10.COLD

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold.

For centuries, the body's blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded.  Cold-blooded people act in cruel ways. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident.

For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer.  The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense, or because he was reacting to anger or fear.  He seemed to kill for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone's life meant nothing.

Cold can affect other parts of the body.  The feet, for example.  Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold.  But there is an expression -- to get cold feet -- that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.

The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization.  But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned.  All the work of the organization will be your responsibility.  You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.

Cold can also affect your shoulder.

You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way.  The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face.  You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you.  Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.

A cold fish is not a fish.  It is a person.  But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth.  A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted.  A cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy.  Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feeling, broke the hearts of their lovers.

Out in the cold is an expression often heard.  It means not getting something that everybody else got.  A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise, that he was left out in the cold.  And it is not a pleasant place to be.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.  Maurice Joyce was the narrator.  I'm Shirley Griffith.

11.SE-WS-COLORS

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in Americaat the beginning of the twentieth century.  It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United Statesis the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful.  Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: “You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.”  Someone who is blue is very sad.

The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green.  A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day.  A blacklist is illegal now.  But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brown out is an expression for a reduction in electric power.  Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity.  The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area. Black outs were common during World War Two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

(MUSIC)

I’m Warren Scheer.  Listen again next week for another Words and Their Stories program in Special English on the Voice of America.

12.

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Thousands of soldiers and civilian volunteers continue rescue and relief efforts after Monday’s huge earthquake in southwestern China.  Thousands of  people are believed to still be buried under collapsed buildings.

Rescuers search for victims in the wreckage of a school inDujiangyan,Sichuan,China

Rescuers search for victims in the wreckage of a school inDujiangyan,Sichuan

Officials say the number of dead is expected to rise to more than fifty thousand. On Friday, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in SichuanProvinceto support earthquake relief efforts.  Hundreds of thousands of people are without homes.  Health officials warn that a lack of food, clean water and  supplies could lead to the spread of disease.  Officials also warn that dams and other structures weakened by the earthquake could still collapse.

So far, Chinahas received international aid worth more than two hundred million dollars.  But officials say the country still needs tools, equipment, temporary shelters and medicine.  The Chinese government made a rare public appeal Thursday for tools used for digging and moving wreckage.  Some rescuers have been digging through building wreckage with only their hands.

Airplanes carrying aid and volunteers from Taiwanlanded in Chinaon Thursday. The first foreign rescue team arrived Friday in SichuanProvincefrom Japan.  China has also agreed to accept teams fromRussia,Singapore andSouth Korea.

Chinese state television has shown Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in areas where the earthquake hit, talking to survivors and directing relief work.

The Chinese government has sent about one hundred thirty thousand military and aid workers to SichuanProvince.  It has also deployed more than one hundred helicopters to transport victims and drop emergency supplies to survivors. The state-run Xinhua news agency reports the government has also ordered temporary controls on food prices and transportation costs in affected areas.

However, many survivors are criticizing the government’s delays in sending help to affected areas. Others have questioned the safety of public schools and hospital buildings. Many schools collapsed, killing classrooms full of children.  Thousands of parents lost their only child in the quake becauseChina’s population control policies limit most families to having one child.

Also this week, aid organizations said the number of victims of a severe storm in Burmacould reach more than one hundred thousand.  The storm struck Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta on May third.  The United Nations says as many as two million survivors need food, water, shelter and medicine.

Pressure continues onBurma's military government to permit international aid organizations to help the survivors. A U.N. spokesman in the country says some aid is reaching affected areas but it is not enough.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake.  Our reports can be found on our Web site at voaspecialenglish.com.  I’m Steve Ember.

13.

This is the VOA Special English Development Report. 

On Tuesday, the United Nations will open a "food summit" in Rome. Leaders and high-level officials from around the world will meet at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters. The F.A.O. says they will discuss the effects of rising food prices, limited resources, climate change, increased energy needs and population growth.

The United Nations agency says the three-day summit offers a historic chance to re-launch the fight against hunger and poverty. Another goal is to increase agricultural production in developing countries.

Poor countries likely will spend up to one hundred seventy billion dollars this year to import food -- up forty percent from last year.

A new report says agricultural prices should ease from their recent record highs. International prices for most crops have started to drop, mainly because of increased production.

But over the next ten years, food prices are expected to average well above levels of the past ten years. World grain supplies are low and need to be refilled, and food crops are being used to make biofuels.

The report came from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the F.A.O.

The F.A.O. has suggested several measures to deal immediately with the situation. These include supplying food to at–risk populations and seeds, fertilizer and animal feed to local farmers.

A woman works in a field at a farm near the Tanzanian town ofArusha

But what about long-term answers to food security? TheInternationalCenterfor Research on Women says one answer is investing more in female farmers.

Rekha Mehra is the director for economic and development issues at the Washington-based nonprofit. She says improving women's ability to get resources and technology can directly increase agricultural productivity.

After all, women produce as much as eighty percent of the food in developing countries. In parts of Africa, for example, men are responsible for cash crops while women are generally responsible for food crops. And, around the world, women are the ones mainly responsible for their families’ nutrition. 

Women farmers usually have to own land to receive loans and other resources. Yet, in many developing countries, women do not have property rights like men have.

Rekha Mehra says the right to own land will lead to greater investment in the land. She says world leaders need to think about these gender issues when they meet inRome this week.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss.

14.

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

The hand has been a symbol through the ages and in many cultures.

There are hundreds of expressions and combinations of words using hand in the English language. Let us examine some of the expressions that use hand.

We will get a hand in this way. To get a hand in is to begin a job, to begin to know something about it.  When we learn the job completely, it will be easy for us.  We will be able to do it hands down.

If we do the job well, we may end up with the upper hand.  And that means to be in control, or to have gained complete understanding of a situation.

On the other hand, if the situation gets out of hand, then it is out of control.  We must act quickly to regain the upper hand over these expressions.

But, wait. We still do not have the upper hand in this business.

We must consider another way of expressing praise, to hand it to someone.  For example: I must hand it to you for understanding what we have discussed this far.

You can also lend a hand to someone, but without really giving up your hand.  You lend a hand when you help someone. You offer them a helping hand.

If someone is kind enough to lend us a hand, then we surely do not want to bite the hand that feeds us.  We do not want to repay his kindness by treating him badly.

Now, with that out of the way, we have a free hand to continue examining other hand expressions. To have a free hand in a situation is good.  It means you are free to act without getting permission from someone else.

If we continue moving along, we will make progress hand over fist, or very rapidly. This expression began in the early seventeen hundreds.  It reportedly comes from a sailing expression hand over hand, the way of quickly raising or lowering a sail.

Maybe you can find a friend who wants to take a hand in our project.  It would have to be someone who is interested in these expressions.

Your friend may want to work hand in glove with us. That is good, because that means he wants to work as closely with us as a glove covers the hand.  Of course there is a danger that he may look at our project and decide to take it in hand.  That means he wants to take it over.

If that happens, we may throw up our hands because the situation seems hopeless. In fact, we may decide that it is time for us to end this project, to wash our hands of hand expressions.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.  Maurice Joyce was the narrator.  I'm Shirley Griffith. 

15.

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

In the last thirty years, American businesses have increasingly used suppliers in China and all over the world. This helped fuel a current account deficit of seven hundred thirty-one billion dollars last year. The current account is a measure of the difference between a country's income and its current spending.

Even so, many companies profited by importing goods from foreign suppliers as world trade barriers fell and oil prices were low. But wage costs have risen in China. And now, with oil so costly, many economists wonder how wise it is to make products far from home markets.

A recent report by Jeff Rubin and Benjamin Tal at the Canadian bank CIBC said shipping inflation is taking the place of the old trade tariffs. For example, in the year two thousand, the cost to send a twelve-meter shipping container from Shanghai to the American East Coast was three thousand dollars. Now the cost has risen to eight thousand dollars.

High transportation costs have already affected China's foreign trade. The rate of export growth decreased from about twenty-seven percent a year ago to twenty-two percent in the first half of this year.

To cut transportation costs, some companies are opening factories in countries where they sell their products. Sweden's Ikea, the world's largest seller of home furniture, just opened its first factory in the United States in Virginia.

Countries like the United States that have lost manufacturing jobs to foreign competition could see some of those jobs return. But a new report says American businesses are also looking at other ways to deal with high fuel prices. The report is from a transportation research company based in London, Eyefortransport.

