Just listen

Chapter 71

Long-Life Concrete Bridges
This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

a.

a._2__The economic costs are greatest for developing countries.

b._1__Each year, road accidents kill a million people and injure millions more.

c._3__Earlier this year, the United Nations called for a campaign to improve road safety.

b.

a._2__Another is better roads and bridges.

b._4__Professor Paul Tikalsky leads the experiments by a team at Pennsylvania State University.

c._5__He says bridges made of concrete now last about twenty-five to thirty-five years.

d._1__One way to avoid accidents is better driving.

e._3__ Engineers in the United States have designed ten new concrete mixtures that they think could make bridges last longer.

f._6__But he says the new mixtures might extend that to seventy-five or even one-hundred years.

c.

a._2__ The materials in the cement hold the concrete together.

b._1__ Concrete is made of stone, sand, water, and cement.

c._5__ People keep looking for new ways to improve concrete. Professor Tikalsky says it is one of the most complex of all chemical systems.

d._3__ Ancient Romans built with concrete.

e._4__ Yet strengthened concrete bridges did not appear until the late eighteen-hundreds.

d.

a._3__ One of the products is fly ash.

b._1__ The new mixtures designed by his team contain industrial waste products.

c._4__ This is released into the air as pollution when coal is burned.

d._2__ He says these make the concrete better able to resist damage from water and salt over time.

E.

a._2__ This is the most costly material in concrete.

b._1__ Professor Tikalsky says particles of fly ash are almost exactly the same size and chemical structure as Portland cement.

c._3__ So using fly ash to replace some of it would save money.

TEXT

This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

a.

Each year, road accidents kill a million people and injure millions more.

The economic costs are greatest for developing countries.

Earlier this year, the United Nations called for a campaign to improve road safety.

b.

One way to avoid accidents is better driving.

Another is better roads and bridges.

Engineers in the United States have designed ten new concrete mixtures that they think could make bridges last longer.

Professor Paul Tikalsky leads the experiments by a team at Pennsylvania State University.

He says bridges made of concrete now last about twenty-five to thirty-five years.

But he says the new mixtures might extend that to seventy-five or even one-hundred years.

c.

Concrete is made of stone, sand, water, and cement.

The materials in the cement hold the concrete together.

Ancient Romans built with concrete.
Yet strengthened concrete bridges did not appear until the late eighteen-hundreds.

People keep looking for new ways to improve concrete. Professor Tikalsky says it is one of the most complex of all chemical systems.

d.

The new mixtures designed by his team contain industrial waste products.

He says these make the concrete better able to resist damage from water and salt over time.

One of the products is fly ash.

This is released into the air as pollution when coal is burned.

e.

Professor Tikalsky says particles of fly ash are almost exactly the same size and chemical structure as Portland cement.

This is the most costly material in concrete.

So using fly ash to replace some of it would save money.

Over the next two years, engineers will study ten bridges in Pennsylvania. These were built from the different cement mixtures designed by Professor Tikalsky’s team. He says longer-lasting bridges could save the state more than thirty-five-million dollars a year. And he says the materials would be environmentally friendly.

The federal government is paying for part of the research. Engineers anywhere can use the technology. Professor Tikalsky says some of the ideas have already been put to use in China, the Philippines and other countries.

Chapter 72

Graduation Speakers
TEXT

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

May and June are the months when most American high schools and colleges hold their _1_ graduation ceremonies. Elementary and middle schools also _2 hold ceremonies for children finishing those levels of education. And much older people may be _3_ completing their education, too. Men and women in their seventies and eighties receive high school diplomas or college degrees. Last year, in California, a high school in San Francisco awarded an _4 honorary diploma to a woman ninety-seven years old. Traditionally at graduation ceremonies, the students wear dark _5_ colored caps and gowns over their clothing. Most graduations include speakers. Schools often invite famous guests or _6 former students who became highly successful. Or both. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the Supreme Court spoke at Stanford University in California. That was where she went to college. Universities often want speakers who can _7_comment on world events. Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at Florida State University last month. President Bush spoke at three graduations this year. He spoke at Concordia University in Wisconsin and Louisiana State University. He also spoke at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Well-known reporters often _8_ speak at graduations. For example, Ted Koppel spoke at the University of California, Berkeley, last month. He has a nightly news program on national television. Entertainers are also popular_9_ choices for graduation speakers. One very busy speaker this year is the actor and comedian Bill Cosby. He spoke at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts and at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He also spoke at Temple University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bill Cosby has spoken at Temple University many times. That is where he went to college. Bono was also in Philadelphia. The singer from the Irish rock band U2 spoke last month at graduation ceremonies at the University of Pennsylvania. University officials praised Bono _10_ for using his popularity to help developing nations and fight against AIDS. He also received an _11_ honorary doctorate degree.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.

