listening de pagina saber ingles

LISTENING
Paginaweb:http://www.saberingles.com.ar/listening/index1.html
#10 - StudySays HighCalorie SnacksAre to Blame forObesityEpidemic
CONTENIDO
Tabla de contenido
LISTENING.......................................................................................................................................................... 1
LECTURAS CON AUDIO -LISTENING WITH READING.............................................................................................. 3
#01 - Not All Carrots Are Orange...................................................................................................................... 3
#02 - McDonald's Targets Starbucks................................................................................................................. 4
#03 - Coyotes Eyeing the Sheep? Employ a Guard Llama................................................................................... 5
#04 - Petroleum: A Short History of Black Gold................................................................................................. 6
#05 - Want to Stay Warm in Winter? Think COLD............................................................................................. 7
#06 - Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day Week................................................................................... 7
#07 - 'Summer Work/Travel' Brings Many Students to US ................................................................................. 9
#08 - Among Vitamins, D Seems Short for 'Does a Lot' .....................................................................................10
#09 - Farming Techniques That Will Feed a Family...........................................................................................11
#10 - Food SafetyAfter a Flood.......................................................................................................................12
#11 - Australia Aims for Cleaner Coal..............................................................................................................13
#12 - Finding Uses for Marginal Lands.............................................................................................................15
#13 - Got Milk? How to Make Yogurt..............................................................................................................16
#14 - Teens, Television, and Depression..........................................................................................................17
#15 - Making a Solar Water Heater.................................................................................................................18
#16 - Rural Areas of Kenya Get Connected to the Web.....................................................................................19
#17 - Home Gardening: What to DoAbout Lead..............................................................................................20
#18 - Going Digital: The Future of College Textbooks?......................................................................................21
#19 - Study Finds More Trees on Farms Than Was Thought..............................................................................23
#20 - In the US, the New Look of Gas Exploration ............................................................................................24
#21 - Two Studies Give a Lift to Running Barefoot............................................................................................25
#22 - Some Advice on Choosing a College........................................................................................................26
#23 - Deforestation Decreased Over the Past 10 Years.....................................................................................27
#24 - National Standards for US Schools Gain Support From States...................................................................28
#25 - Farming in the City: Joys of Growing Food...............................................................................................29
#26 - Pretty Flowers Lead Two Scientists to a Discovery...................................................................................31
#27 - PC Recycler Strikes Goldin Old Computer Chips......................................................................................32
#28 - Taking a Closer Look at the Future of Video Conferencing........................................................................33
#29 - Looking to Robots and Other Technology to Improve Health Care............................................................34

#30 - A Fatter World, Yet Fewer Cases of High Blood Pressure..........................................................................36
#31 - Living in a World With Facial Recognition................................................................................................37
#32 - How a Small Change in Teaching May Create Better Readers...................................................................38
#33 - Worried That People Are Laughing at You?.............................................................................................39
#34 - Tomato's Genetic SecretsAre Peeled Away ............................................................................................41
#35 - What Is the Relationship BetweenAge and Happiness?...........................................................................42
#36 - Golden Gate Bridge Still Shines After 75 Years.........................................................................................43
#37 - In the Garden: Growing Onions..............................................................................................................44
#38 - Mobile Telephones Changing Livesin Africa............................................................................................45
#39 - A Flower in Winter: The Story of the Poinsettia.......................................................................................46
#40 - Making FriendsNot Always Easy for Foreign Students.............................................................................47
#41 - Secret to Life? Dance, and Don't Procrastinate!.......................................................................................49
#42 - Cameras Capture Pictures of Mysterious Bush Dog..................................................................................49
Exercises with video: .........................................................................................................................................50
#01 - Desert Museumin Arizona Exhibits Native Plants and Animals.................................................................50
#02 - Roof Top Gardeningis a Growing Trendin New York City ........................................................................51
#03 - Moroccan Villagers Make Their Desert Bloom.........................................................................................51
#04 - London Museum Unveils Medieval, Renaissance Treasures .....................................................................52
#05 - PoweredParachute Gives US Rural Police Departments Eye in the Sky.....................................................52
#06 - Washington Struggles to Recover from Massive Snowstorm....................................................................53
#07 - More US Companies Refuse to Hire Smokers ..........................................................................................53
#08 - Pressure Mountsin US to Restrict Salt Levels in Processed Foods.............................................................54
#09 - Researchers Finding Babies Smarter Than Previously Thought .................................................................54
#10 - Study Says High Calorie Snacks Are to Blame for Obesity Epidemic...........................................................55

LECTURAS CON AUDIO -LISTENING WITH READING
#01 - Not All Carrots Are Orange
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/listening/102.html
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report.
Carrots are grownon
farms
and infamilygardensthroughoutthe world.Carrotsare easyto raise and easyto harvest.Theytaste good.And
theycontaina lot of carotene,whichthe bodymakesintovitaminA.
Whenpeople thinkof carrots,theyusuallypicture intheirmindavegetable thatislong,thinandorange incolor.
But carrots come in manydifferent
sizes
and shapes.Andnotall carrots are orange.
For example,ParisMarketcarrotsare aboutfive centimetersaround.Imperatorcarrotsare thinandabout twenty-
five centimeters long.AndBelgianWhite carrotsare,astheir
name
suggests,white.
For the bestresults,carrotsshouldbe growninsandy soil thatdoesnot hold
water
for a longtime.The soil alsoshouldhave norocks.
To prepare yourcarrot garden,digup the soil,loosenitandturnit over.Then,mix insome plantmaterial or
animal
fertilizer.
Weather,soil conditionsandage will affectthe waycarrotstaste.Expertssay warmdays,cool
nights
and a mediumsoil temperatureare the bestconditionsforgrowingcarrotsthattaste great.
Carrots need
time
to developtheirfullsugarcontent.Thisgivesthemtheirtaste.If theyare harvestedtooearly,theywill nothave
enoughsugar.But carrots loose theirsweetnessif youwaittoolongto pull themfromthe ground.
The bestway to judge if a carrot is readyto be harvestedisbyitscolor. Usually,the
brighter
the color,the betterthe taste.
Most people donotknowthat carrots can be grownduringthe wintermonths.If the winterisnotcoldenoughto
freeze the ground,youcangrow and harvestcarrots the same wayas duringthe
summer
months.
If the grounddoesfreeze inyourpartof the world,simplycoveryourcarrot gardenwitha
thick
layerof leavesorstraw.Thiswill preventthe groundfromfreezing.Youcanremove the groundcoverand harvest
the carrots as theyare needed.
Carrots are preparedandeatenmanydifferentways.Theyare cutin thinpiecesandaddedtoothervegetables.
Theyare cookedbythemselvesoraddedto
stews
. Or, once theyare washed,theyare eatenjustastheycome out of the

ground
.Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report.Formore agricultural advice,alongwithtranscriptsand
archivesof our reports,goto voaspecialenglish.com.Andoure-mail addressisspecial@voanews.com.I'mSteve
Ember.
#02 - McDonald's Targets Starbucks
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishEconomicsReport.
McDonald's,the fast-foodcompany,isheatingupcompetitionwiththe StarbucksCoffee Company.McDonald's
plansto put
coffee
bars in itsfourteenthousandrestaurantsinthe UnitedStates.Fewerthanathousandnow offerspecialtycoffee
drinkslike lattesandcappuccinos.
Justlike Starbucks,eachcoffee barwouldhave itsownbarista,the personwhomakesandservesthe
drinks
. Companydocumentsreportedbythe Wall StreetJournal saidthe planwouldaddone billiondollarsayearin
sales.
McDonald's hasenjoyedseveralyearsof stronggrowth.The companyhad almosttwenty-twobilliondollarsinsales
intwo thousandsix.
Still,the move tocompete againstStarbuckscarriessome risk.Some expertssayitcouldslow down
service
at McDonald'srestaurants.Andsome people whoare happywithMcDonald'sthe wayit isnow maynot like the
changes.
As earlyastwo thousandone the companytestedMcCafesinthe UnitedStatesto sell specialtycoffeeat
McDonald's restaurants.Butthe drinkswere notavailable atthe drive-throughwindowsthatprovide two-thirdsof
itsbusiness.McDonald'sthinksitsnewplanhasa greaterchance of success.Starbucks,onthe other
hand
, has facedslowergrowthandincreasingcompetition.Itsstockhaslostabout half itsvalue since lastJanuary.
Starbuckshas aboutten thousandstoresinthe UnitedStates.Itshigh-pricedcoffeedrinkshave nameslike Iced
PeppermintWhiteChocolate MochaandDouble Chocolate ChipFrappuccino.LatelyStarbuckshasaddedmore
foods,includingbreakfastfoods,andputdrive-through
windows
in some stores.
Thisweek,the companyreplaceditschief executive officer,bringingbackformerC.E.O.HowardSchultz.He
remainschairmanof the board. He joinedStarbucksinnineteeneighty-two,whenithadjustfourstores.He is
creditedwithbuilding the Seattle companyintoaninternational success
story
.
But a year ago he warnedthat itsfastgrowth hadledto whathe calledthe wateringdownof the Starbucks
experience.Some neighborhoodshave aStarbucksoneveryblockor two.Now,Starbuckswill speedupits
international growthwhileslowingitsexpansioninthe UnitedStates.
Millionsof peoplehave ataste for Starbucks.Butlast

year
, McDonald's Premiumcoffeegotsome goodpress.TestersfromConsumerReportsthoughtittastedbetterthan
Starbucks,and itcost less.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEconomicsReport,writtenbyMarioRitter.I'm Steve Ember.
#03 - Coyotes Eyeing the Sheep? Employ a Guard Llama
(SOUND)
WhenAmericansthinkof where coyoteslive,theyprobablythinkof
desert
statesinthe SouthwestlikeArizona.Butovertime,these wilddogshave spreadall the waytothe East Coast.
Some farmershave
guards
to protect theirsheepfromcoyotes.Theseguardsare llamas.Llamasare SouthAmericananimalsusuallyraisedin
the UnitedStatesfor theirfiberorforshowor as
pets
. But farmersand ranchersnoticedthatllamasgetalongwell withsheep.Theyalsonoticedthatover
time
, coyoteswere killingfewersheep.Sotheychose llamasforguardduty.
Llamasdo not needany
training
. Farmersusuallyplace onlyone witha groupof sheep.Llamasare
social
animals.Twollamastogetherwill notpayattentiontothe sheep.A lone llamahasnochoice.
In the ShenandoahValleyof Virginia,farmerLeoTammi hasseveral hundredsheep.Hisdogshelphimcontrol and
protectthe
flock
of sheep.Butthe dogsare not alwaysavailable.Sohe usesllamas.
Wheneveranythingentersthe
fields
, theyknowaboutit. He says theirnatural interest,andwillingnesstoface almostanythingthatcomes
near
, isenoughto scare away a
shy
animal like acoyote.
Theirsize alsohelps.Llamascanweighasmuch as one hundredthirty-sixkilograms.Andtheylooksomethinglikea
small horse -- a funnylooking
horse
witha lot of fine,softfur.Llamasare notviciousanimals.However,if theyare notaroundpeople ata veryyoung
age,theywill notlike tobe touched.Inmanyways a llamaisjustas
defenseless

as a sheep.Butllamashave asecret
weapon
. Theyspit.
Whentheygetangry, theyspitoutthe contentsof theirstomachs.The resultlooksandsmells
terrible
.
Llamasreallyknowhowto make a statement.Infact,youcan findexamplesof llamasoundsonthe Internet -- just
rememberthatllamaisspelledwithtwoLs,L-L-A-M-A.If theysense athreat,theymake an
alarm
sound.Thisis whata male soundslike:
(SOUND)
Andthisis a female alarmcall.
(SOUND)
Llamasare NewWorldcamelidsalongwithalpacas,vicunasandguanacos.Camelidsare a
family
of animalsthatalsoinclude the camelsanddromedariesof AfricaandAsia.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report.Tosee avideoreportaboutllamas,goto
voaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#04 - Petroleum: A Short History of Black Gold
1. Petroleumwasusedinancienttimesformaking
roads.
cars.
rolls.
2. Petroleumcomesfromthe remainsof
ancienttimes.
plants and animals.
dinosaursandotheranimals.
3. Oil can also containa lotof sulfur.
True.
False.
The author doesn't say.
4. The modernhistoryof oil startedin
1800.
1850.
1980.
5. EdwinDrake drilledthe firstoil well inthe USin
1815.
1829.
1859.

