Saturday, February 3, 2018
Friday, February 2, 2018
February 2, 2018
A look at the best news photos from around the world.
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Father of Sex Abuse Victims Tries to Attack Larry Nassar in Court
A father of three sexual abuse victims tried to attack the former Olympic and Michigan State University doctor found guilty of the sex crimes. The incident took place Friday in a courtroom in Michigan during the sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar. The father was identified as Randall Margraves. Two of his daughters, Lauren and Madison Margraves, had just given their their victim impact statements with their parents by their side. The women said that they and another sister were abused by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment. After their statements, the father looked at Nassar, shook his head and addressed the court. He called Nassar a profane name. Judge Janice K. Cunningham told the man not to use profanity. Margraves then asked if Cunningham would give him “five minutes” alone with Nassar in a locked room. When she said she could not, he asked for one minute, and added that he was a distraught father. He then ran toward Nassar, who was sitting nearby. Courtroom police stopped Margraves before he reached Nassar. They held Margraves on the ground and put him in handcuffs. As police walked Margraves out of court, Michigan Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis advised families in the courtroom to “use your words,” not violence. "This is letting him have this power over us," Povilaitis said. "We cannot behave like this. I understand this is a remarkable situation. But you cannot do this.” Margraves responded, “You haven’t lived through it, lady.” Later Friday, Margraves returned to the courtroom, still in handcuffs. He apologized to the judge for losing control. The judge said there was “no way” she would punish Margraves for contempt of court. Cunningham told Margraves it was in her power to order a jail sentence, fine him thousands of dollars, or both. But, she said, “I don’t want to do that.” She told Margraves, “I understand. Well, actually, I don’t. I’m a parent. I can’t say that I understand. I don’t know what it would be like to stand there as a father and know that three of your girls were injured physically and emotionally by someone sitting in a courtroom. I can’t fathom that.” Cunningham also urged Margraves and others in the courtroom to respect the rule of law. The incident took place during the third and final sentencing hearing for Nassar. The charges in this case center on his work at Twistars, a well-known gymnastics club in Michigan. Following a similar hearing that ended last week, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in jail. More than 150 women and girls gave impact statements during sentencing. Among them were U.S. Olympic gymnasts, including 2012 gold medalists Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Jordyn Wieber. Late last year, Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in jail for possession of child pornography. Nassar, 54, worked with USA Gymnastics for more than 20 years and traveled to four Olympic Games as the team doctor. He was also a longtime doctor at Michigan State University. Both MSU and USA Gymnastics have faced strong criticism for what some call enabling Nassar’s abuse for years. More than 250 women and girls have said Nassar abused them. 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 guise - n. one of several or many different ways in which something is seen, experienced, or produced impact - v. to have a strong and often bad effect on (something or someone): profane - adj. having or showing disrespect for religious things distraught - adj. very upset : so upset that you are not able to think clearly or behave normally handcuffs - n. a set of two metal rings that are joined together and locked around a person's wrists remarkable - adj. unusual or surprising contempt of court - n. speech or behavior that does not show proper respect to a court or judge fathom - v. to understand the reason for (something)
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'A Princess of Mars,' by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Part Four
Editor's note: This is the fourth in our series of programs called “A Princess of Mars.” The story is from a series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Last week, we told how John Carter observed a fierce battle between the green Martians and a race of red, human-like creatures. He also saw the beautiful Princess Dejah Thoris being captured after the battle. Shep O’Neal is the voice of John Carter. Steve Ember is Tars Tarkas. Barbara Klein is Sola. And Gwen Outen is Princess Dejah Thoris. Paul Thompson adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Paul Thompson and Mario Ritter produced it. A short time later, John Carter, the Princess and their friend, the green Martian woman Sola, attempt to escape rather than face death. The Princess and Sola must flee while John Carter tries to slow the green warriors who are chasing them. John Carter continues to tell what happens in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ story, “A Princess of Mars.” JOHN CARTER: The huge green warrior Tars Tarkas came slowly toward me with his thin sword. I backed away. I did not want to fight him. I did not wish his death. He had been as kind to me as a green Martian can be. As I stood watching him, a rifle fired in the distance, then another and another. Tars Tarkas and his warriors were under attack from another tribe of green warriors. Within seconds, a terrible battle raged. As I watched, three of the attackers fell on Tars Tarkas. He killed one and was fighting with the other two when he slipped and fell. I ran to his aid, swinging my sword. He was on his feet. Shoulder-to-shoulder, we fought against the attackers. They finally withdrew after an hour of fierce fighting. TARS TARKAS: John Carter, I think I understand the meaning of the word “friend.” You saved my life when I was about to take yours. From this day, you are no longer a captive among our people, but a leader and great warrior among us. JOHN CARTER: There was a smile on his face. Once again, he took off a metal band from his arm and gave it to me. TARS TARKAS: I have a question for you John Carter. I understand why you took the red woman with you. But why did Sola leave her people and go with you? JOHN CARTER: She did not want to see me or the Princess harmed. She does not like the great games held by your people where captives are led to die. She knows if she is caught, she too will die in the games. She told me she hates the games because her mother died there. TARS TARKAS: What? How could she know her mother? JOHN CARTER: She told me her mother was killed in the games because she had hidden the egg that produced her. Her mother hid Sola among other children before she was captured. Sola said she was a kind woman, not like others of your tribe. Tars Tarkas grew angry as I was speaking. But I could see past his anger. I could see pain in his eyes. I immediately knew Sola’s great secret. I have a question for you, Tars Tarkas. Did you know Sola’s mother? TARS TARKAS: Yes… and if I could have, I would have prevented her death. I know this story to be true. I have always known the woman who died in those games had a child. I never knew the child. I do now. Sola is also my child. JOHN CARTER: For three days, we followed the trail left by the Princess Dejah Thoris, Sola and poor ugly