Food Cravings: They're All in Your Brain.

  From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. We have all been there. It's 3 o'clock and you've been hard at work. As you sit at your desk, a strong desire for chocolate overcomes you. You try to busy yourself to make it go away. But it doesn't. In fact, the more you try to NOT think about a square of deep, dark chocolate melting in your mouth, the more you want it. You can even smell it! Here is another scenario. Perhaps you are not feeling well. You’re coming down with a cold and feel rundown. The only thing you want to eat is a big, bowl of chicken soup, like your mom used to make when you were sick as a child. A food craving is a strong desire for a specific type of food. And they are normal. Most people have them even though what we crave might be different. One person might crave sweet chocolate, while another might crave salty potato chips. Sometimes the foods we crave are not super healthy ones but rather fatty or sugary foods. Or sometimes we crave foods from our childhoods, like American meatloaf, Polish pirogues or Vietnamese pho. Other times the cravings may be for something healthy but very specific, such as Japanese sushi or Korean kimchi. But where do food cravings come from? And how are they different from hunger? Scientists at the website How Stuff Works compare hunger and cravings this way. Hunger is a fairly simply connection between the stomach and the brain. They even call it simply "stomach hunger." The website explains that when our stomachs burn up all of the food we have eaten, a hormone (gherlin) sends a message to the one part of the brain, the hypothalamus, for more food. The hypothalamus regulates our most basic body functions such as thirst, hunger and sleep. The brain then releases a chemical to start the appetite. And you eat. A craving is more complicated. It involves several areas of the brain. These areas make up the reward center of the brain. A craving can also be tied to our mental state and memory.  So, some scientists call food cravings "mind hunger." Scientists add that while hunger is a function of survival, cravings are not. People often crave foods that are high in fat and sugar and not foods that can keep us alive. Foods that are high in fat or high in sugar release chemicals in the brain. These chemicals give us feelings of pleasure and even mild (and temporary) euphoria -- much like a drug. Back in 2004, researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine studied food craving and the brain. They used functional magnetic resonance imaging or, fMRI, to show that food cravings activate brain areas related to emotion, memory and reward. These are the same areas of the brain activated during drug-craving studies. The lead author of this study was Marcia Levin Pelchat, a sensory psychologist. She says that the finding of the study is "consistent with the idea that cravings of all kinds, whether for food, drugs, or designer shoes, have common mechanisms." They work the same way in the brain. Food cravings, drug addiction, and addictive behaviors such as gambling and over-shopping follow similar neural pathways. Studies show that our mental state affects our food cravings but not really our hunger levels. Also, our food memories affect what we crave and when. For example, if a child is given sweets when he or she feels sad or upset, that may lead to food cravings for sweets later in life. The reward system in the brain may lead us to seek out familiar pleasures. In a 2007 study, researchers at Cambridge University found that “dieting or restricted eating generally increase the likelihood of food craving.” So, the more you deny yourself a food that you want, they more you may crave it. However, fasting is a bit different. They found that eating no food at all for a short period of time, lessened food cravings. So, the next time you crave food from your childhood or have a hankering for something very specific, know that your brain may be more to blame than your stomach. And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. So, what foods do you crave? Let us know in the Comments Section!   Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ QUIZ   ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hypothalamus – n. a part of the brain that lies beneath the thalamus, produces hormones which pass to the front part of the pituitary gland, and is important in regulating the activities of the autonomic nervous system appetite – n. a physical desire for food reward – n. a stimulus (such as food) that is administered to an organism and serves to reinforce a desired response euphoria – n.  a feeling of well-being or elation activate – v. chemistry : to cause (a chemical reaction or natural process) to begin scenario – n. a description of what could possibly happen   come down (with something) – phrasal verb to catch or show signs of an illness run-down – adj. not used before a noun : in poor health or physical condition : worn-out or exhausted crave – v. to have a very strong desire for something : craving – n. consistent – adj. continuing to happen or develop in the same way mechanism – n. a process or system that is used to produce a particular result neural – adj. of, relating to, or involving a nerve or the nervous system diet – v. to eat less food or to eat only particular kinds of food in order to lose weight fast – v. to eat no food for a period of time hankering – n. informal + old-fashioned : to have a strong or constant desire for something

