VOA英语2011年1月7日听力原文学习啊

学英语简单吗?肯定会有许多学生说:“难死了”。 为什么有好多学生对英语的学习都感到头疼呢?答案只有一个:“不得法。” 英语与汉语一样都是一种语言,为什么你说汉语会如此流利?那是因为你置身于 一个汉语环境中,如果你在伦敦呆上半年,保准说起英语来会非常流利。但很 多中学生没有很好的英语环境,那么你可以自己设置一个英语环境,坚持“多说”、“多听”、“多读”、“多写”,那么你的英语成绩肯定会很出色。 一、多“说”。 自己多创造机会与英语教师多讲英语,见了同学,尤其是和好朋友在一起时尽 量用英语去问候,谈心情……这时候你需随身携带一个英汉互译小词典,遇到 生词时查一下这些生词,也不用刻意去记,用的多了,这个单词自然而然就会 记住。千万别把学英语当成负担,始终把它当成一件有趣的事情去做。 或许你有机会碰上外国人,你应大胆地上去跟他打招呼,和他谈天气、谈风景、谈学校……只是别问及他的年纪,婚史等私人问题。尽量用一些你学过的词汇,句子去和他谈天说地。不久你会发现与老外聊天要比你与中国人谈英语容易的多。因为他和你交谈时会用许多简单词汇,而且不太看重说法,你只要发音准确,准能顺利地交流下去。只是你必须要有信心,敢于表达自己的思想。 如果没有合适的伙伴也没关系,你可以拿过一本 书 关于书的成语关于读书的排比句社区图书漂流公约怎么写关于读书的小报汉书pdf 或其它什么东西做假想对象,对它谈你一天的所见所闻,谈你的快乐,你的悲伤等等,长此坚持下去你的口 语肯定会有较大的提高。 二、多“听” 寻找一切可以听英语的机会。别人用英语交谈时,你应该大胆地去参与,多听 听各种各样人的发音,男女老少,节奏快的慢的你都应该接触到,如果这样的 机会少的话,你可以选择你不知 内容 财务内部控制制度的内容财务内部控制制度的内容人员招聘与配置的内容项目成本控制的内容消防安全演练内容 的文章去听,这将会对你帮助很大,而你 去听学过的课文的磁带,那将会对你的语言语调的学习有很大的帮助。 三、多“读”。 “读”可以分为两种。一种是“默读”。每天给予一定时间的练习将会对你提高阅 读速度有很大的好处,读的内容可以是你的课本,但最好是一些有趣的小读物,因为现在的英语高考越来越重视阅读量和阅读速度。每道题的得分都与你的理 解程度有很大关系,所以经过高中三年阅读的训练后,你必定会在高考中胜券 在握。另一种是“朗读”这是学语言必不可少的一种学习途径。 四、多“写” 有的同学总是抱怨时间紧,根本没时间写作文。其实“写”的形式很多,不一定 就写作文才提高写作能力。比如写下你一天中发生的一些重要的事情,或当天 学了某一个词组,你可以创设一个语境恰如其份地用上这个词。这样即可帮你 记住这个词的用法,又可以锻炼你的写作能力,比如学“wish”一词时,可写一 小段如下: The teacher often asks us what we want to be in the future.My good friend Tom wishes to be a soldier.However,I'm different .I wish I were a teacher in the future.But my mother wishes me to be a doctor. 只几句话:但wish的几种用法已跃然纸上,这样写下来印象会深刻得多,这样比死记硬背wish的用法也有趣轻松的多。 学习英语不用花大块的时间,10分钟的散步可以练"说",吃完饭后可以读一会儿英语小说,睡前听几分钟英语,可以使你得到更好地休息……只要你每天抽出 一些时间来练英语,你的英语成绩肯定会很快提高的。 背英语单词技巧 1、循环记忆法 艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线 人的大脑是一个记忆的宝库,人脑经历过的事物,思考过的问题,体验过的情 感和情绪,练习过的动作,都可以成为人们记忆的内容。例如英文的学习中单词、短语和句子,甚至文章的内容都是通过记忆完成的。从"记"到"忆"是有个过程的,这其中包括了识记、保持、再认和回忆。有很多人在学习英语的过程中,只注重了学习当时的记忆效果,孰不知,要想做好学习的记忆工作,是要下一 番工夫的,单纯的注重当时的记忆效果,而忽视了后期的保持和再认同样是达 不到良好的效果的。 在信息的处理上,记忆是对输入信息的编码、贮存和提取的过程,从信息处理 的角度上,英文的第一次学习和背诵只是一个输入编码的过程。人的记忆的能 力从生理上讲是十分惊人的,它可以存贮1015比特(byte,字节)的信息,可是每个人的记忆宝库被挖掘的只占10%,还有更多的记忆发挥空间。这是因为, 有些人只关注了记忆的当时效果,却忽视了记忆中的更大的问题--即记忆的牢固度问题,那就牵涉到心理学中常说的关于记忆遗忘的规律。 一、艾宾浩斯记忆规律曲线解释 德国有一位著名的心理学家名叫艾宾浩斯(Hermann Ebbinghaus,1850-1909),他在1885年发表了他的实验报告后,记忆研究就成了心理学中被研究最多的领域之一,而艾宾浩斯正是发现记忆遗忘规律的第一人。 根据我们所知道的,记忆的保持在时间上是不同的,有短时的记忆和长时的记 忆两种。而我们平时的记忆的过程是这样的: 输入的信息在经过人的注意过程的学习后,便成为了人的短时的记忆,但是如 果不经过及时的复习,这些记住过的东西就会遗忘,而经过了及时的复习,这 些短时的记忆就会成为了人的一种长时的记忆,从而在大脑中保持着很长的时间。那么,对于我们来讲,怎样才叫做遗忘呢,所谓遗忘就是我们对于曾经记 忆过的东西不能再认起来,也不能回忆起来,或者是错误的再认和错误的回忆,这些都是遗忘。艾宾浩斯在做这个实验的时候是拿自己作为测试对象的,他得 出了一些关于记忆的结论。他选用了一些根本没有意义的音节,也就是那些不 能拼出单词来的众多字母的组合,比如asww,cfhhj,ijikmb,rfyjbc等等。 他经过对自己的测试,得到了一些数据。 然后,艾宾浩斯又根据了这些点描绘出了一条曲线,这就是非常有名的揭示遗 忘规律的曲线:艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线,图中竖轴表示学习中记住的知识数量,横 轴表示时间(天数),曲线表示记忆量变化的规律。 这条曲线告诉人们在学习中的遗忘是有规律的,遗忘的进程不是均衡的,不是 固定的一天丢掉几个,转天又丢几个的,而是在记忆的最初阶段遗忘的速度很快,后来就逐渐减慢了,到了相当长的时候后,几乎就不再遗忘了,这就是遗 忘的发展规律,即"先快后慢"的原则。观察这条遗忘曲线,你会发现,学得的知识在一天后,如不抓紧复习,就只剩下原来的25%)。随着时间的推移,遗忘的速度减慢,遗忘的数量也就减少。有人做过一个实验,两组学生学习一段课文,甲组在学习后不久进行一次复习,乙组不予复习,一天后甲组保持98%,乙组保持56%;一周后甲组保持83%,乙组保持33%。乙组的遗忘平均值比甲组高。 二、不同性质 材料 关于××同志的政审材料调查表环保先进个人材料国家普通话测试材料农民专业合作社注销四查四问剖析材料 有不同的遗忘曲线 而且,艾宾浩斯还在关于记忆的实验中发现,记住12个无意义音节,平均需要重复16.5次;为了记住36个无意义章节,需重复54次;而记忆六首诗中的480个音节,平均只需要重复8次!这个实验告诉我们,凡是理解了的知识,就能记得迅速、全面而牢固。不然,愣是死记硬背,那也是费力不讨好的。因此,比较容易记忆的是那些有意义的材料,而那些无意义的材料在记忆的时候比较费力气,在以后回忆起来的时候也很不轻松。因此,艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线是关于遗忘的一种曲线,而且是对无意义的音节而言,对于与其他材料的对比,艾宾浩斯又得出了不同性质材料的不同遗忘曲线,不过他们大体上都是一致的。 因此,艾宾浩斯的实验向我们充分证实了一个道理,学习要勤于复习,而且记忆的理解效果越好,遗忘的也越慢。 三、不同的人有不同的艾宾浩斯记忆曲线--个性化的艾宾浩斯 上述的艾宾浩斯记忆曲线是艾宾浩斯在实验室中经过了大量测试后,产生了不同的记忆数据,从而生成的一种曲线,是一个具有共性的群体规律。此记忆曲线并不考虑接受试验个人的个性特点,而是寻求一种处于平衡点的记忆规律。但是记忆规律可以具体到我们每个人,因为我们的生理特点、生活经历不同,可能导致我们有不同的记忆习惯、记忆方式、记忆特点。规律对于自然人改造世界的行为,只能起一个催化的作用,如果与每个人的记忆特点相吻合,那么就如顺水扬帆,一日千里;如果与个人记忆特点相悖,记忆效果则会大打折扣。因此,我们要根据每个人的不同特点,寻找到属于自己的艾宾浩斯记忆曲线2》如何学英语 下定决心,坚持不懈 英语学习作为一门语言技能,通过大量的训练和练习任何人是可以掌握的。一般地说,英语学习的原则是听、说领先,读、写跟上。李扬的疯狂英语提倡,首先建立起我能学好英语的信心,然后以句子为单位,大量地模仿,疯狂地操练,大声地朗读,最后达到自如地说英语,他的方法对提高说英语的能力很奏效。钟道隆教授45岁开始学英语,一年后,学成出国当口语翻译,并创造了逆苦恼、逆急于求成、逆速成的逆向学习英语的方法。他还提出学习英语要遵循听、写、说、背、想的方法,他的方法强调以听为主,并且把所听到的内容全部写下来。尤其是他的学习精神最可佳,他学习英语用坏了十几台录音机,你可想象他听了多少英语;用完的圆珠笔芯几乎装满了一个一拉罐,你可想象他写了多少,在一年半内,累计业余学习英语时间大约三千小时,也就说每天抽出几个小时来学英语。如果我们做到他那样,一定也能学好英语。最重要的是坚持,只要能下定决心,坚持每天至少一个小时的学习英语,战胜自我最后肯定会有收获的。 注意方法,循序渐进 决心下定,还注意学习方法,有时根据自己的情况和不同的学习目的,选择不同的学习方法,但是学习英语一定要踏踏实实地、一步一个脚印地走。要把基础知识掌握好,也就是说,发音要正确、基本词汇要掌握牢、基本句式要熟练、基本语法要会用。 (1)要过好语音关。把每一个音标发正确,注意改正有问题的音素,特别是那些容易混淆的音素,尽早地掌握国际音标,并尽量的掌握一些读音规则,尽快地能利用读音规则来拼单词,掌握读音规则对单词的记忆和拼写非常有用。(2)掌握一定数量的英语单词。对于学习者来说掌握英语词汇是一难关,学习单词要从单词的形、音、义这三方面去掌握,要注意单词的一词多义,一词多类的用法,要学会一些构词法的知识,来扩展词汇量。学习单词要在语言材料中去学,要结合词组,通过句子,阅读文章来活记单词,死记的单词是记不牢的。坚持在读、说前,先反复听,听的时候反应单词、句子的意思和节奏,想一下单词的拼法、句子结构。并要同学习语法规则有机结合起来进行。 (3)掌握好基本语法。语法在学习英语中也很重要,它能帮助我们把握住英语的基本规律,通过例句或语言现象把死的语法规则要记住,活的规则要通过做大量的练习掌握。总之学习英语要通过听、说、读、写、译来进行操练,不但要注意数量,更重要的是要注意质量,尤其是基本知识要掌握的准确,熟练。只有经过大量的实践,才能做到熟能生巧,运用自如。 提前预习,有的放矢 作为学生,在每次上课前,都要对要学的课文提前预习。首先在音标的帮助下试着拼读单词,也可以借助配套磁带反复听,对比一下,把握不准的要标出来,注意上课老师的发音,还要记一下单词的汉语意思和词性。借助课文的注释或辅导材料,预习一遍课文,找出不明白的地方,做到心中有数,在教师讲课时注意听这些地方。总之,预习的目的是熟悉要学的内容,找出不明白的地方,带着问题听课,做到有的放矢。 认真听课,积极配合 课堂是老师与学生一起学习、掌握、运用知识的主要场所。作为起主导作用的老师一方引导学生搞好课堂教学是很必要的,但也需要学习者的积极配合。上课要专心听讲、作好笔记、认真操练、积极思考。预习时出现的问题在课堂上教师没有讲到的,要向老师提出,把问题搞清楚,老师讲授的问题,先注意听,下课后整理一下笔记,反复思考一下这些问题,抓住老师所讲的重点,难点和考点。总之,上课时要做到耳听、眼观、嘴动、脑想,调动起多个感官来。 完成作业,找出问题 学完每一课,要认真完成课后作业。做作业时一定不要看参考书上题的答案,做完后再对答案,对于作业中所出现的不明白的问题,应该记下来,等下次上课时提出来。做作业是英语学习的很重要的环节,它是消化知识和巩固知识的过程,一定要认真完成规定的作业,笔头作业要动一动笔,口头作业要动一动嘴,提高听力要练一练耳,课文在听和读的基础上,最好背诵某些精彩段落。总之,要做大量的练习,英语是练出来的,一定不要偷懒。 及时复习,巩固知识 学会了的东西随着时间的流逝会逐渐遗忘,但学语言有遗忘现象是正常的。更不必因为有遗忘现象而影响自己学好英语的信心与决心。问题在于怎样来减轻 遗忘的程度。善于类比,总结知识,把新学的知识同过去学的有关的知识进行横向和纵向比较和联系。建立错误档案记录,加深印象,以避免再反同样错误。我们大部分知识和技能是靠重复获得的,及时复习对于记忆非常必要,学英语就是要坚持天天不断的练,不断地重复基本句型,常用词汇和基本语法等。学习英语的过程也是同遗忘做斗争的过程。 总而言之,只要你能做到下定决心学,注意学习方法,把课前预习,认真听课,完成作业,及时复习这些环节作好了,你一定能够学好英语 DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. (Music) I'm Doug Johnson. This week we play music by America's Ambassador of jazz Billy Taylor who died last week in New York. We also answer a question about business leader and aid donor Bill Gates. But first a report on the People's Choice Awards held Wednesday in Los Angeles. (Music) People's Choice Awards DOUG JOHNSON: Stars of music, movies, and television appeared Wednesday night for the thirty-seventh yearly People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles. It is the only major awards event in America where fans decide who takes home a prize. Chris Cruise tells about the show and some of the winners. CHRIS CRUISE: The first People's Choice Awards show was in nineteen seventy-five. The Gallup Company decided the winners by public opinion studies. For thirty years, the People's Choice Awards were decided this way. But the Internet has brought the awards ceremony into the modern age. The "people" began making their "choices" directly on the Web in two thousand five. Actress Lisa Edelstein playfully honored that process in her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony. She won for Favorite TV Drama Actress for her role as Dr. Cuddy on the show "House." She thanked, by name, Twitter voters whose Twitter names she really enjoyed. All included "Lisa" or "Cuddy" or "Stein" in some part of their online name. Conan O'Brien expressed true thankfulness to the fans who voted him Favorite Talk Show Host. He said they made what could have been a terrible year the best one of his life. Last year, NBC television officials dismissed O'Brien from his new job as host of the Tonight Show so that former host Jay Leno could return to it. Now, O'Brien has a new show on the cable television station TBS. Johnny Depp won Favorite Movie Actor for the second straight year. However, the real win for him seemed to be receiving the award from country music star Taylor Swift. He told the singer: "My daughter said if I didn't say 'hi' to you I'd be in trouble, so 'hi' from my daughter." Swift immediately waved back. Taylor Swift won an award herself. She was voted Favorite Country Artist. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" did very well at the People's Choice Awards. It won the Favorite Movie and the Favorite Drama Movie awards. The three main actors won Favorite On-Screen Team. And Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, won Favorite Movie Actress. Stewart received cheers when she noted that she and her co-stars were currently shooting another "Twilight" movie. But she said it was a little strange to be at the awards ceremony. "I was a vampire this morning in Baton Rouge," she said. Bill Gates DOUG JOHNSON: This week our listener question comes from Cambodia. Yin Chao wants to know how Bill Gates became so rich and successful. Bill Gates is one of the founders of the software company Microsoft and one of the richest people in the world. He was born in nineteen fifty-five in Seattle, Washington. He attended Harvard University in Massachusetts. But he left after three years without graduating. In nineteen seventy-four, while he was still at Harvard, he started Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen. It would become the largest software company in the world and one of the most powerful and influential companies in history. Microsoft invented many computer programs that have been used in homes, offices and schools around the world. They include the MS-DOS operating system, the Windows operating system and the Internet Explorer browser. These programs revolutionized the way people