Woola. At last, we could see them in the distance. Their animal could no longer be ridden. They were talking. When we came near, Woola turned to fight us. I slowly walked to him with my hand out. Sola was standing nearby. She was armed and prepared to fight. The princess was lying next to her feet. Sola, what is wrong with the princess? SOLA: She has been crying much these past few days, John Carter. We believed you died so we could escape. The thought of your death was very heavy on this woman…my friend Dejah Thoris. Come and tell her you are among the living. Perhaps that will stop her crying. JOHN CARTER: I walked to where the Princess Dejah Thoris was lying on the ground. She looked at me with eyes that were red from crying. Princess, you are no longer in danger. Tars Tarkas has come with me as a friend. He and his warriors will help to see you safely home. And ... Sola! I would have you greet your father -- Tars Tarkas -- a great leader among your people. Your secret no longer means death to anyone. He already knows you are his daughter. The two of you have nothing to fear. Sola turned and looked at Tars Tarkas. She held out her hand. He took it. It was a new beginning for them. DEJAH THORIS: I know our world has never before seen anyone like you, John Carter. Can it be that all Earthmen are like you? I was alone, a stranger, hunted, threatened. Yet you would freely give your life to save me. You come to me now with a tribe of green warriors who offer their friendship. You are no longer a captive but wear the metal of great rank among their people. No man has ever done this. JOHN CARTER: Princess, I have done many strange things in my life, many things much smarter men would not have done. And now, before my courage fails, I would ask you, to be mine in marriage. She smiled at me for a moment and then her dark eyes flashed in the evening light. DEJAH THORIS: You have no need of your courage, John Carter, because you already knew the answer before you asked the question. JOHN CARTER: And so Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, a daughter of the Red Planet Mars, promised herself in marriage to John Carter, a gentleman of Virginia. JOHN CARTER: Several days later, we reached the city of Helium. At first, the red men of Helium thought we were an attacking army. But they soon saw their Princess. We were greeted with great joy. Tars Tarkas and his green warriors caused the greatest excitement. This huge group of green warriors entered the city as friends and allies. I soon met Tardos Mors, the grandfather of Dejah Thoris. He tried several times to thank me for saving the life of the Princess. But tears filled his eyes and he could not speak. JOHN CARTER: For nine years, I served in the government and fought in the armies of Helium as a Prince of the royal family. It was a happy time. The Princess Dejah Thoris and I were expecting a child. Then, one day, a soldier returned from a long flight. When he landed he hurried to the great meeting room. Tardos Mors met with the soldier and reported that every creature on the planet had but three days to live. He said the great machines that produced the atmosphere on the planet had stopped producing oxygen. He said no one knew why this had happened, but there was nothing that could be done. The air grew thin within a day. Many people could do nothing but sleep. I watched as my Princess was slowly dying. I had to try something. I could still move with great difficulty. I went to our airport and chose a fast aircraft. I flew as fast as I could to the building that produced the atmosphere of the planet. Workers were trying to enter. I tried to help. With a great effort I opened a hole. I grew very weak. I asked one of the workers if he could start the engines. He said he would try. I fell asleep on the ground. It was dark when I opened my eyes again. My clothing felt stiff and strange. I sat up. I could see light from an opening. I walked outside. The land looked strange to me. I looked up to the sky and saw the Red Planet Mars. I was once again on Earth in the desert of Arizona. I cried out with deep emotion. Did the worker reach the machines to renew the atmosphere? Did the air reach the people of that planet in time to save them? Was my Princess Dejah Thoris alive or did she lie cold in death? For ten years now, I have watched the night sky, looking for an answer. I believe she and our child are waiting there for me. Something tells me that I shall soon know. Download activities to help you understand this story here. Now it’s your turn to use these Words in This Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on your use of vocabulary and grammar. ________________________________________________________________ QUIZ ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story aid - n. the act of helping someone : help or assistance given to someone fierce - adj. very violent stiff - adj. difficult to bend or move atmosphere - n. a mass of gases that surround a planet or star
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North Korea Launches ‘Army of Beauties’
North Korea is sending a 230-member all-female cheerleading squad to the Olympics in South Korea. Some observers are using the term “army of beauties” to describe the group. North Koreans who fled the country have mixed feelings about the cheerleaders. These defectors say the women will promote an image of the North that is not real. But they also say they hope the group can help expand ties between North and South Koreans. Army of beauties The cheerleaders are good-looking and relatively tall women, over 160 centimeters. They were chosen from North Korea’s top universities and do not have any family members who live outside the country. The most famous former cheerleader is Ri Sol Ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Before they go to South Korea, the cheerleaders are trained to remain loyal to the North Korean government and its leadership. But the training does not always work. Han Seo-hee was once a cheerleader. "Leaving North Korea and visiting overseas is like going to fight in the heart of the enemy," said Han. She visited South Korea for the 2002 Asian Games and later refused to return home. Misleading image Defectors from North Korea are skeptical about its move to suspend missile and nuclear testing. They see the suspension and the “army of beauties” as part of a plan by the North to improve its international standing and reduce support for United Nations restrictions. Skeptics say the cheerleaders can show a misleading image of North Korea as a peaceful and happy place. However, the majority of North Koreans live in poverty, and the country’s leadership has been accused of crimes against humanity. A 2014 United Nations report documented political prison camps and human rights abuses, including murder, enslavement, torture and rape. Bonding experience At the same time, North Korea watchers say connecting North and South Koreans at the Olympics can be a positive, helpful development. Giving people a chance to meet face-to-face can break down political stereotypes. "I am expecting that we will be able to feel the warmth of peace in that area, regardless of politics," said Kim Ga-young, who left North Korea in 2012. North Korean visitors will also be able to see for themselves the freedom and wealth of South Korea, which has a democratic government. The reality will likely be different than the image they expect. North Korean state media often shows South Korea as oppressive and poor. I’m Mario Ritter. Brian Padden reported this for VOANews.com. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story promote – v. to make (something) more popular or well-known skeptical – adj. having or expressing doubt about something positive – adj. good or useful stereotype – n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic
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What It Takes - Olivia DeHavilland
00:00:00 MUSIC: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD 00:00:06 ALICE WINKLER: When people talk about Hollywood’s Golden Age, they’re usually referring to that period between about 1930 and 1959 when the studios ruled, glamour was the order of the day, and people on screen talked like this... 00:00:21 LADY MARIAN: I know now why you tried so hard to kill this outlaw whom you despised. It's because he was the one man in England who protected the helpless against a lot of beasts who were drunk on human blood, and now you intend to murder your own brother. 00:00:34 PRINCE JOHN: You'll be sorry you interfered. 00:00:36 LADY MARIAN: Sorry? I'd do it again if you killed me for it. 00:00:40 CATHERINE: He must take me away. He must love me! 00:00:45 MRS. PENNIMAN: Catherine, you must take hold of yourself. 00:00:47 CATHERINE: No, no, Morris must take hold of me. Morris will love me! For all those — 00:00:53 MELANIE: We thought it best not to tell you, Scarlett, but Ashley and Frank and the others have gone to clean out those woods where you were attacked. It's what a great many of our Southern gentlemen have had to do lately for our protection. 00:00:58 ALICE WINKLER: That was the Adventures of Robin Hood, followed by The Heiress, and of course, Gone with the Wind. They all starred Olivia de Havilland, the only female superstar of the Golden Age who is still alive. Miss de Havilland turns 100 on July 1, 2016, so this episode of What It Takes from the Academy of Achievement is devoted to her life and career. I’m Alice Winkler. 00:01:31 OPRAH WINFREY: "Hattie Mae, this child is gifted," and I heard that enough that I started to believe it. 00:01:36 ROGER BANNISTER: If you have the opportunity, not a perfect opportunity, and you don't take it, you may never have another chance. 00:01:43 LAURYN HILL: It all was so clear. It was just, like, the picture started to form itself. 00:01:48 DESMOND TUTU: There was no way in which a lie could prevail over the truth, darkness over light, death over life. 00:01:56 CAROL BURNETT (quoting CARRIE HAMILTON): “Every day I wake up and decide, today I'm going to love my life. Decide.” 00:02:03 JOHNNY CASH: My advice is, if they're going to break your leg once when you go in that place, stay out of there. 00:02:08 JAMES MICHENER: And then along come these differential experiences that you don't look for, you don't plan for, but boy, you’d better not miss them. 00:02:21 ALICE WINKLER: Olivia de Havilland was 18 when she starred in her first movie. We’ll talk about how she got there in a moment, and how she came to change Hollywood forever, but first take a listen to her voice, recorded when she was a mere 90. 00:02:35 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: You know, thrust into my profession without any training whatsoever, I had to just flounder and just find my way. It was an agonizing experience. It's like jumping off a diving board in the Olympic contest without knowing how to swim or dive, and I just had to find my way. So one day, I said to Jimmy Cagney, "Jimmy, what is acting?" 00:03:11 And he said, "I don't know." He said, "All I can tell you is, whatever you say, mean it," and I thought that marvelous counsel. 00:03:29 ALICE WINKLER: Miss de Havilland sat down to record this interview with the Academy of Achievement in 2006. She spoke for three hours and seemed to remember every name, every story, and every detail from her life in the movies as if she’d just walked off the set. And even though she’s lived in Paris for the past 50 years, pretty much out of the limelight, she tells a tale with all the flourish you’d hope for. 00:03:55 For instance, when interviewer Gail Eichenthal started off by asking her how she came to be born in Japan in 1916, this is how she responded: 00:04:05 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: People ask me that question and of course, the natural reply is, “Well, my parents were there at the time.” 00:04:14 But of course, there's more to the story than that. 00:04:16 ALICE WINKLER: Olivia de Havilland’s parents were both British, and they met in Tokyo. Her father was a Cambridge graduate who was there teaching in the Anglican community. Her mother had a degree in music and went to teach choral singing. 00:04:30 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: She received a letter from her brother saying, "I have a post for you to come out to Japan," and at the age of 21, my mother set sail for Japan unchaperoned, and I said to her in the last days of her life, I said, "Mother, do you mean to tell me that you went out to Japan in 1907 at the age of 21 without a chaperone?" 00:05:06 And she said, "I was in charge of the captain." I said, "Mother, you were in charge of the captain?" And she said, "He went mad in the Malay straits." I said, "Mother, were you the cause?" And she replied, "There were some who said so." That was my mother. 00:05:31 ALICE WINKLER: Olivia de Havilland’s mother, it would seem, passed along her flair for drama and her independent spirit to her daughter. 00:05:38 MUSIC: GONE WITH THE WIND (SOUNDTRACK) 00:05:44 ALICE WINKLER: They moved from Japan to the United States when De Havilland was just a toddler. Her parents had split up over her father’s likely infidelities, so it was just her, her mom, and her baby sister, Joan. Joan would grow up, by the way, to become the actress Joan Fontaine. They settled in the tiny town of Saratoga, California in what used to be called the Santa Clara Valley and is now known as Silicon Valley. 00:06:11 There were just 800 people in Saratoga, and the family’s phone number was 7. It was the first place Olivia de Havilland ever stepped onto a stage. Life was pretty idyllic there, and she was an A student, but then her mother remarried. She and her sister nicknamed their new stepdad the Iron Duke. One of his rules was that they had to come home straight from school. No after-school activities, ever. De Havilland told the story during a speech she gave at an Academy of Achievement event in 2001, a few years before she sat for an interview. 00:06:48 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: In October of 1932, my English teacher, Margaret Douglas, cast me as the ingénue Violet in the junior play, Mrs. Bumstead Lee. The rehearsals took place after school hours. So at my peril, I broke the second rule and made it home just before the Iron Duke returned from his business in the city of San Jose. 00:07:23 Then one day, after the posters were up, the tickets sold, and the performance of the play only a few days away, my stepfather discovered my treachery. When I came down for breakfast the next morning, my mother said that my stepfather had left for me the following message: "You will either give up the play or leave this house forever." 00:08:00 I went off to school with my decision made. I spent that night and several more with friends of my mother's, went on with the play, and never again slept in the house which I left that morning in October of 1932. 00:08:24 After the play, a group of my mother's friends, having raised for my benefit what was then the munificent sum of $200 — enough to keep me for a year — I rented a pink and white guestroom of a very kind lady named Mrs. Eva Lee Harriman. 