By Nancy Steinbach Broadcast: June 3, 2004



Chapter 73

Hybrids
TEXT

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Since _1-ancient times, farmers have chosen the seeds for the coming year from _2 the biggest and best plants in their crop. The hope is that these seeds will have the same good _3 qualities as their parent plants. This method is called inbreeding. But experts say it is not the best way to develop seed with strong, healthy qualities over time. In nineteen-oh-six, the _4 genetic researcher G.H. Shull started work on breeding corn in New York State. He found that if he _5 mated two inbred groups of corn plants, he could create a stronger new line of corn. This process is _6 called crossbreeding. It _7 produces hybrids from putting together different kinds of related plants. Researchers soon _8 recognized that they could crossbreed four inbred lines of corn. The result is stronger than corn crossbred only once. Hybrid corn first _9 appeared in nineteen-twenty-one. Today, almost all corn planted in the United States is hybrid. And farmers harvest about seven times more corn from each hectare than they did seventy years ago. Corn is not the only hybrid crop. Yuan Longping is called the Father of Hybrid Rice. He and other Chinese scientists worked on this idea in the nineteen-sixties and seventies. The first hybrid rice appeared in nineteen-seventy-four. Mister Yuan used three lines of parent seed that produced fifteen to twenty percent more grain. By nineteen-ninety-five, half of all the rice _10 grown in China was hybrid. There are also hybrid animals. Long ago, farmers discovered that a female horse mated with a male donkey produces a mule. This animal is strong and good for work, although it cannot _11 reproduce. In the early nineteen-eighties, American fish farmers wanted to raise striped bass. This fish had almost _12 disappeared from the wild. So researchers created a fast-growing hybrid bass. By two-thousand, fish farmers harvested almost seven-million kilograms of the new sunshine bass. Hybrids are not the answer to every problem_13 in agriculture. New hybrid seeds must be bought each year. They also cost more than other seed. Hybrids can take many years to develop. And not all crops can be crossbred successfully. But hybrids have been an important development for _14 productivity.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Steve Ember.

Chapter 74

INDIA Elections
TEXT

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

India’s Congress Party has _1_defeated__ the party of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in national parliamentary elections. The Congress Party and its _2_allies__ won a majority of seats in the national _3_legislature_. Congress Party leaders will form a new _4_coalition__ government and name a prime minister.

The elections were held for five days over a three-week period that ended on Monday. Mister Vajpayee officially _5_resigned_ Thursday following the defeat of India’s ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance. The coalition, led by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, had been in power for five years.

Leaders from the prime minister’s B.J.P party and its allies _6_expressed_ surprise at the election results. Mister Vajpayee and his alliance were expected to easily win another five-year term.

Mister Vajpayee had organized the election six months earlier than necessary after a series of political successes. His campaign noted the country’s eight percent _7_growth__ rate, which made it one of the world’s fastest growing economies. He also won _8_won__ for his efforts to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan.

But experts say the B.J.P. campaign failed to win the support of millions of India’s poor people. India is the world’s largest democracy. But many Indians still live on less than one dollar a day. The Congress Party and its allies said they would help poor people if elected. They criticized the government for failing to _9_provide citizens with jobs, clean water, and electricity.

Congress Party officials said India’s new government would continue peace _10_efforts_ Pakistan begun by Mister Vajpayee. The two countries re-opened _11_peace_ talks last year.

Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi could become India’s next prime minister. But Missus Ghandi is _12_unpopular with__ some Indians because she was born in Italy. Missus Gandhi is the widow of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was murdered in a bombing attack in nineteen-ninety-one. Rajiv Gandhi was the son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and grandson of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Indira Gandhi was India’s last female leader. She was murdered while in power in nineteen-eighty-four.