use computers and search for information on the Internet. Bill Gates made many smart business decisions. One of the best decisions was to keep ownership of the software he had written. Many computer experts believed that hardware was more important than software, but Gates did not agree. And time has proven him correct. Bill Gates was Microsoft's largest shareholder. At the age of thirty-one, he became a billionaire. By nineteen ninety-nine, reports said he was worth about one hundred billion dollars. But by two thousand two, the price of his Microsoft stock had dropped. He was worth "just" fifty-three billion dollars. However, that was still enough to keep him at the top of Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people. Many people respect Bill Gates but some do not like him. They believe he hurt other businesses so he could be successful. The United States government and the European Union believed Microsoft had too much power and too large a portion of the software market. The United States brought legal action against the company. The EU fined the company hundreds of millions of dollars. In two thousand eight, Bill Gates stopped running Microsoft but remained as chairman. He continues working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has given billions of dollars for health and education programs around the world. Bill Gates has been described as demanding, competitive and aggressive. He said he became successful because he worked hard to make his dreams come true. He also said it is important to work with smart people and to think about where you want to be in a few years. And, he said, you should never stop learning. Billy Taylor DOUG JOHNSON: America lost one of its greatest jazz musicians last week. Pianist, composer and educator Billy Taylor died of heart failure December twenty-eighth in New York City. He was eighty-nine. Faith Lapidus has more about the man and his music. (Music) FAITH LAPIDUS: Billy Taylor played jazz and wrote jazz. He taught about it in classrooms and to audiences live, and on television and radio broadcasts. He was also known as an international ambassador of jazz. He traveled around the world setting up jazz workshops, programs and shows. But Billy Taylor also made simply great music. Here is a Billy Taylor Trio performance recorded in nineteen eighty-eight in the former Soviet Union. It is from the album "White Nights and Jazz in Leningrad." The song is called "C-A-G." (Music) Billy Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina, but grew up in Washington, D.C. He considered the city his hometown. He heard great music in his own neighborhood at places like the former Howard Theater. He started playing piano when he was seven. After college in Virginia, Billy Taylor moved to New York City in nineteen forty-four. He began playing music with many jazz greats, including Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. Here is Billy Taylor performing "I'll be Seeing You" with singer Nancy Wilson. (Music) In nineteen sixty-four Billy Taylor was worried about the state of jazz. He did not think enough young people were hearing it, playing it or learning about it. He thought some free concerts around the Harlem area of New York City would help. So, he set up Jazzmobile. More than forty-five years later, Jazzmobile concerts continue in New York City, Washington, D.C. and in New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland. Billy Taylor received many awards during his more than seventy years in music. They include the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the American government gives to artists. Billy Taylor said playing piano and performing were most important to him. BILLY TAYLOR: "Everything that I've done stems from those two things; the fact that I love to play the piano and I love to perform for people." (Music) DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Chris Cruise and Caty Weaver, who also was our producer. If you have a question about American life, write to mosaic@voanews.com. We might answer your question on this show. So please include your name and country. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English. 1.08 Now, the VOA Special English program -- AMERICAN STORIES. Our story today is called "Mr. Black". It was written by American reporter Charles Kuralt. It is from his book "A life on the Road". For many years, Charles Kuralt traveled across the United States telling interesting stories about Americans. His stories were broadcasted on the CBS Television Network. Later, some were published in books. Here is Shep O'Neal with Mr. Kuralt's story called "Mr. Black". (MUSIC) George Black was a brickmaker. He mixed dirt and water, poured the mixture into forms and heated the forms until the mixture was hard. During his life, many structures were built with his hand-made bricks. George Black became a pretty good diplomat for the American State Department too. But that part of his story comes later. George Black's father died in eighteen eighty-nine. George was eleven years old. His brother was fourteen. "We will not be able to go to school," his brother said, "we are going to have to work for a living. If we work hard and make men out of ourselves, even if we do not know the difference between A and B, people will call us Mr. Black someday." George repeated his brother's words proudly more than eighty years later. By then he was a very old man, everybody called him "Mr. Black". (MUSIC) The two little boys, George and his brother, set out on their own in eighteen eighty-nine. They walked forty miles from their village in North Carolina to the nearest big city Winston-Salem. They worked for a brickmaker for a while. After they learned how to make bricks, they started their own business. By the time I met George Black, he had been making bricks for a very long time. He still used the same method. He tied a mule to what he called a "mud mill". The mule walked slowly in a circle turning the mill. The mill mixed dirt and water creating the wet mud from which bricks are made. Mr. Black gathered up the mud in his big hands and put just the right amount in each form. It was then ready to be heated in a hot fire. Each form made six bricks. "How many bricks do you think you have made in your life?" I asked him. "Oh," he said, "I do not know, I would be afraid to know. I made a million bricks one year. Mr. R. J. Reynolds wanted to build a tobacco factory. He asked me if I thought I could make a million bricks. I studied and said, 'yes I could.' I did too. You can go see them if you want to. That building is still there. They are all my bricks. Yes, sir." I found myself filled with great respect for this man. He was standing in a hole in the ground covered in mud. He had made a life of earth and water and fire. He had made the building blocks of a city. The next day, Mr. Black put on his best cloth and we walked around Winston-Salem. "These bricks we are walking on," he said, "I made these only about forty years ago." He pointed with his walking stick. "I made the bricks for that church over there. I made the bricks for that wall." Wherever we walked, he pointed out the work of his own hands. When we reached the huge tobacco factory, he spoke again. "I believe I told you wrong about this job. It was not a million bricks. It was a million and a half. Made them six at a time for a dollar and half a day. I was a good payee in those days. Yes sir, made all these bricks six at a time and I am going to make some more yet." (MUSIC) I told the story of George Black on television. The day after, I found myself talking about him again. An official with the United States Agency for International Development was interested. "I hear you had a story about a brickmaker last night," the official Harvey Withered said. "Yep," I answered. "Oh gosh," he said, "I have been looking all over this country for a brickmaker who still does the job by hand. I did not think there were any left. You see, the government of Guyana has a plan to rebuild the country. It does not want a big brick factory. It wants somebody to go from village to village to teach the people how to make bricks for themselves." "Well," I said, "I know the right man for the job. But remember that he is ninety-two years old." "I do not care how old he is," Harvey Withered said, "he must be the last person in America to make bricks by hand. Give me his address and telephone number. Mr. Kuralt, you have made my day!" I called Mr. Black to warn him what was going to happen. He said he had already received the call from Washington. "Where is Guyana?" he asked. "It is in South America." I said. "My-my," he said. The very next day, Harvey Withered flew from Washington to Winston-Salem. He and Mr. Black liked each other immediately and quickly reached an agreement. Mr. Black would go to Guyana for ten days. He would take his granddaughter. She also knew how to make bricks. A young boy would go to help them. Mr. Black would be paid 100 dollars a day. Harvey Withered said, "this is a wonderful thing you are going to do, Mr. Black, we, in Washington, thank you very much." Mr. Black said simply, "I believe you have chosen the best man to do the job for the U.S.A." (MUSIC) Harvey