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2qcbcjh
via IFTTT

Tourism Is on the Rise in America's 'Coal Country'

  Two-thirds of coal industry jobs in Appalachia have disappeared since the 1990s. Now, the area is hoping tourism will help rebuild its economy. Appalachia is the name for a cultural area in the eastern United States. It gets its name from the Appalachian Mountains, and is the center of America’s coal industry. For visitors, history and nature are two of the main draws here. In one town in Ohio, people re-enact a Prohibition rally outside a former speakeasy -- the name for an illegal alcohol store or night club during the Prohibition period in the United States. In rural Kentucky, people are building an elk-viewing area on a former mountaintop coal mine. Virginia’s Crooked Road presents the area’s country music history; Ohio’s Winding Road takes visitors back to the start of the U.S. labor movement. Yet, often, American media presents Appalachia through stories of poverty and communities left behind. Todd Christensen is director of the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation. He says his organization’s aim is to present Appalachia as an “exotic, interesting place, not the godforsaken place that we usually get in the national press.” John Winnenberg is director of The Winding Road project centered in historic Shawnee, Ohio. He says that residents in Appalachia feel a sense of abandonment. Those feelings, he says, come from a history of timber, coal, clay and oil-and-gas industries bringing jobs and money to the area and then disappearing. Such feelings could change, he says, if locals succeed in building their own tourism-based industry.   “We’ve been owned before,” he said. “We don’t want to be owned again.” The promise of a better future for “coal country” is not new. Billions of dollars have been spent closing, reclaiming, reforesting and redeveloping former mine land since the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act passed 40 years ago. Yet, there is a new, more positive feeling toward Appalachia. Visitors young and old enjoy staying in a place full of stories built on struggle and hard work. In Nelsonville, Ohio, the Sunday Creek Coal Company was one of many companies that succeeded in the area’s mining peak, from 1850 to 1940. Today, remains of that period -- opera houses, speakeasies and railway stations -- are protected and promoted for tours, lodging and events such as the re-enactment of a Prohibition rally. Such efforts are not just for outside tourists, Winnenberg says. “We’re going for ourselves as well.” Ecotourism The Appalachian Wildlife Foundation is in Corbin, Kentucky. It is developing an ecology education site on Kentucky’s first mountaintop removal coal mine. The area is rich with wildlife like deer, elk, bears and birds. A wildlife center will open in 2019, as mining operations continue nearby. Frank Allen is the board chairman of the wildlife foundation. He said the area’s mining activities actually created a good environment for elk -- a large deer native to North America. The Monday Creek Restoration Project in New Straitsville, Ohio, has given locals their first look at a stream with clear water in generations. Nate Schlater, the project’s manager, says Monday Creek was once “a dead stream.” In 1994, it was considered unrecoverable. Today, 36 species of fish live in Monday Creek. “My grandkids are catching fish where there’s never been a fish in my lifetime,” Schlater said. Changing economy “Coal country” strongly supported Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. As a candidate, Trump promised to create more jobs in the coal industry. About 1,200 new mining jobs have been created across the area since Trump took office. But that does little to make up for the huge decline in recent years; in southwest Virginia, for example, mining employment dropped 45 percent from 1990 to 2014. The new economy appears to be bringing jobs, tourists and even new residents to southwest Virginia. One study there found that arts, entertainment, recreation and related fields added over 5,000 jobs between the year 2000 and 2014. The area’s professional, scientific, education and health industries have also grown, the study found. Still, the area has lost many more coal jobs than it has gained in other industries, Christensen said. But he added that communities in the area are “embracing” the creative economy, and the large numbers of young, college-educated people moving in. He added that visitors often come in with an expectation of what they think they will find. However, he says, “nine times out of ten, they leave with a different perspective than what they brought.” I’m John Russell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.   The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.   _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story    tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure draw- n. ​ someone or something that causes a lot of people to come to a place​ Prohibition - n. ​the period of time from 1920 to 1933 in the U.S. when it was illegal to make or sell alcohol​ exotic- adj. ​very different, strange, or unusual​ godforsaken - adj. ​not at all interesting or appealing and usually located far from interesting people and places​ abandonment - n. ​the action or fact of leaving and never returning​ peak - n. ​the highest level or degree of excellence, quantity, activity, etc. lodging - n. ​a place where a person (such as a traveler) can stay for usually a short period of time : a place to sleep​ stream - n. ​a natural flow of water that is smaller than a river​ embrace - v. ​to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2qgjQ0z
via IFTTT

