Thai Street Food ‘Queen’ Wins Michelin Star Award

  Bangkok, Thailand, is known for having some of the best street food in the world. Now, one street seller is being officially recognized for her tasty creations. The roadside restaurant Jay Fai in Bangkok was recently awarded a star in the highly respected Michelin Guide to restaurants around the world. Officials from the guide visit restaurants and then give them a rating of 1 to 3 stars, based on overall quality. Jay Fai is like many other street eateries across Bangkok. It servers a variety of Thai dishes in simple surroundings. The owner and main cook is 72-year-old Fai Junsuta. She prepares the food in an open-air kitchen. She does all of the cooking in a couple of large pans called woks, and wears special glasses to protect her eyes from an endless stream of smoke. The Michelin Guide describes her restaurant as “a place that both taxi drivers and foodies wax lyrical about.” It says that some of the restaurant’s most popular food items are crab omelets, crab curries and dried congee. Many restaurants wait years to receive Michelin stars. But Fai Junsuta says was not aware of the honor before being chosen. "Before, I knew the Michelin name but I did not know it had to do with cooking," she told Agence France-Presse. "I am very proud." But she added that she would quickly be returning to the kitchen after attending an awards ceremony. "We do not have a lot of staff because I'm a bit difficult and crazy," she said. Jay Fai was one of 17 restaurants chosen for the first-ever Michelin Guide for Bangkok. Three of the city’s restaurants – serving Indian, French and European food - received two stars. The others – seven of which are Thai restaurants - received one star. Many other eateries, including 28 street food places, are also included in the guide, but they did not receive any stars. In announcing the selections, Michelin said Bangkok has learned how to successfully offer many kinds of international cooking styles without giving up its own food heritage. Thailand’s Tourism Authority signed a partnership with Michelin to create the Bangkok guide.   The partnership followed an announcement last year that Thai officials planned to ban street food sellers in Bangkok in an effort to clean up the city. The government later backed away from its plans to completely remove all street food vendors. But officials did tighten some rules to prevent sellers from blocking traffic and people. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and other sources. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Where have you eaten the best street food? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   wok – n. large, bowl-shaped pan used for cooking wax lyrical – phrase. talk about something in a very enthusiastic way staff – n. people who work at an organization heritage – n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation vendor – n. person who sells something outside  

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US Fishermen Fear the Growth of Wind Power Industry