00:08:50 For the first time, D's appeared on my report card. I looked at them numbly and did nothing to improve them. Then one day, Miss Douglas and Mr. Bruntz, my history and civics teachers, asked me to stay after school. I do not remember the words they said to me then, but I do remember that they were severe — severe enough to turn my life around. 00:09:34 The next year, I starred in the senior play, edited the yearbook, and graduated second in my class. I also won a scholarship to Mills College. I never got to Mills, but that's another story. 00:09:54 Suffice it to say, the three months after graduating from Los Gatos Union High School, I found myself playing Hermia in Max Reinhardt's fabled Hollywood Bowl production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the audience on opening night were Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, and a host of other dazzling personages. 00:10:24 And three months after that, I was under contract to Warner Brothers for the film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream with, awaiting me in the distant future, five Academy Award nominations and two Oscars. In December of 1935, I repaid to my mother's friends the sum of $200. 00:10:53 ALICE WINKLER: She was 19. It was the Depression. She was on her own, and acting was looking like her golden ticket. There would be no time for college. The same year she made her debut in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she auditioned for a part in a movie called Captain Blood starring another promising young actor, Errol Flynn. 00:11:15 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: I was called for a test, simply a silent test, just to see how the two of us in costume would look together, and that's when I first met him. And I walked onto the set, and they said, "Would you please stand next to Mr. Flynn?" And I saw him. 00:11:39 Oh, my. Oh, my. I was struck dumb, and I knew it was what the French call a coup de foudre. 00:11:52 ALICE WINKLER: Literally a bolt of lightning. 00:11:55 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: And we just stood there next to each other. Oh. Well, then a few weeks later, after quite a considerable debate had gone on, Betty Davis, for example, had been photographed with him too, and she was the great star on the lot. They had to weigh casting me as Arabella Bishop because we were both, at that time, completely unknown, and they were going to invest what was then a very large sum of money, $800,000, in this production. 00:12:40 Therefore they decided that we should work on some scenes together, not to be filmed, but just so that the producer and director could come — once we had perfected the scene — come down on a stage and just see how we performed together. So one day, we were called together, and we started to rehearse, and then we had a lunch break, and we went off to the commissary, and he walked with me to the commissary. 00:13:15 I had never been in it before, and I got a tray, and he went ahead, and he took his tray to a table, and I filled my tray, and I thought, "Oh, I want to go and sit over there next to him." And I thought, "No, he'll think I am bold, and I can't do that." So I found another place and sat there and ate my lunch in a solitary fashion. 00:13:42 But when I turned in my tray, he turned his in at the same time, so that meant that we walked back to the stage together, and when we got there, no one was there. We were the first, and we sat down on the ramp, which leads from the great open door of the stage to the street, and he asked me — he was 25 years of age when this happened, and I was still 18. He said to me, "What do you want out of life?" 00:14:18 And I thought, "What an extraordinary question to be asked." Nobody's asked me that ever — and, in fact, nobody ever did in the years that followed — and I said, "I would like respect for difficult work well done." And then I said, "Well, what do you want out of life?" and he said, "I want success." 00:14:53 And what he meant by that was fame and riches, both of which he certainly did achieve, but when he said it, I thought, "But that's not enough," and indeed, it proved in Errol's life not to be enough. Well, and then, of course, they decided to cast us together, and we made the film. 00:15:25 MUSIC: CAPTAIN BLOOD 00:15:29 ALICE WINKLER: Let me read you the words that appear onscreen in the trailer: "Once again the sea echoes to the thunder of history’s most daring pirate! Swashbuckling leader of a desperate horde. Devil-may-care philanderer. Reckless adventurer. Terror of the Caribbean!" And that’s not a bad description of Errol Flynn the man, but Captain Blood was the first of eight movies that would pair Flynn with De Havilland. Audiences loved their on-screen chemistry. 00:15:57 ARABELLA BISHOP: I see your pirate ways. I see myself bargained for and fought over, a combat between jackals. You pirates are used to taking what you want without the formality of purchase. 00:16:07 PETER BLOOD: I'm thief and pirate, and I'll show you how a thief and a pirate can deal. 00:16:10 ARABELLA BISHOP: I advise you to go back to your ladies at Tortuga who are thrilled by your bow lawless ways. 00:16:15 PETER BLOOD: What matters is that now I own you as once you owned me. You're mine, do you understand? 00:16:19 ALICE WINKLER: The dangerous boy and the good girl with the doe-y brown eyes, but within a few years, De Havilland was feeling typecast and very frustrated. 00:16:29 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: Yes, just, you see, the life of the love interest is really pretty boring. The objective is the marriage bed. That's what the heroine is there for, and: “Will he win or will he not? Will they finally make the marriage bed?” 00:16:53 It was obvious that it would be the marriage bed, not any other bed, but it was all about, would they, in the end, get together that way? Well, and the route to the marriage bed — and that was promised at the end of the film, of course — was a pretty boring route. The heroine really had nothing much to do, except encourage the hero and at the right moment, and you can't imagine how uninteresting that can be. 00:17:32 So I longed to play a character who initiated things, who experienced important things, who expressed — who interpreted the great agonies and joys of human experience, and I certainly wasn't doing that on any kind of level of a significance. 00:18:08 ALICE WINKLER: By the time she and Errol Flynn filmed Dodge City, she was deeply depressed. Her ambition may have been to play complex characters, but she was trapped by Hollywood’s studio system. Warner Brothers, she said, was run as a stock company, and they already had one great dramatic actress, her friend Bette Davis. They had two comic actresses, Glenda Farrell and Joan Blondell. 00:18:33 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: And then they had two ingénues. One was brunette, and one was blonde, and the blonde one was Anita Louise, who was really, I thought, marvelous in Midsummer Night's Dream playing Tatania, and they had Olivia de Havilland, the brunette ingénue. Well, that's how the casting went, you see. It was either the brunette ingénue, or it was the blonde ingénue. 