6. John D. Rockefellerenteredthe oil businessin
the early1816.
the early1860s.
1870.
7. The companyStandardOil was dividedinto
24 companies.
34 companies.
54 companies.
#05 - Want to Stay Warm in Winter? Think COLD
1. Frostbite mainlyhappenson
the legs.
the lips.
the ears.
2. If bloodvesselsare damaged,peoplecan
sufferan infection.
remove fingersandtoes.
sufferhypothermia.
3. In the C.O.L.D.steps,the C standsfor
Cover.
Cold.
Caution.
4. Wet clothesandcoldweatherare a badmix.
True.
False.
The author doesn'tsay.
5. Wearingone layeron top of anotheris betterthan a single heavylayerof clothing.
True.
False.
6. Snowcan enterthrough
the legs.
the wrist areas.
the arms.
7. Eating snowisa goodidea.
True.
False.
#06 - Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day Week
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport.
As we saidlastweek,Americanschoolsare lookingforwaystosave moneyonbus transportationbecause of high
fuel

prices.More childrenmayhave towalk,
ride
theirbikesorfindotherwaysto get to school.
But, as anothereffectof the highprices,theymaynothave to go to school as
often
.
Some schools,especiallyinrural areas,are changingto a four-dayweek.Thatmeans
longer
days insteadof the traditional MondaythroughFridayschedule.
Beginninginthe
fall
, studentsinthe Maccray school districtinMinnesotawill be inschool TuesdaythroughFriday.Eachschool daywill
be sixty-five minuteslonger.
SuperintendentGregSchmidtsaysthe districtexpectstosave aboutsixty-fivethousanddollarsayearin
transportationcosts.The districthasabout sevenhundredstudentslivinginanareaof nine hundredsquare
kilometers.
State officialshave approvedthe planforthree years.Theymaychange theirmindbefore thenif
learning
suffers.
In Custer,SouthDakota,studentshave beengoingtoschool MondaythroughThursdaysince nineteenninety-five.
SuperintendentTimCreal saysthe change has saved an estimatedone milliondollarsoverjustthe pasteightyears.
But he seesotherbenefits,too.Studentsgetmore instructional time.Andactivitiesthatusedto
interfere
withclassesare now
held
on non-school days.
He saysthat in the future,the growthof online classescouldmake itpossible torequireevenfewerdaysinschool.
Highfuel pricesare drivingcollege studentstotake more online classes.Andinsome states,highschool students
can take them,too.
A four-dayschool weeksounds like agreat
idea
for studentsandteachers.Butworkingparentsmayhave to pay forchild
care
for that fifthday.Inagricultural areas,though,itcan meanan extraday of helpingonthe familyranch.
In NewMexico,the firstschool districtchangedtoa four-dayweekinnineteenseventy-fourbecauseof the Araboil
boycott
. Now,seventeenoutof eighty-nine districtsuse it.
The Lake ArthurSchool Districthas justone hundredsixtystudents.Lake Arthurusedafour-day
schedule

for twelve years.Butafewyearsago it wentbackto five days.
Michael Grossmanheadsthe district.He says twostudiesthere failedtoshow anyreal educational
improvement
usingthe four-dayweek.Andhe saysnotmuch instructionwastakingplace duringthe lasthourof school,because
teachersandstudentswere too
tired
.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyNancySteinbach.I'mSteve Ember.
#07 - 'Summer Work/Travel' Brings Many Students to US
Thisweek,we answeraquestionfromastudentinOdessa,Ukraine.Marushkawantsto know abouta program
that letsforeignstudentsworkinthe UnitedStatesduringtheirsummer
vacations
.
The program is calledSummerWork/Travel.The State Departmentadministersitforfull-time
college
or universitystudentswhospeakEnglishwell.
Studentscome ona J-one exchange visa.Theycanworkfor upto four
months
duringtheirschool break.Theygenerallyworkinservice jobsinstores,resorts,
hotels
, restaurantsandamusementparks.Butsummerinternshipsare alsopermitted.
"Summer"inthiscase meanssummerinthe student'scountry.Those fromsouthof the equator come to the
UnitedStatesduringthe northern
winter
.
Studentscannotworkas housekeepersinprivate
homes
or be involvedinpatientcare.Andtheyare supposedtobe paidthe same as Americans.
Congresscreatedthispopularprogramundera nineteensixty-one law,the Mutual Educational andCultural
Exchange Act.Last year,one hundredfiftythousandstudentscame tothe UnitedStatesthisway.
Studentscando the SummerWork/Travel program
more
than once.
SallyLawrence headsthe State Departmentoffice responsibleforthe program.She saysstudentsshouldbeginto
gatherinformationayearbefore theywantto
travel
.

More than fiftyorganizationsare approvedtoact as sponsors.SallyLawrence advisesstudentstoavoid
unapprovedgroupsoffering
services
, and to researcha fewdifferentsponsors.
Sponsorsmustconfirmthe Englishlanguage abilityof studentsandmake sure theyare currentlyinschool.But
sponsorsdonot all charge the same
price
for theirservices.
Anotherdifference:some sponsorsarrange employmentandhousingforstudents
before
theyleave home.Otherspermitstudentstofindtheirownjobs
after
theyarrive.
SallyLawrence saysthe firstthingto dois to findthe
list
of sponsorsonthe Web page for J visaexchange programs.
The addressis a little long,buthere itis:exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges.ClickonDesignatedSponsor
List,thenchoose SummerWork/Travel underCategoryDescription.Formore informationaboutthe program,goto
the mainpage andclick onPrivate SectorPrograms.
To make it easier,we'll postalinkatvoaspecialenglish.com.Andthat'sthe VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,
writtenbyNancySteinbach.I'mSteve Ember.
#08 - Among Vitamins, D Seems Short for 'Does a Lot'
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishHealthReport.
VitaminDhelpsbonesand
muscles
grow strongand healthy.Lowlevelsof vitaminDcan leadtoproblemssuchas rickets,a deformitymainlyfoundin
children
. Osteoporosis,the thinningof bone,isacommonproblemaspeople,especiallywomen,getolder.
But more and more researchissuggestingthatvitaminDmightalsohelp
prevent
many diseases.
The easiestwayto getvitaminDis from
sunlight
. The sun'sultravioletraysreactwithskincellstoproduce vitaminD.But many people worryaboutgettingskin
cancer and skindamage fromthe
sun
. As a resulttheycovertheirskinorwear sunblockorstay outof the sun.Also,darkerskinnedpeopleproduce less
vitaminDthan lighterskinned
people
. Productionalsodecreasesinolderpeopleandthose livinginnorthern
areas
that get lesssunlight.

Notmany foodsnaturallycontainvitaminD.Foodshighinthisvitamininclude oilyfishsuchassalmon,
tuna
and mackerel,andfishliveroils.
BostonUniversityresearchersreportedlastyearthatfarmedsalmonhadonlyaboutone-fourthasmuchvitaminD
as wildsalmon.
Small amountsof D are foundinbeef liver,
cheese
and egg yolks.Andsome peopletake dietarysupplementscontainingthe vitamin.Butmostof the vitaminD inthe
AmericandietcomesfromfoodswithDadded,like
milk
.
In nineteenninety-seven,the UnitedStatesInstitute of Medicine establishedlevelsforhow muchvitaminDhealthy
people need.Itsetthe dailyamountat twohundredinternational unitsfrombirththroughage fifty.Itsetthe level
at four hundredI.U.sthroughage seventy,andsix hundredforage seventy-oneandover.
But some groupssay these amountsare not
high
enough. Theyare hopingthat the newresearchfindingswill leadtonew recommendations.
Researchinthe last several yearshasshownthat
low
levelsof vitaminDmayincrease the riskof heartattacks in menanddeathsfrom some cancers.Otherstudieshave
shownthat people withrheumaticdiseasesoftenhave low levelsof vitaminD.
More doctorsare now havingtheir
patients
testedfortheirvitaminDlevels.Butasresearchcontinues,some expertsworrythatif people take toomuch
vitaminD,it mightact as a
poison
. Also,skindoctorswarnpeople tobe careful withsunexposure becauseof the riskof skincancer.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishHealthReport,writtenbyCatyWeaver.I'mSteve Ember.
#09 - Farming Techniques That Will Feed a Family
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport.
The Food andAgriculture Organizationestimatesthatpoorcountrieswill spenduptoone hundredseventybillion
dollarsthisyearto import
food
. Thisis an increase of fortypercentfromlastyear.The UnitedNationsagencysaysthe risingprice of foodoverthe
past yearis a seriousproblembecausemosthungrypeoplealsolivein
poverty
.
A humanitarianorganizationbasedinWashington,D.C.hasa new anti-hungerproject.WomenforWomen
International isteachingpoorwomeninSudanandRwandaa new foodproductionsystemcalledcommercial
integratedfarming.The womenare trainedtogrow

crops
that not onlyfeedtheirfamilies,butalsoearnthemaprofit.
Pat Morris isprogram directorat WomenforWomenInternational.The grouplauncheditscommercialintegrated
farmingprogramin Rwanda.Female farmersreceive informationaboutwhatkindof seedstouse,how tofarm
without
chemicals
and whento harvest.The programalsoprovidesbusinessskillstraining.MizzMorrissayswomenbeingtrainedin
Rwandacouldmore than triple the amountof moneytheyearnfromfarming.
Withintegratedfarming,the women
raise
animalsanddifferentcropsonone piece of land.Animal waste providesfertilizer.Some of the cropscan be used
as animal feed.InRwanda,the womenhave beenable togrow traditional cropslike
bananas
and sorghumgrainalong side higher-value crops,suchas
pineapples
. A hectare of farmlandinRwandausedto earn aboutfourhundredtwentydollarsayear.But a familyusing
integratedfarmingtechniquesonthe same piece of landcanearn as much as three thousandfive hundreddollarsa
year.
WomenforWomenInternational workswithlocal communitypartnerstodesignandcarryout itsintegrated
farmingprogram.Grace Fisiyisan agricultural businessexpertworkinginRwandaandSudan.She says the local
media
in bothcountrieshave helpededucate people about
integrated
farming.
WomenforWomenInternational planstotrainat leastthree thousandwomeninSudanandRwanda.MizzFisiy
hopesthe programwill
expand
to othercountriesas well.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport,writtenbyJill Moss.Youcan learnaboutthe effortsof
othergroupsworkingindevelopingcountriesatvoaspecialenglish.com.
#10 - Food Safety After a Flood
People canget
sick
if theyeat foodtouchedbyfloodwaters.Floodwatermaycontainhumanandanimal wastes,andotherpollutants
like agricultural andindustrialchemicals.
Aftera flood,throwawayanythingnotstoredina waterproof container if there wasachance of contact. That is
the advice of foodsafetyspecialistsatthe UnitedStatesAgriculture Department.
Foodcontainersthatare not waterproof,theysay,includethose withscrew caps,snaplids,pull topsandcrimped
caps. Alsothrowaway
boxes
of juice,

milk
or baby formulaif theyhave come intocontact withfloodwater.
The MinnesotaDepartmentof Healthsaysto throw awayanythinginsoftpackaging.Andthe ExtensionService at
NorthDakota State Universitysaysnotto save plastic
bags
of foodevenif boxesandcontainersinside the bagsappeardry.
Also,donot eat freshproduce fromthe gardenif ithas come in contact withfloodwater.Tobe safe,have the soil
tested.
The ExtensionService alsosaystothrowawayscrew-toppedorcrimp-toppedjarsand
bottles
evenif theyhave neverbeenopened.
Glassjars and bottlesof home-cannedfoodsshouldbe thrownoutas well.Expertssaythe containerscannotbe
effectivelycleanedafteraflood.
Throw awaydamagedmetal
cans
or hard
plastic
containers.Donot use cans that are swollenorleaking,orthatare rusted or crushed.
But expertssaythatsome unopened,undamagedall-metal canscanbe saved.First,remove any
labels
. The papermaycontaindirt and germsfromthe floodwater.Washthe canswithsoap andwater,and brushor
wipe awaydirt.Use hotwaterand waterthat is
safe
for drinkingif theyare available.
Next,place the cansagain inwaterand heatthe water to one hundreddegreesCelsius.Boilthe cansfortwo
minutes
.
Anotherwayto disinfectthemisina freshlymade solutionof chlorine bleach.Use one tablespoonof unscented
liquidbleachforeveryfourlitersof
water
. Use drinkingwaterorthe cleanest,clearestwateravailable.Place the cansinthe solutionfor fifteenminutes.
Once cans are clean,letthemair-dryforat leastone
hour
before openingorstoringthem.Relabel themwithamarkingpentolisttheircontentsandanydateswhenthey
are bestusedby.Expertsadvise usingthe cansas soonas possible.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.I'mBobDoughty.
#11 - Australia Aims for Cleaner Coal

Australiawantstoshowthat existing
power
stationscan be refittedtoburncoal ina muchcleanerway.A demonstrationprojectwillseektodevelopnew
technologyoverthe nextfouryearsthatmakesiteasiertocapture carbon dioxide.Carbondioxideisthe maingas
that manyscientistssayhelpscause
global
warming.
In traditional coal-firedpowerstations,the coal isburnedinairin a bigfurnace and the carbon dioxide isreleased
intothe atmosphere.Inthe newsystem,the coal isburnedinpure oxygeninsteadof
air
. The capturedcarbondioxide gas isthenmade intoa liquidandburieddeepunderground.The processiscalled
geo-sequestration.The operatorsof the projectinthe northernstate of Queenslandsayitisthe firstof itskindin
the
world
. AustralianandJapanese companiesare supportingthe project,andthe Australiangovernmentispayingforpart
of it.
Geoff Wilsonisthe minesandenergyministerinQueensland.He saysthe new systemwill sharply
reduce
the amountof carbon releasedfromthe coal-firedprocessandmake iteasiertostore.
The International EnergyAgencyhassaidthatcleancoal technologycouldhelpreduce the release of greenhouse
gases
by one-fourth.Butaspokeswomanforthe environmental groupFriendsof the Earthsays the technologyhasvery
limitedpromise tocutemissionsinthe shortterm.
Criticssay the technologyisunproven.Andtheysayitwill notguarantee thatAustraliawill be able toreduce
emissionsinthe
future
. Australiareleasesmore greenhousegasesperpersonthanalmostanyothercountryin the world.Itsemissions
come mainlyfromcoal burnedfor electricity.
On Novemberfifteenth,thousandsof AustraliansinSydney,Melbourne andother
cities
joinedayearlyprotestcalled"WalkAgainstWarming."Theycalledforrenewable energy.
Scientistswarnthatthe Australiancontinentcouldsuffermore severe
dry
periods,floodsandstormsasa resultof climate change.
For yearsthe governmentrefusedto
sign
the Kyototreatylimitinggreenhouse gasemissions.ButPrime MinisterKevinRuddsignedthe protocol ashisfirst
act in office followinghiselectionlastyear.He hasmade actionon climate change animportantpart of his
environment
policy
.

Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport.TranscriptsandMP3s of our reportsare at
voaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#12 - Finding Uses for Marginal Lands
We have a questionfromJonahOjowuinBenue State,Nigeria,aboutasubjectwe have discussedinthe past.
Jonahis a postgraduate studentinsoil and
water
managementatthe Universityof Agriculture inMakurdi.He wouldlikeinformationaboutthe managementof
marginal lands."Marginal"landsmighthave
low
qualitysoil.Ortheymightbe ona hillside thatrisessharply.Ortheymightbe inanarea that getslimitedrainfall.In
any case,theyare the lastto be
planted
undergood conditionsandthe firsttobe avoidedunderbadconditions.
But there are usesfor marginal lands.Mostoftentheyare usedas grasslandsforcattle,
sheep
or goats. A farmermightuse native grassesornon-native seed.Eitherway,itisimportanttoestablishgoodground
coverto avoidthe lossof soil througherosion.
Forage crops like cloverandalfalfacouldbe planted.Thesemembersof the legume familyprovidehighprotein
foodfor grazinganimals.Theyalsoimprove the
quality
of the soil.
Most plantsuse up nitrogen.Legumesputnitrogenbackintothe soil.Forage cropsalso
help
reduce erosionof the soil.
But usingmarginal landforgrazingis notas simple asit mightsound.Cattle candamage forage crops byeating
downto the
roots
. Also,theirweightcrushesthe soil.Thatcan make the groundtoo hard forgrowing.
A wayto reduce the damage from overgrazingistomove animalsfromone fieldtoanother.Expertssayrotational
grazinglike thisisextremelyimportantformarginal land.We will talkmore aboutrotational grazingnextweek.
Anotheruse formarginal landisfor tree crops.Treeshelpsupportthe soil.Theyreduce the damagingeffectsof
wind
and rain.And theycan provide grazinganimalswithshade fromthe sun.
Studieshave shownthatthe white pine andloblollypine are twokindsof treesthatgrow well onmarginal land.
Theygrow
fast
and provide goodqualitywood.Anotherkindtoconsideristhe poplar.Andthere are slower-growingtreeslike the
blackwalnutthat provide anut crop as well aswood.
Marginal landsneedcare.Failingtotake that care mightonlymake a bad situationworse.Butgoodplanningcan

turn
a marginal resource intoahighlyproductive one.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyMarioRitter.Archivesare at
voaspecialenglish.com, where youcanalsocontact uswithquestionsthatwe mightbe able toansweron our
program.I'm Steve Ember.
#13 - Got Milk? How to Make Yogurt
Yogurt isa healthy
food
that can be made at home.One wayto make it isto firstbuysome yogurt froma store or purchase dryyogurt
culture.Addtwo
small
spoonfulsof the yogurtto twocups of milk.Thiswill be the starterforyour ownyogurt.A cup inthe UnitedStates
istwo hundredfortymilliliters.
Whenmakingyogurt,itis veryimportanttohave cleanequipment,clean
hands
and goodtemperature control.
Poureightcups of milkintoa large cooking
pot
. Heat the milk toeighty-five degreesCelsius.Thencool the milkquicklytoforty-three degrees.Todothis,youcan
put the cookingpotin cool water.
Keepthe yogurtat forty-three degreesandaddone-half cupof the starter.The remainingstartercanbe keptfor
lateruse.If you wanta
thicker
yogurt,you can alsoadd one-thirdof acup of drymilk.
Coverthe pot and keepitat a temperature of fortytoforty-five degreesCelsiusforfourtosix
hours
. Afterthat,your homemade yogurtisready.Itcan be leftat room temperature foruptotwelve hoursif youlike a
strongertaste.
You can add
fruit
, nuts,honeyor spices.
Yogurt can be made withmilkfrom
cows
or other animalsincludinggoats,sheep,waterbuffaloandcamels.Itcan be spelledy-o-g-u-r-tory-o-g-h-u-r-t.
More informationonyogurtmakingcanbe foundat Websitessuchas practicalanswers.org.
Now,fromyogurt,we move on to anotherancientand relatedfood -- cheese.
Parmigiano-Reggianoisthe kingof Italy'scheeses.People worldwide use iton
pasta
and otherfoods.The traditional Italiancheese isproducedonseveralhundred

farms
around the northerncityof Parma.
Cheese makersage it forat leasttwelve monthsinlarge roundscalledwheels.
Parmigiano-Reggianoproducerssaynowtheyare strugglingwiththe financial crisis.Salesof the cheese anda
lower-priced
version
, Grana Padano,are downinItaly.Pricesforproducershave dropped.Andlow-pricedcopiesare onthe
market
.
Nowcomesa rescue planfor the industry.Italy'sgovernmenthasmade availableenoughmoneytobuytwo
hundredthousandwheelsof Parmigiano-Reggiano.Charitableorganizationsthenwill givethe cheese -- more than
sixtymilliondollars'worth -- to
poor
people.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport,writtenbyKarenLeggettwithadditional reportingby
SabinaCastelfrancoin Parma.
#14 - Teens, Television, and Depression
A newstudysuggeststhatthe more teenagerswatchtelevision,the more likelytheyare todevelopdepressionas
youngadults.Butthe extenttowhichTV may or may notbe to blame isa questionthatthe studyleaves
unanswered.
The researchersuseda national long-term
survey
of adolescenthealthtoinvestigate the relationshipbetweenmediause anddepression.Theybasedtheirfindings
on more than fourthousandadolescentswhowerenotdepressedwhenthe surveybeganinnineteenninety-five.
As part of the survey,the youngpeople were askedhow many
hours
of televisionorvideostheywatcheddaily.Theywere alsoaskedhow oftentheyplayedcomputer
games
and listenedtothe radio.
Mediause totaledan average of five andone-half hoursaday.More than twohoursof that wasspentwatchingTV.
Sevenyearslater,intwothousandtwo,more thansevenpercentof the youngpeople hadsignsof depression.The
average
age
at thattime was twenty-one.
Brian Primackat the Universityof Pittsburghmedical school wasthe leadauthorof the new study. He says every
extra
hour of televisionmeantaneightpercentincreaseinthe chancesof developingsignsof depression.

The researcherssaytheydidnot findanysuch relationshipwiththe use of othermediasuchasmovies,video
gamesor radio.But the studydidfindthat youngmenwere more likelythanyoungwomentodevelopdepression
giventhe same
amount
of mediause.
Doctor Primacksays the studydidnot explore if watchingTV
causes
depression.Butone possibility,he says,isthatitmay take time away fromactivitiesthatcouldhelpprevent
depression,like
sports
and socializing.Itmightalsointerfere with
sleep
, he says,and that couldhave an influence.
The study wasjustpublishedinthe Archivesof General Psychiatry.
In December,the journal Social IndicatorsResearchpublishedastudyof activitiesthathelpleadtohappy
lives
. Sociologistsfromthe Universityof Marylandfoundthatpeople whodescribe themselvesashappyspendlesstime
watchingtelevisionthanunhappypeople.The studyfoundthathappypeopleare more likelytobe
socially
active,to read,attendreligiousservicesandtovote.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishHealthReport,writtenbyCatyWeaver.Forarchivesof our reports,goto
voaspecialenglish.com.
#15 - Making a Solar Water Heater
Solarwaterheatersare devicesthatuse energyfromthe sunto heatwater.Solarwaterheatingisusedaroundthe
world.
The solar waterheaterdescribedhere isbasedonadesigndevelopedsome yearsagoinAfghanistan.Sincethen,it
has beenbuiltandusedinmanycountries.Itcan heatseventylitersof watertosixtydegreesCelsius.Itcando this
between
sunrise
and noonon a clear daywithan average outside temperature of thirty-twodegreesCelsius.
There are twoparts to the solarwater heater.One partis made of a
sheet
of metal paintedblack.Thismetal surface,placedincontactwiththe water,will heatthe water.Black-painted
surfacesthat receive the sun'sheatbecome hotterthansurfacesof anyothercolor.
The black metal plate iscalleda
collector
. There are several kindsof metal sheetsthatcanbe usedforthe collector.Metal sheetsthathave raisedsections
will workverywell.Thesecorrugatedsheetsoftenare usedtomake the roofsof houses.
Once the water isheated,itiskepthot withmaterial calledinsulation.Thisallowsthe watertostay
warm

for a longtime.
The secondpart of the solarwater heaterholdsthe waterforthe system.Thisstorage
tank
can be a containerthat holdsaboutone hundredliters.Tworubberpipesare attachedtothe waterstorage tank.
One pipe letswaterflowintothe system.The otherletswaterflow out.
Whenthe water heaterisworkingcorrectly,waterwill flow fromthe storage
tank
to the collectorandbackagain. Youcan use the hot waterat the top of the tankfor washingandcleaning.Youcan
change the flowof water sothat the temperature ishotor warm as desired.
Thissolar waterheateriseasyto buildand
operate
. It will lastabouttwoyearsbefore the rubberpipesneedtobe replaced.
There isalso somethingelse youwillneedtomake the solarwaterheaterwork -- the sun.As youmightexpect,the
heaterwill heatwateronlyon
sunny
days.
You can get more informationaboutprojectslike solarwaterheatersfromEnterpriseWorks/VITA.Thisnonprofit
groupworks to fightspovertyinmanycountries.The Website isenterpriseworks.org.Choose the linkforNews&
Resources,thenclickonPublications.
Transcripts,MP3s and podcastsof our reportsare at voaspecialenglish.com.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport.I'mSteve Ember.
#16 - Rural Areas of Kenya Get Connected to the Web
Some
young
engineersfromthe UnitedStateshave broughtthe Internettoseveral areas of rural Kenya.
Theirideawasto connectthe communitiestothe Webby satellite.Butthere wasaproblem.The areasare not
evenconnectedtoKenya'selectricpowersupply.The answer:solar
panels
. Energyfrom the sunpowersthe satellite dishesandcomputersthatlinkthe areaswiththe worldoutside.
KellyMoran,JoanErvin andTrisha Donajkowski spenttendaysinKenyainNovember.The womenrecentlyearned
master'sdegreesinspace systemsengineeringfromthe Universityof Michigan.
Anotherengineer,DrewHeckathorn,didnotgotoAfricabut workedonparts of the
project
.
KellyMoransays there wasexcitementwhenthe teamwouldarrivetoconnectcommunitiestothe Internet.
People wouldsometimesrunalongside the carcarryingthe engineersto
welcome

them.Andlocal residentswouldoffertohelpthe teambuildthe Internetstations.
People nowhave accesstoeducational,medical andall kindsof otherinformation.Farmers,forexample,caneasily
findweather,cropand
price
informationonline.
The projectbeganback at the college of engineeringinAnnArbor,Michigan,intwothousandseven.Thatwas
whentwenty-five studentsina
class
taught byThomas Zurbuchenfirsttalkedaboutthe idea.
The goal wasto test whetherInternetstationscouldbe setup,how muchtheywouldcost,andhow longthey
couldoperate.Butthe engineersalsohadtoconsiderothersthings -- like social
needs
. Studentsfromthe publichealthandbusinessschoolsofferedadvice.
The young engineersalsohadtodesignthe equipmenttosurvive the heatinAfrica.ProfessorZurbuchenpraises
hisformerstudentsfor"makingsomethingworkina differentclimate farawayfromhome."
Google paidforthe final designof the equipment.The companyis alsosupportingthe costsof the satellite
bandwidthneededforthe
connections
. Google hasinvestedinanewcompanythat wantsto put up a systemof satellitesoverAfrica.The availabilityof
more satelliteswouldreduce the costs.
Justfive percent of Africanshave Internetconnections.The International TelecommunicationUnionsaysone-third
of Kenyanshave mobile
phones
. But mobile phonesmayormaynot workwell withthe Internet.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishDevelopmentReport,written byJerilynWatson.TranscriptsandMP3sof our
reportsare at voaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#17 - Home Gardening: What to Do About Lead
Soil naturallycontainsharmlessamountsof lead,alongwithothermetals.Because of pollution,however,the
amountsare higherthe closeryougetto citiesandtowns.Butexpertssaythisshouldnotstopgardenersfrom
growing
food
if theytake safetymeasures.
DavidJohnsonisa chemistryprofessorinthe State Universityof New York'sCollege of Environmental Science and
Forestry.He explainsthatleadcanenterthe
ground
from leadedpaintandleadedfuel andfromindustry.
Andonce leadgetsintothe soil,itstaysa long
time