  Fishermen on the northeastern coast of the United States are voicing concerns about the development of offshore wind power. Some of the fishermen are based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The town was once a major center for whale-hunting ships. The city was made famous in Herman Melville’s book about whaling, “Moby Dick.” New Bedford also has been one of the nation’s most profitable fishing ports for 17 years. But fishermen there now fear the possibility of having to pilot their boats through many wind turbines to reach their fishing grounds. The state of Massachusetts wants to build hundreds of the large wind turbines off the coast near New Bedford. The electricity produced would be enough to power more than 1 million homes. Eric Hansen harvests scallops from his boat in New Bedford. His family has been in this business for generations. The 56-year old spoke to the Associated Press about his concerns. “You ever see a radar picture of a wind farm?” he asked. Hansen added, “Transit through it will be next to impossible, especially in heavy wind and fog.” The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the government agency responsible for dealing with energy issues in federally-owned waters. An organization representing East Coast scallop fishermen has taken legal action against the agency. They are trying to stop a proposal for a wind farm of nearly 200 wind turbines off the coast of New York’s Long Island. Commercial fishermen in Maryland’s Ocean City and North Carolina’s Outer Banks have also raised concerns about being unable to reach fishing grounds. But supporters of the offshore wind power industry say they have learned from Europe’s experience with the technology. They also point to the opening of America’s only offshore wind farm near Rhode Island. They say it provides evidence that wind farms will not hurt U.S. fishermen. Deepwater Wind is a company based in Rhode Island that opened the five-turbine wind farm near the state’s Block Island. The company is proposing larger wind farms in other places along the East Coast. Matthew Morrissey is a vice president of Deepwater. He told the Associated Press, “We want to do this the right way, and I believe we have a path to do that.” However, fishermen are concerned that offshore wind farms will only lead to more restrictions. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management representative Stephen Boutwell said the agency has taken steps to deal with the concerns of the fishermen. These include banning wind farm development in some areas off Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York that are valuable to the fishing industry. The agency also has carried out studies on issues fishermen have raised. This includes questions about the effects of wind farm construction and electromagnetic fields on fish behavior. Deepwater Wind said early findings from studies of its Block Island wind farm show little harm to the environment. The company suggests that fish and lobster populations are “just as strong” as they were before the wind farm. The company says it has paid several fishermen who were temporarily unable to reach their fishing grounds during construction. There have not been reports of fishing boats striking the turbines.  But several boats have reported their fishing equipment getting damaged by undersea structures connected to the turbines. Richard Fuka is the president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance. He said problems with wind turbines have cost fishermen tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and lost fishing time. Also, U.S. fishermen are not pleased with the comparison to European fishermen. In Europe, 10 different countries have placed restrictions on fishing around the more than 3,500 turbines off their shores. U.S. officials and developers however say similar bans are not being considered, except during construction. Studies have been done on the North Sea of Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. They suggest the turbines actually support the growth of sea life. Yet, Merlin Jackson of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association said in Britain transit through wind farms remains difficult in bad weather. He said there have been at least two cases of fishing boats hitting turbines. Fishermen largely depend on the lights on turbines as guides, but they are not always taken care of well. Jackson added that America’s slower, more complex approval process for turbine construction has “forced more questions to be asked.” East Coast fishermen seem more united than those in Europe when wind farms are being developed. “If fishermen can be organized and be allowed to have input into the earliest parts of the planning process, then there should be a way forward,” Jackson said. I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Lucija Milonig.   Philip Marcelo reported this for the Associated Pres. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. How can the fishing and wind power industries work together? What will the future be like for both? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Quiz Now, test your understanding by taking this short quiz. ​ _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   whale – n. an often very large animal that lives in the ocean and that is a mammal rather than a fish turbine(s) – n. a tall structure that has large blades attached to an engine and that is used to produce electricity scallop(s) – n. a type of shellfish that has a flat, round shell with two parts and that is often eaten as food transit – n. the act of moving people or things from one place to another commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services electromagnetic – adj. describing a magnetic field that is produced by a current of electricity lobster – n. an ocean animal that has a long body, a hard shell, and a pair of large claws and that is caught for food allow(ed) – v. to permit someone to have or do something input – n. advice or opinions that help someone make a decision

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New Book Uses Photographs to Fight Stereotypes of Africa

  A new book tries to show what life in Africa is really like after one removes misinformation and some stereotypes found in western media. The book, called “Everyday Africa,” presents the major and minor events in life through the images of 30 photographers. It is now available in bookstores across Europe and the United States. The book started as a feed on the social media photo-sharing app Instagram. It was a project of two Americans, Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill. Now it belongs to a community of Africans across the continent. Showing an Africa most do not see DiCampo says the project dates back to 2012, when he and Merrill traveled to Ivory Coast to report on the end of its civil war. While speaking with refugees and soldiers about how the country was recovering, the Americans found that daily life was fairly normal for most people. However, they felt this information was not coming through in the story they were preparing. "We were seeing all these other moments that were much sort of truer to our daily life experience in that part of the world.” To capture those events, Merrill said they started using cellphones to take pictures of what they saw around them. “…You know, pictures of people going to work, or eating breakfast, or hanging out with their friends; things that were just more normal everyday scenes and we felt like there was really something to that, and that might be the most important thing we had to tell about that place, at that moment, instead of the crisis story."   DiCampo said he feels it is difficult to have an understanding of the world when all you see are extreme stories. The “Everyday Africa” Instagram feed was a way of seeing what daily life looks like in Africa from many different perspectives. The project is popular, and still growing. The Instagram account has over 360-thousand followers and an active community of photographers sharing pictures of the continent. “We've had lots of African photographers join, non-African photographers join, but we've also got some skilled amateurs. In Cape Town Barry Christianson is a computer programmer. Mahmoud Katub in Caro just finished medical school. I think that there's something about that mix of people that strengthens the community and that makes the work better.” Training students for better media understanding With the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, DiCampo and Merrill are using the Everyday Africa name to help educate students. They visit middle school classrooms in the United States to train students on how to document their lives and recognize stereotypes. In their visits with students, DiCampo says, they use the story of Everyday Africa’s creation to discuss how media representation affects them and their communities. They also show the students how to improve their own photography, with the goal of helping them create their own school or community “everyday” project. DiCampo and Merrill say their dream is for Instagram communities to be formed all over the world, documenting their everyday life. They hope that the book will give them the chance to reach more people and to show an underrepresented side of African life to the world. I’m Phil Dierking.   Zoe Leoudaki wrote this story for the VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted her story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Do you think your country is misrepresented in the news? In what way? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   amateur - n.  a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job app - n.  a computer program that performs a special function perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something moment - n. a precise point in time 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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Everyday Grammar: Common Transition Words