00:19:01 So I had no real opportunity to develop and to explore difficult roles, and that was tiresome. It was. 00:19:19 ALICE WINKLER: Then one day, when she came back from Modesto, where they were shooting Dodge City, the phone rang. 00:19:25 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: The voice said, "You don't know me. We've never met, but I am George Cukor. I've been supervising the preparation of Gone with the Wind, and I will be directing the movie. We are in the process of casting, and I would like to know if you would be interested in playing the role of Melanie." 00:19:51 Well, I said, "I certainly would," and then he said, "Would you consent to doing something highly illegal?" Well I said, "Well, what would that be?" And he said, "You're under contract to Warner Brothers. We have no right to ask this of you, but would you come secretly — tell no one — to the studio? We'll give you directions to what entrance to go, which is a private entrance. Someone will be waiting there for you, and he will unlock the door and let you in and lead you to my office to read some lines, read the part of Melanie." 00:20:43 I said, "Yes. I'd be delighted to do this highly illegal thing." So I did, and I read the lines for George Cukor, and he said, "I think I must call David." And he called David Selznick and said, "David, I think you must hear Miss de Havilland read the part of Melanie." 00:21:07 So it was all arranged that I would go off to David's house — which happened to be a Southern mansion, by the way — up to his house on Sunday at 3:00, having memorized a scene which George then gave me, a scene between Scarlett and Melanie. And so on Sunday, I drove myself up in my little green Buick to David's Southern mansion. 00:21:43 I was shown into this beautiful drawing room, paneled, wood paneled, a lovely room, and in came George and David. Now, I have to explain to you that George was very, very rotund. He also had very dark eyes and very dark hair — very, very curly and very thick — and he wore very thick glasses, thickly rimmed in dark tortoise shell. 00:22:23 He played Scarlett. He played Scarlett passionately, clutching the porches. There we were in this little bay window with the hangings, and I was pleading with “Scarlett, Scarlett!" over something or other, and he was clutching the porches. And there was David standing three feet from us, watching this scene with rapt attention, enthralled, enthralled. 00:22:59 Well, part of my mind, of course, was saying this has to be the most comic thing to witness. Now extraordinarily, extraordinarily, when this was over, David decided that he had found his Melanie. Now Jack Warner utterly refused to lend me for Melanie. He wouldn't hear of it. I even went to call on him and begged him. 00:23:29 He said no, he wouldn't do it. He would not, not lend me to Selznick to play the part of Melanie. I was desperate, and I did something, at age 22, that really was not correct, but I did it. I called Mrs. Warner, who had been an actress — a lovely, lovely woman. Ann Alvarado was her name before she met Jack, and I told her that I would very much like to see her, and would she be kind enough to have tea with me at the Brown Derby? 00:24:11 And she said yes. Well, we met, and I explained how much the part meant to me, and I said, "Would you help me?" She said, "I understand you, and I will help you," and it was through her that Jack eventually agreed, and he says so in his biography: "It was Ann who did it." 00:24:40 MUSIC: THE O’HARA FAMILY 00:24:41 ALICE WINKLER: So Jack Warner’s wife convinced him to lend Olivia de Havilland to David O. Selznick, and in exchange, Selznick dropped his one-picture commitment to actor Jimmy Stewart, freeing up Stewart to make a film for Jack Warner. But in the end, it wasn’t really a win-win. Melanie Hamilton may have been just the type of character Olivia de Havilland had been longing to play, but the horse-trading that it took to get her the role fueled Olivia de Havilland’s disgust with Hollywood’s actor contracts. 00:25:12 A couple of years after Gone with the Wind’s release, she wanted out of her Warner Brothers contract. She hired a lawyer and brought a case in court that would make history, forever changing the relationship between studios and actors. The details of the case are a little complicated, but stick with de Havilland as she lays them out. 00:25:33 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: One interesting thing was that all the interesting work that I did — I finally began to do interesting work, like Melanie, but always on loan out to another studio. I was nominated for Melanie for Gone with the Wind, as you know, my work. And then two years later, I was loaned to Paramount for Hold Back the Dawn and was nominated again. 00:26:08 So I realized that it was never Warner's that I was going to have the work that I so much wanted to have. At the end of my contract, which was May of 1943, Warner's — it was a seven-year contract, or — I must explain that by this time, I knew, after Melanie and Hold Back the Dawn that people really were interested in my work. And they wanted — they would go to see a film because I was in it, and I had a responsibility toward them, among other things. 00:26:50 I couldn't bear to disappoint them by doing indifferent work at an indifferent film, and Warner — Jack would cast me in an indifferent film in an indifferent role, and I thought, "Now I'll have to refuse. I must do it," and I did, and, of course, I was put on suspension. Now the contracts allowed that in those days. If you said, "No, I don't want to do this part," they would then suspend the contract for the length of time it took another actress to play the role, and they would take that period of time, tack it on to the end of the contract. 00:27:30 So in May of 1943, I found myself with six months of suspension time. Warner loaned me immediately for a film I didn't want to do, but I went ahead and I did it. It was fortunately a success, not very good, but it was a big success. At least that was in its favor. And then he loaned me to Columbia. 00:28:07 And it was for a film that had 20 pages of script and a starting date the following Monday. Now there was no hope for that film, none whatsoever. I went to Harry Cohen, the head of the studio, and I said, "Mr. Cohen, I haven't any idea about my character, and I cannot do this film, and you will just have to tell Jack Warner." 00:28:41 ALICE WINKLER: When she refused to make the picture, she was put on suspension for whatever period of time that theoretically it would have taken to make the film. Her agents called her into their offices — it was 1943 — and standing there was Martin Gang, a lawyer later famous for fighting against the Hollywood blacklist during the McCarthy era. But that day, Martin Gang was there to discuss how he thought Olivia de Havilland might get out of her contract. 00:29:10 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: So Martin explained that there was a California law which limited the right of a — an employer to enforce a contract against an employee for more than seven years, and that no actor had dared to take advantage of the law by asking for declaratory relief, which is to say an interpretation of a law as it applied to an actor's contract. 00:29:46 I think a baseball player had done it, but no actor had dared to do it. So I said, "Let's go ahead with it, and we're not gonna get discouraged along the way. We will go straight to the Supreme Court." Well, we went into court first, the Superior Court, Judge Charles S. Burnell presiding, in November of that year, 1943, and it is true that Warner Brothers' lawyer did put me on the witness stand, and they said, "Be very careful because he will try to make you angry and try and make you appear like a spoiled movie actress." 