News America

Friday, January 19, 2018

Lesson 17: Are You Free on Friday?

Summary Anna tries to plan to see a movie with a friend. But they are both very busy. Will they find a time to get together? What will they do? Speaking English has two ways to show something is happening at a future time. To form the simple future, use will and then the simple form of the verb. You can use will to express a desire to do something. The second form of the simple future is be going to. Use "be + going to" when you already have a plan to do something. Pronunciation There are also two shortened forms of future verbs. In casual conversation, most Americans will change going to to gonna. English speakers often change we will to we’ll. Another shortened form in this lesson is want to shortened to wanna. Conversation Anna: This city is very interesting, I really like my job, and I have some good friends! Speaking of friends … I see one now! Marsha! Hi! Marsha: Hi, Anna. What’s going on? Anna: Not much. How about you? Marsha: Busy as usual. Hey, do you wanna see a movie with me? Anna: Sure! I never have time to see a movie. When? Marsha: Are you busy this Thursday at 6pm? Anna: Let’s see …. I’m busy. I am going to tap dance with my friends Thursday night. Marsha: Tap dancing? That sounds fun! Anna: I’m still learning. But it is fun! Anna: Are you busy on Friday night? Marsha: Yes. Friday nights are when I visit my parents. Anna: What do you and your family do together? Marsha: We always eat dinner together and sometimes we play board games. Anna: Playing board games is fun, too! The word game Scrabble is my favorite. Marsha: I like Connect Four! Anna: I’m not busy Monday night. Are you? Marsha: I am busy on Monday night. I’m going to jog in the park with my friend. Do you jog? Anna: Oh! I always jog. Well, sometimes I jog. Okay, I never jog. But I will try because it is good for you. Marsha: I always feel great after I jog. Marsha: How about on Wednesday night? Anna: Wednesday night I am not busy. Oh, no, wait. This Wednesday night I will be busy. Marsha: What are you doing? Anna: I’m going to teach children how to play the ukulele. Anna: Now, children, play “C.” Good. I like your “C.” Marsha: The world does need more ukulele players. Anna: Marsha, it looks like we’ll never have time to see a movie. Anna: Wait a minute. Are you busy now? Marsha: It’s Saturday afternoon. This is always when I do my errands. Anna: Okay, but the new Star Wars movie is gonna start in 30 minutes. Marsha: I’ll do my errands on Sunday. Let’s go! Anna: Most days of the week, people are really busy. But it’s important to find time to be with your friends! Anna: Until next time! * Connect Four is a two-player connection game using colored discs. Writing What do you like to do with your friends? Is it easy or difficult to find time to be with your friends? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Tell us two or three things you do with friends using words like always, usually and sometimes. You can also download the Activity Sheet and practice writing about your schedule. Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. The learning strategy for this lesson is Evaluate. When we evaluate our own language learning, we think of how well we are learning, remembering and practicing the language. We evaluate after doing many things. For example, in the video for this lesson, Anna and Marsha talk about jogging. Anna evaluates her plan to jog: "I will try because it is good for you." Then, Marsha evaluates her feelings after jogging. "I always feel great after I jog." You can evaluate any time you stop to think about your learning (that is, monitor, the strategy in Lesson 16). Ask yourself: "Am I listening often to English? Am I practicing English every day? How can I learn more?" Evaluating helps learners to understand what is working well and make new plans for learning well. How do you evaluate your own learning? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy. Quiz Test your understanding by taking this listening quiz. Play the video, then choose the best answer. ______________________________________________________________ New Words Note: You can listen to the definitions of these words in the Speaking Practice Video. always - adv. at all times; on every occasion; in a way that does not change board games - a game (such as chess) that is played by moving pieces on a special board important - adj. having serious meaning or worth jog - v. to run slowly especially for exercise movie - n. a recording of moving images that tells a story and that people watch on a screen or television night - n. the time of darkness between one day and the next play - v. to do activities for fun or enjoyment Scrabble - trademark. a board game in which players use lettered tiles to create words in a crossword fashion. sing - v. to use your voice to make musical sounds in the form of a song or tune sometimes - adv. at certain times; occasionally Star Wars - n. an epic film series chronicling the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker start - v. to do the first part of something : to begin doing something tap dance - n. a kind of dance in which you wear special shoes with metal plates on the heels and toes and make tapping sounds with your feet teaching - v. to cause or help (someone) to learn about a subject by giving lessons ukulele - n. a musical instrument that is like a small guitar with four strings week - n. a period of seven days - in the U.S., a week is usually considered to start on Sunday and end on Saturday, while in the U.K. a week is usually considered to start on Monday and end on Sunday. will - modal verb. used to say that something is expected to happen in the future Days of the Week: In the U.S., the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday. Sunday / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday ______________________________________________________________ Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. Each Let's Learn English lesson has an Activity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice talking about activities and schedules. For Teachers See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Grammar focus: Simple Future tense with will and going to. Topics: Talking about schedules and leisure time activities Learning Strategy: Evaluate Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Future verb forms; shortened forms of future verbs and invitations. ______________________________________________________________ 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.

