winner $759 Million

A very lucky person has won the largest single lottery payout in United States history - $758.7 million. A 53-year-old hospital worker from Massachusetts, Mavis Wanczyk, came forward Thursday to claim her prize in the Powerball drawing. She said she had quit her job and wanted to take some time to relax. Lottery officials say she chose to take a single payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes. Winners can also choose to receive the jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years. The winning numbers were drawn Wednesday night in the Powerball, which is played in most U.S. states. The matching numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, with the Powerball number 4. Wanczyk bought her ticket Wednesday at a store in a small Massachusetts town. She said for some of the winning numbers, she chose birthdays of people she knows. The jackpot was the second-largest overall lottery prize in U.S. history. The biggest jackpot ever was a $1.6 billion Powerball payout in 2016. But that prize was shared among three winners. Lottery officials reported the odds of winning Wednesday’s Powerball were one in 292.2 million. The Powerball lottery is held twice a week, with numbers drawn from two containers. One container holds 69 numbered balls, from which five are drawn. Another ball – known as the Powerball - is selected from the other container. To win the full jackpot, a person must match all six numbers. Why does the jackpot grow so large? The jackpot continues to grow each time there is no top prize winner. The last time someone matched all six Powerball numbers was June 10, when a California man won $447.8 million. The jackpots have been growing larger because there are fewer big winners. This is because lottery officials have made changes to the game that make the odds of winning more difficult, The Washington Post reports. Two years ago, the chances of winning were about 1 in 175 million. This compares to the latest drawing’s odds of one in 292.2 million.   This resulted from a change to the game in October 2015, when Powerball increased the number of balls from 59 to 69, according to the newspaper. Experts say the bigger the jackpot gets, the amount of media coverage also increases, driving ticket sales higher and higher. Several studies have shown that lower-income Americans buy most of the lottery tickets. American states benefit from lottery sale But the huge lottery payoffs do not only benefit the winners. U.S. states participating in lotteries also get a percentage of revenue, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Some states put the lottery earnings in a general state fund, which can be used for many things. But many others set the money aside for specific purposes - such as education, environmental programs or anti-crime efforts. Some states even earn more money from the lottery than from income taxes on companies, according to Reuters news agency. 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. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Do you play the lottery? Does a bigger jackpot want you to buy a ticket? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   relax – v.  spend time resting or doing enjoyable things jackpot – n. large amount of money won in a game of chance odds – n. the probability that something will happen benefit – v. be useful or helpful revenue – n. money collected for public use potential – adj. capable of becoming something in the future  

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News Words: Maintain

Is it a good thing to maintain something? Learn the meaning of maintain is in this week's News Words.

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