The Congress Party led by the Nehru-Gandhi family _13 _governed for almost fifty years after India __14 _gained -independence from Britain in nineteen-forty-seven.

Sonia Gandhi took control of the Congress Party in nineteen-ninety-eight as the B.J.P. was becoming more popular. But a year later, she led her party to its worst-ever defeat in _ 15 _parliamentary_ elections. In recent months, however, she has worked to strengthen the Congress Party. She spoke at hundreds of campaign gatherings 16_ throughout the country. Her son Rahul won his own seat in the Indian parliament.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

By Cynthia Kirk Broadcast: May 15, 2004


Chapter 75

Inflation and the U.S. Consumer…
TEXT

This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

_1 Concern about_ inflation is in the news a lot lately. In the United States, prices have risen especially for gasoline and other forms of energy. Higher energy prices _2 lead to higher prices for other goods. Oil prices are high. But _3 experts_ say this is not the only reason for the current fuel prices. They say companies in the United States are making as much oil into gasoline as they can. But drivers need lots of fuel for popular sport _4 utility-vehicles and personal trucks. Government economists reported that inflation _5 rose at a yearly rate of four-point-four percent between December and April. For all of last year, the United States had an inflation rate of one-point-nine percent. These numbers are _6_ based on the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index is a way to measure average change in prices over time. It shows how inflation affects the average person. The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives a report each month. Some economists say the economy may be growing too fast and causing prices to rise. They expect the Central Bank to raise interest rates. Such action raises the cost to borrow money. Less borrowing and spending can help _7 keep down prices. The Federal Open Market Committee met this month and decided not to raise interest rates. But the committee meets again in June. One measure it will _8 look at is the Consumer Price Index. Here is how an index works. Let us say that some object cost an average of ten cents in nineteen-ninety. An economist then gives that price an index value of one-hundred.

In the next year, the price _9 goes up to eleven cents. That is a ten-percent increase. So the index value for the year is one-hundred-and-ten. Changes are recorded this way year after year. The Department of Labor gathers prices that Americans _10 pay for medicines, housing, clothes and food. It gathers prices for education, transportation and other activities. The Consumer Price Index is _11 made up of thousands of measures. But it does not measure prices in areas outside of cities and large towns. Also, it does not measure how price changes affect individual groups, like the poor or retired people. The measure mostly widely reported is called the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. It measures prices _12 paid by about eighty-seven percent of Americans.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

By Mario Ritter  Broadcast: May 21, 2004

Chapter 76

Internatıonal Children’s Digital Library
TEXT

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

_1_Looking for a good children's book? Internet users can find hundreds of them. These books are from around the world. And they are _2_ free of charge. The project is called the International Children’s Digital Library. The goal is _3 to offer electronic versions of more than ten-thousand children's books in at least one-hundred languages. We will give the address of the Web site at the end of this report. So get ready to _4_write it down. Project developers have been working with children to design easy ways to search the collection and read the books. An image of each page _5_appears on the computer. Users can also print copies on paper. Officials say the project has been _6_designed for two main groups of users. The first is children between the ages of three and thirteen, along with their teachers and parents. The second group is researchers in the area of children’s literature. The books chosen for the collection are _7_ meant to help children understand the world in which they live. Literature is one way to teach young people about new ideas. The idea behind the collection is that an interesting story not only helps children understand who they are. It may also influence their desire to _8_ explore the world. Project organizers say they have chosen books that show the similarities and differences in ways of life around the world. The aim is _9_to create a greater understanding of other people's cultures and beliefs. The International Children’s Digital Library is also an attempt to use technology to strengthen libraries around the world. The digital library is a _10_ project of the University of Maryland and the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is building an electronic library of Internet sites and other digital collections as a cultural record. The children's library project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Library of Congress and other organizations are also _11_ involved. The first materials _12_appeared in two-thousand-two. The goal is to have all ten-thousand books online in two-thousand-seven. _13_So far, the collection _14 contains more than five hundred books. Here is the address of the International Children’s Digital Library: www.icdlbooks.org. Again, www.icdlbooks.org.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.