00:30:36 And, oh, he was so wicked. Oh, (INAUDIBLE), and he would say, accusing me in thunderous tones, "Is it not true, Ms. de Havilland, that on such-and-such a date you failed to report to the set to play such-and-such a role in such-and-such a film?" 00:31:02 And I, remembering Martin Gang's instructions, said, "I didn't refuse. I declined." So all this time now, the judge — I'd noticed that the judge, he had his hand in front of his face, and I couldn't figure out whether it was his spectacles that were twinkling or, in fact, his eyes, but he — we certainly had his attention, and I thought, "Maybe I have a little hope here. I think maybe I had a chance after all." 00:31:40 ALICE WINKLER: Indeed, about three months later, she was up in the Aleutian Islands, visiting patients in a military hospital, when... 00:31:47 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: Someone came to me, a US soldier, and said, "We have a telegram for you." Well, this was really quite extraordinary up there in wartime, and it was from Martin Gang, and it said, "You've won in the superior court of the State of California." The Warners, naturally, appealed immediately and then joined every studio in town from employing me. 00:32:18 Every studio in town — I think they sent out 125 injunctions, and half of the studios no longer existed, but they did a thorough job of that. 00:32:28 ALICE WINKLER: So with no way to work, she went off to the South Pacific to spend more time visiting wounded soldiers, though she came down with pneumonia and ended up a patient herself in the barrack hospital. When she got back to the States, Martin Gang called her, again, with good news. She’d won a unanimous decision in the appellate court. 00:32:50 But Olivia de Havilland had a lot to lose when she filed that case. Even with a win against Warner Brothers, she risked alienating all of the studios. 00:33:00 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: Well, it's true, but there really wasn't any decision for me. One of the nice things I thought was if I do win, other actors feeling frustration such as I feel will not have to endure that. They'll take the suspension, going without pay, of course, but knowing they will not have to serve that time again. 00:33:28 And, indeed, another wonderful thing is this. You know, our fellows, our actors, they were extraordinary in World War II. They all went. They all went. Jimmy Stewart, he was a bomber pilot, 21 raids over Germany. Clark Gable, tail gunner. The others in the Navy, Marine Corps, they were extraordinary. 00:34:07 Now, when they came back, you see, all the time they were at war, they were on suspension. When they came back, they would have to serve that time all over again and at the salary which was, by this time, outmoded. Their services would be infinitely more valuable, but they would still get the same salary that they had been receiving five years before. 00:34:38 And Jimmy Stewart came back, and all those others, Tyrone Power, the lot, and he wanted, of course, to take advantage of my case, and it was suggested that he better not risk anything. It didn't apply to an actor who had gone off to war, and, of course, it did, and that was settled straight away, and therefore, all of those chaps, those brave, splendid young men were able to negotiate new contracts. 00:35:22 ALICE WINKLER: For whatever reason, the studios did not hold a grudge against Olivia de Havilland, or maybe their bottom lines just won out over their grudges. The interesting roles pretty much started to pour in, and I’m gonna take a few minutes to quickly run through some of the highlights. Paramount Pictures offered her To Each His Own, about an unwed mother who’s forced to give up her son to avoid scandal. She watches him grow up from afar as she becomes a successful businesswoman. Olivia de Havilland won her first Oscar for that role. 00:35:55 JODY NORRIS: I'm not his mother. Not really. I know that now. Just bringing a child into the world doesn't make you that. It's being there always. 00:36:10 ALICE WINKLER: Then she played identical twin sisters, one of whom is a murderer, in the movie The Dark Mirror. 00:36:17 TERRY COLLINS: You don't remember what you dream? 00:36:20 RUTH COLLINS: Well, I don't remember even dreaming recently. 00:36:23 TERRY COLLINS: You don't remember my waking you last night when you were sobbing? 00:36:27 RUTH COLLINS: No. 00:36:28 TERRY COLLINS: Nor what you said to me? 00:36:31 RUTH COLLINS: No, what'd I say? 00:36:33 TERRY COLLINS: Such big, deep sobs as if you were terrified, as if you were seeing something so dreadful you couldn’t bear to face it. 00:36:40 ALICE WINKLER: And that was followed by The Snake Pit, a film she jumped at because of her experiences visiting soldiers while her court case was on appeal and she wasn’t allowed to work. Many of the wounded de Havilland spent time with were suffering from mental illness, and she felt inspired by them to help end the huge stigma that they and their families faced. In The Snake Pit, she plays a woman who finds herself in a state asylum, unaware of how she got there. 00:37:10 DR. MARK KIK: What's your name? 00:37:11 VIRGINIA: Virginia Stewart. 00:37:13 DR. MARK KIK: Is that your full name? 00:37:14 VIRGINIA: Isn't it? 00:37:15 DR. MARK KIK: No. 00:37:16 VIRGINIA: Do you know? 00:37:17 DR. MARK KIK: Of course. 00:37:19 VIRGINIA: Tell me. 00:37:20 DR. MARK KIK: Virginia Stewart Cunningham. 00:37:23 VIRGINIA: Cunningham. 00:37:24 DR. MARK KIK: Mrs. Robert Cunningham. 00:37:26 VIRGINIA: Robert. 00:37:27 DR. MARK KIK: Your husband. 00:37:28 VIRGINIA: My husband. 00:37:30 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: That was just after the end of the war, and here was my opportunity to do something about that, and it was a marvelous story. It was an autobiography written by this young woman who had become really seriously mentally ill, was institutionalized, and, remarkably, was cured in a day when they had no drugs at all for treatment. 00:38:09 But the therapy that they used then actually worked in her case, and so I thought, "This will educate families. It will be — people will understand. Patients will understand, and it's a hopeful story because it ends in a cure." And that film, in New York, when it was released, ran one year in one theater. 00:38:37 People flooded to it. I think it was the first serious study of mental illness. 00:38:46 ALICE WINKLER: And it actually helped fuel the movement to reform psychiatric hospitals in the United States. I wanna take a turn and go back to Gone with the Wind here because Olivia de Havilland has a great story about her costars, and besides, I don't want anyone accusing me of malpractice for doing a podcast about Olivia de Havilland with just one peek behind the scenes from that epic. It is, after all, still the number one box office hit of all-time, if you adjust for inflation. 