It says that for years the industry has tried to reduce costs by moving goods through the supply chain as quickly as possible. Now, high fuel costs are making some companies restructure their operations. Fewer but larger loads are being shipped.

And companies are moving more goods by rail and by water, along coasts and inland waterways. Not only does that save fuel, the report says, it also helps shippers and carriers improve their "green" image.

With these changes, it says, American manufacturers are looking for low-cost countries closer to home -- known as near shoring. At the same time, there appears to be a common belief in the industry that some carriers are raising fuel charges just to increase profits.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

16.

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Most people enjoy working for several reasons.  Their job might be fun, or they like their employer and the other people at work.  Most people I know, however, work for the money.  I do not know anyone who is loaded, or extremely rich.  Most of my friends work to earn enough money to live. They have to make ends meet.  They have to earn enough money to pay for the things they need.  Some even live from hand to mouth. They only have enough money for the most important things.

They struggle to earn enough money to bring home the bacon.  It can be difficult to earn enough money for a family to survive. Sometimes, poor people even get caught short.  They do not have enough money to pay for what they need.

Or they have to spend or lay out more money than they want for something. When this happens, poor people have to tighten their belts and live on less money than usual.  I hate when I have to live on less money. It takes me longer to get back on my feet, or return to good financial health.  

However, other people are on the gravy train. They get paid more money than their job is worth. These people make a bundle.  They really rake in the cash.  In fact, they make so much money that they can live high off the hog. They own the best of everything and live in great ease.  Sometimes they pay an arm and a leg for something.

Because money is no object to wealthy people, they will pay high prices for whatever they want.  Sometimes, they even pay through the nose.  They pay too much for things.

I am not rich. I did not make a killing in the stock market when my stocks increased in value.  Yet, I am not poor either.  When I go out with friends, I do not want to shell out or pay a lot of money.  Often, my friends and I will chip in or pay jointly for a fun night out.  When we go to restaurants the meal is Dutch treat.   Each person pays his or her own share.

Once, the owner of a restaurant gave us a dinner on the house.  We did not have to pay for our meals.  However, I admit that we had to grease someone’s palm.  We had to pay money to the employee who led us to our table.  The money was for a special request.  Yes, it was a buy off.  The employee put us at the top of the list for a table instead of making us wait like everyone else.  We had a great time that night and the meal did not set me back at all.   I did not have to pay anything.

Because of that experience, I will always remember that nice things still happen in a world that is driven by money.  But, that is just my two cents worth.  It is just my opinion.

(MUSIC)        

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

17.

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Today I will tell about expressions using numbers. Let us start with the number one.   Numbers can be tricky. On the one hand, they are simply numbers. On the other hand, they have meanings. I for one use these expressions a lot. 

Many people consider themselves number one, the most important person. They are always looking out for number one and taking care of number one. It is as if they are the one and only person on Earth. Some people however, are not so self-centered. My brother is such a person. It is true – no joke. I am not trying to pull a fast one on you. 

First, you have to understand that my brother is one in a million. He is such a nice person. All his friends like him. They consider him one of the boys. Recently, my brother had a bad day at the office. It was just one of those days. Nothing went right. So he stopped at a local bar -- a drinking place -- after leaving work. My brother planned to have a glass of beer with his friends -- a quick one –  before he went home. But a quick one turned into one or two, and soon those became one too many.

As my brother was leaving, he ordered a last drink -- one for the road. His friends became concerned. One by one, they asked him if he was able to drive home safely.

Now my brother is a wise and calm person. He is at one with himself. He recognizes when he has had too much alcohol to drink. So he accepted an offer for a ride home from a female friend.

At one time in the past, my brother had been in love with this woman. She is a great person -- kind, thoughtful and intelligent -- all good qualities rolled up into one. But sadly their relationship did not work. He always used to say "One of these days, I am going to marry this girl." But that never happened.

For one thing, she did not love him as much as he loved her. It was just one of those things. The situation was regrettable and my brother had to accept it. But even now, he considers her the one that got away. 

However, they are still friends. And because my brother had been kind to her, she felt that one good turn deserves another. He was good to her and she wanted to help him in return. So she drove him home.

If my brother had driven home from the bar that night, his number would have been up. Something bad would have happened. Thankfully he made it home safely. And, he and the woman are back to square one. They are back to where they started – being friends.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.

18.

Some governments and agricultural experts have this advice to help people deal with high grain prices: Eat more potatoes.

potato
The United Nations has declared two thousand eight the International Year of the Potato. There is even a Web site to help bring more attention to the world’s third most important food crop, after rice and wheat: potato2008.org.

The world produced three hundred twenty million tons of the vegetable last year, about the same as in two thousand five. The top five producers were China, Russia, India, Ukraine and the United States. India hopes to double production in the next five years.

Officials in Bangladesh say that country produced a record eight million tons this season. Prices for rice, the main food crop, have doubled in Bangladesh in the past year. Potatoes now cost much less than rice.

Yet potatoes are not an especially popular food choice in Bangladesh. The government hopes that will change. And some Bangladeshis may have no choice. Soldiers are now being served potatoes as part of their daily food.

The International Potato Center in Lima, Peru, says potatoes could offer better food security for at least twenty Asian countries.

International trade in potatoes currently represents only about six percent of production, so prices are set locally. Potatoes are a good source of nutrients. And farmers can plant them in rotation with grain crops.

The United Nations World Food Program says potatoes can grow in almost any climate. They do not require very much water. And experts say potatoes can produce more food per hectare than wheat or rice.

Until the early nineteen nineties, most potatoes were grown in Europe, North America and the former Soviet republics. Person for person, Europeans still eat the most potatoes. But the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says production has increased sharply in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The F.A.O. says developing countries grew more potatoes than developed countries for the first time in two thousand five.

That same year, an American-led research team tried to settle the debate over where potatoes came from. They reported that all potatoes today have a single origin in southern Peru. The earliest evidence suggested that farmers developed potatoes from wild plants more than seven thousand years ago.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson.

19.

Talking Up the Dollar

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

For several years now, the dollar has fallen lower and lower against other major currencies. Lately, though, the dollar has risen, especially against the Japanese yen and the euro. Some traders think the dollar will continue to rise, but that is not clear.

The dollar moved up this week after comments by American officials in support  of a strong dollar policy.

On Monday, before he left for his last trip as president to Europe, George Bush said: "A strong dollar is in our nation's interests. It is in the interests of the global economy." Also Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on CNBC television that he would consider intervention to keep the dollar from sliding further.

TheUnited Stateshas not intervened in currency markets since two thousand. That year the administration of president Bill Clinton bought euros to support the European currency.

President Bush inSloveniaduring what is expected to be the last trip of his presidency toEurope. He appears at a news conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, center, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

But on Tuesday, President Bush said in Sloveniathat the "relative value of economies will end up setting the proper valuation of the dollar."

A weaker dollar helps American exporters. But it means Americans have to pay more for imports and for travel to other countries.

Some experts say dollar weakness is the main reason why oil prices have risen so high. Oil is priced in dollars on the world market.

But Treasury Secretary Paulson dismissed any link. He noted that since two thousand two, the dollar has fallen about twenty-four percent. But the price of oil has gone up well over five hundred percent.

Adding to pressure on the dollar, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggested that the E.C.B will raise interest rates next month. European officials are increasingly concerned with inflation.  But investors can already get higher rates of return on investments in euros than in dollars.

High prices for oil, food and other products have raised inflation concerns worldwide. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the latest increases in energy prices have added to inflation risks.

His comments in recent days have suggested that the central bank could stop cutting rates as it has since September. Its rate for overnight loans between banks is currently at two percent. Some market watchers think the Fed could raise rates as early as this month.

Finance ministers from nations in the Group of Eight will discuss the dollar and other issues at their meeting this weekend inOsaka,Japan.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Bob Doughty.

 20.

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and on this Valentine's Day Wordmaster: we have the author of a new book, "The Joy of Text."

RS: Writer Kristina Grish based her book on interviews with dozens of young men and women about what it is like to relate electronically. For instance, "dear" is fine for a letter, but for an e-mail she says, it may be too formal.

Kristina Grish

KRISTINA GRISH: "You know, if you're just starting a relationship with someone or just starting a correspondence with someone, it's certainly fine to say 'hi' or 'hello,' but then I would say within your second e-mail you don't really need a formal introduction or a formal salutation. You can cut right to the fact that you are having an official conversation."