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America's Presidents - Donald Trump

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Lesson 15: Before and After

Summary Anna hires a trainer to get back into shape. Her trainer does not read her application carefully. So, he offers her a workout program that she does not enjoy.    Conversation Anna: Penelope, even though we both love speed walking, could we slow down a bit? Penelope: No way! I think because I’m walking with you, I’m walking faster. Anna: Come on, Penelope. Let's take a break. We've been speed walking since 8 a.m.! You're so competitive! You even wore your medals! Penelope: You brought your trophies! You’re out of shape. When we were little girls, we could speed walk all day! (pulls ahead) Anna: (chases her) Hey, wait for me! Hey, you know the speed walking rules! If both feet leave the ground, it’s running! You ran! Prof. Bot:  Anna and Penelope are doing something they both love - speed walking! They are also using adverb clauses. Adverb clauses tell us when, why, how, where and under what conditions. For example, "since 8 a.m." tells us when. Adverb clauses are dependent clauses and need an independent clause to make a complete sentence. Words like before, after, when, because, since, if and even though can signal an adverb clause. Keep watching for more adverb clauses! Penelope: Whew! That was great! Anna: (Anna catches up) Wow, Penelope, you’re still really fast! Since I’ve been working in an office, my speed walking has been much slower. Penelope: You are slower, Anna. Maybe you should hire a personal trainer. Anna: That will be great. As long as the trainer understands speed walking. Penelope: (hands her a business card) Try this company. After you fill out an online application, they will match you to the perfect trainer. Anna: As soon as I get home tonight, I’ll do it! Thanks. Anna: Are you my trainer? Alaskan Albert: If you’re Anna, then I’m your trainer -- Alaskan Albert. Because I’m from Alaskan wilderness, I’m skilled in all outdoor activities of the wild. Anna: That’s great but what about speed walking? Alaskan Albert: Speed walking? That's funny! Since I’ve been living in the city, I’ve combined wilderness training with a city workout. I call it “Call of the Wild Parkour!” (He howls like a wolf.) Anna: Okay … but seriously, when do we speed walk? Alaskan Albert: Your application did not say how funny you are! Anna: No. But it did say that I'm a speed walker! Did you read it? Forget it. We'll have to cancel. Alaskan Albert: Why? Anna: We can't train today because it's too cold and too windy. Alaskan Albert: No way! No pain, no gain! When you exercise in really cold weather, you feel alive! Anna: Really? Because right now I just feel cold.  Alaskan Albert: You're so funny. But seriously, after our training, you will be ready for any extreme physical challenge. Let's get started! (He leads Anna through some parkour exercises.) Alaskan Albert: Anna, even though you’re trying really hard, you’re really bad at Call of the Wild Parkour. (he howls) Anna: I'm bad at Call of the Wild Parkour because I don’t want to do Call of the Wild Parkour! (she howls) I am a speed walker. It’s what I do. It’s part of who I am. Alaskan Albert: Why didn’t you say something? Anna: I did. Several times! You thought I was joking. Alaskan Albert: Now I understand. Anna, I can help you., if you follow my advice, I'll put the speed back in your speed walk. (He shows her how to improve her speed walking) Alaskan Albert: Go, Anna, go! Prof. Bot: For more about adverb clauses, visit our website!   New Words advice - n. an opinion or suggestion about what someone should do application - n. a formal and usually written request for something challenge - n. a difficult task or problem or something that is hard to do competitive - adj. having a strong desire to win or be the best at something extreme - adj. (sports) unusual and dangerous follow - v. to be guided by (something) no pain, no gain - expression. If you want to improve, you must work so hard that it hurts. parkour - n. the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing. personal trainer - n. a person who teaches or coaches athletes or animals physical - adj. relating to the body of a person instead of the mind skilled - adj. having the training, knowledge, and experience that is needed to do something though - adv. used when you are saying something that is different from or contrasts with a previous statement wild - n. a wild, free, or natural place, state, or existence   Learning Strategy The learning strategy for this lesson is Access Resources. That means to find help as you learn. Sometimes that help can come from a book or an electronic dictionary. At other times, you can find help from other learners or teachers. In this lesson, Anna looks for help from a personal trainer. She has forgotten how to speed walk well. Penelope thinks that the trainer can help Anna, so she gives Anna his card. Anna accesses resources when she asks the trainer for help. There are many resources you can access as you learn English. Which ones work best for you? Do you use online dictionaries or grammar guides? Do you work with friends who are good at English? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email.    Listening Quiz See how well you understand this lesson by taking a listening quiz. Play each short video, then choose the best answer. ​Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. For Teachers Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Grammar focus: Adverb clauses (using even though, when, since, if, before, after, as, because) Topics: Describing exercise; Indicating misinformation​ Learning Strategy: Access resources   Comments Now it's your turn. Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of this lesson.