00:39:16 Pretty remarkable for a film made in 1939. Okay, so here’s how Olivia de Havilland described the difference between her style of acting and that of Vivien Leigh, who, of course, played Scarlett O'Hara. 00:39:32 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: Well, you know, Vivien was just a marvel. She was a hard worker, highly professional, a marvel, and between scenes she had this other capacity. She would — it took a long time to light up the sets, as you can well imagine, Technicolor in those days, three cameras of all of these strips of film, three strip cameras, and all of that required quite special lighting and a lot of time to set the scenes in that way. 00:40:13 So Vivien, in between, would find a little quiet place on the set, and she and Gable would play a game called Battleship, and occasionally they would invite me to join them, and I would play, and the assistant director would come and give us warning. He would say, "Ten minutes," something like that, and I would excuse myself to go back to my dressing — not only to check the makeup, but also try to recapture the character of Melanie, which often, just looking in the mirror because the costumes and the hair and all of that did express it so well, I would need that time. 00:41:02 Not Vivien. She would leave — they would say, you know, that "We're ready to shoot, ready to rehearse, ready — " and she would get up from the game of Battleship, go straight into the scene, and play it brilliantly. She was fabulous, fabulous. 00:41:21 ALICE WINKLER: Now if you’re a true Gone with the Wind aficionado, you already know this, but for the neophytes out there, there was lots of turbulence around the production. They went through three different directors during the shooting. Olivia de Havilland’s theory about that is that Clark Gable demanded the changes because he thought the movie was too female-centric, and he wanted Rhett Butler to be more central to the story, which meant, in the end, some of her scenes were cut. 00:41:49 And Clark Gable, she says, had a lot at stake in the success of the picture. Gary Cooper had famously turned down the role of Rhett Butler, convinced the movie would fail, and he wasn’t the only one. 00:42:01 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: Oh, yes. The whole business of casting, putting it together, taking some — almost three years. The whole town was bored with the film. They were so bored with the film, they wished it bad luck, and they all thought it was going to be a big, big flop, a complete disaster, and they were rather pleased at the thought. 00:42:26 Well, we just went ahead, quietly working ahead, on the lot, six months, retakes after that, and just knew — I knew we were making a film that was going to have quite a different history from any other film that had ever been made, and it would endure, and by heaven, it has, has it not? 00:42:56 ALICE WINKLER: Yes, it has. The extraordinary, glamorous, Oscar-winning Olivia de Havilland turns 100 years old on July 1st. I think I speak for everyone listening when I say Ms. De Havilland, we wish you as much happiness on your birthday as you have brought to our lives. I’m Alice Winkler, and this is What It Takes from the Academy of Achievement. Funding for What It Takes comes, as always, from the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation. 00:43:27 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: And I suppose you would like to know how actresses of my day differ from actresses of today? Well, the actresses of today are richer. END OF FILE
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Groundhog Predicts Six More Weeks of Winter in US
North America will have six more weeks of winter, says “Punxsutawney Phil,” the most famous groundhog in the United States. Phil’s keepers reported his weather prediction Friday morning on the U.S. observance of “Groundhog Day.” Every year, on February 2, a groundhog leaves his home, a hole in the ground in the small community of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. On a sunny morning, his body will create a shadow on nearby objects. Tradition says that if the animal sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. But if skies are cloudy, and no dark shape appears, Americans can expect spring to arrive early. An unusual tradition Groundhog Day is one of the more unusual American traditions. Every year, thousands of people from across the U.S. travel to Punxsutawney. On the night of February 1, they go to a hill called “Gobbler’s Knob." There, they wait until sunrise, when Phil leaves his home to look for his shadow. Groundhog Day is said to come from a European tradition called “Candlemas.” February 2 was the middle of winter, and in Europe, clergymen would give candles to people at religious services. When lit, the candles brightened up the community in the dead of winter. Later, in Germany, the tradition changed, and people instead began looking for signs of increased sunlight and changes in the weather. If an animal saw its shadow on Candlemas Day, this meant six more weeks of winter, or the “Second Winter.” The tradition came to North America when German immigrants arrived in what is now the eastern state of Pennsylvania. They chose the groundhog, a large rodent and member of the marmot family, as the animal to continue the tradition. The first official Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob was held in 1887. The event has continued there ever since. Part of American culture Groundhog Day has become part of American culture. Other states now celebrate their own Groundhog Day, with their own groundhog. In North Carolina, his name is Sir Walter Wally. In West Virginia, people turn to French Creek Freddie. Georgia has General Beauregard Lee. New York City also marks the day with Chuck the groundhog. In 2009, Chuck famously bit the hand of the city’s mayor at the time, Michael Bloomberg, when he came out of his home. Washington, D.C., has a small tradition involving a stuffed groundhog. Some people use the animal to make predictions about the “political climate” of the country. Aaron DeNu told The Washington Post newspaper that every year his groundhog predicts “six more weeks of political gridlock…and so far, he’s always been right.” Groundhog Day has also been popular in American media. In the 1993 film “Groundhog Day”, a reporter visits Punxsutawney for the big event, but becomes stuck in time. He then has to repeat the same day, over and over again, until he becomes a better person. Can animals predict the weather? Although Americans hear Phil’s weather prediction every February 2, it is not clear how correct the groundhog is. The Stormfax website researched all the predications since 1887 and found that he has seen his shadow 104 times (79 percent). Yet the animal has been right only 39 percent of the time. However, his record does not ruin the excitement of people who travel to see him. Doug Sacrison traveled over 4,000 kilometers from Washington State this year to attend his first Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney. Sacrison said that he finally has “lived a lifelong dream.” “I think Groundhog Day may be my single favorite part of America,” he said. “It’s all just for fun… and there’s something magical about getting excited about something that silly. I think it was the coldest temperature I had ever stood in, but the fun of it all kept me warm and smiling well after Phil made his prediction. "I think the next six weeks won’t be so bad after all.” I’m Phil Dierking. Phil Dirking reported this story using multiple media. George Grow was the editor. Would you believe an animal’s prediction for the weather? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story candle - n. wax that has been formed into a stick or another shape and has a string in the middle that can be burned gridlock - n. a situation in which no progress can be made silly - adj. having or showing a lack of thought, understanding, or good judgment : foolish or stupid shadow - n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light stuffed - adj. to be filled with another, usually soft, material
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Lesson 19: When Do I Start?