RS: "Tell us about some of the things that you learned from these interviews."

KRISTINA GRISH: "One of the more interesting things I found out is that a lot of people perceive this sense of hierarchy, this 'intimacy hierarchy,' which basically means if, say, someone sends you a text message, it's only polite to match their medium in response.

"So they might start out by using e-mail and then progress to using text message and then progress to leaving a voice mail, but perhaps not actually talking on the phone. And the ultimate, ultimate 'ding-ding-ding-ding-you-finally-made-it,' is actually to have this vocal correspondence, whereas even five years ago we would just pick up the phone and call, and hopefully it would happen before three dates."

AA: "And all these people you talked to, did you get a sense of whether all the modern means of communicating other than what you call a vocal correspondence -- I guess we used to call that a conversation or talking -- "

RS: "A telephone call."

AA: "A telephone call, right -- was it a help or a hindrance? What sense were you getting?"

KRISTINA GRISH: "Well, that was actually the reason that I wrote the book was because when I was doing my initial research, I realized that so many people were so overwhelmed with this technology, and they had so much of it at their fingertips, but they weren't quite sure how to navigate it.

"But they, more importantly, weren't sure if it was helping their relationship or hurting it. A lot of girls would spend days and days and days text messaging with a guy before he would even ask her out, and is that a good thing or a bad thing?

"I think what it comes down to is, if you're really anxious to be asked out on a date, then it can be seen as a hindrance. If you're really excited to get to know someone slowly and gradually, and you want them to get to know you maybe from the inside out, then it can actually be a beneficial medium."

RS: "Going back to the use of language, you talked about salutations, what about signoffs?"

KRISTINA GRISH: "That was actually really funny. I actually had a really great subject who said he uses it as his 'canary in the coal mine.' But he had said that he reads the way that a woman signs off as a huge indicator of how that woman feels about him.

"So if she signs off 'see ya' or 'bye-bye' or something really cute or casual, then he thinks 'OK, we're on casual footing.' If she just says 'talk later,' then he's like 'oh gosh, this isn't great -- she means later. How much later is later?'

"But one thing I kept hearing over and over again was the XOX and, you know, those little tic-tac-toe marks that women use all the time to sign off with each other. Technically I guess it means kiss, kiss, hug, kiss. But men get so confused by it because they know that it means some form of intimacy and it's some derivation of the word 'love,' but every single man I spoke to said, 'God, what do the XXOs mean? Does that mean she wants to go out? Does that mean she wants to make out?'"

AA: "And what will you be doing on Valentine's Day?"

KRISTINA GRISH: "You know what? I don't know. I'm newly engaged, so I hope we have something really great planned that, to be honest, has nothing to do with technology."

AA: "Was this a relationship born of 'techno-relating?'"

KRISTINA GRISH: "No, in fact, he's a writer as well, and he hates communicating via technology. He won't return a text message. The most he will do is e-mail. There was a lot of e-mail flirtation when we first met."

RS: Which can be fun. But we wondered how do you avoid e-mail ping-pong, in personal or business e-mail -- in other words, how do you know when to hit the reply button and when to resist the urge?

KRISTINA GRISH: "I would handle it how you would handle it in person. I think if you were to end a business correspondence by walking out of the room and saying 'thanks, I'll talk to you tomorrow,' then do it the same way over e-mail.

"But if you're very aloof and you're used to just walking out of a room without saying goodbye, then you can take that route, too. But I think the whole goal is to just make sure you're matching your personality with the way that you act when you're online."

AA: Kristina Grish is a contributing editor to Marie Claire magazine and is just out with her newest book, "The Joy of Text: Mating, Dating and Techno-Relating."

RS: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. Or to revisit this or any other Wordmaster segment check out our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

 21.

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

A yearly meeting of all the member countries in the World Health Organization is this week in Geneva, Switzerland. Delegates from the one hundred ninety-three countries discuss progress and set policy for the coming year. The W.H.O., a United Nations agency, is sixty years old this year.

Margaret Chan

Margaret Chan

But Director-General Margaret Chan, as she opened the World Health Assembly, noted that the delegates are meeting at a time of tragedy. She expressed sympathy to the millions of people affected by the recent cyclone in Burma, also known as Myanmar, and the earthquake in China.

Doctor Chan said three crises lie ahead that are international security threats and will all affect human health. One is food security, another is climate change and the third is the threat of a worldwide outbreak of influenza.

She said the world produces enough food to feed everyone -- in fact, she added, far too many people are overfed. Yet now, food prices have risen sharply. She noted that the crisis hits the poor the hardest, and that the more a family spends on food, the less it has for health care.

The W.H.O. chief said climate change will also hit the poor the hardest but, to a greater or lesser extent, will affect all countries. She said more droughts, floods and storms mean greater demands for humanitarian aid. And she warned it will mean a growing number of environmental refugees.

And, thirdly, Doctor Chan warned of a continued threat of pandemic influenza. She said it would be very unwise for governments not to prepare. She urged delegates to support a W.H.O. resolution on the sharing of influenza viruses for research and to make vaccines widely available.

The W.H.O. this week also released its World Health Statistics report for two thousand eight. Agency officials say fewer people are dying of infectious diseases. In more and more countries, they say, the chief causes of death are conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

By two thousand thirty, non-communicable conditions are expected to cause more than three-fourths of all deaths. Almost one-third of all deaths will result from cancer, heart disease and traffic accidents.

The number one cause of preventable deaths is tobacco. More than eight million tobacco-related deaths are predicted in two thousand thirty -- eighty percent of them in developing countries.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Archives of our reports, with transcripts and MP3s, are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

22.

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Usually we think about material qualities when we think about

the pleasure we will get from a product. When something costs

a lot, we might think about all the fine work that went into it.

 But can price alone influence the pleasure we experience?

Researchers from the California Institute of

Technology and the Stanford Graduate School of Business say yes.

Hilke Plassmann, John O'Doherty and Antonio Rangel at Caltech

and Baba Shiv at Stanford did a study. They had twenty people

 taste different wines. Wine was chosen because it comes in many

different qualities and prices, and because a lot of people enjoy tasting it.

The people were told they were tasting five different Cabernet Sauvignons.

The wines were identified only by price: five, ten, thirty-five, forty-five and ninety dollars.

But in truth there were only three different wines, and two of them were presented twice,

 at a high price and a low price. For example, the wine that in fact cost ninety dollars a bottle

 was presented half the time as a ten dollar wine.

There were two important results from the study.

First, the individuals, on average, reported greater pleasure from drinking

 wine that they were told was higher in price. Brain images taken while the people

tasted the wine supported this finding.

Activity, represented by blood-oxygen levels, increased in an area of the brain

 thought to process "experienced pleasantness." Experiments have shown that

 the medial orbitofrontal cortex processes the experience of enjoyment from smells, taste and music.

The new findings will add to the limited knowledge of how marketing affects brain activity.

The second result has meaning for economists and marketers. The experiment appears

 to confirm that raising the price can increase how much a product is enjoyed. In other

 words, when it comes to expectations, it seems you really do get what you pay for.

The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Finally, we want to update our recent story on the fight over next-generation DVD

 technology for high definition televisions. This week, the Toshiba company inJapan

announced the end of its HD DVD business, crushed by Sony's Blu-ray format.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter

. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.

 I'm Bob Doughty.

23.

The Lebanese parliament is scheduled to elect a president on Sunday, ending an extended period of political turmoil that erupted earlier this month into violent clashes between Lebanon's U.S.-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition. A political settlement reached in Qatar earlier this week paved the way for the election, six months after the last president stepped down. But analysts warn that some difficult, unresolved issues could be tough challenges for Lebanon's new leader. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Beirut.

beirutis a city transformed. The opposition's protest tents are gone, a year and a half after they went up outside the prime minister's office. The crowds are back in downtown restaurants and cafes. And the partisan banners and flags that have blanketed many parts of the city for the last several years have been largely replaced by the red-white-and-green Lebanese flag, and the white banner of the Lebanese army.

In a city where, not too long ago, the faces of factional leaders peered out from posters all over town, now the walls are plastered with the face of General Michel Suleiman, who is to be elected president on Sunday.

And even those pictures have changed. Posters of the general in his military uniform have been replaced by images of him in a civilian suit and tie.