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Study: One Third of STEM Students in US Change Majors

  Most college students in the United States choose their major, or main field of study for their degree, before or during their first year. For Saskia Fagan, making that choice was not easy. Fagan, who is now 31 years old, grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland. From an early age, she loved animals. So when she began studying at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland in 2004, she expected to become a dog trainer. However, Frostburg State did not offer any degree programs related to dog training. Fagan chose to study psychology, instead. A few months later, she changed her major to biology. But then she decided she did not want to spend her life working in a laboratory. In her second year, she changed majors to another field of interest: fine art. After two years of studying fine art, however, Fagan felt that she preferred art as something she did for pleasure, not for work. So she made one final change into a field called liberal studies. That field let her design a major based around a mix of different subjects. Fagan finally completed her degree program in 2011 – seven years after she had started. The cost of adding extra time to earn a degree created some problems, she says. But, she adds, taking the time to find the perfect field also helped lead her to a career she has found very satisfying. Fagan is now a map designer. “It’s really important to know what you don’t want to do,” she told VOA. “If anything, those are great learning experiences, too, whether that’s a major that you tried and didn’t like or job that you had for a year and you thought, ‘This is not for me.’ If anything, those are just as valuable as knowing what path you want.” Changing majors in the U.S. Fagan’s experience is common in American higher education. About one third of college students in the U.S. change majors at least once. And many who do so began in science, technology, engineering and math – in other words, STEM fields. In December, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics released a study on students who changed majors. The study looked at 25,000 college students who entered into degree programs for the first time in 2011. By 2014, about one in three first-time students seeking bachelor’s degrees changed majors. One in ten changed majors more than once. In addition, the study found that students in STEM fields are about 6 percent more likely to change majors than non-STEM students. Tracy Hunt-White is one of the researchers who worked on the study. She points out that an earlier study found about one third of STEM students who changed majors left the STEM fields completely. They chose non-STEM related majors instead. The most recent study found that students who start in mathematics are the most likely to change, with 52 percent choosing another field. Hunt-White says she could not comment on the reasons students make these changes. But National Science Teachers Association executive director David Evans says he might have some idea why. He says the reason may be, in large part, due to the differences in teaching styles of STEM educators at the high school and university levels. High school math and science classes are often much smaller than they are at colleges and universities. So the students often feel they have a more personal connection to the subjects they are studying, and therefore their teachers as well, he says. And, Evans says, many professors feel college-level STEM classes should be difficult enough to make some students want to leave those fields. “There’s sort of a historic culture, often times in university education, especially in science and math, to think of the early courses … as being screening courses where the idea is you find out which students are ‘good enough’ to get through those courses,” he told VOA. “And so instead of being an educational regime that encourages students, it’s one that really filters.” Evans argues that as technology becomes a bigger part of everyday life, it is going to be only more important to understand STEM-related subjects. He says that, as a result, educators will have to learn to be more inclusive. Also, they will need to find ways to make the material they are teaching more relatable. Another big difference between high school and college-level STEM education is the way material is covered, Evans says. Once students enter the college level in mathematics, for example, they face much more abstract ideas. Evans suggests that college professors do not always do the best job of explaining how students will use these ideas in real world situations. Also, he says, many college STEM courses test students on how well they remember these complex ideas, not how well they understand them. The National Science Teachers Association released a series of suggestions for STEM teachers five years ago. They are for teachers at every level and discuss how to address the issues that Evans suggests make STEM fields so discouraging. Many STEM educators across the United States have begun to follow these suggestions, he says. The goal is to make sure that plenty of Americans stay in these fields throughout their entire education. “There’s no single thing that we could do, with one possible exception,” he said. “And that is, I think that if we could do something that would allow for … more time to be spent on STEM courses for elementary school children, that … might actually make a big difference.” Not everyone who majors in a STEM field in college goes on to work in that field. Yet Evans feels that if they start their STEM education early enough, that might keep students like Fagan interested as they progress. Then they can bring much-needed STEM knowledge along with them on whatever career path they take.  I’m ­Pete Musto. And I’m Alice Bryant   Pete Musto reported this for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. How common is it for college students in your country to change majors? How often to students leave STEM fields for other subjects? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   major – n. the main subject studied by a college or university student bachelor’s degree(s) – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study course(s) – n. a series of classes about a particular subject in a school screening – n. the act of examining people or things in order to decide if they are suitable for a particular purpose regime – n. a system of management encourage(s) – v. to make someone more determined, hopeful, or confident filter(s) – v. to remove something unwanted abstract – adj. relating to or involving general ideas or qualities rather than specific people, objects, or actions allow for – p.v. to make something possible elementary school – n. a school in the U.S. for young children

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'Cold Feet' and Other Cold Body Expressions