. It remainsanenvironmentalthreatespeciallytochildren.Leadcanharm mental andphysical developmenteven
inbabiesbefore theyare born.
If a testfindsthatsoil has toomuch lead,youmightbe advisedtoremove the soil orcoverit withsodgrass.
Different
countries
have differentlevelsthattheyconsideracceptable.
Carl Rosenof the Universityof MinnesotaExtensionnotesthatconcernsaboutleadhave increasednow thatmore
people are plantinggardens.ButProfessorRosensaysplantsgenerallydonot
absorb
much lead.He says there islikelymore riskfromleaddustonplantsorfrom playinginthe soil thanfromthe plant
itself.
Still,some plantsdoabsorbmore thanothers.Expertssaygood choicesforthe gardeninclude
tomatoes
, peppers,beansandokra.Amongthe plantsthatcan absorbmore contaminants,theysay,are root crops,leafy
vegetablesand
herbs
. If yougrowcarrots, for example,youmightwanttopeel them.Dirtmaybe harderto remove fromsome crops
than fromothers.But all produce shouldbe washed.
Gardensshouldbe plantedawayfromroadsand structures,especiallyoldbuildings.Home gardenersshouldplant
away fromthe foundationof their
house
. Andleadamountscan be especiallyhighnearindustrial areas andwaste dumps.
Soil shouldalsobe testedforitspH level,ameasure of the acidandalkaline balance.Expertssaythe abilitytotake
up leadis
reduced
whenthe pH level isabove six anda half.Addingorganicmaterial suchascompostto soil can alsomake leadless
available toplants.
Some people attemptaprocesscalledphytoremediation.Theytrytoremove leadfromsoil bygrowingcertain
plantsthat collectit.ButProfessorRosensaysthe processis
complex
and may notwork.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.Formore gardeninginformation,
go to voaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#18 - Going Digital: The Future of College Textbooks?
The average college studentinAmericaspentanestimatedseven
hundred
dollarsontextbookslastyear.The National Associationof CollegeStoresreportedmore thanfive billiondollarsin
salesof textbooksandcourse materials.
AssociationspokesmanCharlesSchmidtsayselectronictextbooksnow representjusttwotothree percentof

sales
. But he says that isexpectedtoreachtento fifteenpercentbytwothousandtwelve.
Online versionsare nowavailableformanyof the most popularcollege textbooks.E-textbookscancosthalf the
price
of a newprinttextbook.Butstudentsusuallylose accessafterthe endof the term.Andthe bookscannot be
placedonmore thanone device,sotheyare not
easy
to share.
So whatdo studentsthinkof e-textbooks?AdministratorsatNorthwestMissouri State Universitywantedtofind
out.Earlierthisyear theytestedthemwithfive hundredstudentsintwenty
classes
.
The universityis unusual.Itnotonlyprovideslaptopcomputerstoall seventhousandof itsfull-time
students
. It doesnotrequire studentstobuytheirtextbookseither.Theyrentthemtosave
money
. The school aimstosave evenmore by movingtoe-textbooks.
The studentsinthe surveyreportedthatdownloadingthe booksfromthe Internetwaseasy.Theylikedthe ideaof
carryinglighter
backpacks
. Andfifty-sixpercentsaidtheywere betterable tofindinformation.
But mostfoundthat usinge-textbooksdidnot
change
theirstudyhabits.Andsixtypercentfelttheyreadmore whentheywere readingonpaper.Inall,almosthalf the
studentssaidtheystill likedphysical textbooks
better
.
But the surveyfoundthatcost couldbe a biginfluence.Fifty-five percentsaidtheywouldchoose e-textbooksif
usingthemmeanttheirtextbook
rental
fee wouldnotincrease.
RogerVonHolzenheadsthe CenterforInformationTechnologyinEducationatNorthwestMissouri State.He tells
us that administratorsare disappointedwiththe e-textbooksnow available becausethe majorityare not
interactive
.
He thinksgrowthwill come whenmore digitalbooksinclude video,activities,
games
and otherwaysto interactwiththe information.The technologyisimproving.Butfornow,mostof the booksare
justwordson a
screen
.

Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyNancySteinbach.Whatdoyouthinkof e-
textbooks?Share yourthoughtsatvoaspecialenglish.com,where youcanalsofindourreports.I'm Steve Ember.
#19 - Study Finds More Trees on Farms Than Was Thought
Farmers,especiallyindevelopingcountries,are oftencriticizedfor
cutting
downforests.Buta newstudysuggeststhatmany farmersrecognize the value inkeepingtrees.
Researchersusing
satellite
imagesfoundat leasttenpercenttree coveronmore than one billionhectaresof farmland.Thatisalmosthalf the
farmlandinthe world.
The World AgroforestryCenterinKenyaledthe study.The findingswere reportedlastweekinNairobi atthe
secondWorldCongressof Agroforestry.
Earlierestimateswere muchlowerbut
incomplete
. The authorsof the newstudysayit maystill underestimate the true extentworldwide.
The study foundthe mosttree coverinSouth America.NextcomesAfricasouthof the Sahara,followedby
SoutheastAsia.NorthAfricaandWestAsiahave the least.
The study foundthatclimate conditions
alone
couldnot explainthe amountof tree coverindifferentareas.Norcouldthe size of nearbypopulations,meaning
people andtreescanlive together.
There are areaswithfewtreesbutalsofewpeople,andareaswithmanytreesandmanypeople.The findings
suggestthatthingslike landrights,
markets
or governmentpoliciescaninfluence tree plantingandprotection.
DennisGarrityheadsthe WorldAgroforestryCenter.He saysfarmersare actingon theirownto
protect
and planttrees.The problem,he says,isthatpolicymakersandplannershave beenslow torecognize thisandto
supportsuch efforts.
The satellite imagesmaynotshowwhatthe farmersare usingthe treesfor,but treesprovide nuts,
fruit
, woodand otherproducts.Theyprovide windbreaksandshade fromthe sun.Theyalsohelppreventsoillossand
protectwatersupplies.Evenunderdroughtconditions,treescanoftenprovide foodandawayto earn
money
until the nextgrowingseason.
The importantthing,saysone expert,istofindthe righttree for the right place forthe right use.
Some treesact as natural fertilizers.Theytake nitrogenoutof the airand putit inthe soil.Scientistsatthe
AgroforestryCentersaythe use of fertilizertreescan

reduce
the needforchemical nitrogenbyuptothree-fourths.Andtheysayitcan double ortriple cropproduction.
Treesalsocapture carbon dioxide,agaslinkedtoclimate change.
Wangari Maathai is a KenyanenvironmentalistandNobel Peace Prizewinner.She saysthe studyshowsthattrees
are
critical
to agricultural productioneverywhere.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.I'mJim Tedder.
#20 - In the US, the New Look of Gas Exploration
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishEconomicsReport.
Many people thinkthe searchforcleanerenergyleadsonlytorenewableresourceslikesun,windand
water
. But it alsoleadstoa fossil fuel.Natural gasisconsideredthe cleanestof the fossilfuels,the fuelscreatedbyplant
and animal remainsovermillionsof years.
Burningitreleasesfewerpollutantsthanoil orcoal.The gas ismainlymethane.Itproduceshalf the carbondioxide
of otherfossil fuels.Soitmayhelpcut the
production
of carbon gaseslinkedtoclimate change.
Russiaisfirstin whatare called"provedreserves"of natural gas.The UnitedStatesissixth.Overthe years,bigoil
and gas companies
recovered
much of the easilyreachedsuppliesof gasinAmerica.Theydrilledstraightdownintoformationswhere gas
collects.Asthese supplieswere usedup,bigdrillerslookedforsimilarformationsinothercountries.
But nowthe industryistakinga newlook.Companiesare developinggassuppliestrappedinshale rocktwoto
three thousandmetersunderground.Theydrilldowntothe shale,thengosidewaysandinjecthigh-pressure
water,sandor othermaterial intothe rock.
Thiscausesthe
rock
to break,or fracture,releasingthe gas.Huge fieldsof gasshale are believedtolie underthe Appalachian
Mountains,Michiganandthe south-central states.
Gas shale explorationisbeingdone mainlyby
small
to mediumsizedcompanies.
Eric Potterisa programdirectorin the Bureauof EconomicGeologyatthe Universityof TexasatAustin.
ERIC POTTER: "The typesof opportunitiesthatare leftfornatural gas explorationinthe U.S.have changed.Soit's a
differentclassof resource -- notas
easy
to develop,andnotevenrecognizedassomethingworthpursuing,say,twentyyearsago."

He saysmore than half the gas in the UnitedStatesisnow comingfrom these new reserves.
But hydraulicfracturingcanalsoproduce debate andanger overthe
risk
of groundwaterpollution.Thismethodof drillingisnotfederallysupervisedunderthe Safe DrinkingWaterAct.
Some inCongresswantto endthat exemptionfromthe law.
Natural gas providesAmericanswithaboutone-fourthof theirenergy.And,unlike oil,mostof itisproducedin
America.Gas producersinvestedheavilyinreachingnew supplieswhen
prices
were high.Butpricesare downsharplynowbecause the recessioncutdemandforenergy.SoenergyexpertEric
Pottersaysit istoo earlyto knowhowthe newgas shale reserveswill affectthe
market
.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEconomicsReport,writtenbyMarioRitter.I'm Steve Ember.
#21 - Two Studies Give a Lift to Running Barefoot
Two new studiessuggestthatmodernrunningshoescouldincrease the riskof injuriestorunners.
One studyinvolvedsixty-eighthealthyyoungwomenandmenwhoranat leasttwenty-four
kilometers
a week.The runnerswere observedonatreadmill machine.Sometimestheywore runningshoes.Othertimesthey
ran barefoot.
Researchersfromthe JKMTechnologiescompanyinVirginia,the Universityof Virginiaandthe Universityof Colorado
didthe study.
Theyfoundthat runningshoescreate more stressthatcoulddamage
knees
, hipsand ankle jointsthanrunningbarefoot.Theyobservedthatthe effectwaseven
greater
than the effectreportedearlierforwalkinginhighheels.
The study appearedinthe official scientificjournal of the AmericanAcademyof Physical Medicine.
The other studyappearedinthe journal Nature.Itcomparedrunnersinthe UnitedStatesandKenya.The researchers
were fromHarvard UniversityinMassachusetts,Moi UniversityinKenyaandthe Universityof Glasgow inScotland.
Theydividedthe runnersintothree groups.One grouphadalwaysrun
shoeless
. Anothergrouphad alwaysrunwithshoes.Andthe thirdgrouphad changedto shoelessrunning.
Runnerswhowearshoesusuallycome downheel first.Thatputsgreat
force
on the back of the foot.But the studyfoundthatbarefootrunnersgenerallylandonthe frontor middle of theirfoot.
That way theyease intotheirlandingandavoid
striking
theirheel.