Number of Orphans Drops in Countries Around the World

  After the execution of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, aid groups visited the country’s many state-run orphanages. All were shocked by what they found. Rupert Wolfe Murray is a British reporter. He traveled with aid groups to an orphanage for disabled children. “There was no heating, no windows, no bedding, no running water,” he said. It was overcrowded and under supported. The aid workers also found orphanage records. They showed that in a single year in the 1980s, 30 children had died of cold, starvation and disease. Similar conditions were discovered at tens of thousands of other Romanian orphanages. It is a different story today. About 7,000 Romanian children now live in Romanian orphanages compared to more than 100,000 under Ceausescu. Around the world, governments and private groups are working to get children out of orphanages. The number of children in orphanages is not confirmed. The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, estimates the number is about 2.7 million. Eastern Europe In the past, Eastern Europe placed children in orphanages at the highest rate in the world.  Now it is the center of the movement to empty them. In Moldova, Europe’s poorest country, the orphanage population has dropped from 11,000 to 2,000 since 2011. Aid groups did this by reuniting children with parents and establishing foster-care services. Neighboring Bulgaria used family-style care centers to remove children with disabilities from state institutions. UNICEF says the Bulgarian orphanage population dropped from about 7,500 in 2010, to fewer than 1,200 children today. Across the Black Sea, Georgia has had even more success. It reduced the number of state-run orphanages from 50 to two. The number of orphans dropped also, from 5,000 in 2005 to about 75 now, UNICEF says. However, Romania has made the largest improvement. The European Union has provided millions of dollars in aid to support Romanian child-welfare reforms. Private aid agencies like Hope and Homes for Children have helped place children with foster families or smaller homes where they experience a more usual childhood. Stefan Darabus, Hope and Homes’ regional director, says Romania’s next goal is to keep at-risk families together. This helps the children, and costs the state less money than an orphanage placement. In Russia however, child-welfare reforms have been slower. After a 2014 Human Rights Watch report found cases of abuse with disabled children in state-run orphanages, Russia created policies to help these children stay with their families or go to family-style centers. According to Russian officials, the number of children without parents has decreased almost 50 percent in recent years, from about 126,000 in 2011 to 66,000 in 2016. However, there has not been a major increase in adoptions. Historically, the Russian government has controlled orphanages. Now, for the first time, a private orphanage exists to care for children with severe disabilities. St. Sophia’s is run by a Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. In the past, few Russian families adopted children with conditions such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy. But St. Sophia’s has placed at least three such children in adoptive homes. Asia In China, most orphans are children surrendered because of medical issues. Many families, especially in poor rural areas, cannot support a child who will face high medical costs. Chinese babies with medical problems would often be left alone in fields and other public and private places, as a result. In 2011, China responded with an experiment. The government established so-called “baby hatches” attached to orphanages. The hatches provided parents a safe place to leave children they could not care for. However, many of the programs were suspended after being flooded with hundreds of children. China now wants to place such children in family settings. Last year, China had about 460,000 orphans. It cared for 373,000 of them through foster care or adoption. Only around 88,000 children went to orphanages. Still, the number of adoptions in China has steadily fallen, from 44,260 in 2009 to 18,736 last year. In India, the government says there are 20 million orphans and abandoned children. Some orphanages receive government inspections to enforce rules of care. However, there are hundreds of privately-run centers that are not inspected. ​ Americas Haiti suffers from extreme poverty and ever-growing numbers of orphaned children. The government struggles to manage the problem. There are about 35,000 children in 814 homes, says Haiti’s main social services agency. Officials say most orphans believe their placement to be temporary, so they could receive education and care their families could not provide. Cases of illegal adoption are common. Haitian parents also report of being tricked into placing children in orphanages seeking international adopters. The Haitian government created new restrictions on adoption after the deadly earthquake there in 2010. About 150 homes have been closed since 2015. However, new ones have opened to fill the need. In the United States large orphanages no longer exist. Most orphans and abandoned children enter family home programs, called foster care, or small group homes for children with special needs. Africa In Africa, Rwanda plans to close all its orphanages.  This is unusual, as there are few services for the millions of children living in poverty. The director of the Rwanda’s National Commission for Children says 3,323 children were in orphanages when the program began in 2012.  Now, the official says, all but about 235 have been reunited with family, adopted, or placed with foster families. The Rwandan government employs social workers to help children with the change from orphanage life. But critics say the program has moved too fast. There have been cases of families unable to feed their returned children, and some young people from the former orphanages are alone and homeless. I’m Phil Dierking. And I'm Alice Bryant    Alison Mutler, Gillian Wong and David Crary originally wrote this story for the Associated Press. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Do you think it’s better for orphans in foster homes, reunited with family, or in orphanages?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   adoption - n. the act or process of adopting someone or something​ child-welfare services designed to ensure that children are safe ​ foster - n. to provide the care that a parent usually gives to a child​ institution - n. a place where an organization takes care of people for a usually long period of time​ manage - v. to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.)​ orphan - n.  a child whose parents are dead​ orphanage - n.  a place where children whose parents have died can live and be cared for​