  And now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Perhaps that is why we have so many expressions that combine the word “cold” with body parts. The most straightforward example is the adjective coldhearted. Just as it sounds, a coldhearted person is distant and, well, cold. An action can be coldhearted as well. This would be one that shows no love or sympathy. There are many songs about coldhearted men or coldhearted women who, without feeling, broke the hearts of their lovers. In the 1988 song, Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul sings about the coldhearted man who broke her heart. He's a coldhearted snake, look into his eyes, Oh, oh he's been telling lies. He's a lover boy at play, He don't play by the rules oh, oh, oh ... The song was a huge hit. It seems a trend may have been set. In 2010, the Zac Brown Band released a song with the exact same name. Pretty little words covered your dark and crooked heart With a forked tongue I fell in love, Then I fell apart You are so Cold hearted Other similar adjectives often get a hyphen, like cold-blooded. Reptiles, amphibians and most fish are cold-blooded animals. This means they are unable to control their own body temperature. Mammals, on the other hand, are warm-blooded -- well, for the most part. There are some people in the world you could call cold-blooded. People who show no emotions or feelings are often described as cold-blooded. Cold-blooded people are hard to get close to. And they often do terrible things, on purpose. For example, the police might look for someone they call a cold-blooded killer. The person killed someone without any understandable cause - not in self-defense, fear or even anger. Killing for no reason is often called cold-blooded. Okay, enough of cold-blooded people. Let’s go back to fish! As we said earlier, most are cold-blooded. So, calling a striped bass or rainbow trout a “cold fish” is fine. They would not be insulted…if they could be insulted. But calling a person a “cold fish” is an insult. A cold fish is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. Cold fish do not offer much of themselves to anyone. However, not everyone who doesn’t show their feelings is a cold fish. Some people keep their feelings to themselves until they know you better. We could describe these people with the expression cold hands, warm heart. This means that a person may be very kind and warm. But they just don’t show their feelings very easily. Take my friend Celeste as an example. She doesn’t normally show her feelings. But she is always ready to help and is very kind. She is a classic case of cold hands, warm heart. Speaking of hands, the hands and feet are some of the first body parts to feel the cold. Getting cold feet is no fun – outdoors or in conversation. To get cold feet means to become afraid to do something you had already decided to do. We use this expression in situations that make us nervous or afraid -- from leading a big meeting at work to singing on stage in front of strangers. But we commonly use it in connection with weddings. People who are about to get married may begin to feel nervous as the day nears. They begin to question if they should take such a big step. If a bride shares these feelings of nervousness and uncertainty, a relative or friend might answer with “Don’t worry! This is a classic case of cold feet!” Another body part involved in our cold expressions today is the shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You ignore them. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has broken a promise, or to someone who has said mean things about others. Well, that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. In the Comments Section, let us know what you think of today’s show. We try to answer as many comments as we can. But unfortunately we can’t respond to all. So, if you don’t get a reply, please know we’re not giving you the cold shoulder. I'm Anna Matteo.   Anna Matteo wrote this story. Caty Weaver was the editor. At the end, Norah Jones sings "Cold Cold Heart," a Hank Williams song. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   straightforward – adj. easy to do or understand : not complicated sympathy – n. the feeling that you care about and are sorry about someone else's trouble, grief, misfortune, etc. : a sympathetic feeling forked tongue – n. the intent to mislead or deceive —usually used in the phrase to speak with forked tongue striped bass – n. a large silvery marine food and sport fish that has black horizontal stripes on the sides, rainbow trout – n. a large trout native to western North America that usually has red or pink stripes with black dots on its side classic case – n. a typical example specific – adj. relating to a particular person, situation, etc.

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Using Cats to Explain Cryptocurrency and Blockchain

