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Download Audio - MP3 Listen in RealAudio Science 2006: The Year in Medicine, Space and the Environment Transcript of radio broadcast: VOICE TWO: And I’m Bob Doughty.. Transcript of radi

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Science 2006: The Year in Medicine, Space and the Environment

Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Bob Doughty This week, we talk about last year

VOICE ONE:

We tell about some important science stories of two thousand six

discoveries in medicine, space and the environment

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Some of the biggest science stories last year were in health and medicine And two of them came late

in two thousand six First is a major finding about the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS

In December, AIDS researchers announced findings about adult male circumcision Two studies in Africa found that circumcised men had about half the risk of getting HIV from sex with women as uncircumcised men had The studies took place in Kenya and Uganda

HIV rates are generally lower in areas of the world where the removal of the foreskin from the penis is common in babies or young boys

The findings of the African studies were so clear that the United States National Institutes of Health decided to end both studies early All the men involved now are being offered circumcision

The researchers said male circumcision could also lead to fewer infections in women where HIV is spread through heterosexual sex Health experts say they hope circumcision will become one of the basic tools to fight HIV and AIDS But they expect some cultural and economic barriers Some people have also expressed another concern about circumcision They say it might make men think they do not need to do anything else to prevent HIV infection

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Another major health story last month concerned breast cancer The news came from cancer

researchers at the University of Texas in Houston They had found a sharp decrease in newly found breast cancer rates between two thousand two and two thousand three It was the first such drop in

seventy years And it followed a huge decrease in the number of older women treated with

female hormones to ease conditions caused by a natural decrease in such hormones

For years doctors treated these conditions of menopause with the hormones estrogen and

progesterone But in two thousand two a large study showed hormone replacement therapy seemed to increase the risk of breast cancer The use of hormone replacement therapy then dropped by fifty percent

The researchers at the University of Texas say overall rates of new breast cancers dropped seven percent the next year And they said breast cancer that is linked to estrogen decreased by at least twelve percent However, health experts say the findings do not prove that hormone replacement therapy causes breast cancer

VOICE TWO:

There was also news about a new vaccine to prevent another cancer in women cervical cancer United Nations health officials called for the wide use of the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or H.P.V H.P.V causes seventy percent of all cervical cancers It is a leading cause of cancer deaths in women in developing countries

The vaccine could prevent more than two-thirds of deaths from cervical cancer around the world Officials say the vaccine is safe and effective for females between the ages of nine and twenty-six (MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Not all the science news last year was medical In August, more than two thousand members of the International Astronomical Union met in the Czech capital, Prague They agreed to a new definition of planet They also agreed that Pluto did not meet the terms of the new definition So, now the solar system has eight planets instead of nine

But do not cry for the former ninth planet The astronomical union says we should not think we have lost a planet but that we have gained a new kind of space object: the dwarf planet, Pluto

VOICE TWO:

Astronomers and physicists were also interested in some information provided by the Hubble Space Telescope last year It provided some light on the mysterious force known as dark energy The Hubble examined stars that exploded billions of years ago The findings: dark energy has been present for most of the history of the universe

Dark energy is a mysterious force that causes the universe to expand at an increasing rate Scientists

do not know much about dark energy But they say it makes up about seventy percent of the energy in the universe It appears to balance the force of gravity

Most physicists consider dark energy to be the force that Albert Einstein called the cosmological constant It prevents gravity from pulling all matter together in a cosmic crush This latest study shows dark energy was present in the universe as long as nine billion years ago Over the next four billion years the power of dark energy grew

The expansion rate of the universe began speeding up about five billion years ago That is when scientists believe that dark energy's force overtook gravity Adam Reiss of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland led this research

An orbiting spacecraft gave the world extraordinary images of the planet Saturn and its rings NASA also announced important plans for the future It will update the design of the space shuttles And it

is planning an international permanent base on the moon by the year twenty twenty