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2DJ9WWR
via IFTTT

Newly Discovered Solar System Matches Our Own

  The American space agency NASA and the technology company Google have identified an eighth planet in a faraway solar system. That solar system now has exactly the same number of planets as our own. Machines made the surprising discovery, not human researchers. NASA and Google representatives made a joint announcement about the discovery on December 14. The newly discovered planet orbits the star known as Kepler-90. The system is about 2,545 light-years away. A light-year is about 9.5 trillion kilometers. Researchers have named the planet Kepler-90i. Like Earth, Kepler-90i is the third farthest planet from its sun. However, Kepler-90i is much closer to its sun. It only takes the planet 14 days to orbit Kepler-90. So, its surface is much warmer -- 427 degrees Celsius. In fact, all the planets in the Kepler-90 solar system orbit closer to their sun than Earth does to our sun. So far, this is the only other eight-planet solar system that researchers have found. Eight is the largest number of planets ever observed around a single sun. Our solar system had nine planets up until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto did not meet the requirements to be considered a planet. Instead, the group renamed it a dwarf planet. But some astronomers believe there could be a large ninth planet far off in our solar system. They call it Planet X, and believe it is the size of Neptune. Researchers also believe there could be nine or more planets in the Kepler-90 solar system. Google used data from NASA’s special planet-hunting device, called the Kepler Space Telescope, to locate Kepler-90i. The company used the data to develop a computer program with machine learning. This means it can learn and improve itself without a programmer telling it to do so. The program carefully studies planetary signals that are so weak it would take humans years to examine them. Christopher Shallue is a senior software engineer at Google in Mountain View, California. He said, “This is a really exciting discovery, and we consider it to be a successful proof of concept to be using neural networks to identify planets, even in … situations where the signals are very weak.” NASA astrophysicist and Kepler project scientist Jessie Dotson said she is “so excited to see where this goes next.” Shallue partnered with astronomer Andrew Vanderburg of the University of Texas at Austin to develop this machine-learning program. The two trained a computer to identify planets beyond our solar system. To do so, it used observations of the minor changes in the brightness of stars when planets passed in front of them that the Kepler Space Telescope had recorded. Shallue and Vanderburg plan to continue hunting for new planets. They plan to use the program to examine the more than 150,000 stars that the Kepler Space Telescope has already identified. So far, esearchers have confirmed the existence of more than 3,560 planets beyond our solar system. The Kepler Space Telescope, which launched in 2009, located about two-thirds of them. Another 4,500 possible exoplanets await confirmation. I’m Pete Musto.   Marcia Dunn reported this for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. What kinds of new planets do you think we will discover in the near future? How do you feel this might change life on Earth? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   solar system – n. a star and the planets that move around it light-year(s) – n. a unit of distance equal to the distance that light travels in one year (about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers dwarf planet – n. an object in space that looks like a small planet but lacks special qualities that are required for it to be defined as such data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze, or plan something exciting – adj. causing feelings of interest and enthusiasm concept – n. an idea of what something is or how it works neural network(s) – n. a computer system designed to be similar to the human brain and nervous system exoplanet(s) – n. a planet that is beyond our solar system