  By now, most people have heard of bitcoin. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that has had a huge rise in value during 2017. Bitcoin however is just one of many cryptocurrencies. A cryptocurrency is a kind of money that does not exist in the form of bills or coins. It is not overseen by banks or supported by governments. It is exchanged digitally between buyers and sellers using encryption for security. Amounts of cryptocurrency are created through a method called mining by developers. Mining involves users of the system lending computing power to record the exact same transactions during a certain “block” of time. This activity is called a blockchain. A blockchain is a global record of how cryptocurrencies are exchanged. Because cryptocurrencies and blockchains are technically complex, they can be difficult to understand. This has prevented many people from using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.  One company is trying to change people’s opinions with its new online game CryptoKitties. The game lets people use blockchain technology to buy, trade and breed virtual cats. Axiom Zen is the company behind CryptoKitties. It says the game operates on a blockchain that uses the cryptocurrency ethereum, which is sometimes also called “ether.” People use ethereum to buy CryptoKitties. The game requires users to buy ethereum from an exchange site – such as coinbase – and then transfer amounts into a “cryptowallet” system called MetaMask. Once this is completed, people can log onto the CryptoKitties site and play the game.   The company says each kitty is unique, has a name, and is represented by a number. A new one is created every 15 minutes. Creators of the game say one reason CryptoKitties are highly collectible is because each has its own set of genes, just like people. When players breed kitties, the newborns carry on genetic traits of the parents. Elsa Wilk is the marketing director for AxiomZen. She says the worldwide response has been huge since the launch of CryptoKitties. One of the company’s goals has been to educate people who know very little about cryptocurrencies. “We have introduced blockchain to the masses by making the product user friendly, giving it a friendly face and really putting our own special touch on it.” But the game is not only about education and fun: people can also make a lot of money playing it. For example, some CryptoKitties are highly collectible and sought-after. Just days after the November 28 launch, people had reportedly spent more than $2 million on the virtual kittens. A third-party site that follows sales says several CryptoKitties sold for amounts equivalent to more than $100,000. The site noted that as of December 29, the most valuable CryptoKitty was worth more than $191,000. Elsa Wilk agrees that money can be made from CryptoKitties. But she warns people to be careful about how much they put into any cryptocurrency. She added that it does not cost a lot to try the game. “With CryptoKitties, we went out of our way to price the kitties in such a way that anybody can buy one. So if you have 10 dollars and an ethereum account, you can buy a CryptoKitty.” So what is next for AxiomZen after the success of CryptoKitties? “We are working on our 2018 roadmap and we've had a number of requests for battling cats or CryptoDoggies or CryptoDinosaurs. We haven't, I would say, finalized our plans around that yet. But I can tell you that we are considering a number of options and this is definitely not the last you've heard of us.” I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn reported this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   virtual – adj. existing on a computer or the internet cryptocurrency – n. digital currency that uses digital security measures to prevent it from being copied or misused encryption – n. the act changing (information) from one form to another especially to hide its meaning transaction – n. an occurrence in which goods, services, or money are passed from one person or account to another breed – v. to produce young animals by sexual reproduction wallet – n. a container used to hold money unique – adj. being unlike anything else; being the only one trait – n. quality that makes a person or thing different from another equivalent – adj. equal in value  

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Report Warns Against Selfies with Animals in Amazon