Withered knew what had to be done. He prepared a detailed proposal. He developed a plan and an emergency plan. He organized every hour of Mr. Black's trip -- every visit to every village -- every meal. He completed all the necessary documents. He was unbelievably excited. His big project was moving along smoothly. Mr. Black was excited, too. He had never been far from home. Now he was about to travel to a foreign land as an official representative of the United States of America. I was excited myself. I had visited Guyana as a reporter a number of times in the past. I would now be going back again to report on Mr. Black's trip. As I waited to hear when we would leave -- disaster struck. A high official with the Agency for International Development read the proposal. Something, he decided, was not acceptable. He canceled everything. Harvey Withered called me almost in tears. "They say Mr. Black is too old." It did not seem fair for Harvey's big idea to die this way. I did my best to make him feel better. "Too bad," I said. "Yeah, too bad." he said, "it was over -- that is, it would have been over." Right then, however, we learned how one part of the government does not always know what another part is doing." Mr. Black naturally had told a lot of people about his trip. Someone at a newspaper in Winston-Salem heard about it and said, "that is a good story." And the story appeared on page one of the paper. Next, someone at a national news service read the Winston-Salem paper and said "that is a good story." And they sent it to newspapers all over the country. Then, someone at the White House read about it, then said, "that is a good story. It would be wonderful if the president could see Mr. Black before he goes to Guyana." So on exactly the same day that the government official was canceling Mr. Black's trip, a White House official was inviting him to come to Washington to meet the president. The project became of top importance. All the wheels of government that hours before had rolled backward to a halt, now started rolling forward again. (MUSIC) So, George Black got to meet the president. He got to go to Guyana, too. There, he taught brick-making with such energy that everyone around him was tired. One of them was probably the government official who said he was too old for the trip. I have not collected many objects from all the years I was on the road as a reporter, but from the story of George Black I have two. The first is one of his bricks. It is solid and strong like the man who made it. The second is a photograph of President Nixon in the Oval Office, surrounded by Mr. Black and his family. In a corner of this photograph is the small face of a man wearing an expression of victory that day. It's the face of Harvey Withered. (MUSIC) You have just heard the story "Mr. Black" by Charles Kuralt. It's from his book "A Life on the Road" published in nineteen ninety by G.P. Putname's Sons. The story is copyrighted, all rights reserved. It was adapted for Special English by Christine Johnson. Our narrator was Shep O'Neal. This is Shirley Griffith. 109 Now, the VOA Special English program -- AMERICAN STORIES. Our story today is called "Mr. Black". It was written by American reporter Charles Kuralt. It is from his book "A life on the Road". For many years, Charles Kuralt traveled across the United States telling interesting stories about Americans. His stories were broadcasted on the CBS Television Network. Later, some were published in books. Here is Shep O'Neal with Mr. Kuralt's story called "Mr. Black". (MUSIC) George Black was a brickmaker. He mixed dirt and water, poured the mixture into forms and heated the forms until the mixture was hard. During his life, many structures were built with his hand-made bricks. George Black became a pretty good diplomat for the American State Department too. But that part of his story comes later. George Black's father died in eighteen eighty-nine. George was eleven years old. His brother was fourteen. "We will not be able to go to school," his brother said, "we are going to have to work for a living. If we work hard and make men out of ourselves, even if we do not know the difference between A and B, people will call us Mr. Black someday." George repeated his brother's words proudly more than eighty years later. By then he was a very old man, everybody called him "Mr. Black". (MUSIC) The two little boys, George and his brother, set out on their own in eighteen eighty-nine. They walked forty miles from their village in North Carolina to the nearest big city Winston-Salem. They worked for a brickmaker for a while. After they learned how to make bricks, they started their own business. By the time I met George Black, he had been making bricks for a very long time. He still used the same method. He tied a mule to what he called a "mud mill". The mule walked slowly in a circle turning the mill. The mill mixed dirt and water creating the wet mud from which bricks are made. Mr. Black gathered up the mud in his big hands and put just the right amount in each form. It was then ready to be heated in a hot fire. Each form made six bricks. "How many bricks do you think you have made in your life?" I asked him. "Oh," he said, "I do not know, I would be afraid to know. I made a million bricks one year. Mr. R. J. Reynolds wanted to build a tobacco factory. He asked me if I thought I could make a million bricks. I studied and said, 'yes I could.' I did too. You can go see them if you want to. That building is still there. They are all my bricks. Yes, sir." I found myself filled with great respect for this man. He was standing in a hole in the ground covered in mud. He had made a life of earth and water and fire. He had made the building blocks of a city. The next day, Mr. Black put on his best cloth and we walked around Winston-Salem. "These bricks we are walking on," he said, "I made these only about forty years ago." He pointed with his walking stick. "I made the bricks for that church over there. I made the bricks for that wall." Wherever we walked, he pointed out the work of his own hands. When we reached the huge tobacco factory, he spoke again. "I believe I told you wrong about this job. It was not a million bricks. It was a million and a half. Made them six at a time for a dollar and half a day. I was a good payee in those days. Yes sir, made all these bricks six at a time and I am going to make some more yet." (MUSIC) I told the story of George Black on television. The day after, I found myself talking about him again. An official with the United States Agency for International Development was interested. "I hear you had a story about a brickmaker last night," the official Harvey Withered said. "Yep," I answered. "Oh gosh," he said, "I have been looking all over this country for a brickmaker who still does the job by hand. I did not think there were any left. You see, the government of Guyana has a plan to rebuild the country. It does not want a big brick factory. It wants somebody to go from village to village to teach the people how to make bricks for themselves." "Well," I said, "I know the right man for the job. But remember that he is ninety-two years old." "I do not care how old he is," Harvey Withered said, "he must be the last person in America to make bricks by hand. Give me his address and telephone number. Mr. Kuralt, you have made my day!" I called Mr. Black to warn him what was going to happen. He said he had already received the call from Washington. "Where is Guyana?" he asked. "It is in South America." I said. "My-my," he said. The very next day, Harvey Withered flew from Washington to Winston-Salem. He and Mr. Black liked each other immediately and quickly reached an agreement. Mr. Black would go to Guyana for ten days. He would take his granddaughter. She also knew how to make bricks. A young boy would go to help them. Mr. Black would be paid 100 dollars a day. Harvey Withered said, "this is a wonderful thing you are going to do, Mr. Black, we, in Washington, thank you very much." Mr. Black said simply, "I believe you have chosen the best man to do the job for the U.S.A." (MUSIC) Harvey Withered knew what had to be done. He prepared a detailed proposal. He developed a plan and an emergency plan. He organized every hour of Mr. Black's trip -- every visit to every village -- every meal. He completed all the necessary documents. He was unbelievably excited. His big project was moving along smoothly. Mr. Black was excited, too. He had never been far from home. Now he was about to travel to a foreign land as an official representative of the United States of America. I was excited myself. I had visited Guyana as a reporter a number of times in the past. I would now be going back again to report on Mr. Black's trip. As I waited to hear when we would leave -- disaster struck. A high official with the Agency for International Development read the proposal. Something, he decided, was not acceptable. He canceled everything. Harvey Withered called me almost in tears. "They say Mr. Black is too old." It did not seem fair for Harvey's big idea to die this way. I did my best to make him feel better. "Too bad," I said. "Yeah, too bad." he said, "it was over -- that is, it would have been