Lebanon's last head of state, Emile Lahoud, stepped down in November when his term ended, but the election of army chief Suleiman has been delayed for months, while political factions wrangled over the shape of the next government. Earlier this month, fighting erupted between supporters of the government and opposition factions led by Hezbollah. The rivals finally reached a compromise on Wednesday, after days of talks inQatar, agreeing to give the opposition enough Cabinet posts to veto any government decision.

But analysts warn that the compromise reached inDohadid not address the most difficult issues. They were left for later negotiations that could prove a serious challenge for the new unity government.

Mohamad Bazzi is the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "And in the end, the entire system works on consensus, so General Suleiman would have to achieve consensus on all of the important questions, and that's the most difficult problem… there's no consensus around the thorny questions, like Hezbollah's weapons," he said.

Difficult questions that could threaten the fragile coalition includeLebanon's relationship withSyriaand its cooperation with the U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Those are among the issues that led to the political standoff in the first place.

Earlier this month, the crisis erupted into the worst internal fighting thatLebanonhas seen since its civil war - fighting that largely fell along sectarian lines. The new president will have to deal with the legacy of that violence as well as with the issues that led to it.

The group Human Rights Watch is urging the new government to investigate the killing of civilians during the clashes, as well as other human rights violations that took place.

Human Rights Watch researcher Nadim Houry says, if the victims do not feel the state can provide justice, it could lead to another round of violence. "Seventy-one people died, more than 200 were wounded, and yet no one has been held accountable. And if this future government, and if this future president want to succeed in building a state, the first building block has to be accountability, and the recognition that victims have to get their due," he said.

The first task facing the new president will be forming a government. Traditionally, there is considerable wrangling over which faction gets which Cabinet post. Insiders say theDohaagreement likely included a compromise over the so-called key ministries, which include the justice, defense and interior portfolios.

Suleiman became a consensus candidate for president precisely because he has good relations with both sides ofLebanon's political divide and successfully kept the army neutral throughout the crisis. As he moves into the Baabda presidential mansion, his leadership skills are likely to be tested on a whole new level.

24.

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: more advice from English teacher Lida Baker.

Lida was with us last week to answer a question from an online English teacher in Manila. It had to do with accent reduction. But it got us to wonder what students who have no understanding of the English sound system can do on their own to improve their pronunciation.

LIDA BAKER: "There are a couple of things you can do, and how successful you are depends to some extent on how good your ear is. But one thing that is really, really helpful is singing. It's very interesting, I noticed in recent years that the younger students in my classes who've grown up listening to American pop music and rap music and watching a lot of MTV, they come into class -- now, they still have the same problems with grammar and vocabulary that students have always had. But these students are coming in with a really good accent in English. And they tell me that it's as a result of the fact that they've grown up listening to American music. So, yeah, spend time listening to American music."

RS: "Or watching TV or listening to a radio broadcast."

LIDA BAKER: "I mean, I think watching and listening are helpful, but because they're not active, you're not moving your mouth. You know, it's passive."

RS: "Well, what if you would, for example, record a passage and then listen to it, understand where the intonation is and where the accents are and how the words are produced and then -- "

LIDA BAKER: "Well, sure."

RS: "Try to reproduce it yourself, sounding, mimicking, repeating."

LIDA BAKER: "Absolutely, you can do that. Take any segment of English and record it and then use your stop and start button on your recording device to listen and repeat. But there, just a caveat: sometimes it's very hard to know what you're listening to. If you don't know that there is such a thing as stress and intonation and linking, you might not necessarily hear those features. So I do strongly recommend that people get a pronunciation book.

"Get a book written for students of English as a second language which explains, in language that you understand, how the sound system of English operates. And just one piece of advice when selecting a book -- actually, two pieces of advice. Make sure it comes with tapes or CDs. And make sure it doesn't deal only with sounds; make sure that it also targets stress, intonation, linking, clustering and the features of language aside from sounds.

"Sometimes pronunciation books come in series, so you'll have level one, level two, level three, and the level one book very often deals only with phonemes. And I think that's a mistake. Books may do that just because, with beginning students, it IS easier to fix problems with phonemes than it is to deal with stress and intonation and all that.

"But it really is a mistake to think that my accent is caused by the fact that I'm not able to pronounce the 'th' sound or, if I'm learning French, I can't pronounce the French 'r' and that's why I have an accent. There's so much more to it than that."

AA: "Our listener in Manila also has another question. He wants to know if it's OK to correct students right after they commit an error. What do you think about that?"

LIDA BAKER: "If it's an error with a grammatical feature or a vocabulary item that the class has already studied, so the student knows the rule, go ahead and correct it on the spot, because at that point what you're trying to do is to retrain the student to use the right word or to use the right grammar, and if they already know the rules, then that can be very helpful.

"But if it's an error that the student has never made before, it's going to take some time to explain the mistake, and if the student is in the middle of communicating something that's really important to her, then you probably don't want to interrupt them and make that correction on the spot. You probably want to let them finish saying what they're trying to communicate, and then afterwards make that correction. That would be how I would deal with that."

AA: English teacher and author Lida Baker in Los Angeles. If you missed our segment with her last week, you can find it at voanews.com/wordmaster. And that's WORDMASTER for this week. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

25.

Most Colombian exports enter the United States duty free. But the 9,000 U.S. businesses selling goods and services in Colombia still face stiff tariffs.

That is why President Bush says it is time for Congress to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia.

"Their goods are not taxed. Our goods are," he said. "It seems unfair to me. And people of Congress should understand how unfair it is to the workers in their districts or the farmers in their districts or the people who are working hard for a living in their districts who count upon selling goods overseas."

The president says the free trade agreement has enough support in the House of Representatives to pass. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed that vote until after November's presidential and legislative elections.

Pelosi says President Bush should do more to help American workers hurt by the economic slowdown before Congress passes another trade agreement. Some congressional Democrats are also raising concerns about Colombia's human rights record and its past repression of trade unionists.
27.

 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised the Chinese   government for its rapid response following the huge earthquake that struck southwestern China's Sichuan Province earlier this month. The U.N. chief met Saturday with Chinese leaders at the quake's epicenter. VOA Beijing correspondent Stephanie Ho reports.

Secretary-General Ban arrived by helicopter in the ruins of Yingxiu, a small town near

the epicenter of the massive quake. Yingxiu lost about two-thirds of its 10,000 inhabitants, and there are almost no safe buildings left standing.

In a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the U.N. chief applauded him and the rapid response of his government.

"This is a natural disaster," he said. "This can be overcome, if we cooperate and we work hard. You have been working hard, and you have been demonstrating your leadership extra ordinarily. The whole world, the United Nations, stands behind you and supports you."

The U.N. leader traveled to China from Burma, where 130,000 people were killed or are missing following Cyclone Nargis. In contrast to China, he called the situation in Burma "very humbling" and "very tragic."

Premier Wen told Mr. Ban that China will offer another $10 million in aid to Burma, on top of the $30 million in relief supplies it has already offered.

The Chinese leader said the quake death toll in China has passed 60,000 people.

He says this number may climb to a level of 70,000 or 80,000, or more.

As rescue and relief workers continue to dig through the rubble, there are almost no hopes of finding any more survivors. Premier Wen urged emergency workers to take precautions for what he called "secondary disasters," which include death from landslides or flooding.

Chinese state media report that natural disasters, such as the earthquake, and other health hazards have prompted Beijing to set up a color-coded emergency alarm system.

The system will include red, orange, yellow and blue, with red being the most severe status.

The report says the new system will go into effect July 1, and will include a hotline to handle emergency reports from the public.

Meanwhile, eight giant pandas have been taken from Wolong, Sichuan, near the quake's epicenter, to their new home at the Beijing Zoo, to "add cheer to the Beijing Olympics."

Wolong is China's main breeding and research center for the endangered giant panda. Authorities there say the quake damaged the center and injured two pandas. Two pandas are still missing.

 28.

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week on our program, we explore deaf culture in America.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
More than three hundred million people live in the United States. By some estimates, about one million of them are deaf and almost ten million are hard of hearing.

A few years ago, Gallaudet University researcher Ross Mitchell wrote a paper about these estimates from findings by the Census Bureau. The estimates suggest that less than one in twenty Americans is deaf or hard of hearing.