  Visitors to the Amazon rain forest in South America face different rules for how they can interact with wild animals. A new report issued by the animal rights group World Animal Protection says that animals suffer when they are kept in captivity so that tourists can touch and photograph them. The report is called “A close up on cruelty: The harmful impacts of wildlife selfies in the Amazon.” The group’s wildlife adviser, Neil D’Cruze, told the Associated Press, “We want tourists visiting the Amazon to know that if they care about wildlife, they should not use animals as photo props on their vacation.” Animals presented to visitors for photographs are often taken from their natural environments and kept in poor conditions, D’Cruze says. He added that animals that are touched and handled by many visitors each day can be harmed and experience stress. Educating for prevention D’Cruze says a solution to the problem is to better educate travelers. He supports programs like Instagram’s new campaign against “selfie” photographs with wild animals. Instagram users that search for hashtags such as #slothselfie now see the warning: “You are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behavior to animals or the environment.” The travel website TripAdvisor last year stopped organizing tours in which travelers have physical contact with captive or wild animals. National Geographic reporter Natasha Daly traveled to the Amazon earlier this year. She found that officials in Manaus, Brazil, have been actively preventing the use of wildlife as props for tourists. She said, “By the time I was there in mid-August, a lot of tour operators had stopped going to locations where the animals are brought out.” But she found that such practices continue in Puerto Alegria, Peru. Tourists beginning their Amazon trips from nearby Leticia, Colombia, often spend time in Puerto Alegria. Daly said she saw 20 kinds of animals brought out for tourists there in three days. Daly said visitors likely would not get a chance to see the Amazon’s famous, elusive wildlife without guides showing them captive animals. Day trips where sloths, snakes and other animals are presented to tourists for photos make it easier for visitors to see them. But she said educating travelers about these issues may change their behaviors, especially among animal lovers who may not realize the harm in touching and photographing creatures. “As soon as an activity crosses the line from observation to interaction, it’s probably going to be bad for the animal.” Many national parks in the Brazilian Amazon have policies for how tourists and guides can interact with animals. For example, the Anavilhanas National Park has rules that limit contact with the area’s famous freshwater dolphins. Te Batista has been a guide on the Rio Negro, which passes through the park, for 20 years. He says he feels there is a difference between observing animals in the wild and in captivity. “When tourists tell me, ‘I want to take the kinds of pictures I’ve seen on social media,’ I tell them they have to understand that those were taken with animals in captivity,” he said.   Sometimes, he said, he might pull a caiman crocodile out of the water for a few minutes to show it up close. “Within 10 minutes it will be back in the water,” he said. “It’s a different thing if that caiman is in captivity.” ​A developing country with needs Some Brazilian officials say outside organizations should not be able to tell local tourism organizations how to operate. Vinicius Lummertz is president of Embratur, Brazil’s tourism board. He said it would be impossible to observe and control tourists’ contact with animals across such a large territory. Brazil is larger than the mainland United States. The Amazon basin makes up about 60 percent of Brazil’s territory. Lummertz said, “This is a developing country that needs resources for education, health care, and then the world expects us to police the touching of a caiman on the head in an area about 60 percent [the] size of the United States? It’s not possible.” I’m Phil Dierking.     Peter Prengaman and Beth J. Harpaz originally wrote this story for the Associated Press. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.   Do you think wildlife should be protected, or made available for people to see and touch?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   tourists - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure​ captivity - n. the state of being kept in a place (such as a prison or a cage) and not being able to leave or be free​ selfie - n.  a picture that you take of yourself especially by using the camera on your smartphone​ interact - v. to talk or do things with other people​ prop - n.  an object that is used by a performer or actor or that is used to create a desired effect in a scene on a stage, in a movie, etc. encourage - v. to make (someone) more likely to do something​ basin - n. the area of land around a large river and the small rivers that flow into it​