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

With Water Supply Nearly Dry, Cape Town Declares ‘Day Zero’

The city of Cape Town, South Africa has announced new water restrictions as officials warn the water supply could run dry in three months. The order – to take effect February 1 - will cut city residents’ daily water usage by nearly half over current restrictions. Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille announced that total daily usage per person will be reduced to 50 liters. The current limit is 87 liters per day. The French news agency AFP notes that an average shower uses about 15 liters of water a minute, while a toilet generally requires about 15 liters per use. "We have reached a point of no return,” De Lille said in a statement. “We can no longer ask people to stop wasting water - we must force them.” Cape Town, on South Africa’s southwest coast, is fighting the worst drought in a century. The city is home to four million residents. The mayor has identified April 21 as “day zero” - the date when officials estimate Cape Town will run out of its usable water supply. If no rainwater is received and current usage continues, the city says it will be forced to turn off the main water supply on that date. De Lille said many residents are not obeying the current restrictions and those using too much water could be fined. She noted the government also planned a new tax as another way to punish people who go over the limits. In an effort to avoid running out of water, the city started several projects to build up its water supply in recent months. These included drilling deep underground to aquifers and increasing desalination efforts. Bruce Hewitson is a climatologist at the University of Cape Town. He says while the new projects are a step in the right direction, they may be too late to change the urgent situation. “Of course, the challenge is how quickly you can do this. We are facing a ‘day zero’ in the next couple of months. And it takes time to put a lot of these measures in place.” Mayor De Lille agrees that the new measures will probably not be enough to prevent an eventual water cutoff. She said the possibility of “day zero” happening on April 21 was "very likely." I’m Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. The story was based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. George Grow 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 shower – n. a device for washing and cleaning the body toilet – n. a water-powered device for removing body waste drill – v. make a hole in something using a drill aquifer – n. underground rock that can hold water desalination – n. process to remove salt from something, (such as water) challenge – n. a difficult problem to solve

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

With Water Supply Nearly Dry, Cape Town Declares ‘Day Zero’

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Simple Past and Present Perfect