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Global warming remained a hot subject of earth science last year Scientists declared that the ice at both the North and South Poles was melting A long-term study showed that Greenland lost one hundred billion metric tons of ice between two thousand three and two thousand five

Antarctica at the South Pole contains almost seventy percent of the world’s fresh water The continent

is almost all ice In some areas that ice is close to two thousand meters thick Scientists said the Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as one hundred fifty-two cubic kilometers of ice every year One study suggests that melting ice from both poles could cause sea levels in the world to rise by several meters by the end of this century As a result, low-lying areas of land could be under water (MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Some international ecology scientists and economists gave a serious warning about the future for fish They reported that seafood supplies from the world's oceans could be almost gone within fifty years because of overfishing

The researchers reported their findings in Science magazine in November They said there had already been a collapse in wild populations of almost one-third of currently fished seafoods The study says that means the catch has fallen by ninety percent from the highest levels The scientists said that species have recently been disappearing from oceans at increasing speed

The scientists said it is not too late to repair the damage done to the oceans from overfishing, climate change and other forces They said governments and industries must work together to establish shared fishing, pollution and species protection controls

And I'm Mario Ritter For more science news, MP3 files and transcripts of our programs, go to

voaspecialenglish.com And join us again next week for more news about science in Special English

on the Voice of America

Ever Wonder Where Seedless Fruits Come From?

An explanation of grafting Transcript of radio broadcast:

02 January 2007

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report

These days, if we hear about two different plants being combined, the first thing we think of is modern biotechnology But the low-technology process of grafting remains an extremely important form of genetic engineering in agriculture

Many kinds of plants are grown not from seeds but from pieces cut from existing plants Farmers cut branches or buds, young growths, from one plant and place them on a related kind of plant

The branch or bud that is grafted is called a scion [pronounced SY-uhn] The plant that accepts the graft is called the root stock

Over time, the parts from the two plants grow together The grafted plant begins to produce the leaves and fruit of the scion, not the root stock

A graft can be cut in several ways A cleft graft, for example, requires a scion with several buds on it The bottom of the scion is cut in the shape

of the letter V A place is cut in the root stock to accept the scion

The scion is then securely placed into the cut on the root stock Material called a growth medium is put on the joint to keep it wet and help the growth

Grafting still holds an

important place even in an age

Bing cherries, for example, are one of the most popular kinds of cherries But a Bing cherry tree is not grown from seed Branches that produce Bing cherries must be grafted onto root stock All sweet cherries on the market are grown this way

And then there are seedless fruits like navel oranges and seedless watermelons Have you ever wondered how farmers grow them? Through grafting

The grapefruit tree is another plant that depends on grafting to reproduce Grapes, apples, pears and also flowers can be improved through grafting

In an age of high-technology agriculture, grafting still holds an important place

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Mario Ritter You can learn more about agriculture, and download MP3 files and transcripts of our reports, at voaspecialenglish.com

A Musical Exploration of Time

We present some popular songs about time Transcript of radio broadcast:

ANNOUNCER: We celebrate the New Year with a few examples of music about time You just heard

a song called "Syncopated Clock." American music writer Leroy Anderson wrote it in the nineteen forties

In nineteen fifty-four, the group Bill Haley and His Comets provided musical proof that any time on the clock is a good time to dance

A bandleader named Guy Lombardo helped make "Auld Lang Syne" a modern tradition The song has become a well- known signal of the beginning of another year

(MUSIC)

This Special English program was written by Avi Arditti and produced by Caty Weaver I'm Shirley Griffith wishing everyone a very Happy New Year

The New Year Begins With Some Resolutions

Two popular ones are to lose weight or stop smoking Transcript of radio broadcast:

January first The beginning of a new year As far back in history as we can tell, people have

celebrated the start of a new year The people of ancient Egypt began their new year in summer That

is when the Nile River flooded its banks, bringing water and fertility to the land

Today, most people celebrate New Year’s Day on January first People observe the New Year’s holiday in many different ways