Harvard's Daniel Liebermanledthe study.He saysthe waymostrunningshoesare designedmayexplainwhythose
whowear themlandontheirheels.The heel of the shoe is
bigger
and heavierthanotherpartsof the shoe,soit wouldseemmore likelytocome downfirst.Also,the heelgenerallyhas
thickmaterial
under
it to softenlandings.
But the researchersdonot suggestthatrunnersimmediatelystartrunningbarefoot.Theysayittakessome
training
. Andthere can be risks,like runningwhenyour feetare toocoldto feel if yougetinjured.
The study waspartlysupportedbyVibram,whichmakesakindof footwearthatit saysis like runningbarefoot.The
findingshave gottenalotof attention.Butthe researcherssaythere are many problemsin the waythe
press
has reportedontheirpaper.So theyhave triedtoexplaintheirfindingsonaHarvard Web site.Fora link,go to
voaspecialenglish.com.
#22 - Some Advice on Choosing a College
Last week,we toldyouthatthe numberof foreignstudentsinthe UnitedStateshadreachedanall-timehigh.More
than six hundredseventy-one thousandforeignstudentsattendedanAmericancollege oruniversityduringthe last
school year.So saysthe latestreportfrom the Institute of International Education.
Many international studentschoose
large
schools.Buta growingnumberof themare attendingsmallerones.
DouglasBennettisthe presidentof EarlhamCollege,aliberal artscollegeinRichmond,Indiana,thatactivelyseeks
foreign
students.
DOUGLAS BENNETT: "We're a small college,justtwelve hundredstudents.Butaboutfifteenpercentof our
undergraduatescome fromhomesoutsidethe UnitedStates,whichisastronomically
high
for an Americancollege oruniversity."
Doug Bennetthaswrittenseveral articlesaimedathelpingstudentschoose acollege thatbestfitstheirneeds.He
saysone of the importantthingstoconsideristhe
size
of a school.He says EarlhamCollege issmall forareason.
DOUGLAS BENNETT: "We aren't that small because we couldn'tbe bigger.We're thatsmall because we thinkwe
educate muchmore effectivelyandmuchmore powerfullybecause we staysmall.Itstretcheseveryone more.It
drawseveryone intomore differentkindsof
activities
."

Of course,there are alsogoodargumentsforattendinga largerschool.Many bigschoolsare widelyrecognized.
Andin some casesthat mightleadtomore job interviewsthanadegree froma lesserknowncollege.Larger
schoolsalsohave more
money
, whichcan meanmore resourcesforeducation,recreationandresearch.
In additiontosize,DouglasBennettsaysthere are otherimportantthingstoconsider.Forexample:Which
programsat the school are the
strongest
? Some schoolshave strongerprogramsinthe sciences.Othersare strongerinthe liberal arts.
Also,whatdo the school'stopstudentsgoon to do aftertheygraduate?What kindsof activitiesare offeredthat
mightadd to the educational experience?Are there sports
teams
? What about a radiostationor
newspaper
?
Somethingelsetoconsideristhe kindsof servicesthataschool offersforinternational students.
But EarlhamCollege PresidentDouglasBennettsaysone choice topsall others.
DOUGLAS BENNETT: "The most importantchoice youmake ingoingto college iswhoyouchoose tobe yourself.If
you're preparedtobringyour bestself tocollege,thenithardlymatterswhere yougotocollege.Onthe other
hand,if you choose notto be very
motivated
, not to be veryresponsible,nottobe preparedtoworkveryhard, youprobablywon'tgeta good
education
."
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyJune Simms.YoucanfindtranscriptsandMP3s of
our reports -- includingourForeignStudentSeries -- atvoaspecialenglish.com.Andyoucanfollow usonTwitter
and YouTube at VOA LearningEnglish.I'mSteve Ember.
#23 - Deforestation Decreased Over the Past 10 Years
The UnitedNationsFoodand Agriculture Organizationsaysdeforestationhasdecreasedoverthe pasttenyears.
But it still continuesata highrate inmanycountries.Deforestationismainlycausedbythe
cutting
downof tropical foreststoprovide landforagriculture.The world'stotal forestareaisjustoverfour
billion
hectares.Aboutthirteenmillionhectaresof forestwerecutdownor lostthroughnatural causeseach yearin the
lastten years.Thiscompareswithaboutsixteenmillionhectares peryearduringthe nineteennineties.
The FAO studycoverstwohundredthirty-threecountriesandareas.The studyfoundthat
Brazil
and Indonesiahave reducedtheirdeforestationrates.The twocountrieshadthe highestlossof forestsinthe
nineteennineties.Inaddition,the studynotedtree-plantingprogramsincountriessuchasChina,India,Vietnam
and the UnitedStates.These programs,alongwithnatural

expansion
of forestsinsome areas,have addedmore thansevenmillionhectaresof new forestseachyear.
SouthAmericaandAfricahad the highestyearlylossof forestsduringthe lasttenyears.SouthAmericalostfour
millionhectares.Africalost
almost
three and a half millionhectares.However,Asiagainedmore thantwomillionhectaresayearinthe lastdecade.In
NorthAmericaand Central America,the forestarearemainedaboutthe same.InEurope,itcontinuedtoexpand,
but at a
slower
rate than earlier.
EduardoRojas isassistantdirector-general of F.A.O.'sForestryDepartment.He saidforthe firsttime,the rate of
deforestationhasdecreasedaroundthe
world
. Thisis the resultof effortstakenatlocal and international levels.MisterRojassaidcountrieshave improvedtheir
forestpoliciesand
legislation
. Theyhave alsoprovidedforestsforuse bylocal communitiesandnative peoplesandforthe protectionof
biological diversity.He saidthisisa welcome messagein2010 – the International Yearof Biodiversity.
However,MisterRojassaidthe rate of deforestationisstill very
high
in manyareas.He saidcountriesmuststrengthentheireffortstobetter
protect
and manage theirforests.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.Youcanfindtranscripts,MP3s,
podcastsand captionedvideosatvoaspecialenglish.com.I'mBobDoughty.
#24 - National Standards for US Schools Gain Support From States
Americanshave neverhadnational educationstandards.Goalsforwhat
public
schoolsshouldteachare setby state and local school boards.Theirmembersare oftenelected.
But some Americanssaythe lackof national standardsiswrongina competitive
global
economy.FormerpresidentBill Clintonsaiditwasasif somehow school boards"couldlegislate differencesin
algebraor
math
or reading."
PresidentGeorge W.BushandCongressexpandedfederalintervention.Hiseducationlaw,still ineffect,required
statesto showyearly
progress
in studentlearningasmeasuredbythe states'owntests.

Now,the Obamaadministrationsupportswhatare knownasthe CommonCore State Standards.These were
developedinayear-longprocessledbystate governorsandchief state school officers.TexasandAlaskawere the
onlystatesnotto
take
part.
The standardsare in twosubjectareas,English-languageartsandmathematics.Theyestablishgoalsforeach
year
from kindergartenthroughgrade twelve.The aimisforstudentstofinishhighschool fullypreparedforcollegeand
careers.
The developersconsideredstandardsinothercountries,alongwithalmostone hundredthousandpublic
comments.
One way the EducationDepartmentistryingtopersuade statesiswith
money
. Statesare competingtoshare inalmostthree anda half billiondollarsaspartof a school reformcompetition.
Theywill earnextrapointsinthe Race to the Top if theyapprove the standardsbyAugustsecond.
Statesare tryingto
recover
from the recession.There are concernsthatsome couldacceptthe standardsandthenlack the moneyto follow
them.
The final standardswere releasedJune second.A new reportsayabouthalf the stateshave
approved
themalready.
The Thomas B. FordhamInstitute isaneducationgroupinWashington.Itsaysthe standardsare clearerand
strongerthan those usedinthree-fourthsof the states.Butthe
comparison
also foundthatexistingEnglishstandardsare "clearlystronger"inCalifornia,Indianaandthe Districtof Columbia.
Statesthat approve the newstandardshave a rightto add up to fifteen
percent
of theirown.
In California,the State Boardof Educationplanstovote on Augustsecondtoaccept or
reject
a newsetof standards.These are basedlargelyonthe commoncore, butalsoexistingCaliforniastandards.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyAvi Arditti.I'mBobDoughty.
#25 - Farming in the City: Joys of Growing Food
For manyyears,people inAmericancitieshave dependedonfarmersinrural areasto grow fruitsand
vegetables
. But nowa newgenerationof farmersisplantingcropsinurbanareas.

SeanConroe isa college student.AmberBanksisa teacher.Theybothgrew up farmingandgardening.Sean
Conroe and AmberBankswantedtostart a farm inthe
middle
of Seattle,Washington.
AMBER BANKS:"There are a lotof neighborhoodsthatdon'thave accessto healthy,freshproduce.Andif theydo,
it can be very
expensive
. So we see unusedspace asa greatplace to grow foodthatwill make itmore accessible forpeople."
SeanConroe createda website togetvolunteersand
donations
. Withina week,theywere offeredaplotof land betweentwohouses.He saystwentyvolunteersworkedforsix
weekendstoturnthe grassylandintoa farm.Theycall theirprojectAlleycatAcres.
SEAN CONROE:"We have
spinach
, onions,radish,lettuce andchardthat'sall ready to be harvestedrightnow."
There are alsocarrots, greenonions,peas,beansandturnips.
SEAN CONROE:"Broccoli,tomatillosandcucumberswhichare all startingtopop up.Andthen
strawberries
."
The Alleycatshave harvestedaboutninetykilogramsof produce sofar.They have donatedmostof it to local food
banksthat feed
hungry
people inSeattle.
BridgetBarni is sittinginthe dirtpickinglettuce.She isone of eightypeople whoare volunteeringatthisurban
farm.Like a lotof the volunteers,she doesnothave muchgardeningexperience.
One of the goalsof the urbanfarm isto showcity people the joysof growingfood.The Alleycatsinvite school
groups
to the farmto helpout.AndAmberBankssays theywantthe same people whogetfooddonationstolearnhowto
workthe soil.
SeanConroe saysAlleycatAcresisexpandingtoother
empty
areas of Seattle.Soare a lotof otherurbanfarminggroups.
SEAN CONROE:"We'd like toexpandasmuch as we can where there are emptylotsthathave ample amountsof
sunlight,thathave accessto
water
and that have a communityrallyingaroundprojectssuchasthis."
Seattle hasdeclaredtwothousandten"The Yearof Urban Agriculture."Butthe growthof these farmsislimited.
That is because Seattle,likealotof othercities,has
restrictions

on urban farms.The CityCouncil isnowconsideringchangingthose laws.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,byAnnDornfeld.Supportcame fromthe ParkFoundation,
the Gaylordand DorothyDonnellyFoundationandthe GreatLakesFisheryTrust.You can findmore stories -- and
postyour comments -- at environmentreport.org.Youcan alsofollow usonFacebookandTwitterat VOA Learning
English.I'mBob Doughty.
#26 - Pretty Flowers Lead Two Scientists to a Discovery
Notall researchbeginswithaplan.Some studiesbeginby
accident
. MeredithSchafersaysthat iswhathappenedwithherandCynthiaSagers.
CynthiaSagersisa biology
professor
at the Universityof Arkansas.MeredithSchaferisagraduate student.
Theywere travelinginthe state of NorthDakota ona project.Theynoticedpretty
yellow
flowers.
Theyrecognizedthemascanola.Farmersgrowcanola forseedsto make cookingoil.Canolaisalsousedforanimal
feedandbiofuel.
But the canola plantstheysawwere notgrowinginfarm fields.Theyweregrowingalongthe
road
.
The researchersdecidedtotestthe plants.Theyhadbroughtalongspecial testing
papers
for the projecttheywere workingon.Theycrushedsome of the leavesinwaterandaddedthe teststrips.
The resultsshowedthatthe weedycanolaplantscontained geneticchanges.If aplantis geneticallymodified,that
meansitsgeneshave beenchangedtoproduce desired
qualities
.
Thissummer,the researchersfromArkansaswentbackto NorthDakota.This time theywentona road tripto find
canola.Theytraveledmore thanfive thousandkilometers.
Theystoppedabouteveryeightkilometerstocountplantsandtake samplestotestin their
vehicle
.
What theyfound,theysay,wasthe firstdiscoveryinthe UnitedStatesof wildcanolaplantswithmodifiedge nes.
MeredithSchaferpresentedthe findingsatarecent
meeting
of the Ecological Societyof America.