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2DHQbPG
via IFTTT

Iran Protests: Dec. 31, 2017

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his people have the right to protest and criticize the government, in his first public response to nationwide anti-establishment protests that have stretched into a fourth day. On Saturday, as a counter to the protests, state-sponsored rallies took place around the country.

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2Ct2tOY
via IFTTT

New Year's Traditions Around the World

Barack Obama: African-American

  VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents. Today we are talking about Barack Obama. He first took office in 2009 and was re-elected in 2012. Because his presidency is so recent, this program will not try to offer a historical perspective. But one part of his legacy is already clear. Obama is the United States’ first African-American president. His father was a black man from Kenya; his mother was a white American from the Midwestern state of Kansas. For many Americans, Obama’s presidency was an important symbol in a country that permitted black people to be enslaved. And, even after the U.S. Constitution officially banned slavery in 1865, African-Americans have been extremely under-represented in the U.S. government.  By 2009, only five African-Americans had ever served in the U.S. Senate – and Obama was one of them. Even many people who did not vote for Obama said his election to the country’s highest office made them proud or hopeful. A public opinion survey immediately after Election Day found that two-thirds of Americans believed that the country’s racial conflicts could be resolved. Early life Obama’s parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. His father had won a scholarship to study economics. His mother went on to earn a degree in math there, as well as a graduate degree. The two married and had a son, whom they named after his father: Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. But the couple soon separated. The older Barack Obama returned to Kenya, where he later died in a car accident. Barack’s mother went on to marry another man. He was from Indonesia. The family moved to Jakarta, and the couple had a daughter named Maya. When Barack was 10, his mother sent him back to Hawaii to live with her parents. She wanted him to get a good education. Barack finished high school in Hawaii, then went on to Occidental College in Los Angeles. After two years, he transferred to Columbia University in New York. There, he completed a degree in political science. But Obama said the best education he received was in one of his first jobs. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago. He helped people who lived in public housing put pressure on the city government to improve their conditions. Obama later said the work showed him how important it was to understand the legal process. So he entered Harvard Law School. Over the next years, Obama worked as a lawyer, wrote a book about his experience as a person of mixed race, and married Michelle Robinson, a woman he worked with at a law firm. She and Barack Obama settled in Chicago and had two daughters, Malia and Sasha. When he was in his mid-30s, Obama began his political career. He was elected three times to the Illinois state senate. After 10 years there, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate in a landslide victory. That same year, Obama attended the Democratic National Convention – the meeting where the party officially nominates a presidential candidate. Obama was not one of the candidates. But the Democrats asked him to make an important speech. In it, Obama famously talked about how his life story was an American story. He said he was confident the U.S. could overcome its divisions and achieve unity. “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America,” he said. “…There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America. There’s a United States of America.” Only four years later, Obama would be elected its 44th president. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Listening Quiz   See how well you understand the story by taking this listening quiz. Play each video, then choose the best answer. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something firm - n. a business organization liberal - adj. believing that government should be active in supporting social and political change conservative - adj. believing in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2CvI5u8
via IFTTT