The ancient Babylonians celebrated by forcing their king to give up his crown and royal clothing They made him get down on his knees and admit all the mistakes he had made during the past year The idea of admitting mistakes and finishing the business of the old year is found in many cultures at New Year’s

So is the idea of making New Year’s resolutions A resolution is a promise to change or do something different in the coming year

Making New Year’s resolutions is a common American tradition Today, popular resolutions might include the promise to lose weight, stop smoking, or be more productive at work

Some of our Special English writers and announcers offered New Year’s resolutions of their own One person decided to get a new cat to replace a beloved one that recently died Another promised to stop telling stories about other people And another staff member promised to spend more time with his family

Other people use New Year’s resolutions to make major changes in their lives One such resolution might be to “stop and smell the flowers.” This means to take time to enjoy simple pleasures instead of always being too busy and in a hurry

Another resolution might be “don’t sweat the small stuff.” This means not to worry or get angry about unimportant things Another resolution might be to be happy now and to forget about bad things that happened in the past Or, to be thankful for the most important things in life, like family and friends Our resolution is to wish all of our listeners a happy, healthy and productive New Year!

I'm Mario Ritter for VOA Special English

Remembering Five Special People Who Died in 2006

Hear about the lives of Robert Altman, Ann Richards, R.W Apple, William Styron and Ruth Brown Transcript of radio broadcast:

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Robert Altman’s films were different from the usual methods of Hollywood movie storytelling He started his film career in the nineteen forties directing industrial movies in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri Later, he moved to Hollywood, California, to make television shows

Robert Altman

His first major film, "M*A*S*H", was released in nineteen seventy It tells about a group of American medical workers in a temporary military hospital in Korea during the Korean War in the nineteen fifties The movie was a great success It questions the rules of the military establishment in

a way that was sharply funny and intelligent

Robert Altman continued to make movies with strong political and social commentary His next major movie, “Nashville,” came out in nineteen seventy-five This movie provides a complex look at

changes in the country music industry

VOICE TWO:

Robert Altman's movies have a very special style Often, his actors speak so naturally it is hard to believe they are performing Altman liked his actors to be free to make up their own lines He often layered different recordings of actors talking at once Altman wanted to copy the way people talk and act in real life And he was willing to fight with movie studio businessmen to make sure he had total creative control over his work

Even as an old man, Robert Altman continued to make movies Many of his thirty-three films were nominated for Academy Awards, including “The Player” and “Gosford Park.” Robert Altman died in November in Los Angeles, California He was eighty-one years old

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Ann Richards was a famous Democratic party politician from the southern state of Texas She served as the governor of Texas for four years Richards was known for her big white hair, big smile, and sharply funny comments She was also known for forming what she called a “New Texas” during her time as governor She created a government in which women, Hispanics, and African-Americans played important roles

Ann Richards

Ann Richards did not always have a career in public service As a young woman, she worked as a teacher and raised four children She and her husband were very involved in local politics Richards began working hard to help Democratic Party candidates win seats in the Texas legislature

VOICE TWO:

Then one day, she decided to run for office herself and she won She served first as country

commissioner, then as Texas state treasurer In nineteen ninety she was elected governor She fought for equal rights, environmental protection and laws to restrict guns After losing a second term as governor to George W Bush, Richards worked in public relations

She died in September at the age of seventy-three At her funeral service, leaders from around the country gathered to celebrate her life Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the service He said Ann Richards helped create a world where young girls could be scientists, engineers and police officers He said she was a great woman with a big heart and big dreams

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The journalist R.W Apple, known as Johnny, wrote about many subjects, from politics and war to food and drink During his forty-three years writing for the New York Times newspaper, he enjoyed a rich and eventful career

He was the paper’s chief reporter in cities like London, Moscow, Lagos and Nairobi He covered events such as the Vietnam War, the Iranian revolution and the Gulf War He reported on ten presidential elections And, Johnny Apple’s opinions on fine food, travel and the world’s best restaurants were very influential