The scientistsfoundcanolaplantsinalmosthalf of the placestheyinvestigated.Theytestedatotal of two hundred
eighty-eightplants.Theyfound thateightypercentof those plantscontainedgenesfromgeneticallyengineered
canola.
Some crop plantsare modifiedtoresistdamage fromthe
chemicals
that farmersspray to kill weeds.There are twoproteinsthatcangive canolathe abilitytoresisttwocommonly
usedherbicides.One proteingivesresistance againstglyphosate.The otherproteingivesresistanceagainst
glufosinate.
Two of the plantsgrowinginthe wildshowedresistancetobothkindsof weedkillers.ProfessorSagerssayscanola
varietieswiththesegeneticqualitieshave notbeenreleasedonthe
market
. Thissuggeststhe resultof wildpopulationsreproducingontheirown.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.Youcanread and listentoall of
our programsand getpodcasts at voaspecialenglish.com.I'mMario Ritter.
#27 - PC Recycler Strikes Gold in Old Computer Chips
Thisis the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport.
Each year,Americansthrowawaymillionsof
tons
of electronicdevices.Thatmeansbusinessisgoodfora small electronicsrecyclerinChantilly,Virginia.
CompanyPresidentJeremyFaberestablishedPC Recycler.He spoke tousfromthe floorof hiscompany's
processingcenter.Workerswere busytakingaparttelevisions,
cell
phonesandcomputers -- anythingelectronic.
JeremyFabersaysthe flowof discardedelectronicsisonlyincreasing.
JEREMY FABER: “Electronicsrecyclingisthe fastestgrowingwaste streaminthe UnitedStatesrightnow.”
Recyclingelectronicwaste isnota single
job
. Newerdevicescanbe rebuiltandresold.Breakingdownelectronicsintosmall partsforrefinerstomeltand purify
isanotherpart of the business.OperationsManagerAndrew Portare sayscomputercircuitboardsare rich
resources
.
ANDREWPORTARE: “Boards have the highestscrapvalue inthemsoyou can actuallysee onthe back you're
lookingatdifferenttypes of
metals
. Thisone is a reallygoodexample.Some of the olderonesare mainlyall gold.”
Goldnow sellsformore thanone thousandthree hundreddollarsanounce.Twenty-five percentof PCRecycler's
salescome fromselling
parts
to refiners.

Refiningcompaniespaymore thantendollarsa kilogramforcomputerboards.PCRecyclercan alsoliftprofitsby
holdingmetal-richpartsuntil pricesrise.
ANDREWPORTARE: “If copper'sup one day, we can shipall of our copperextract andcapitalize on the market.”
Computersalsoholdprivate or
secret
information.Andsecuringthatdataisthe fastestgrowingpartof PC Recycler'sbusiness.Completelyremoving
data froma computerharddrive isnot easy.PCRecyclercan remove datamagneticallyorcompletely
destroy
and recycle the drives.
Discardingwaste ina way thatmeetsgovernmentenvironmental protectionrulesisalsoimportant.OldTVscan
containovera kilogramof
lead
as well ascadmium -- both highlypoisonous.
PC Recyclersupportsthe Basel ActionNetwork,whichseekstolimitharmful wasteandtechnology.The company
saysit doesnot exportelectronicstoChina,IndiaorAfricawhere environmental rulesare
weak
.
JeremyFabersaysPCRecyclerhas beeninbusinesssincetwothousandthree,expandingfromwaste management
to other,more technical services.
JEREMY FABER: “There reallyisn'talot of industriesoutthere thatare like this.There'seitherthe scrapindustry
where they're shredding
cars
and shreddingtiresandthere'sthe refurbishedPCmarketandwe're sortof sit rightinbetweenbothof those.”
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport.Gotovoaspecialenglish.comandclickonthe Classroomto
explore ournewEnglishteaching activities.I'mMario Ritter.
#28 - Taking a Closer Look at the Future of Video Conferencing
High-qualitysystemsusedinvideoconferencingare calledtelepresence systems.The imagesare life-size yetnot
trulylifelike.Theylackthe depththatpeople wouldnormally
see
if theywere inthe same roomtogether.Butthiscouldchange in the future withnew kindsof three -dimensional
telepresence systems.
Last week,we toldyouabouta 3-D systematthe Universityof Arizona.Researcherscansenda
moving
image overthe Internetandshowit ona special screeninclose toreal time.Peoplewouldnothave towear
special glassesliketheyoften
need
to watch 3-D movies.
The systemusesa lotof camerasto take picturesof a personfromdifferent
positions

. Lasersreproduce the picturescombinedintothree-dimensional images,orholograms.The image appearsmore
realisticwiththe more camerasthatare usedand the more picturesthatare
taken
.
Howard Lichtmanispresidentof the HumanProductivityLab.Hiscompanyadvisesothercompaniesonbuyingand
usingtelepresencesystems.Mr.LichtmanalsopublishesTelepresence Options,whichreportsonthe industry.
He saysthislatestdevelopmentwouldhave done wondersforthe "StarWars" movie withthe famous"Princess
Leia"hologramscene.
HOWARD LICHTMAN:"For PrincessLeiato
talk
, PrincessLeianeedstomove andhermouthneedstomove,etc.Andyou haven'tbeenable todothat witha
regularhologrambecause the hologramwouldonlybe fixedinone spot.Whatthey're able todois,they're able to
refreshthatimage sothat the image changesthe same waya personchangeswhenthey
talk
."
The researchersinArizonasaytheir3-D systemisstill yearsawayfromcompletion.Eventhen,HowardLichtman
saysit may have
trouble
competingwithsystemsalreadyonthe market.
Most telepresence systemsare two-dimensional.ButMr. Lichtmansaysthe imagesare veryrealistic.
HOWARD LICHTMAN:"It's a 2-D image,butit's
crystal
clear,photorealistic,fluidmovement,accurate fleshtones,andyouwouldswearyouwere inthe same physi cal
space withpeople whomightbe thousandsof milesaway."
He sayspricesfor telepresence systemsare goingdownasmore people use the technology.
HOWARD LICHTMAN:"It's pushingdowntoeverybodyasthese environmentsare becomingpubliclyavailable or
youcan
rent
themby the hour,and at the same time thatyou're gettingveryhighquality,highdefinitionvideoconferencing
showinguponmobile devicesandinthe home deliveredthroughthe set-topbox orthroughthe PC."
A neweighteen-million-dollarprojectaimstocreate eleventelepresence centersforfederal
employees
around the UnitedStates.The governmentisworkingwiththe AT&Tcompanytosave moneyandreduce
pollution
by reducingthe needfortravel.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport,writtenbyJune Simms.I'mSteve Ember.
#29 - Looking to Robots and Other Technology to Improve Health Care

An organizationcalledthe WorldFuture Societypublishesayearlyreportabouthow technology,the economyand
societyare influencingthe world.TimMackheadsthe WorldFuture Society.He saysmedicine isone
area
of growth.
TIM MACK:“I wassurprisedbythe enormousgrowthinmedical technology.”
Mr. Mack says the fieldsof nanotechnology,biotechnologyandinformationtechnologyare workingtogetherto
create newwaysto
help
patients.These includebetterwaystoprovide medicine andidentifydisease withoutinvasive
operations
.
Mr. Mack also saysdevelopmentsinartificial intelligence couldleadtoa future where disabledpatientscouldbe
cared forby a
voice
-activatedrobot.
The World Future SocietyalsopublishesThe Futuristmagazine. Everyyearitexaminesdevelopmentsintechnology
and otherareasto
predict
the future.The magazine releasedthe toptenpredictionsfromthe Outlook2011 report.
Several of the predictionsdealtwithtechnology.The reportsaidInternetsearchengineswill sooninclude bothtext
and
spoken
results.Itsaidtelevisionbroadcastsandotherrecordingscouldbe gatheredusingprogramsdevelopedbythe
FraunhoferInstitute forIntelligentAnalysis.
Outlook2011 alsoexaminedrefusecollection.Itsaid industrial nationswill sendmuchmore
waste
to developingcountries.Thiswillcause protestsinthose countries.Inaboutfifteenyears,developingcountrieswill
stopacceptingforeignwaste.Thiswill force
industrial
nations to developbetterwaste-to-energyprogramsandrecyclingtechnologies.
The report alsohad a predictionabouteducation.Itsaidyoungpeopleuse technologiesforsocializingaswell as
working
and learning.Sotheysolve problemsmore asteamsinstead of competing.Inthisway,social networkingis
supportingdifferentkindsof learningoutsidethe
classroom
.
The World Future Societyalsopredictsthatrobotswill be able tocarry out mental commandsfromhumanbeings.
Scientistshave shownthatindividualscantype byusingtheirbrainswithoutphysicallytouchingcomputer
keyboards
. In the nearfuture,expertssaybraine-mailingand“tweeting”will becomemore common.

Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport.Youcanfindscriptsand audioof our programsat
voaspecialenglish.com.We are alsoonFacebook,TwitterandYouTube atVOA learningEnglish.I'mSteve Ember.
#30 - A Fatter World, Yet Fewer Cases of High Blood Pressure
Last week a studyof one hundredninety-nine countriesandterritoriesconfirmedwhatmanypeoplemayhave
alreadynoticed.People aroundthe
world
are gettingfatter.The studyfoundthatobesityhasalmostdoubledsince nineteeneighty.
MajidEzzati at Imperial College Londonledthe researchteam.He saysthe resultsshow thatobesity,highblood
pressure andhighcholesterol are nolongerjustfoundinwealthy
nations
. These are now worldwideproblems.
The study appearedinthe Lancet.It showsthatin twothousandeight,almosttenpercentof menwere obese.That
was upfrom aboutfive percentinnineteeneighty.Thatsame year,almosteightpercentof womenwere obese.By
twothousandeight,the
rate
of obesityamongwomenwasalmostfourteenpercent.
Obesityiscommonlymeasuredbybodymassindex,orBMI.This isa measure of a person's
weight
in relationtoheight.A personwithaBMI of twenty-five totwenty-nine isconsideredoverweight.The World
HealthOrganizationdefinesobesityasa bodymassindex of thirtyor more.
Pacificislandnationshave anaverage BMI of aroundthirty-five -- the
highest
inthe world.
But the studyfoundthat the UnitedStateshadthe single highestaverage amongwealthycountries.Menand
womenhadan average BMI of overtwenty-eight.New Zealandwasnext.Japanhadthe lowest,atabouttwenty-
twofor womenandtwenty-fourformen.
The report hadsome good news,however,abouthighbloodpressure,.The percentage of people withthismajor
cause of
heart
attacks and strokeshasfallensince nineteeneighty.Dr.Ezzati creditsimprovedtestingandtreatmentinwealthy
countries.He saysa decrease inthe use of saltand unhealthful fatsprobablyalsohelped.
In the UnitedStates,newguidelinesurge Americanstoreduce salt,sugarand fattymeatsand to eatmore
fish
and whole grains.Peopleare beingurgedtochoose wateroversugareddrinksandto make fruitsandvegetables
half of a meal.Butwhateverthey eat,Americansare beingurgedtofollow newadvice fromthe government:eat
less.
Lynn Goldman,deanof publichealthatGeorge WashingtonUniversity,praisedthe dietaryguidelinesreleasedlast
week.
LYNN GOLDMAN: "Thisisa call to go back to olderwaysof eating,toeatingwhole foods,whole grains,fruitsand

vegetables
, more healthyfoods.Andhopefullytheseguidelineswill be noticedworldwideandpeople willtake stepstoboth
increase theirphysical activityandtoeat
healthier
."
#31 - Living in a World With Facial Recognition
A newstudylooksatprivacy ina worldwhere computerscanincreasinglyrecognizefacesina
crowd
or online.AlessandroAcquisti atCarnegie MellonUniversity'sHeinzCollege inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,ledthe
study.
ProfessorAcquisti sayssocial networkslike FacebookandLinkedInrepresentsome of the world'slargestdatabases
of
identities
. He seesincreasingthreatstoprivacyinfacial recognitionsoftware andcloudcomputing -- the abilitytostore huge
amountsof informationindatacenters.
ALESSANDROACQUISTI:"The convergence of all these technologies -- face recognition,social networks,cloud
computing-- andall these advancesinstatistical re-identificationtechniquesand
data
miningare creatingthisworldwhere youcan blendtogetheronline andoffline data.Youcan start froman
anonymousface andendup withsensitive inferencesaboutthat
person
.”
Recognitionsystemsmeasure thingslikethe size andpositionof a
nose
, the distance betweenthe eyesandthe shape of cheekbones.The software
compares
lotsof imagestotry to identifythe person.Thisiswhatthe professormeansby"statistical re-identification
techniques."
Facial recognitionprogramsare usedin
police
and securityoperations.Butthe software isincreasinglypopularinotheruses,includingsocial mediasites.
For the study,the Carnegie MellonteamusedsoftwarefromPittsburgPatternRecognition,orPittPat.Google
boughtthat companylastmonth.The software canrecognize facesinphotosand
videos
.
The researchersdidthree experiments.First,theycollectedprofilephotosfromadatingwebsite.Itsuserstryto
protect
theirprivacyby notlistingtheirreal name.ButcomparingtheirphotostopicturesonFacebookidentifiedone out
of
ten

people.
In the secondexperiment,the Carnegie Mellonresearchersaskedpermissiontotake picturesof studentson
campus
. Theycomparedthese tophotoson Facebook.Thistime theycorrectlyidentifiedone-thirdof the students.
In the thirdexperiment,theytriedtosee howmuchtheycouldlearnaboutpeople just froma photo.Theyfound
not onlynamesbut
birthdates
, personal interestsandevenlocations,whenpeoplelistedthem.AndProfessorAcquisti saysthe technologyisonly
improving.
ALESSANDROACQUISTI:“Because face recognizerskeepimproving
accuracy
, because cloudcomputingkeepsofferingmore power,andbecause more andmore imagesof ourselvesare going
to be online,we are gettingreallyclosetothisfuture where whatwe didasa proof of conceptwill be possibleto
do byanyone on a massive
scale
.”
In June,Facebooklaunchedafacial recognitionsystemtohelpusers"tag"or listthe namesof people inphotos.
Germanylastmonth became the firstcountryto declare thissoftware an
illegal
violationof privacy.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport,writtenbyJune Simms.Share yourthoughtsaboutprivacy
and technologyatvoaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#32 - How a Small Change in Teaching May Create Better Readers
Teachersand parentsusuallycall attentiontothe
pictures
whentheyreadstorybookstopreschool children.Butanew studysuggeststhatcallingattentiontothe wordsand
letters
on the page mayleadto betterreaders.
The two-yearstudycomparedchildrenwhowere readtothiswayinclass withchildrenwhowere not.Those
whose teachersmostoftendiscussedthe
print
showedclearlyhigherskillsinreading,spellingandunderstanding.These resultswere foundone yearandeven
twoyears later.
Shayne Piasta,anassistantprofessorof teachingandlearningatOhioState University,wasanauthorof the study.
She says most
preschool
teacherswouldfindthismethodmanageable andwouldneedonlyasmall change inthe waytheyteach.They
already readstorybooksinclass.The onlydifference wouldbe
increased
attentiontothe printedtext.