over." Right then, however, we learned how one part of the government does not always know what another part is doing." Mr. Black naturally had told a lot of people about his trip. Someone at a newspaper in Winston-Salem heard about it and said, "that is a good story." And the story appeared on page one of the paper. Next, someone at a national news service read the Winston-Salem paper and said "that is a good story." And they sent it to newspapers all over the country. Then, someone at the White House read about it, then said, "that is a good story. It would be wonderful if the president could see Mr. Black before he goes to Guyana." So on exactly the same day that the government official was canceling Mr. Black's trip, a White House official was inviting him to come to Washington to meet the president. The project became of top importance. All the wheels of government that hours before had rolled backward to a halt, now started rolling forward again. (MUSIC) So, George Black got to meet the president. He got to go to Guyana, too. There, he taught brick-making with such energy that everyone around him was tired. One of them was probably the government official who said he was too old for the trip. I have not collected many objects from all the years I was on the road as a reporter, but from the story of George Black I have two. The first is one of his bricks. It is solid and strong like the man who made it. The second is a photograph of President Nixon in the Oval Office, surrounded by Mr. Black and his family. In a corner of this photograph is the small face of a man wearing an expression of victory that day. It's the face of Harvey Withered. (MUSIC) You have just heard the story "Mr. Black" by Charles Kuralt. It's from his book "A Life on the Road" published in nineteen ninety by G.P. Putname's Sons. The story is copyrighted, all rights reserved. It was adapted for Special English by Christine Johnson. Our narrator was Shep O'Neal. This is Shirley Griffith. 110 FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus. STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. This week on our program, we look at the new Congress in Washington. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: The one hundred twelfth Congress opened last Wednesday. The new speaker of the House of Representatives is John Boehner. The Republican from Ohio replaces Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California. Four years ago, Ms. Pelosi became the first woman ever elected speaker. She will now serve as the minority leader. NANCY PELOSI: "We now engage in a strong symbol of American democracy -- the peaceful and respectful exchange of power." STEVE EMBER: John Boehner is sixty-one years old. He grew up the second oldest of twelve children in his family in Ohio. His father owned a bar called Andy's Cafe that his grandfather started. He says working there when he was growing up taught him how to deal with all kinds of people. He also likes to say that his parents used what little money they had to send all their children to Catholic schools. The future House speaker worked nights as a cleaning man to pay for college. He went on to become president of a plastics company and served in the Ohio state legislature for six years. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in nineteen ninety. He was among a group of first-term Republicans known as the "Gang of Seven" who fought to change Congress. FAITH LAPIDUS: Last week, Mr. Boehner wiped tears from his eyes as he gave his first speech as House speaker. His new job puts him second in line to the presidency after the vice president. JOHN BOEHNER: "The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is. They have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them." FAITH LAPIDUS: And Speaker Boehner said voters sent a clear message that they are not happy with the situation in the country. JOHN BOEHNER: "We gather here today at a time of great challenges. Nearly one in ten of our neighbors are looking for work. Health care costs are still rising for American families. Our spending has caught up with us, and our debt will soon eclipse the entire size of our entire economy. "Hard work and tough decisions will be required of the one hundred twelfth Congress. No longer can we fall short. No longer can we kick the can down the road. The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin carrying out their instructions." STEVE EMBER: On the first day, House Republicans passed new rules that aim to cut government spending-- rules that Democrats criticized. The new rules say any proposed spending increases must be paid for with cuts in other areas. Also, all legislation will have to be available for anyone to read online three days before a vote. And bills will have to list their basis in the United States Constitution. This new attention to the Constitution included an eighty-four-minute reading of the document in the House last Thursday. (SOUND) STEVE EMBER: But members did not read the parts like those about slavery that were later amended out of the Constitution. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: This week, House Republicans plan a vote to repeal the new health care law. However, that effort to end the law faces opposition in the Senate where Democrats still hold a majority. Republicans could also try to deny money to pay for the health law or vote against parts of it. But they would have to get enough votes in both houses to defeat a presidential veto. The law is known as the Affordable Care Act. President Obama signed the bill last March. The aim is for most Americans to have health insurance by twenty fourteen. The law also faces a fight in the courts over whether the government can require people to buy coverage. Still, the health care law represented one of a number of legislative victories for President Obama last year. That was while his Democratic Party controlled both houses of Congress. Mr. Obama also signed into law the biggest rewrite of financial rules since the nineteen thirties. STEVE EMBER: But as the economy suffered, so did the president's approval ratings. He was not alone. Political experts say the last Congress was one of the most productive in American history. By December, however, only thirteen percent of Americans said they approved of the way Congress was handling its job. That was a new low in more than thirty years of public opinion findings by the Gallup organization. By comparison, the president's approval rating was about forty-five percent after the congressional elections in November. Those elections gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years. Republicans also made gains in the Senate. President Obama took responsibility for the results. BARACK OBAMA: "After what I'm sure was a long night for a lot of you -- and needless to say it was for me -- I can tell you that some election nights are more fun than others. Some are exhilarating; some are humbling." FAITH LAPIDUS: Many of the new Republican members of the House are young Tea Party activists. They support tax and spending cuts and limited government. Norman Ornstein is a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute. He says voters punished Democrats because unemployment remains high. He says the political climate may be even more divided now, since many moderate Democrats and Republicans have been replaced. NORMAN ORNSTEIN: "We've had plenty of times when we have had enormous tension, with the impeachment of President Nixon. We had the impeachment of President Clinton, we had the Vietnam War, we had the Iran-Contra investigation, periods when the two parties had an enormously high level of tension. But this is simply worse." (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: Third-term Representative Michele Bachmann is a Republican from Minnesota and a favorite of the Tea Party movement. She talked about the trillion-dollar federal deficit on the CBS program "Face the Nation." She said Republicans have a simple message for the new Congress. MICHELE BACHMANN: "Stop spending money that you do not have." STEVE EMBER: One of the first budget battles of two thousand eleven will center on whether to raise the debt limit in order to borrow more money. Mike Kelly is a newly elected Republican representative from Pennsylvania. MIKE KELLY: "Raising the debt ceiling, to me, is absolutely irresponsible. We have been spending money for so long that we do not have, and keep saying this is OK, that we will raise taxes and find it somewhere." FAITH LAPIDUS: The Obama administration says not raising the debt limit could leave the United States without enough money to pay its bondholders around the world. Economic adviser Austan Goolsbee says federal budget deficits must be cut. But he said on ABC's "This Week" program that they must not be cut in a way that damages economic recovery. AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: "If you are going to skimp on important investments that we need to grow, you are making a mistake. The longer-run fiscal challenge facing the country is important. But that is totally different than saying we should tighten the belt in the midst of coming out of the worst recession since nineteen