But as he pointed out, these findings are limited to people who report difficulty hearing normal conversation. They do not include the larger population of people with hearing loss who have difficulty hearing other sounds.

VOICE TWO:

Some loss of hearing is normal as people age. More than half the people with hearing loss or deafness are sixty-five or older. Less than four percent are under eighteen. But many things can cause hearing loss, including a head injury or noises like gunfire or loud music. In some cases, unless they have a hearing test, people may not recognize the damage until later in life.

Some people have become deaf after taking powerful antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs. Cancer drugs can also sometimes damage hearing.

The same is true with infections. Meningitis is the most common cause of hearing loss among children in the United States.

And deafness can be genetic. One genetic cause of hearing loss is a nervous system disorder called neurofibromatosis. Growths develop on nerves, especially those in the ear.

VOICE ONE:
Anne Shigley is a college student with neurofibromatosis type two. She began to lose her hearing at the age of six. Doctors found growths on her auditory nerves and on her spinal cord.

They removed some of the growths. But in her senior year of high school, Anne went deaf. That was two years ago. Last year, she received an auditory brainstem implant. This device is placed on the nerve center at the base of the brain. Experts say it is the only device that can restore limited hearing to

More about Anne a little later.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

People with hearing loss may wear hearing aids inside their ears to increase the loudness of sounds. People who are deaf may have cochlear implants. These require an operation. A cochlear implant can provide what the experts call a sense of sound. The device changes sounds into electrical signals and sends them to different areas of the cochlear nerve in the ear.
Cochlear implants do not create normal hearing. But experts say they can give deaf people a useful representation of sounds. This can help them in understanding speech. It may take months, though, to be able to make sense of the sounds that they are now able to hear.

VOICE ONE:                            

Trena Shank is deaf. She teaches American Sign Language at Ohio State University. She says the use of cochlear implants has been much discussed lately in the deaf community. This is partly because doctors are now able to offer them for babies.

Trena Shank says cochlear implants work best in people who have some hearing and in those who lost their hearing later in life. But she is against the use of cochlear implants in very young children or those who are completely deaf. She believes that having an implant can damage feelings of self-worth in children. The children are not accepted in the deaf world, nor are they part of the hearing one either, she says.

VOICE TWO:

Some critics of cochlear implants in babies go so far as to say that supporters are disrespecting deaf culture, or even trying to destroy it. They say they understand that people who became deaf later in life would want technology to help them hear again. But many people who have always been deaf do not consider themselves disabled. They say they are just different and in no need of a cure.

Some people, though, say deaf people should be well informed about the technology available before they make any decisions. This is the position of a group in California called the Let Them Hear Foundation.

VOICE ONE:

Spokeswoman Caitlin Roberson says the group respects whatever decision a deaf person makes, for themselves or family members. She says the goal of the foundation is to bring hearing to those who want it.

Representatives travel internationally to teach doctors and others about cochlear implants and other hearing devices. Some of the companies that support the Let Them Hear Foundation make cochlear implants.

The group is active in efforts in the United States to get insurance companies to pay for the implants. They cost between eighty thousand and more than one hundred thousand dollars each.

(MUSIC)                                                             

VOICE TWO:

Deaf culture in the United States has its own language: American Sign Language. A.S.L. is believed to have developed from French Sign Language starting in the early eighteen hundreds.

People communicate, or sign, through movements of the hands, face and body. For example, they show they are asking a question by raising their eyebrows and opening their eyes wide.

A.S.L. has its own rules of grammar, usage and sentence order. There are no signs to put words in the past or future tense. To show that something happened in the past, for example, signers place their hand behind their head. To indicate the future, the hand is placed in front of the body.

In general, the body represents the present. Movement forward represents the future. Movement backward represents the past.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Deafness has often been misunderstood, and deaf people discriminated against -- denied jobs or put in schools for children with brain damage. Today, deaf people in the United States are protected by laws that bar discrimination against people with disabilities. But employers can try to persuade courts that some jobs require hearing.

VOICE TWO:

Schoolchildren with hearing impairments usually attend the same classes as other students. They may have sign language assistants. Or the teacher might use a sound-field system. This is a speaker system designed for classrooms. It makes the teacher easier to hear. And in a big classroom, that might help everyone.

VOICE ONE:

New technology and more sign language interpreters mean that deaf students have more educational choices than ever. But there are still schools for the deaf that students can attend if they wish.
Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., prides itself on being the world's only liberal arts university for the deaf. It was established in eighteen fifty-seven. Today, Gallaudet also has schools for children and teenagers.

VOICE TWO:

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf in New York State is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. It has one thousand five hundred deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Anne Shigley is one of them. She began studying at R.I.T. last fall. She says she has improved her signing as well as her lip-reading and listening with her auditory brainstem implant.
She tells us that she has made a lot of friends at school. She loves distance running, and wishes there was time to do it even more.

Anne is in the College of Imaging and Art Sciences and wants to study interior design.

VOICE ONE:

She says in an e-mail, I started learning sign language in two thousand six, and really it was hard because I wasn't emotionally ready for that first A.S.L. class. I took A.S.L. two and three at Gallaudet last summer, and then continued learning more here. My parents have tried to learn some sign. Dad says old dogs can't learn new tricks! Mom is a little better at it than Dad, but really slow since she tries to sign every word. So I often say "Please just say it!"

VOICE TWO:

Anne Shigley will celebrate her twenty-first birthday next month. She says hopefully she will get a job this summer, probably at a camp or a store. She says, for some reason it seems harder to find work after I became deaf, but I think I've come a lot farther since last year.

Anne says the Rochester Institute of Technology has helped her to begin to accept herself for who she is. She says she no longer feels like she is trapped in a shell.

We asked her what she would like to say to other young people who find themselves becoming deaf. Her answer is good advice for anyone. "Be strong! Believe in yourself! Live, love and laugh."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can all be found at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

29.

Now, the Special English program, Words and Their Stories.

(MUSIC) 

Hang is a simple word. But there are many meanings for hang. Especially when it is used with other words. Two often-heard expressions are to hang tight and to hang loose.

When a friend says to hang tight, he is advising you to wait a little longer, not to give up. He might say, for example, "Hang tight. Keep studying. You can still pass the course."

But if that same friend tells you to hang loose, he is telling you to take it easy, not to get excited. He could say, "Hang loose. You probably passed the English test."

Hang around is an expression with several meanings. Usually, it means to spend your time doing nothing. You may need time to just hang around if you have been working too hard. Hang around also can mean spending time with friends. You hang around with your friends, for example, because you share a common interest in sports.

Hanging out is similar to hanging around. You may hang out with the same group of friends and always do things together.

A similar-sounding expression, however, has a very different meaning.The expression is let it all hang out. Well, when you let it all hang out, you are being completely open and honest. You do not keep you opinions hidden, even if they may cause you trouble.

Sometimes, a person may suffer from a hang-up.  Well, a hang-up is an emotional

 difficulty that causes a problem for a person. You may know someone, for example, whose hang-up is shyness. They have a problem talking with people they do not know well.

A hangover can be a very painful condition. A hangover is the headache, upset stomach and other disorders that result from drinking too much alcohol.

Another common expression is to get the hang of something.  It means to understand how a device works or how to do a job. An office worker might say that she cannot get the hang of using a computer. But after a few days, she may tell you that she finally got the hang of it.

One of the early heroes of the American republic, Benjamin Franklin, gave a warning to the other signers of the Declaration of Independence. The warning contained two

different meanings of the word hang.

"We must all hang together," Franklin said, "or surely, we shall all hang separately."

The other signers took Fanklin's advice. They hung together, remained united. As a result, the American colonies won their independence. And none of the signers of the

declaration was hanged as a revolutionary by the king of England.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Marilyn Christiano. Maurice Joyce was the narrator. I'm Shirley Griffith

30.

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself.

 But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.

The expression to be in hot water is one of them. It is a very

old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to

 mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from

 the custom of throwing boiling water down on enemies attacking a castle.

That is no longer the custom. But we still get in hot water.

 When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind

 of trouble--serious, and not so serious. A person who breaks a

 law can be in hot water with the police.  A boy can be in hot water

with his mother, if he comes into the house with dirty, wet shoes.

Being in deep water is almost the same as being in hot water. 

When you are in deep water, you are in difficulty.  Imagine a

 swimmer in water over his head who cannot reach the shore.

You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you

 do not have the ability to solve. The problem is too deep for you.