In this week’s episode of Everyday Grammar we’re going to help you understand the difference between the simple past and the present perfect. English learners often confuse these two verb tenses. Let’s start with an example. Can you tell the difference between these two sentences? Sentence one: I saw the movie. Sentence two: I have seen the movie. Sentence one uses the simple past tense. Sentence two uses the present perfect tense. “I saw the movie” and “I have seen the movie” both refer to an action that was finished in the past. But there is one important difference: “I saw the movie” suggests that you saw the movie at a specific time in the past. “I have seen the movie” suggests that you saw the movie at an unknown time in the past. Use the simple past to talk about a finished action that happened at a specific time. For example, “I went out with my friends last night.” The adverb “last night” is not required, but it does help clarify that the event happened at a specific time. That’s the easy part. Now let’s talk about the present perfect. You form the present perfect by using “have” or “has” followed by the past participle form of the verb. For example, “I have graduated from college.” The present perfect confuses English learners because it refers to a past action. It is also called “present perfect” because speakers use it to stress the importance of a past event in the present. The sentence “I have graduated from college,” emphasizes the present effect of a past event -- graduation. The exact time of the graduation is not important. There are four more common situations that require the present perfect. First, it can express a repeated action. When an action happened more than one time in the past, use the present perfect. For example, “I have seen the movie three times”. Second, it is common to use the present perfect with the words “for” and “since.” “For” and “since” are adverbs that tell about the duration of an activity. They answer the question “how long?” For example, “I have studied English for a long time”. Third, the negative adverb “never” requires the present perfect. You can say, “I have never been to France.” You would not say, “I did never go to France.” Finally, when asking a question in the present perfect, use “ever,” as in, “Have you ever won the lottery?” Listen for the present perfect question in this song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. I wanna know have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? In an informal situation, you can take out the word “have” in a present perfect question. Listen to actor Jack Nicholson playing the Joker in the 1989 movie Batman. Before the Joker takes his victims, he asks them an unusual question. Tell me something, my friend. You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Here’s a tip: pay close attention to adverbs. Adverbs give hints, or clues, about which verb tense you should use. Take a look at the reference list below. A good way to practice the present perfect is to ask an English-speaking friend if he or she has ever done something. “Have you ever flown in an airplane?” or “Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?” You could even ask something more profound like, “Have you ever seen the rain coming down on a sunny day?” I wanna know have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? I’m Ashley Thompson. And I’m Jonathan Evans. Adam Brock wrote and produced this story for VOA Learning English. Jill Robbins was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Reference Forming the present perfect Have/has + past participle verb Ex. I have proven her theory. Ex. She has gotten promoted. Common adverbs in the simple past: last night, last year, yesterday, today, ago, first, then, later, when Ex. Yesterday morning, I went to the store. Ex. When I lived in Boston, I worked at a deli. Common adverbs in the present perfect: before, after, already, yet, for, since, recently, still, time Ex. I have already eaten. Ex. I have already visited Angola three times. Tip 1: Be careful of irregular verbs in the present perfect. With irregular verbs, the simple past and the past participle form are usually different. INCORRECT: I have already did it. CORRECT: I have already done it. Tip 2: Make sure to use “has” for the third person in the present perfect. INCORRECT: She have not read the book yet. CORRECT: She has not read the book yet. Click here for a list of common irregular verbs. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story simple past tense – n. the basic form of the past tense in English. It is used to describe events that finished at a specific time in the past. present perfect tense – n. A grammatical combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect, used to express a past event that has present consequences. unspecified – adj. not specified or particular clarify – v. to make (something) clear or clearer: such as duration –n. the length of time that something exists or lasts victim – n. a person who has been attacked, injured, robbed, or killed by someone else pale – adj. light in color profound – adj. having or showing great knowledge or understanding

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

Africa's Largest Animals Decrease in Wartime

War can be deadly for wildlife, too. A new study reports that war is the biggest threat to Africa's elephants, rhinoceroses, and other animals. Researchers examined how years of conflict in Africa have affected populations of large animals. More than 70 percent of Africa's protected wildlife areas have been within a war zone at some point in the last 70 years. The more frequent the fighting, the greater the drop in animal populations, said Josh Daskin, an ecologist at Yale University. He was the lead author of the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. “It takes very little conflict, as much as one conflict in about 20 years, for the average wildlife population to be declining,” Daskin said. Areas with frequent fighting — but not necessarily the bloodiest fighting— lose 35 percent of their large animal populations during each year of war, he said. Some animals get killed by weapons of war. Yet, many also die because of changes in social and economic conditions in an area as a result of war, said Rob Pringle. He is an ecologist at Princeton University and the study’s co-author. People in and around war zones are poor and hungrier. So they may begin to illegally hunt animals for valuable tusks or hunt protected animals to eat, Pringle said. And during wartime, animal conservation programs do not have as much money or power to protect wildlife. Most of the time, wildlife populations do survive. Researchers have found only six examples of entire animal populations being destroyed by war. A large group of giraffes in a Uganda park, for example, died out between 1983 and 1995 during two civil wars. The new study examined the entire African continent over 65 years. The researchers looked at 10 different factors that could change population numbers. They included war, drought, animal size, protected areas and human population density. The number of wars had the biggest effect on wildlife population. The intensity of the wars — measured in the number of human deaths — had the least effect on animals. Greg Carr is head of a nonprofit group that works in and around Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. He said the study’s findings are not surprising. He said Gorongosa’s wildlife populations fell during the country’s civil war. However, that was caused more by poverty than war, Carr said. "With or without war, poverty is the threat to wildlife in Africa going forward," he said in an email to the Associated Press. Gorongosa is an example of how bad war is for wildlife. But it is also an example of how quickly wildlife populations can recover, researchers say. Mozambique’s civil war ended in 1992. The war hurt its animal populations. Rebel and government soldiers hunted much of the wildlife in Gorongosa, Daskin said. Species came close to disappearing. But today, Daskin said, wildlife is back to 80 percent of pre-war levels. "The effect of war on wildlife is bad," Pringle said. "But it's not apocalyptic." I’m Susan Shand. The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted the story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story Elephant – n. a very large gray animal that has a long, flexible nose and two long tusks Rhinoceros - n. a large, heavy animal of Africa and Asia that has thick skin and either one or two large horns on its nose Tusk – n. a very long, large tooth that sticks out of the mouth of an animal Giraffe - n. a very tall African animal that has an extremely long neck and legs Apocalyptic - adj. involving