Ms. Piastasays if youget childrentopayattentiontolettersandwords,itmakessense thattheywill dobetterat
wordrecognitionand
spelling
. But she saysresearchsuggeststhatveryfewparentsand teachersdothisin a systematicway.
The report appearsinthe journal ChildDevelopment.
More than three hundredchildrenage fourandfive were observedinclassroomsinOhioandVirginia.The children
came frompoor familiesandwere below
average
intheirlanguage skills.Thisputthematriskfor readingproblemslater.
For
thirty
weeks,the childrentookpartina program calledProjectSTAR,forSitTogetherAndRead.The projectisbasedat
OhioState.It teststhe short-termandlong-termresultsof readingregularlytopreschool childrenintheir
classrooms.
Laura Justice at Ohio State was an investigatorforthe study.She headsthe Preschool Language andLiteracy
Laboratory.She says one of the
areas
that interestsresearchersisknownasthe "locusof learning."
LAURA JUSTICE: "Where isitthat a childlearnssomething?Where isthat
space
? We thinkwe have identifieditprettywellintermsof fosteringsome children'sknowledgeaboutprint."
ProfessorJustice saysthisknowledgecanbe gainedbyhavingfocuseddiscussionswhenreadingabookto a child.
LAURA JUSTICE: "We thinkwe understandhowinformationaboutprintis
transmitted
from the adultto the child.Andwe thinkwe have centeredonthisinterventionthatreallyhelpsadultscenterin
on the thingsthat children
need
and want to learn."
There are differentwaysthatadultscan talkto childrenaboutprint.Theycanpointto a letteranddiscussit,and
eventrace the
shape
witha finger.Theycan pointouta word:"Thisis'dog.'" Theycan discussthe meaningof the printorhow the
wordstell the story. Andtheycan talkabout the
organization
of the print-- forinstance,showinghowwordsare writtenlefttorightinEnglish.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyJerilynWatson.I'mBobDoughty.
#33 - Worried That People Are Laughing at You?
Imagine thissituation.Youpassagroup of people.The people are
talking

to each other.You cannothear whattheyare saying.Butsuddenlytheystartlaughing.Whatwouldyouthink?
Wouldyouthinktheywere laughing
at
somethingfunnythatone of themsaid?Or -- be honestwithyourself -- wouldyouthinktheywerelaughing
at
you? Yes,you.
Beinglaughedatisa common
fear
. But a major studypublishedintwothousandnine foundthatthisfearisnotthe same aroundthe world.Itdiffers
fromculture to culture.
People inFinlandwere the leastlikelytobelievethatpeople laughingintheirpresence were making
fun
of them.Lessthan
ten
percentof Finnsinthe studysaid theywouldthinkthat,comparedto
eighty
percentof people inThailand.
Some people inthe studysaidtheyfelt
unsure
of themselvesinsocial situationsbuthidtheirfeelingsof insecurity.Otherssaidtheyavoidedsocial situations
where theyhad beenlaughedatbefore.
The study foundthatpeople inTurkmenistanandCambodiawere more likelytobe inthe firstgroup.They would
hide theirfeelingsof
insecurity
if theywere aroundotherpeople'slaughter.ButpeopleinIraq,Egyptand Jordanwere more likelytotryto avoid
such situationsif theyfelttheyhadbeenlaughedatbefore.
Shypeople oftenavoidsituationsthatwouldforce themintoclose
contact
withotherpeople.Theyworrythatsomethingtheysayordowill make otherpeople laughatthem.Butsome
people worrymuchmore thanothers.Theymay have a
disorder
calledgelotophobia.GelosisaGreekword.Itmeanslaughter.Phobiameansfear.Thisfearof laughtercanbe truly
sad forthose wholive withit.Itcan affecthowtheyleadtheirlives.
In the study,a teamfrom the Universityof Zurichledmore than
ninety
researchersfromaroundthe world.Theywantedtounderstandthe differencebetweennormal shynessandtrue
gelotophobia.Anotherpurpose of the studywastocompare the levelsof fearof beinglaughedatindifferent
cultures.The researcherssurveyedmore thantwenty-twothousandpeople in
forty-two
differentlanguages.The findings appearedinthe scientificjournal Humor.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishHealthReport.Isshynessaseriousproblemforyouorsomeone youknow?It
was fora universitystudentwhoaskedpeopleinouraudience foradvice onhow todeal withit.You can findout

whattheysaid at voaspecialenglish.com -- where youcanalsoread,listenandlearnEnglishwithourstories.I'm
FaithLapidus.
#34 - Tomato's Genetic Secrets Are Peeled Away
Scientistshave made ageneticmapof the tomato.Tomatoesare secondonlyto
potatoes
as the world'smostvaluable vegetable crop.Eightyearsof workwentintomakingthe map,or genome.Three
hundredscientistsaroundthe worldtookpartinthe projectto sequence the tomato'sDNA code.Giovanni
Giuliano,aresearcherinItaly,ispart of the Tomato Genome Consortium.
GIOVANNIGIULIANO:"We startedasten countriesandwe now are
fourteen
."
Mr. Giulianosayshavingthe tomato'sgeneticmapwill helpgrowerswho are alwaystryingtoproduce a better
tomato.
GIOVANNIGIULIANO:"Andof course,thiswill be facilitatednow bythe factthat we now know notonlywhat genes
are there,buttheir
order
."
Researcherspublishedthe genome of atomatousedbyHeinz,the Americanfoodcompanyfamousforitstomato
ketchup
. The thicksauce isusedon hamburgers,hotdogsand otherfoods.
Heinz'sresearchmanager,RichOzminkowski,saysthe companyknowswhatitwantsina tomato.
RICH OZMINKOWSKI:"Traitslike sugarsand,forHeinz,viscosity,orthe juice thickness,andthe rednessof the
tomatoesare all verycritical traits forus, forour products.Those are all controlledbyalot of differentgeneswithin
a tomato naturally."
Mr. Ozminkowski saysgenomesequencingtakesawaymuchof the guessworkfor
breeders
of tomatoesorother cropsthat have beenmapped.
RICH OZMINKOWSKI:"Byhavingthe genome information,we canpickoutthose tomatoplantsthat have more of
those genes."
Until the late
nineteensixties
, the tomatoesthat Heinzusedtomake ketchupoftencrackedopenonthe vine aftera heavyrain.
RICH OZMINKOWSKI:"Heinzhadsetabouttryingto put togetheravarietyof tomatoesthatwouldresistthat
cracking."
Breedersusedthe traditionalmethods of matinggenerationsof different
varieties

. The tomatoestheywere tryingtodevelopnotonlyhadto resistcracking.Theyalsohadto resistdisease.Andthey
had to be easyto harvestmechanically.
Finallythe companycame upwiththe tomato itwanted,calledthe Heinz1706. Mr. Ozminkowskisaysthe job
wouldhave beenmuch
easier
if there had beena geneticmaptofollow.
RICH OZMINKOWSKI:"The toolsavailablebackwhen1706 wasdeveloped,itwas all very,veryconventional
breeding.There were nogenetictools.Youcouldnotlookat sequences.Youcouldnotdo
comparisons
. Andthat is whatmakesthe genomicprojectandthe technologiesthathave spunoff of that so interesting."
But the workis not justaboutmakingbetterketchup.Climate change mayforce manycropsto adjustto new
conditions.AndMr.Ozminkowskisaysresearchersare alreadyusingthe new genetictoolstohelpfightnew
plant
diseases.
RICH OZMINKOWSKI:"Andsothisisgoingto give us evenmore,because there are new diseasesthatare becoming
problemswithinCaliforniaandaroundthe world."
Researcherspublishedthe tomatogenome inthe journal Nature.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report.Youcan read,listenandlearnEnglishwithourstoriesand
more at voaspecialenglish.com.Youcanalsofindmore informationabouttomatoes.I'mJimTedder.
#35 - What Is the Relationship Between Age and Happiness?
1. Researchersfoundthatby the age of 85, people are happierwiththeirlife thantheywere at18.
True.
False.
It's not saidon the text.
2. They foundthatthe most stressedpeopleare
betweenthe agesof 18 and 22.
betweenthe ages of 22 and 25.
betweenthe agesof 50 and 60.
3. Accordingto the report,the happiestpeople werethe youngestadultsand
those intheirearly60s.
those in their early70s.
those intheirearly80s.
4. Men and womenhave similaremotional patternsastheygrow older.
True.
False.
5. Having childrenaffectsthe levelof happinessrelatedtoage.
True.
False.

#36 - Golden Gate Bridge Still Shines After 75 Years
The GoldenGate Bridge iscelebratingitsseventy-fifthanniversary.The bridge openedtovehicle trafficonMay
twenty-eighth
, nineteenthirty-seven.Since then,more thantwobillionvehicleshave crossedthe worldfamousstructure
betweenSanFranciscoandMarin County,California.Asmanyas
one hundred twelve thousand
cars make the tripeach day.
The GoldenGate Bridge hadthe longestsuspensionspaninthe world,atthe time itwas built.The suspended
roadwaystretches
one thousandtwohundredeighty
metersbetweenthe bridge'stwotall towers.Todayitstill ratesamongthe toptenlongestbridge spansin
existence.
Mary Currie worksforthe GoldenGate Bridge,HighwayandTransportationDistrict.She saysthe bridge isone of
the most extraordinaryengineeringprojectsof all time.
MARY CURRIE: “The GoldenGate Bridge isan engineeringmarvelcertainly,anditgetsawardafteraward after
award forwhat itmeansin civil engineeringandstructural engineering.It'salsoa place where thingshappenfirst.
For example,we werethe firstsuspensionbridge tohave tochange the roadway
deck
.”
The GoldenGate Bridge isnamedafterthe GoldenGate Strait.That narrow passage of waterconnectsthe San
FranciscoBay to the PacificOcean.JosephStrausswasthe chief engineerof the GoldenGate Bridge project.Work
beganin
nineteenthirty-three
. The projecttookfouryearsto complete.
The bridge is
twothousandsevenhundredeighty-eight
meterslongfromone endto the other.It is twenty-sevenmeterswide.Twolarge cablespassoverthe topof the
bridge'stowers.These structuresstandtwohundredtwentysevenmetersabove waterand
one hundredfiftytwo
metersabove the road.Each cable holdsmore thantwenty-seventhousandfivehundredstrandsof wire.
Two hundredfifty
pairs of vertical suspenderropesconnectthe supportcablestothe suspensionbridge.Thisispartof what enables
the bridge to move upand downbynearlyfive meters.
The GoldenGate Bridge weighedeighthundredelevenmillionfivehundredthousandkilogramswhenitwas
completedinnineteenthirty-seven.The SanFranciscoChronicle newspapercalledthe finishedproject,“athirty-
five milliondollarsteel harp!”
ArchitectIrvingMorrowgets creditforthe bridge'sbrightorange color.The Navywantedthe bridge paintedin
yellowandblack.The AirForce had suggestedredandwhite.