  You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks

 without knowing anything about the stock market.

To keep your head above water is a colorful expression that means

 staying out of debt.  A company that can keep its head above water can survive economic hard times.Water over the dam is an expression about a past event. It is something that is over and done with. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water that has fallen over a dam cannot be brought back again.

When a friend is troubled by a mistake he has made, you might tell him to forget about it.  You say it is water over the dam.

Another common expression, to hold water, is about the strength or weakness of an idea, opinion or argument. It probably comes from the way of testing the condition of a container.  If it can hold water, it is strong. The expression is used

the same way to describe an idea or argument. If the argument can hold water, it is solid and strong without any holes.  If it does not hold water, then it is weak and cannot be proved.

Throwing cold water also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. It means not to like an idea. For example, you want to buy a new computer, so you can do some of your work at home. But your wife throws cold water on the idea, because a computer costs too much.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Christiano. I'm Faith Lapidus.

 31.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today we complete our series on learning disabilities.

In theUnited States, federal law requires public schools to provide special

education services to children with any disability. Specialists commonly

provide these services while the children attend the same schools, and

 often the same classes, as other students.

But today we look at three private schools that serve only students with l

earning disabilities.

TheHillsideSchoolinPennsylvaniaaccepts up to one hundred twenty-eight

children. The students are ages five to thirteen. They have disorders with language,

writing or working with numbers. They may also have attention deficit disorders.

Each class has no more than eight students.Hillsideadministrators say the main

 goal is to prepare students to learn effectively in a regular school. Teachers and

 specialists develop individual learning plans for the students, which is something

a public school may also do.

Development director Kathy Greene says most students remain atHillsidefor about

three years before leaving for a regular classroom setting.

"Serving intelligent students with learning differences" is the slogan of theSheltonSchoolin

Texas. Its Web site says the school has about eight hundred fifty students in all twelve grades,

 and one teacher for every six students.

TheSheltonSchoolalso says its goal is to prepare students to return to regular classes,

 although some do finish high school there. The Web site saysShelton graduated forty-four

 students in two thousand six. And it says they received acceptances from a total of seventy-seven

colleges and universities.

LandmarkCollegeinVermontis a college for students with learning difficulties. It offers a two-year

 program that prepares students to continue their studies at a four-year school.

Each student has an adviser and an individual learning program. Landmark has international

 students this year from South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East andAfrica.

All three schools offer financial aid.Hillsidecosts about seventeen thousand dollars a year.

Sheltoncosts between ten and twenty-one thousand, depending on the grade level.Shelton

andHillsidestudents live at home.LandmarkCollegecosts about fifty thousand dollars a year,

 which includes housing.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach.

Our nine-week series on learning disabilities is online with transcripts and MP3s at voaspecialenglish.com.

I'm Steve Ember.

40.

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

(MUSIC)

Last week, I told about the number one.  Today, I will tell about expressions using other numbers.

Some problems are difficult to solve. But there are a lot of number expressions that can help. For example, if we put two and two together, we might come up with the right answer. We know that two heads are better than one.  It is always better to work with another person to solve a problem. 

Sometimes there are no two ways about it.  Some problems have only one solution. You cannot be of two minds over this. 

But with any luck, we could solve the problem in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.  We could have our answers quickly and easily.

Sometimes we can kill two birds with one stone. That is, we can complete two goals with only one effort or action. But we must remember that two wrongs don’t make a right.  If someone does something bad to you, you should not do the same to him.

If you are going out with your girlfriend, or boyfriend, you do not want another friend to go along on your date.  You can just say to your friend: two’s company, three’s a crowd. 

When I was a young child in school, I had to learn the three R’s.  These important skills are reading, writing and arithmetic.  These three words do not all start with the letter “R.”  But they have the sound of “R.”  My teachers used to give three cheers when I did well in math.  They gave praise and approval for a job well done. 

Some of my friends were confused and did not understand their schoolwork. They were at sixes and sevens.  In fact, they did not care if they finished high school.  They saw little difference between the two choices.  Six of one, half a dozen the other – that was their position.  But they were really happy when they completed their studies and graduated from high school. They were in seventh heaven. They were on cloud nine.  

Nine times out of ten, students who do well in school find good jobs.  Some work in an office doing the same things every day at nine-to-five jobs.  You do not have to dress to the nines, or wear your best clothes, for this kind of work.

Last year, one of my friends applied for a better job at her office.  I did not think she would get it.  I thought she had a hundred to one shot at the job.  Other people at her office thought her chances were a million to one.   One reason was that she had been caught catching forty winks at the office.  She slept at her desk for short periods during the day.  But her supervisor appointed her to the new job at the eleventh hour -- at the very last minute.  I guess her lucky number came up. 

(MUSIC)         

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

41.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A listener in Poland recently sent us an e-mail. Slawek Loboda writes: "There are many American universities and colleges that provide long distance education to the world. The trouble is that each university says that it is the best. After an hour of searching and reading what they have in their offer, one gets a headache. You simply don't know whom to trust and what to choose."

Slawek goes on to say, "I have been listening to VOA for years and I would trust you if you made an interesting program about American universities for foreigners. Is there a university that you could recommend?"

Well, choosing a school is an individual decision. But we may be able to help inform that decision.

Slawek's letter happened to come at just the right time. It gives us the perfect opening for not just one program, but a series -- our Foreign Student Series. We update the series every two years to provide fresh information for anyone interested in higher education in America.

The United States has more than four thousand colleges and universities to choose from. They come in all sizes -- from a few hundred students to enough to populate a city. And students may not even have to be in the United States to take classes. Some universities have campuses in other countries. And, as Slawek pointed out, many programs are offered over the Internet.

Over the coming weeks, we will talk all about the American system of higher education. Our reports will take you inside some of the nation's colleges and universities. We will explore programs of study and report on student life. We will talk about financial aid and employment, and about admissions tests and English language requirements.

We will also explain the process for becoming an international student in the United States. And we will talk about how the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one, changed some of the rules.

Many of the subjects in our Foreign Student Series are based on your questions and suggestions. So keep them coming! Send e-mail to [email protected], or click on the Contact Us link at voaspecialenglish.com. Or write to VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two zero two three seven U.S.A.

In case you miss any of the programs, our Foreign Student Series will be archived at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

 42.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

One thousand young people from around the world attended the International AIDS Conference last week inMexico City. They were there to represent the five million young people living with H.I.V. and the more than fifteen million who have lost parents to AIDS.

Twenty-one-year-old Andrew Francis fromJamaicasays young people must be active at every level of AIDS policy-making. If not, he says, there will continue to be programs and policies that do not connect with the realities of young people.

Twenty-three-old Mary Awour Odhiambo ofKenyabecame infected four years ago after having unprotected sex. She says the drugs that she and others take to control H.I.V. give them the appearance of being healthy. But people on antiretroviral therapy can still pass the virus to others. So her advice to young people?

MARY AWOUR ODHIAMBO: "Never trust anybody, not even themselves. Even if you have to go like for sex, at least they should use a condom, because in this world you can't tell who has the virus now."

Other young delegates talked about difficulties facing AIDS education and prevention efforts. Twenty-year-old Himakstu Piplani is fromIndia.

HIMAKSTU PIPLANI: "Things back home are not very good. First and foremost the sex education program has been banned by twelve Indian states. So that's not a good thing because we are not getting adequate knowledge and information anymore. Secondly, the legal framework inIndiais not very good when it comes to AIDS and young people. We have laws that criminalize homosexuality. We have laws that criminalize drug use."

The young people at the AIDS conference included teenage peer educators. Conference organizers invited seventeen-year-old Vanessa John Mlawi to speak about her work inTanzania.

VANESSA JOHN MLAWI: "I am a peer educator in school and my role as a peer educator is I provide accurate information to my other students. And it is accepted and I think that by going on and doing this will make a really big change."

Another delegate, Alischa Ross ofAustralia, lost her mother and stepfather to AIDS when she was a teenager. She later started a nonprofit group called YEAH, Youth Empowering Against AIDS.

ALISCHA ROSS: "When you think of the fact that the majority of people in the world affected by H.I.V. are young means the majority of people with the experience are young. So that makes perfect sense that we are at the center of responding to this pandemic."