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

New Market to Serve as ‘Model’ for Cambodia-Vietnam Trade

A new market will open on the border of Cambodia and Vietnam next year. Construction of the market began this week in Tbong Khmum province. A Cambodia commerce ministry official said the Vietnamese government had given a grant of $2 million to build the new “Dar Market.” The official said the market will permit people from the Vietnamese side of the border to buy products from Cambodia more easily. If the market is a success, he said, similar markets would be opened in other areas along the border. The two countries have a long history of border dispute. Officials from the Vietnamese Embassy could not be reached for comment. But the Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia attended Tuesday’s ceremony to begin building the market. He was reported as saying that the market celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cambodia. “It will improve the lives of residents in Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province and Tbong Khmum in Cambodia,” he said. The chief of the Da community said the new market would bring business and money from many places, not only from Tbong Khmum province. He added that it will also be used for trading agricultural products from Mondolkiri, Ratanakkiri, and Kratie provinces. Trade between Cambodia and Vietnam has increased quickly over the past five years. It grew from $3 billion in 2016 to $3.5 billion in 2017. The minister of commerce was quoted on the Freshnews website as saying that the new market could help increase trade between Cambodia and Vietnam even more. I’m Jonathan Evans. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted this story from VOA Khmer Service. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story province - n. a part of the country away from a large city grant - n. amount of money given by a government

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2rq9onN
via IFTTT

Could Vitamin C Help Fight Tuberculosis?

A new study suggests that a low-cost nutrient could help drugs fight tuberculosis more effectively. The study found that anti-tuberculosis drugs killed more bacteria in laboratory mice when the mice received vitamin C. The authors say the findings could offer a low-cost, safe way to reduce the long treatment time for one of the world's deadliest diseases. They also say the vitamin supplement could offer a way to fight tuberculosis that is resistant to antibiotic drugs. Tuberculosis, or TB, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The World Health Organization says 1.7 million people died of the disease last year. About 600,000 cases were resistant to the leading drug out of more than 10 million new infections. Antibiotic drugs attack TB bacteria, but a small number survive by going dormant. If the patient stops taking the drug too soon, these dormant bacteria increase and the patient gets TB again. However, the new infection often is resistant to the drug. Current TB treatment takes six months, largely to ensure the dormant bacteria die. But it is hard for patients to continue treatment for so long. William Jacobs is a microbiologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Jacobs and other researchers discovered by accident that antioxidants, like vitamin C, stopped tuberculosis bacteria in a test tube from becoming dormant "When we first discovered it, it was like, 'Wow! There's just so much we don't know yet. And wouldn't that be really cool if it really works," Jacobs said. The study was published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Jacobs and other researchers treated TB-infected mice with two standard drugs in the study. One group of mice received a large amount of vitamin C. A second group did not. The researchers found that the mice treated with vitamin C had about ten times fewer bacteria in their lungs after several weeks than mice treated with drugs alone. "It's not sterilization yet," he added, "but it's heading in that direction." However, the researchers have not carried out a similar test on humans. "The bottom line is that we don't know the answer," Jacobs said. "But I think what this study suggests is we should really go and [find out]." Other experts not connected to the study agreed. There has been very little research on vitamin C and TB. However, it is "a safe compound, it's widely available, it's inexpensive," noted David Alland. He is associate dean of clinical research at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. "I think that when we have those kinds of options to look at, we should look at them without having to spend decades trying to figure out exactly how they work." If the vitamin C treatment works, Alland said it would increase the effectiveness of the drug at very little cost. "You'd get a big bang for your buck," he said. I’m Susan Shand Steve Baragona reported this story for VOA News. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story tuberculosis (TB)– n. a serious disease that mainly affects the lungs vitamin –n. a chemical substance often found in food that helps the body stay healthy supplement - n. something that is added to something else in order to make it complete dormant – adj. not doing anything at this time: not active but able to become anti-oxidents – n. a substance that is added to food and other products to prevent harmful chemical reactions in which oxygen is combined with other substances. test tube – n. a glass container that is shaped like a tube which is closed at one end and that is used especially in science experiments journal – n. magazine that publishes on a certantc. sterilization – v. effort that leads to killing bacteria the bottom line –idiom the most important point option –n. one of several choices or possibilities