By Nancy Steinbach Broadcast: June 17, 2004




Chapter 77

Learning to Read
TEXT

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

For most American children, summer is a time away from schoolbooks. But it is not supposed to be a time away from reading. _1__One of the most important issues in American education is how to teach children to read. _2_The most common methods depend on phonics. This system teaches children to connect words with the sounds of the letters that form those words. Children often learn _3__the sounds of letters before they learn to read. With phonics, children are taught to “sound out” words they do not know. For example, to learn the word “cat,” children first learn to _4__recognize the sound of the letter C. Then they learn the sounds of the letters A and T used together. Finally, they join these sounds to form the word. _5_ In another method of teaching phonics, children learn to recognize the whole word first. They write the word enough times until they remember it. Schools often present this method _6__during the teaching of reading, not before. Then the children learn to study words for their sounds. This helps them understand why some letters are used in a word _7_instead of others. Experts say phonics makes it possible for children to sound out many words that they do not recognize by sight. However, the sound of a letter is not always the same in every word. _8_For this reason, many teachers add other methods to teach reading. _9_A few years ago, a committee studied many reading methods. The National Reading Panel urged teachers to use phonics in their programs. And in two-thousand-two President Bush signed an education law called No Child Left Behind. It includes a program called “Reading First.” The goal is to increase the reading skills of American children. The program is based on the suggestions of the National Reading Panel. _10_Over the years, there has been a lot of debate among teachers, parents, and politicians over ways to teach reading. Another method is called whole language. Children are taught ways to learn new words not so much by how they sound as by how they are used. Supporters of phonics say this requires too much guessing. But a lot of experts say _11__the best way to teach reading is to combine phonics and whole language methods.

This VOA Special Education Report was written by Jerilyn Watson. This is Steve Ember.

By Jerilyn Watson Broadcast: June 10, 2004

http://funtoreadlearntoread.googlepages.com/home

Chapter 78

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
TEXT by Hans Christian Andersen

M

any years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, "he is sitting in council," it was always said of him, "The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe."

, viz: there was nothing there. "What!" thought he again. "Is it possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought so myself; and no one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, that I am unfit for my office? No, that must not be said either. I will never confess that I could not see the stuff."

"Well, Sir Minister!" said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. "You do not say whether the stuff pleases you."

"Oh, it is excellent!" replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. "This pattern, and the colors, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them."

"We shall be much obliged to you," said the impostors, and then they named the different colors and described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister listened attentively to their words, in order that he might repeat them to the Emperor; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun. However, they put all that was given them into their knapsacks; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.

The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister; he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.

"Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you, as it did to my lord the minister?" asked the impostors of the Emperor's second ambassador; at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and colors which were not there.

"I certainly am not stupid!" thought the messenger. "It must be, that I am not fit for my good, profitable office! That is very odd; however, no one shall know anything about it." And accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see, and declared that he was delighted with both colors and patterns. "Indeed, please your Imperial Majesty," said he to his sovereign when he returned, "the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent."

The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.

And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working more diligently than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.

"Is not the work absolutely magnificent?" said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. "If your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it! What a splendid design! What glorious colors!" and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.

"How is this?" said the Emperor to himself. "I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen--Oh! the cloth is charming," said he, aloud. "It has my complete approbation." And he smiled most graciously, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, "Oh, how beautiful!" and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material, for the approaching procession. "Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!" resounded on all sides; and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of "Gentlemen Weavers."

The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor's new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors; and sewed with needles without any thread in them. "See!" cried they, at last. "The Emperor's new clothes are ready!"

And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers; and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up, saying, "Here are your Majesty's trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of this delicate cloth."

"Yes indeed!" said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture.

"If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit, in front of the looking glass."

The Emperor was accordingly undressed, and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side, before the looking glass.

"How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they fit!" everyone cried out. "What a design! What colors! These are indeed royal robes!"

"The canopy which is to be borne over your Majesty, in the procession, is waiting," announced the chief master of the ceremonies.

"I am quite ready," answered the Emperor. "Do my new clothes fit well?" asked he, turning himself round again before the looking glass, in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit.

The lords of the bedchamber, who were to carry his Majesty's train felt about on the ground, as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for their office.

So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!" in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the

Emperor's various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.

"But the Emperor has nothing at all on!" said a little child.

"Listen to the voice of innocence!" exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.

"But he has nothing at all on!" at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.