Alischa Ross saw hope in the large presence of young people at the latest International AIDS conference. At the first one she attended eight years ago inSouth Africa, she says, there were just thirty delegates under the age of thirty.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report by Nancy Steinbach, with reporting fromMexicoby VOA's Rosanne Skirble. For more on the conference, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

43.

Before Next McCain-Obama Debate, Palin and Biden Take Their Turn

A look at Thursday night's vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Also, the modern history of presidential debates. Transcript of radio broadcast:
03 October 2008

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Americans are a month from elections on November fourth. This week the vice presidential candidates of the two major parties met for their only debate.

JOE BIDEN: "For John McCain, there is no end in sight to end this war. Fundamental difference: we will end this war."

SARAH PALIN: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender inIraq, and that is not what our troops need to hear today, that's for sure."

Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden dealt with war, the economy and other issues. Their debate Thursday night produced unusual attention but no major mistakes. That seemed especially important for theAlaskagovernor after recent difficulties with television news interviews.

The presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, met last Friday for their first of three debates. One of the strongest exchanges took place over what to do aboutIran. Senator McCain attacked his opponent's position about meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

JOHN McCAIN: "What Senator Obama does not seem to understand is that if, without precondition, you sit down across the table from someone who has calledIsraela stinking corpse and wants to destroy that country and wipe it off the map, you legitimize those comments. This is dangerous. It is not just naive, it is dangerous."

John McCain and Barack Obama during their debate on September 26

Senator Obama answered by saying he would meet with any foreign leader if he believed it would make theUnited Statesmore secure.

BARACK OBAMA: "Now, understand what this means, meeting without preconditions. It does not mean that you invite them over for tea one day. What it means is that we do not do what we have been doing, which is to say, until you agree to do exactly what we say, we will not have direct contacts with you."

Professor Wayne Fields is an expert on presidential speech atWashingtonUniversityinSaint Louis,Missouri. He points out that in a debate, the candidate who makes better arguments is not necessarily the winner in the eyes of the public. He says voters often base judgments on what they hear in the debate combined with what they read later in commentaries.

The first official presidential debate was in nineteen sixty between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John Kennedy. Many watching TV saw Kennedy as the winner. Nixon was better received among radio listeners, but went on to lose the election.

Vice presidential debates began in nineteen seventy-six but did not become regular events until nineteen eighty-four. That year, Vice President George H. W. Bush debated New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro. She is the only woman other than Sarah Palin ever to be on a major-party presidential ballot.

In nineteen eighty-eight, the vice presidential debate was between Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle. People remember when Senator Quayle was asked if he had a plan in case he had to replace George H. W. Bush as president.

Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle after their debate on October 5, 1988

DAN QUAYLE: "I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration if that unfortunate event would ever occur."

MODERATOR: "Senator Bentsen."

LLOYD BENTSEN: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy."

But Dan Quayle was the one who became vice president.

The last two debates between Barack Obama and John McCain are this Tuesday and on October fifteenth.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

44.

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Whoever said you cannot get something for nothing has not searched the Internet lately. An increasing number of Web sites offer users a chance to give things away and get things for free. The goal is to keep useful things from being thrown away. This helps people and keeps waste out of the environment.

The largest give-and-take Web site is Freecycle.org. Deron Beal started Freecycle as a non-profit organization in two thousand three. The site says it has more than five and a half million members in more than seventy-five countries. Joining is free. And all the goods offered on the site are free without any conditions.

Each group is supervised by a small number of moderators. They enforce the rules.  For example, members can only make a request for something once a week. And everything on the site must be for all ages.

We spoke to a moderator in theWashington,D.C.area.  She told us that there were about one hundred members in her local group when she joined in two thousand three.  Now there are more than fourteen thousand members. In addition to Freecycle, there are many similar Web sites such as reuseitnetwork.org and freesharing.org.

Other Web sites let users exchange goods and services, or barter. In this ancient form of trade, no money changes hands.

At first, bartering took place as an exchange between two people. But modern bartering is more complex and is commonly done between businesses. It uses a third party -- a trade exchange company -- to help carry out the barter deal. Trade exchanges permit users to trade goods or services for credits.  Businesses can trade these credits for other goods or services. Trade exchange companies usually make money from fees paid by members and by receiving a percentage of the value of barter deals. Bartering helps companies save money, move unused products and connect with new buyers.

Two main trade groups serve the barter exchange industry. They are the National Association of Trade Exchanges and the International Reciprocal Trade Association.  Both have separate systems of credits that make bartering easier. It is estimated that more than four hundred fifty thousand businesses use bartering in some form.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

 45.

Correction attached

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. On our program this week, we will tell about the mystery of the aurora borealis, better known as the Northern Lights. We will also tell about an archeological dig in the southeastern United States. The project continues to surrender secrets of some very early Americans.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

For many centuries, people have looked with wonder at the Northern Lights. These mysterious lights often brighten the night sky in countries near the North Pole. The Northern Lights are also called the aurora borealis. An aurora is a natural burst of light that can be seen with the unaided eye. An aurora over the South Pole is called the aurora australis, or Southern Lights.

Auroras appear as large areas of moving light. They are often green, red or purple in color. Some auroras can extend across the sky for thousands of kilometers.

VOICE TWO:

Scientists have long known that auroras are caused by a storm of magnetic energy high above the Earth's surface. But scientists have been debating exactly what forces in nature cause these storms to create the colorful light shows.

Recently, researchers working for the American space agency said they found the answer by using five of the agency's satellites. The researchers say the sun's and Earth's electromagnetic fields normally move past one another in different directions. But when enough energy builds between the two fields, they separate and reconnect themselves in a new shape.

This reconnection releases a huge amount of electrical current in the Earth's magnetosphere. The researchers say the reconnection happens about one hundred twenty-nine thousand kilometers away from the planet. That is about one third of the distance to the moon.

VOICE ONE:

The five satellites were launched last year as part of the American space agency's THEMIS project. THEMIS is a word the agency uses to represent Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms.

The researchers were able to directly observe the magnetic substorms using both the satellites and twenty ground observatories. The observatories are in Canada and the American state of Alaska.

Every four days, the satellites lined up half way between the North and South Poles to record observations. Equipment on the ground helped to identify when and where a substorm was forming. Other devices measure the auroral light from particles moving along Earth's magnetic field. Their observations of six months ago confirmed that magnetic reconnection leads to substorms.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers say there is still more to be discovered about substorms. The Northern Lights are exciting to watch. However, the forces responsible for them can damage satellites, guidance systems and radio communication. They are also a possible threat to air travelers and astronauts.

Scientists hope that more investigation will lead to better methods of predicting substorms, both to protect equipment and lives.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You are listening to the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. With Barbara Klein, I'm Bob Doughty.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

A college student recently found two ancient stone objects in the American state of South Carolina. He made the discovery during an archeological dig in an area known as the Topper Site.

The student, Matthew Carey, found the objects just a short distance from each other. They appear to have been buried together. University of South Carolina archeologist Albert Goodyear said the objects could be cutting tools. But he believes they look like the heads of spears or long knives. Mister Goodyear said they seem to be about eleven thousand years old.

Earlier archeological work at the Topper Site may have uncovered evidence of a settlement from as early as fifty thousand years ago.

VOICE TWO:

The Topper Site got its name from a local man. Years ago, David Topper told Mister Goodyear about a place he might find interesting near the Savannah River. A chemical company owns the land. The company lets the scientists work on the huge site each spring. The Topper Site covers an area measuring more than thirty thousand square meters.

Digging begins when the local wild-turkey-hunting season ends. Each May, Albert Goodyear leads volunteers for five weeks in uncovering the site's mysteries. The volunteers are scientists, teachers, students, and anyone else who likes to explore the past. They dig by hand. It is hard, painstaking work. But most scientists would say the site is well worth the hard work it requires.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Goodyear first began working near the place that would become the Topper Site in the nineteen eighties. He led a team searching for objects belonging to the Clovis people. Most scientists at the time believed that these people were the first settlers in the Americas.

The name "Clovis" came from an area near Clovis, New Mexico. Evidence of the people was found there. Scientists had long believed that human beings first entered North America across a land bridge from what is now Russia and Alaska. They thought these first Americans arrived about eleven or twelve thousand years ago. But in the late twentieth century, some researchers began to question that theory.