Summary Anna has to walk to work because the Metro is closed. She calls to tell her boss she is late. Ms. Weaver wants her to come and talk about a new assignment. What will Anna do? Speaking Learn to pronounce the new words for this lesson and the months of the year. Learn about using which for offering choices and every or next with time words. Pronunciation In this video, learn how English speakers say the second month of the year. Conversation Anna: Hi there! Summer in Washington, D.C. is hot and sunny. I always ride the Metro to work. Riding the Metro is cool and fast. But today it’s closed. So, I am walking to work. (On the phone) Ms. Weaver, I am late this morning. The Metro is closed. So, I am walking to work. Caty: That’s too bad. It’s really hot today. Anna: Yes it is. Caty: When you arrive, please come to my office. I have important news to tell you. Anna: Of course. Good-bye. My boss has news for me. The question is: Is it good news or bad news? (At work) Anna: Hello, Ms. Weaver. Caty: Anna, I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want to hear first? Anna: The good news. No … okay, the bad news. Caty: The bad news is you are not good at reading the news. Anna: Oh. I am very sorry to hear that. Caty: So, starting next month you will not read the news. Anna: Next month is July. You are firing me in July. Caty: No. I am not firing you in July … or in August or in September. That is the good news. Anna: Okay. You are not firing me. I am not reading the news. What will I be doing? Caty: Well, you are good at asking questions. You are good at talking to people. You are good at showing your feelings. And you are great at being silly. Anna: Thank you, Ms. Weaver. But what does all that mean? Caty: I have a new assignment for you! Your skills are perfect for a new show … a children’s show. Anna: A children’s show ... That is awesome! When do I start? Caty: You start next month. Start thinking of ideas for the show. Anna: I have tons of ideas! I can show children what it’s like in outer space ... Caty: Great … Anna: … or in the deep, dark ocean … Caty: Those are great ideas, Anna. Please go think of more … at your desk. Anna: Yes. What other things can I show them? Mt. Everest! Everyone has different skills. You have skills. I have skills. The important thing is to know what you are good at. Until next time! Writing What are your skills? Do you use them at work or at school? Tell us about a couple of skills you have. Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice talking with a friend about what you do at different times of the year. Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. The learning strategy for this lesson is Summarize. In this week's video, you hear Ms. Weaver tell Anna, "Well, you are good at asking questions. You are good at talking to people. You are good at showing your feelings. And you are great at being silly." Anna does not understand why Ms. Weaver is telling her about her skills. She asks, "But what does all that mean?" In answering the question, Ms. Weaver summarizes, "I have a new assignment for you! Your skills are perfect for a new show … a children’s show." When we summarize we tell a story or report on information in fewer words. We tell the most important information and do not include many details. Summarizing helps us remember new information and practice using new words. How do you summarize when learning English? 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 the listening quiz. Listen to the short video, then choose the best answer. ______________________________________________________________ New Words arrive - v. to come to or reach a place after traveling assignment - n. a job or duty that is given to someone child - n. a young person (plural: children) closed - adj. not operating or open to the public deep - adj. having a large distance to the bottom from the surface or highest point everyone - pron. every person; everybody fire - v. to dismiss (someone) from a job idea - n. a thought, plan, or suggestion about what to do mean - v. to cause or result in (something) month - n. any one of the 12 parts into which the year is divided Mt. Everest - n. a mountain in Asia; it is the highest mountain in the world ocean - n. the salt water that covers much of the Earth's surface other - adj. used to refer to the one person or thing that remains or that has not been mentioned outer space - n. the region beyond the Earth's atmosphere in which there are stars and planets perfect - adj. having all the qualities you want in that kind of person or situation silly - adj. playful or funny skill - n. an ability to do something that comes from training, experience, or practice ton n. informal: a large amount; in the US, a ton is a unit for measuring weight that equals 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) ______________________________________________________________ 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 practice talking with a friend about what you do at different times of the year. 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: Which as an adjective alone and with pronouns; Adjectives next and every Topics: Saying the months of the year; Talking about seasons and activities Learning Strategy: Summarize Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using which and which one to offer a choice; using every and next with time expressions; Pronunciation of February ______________________________________________________________ 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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Tesla Chief Sells $10 Million in Flamethrowers… But Why?
This is What’s Trending Today… Elon Musk - head of electric carmaker Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX - is known for using creative methods to raise money for his businesses. He has successfully gotten tens of thousands of interested buyers to place deposits of at least $1,000 for electric Tesla vehicles that were not yet manufactured. Last year, SpaceX announced that two private citizens had paid “a significant deposit” to ride on one of the company’s rockets for a future trip around the moon. So it is not surprising that Musk recently launched another money raiser – this time for his tunnel-digging business, The Boring Company. But what did surprise many people was the item he was selling - flamethrowers. The Boring Company’s website began offering the fire shooters for $500 each on January 27. Days later, Musk announced on Twitter that all 20,000 flamethrowers offered had been sold. This means the pre-sale process brought in $10 million dollars. The company said the devices – which look similar to some air guns sold as toys – would ship sometime this spring. The flamethrower campaign followed another Boring Company fundraiser that sold 50,000 hats that showed the company’s name on the front. Musk shared on Christmas Eve that since the hats had sold out, “flamethrowers” would next go up for sale. But many people wondered if the new campaign announcement could be a joke. About a month later, the technology executive announced the official launch, but in a joking way. “The Boring Company flamethrower, guaranteed to liven up any party!” he tweeted. Musk also joked that the device would be “great for roasting nuts.” He also suggested: “When the zombie apocalypse happens, you’ll be glad you bought a flamethrower. Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!” At one point, he even tweeted that owning a flamethrower was a “terrible idea,” urging people not to buy one. But he quickly followed up that comment with, “unless you like fun.” But the jokes, and fact that the item was highly unusual, did not stop people from buying up flamethrowers by the thousands. Some people – and at least one California lawmaker - raised concerns about the safety of the flamethrowers. Musk responded by stating that federal rules allow the use of any flamethrower with a flame shorter than three meters. He said they were designed to provide the most fun with the least danger. “I’d be way more scared of a steak knife,” he said. As a safety feature, the company says all flamethrowers will also ship with a free fire extinguisher. The Boring Company’s goal is to create underground tunnels to be used as a new form of high-speed transportation. One of the proposed uses would be with Musk’s planned transportation system Hyperloop. Currently under development, this system would operate with electromagnetic technology and forced air. Musk has said Hyperloop would use electric vehicles to carry between 8-16 passengers between major U.S. cities at speeds up to 1,000 kilometers an hour. The Boring Company is developing equipment intended to make the process of drilling tunnels faster and more cost effective. And that’s What’s Trending Today… I’m Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters and other sources. Hai Do 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 deposit – n. money that you give someone when you agree to buy something (such as a house or car) tunnel – n. a long passage that goes under the ground, through a hill, etc. flamethrower – n. a weapon that shoots a stream of burning liquid toy – n. something meant to be played with for fun roast – v. to cook or dry with heat zombie – n. a dead person who reportedly has the ability to move because of magical powers apocalypse – n. a great disaster or event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction hordes – n. large groups of people fire extinguisher – n. a metal container filled with chemicals used to put out a fire drill – v. make a hole in something using a drill
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Thursday, February 1, 2018
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