World's First Nuclear Fusion Reactor 50 Percent Complete

At the Geneva Superpower Summit in November 1985, American President Ronald Reagan met with the Soviet Union's General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders discussed international diplomacy and the arms race.  Gorbachev proposed to Reagan an idea for an international project to develop fusion energy for peaceful purposes  One year later, international leaders reached an agreement: the Soviet Union, Japan, the U.S., and the European Union would work together to design a large international fusion center. Later, other countries joined the agreement. Some 30 years after Gorbachev and Reagan's meeting, the project is continuing. The facility, named the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is often called the most complicated scientific instrument in the world. ITER is being built in southern France. And now, the director of the ITER project says the facility is 50% complete and on track to produce low-cost energy. This energy will come from what is basically a very small star at ITER’s core. Although small, it will burn 10 times hotter than the Sun. Fission and fusion All of the nuclear reactors in the world depend on nuclear fission to create energy. Nuclear fission uses the splitting of uranium atoms to create a lot of heat. The process creates a lot of energy but also dangerous radiation. ITER is different. It aims to use the power of nuclear fusion – the forceful joining of hydrogen atoms to create helium atoms. The fusion process releases a lot of heat but very little radiation. The biggest problem is that nuclear fusion requires conditions similar to the core of a star – although on a much smaller scale. Bernard Bigot is the director of ITER. He describes the extreme conditions scientists must create for fusion to take place: "The plasma will be at 150 million degrees. Very little quantity, very small quantity of matter, only 2 grams of hydrogen but with very high temperature. And we need to confine this plasma in order that is could fuse, which means collide and produce new atoms." Scientists are building electromagnets nearly 300 thousand times stronger than earth's magnetic field. These electromagnets will help keep the superhot plasma in the center of a tube. The job of building ITER is so huge that it requires the cooperation of 36 countries. The European Union is covering 45 percent of the cost. The final price will likely be more than $26 billion. The U.S. covers about nine percent of the total cost. But, proposed budget cuts would reduce U.S. financing by half. However, President Donald Trump has asked his administration to reconsider the budget cuts. If financing is not reduced, the first plasma ignition at ITER may happen as soon as 2025. The current plan is for full power production by 2035. I'm John Russell.   George Putic reported on this story for VOA News. 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. _______________________________________________________________ Quiz Now, test your understanding by taking this short quiz. ​ ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fission – n. a process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom is split apart plasma – n. a substance that is similar to a gas but that can carry electricity electromagnet – n. a piece of metal that becomes magnetic when an electric current is passed through or near it

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2C3g9fQ
via IFTTT

Restaurants to Offer Free Food from Leftovers

  Massimo Bottura is an Italian chef, with plans to open two new restaurants in Paris and Naples next year. But wealthy diners will not be welcome. The food will be free, made from marketplace leftovers and served only to the poor. Bottura’s Refettorio Ambrosiano restaurant in Milan already feeds the poor and homeless.  The restaurant is in an old theater in the outskirts of the city. Chefs at Refettorio cook free meals with leftovers from local shops. They use recipes created by Bottura and other famous cooks. Bottura told the Reuters news agency that he never thought leftover foods were a waste. “Bread crumbs, some overripe tomatoes, brown bananas…they are just opportunities for us…to show what we can do with our creativity.” Bottura started the project to reuse leftovers from the eateries of Milan’s international Expo in 2015. The project receives support from the church foundation Caritas Ambrosiana. Unlike traditional soup kitchens, the guests do not have to wait in a line to receive food. Everyone gets served at tables. This limits the number of daily guests to 96.  But Bottura says the experience can help his guests regain confidence and take back control of their lives. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says about one-third of the food produced worldwide each year is wasted or lost. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Francesca Landini and Agnieszka Flak reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in this Story   confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something creativity – n. the ability to make new things or think of new ideas foundation – n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society outskirts – n. the parts of a city or town that are far from the center soup kitchen – n. a place that gives food, such as soup and bread to poor people

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2ClS2N5
via IFTTT

New Year Celebrations Around the World

New Zealand, Australia, and surrounding Pacific Islands were among the first places to ring in 2018 with fireworks displays, parties, and other festivities. Nearly 1.5 million people gathered to watch a rainbow fireworks display above Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge and opera house.

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2zWloMM
via IFTTT

Everyday Grammar: Sign up, Sign in

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2CgPUXD
via IFTTT