MARY CURRIE: “But we were fortunate thatIrvingMorrow knew that that colorwouldblendwiththe environment,
it wouldcontrastwiththe oceanand the air above,andit wouldalsoallow the artdecostylingtoreally
standout
.”
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport,writtenbyJune Simms.Transcripts,MP3sandpodcastsof
our reportsare at voaspecialenglish.com.We're alsoon FacebookandTwitterat VOA LearningEnglish.I'mSteve
Ember.
#37 - In the Garden: Growing Onions
Onionscome indifferentsizes,
shapes
, colorsand flavors,frommildandsweettohotand
strong
. A full-grownonionplanthasroots,bulbsandleaves.The leavesare long,thinandhollow.Theystandstraightup
and thickenatthe bottom toform a bulb.
Onionsare biennials;theirlifecycle is
two
yearslong.But theyare usuallypickedduringtheirfirstyearbefore flowersformandthe bulbsstopgrowing.
Onionsgrowbestinloose,fertile
soil
. Theycan grow inmany differentclimates.Incoolerclimates,onionsmayneedfourteentofifteenhoursof
daylighttostart formingbulbs.In
warmer
climates,onionscanbegindevelopingbulbswithfewerhoursof dailysun.
Barbara Fick isan extensionagentatOregonState University,inthe northwesternUnitedStates.She saysa
faster
way to growonionsisto plantwhat are calledsets.
BARBARA FICK:"Onionsetsare actually
small
plants,versusstartingwithaseed.Sowhenyouhave a set,onionset,itactuallyis,youknow,the small bulb.
Organicmaterial like compostorleaf mulchcan helponionsgrow inheavysoil.
The bulbscan be pulledfromthe groundonce theirtopshave driedandfallenover.Onionscanbe storedfor
months
. But Barbara Fick saysstoredonionsneedtobe curedfirst.
BARBARA FICK:"Curingisa way of makingsure those leavesonthe outside are
nice
and dry."
Here are some directionsfromeditorsatthe National GardeningAssociation.
First,dry the onionsinthe sunfor a day or so. Thenbringthemout of

direct
sunfor two to three weeks.Spreadthemoutinanywarm, airyplace that iscovered.Or coverthe onionswitha
lightcottonsheetheldinplace withstonesalongthe edge.
The sheetwill keepthe sunfromburningthe bulbs.Don'tworryabout
rain
. Anddo not use a plasticor canvas sheet.Heavycoveringswill trapmoisture andkeepthe onionsfromdryingfully.
Turn the bulbsa couple of timestohelpthemdry
evenly
.
Aftercuringthe onions,youcan hang themindoorsinmesh
bags
to dry evenmore.There shouldbe nowetspotsonthe onionswhentheyare putinstorage.Editorsat the
National GardeningAssociationsaythe longeronionsare cured,the bettertheywill keep.
Some people cutoff the topleavesbefore curingonions.If youdothat, donot cut the leavesanycloserthantwo
and a
half
centimetersfromthe bulb.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishAgriculture Report,writtenbyJerilynWatson.Formore storiesaboutgardening,
includingmore advice aboutgrowingonions, gotovoaspecialenglish.com.I'mBodDodey.
#38 - Mobile Telephones Changing Lives in Africa
From VOA LearningEnglish,thisisthe TechnologyReportinSpecial English.
The World Bankestimatesthere are about
650
millionmobile phoneusersinAfrican countriessouthof the SaharaDesert.That isgreaterthan the numberof
usersinthe UnitedStatesandEuropeanUnion.
SamiaMelhemworksforthe World Bankto increase informationtechnologiesinAfrica.She saysmobilephones
are the
fastest
growingtechnologyonthe continent.
SAMIA MELHEM: "Fasterthan TV,definitely
faster
than electricity.More peoplehave accesstomobile phonesandhence communication.More peoplehave internet
access todayinAfricathan theyhave accessto water,cleanwater,or evensanitation.Sowe cansay that thishas
beenthe mostsignificantrevolutionintermsof changingthe African
landscape
and howpeople live theirdailylife."
CNN televisionrecentlynamedsevenwaysof life itsayshave beenrevolutionizedbecause of mobile phones.They
include political
activism
, education,entertainment,disastermanagement,agricultureandhealth.

Anotherareais
banking
. Reportssay half or more of the adultsinGabon,Kenyaand Sudanuse mobile money.ReneMendysellsgoodsin
the streetsof Dakar, Senegal.Buthe neverhadenoughmoneytoopena bank
account
.
Nowhe usesa mobile phone bankingservice calledOrange Money.Withhistelephone,he canaddor take outas
little asone
dollar
. He can make paymentsandsendmoneytofamilymemberswholivefaraway.
Orange Moneysays itserves
four
millioncustomersintencountries.The WorldBank'sSamiaMelhemnotesthatthe Frenchcompanyis facing
competitionfromothermobile bankingservices.
SAMIA MELHEM: "The mobile bankingisahuge
trend
. Andpeople inthe Westdon'tunderstandit,because mostpeople have bankaccountsandtheyhave creditcards.
It [mobile banking] isthe instantaneousacquisitionof cashata muchlowercost.The cost isthe cost of sendingan
SMS, whichisalmost
nothing
comparedto what traditional transferagents,like WesternUnion,wouldcharge - 10 dollarsormore fora
particularmoneytransfer."
In education,the UnitedNationsagencyUNESCOisholdingitssecondMobile LearningWeekinParislaterthis
month.Conference
delegates
are to discusshowmobile phone use canincrease the numberof people whoread.Otherissuesincludehow
mobile technologiescansupportteachers,andmake iteasierforgirlsandwomentoreceive aneducation.
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishTechnologyReport,writtenbyKarenLeggett.Transcripts,MP3sand podcastsof
our reportsare at voaspecialenglish.com.I'mSteve Ember.
#39 - A Flower in Winter: The Story of the Poinsettia
From VOA LearningEnglish,thisisthe AgricultureReportinSpecial English.
Poinsettiasare the best-sellingpottedfloweringplantinthe UnitedStates.Redpoinsettiasare a traditional partof
Christmas
celebrations,whichiswhyalmostall of themare soldat wintertime.The Departmentof Agricultureestimatesthat
Americans bought$
250
millionworthof poinsettiaslastyear.
The poinsettiaisnative toCentral Americaandneedswarmthtogrow.Brightred poinsettiasare the bestknown.
But there are about
one hundred
differentkinds,incolorsincludingwhite,pink,yellow andpurple.
The flowersof the poinsettiaare very

small
. Aroundthe flowersare colorful leavescalledbracts.These bractsare what give the plantstheirbeauty.
The poinsettiaisnamedforJoel RobertsPoinsettfromSouthCarolina.In
1825
PresidentJohnQuincyAdamsappointedhimasthe UnitedStates'firstministertoMexico.Poinsetthadaninterest
inplants.He sawthe colorful plantsgrowinginthe wild.Wildpoinsettiascangrow up to
four
meterstall.He likedthemsomuchthat he sentsome cuttingsbackto the UnitedStates.
The botanical name for the plantisEuphorbiapulcherrima.InLatin,thatmeans"mostbeautiful euphorbia."There
are hundredsof relatedplants,includingrubbertrees,treesthatproduce castorand tungoil,and the cassava,a
root crop.
People whoare allergictothe latex producedbyrubbertreescandevelopamildskinrashfrompoinsettiaplants.
Babiesand
pets
that chewon poinsettiascangetsick.Butexpertssaythe plantis notas poisonousassome people think.
In the 1920s, AlbertEcke and hisson Paul became interestedinthe poinsettia'sabilitytoflowerin
winter
. Paul Ecke thoughtitwouldbe a good plantto displayatChristmastime.
Theystarteda farmnear Encinitas,California.Atfirst,Paul Ecke,andlaterhisson,grew large plantsinfields.Then
theysentthemto growersby
train
. Growerswoulddivide the large plantsintocuttings,toraise smalleronesingreenhousesuntil the holidays.
In the 1960s came poinsettiasthatgrewbestin
containers
. The Eckesstartedto sell cuttingsfromthese new plants.TodayEcke Ranchremainsa majorsupplierinthe United
Statesand aroundthe world.InAugust,Paul Ecke's grandsonannouncedthatthe companywasjoiningthe Dutch-
basedAgribioGroup.
#40 - Making Friends Not Always Easy for Foreign Students
A recentstoryin the Chronicle of HigherEducationsaidmanyforeignstudentsreportfeeling
lonely
or unwelcome inAustralia.Those feelingsare amongthe reasonswhyAustraliaistakingaclose lookat its
international educationindustry.The governmenthasformedanadvisorycouncil tohelpdevelopa
five
-yearnational strategyforthe future of international educationinAustralia.
But whereverinternational studentsgo,makingfriendsmaynotalwaysbe easy.The Journal of International and
Intercultural Communicationrecentlypublishedastudydone inthe UnitedStates.
ElisabethGareisof BaruchCollege inNewYorksurveyed
454
international students.Theywereattendingfour-yearcollegesandgraduate schoolsinthe AmericanSouthand
Northeast.

StudentsfromEnglish-speakingcountriesandfromnorthernandcentral Europe were more
likely
to be happywiththeirfriendships.But
thirty-eight
percentof the international studentssaidtheyhadnoclose friendsinthe UnitedStates.
Andhalf of the studentsfromEastAsiasaid theywere unhappywiththe numberof Americanfriendstheyhad.
ProfessorGareissaysthirtypercentsaidtheywishedtheirfriendshipscouldbe
deeper
and more meaningful.
ELISABETH GAREIS: "StudentsfromEastAsiahave culturesthatare differentonmany
levels
from the culture inthe UnitedStates.But thenthere'salsolanguage problems,andmaybe some social
skills
, such as small talk,thatare possiblynotasimportantintheirnative countries,where it'snotasimportantto
initiate friendshipswithsmall talk."
She says manyEast AsianstudentsblamedthemselvesfortheirlimitedfriendshipswithAmericans.
ELISABETH GAREIS: "The vast majority
blames
themselves,actuallyfornotspeakingthe language well enough,notknowingthe culture wellenough.There were
alsosome commentsaboutthe college environment,like manyof themwere inthe natural sciencesorworkedin
labs
where theywere surroundedbyotherEastAsians."
VOA'sStudentUnion bloggerJessicaStahl didherownsurveytofindouthow Americanstudentsandforeign
studentsrelate toeachother.More than
one hundred
students,abouthalf of themAmerican,answeredheronlinequestions.
Half of the international studentsand
sixty
percentof the Americanssaidtheyrelatedaswell orbettertothe othergroupthan to theirowngroup.
Eighty-fivepercentof the Americanssaidtheyhave atleastone internationalfriend.Butonlyabouthalf saidthey
have more than two international friends.
Amongthe foreignstudents,
seventy-five
percentsaidtheyhave more than twoAmericanfriends.Buttenpercentsaidtheyhave noAmericanfriends.
Notsurprisingly,ProfessorGareissaysstudentswho
make
friendsfromtheirhostcountryreturnhome happierwiththeirexperience.
ELISABETH GAREIS: "Internationalstudentswhomake friendswithhost
nationals

are, overall,more satisfiedwiththeirstayinthe hostcountry.Theyhave betterlanguage skills,theyhave better
academicperformance andtheyhave better
attitudes
toward the hostcountry.So whentheyreturnhome,andoftenfill leadershippositions,theycan
foster
productive relationswiththe formerhostcountry."
Andthat's the VOA Special EnglishEducationReport,writtenbyJerilynWatson.I'mJimTedder.
#41 - Secret to Life? Dance, and Don't Procrastinate!
1. Where was thisladyborn?
India.
England.
USA.
2. How oldis she?
87.
93.
97.
3. She hasbeenteachingyoga,full-time,since _____.
1957.
1963.
1967.
4. Even whenshe was___, she wondance competitions.
65.
75.
85.
5. What is she goingto do whenshe retire?
She will not retire.
She will travel aroundthe world.
She will write abook.
#42 - Cameras Capture Pictures of Mysterious Bush Dog
Scientistssaytheyhave capturedphotographsof one of the mostmysteriousknownanimals:bushdogs.
Bushdogs live inCentral andSouthAmerica.Theyare a rarelyseenandthreatened
species
. But the photossuggesttheymaybe more commonthan scientiststhought.
Scientistsusedcamerasthattake photosinthe forestwhenananimal passesby.Photosof the bush dogswere
takeninwildareasof
Panama
. The trapscan be foundacrossthe countryfromits CostaRican borderto itsborderwithColombia.
RicardoMoreno isa researchassociate forthe SmithsonianInstitution.He anda teamof biologistsfromYaguará,
Panamaare studyinglarge,wildmammalsinthatcountry.He says,"The bush dogis one of the
rarest
speciesthatwe photograph."
The researchersdescribe the animalsas"short-leggedandstubby,standingonlyaboutafoot(30cm) tall at the

listening de pagina saber ingles

listening de pagina saber ingles

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (17)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to listening de pagina saber ingles

Similar to listening de pagina saber ingles (20)

More from .. ..

More from .. .. (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

listening de pagina saber ingles