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Program Trains Teachers, Students to Deal with School Shootings

Gun violence is a reality of American life. Across the country, at least 12 people were shot to death on the first day of 2018. A shooting can happen anywhere: in homes, businesses, on the street, and in schools. There were nine school shootings in the United States in 2017. They left 15 people dead and 18 others wounded. Now, a new simulation program is designed to help keep teachers and students safe from a shooter. The program is like a million other video games available. But this one is not really a game. It is meant to let the user experience what happens when a gunman enters a school. This simulation is difficult to watch, but the programmers say it can save lives. The simulator is a project of the United States Army and Department of Homeland Security. The program is available through an online training program called EDGE. That is short for the Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment. Bob Walker works as EDGE project manager. He says the simulation lets teachers choose and test several plans of action for dealing with a gunman. Walker provided an example: the mass shooting at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2007. Thirty-two students and teachers died in the attack. Some Virginia Tech teachers found setting up barriers behind doors worked very well. "So this gives school districts the ability to try out different things, see what works for their given environment." The goal is to give teachers, administrators, and even police a chance to virtually walk through an active shooter event at a school. Tamara Griffith works at the Army Research Laboratory. "So, experience builds survivability. The more experience you have, the better your chances of survival are. Griffith adds that the simulation helps users prepare for an attack. She says they can have different experiences, and see what works and what doesn’t work.” Griffith helped to develop the simulator. She says creating the program was difficult for everyone involved. She says the group sat down and listened to police dispatch tapes from earlier shootings. She says they were frightened when they thought about what was happening during those attacks. But their goal was to better prepare law enforcement officers and others who have to deal with shootings. The shooters, children and administrator in the game operate using artificial intelligence. This enables the programmers to test different safety methods to see how they work. The simulation is shocking and unpleasant. But the programmers say they are doing their best to prepare teachers for the worst that might happen. Tamara Griffith agrees. "We can prevent a lot of these deaths. We can prepare people better. We can make this a safer environment if we can get this into the hands of the right people." The program is already being used to train some emergency crews in the United States. The Army Research Lab plans to make a school version available soon, without cost to users. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Kevin Enochs reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted his report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   simulation – n. something that is made to look or behave like something else virtually – adj. involving an experience provided by a computer program; a world of images and sounds made by a computer artificial intelligence – n. the ability of computers to copy human behavior, such as making decisions or offering suggestions   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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