VOICE TWO:

Several discoveries became especially important in disputing the belief. Among the most important ones were findings at the Monte Verde Camp in Chile. Scientists began finding ancient artifacts there beginning in nineteen seventy-six. The artifacts included a piece of meat that had lasted many centuries. It might have been from an ancient animal similar to a modern elephant.

The findings at Monte Verde showed that humans were in South America about thirteen thousand years ago. Experts said that was about one thousand years before the Clovis people could have traveled there.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen ninety-eight, Mister Goodyear and his team wanted to find more artifacts of the Clovis people. He planned a dig near the Savannah River. But the river had flooded the area he wanted to examine. So he decided to start digging nearby.

Today, he remembers how much he regretted the flood. He told V.O.A. that did not want to move his explorations. But the area proved a big surprise. The archeologist described it as the best thing that ever happened to him.

VOICE TWO:

The flood caused Mister Goodyear and his team to dig about a meter deeper than usual for Clovis artifacts. They found evidence of tools and extremely small stone particles or flakes. The objects appeared older than those made or used by the Clovis people. The objects were found during the last two weeks of the Goodyear team's yearly research project.

Digging at Topper in the following years added to the artifact collection. The scientists found artifacts that appear to have come from times before the Clovis people.

VOICE ONE:

Four years ago, Mister Goodyear and his team found ancient plant material at the Topper Site. Shortly before the work was to end, they discovered black soil. The soil provided charcoal, a material combining wood and other substances. Charcoal can be tested for age by a process called radiocarbon dating.

Tom Stafford of the Stafford Research Laboratories in Colorado arrived to take pieces of the charcoal. Months later, the test results were announced. They showed that the charcoal could be up to fifty thousand years old.

If correct, it would mean that the first settlement in the Americas took place many years earlier than had been thought. It could also mean settlers lived in North America fifty thousand years ago.

VOICE TWO:

Some experts do not accept that human beings made or used the most ancient objects found at the Topper Site. Some believe that the weather and the ages made these artifacts look like tools. And experts continue to disagree about when North America was settled.

Mister Goodyear and his team plan to continue digging. They hope to find more evidence of very early peoples in America. When next May comes, they will be again excavating at the Topper Site.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Brianna Blake, who also was our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us next week for more news about science in VOA Special English.

___

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that a reconnection between the sun's and Earth's magnetic fields takes place one hundred twenty-nine kilometers from the planet. The correct distance is one hundred twenty-nine thousand kilometers.

 46.

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

After seven years of preparations, the Summer Olympic Games have opened in Beijing, China. An opening ceremony and lighting of the Olympic cauldron marked the official start of the games on Friday.

More than ten thousand athletes will compete in the summer games.  They will take part in more than three hundred events in twenty-eight sports. About twenty-five thousand members of the media are reporting on the games.

Chinese President Hu Jintao welcomed leaders from around the world to a special celebration meal. He said the Chinese government and people have been fulfilling promises made to the international community whenBeijingwas chosen to host the games.

However, human rights issues, pollution and the ability of the media to freely report have caused criticism and tension leading up to the Olympics.

Chinais hoping the criticism will be replaced by excitement for what many believe is the greatest sports event in the world. This year's theme is "One World, One Dream." The idea is to unite the world in the spirit of the Olympics.

Chinais promising a safe and peaceful Olympics. The government increased security after a deadly attack on police earlier this week in the far western Xinjiang province.

Chinahas spent more than forty billion dollars on structural improvements for the Olympic games. Earlier this week, some people protested the destruction of their homes to make way for new buildings. 

There have been many other protests. Chinaexpelled two Americans and two British citizens for demonstrating Wednesday near the main Olympic structure. The four members of "Students for a Free Tibet" hung signs calling for freedom inTibet.

Chinese officials detained three American Christian human rights activists Thursday after they protested for a second day inBeijing'sTiananmen Square.

In addition, Chinacancelled a visa for American athlete Joey Cheek hours before he was to leave for Beijing. Mister Cheek has criticizedChina's support for the Sudanese government and had planned to demonstrate on the issue.

President Bush is expected to discuss human rights issues with Chinese President Hu Jintao when they meet on Sunday. Mister Bush attended the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

Another issue surrounding the Olympics in Beijingis air pollution. The city has some of the most polluted air in the world. However, the International Olympic Committee's medical commission chief said the air is not a threat to visitors. Four members of the United States cycling team apologized after wearing protective face coverings when then arrived in the city. Pollution caused the Chinese government to ban more than three million vehicles from roads each day. It also shut down factories during the games.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. You can read and listen to our reports on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.  I'm Steve Ember.

 47.

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Bear Stearns

This week, the crisis in credit markets claimed Bear Stearns.

The eighty-five year old investment bank in New York agreed on

Sunday to sell itself to J.P. Morgan Chase. The price: just two dollars

a share, as part of a rescue plan organized by the government.

Bear stock had traded at seventy dollars last week, and one hundred seventy last year.

The fall of Bear Stearns developed quickly. Banks were no longer willing

 to lend money to the company. The problems largely involved short-term loans, called repo borrowings, that are secured by assets like securities.

The problem was that lenders no longer knew the value of the assets that secured Bear's debt. Bear Stearns invested heavily in securities based on risky home loans.

Unable to get new loans, the bank suffered a liquidity crisis. By last Thursday, investors started withdrawing their money. This put more pressure on the bank to sell assets that no one wanted to buy. The next day, Bear informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would fail if nothing was done.

Officials from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve wanted a deal to save

 Bear Stearns before markets opened this week in Asia. They worried that if

Bear failed, it could lead to even more problems.

The central bank agreed to lend J.P. Morgan up to thirty billion dollars to finance the purchase of Bear's less-liquid assets. The loan will be secured with those assets, and the Fed will take responsibility for them.

To increase liquidity in the market, the Fed also agreed to lend money to securities dealers, including investment banks. The central bank has not done this since the Great Depression

 of the nineteen thirties.

Last week the Fed offered banks up to two hundred billion dollars in loans. And twice this week it cut its discount rate for direct loans to banks. The Fed also lowered the target rate for overnight loans between banks for the sixth time in six months. It cut the federal funds rate by seventy-five

 basis points, to two and a quarter percent. Shareholders in Bear Stearns will vote on the takeover by J.P. Morgan. Some are expected to oppose the low-cost deal. Bear employees own about one-third of the stock in their company. There was some good news this week for financial stocks. Three major investment banks reported

 earnings that were better than expected for the three months ending February twenty-ninth.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

48.

Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.

(MUSIC)

American English is full of colorful expressions. One such expression is to touch all bases.  It comes from the sport of baseball.

There are four bases in baseball -- first, second and third. The fourth is home plate. Together, the bases form a diamond shape.  When a baseball player hits the ball, he must run to each base -- in order -- and touch it with his foot. It is the only way to score a point. If the player hits the ball and fails to touch all the bases, the point will not be counted.

The importance of touching all the bases was shown at the start of the nineteen seventy-four baseball season.

Hank Aaron was a player with the Atlanta Braves team. He was seeking the record for hitting the most home runs. A home run is a ball that is hit over the wall. Aaron needed just one home run to equal the record held by Babe Ruth, the greatest hitter in baseball history. Aaron got that home run the very first time he had a chance to hit the ball. He sent the ball over the wall that surrounded the playing field. That gave him seven hundred and fourteen home runs -- the same as Babe Ruth.

After that day, baseball fans held their breath every time it was Hank Aaron's turn to hit. When would he hit home run number seven hundred and fifteen?

The wait was not long. In the second week of the season, Aaron again hit the ball over the wall. He had beaten Babe Ruth's record. But first, he had to run around the four bases. The other players on his team watched carefully to make sure he touched each one. If he did not, the home run would not have counted. There would have been no new record.

So, to touch all bases means to do what is necessary to complete an activity.

The expression is used in business and politics. No business deal or political campaign is really complete until you discuss all the issues involved. Or, as it is said, until you touch all bases.

Even professional diplomats use this expression, as well as others that come from baseball.

A diplomat in reporting on negotiations with diplomats from different countries may say they "touched all bases" during many hours of talks. This means they explored all issues involved in the situation. Perhaps they did this after expressing hope that they could play ball with each other, meaning that they could learn to cooperate.

Sports reporters write about fast-moving, lively events. They must develop a way of writing that goes straight to the point. Their duty is to give the reader a complete picture of the event in as few words as possible. They must touch all bases as quickly as they can.

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This VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Mike Pitts. This is Bob Doughty.