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2FR8lQL
via IFTTT

Chinese Company to Sell Cars in US in 2019

A Chinese automobile maker wants to begin selling cars in the United States by the end of 2019. GAC Motor on Monday presented two car models at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The new models included an electric SUV called the Enverge and a sedan. The new car models will go on sale in China later this year. GAC says it is negotiating with its partner Fiat Chrysler about how to sell the vehicles in the U.S. The company says it already has two research centers and a design center in the U.S. Davis Cole is an industry expert and chairman of the AutoHarvest Foundation in Detroit. The non-profit serves to connect industry inventors with each other and investors. Cole told VOA that Americans appear ready to buy Chinese-made cars. He said the automobile company General Motors already sells one, the Buick Envision, in the United States. He said the quality of Chinese-made cars earlier was, in his words, "not up to what most people would expect here.” However, he said there are clear signs of improvement. The new models show, he said, “much better quality and my guess is that as we look to the future, quality differences will probably disappear." Cole said U.S makers who want to stay on top of the market now must consider former competitors more as partners. He noted Buick as an example. He said it sells about three times as many vehicles in China as in America. In the U.S., GAC markets its cars under the name “Trumpchi.” Cole said the name was interesting, in his words, “particularly with the criticism the president had of China and their vehicles... that just adds to the drama." However, Trumpchi vehicles are already popular in China. In 2017, GAC sold 500,000 vehicles, which is 37 percent higher than the year before. The company has said the name has no connection to U.S. President Donald Trump. It has been used by GAC since 2010. I’m Phil Dierking. This story was originally written for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Does China sell cars in your country? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story drama – n. a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces sedan - n. a car that has four doors and that has room for four or more people. SUV - n. a large vehicle that is designed to be used on rough surfaces but that is often used on city roads or highwaysa large vehicle that is designed to be used on rough surfaces but that is often used on city roads or highways

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2rjJS3v
via IFTTT

Google's Arts and Culture App Goes Viral

This is What’s Trending Today… Google’s Arts and Culture App has been available since 2016. But this past weekend, the app went viral. Its popularity rose after the company launched an experimental new “selfie” feature. The feature uses technology to compare a user’s face with a famous work of art. The new feature asks users, “Is your portrait in a museum?” It selects from paintings of people that hang in more than 1,000 museums around the world. It also introduces users to the history of the painting and of the artist. All over social media, people have been sharing their side-by-side results. Some look similar; others really do not. Hollywood actors and other famous people have joined the fun. While the comparison photos may be everywhere, the face match feature itself is not. For now, it is only available in the United States. And Google has not yet said when it will make the feature available in other countries. It is not even available everywhere in America. For example, it is not available for users living in the states of Illinois and Texas. Some observers say that is because the laws in those states have restrictions on the use of biometrics. This includes facial scans, the kind of technology the Arts and Culture app uses. So, residents from those states send their selfie photos to friends living in other parts of the country to see their results. People outside the United States are looking for ways to use the face match feature, too. Instead of waiting for Google to make it available, some people are downloading the Arts and Culture app from iTunes or Google Play while using a VPN, or virtual private network. If the VPN makes them appear to be in the United States, the face match feature is available to them. Of course, there is much more to Google’s Arts and Culture app than the face match feature. Users can take virtual tours of famous museums, learn about the history of art and even watch ballet and opera performances from around the world. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I'm Dorothy Gundy. Ashley Thompson adapted this story from several sources. Hai Do was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story portrait - n. a painting, drawing, or photograph of a person that usually only includes the person's head and shoulders scan - n. the act or process of using a special machine to see the inside of something (such as a part of the body) virtual - adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet biometric - n. the application of statistical analysis to biological data.

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

January 18, 2018

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

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2mM3Myh
via IFTTT

News Words: Benefits

There are important benefits to turning unused land into sources of healthy food.

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2FU9hDN
via IFTTT