twenty-nine." STEVE EMBER: Republicans are promising to move quickly to cut tens of billions of dollars in government spending. In nineteen ninety-five, Democrat Bill Clinton faced a budget battle with a Republican-controlled Congress in his first term as president. That fight led to a temporary shutdown of government offices. Now, President Obama faces an opposition-controlled House for the last two years of his term. Mark Penn advised President Clinton, and says President Obama will need Republican help to get things done. MARK PENN: "Right now I think the president has got to do two key things: move to the center, focus on the economy." STEVE EMBER: Mr. Obama has agreed to extend the tax cuts from the Bush administration for all Americans for two more years. He had wanted to extend them for all except the wealthiest Americans, but he compromised with Republicans. FAITH LAPIDUS: Conservative commentator Amy Holmes also believes the president should move to the political center. AMY HOLMES: "I think in the next two years, if President Obama does move to the center, if he does triangulate, much like Bill Clinton did, and pursue policies where there is common ground with Republicans, he can get small things done." The president will soon offer some idea of how much his plans have or have not changed when he gives his State of the Union speech. STEVE EMBER: At the White House, a reorganization has begun, in part to prepare for Mr. Obama's re-election campaign in two thousand twelve. Among the changes: the president's spokesman announced last week that he is leaving. Press secretary Robert Gibbs will become a private consultant advising President Obama. Political adviser David Axelrod will be returning to Chicago to work on the campaign. And coming from Chicago will be William Daley as the new chief of staff. Mr. Daley is a banking executive with extensive business experience. He was Bill Clinton's commerce secretary. And he comes from Chicago's most powerful political family. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Kent Klein, Michael Bowman and Cindy Saine. I'm Faith Lapidus. STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. You can comment on our programs and find transcripts and MP3s at www.putclub.com. Join again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. 111 FAITH LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus. BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Today, we will tell you everything you wanted to know about snow. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: Winter has returned to northern parts of the world. In the northern United States, winter can mean the return of snow. Large amounts of snow fell in some American cities last month. One storm hit the East Coast, causing flight cancellations and temporarily stopping traffic in some areas. Snow is a subject of great interest to weather experts. They sometimes have difficulty estimating where, when or how much snow will fall. One reason is that heavy amounts of snow fall in surprisingly small areas. Another reason is that a small change in temperature can mean the difference between snow and rain. BOB DOUGHTY: Just what is snow, anyway? Snow is a form of frozen water. It contains groups of ice particles called snow crystals. These crystals grow from water droplets in cold clouds. They usually grow around dust particles. All snow crystals have six sides, but they grow in different shapes. The shape depends mainly on the temperature and water levels in the air. Snow crystals grow in one of two designs - plate-like and columnar. Plate-like crystals are flat. They form when the air temperature is about fifteen degrees below zero Celsius. Columnar snow crystals look like sticks of ice. They form when the temperature is about five degrees below zero. FAITH LAPIDUS: The shape of a snow crystal may change from one form to another as the crystal passes through levels of air with different temperatures. When melting snow-crystals or raindrops fall through very cold air, they freeze to form small particles of ice, called sleet. Groups of frozen water-droplets are called snow pellets. Under some conditions, these particles may grow larger and form solid pieces of ice, or hail. Hail can be dangerous to people, animals and property. (MUSIC) BOB DOUGHTY: When snow crystals stick together, they produce snowflakes. Snowflakes come in different sizes. As many as one hundred crystals may join to form a snowflake larger than two and one-half centimeters. Under some conditions, snowflakes can form that are five centimeters long. Usually, this requires near-freezing temperatures, light winds and changing conditions in Earth's atmosphere. Snow contains much less water than rain. About two and one-half centimeters of rain has as much water as fifteen centimeters of wet snow. About seventy-six centimeters of dry snow equals the water in two and one-half centimeters of rain. FAITH LAPIDUS: Much of the water the world uses comes from snow. Melting snow provides water for rivers, electric power stations and agricultural crops. Mountain snow provides up to seventy-five percent of all surface water supplies in the western United States. Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from winter weather. Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals. Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is limited. Snow also influences the movement of sound waves. When there is fresh snow on the ground, the surface of the snow takes in, or absorbs, sound waves. However, snow can become hard and flat as it grows older or if there have been strong winds. Then, the snow's surface will help to send back sound waves. Under these conditions, sounds may seem clearer and may travel farther. BOB DOUGHTY: Generally, snow and ice appear white. This is because the light we see from the sun is white. Most natural materials take in some sunlight. This gives them their color. However, when light travels from air to snow, some light is sent back, or reflected. Snow crystals have many surfaces to reflect sunlight. Yet the snow does take in a little sunlight. It is this light that gives snow its white appearance. Sometimes, snow or ice may appear to be blue. The blue light is the product of a long path through the snow or ice. Think of snow or ice as a filter. A filter is designed to reject some substances, while permitting others to pass through. In the case of snow, light makes it through if the snow is only a centimeter thick. If it is a meter or more thick, however, blue light often can be seen. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: Snow falls in the Earth's extreme North and South throughout the year. However, the heaviest snowfalls have been reported in the mountains of other areas during winter. These areas include the Alps in Italy and Switzerland, the coastal mountains of western Canada, and the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains in the United States. Snow is even known to fall near the Equator, but only on the highest mountains. BOB DOUGHTY: Sometimes, snow comes earlier than normal. And sometimes it falls in areas that are not known for having snow. In early December, ice and heavy snow caused officials in Paris to close its main airport and the Eiffel Tower. It was the heaviest snowfall in the French capital has received in years. Snow also fell in other parts of Europe. Scotland received its heaviest snowfall since nineteen sixty-three. A combination of snow, rain and freezing conditions caused traffic problems in Germany. There were hundreds of accidents nationwide. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, most of them at the Frankfurt airport. FAITH LAPIDUS: Each year, the continental United States has an average of one hundred five snowstorms. An average storm produces snow for two to five days. Almost every part of the United States has received snowfall at one time or another. Even parts of southern Florida, where many Americans go for warm-weather vacations, have reported a few snowflakes. The national record for snowfall in a single season was set in the winter of nineteen ninety-eight to nineteen ninety-nine. Two thousand eight hundred ninety-five centimeters of snow fell at the Mount Baker Ski area in the northwestern state of Washington. BOB DOUGHTY: People in many areas have little or no snowfall. In 1936, a physicist from Japan produced the first man-made snow in a laboratory. Then, during the 1940s, several American scientists developed methods for making snow in other areas. Clouds with extremely cool water are mixed with man-made ice crystals, such as silver iodide and metaldehyde crystals. Sometimes, dry ice particles or liquid propane are used. Today, machines are used to produce limited amounts of snow for winter ski areas when not enough natural snow has fallen. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: Snow may be beautiful, but it can be deadly. It is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the United States every year. Many people die in traffic accidents on roads that are covered with snow or ice. Others die from being out in the cold, or from heart attacks caused by too much physical activity. You may not be able to avoid living in areas where it snows often. However, you can avoid becoming a victim of snowstorms. Most people are told to stay in their homes until the storm has passed. When removing large amounts of snow, they should stop and rest often. Difficult physical activity during snow removal can cause a heart attack, especially among the elderly. It is always a good idea to keep a lot of supplies in the home, even before winter begins. These supplies include food, medicine, clean water and extra power supplies. BOB DOUGHTY: Drivers have become trapped in their vehicles during a snowstorm. If this happens, people should remain in or near their car unless they see some kind of help. They should get out and clear space around the vehicle's exhaust pipe to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. Drivers should tie a bright-colored object to the top of their car to increase the chance of rescue. Inside the car, they should open a window a little for fresh air and turn on the engine for ten or fifteen minutes every hour for heat. People living in areas where winter storms are likely should carry emergency supplies in their vehicle. These include food, emergency medical supplies and extra clothing to stay warm and dry. People in these areas should always be prepared for winter emergencies. Snow can be beautiful, but it can also be dangerous. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Christopher Cruise. June Simms was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus. BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Read and listen to our programs at www.putclub.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America. 112 STEVE EMBER: This is Steve Ember. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program, EXPLORATIONS. Today we present the second of our two programs about the history of the English Language. (MOVIE) STEVE EMBER: Last week, we told how the English language developed as a result of several invasions of Britain. The first involved three tribes called the Angles, the Jutes and the Saxons. A mix of their languages produced a language called Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. It sounded very much like German. Only a few words remained from the Celts who had lived in Britain Two more invasions added words to Old English. The Vikings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden arrived in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The next invasion took place in the year ten sixty-six. French forces from Normandy were led by a man known as William the Conqueror. The Norman rulers added many words to English. The words "parliament," "jury," "justice," and others that deal with law come from the Norman rulers. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Over time, the different languages combined to result in what English experts call Middle English. While Middle English still sounds similar to German, it also begins to sound like Modern English. Here Warren Scheer reads the very beginning of Geoffrey Chaucer's great poem, "The Canterbury Tales" as it was written in Middle English. WARREN SCHEER: Whan that aprill with his shoures sooteThe droghte of march hath perced to the roote,And bathed every veyne in swich licourOf which vertu engendred is the flour;Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breethInspired hath in every holt and heath STEVE EMBER: Chaucer wrote that poem in the late thirteen hundreds. It was written in the language of the people. The rulers of Britain at that time still spoke the Norman French they brought with them in ten sixty-six. The kings of Britain did not speak the language of the people until the early fourteen hundreds. Slowly, Norman French was used less and less until it disappeared. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The English language was strongly influenced by an event that took place more than one thousand four hundred years ago. In the year five ninety-seven, the Roman Catholic Church began its attempt to make Christianity the religion of Britain. The language of the Catholic Church was Latin. Latin was not spoken as a language in any country at that time. But it was still used by some people. Latin made it possible for a church member from Rome to speak to a church member from Britain. Educated people from different countries could communicate using Latin. Latin had a great effect on the English language. Here are a few examples. The Latin word "discus" became several words in English including "disk," "dish," and "desk." The Latin word "quietus" became the English word "quiet." Some English names of plants such as ginger and trees such as cedar come from Latin. So do some medical words such as cancer. STEVE EMBER: English is a little like a living thing that continues to grow. English began to grow more quickly when William Caxton returned to Britain in the year fourteen seventy-six. He had been in Holland and other areas of Europe where he had learned printing. He returned to Britain with the first printing press. The printing press made it possible for almost anyone to buy a book. It helped spread education and the English language. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Slowly, during the fifteen hundreds, English became the modern language we would recognize. English speakers today would be able to communicate with English speakers in the last part of the sixteenth century. It was during this time period that the greatest writer in English produced his work. His name was William Shakespeare. His plays continue to be printed, acted in theaters, and seen in motion pictures almost four hundred years after his death. STEVE EMBER: Experts say that Shakespeare's work was written to be performed on the stage, not to be read. Yet every sound of his words can produce word pictures, and provide feelings of anger, fear and laughter. Shakespeare's famous play "Romeo and Juliet" is so sad that people cry when they see this famous story. The story of the power-hungry King Richard the Third is another very popular play by Shakespeare. Listen as Shep O'Neal reads the beginning of "Richard the Third." SHEP O'NEAL: Now is the winter of our discontentMade glorious summer by this sun of York;And all the clouds that lour'd upon our houseIn the deep bosom of the ocean buried.Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,Our dreadful marches to delightful measures SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The development of the English language took a giant step just nine years before the death of William Shakespeare. Three small British ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean in sixteen-oh-seven. They landed in an area that would later become the southern American state of Virginia. They began the first of several British colonies. The name of the first small colony was Jamestown. In time, people in these new colonies began to call areas of their new land by words borrowed from the native people they found living there. For example, many of the great rivers in the United States are taken from American Indian words. The Mississippi, the Tennessee, the Missouri are examples. Other Native American words included "moccasin", the kind of shoe made of animal skin that Indians wore on their feet. This borrowing or adding of foreign words to English was a way of expanding the language. The names of three days of the week are good examples of this. The people from Northern Europe honored three gods with a special day each week. The gods were Odin, Thor and Freya. Odin's-day became Wednesday in English, Thor's-day became Thursday and Freya's-day became Friday. STEVE EMBER: Britain had other colonies in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and India. The English language also became part of these colonies. These colonies are now independent, but English still is one of the languages spoken. And the English language grew as words from the native languages were added. For example, the word "shampoo" for soap for the hair came from India. "Banana" is believed to be from Africa. Experts cannot explain many English words. For hundreds of years, a dog was called a "hound." The word is still used but not as commonly as the word "dog." Experts do not know where the word "dog" came from or when. English speakers just started using it. Other words whose origins are unknown include "fun," "bad," and "big." SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words "motor" and "hotel." Many years ago some one linked them together into the word "motel." A motel is a small hotel near a road where people travelling in cars can stay for the night. Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became "Radar." The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is usually called NATO. Experts say that English has more words that explain the same thing that any other language. For example, the words "large," "huge," "vast," "massive," and "enormous" all mean something really "big." STEVE EMBER: People often ask how many words there are in the English language. Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about six hundred fifteen thousand words. Yet the many scientific words not in the dictionary could increase the number to almost one million. And experts are never really sure how to count English words. For example, the word "mouse." A mouse is a small creature from the rodent family. But "mouse" has another very different meaning. A "mouse" is also a hand-held device used to help control a computer. If you are counting words do you count "mouse" two times? (MUSIC) SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Visitors to the Voice of America hear people speaking more than forty different languages. Most broadcasters at VOA come from countries where these languages are spoken. International organizations such as VOA would find it impossible to operate without a second language all the people speak. The language that permits VOA to work is English. It is not unusual to see someone from the Mandarin Service talking to someone from the Urdu Service, both speaking English. English is becoming the common language of millions of people worldwide, helping speakers of many different languages communicate. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Steve Ember. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program, on the Voice of America. 113 BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION - American history in VOA Special English. Americans experimented with many new customs and social traditions during the nineteen twenties. There were new dances, new kinds of clothes and some of the most imaginative art and writing ever produced in the United States. But in most ways, the nineteen twenties were a conservative time in American life. Voters elected three conservative Republican presidents: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. And they supported many conservative social and political policies. This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe continue the story of American conservatism during the nineteen twenties. KAY GALLANT: One such policy concerned immigration. Most Americans in the nineteen twenties had at least some ties through blood or marriage to the first Americans who came from Britain. Many people with these kinds of historic ties considered themselves to be real Americans, true Americans. Americans traditionally had welcomed newcomers from such western European countries as Britain, France, or Germany. But most of the people arriving in New York City and other harbors in the nineteen twenties were from the central, eastern and southern areas of Europe. Some Americans became afraid of these millions of people arriving at their shores. They worried that the immigrant newcomers might steal their jobs. Or they feared the political beliefs of the immigrants. HARRY MONROE: Pressure to control immigration increased following the world war. Congress passed a bill that set a limit on how many people would be allowed to enter from each foreign country. And, the Congress and President Calvin Coolidge agreed to an even stronger immigration law in nineteen twenty-four. Under the new law, limits on the number of immigrants from each foreign country depended on the number of Americans who had families in that country. For example, the law allowed many immigrants to enter from Britain or France, because many American citizens had families in those countries. But fewer people could come from Italy or Russia, because fewer Americans had family members in those countries. The laws were very difficult to enforce. But they did succeed in limiting the number of immigrants from certain countries. KAY GALLANT: A second sign of the conservative feelings in the nineteen twenties was the nation's effort to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks, or liquor. This policy was known as Prohibition, because it prohibited -- or banned -- alcoholic drinks. Many of the strongest supporters of Prohibition were conservative Americans living in rural areas. Many of them believed that liquor was evil, the product of the devil. A number of towns and states passed laws banning alcohol sales during the first years of the twentieth century. And in nineteen nineteen, the nation passed the eighteenth amendment to the federal constitution. This amendment, and the Volstead Act, made it unlawful to make, sell or transport liquor. HARRY MONROE: Prohibition laws failed terribly from the start. There was only a small force of police to enforce the new laws. And millions of Americans still wanted to drink liquor. It was not possible for the police to watch every American who wanted to buy a drink secretly or make liquor in his own home. Not surprisingly, thousands of Americans soon saw a chance to make profits from the new laws. They began to import liquor illegally to sell for high prices. Criminals began to bring liquor across the long, unprotected border with Canada or on fast boats from the Caribbean islands. At the same time, private manufacturers in both cities and rural areas began to produce liquor. And shop owners in cities across the country sold liquor with little interference from local police. By the middle of the nineteen twenties, it was clear to most Americans that Prohibition laws were a failure. But the laws were not changed until the election of President Franklin Roosevelt in nineteen thirty-two. KAY GALLANT: A third sign of conservatism in the nineteen twenties was the effort by some Americans to ban schoolbooks on modern science. Most of the Americans who supported these efforts were conservative rural Americans who believed in the traditional ideas of the Protestant Christian church. Many of them were fearful of the many changes that had taken place in American society. Science became an enemy to many of these traditional, religious Americans. Science seemed to challenge the most basic ideas taught in the Bible. The conflict burst into a major public debate in nineteen twenty-five in a trial over Charles Darwin's idea of evolution. HARRY MONROE: British scientist Charles Darwin published his books "The Origin of the Species" and "The Descent of Man" in the nineteenth century. The books explained Darwin's idea that humans developed over millions of years from apes and other animals. Most Europeans and educated people accepted Darwin's theory by the end of the nineteenth century. But the book had little effect in rural parts of the United States until the nineteen twenties. William Jennings Bryan led the attack on Darwin's ideas. Bryan was a rural Democrat who ran twice for president. He lost both times. But Bryan remained popular among many traditional Americans. Bryan told his followers that the theory of evolution was evil, because it challenged the traditional idea that God created the world in six days. He accused scientists of violating God's words in the Bible. Bryan and his supporters called on local school officials to ban the teaching of evolution. Some state legislatures in the more conservative southeastern part of the country passed laws making it a crime to teach evolution theory. KAY GALLANT: In nineteen twenty-five, a young science teacher in the southern state of Tennessee challenged the state's new teaching law. The teacher -- John Scopes -- taught Darwin's evolution ideas. Officials arrested scopes and put him on trial. Some of the nation's greatest lawyers rushed to Tennessee to defend the young teacher. They believed the state had violated his right to free speech. And they thought Tennessee's law againt teaching evolution was foolish in a modern, scientific society. America's most famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow, became the leader of Scopes' defense team. Bryan and other religious conservatives also rushed to the trial. They supported the right of the state of Tennessee to ban the teaching of evolution. The trial was held in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee. Hundreds of people came to watch: religious conservatives, free speech supporters, newsmen and others. The high point of the trial came when Bryan himself sat before the court. Lawyer Clarence Darrow asked Bryan question after question about the bible and about science. How did Bryan know the Bible is true. Did God really create the earth in a single day. Is a day in the Bible twenty-four hours. Or can it mean a million years. HARRY MONROE: Bryan answered the questions. But he showed a great lack of knowledge about modern science. The judge found Scopes guilty of breaking the law. But in the battle of ideas, science defeated conservatism. And a higher court later ruled that Scopes was not guilty. The Scopes evolution trial captured the imagination of Americans. The issue was not really whether one young teacher was innocent or guilty of breaking a law. The real question was the struggle for America's spirit between the forces of modern ideas and those of traditional rural conservatism. The trial represented this larger conflict. KAY GALLANT: American society was changing in many important ways during the early part of the twentieth century. It was not yet the world superpower that it would become after World War Two. But neither was it a traditional rural society of conservative farmers and clergy. The nineteen twenties were a period of growth, of change and of struggle between the old and new values. (MUSIC) BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by David Jarmul. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at www.putclub.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English. 114 DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. (MUSIC) I'm Doug Johnson. This week we play music by Nora Jane Struthers ... And answer a question about Facebook ... But first we look at an exhibit in Washington that celebrates the art of wood turning and carving. (MUSIC) "Revolution in Wood" DOUG JOHNSON: An exhibit at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. is a celebration of the art of wood turning and carving. The exhibit is called "A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection." Collectors Charles and Fleur Bresler donated all sixty-six works in the show to the museum. The many artists in the show have used their creativity and skill to turn this natural material into fine art. Mario Ritter has more. MARIO RITTER: The "Revolution in Wood" exhibit shows a wide range of artistic expressions. Some works in the show are very large, such as Michelle Holzapfel's piece "Table Bracelet: Promenade Suite." The artist decided she wanted to make jewelry for the home, instead of for the body. So she made this large movable piece that can be placed on a table. It contains three vases for holding flowers, three containers and two candle holders. The maple, birch, and cherry woods give each detail a different effect. Other works are very small treasures. Janel Jacobson's "Coiled Snake" is made from a yellow-colored wood called boxwood. This very small and finely cut snake could fit in the palm of your hand. Many of the works are containers, like the smooth form of a large bowl by Barry Macdonald. A vase by Brenda Behrens is made out of myrtle wood. Part of the vase is carved to look like a lotus plant. Other works are more sculptural. Todd Hoyer's "Sphere" looks like a wooden planet. Mark Sfirri has a work called "Rejects from the Bat Factory." It looks like five wildly formed baseball bats hanging from a holder. The work was influenced by Mr. Sfirri's son who requested a home-made baseball bat. The artist realized that this form could be a great way to experiment with new shapes and cutting methods on his lathe machine. In fact, many of the works in the exhibit were made on a lathe. A wood expert uses this machine to turn a wooden form. He or she uses a tool such as a gouge to slowly cut away at the form. People have used lathes for centuries to make furniture and other objects. But it is only since the nineteen forties that the machine began to be used as a way to create art. There is even a lathe set up near the exhibit area. About twice a week, artists show visitors how they use the lathe to create a turned wood bowl. (SOUND) Fleur Bresler says seeing art at the Renwick Gallery helped her discover her love of wood. She says the goal of the exhibit is to increase public awareness about the great value and skill of works made by wood artists. Facebook DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes from Daisy in China. She wants to know the history of Facebook. Friends, family, and co-workers use Facebook to communicate with each other. Many businesses use the site to show their products. Users can write about themselves or their companies and include pictures and videos. They can also permit everyone, or only a few people, to see their Facebook pages. This past summer, Facebook announced that it has over five hundred million active users around the world. About half of them use the site every day. About seventy percent of all Facebook users are in countries outside the United States. Mark Zuckerberg and three friends started Facebook in two thousand four. He was a second year student at Harvard University in Massachusetts. He began the project by illegally using the university's computer system. Harvard University charged him with violating several laws. Mr. Zuckerberg was almost forced to leave school. But the university withdrew the charges. Mark Zuckerberg was also accused of stealing other people's ideas and using them in Facebook. He has denied the charges. Several people have taken legal action against him. At first, only Harvard students could use Facebook. But it quickly expanded to other universities. The website was also opened to high school students. Now, anyone at least thirteen years old with an e-mail address can join. In the early days, only a small group of people managed Facebook. Now it has over one thousand seven hundred workers in twelve countries. Facebook makes money by selling advertising. It has been extremely successful. The financial company Second Market, Incorporated, says Facebook is worth forty-one billion dollars. A movie about the creation of Facebook, called "The Social Network," was released in October. We also had a question from Vietnam. Van Nguyen wants to know about the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Junior. Monday is the national holiday that celebrates the life of the civil rights leader. You can hear about Dr. King and a memorial being built to honor him on the Special English program "This is America" on Monday. Nora Jane Struthers DOUG JOHNSON: Nora Jane Struthers describes her music as "classic Americana." Her songs are heavily influenced by bluegrass and folk music. Her first album performing alone is called "Nora Jane Struthers." The twenty-six-year-old performs songs that sound like they came from another century. She says her earlier career as a teacher had a big influence on some of her songwriting. Barbara Klein tells us more. (Music) BARBARA KLEIN: That was Nora Jane Struthers singing "Greenbriar County." Struthers is not from the state she sings about, West Virginia, although her music may sound like it. She grew up in New Jersey performing with her father Alan who is a blue grass musician. She says she learned music in the same way that folk and traditional music has been learned for ages -- by playing and singing with family members. She started writing her own songs in high school and performed in college. She later recorded an album with her father. Here is the song "Willie" from Nora Jane Struthers' own album. It tells about a love story with a tragic ending. (Music) Struthers began her career teaching high school English in the Brooklyn area of New York City. She says she read many works by great English writers including William Shakesp eare and Jane Austen. The universal subjects in their stories started to come out in the music she was writing. In two thousand eight, Nora Jane Struthers decided to work on her music career full time. She left New York and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. We leave you with the lively sound of "Mocking Bird." (Music) DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Dana Demange and Jim Tedder. Caty Weaver was our producer. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English. 没事就用这些词练练你的嘴皮子~~ ●说吧,你是想死呢还是不想活了? ●好久没有人把牛皮吹的这么清新脱俗了! ●你给我滚,马不停蹄的滚…… ●人人都说我丑,其实我只是美得不明显。 ●无理取闹,必有所图! _________________________________________________ ●天被熬亮了。 ●不是路不平,而是你不行。 ●恶心妈妈抱着恶心哭得很伤心,为什么呢?因为恶心死了…… ●要不是打不过你,我早就和你翻脸了。 ●我这心碎得,捧出来跟饺子馅似的。 _________________________________________________ ●没人牵手,我就揣兜。 ●我的兴趣爱好可分为静态和动态两种,静态就是睡觉,动态就是翻身… ●唉~这人要一没正形,连头痛都是偏的。 ●我这人不太懂音乐,所以时而不靠谱,时而不着调。 ●怎么会突然想哭?难道我也有些逆流成河的小忧伤? _________________________________________________ ●好漂亮的美女叔叔啊! ●我不跟猪摔跤有两个原因:首先这让我自己变得很脏,其次这让猪很高兴。 ●没事偷着乐是不太可能了,偷着胖还是有点儿希望. ●放下屠刀立地成佛的意思是,你放下屠刀的那一刻对方把你砍成两瓣儿了。 ●没事可做时,觉得最累。 _________________________________________________ ●李碧华说过:什么叫多余?夏天的棉袄,冬天的蒲扇,还有等我已经心冷后你的殷勤。 ●永远年轻,永远装嫩,永远不知好歹,永远热泪盈眶。 ●我爸面对我发胖一事发表了看法:没有韩红的命,还得了韩红的病。 ●你来我信你不会走,你走我当你没来过。——我们该这样对待缘分与爱。 ●曾以为我是那崖畔的一枝花,后来才知道,不过是人海一粒渣。 _________________________________________________ ●荡气回肠,消化不良。 ●女人喜欢长的坏坏的男人,并不是喜欢长坏了的男人.. ●麻子不叫麻子,坑人。 ●江湖险恶,不行就撤! ●不敲几下,你不可能知道一个人或一个西瓜的好坏。 _________________________________________________ ●孤独的人常表现得很坚强;寂寞的人则多半温和。 ●大笑是绽放的微笑。 ●我的意中人是个绝色大美女,终于有一天她会骑着喷火的恐龙来嫁给我 的,可是我看见了她的坐骑,却没有看见她的主人。 ●孤单是一个人的狂欢,狂欢是一群人的孤单。 ●虽不安分,也该守己。 _________________________________________________ ●人不犯我,我不犯人。人若犯我,我就生气! ●别逼我,否则我伟大起来,一发不可收拾。 ●我们是平凡的人,我们也是特别的人,所以我们是特别平凡的人。 ●那个人敢说自己纯净?瞧你那眼神就透着浑浊。 ●没有什么比弱者对强者的鄙视更无力了。 _________________________________________________ ●如有雷同,纯属你抄我 ●笨鸟先飞,笨猪先肥。 ●当你的眼泪忍不住要流出来的时候,睁大眼睛,千万别眨眼,你会看到世 界由清晰到模糊的全过程。 ●告诉你别逼我,你要是再逼我,我就装死给你看。 ●年轻算什么,谁没年轻过?你老过吗?真是的 _________________________________________________ ●别用世故的样子来武装自己,它会水土不服。 ●解释就是掩饰,掩饰就是编故事。 ●所谓门槛,过去了便是门,过不去就成了槛。 ●陌生阻止你认识陌生的事物,熟悉妨碍你理解熟悉的事物。 ●人生的悲哀就在于,当你想两肋插刀的时候,却只有一把刀。 _________________________________________________ ● 如果全是老姜,将是一个何等辛辣的社会。 ● 狮子不会因为听到狗吠而回头。 ● 水越深,水流越平稳。 ●在你不当回事的时候,一切就好了起来。 ● 无论是国王还是农夫,只要能在自己家里找到安宁,他就是最幸福的人。_________________________________________________ ● 一分钱一分货,稀饭吃了不经饿. ● 水壶啊,你为什么哭泣,是因为屁股太烫了吗? ● 如果命运抓住了伱的喉咙,伱就挠命运嘚胳肢窝。 ● 拦着成长的不是幼稚,而是自以为成熟。 ● 如果命运折断了你的腿,他会教你如何跛行 __________________________________________________ ● 打死你我也不说 ●左脑全是水,右脑全是面粉,不动便罢了,一动全是浆糊 ●挣钱就像用针掘地,花钱就像水渗进土里。 ●我也有要去的地方,只是我要去的地方,没道路通向那里。 ●你浪费的粮食都会堵在你去往天堂的路上。 __________________________________________________ ●生活是丰富多彩的,但我也有自己的颜色。 ●如果有一天我失踪了,只有两种可能:身体在旅行,或者灵魂在旅行。 ●讓人格与腦門一同閃亮。 ●你的丑和你的脸没有关系。 ●我从来没有欺骗过你,因为我从来没有欺骗你的必要。 __________________________________________________ ●我可以选择放弃,但我不能放弃选择。 ●天没降大任于我,照样苦我心志,劳我筋骨。 ●也许似乎大概是,然而未必不见得。 ●再过一百年,就长成了参天大葱。 ●幸福就是当你照镜子的时候,喜欢你看到的那个人。