Raymond Walter Apple was born in nineteen thirty-four in Akron, Ohio His father owned several food stores and wanted his son to take over the business But the young man fell in love with

journalism instead He began as a reporter for his high school and then college newspaper He later wrote news stories for the Wall Street journal and the NBC news television network But it was his years at the New York Times that established him as one of the greatest political and cultural writers

of his time

VOICE ONE:

Johnny Apple died in October at the age of seventy-one Earlier this month his friends and family gathered in Washington, D.C for a large memorial service Famous writers, politicians, and cooks told about his warm personality, sharp intelligence, and extraordinary energy After the service, guests enjoyed fine foods provided by some of the best cooks in the area

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

William Styron wrote intense books about tragic periods in history His

stories are filled with rich language and complex moral questions Many of

his books try to understand the evil actions of people His first novel, “Lie

Down in Darkness,” was published in nineteen fifty-one when he was only

twenty-five It is about a troubled young woman who kills herself It

established him as a great new voice in American literature The book

received the Rome Prize, which required him to live in Italy for a year He

soon became friends with many famous American writers including James

Baldwin and Norman Mailer

William Styron

VOICE ONE:

William Styron was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia He quit college to join the Marines during World War Two He later continued his studies in English literature After briefly working in publishing, he started to write

Styron wrote “The Confessions of Nat Turner” in nineteen sixty-eight It told about a nineteenth century slave revolt in the southern state of Virginia Critics praised the book and it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize But African American writers strongly criticized the story

VOICE TWO:

Styron's book “Sophie’s Choice” won the American Book Award in nineteen eighty It is a tragic story about a woman and her children who are sent to a Nazi death camp in Poland during World War Two The book was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep

Later in life William Styron suffered from severe depression After recovering, he wrote honestly and bravely about his experience in “Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness.” He received great praise for educating people about the difficulties of mental illness William Styron died in November at the age of eighty-one

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Did you recognize that powerful voice? It is Ruth Brown singing “Lucky Lips.” Brown recorded many rhythm and blues hits in the nineteen fifties Her popular songs helped build the Atlantic Records company

Ruth Brown was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in nineteen twenty-eight She learned to sing traditional music at her Christian religious center But she liked the popular jazz and rock music of the time even more She left home

at a young age to build a career in music One night the jazz expert and broadcaster Willis Conover heard her perform in Washington, D.C He helped her meet the owners of Atlantic Records By nineteen forty-nine she was recording albums Soon, she became known as “the girl with the tear in her voice” because of her emotional way of singing

In the early nineteen sixties Brown married and led a more private life But by the nineteen seventies and eighties, she started singing again in musicals and performed on television and in movies She also started to fight for musicians’ rights Many musicians recorded hit songs that made their record companies very rich But the musicians themselves rarely received fair payment later

Ruth Brown worked hard to make these companies change their policies In nineteen eighty-eight, Atlantic Records agreed to pay her and thirty-five other musicians the money they owed them for using their songs for twenty years Ruth Brown continued performing for the rest of her life She died

And I’m Barbara Klein You can read and listen to this report on our Web site,

voaspecialenglish.com Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English

War in Iraq Voted Top News Story of 2006

US midterm elections are second on Associated Press list of top 10 stories of the year Transcript of radio broadcast:

29 December 2006

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English

Each year, the editors and news directors of the Associated Press choose what they believe are the top ten news stories of the year

They chose the war in Iraq as the number one news story this year Two thousand six was a difficult year in Iraq with increasing violence, clashes between religious groups and many civilian deaths Thousands

of Iraqis have been killed Almost three thousand members of the American military have been killed since the war began in two thousand three Iraq's elected officials struggled to keep control of the country

The midterm elections in the United States November seventh was next

on the list of the AP's top news stories for this year Many Americans voted to express their unhappiness with the situation in Iraq

Conflict grew in Iraq in 2006

The Democratic Party gained a majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate

As a result, Nancy Pelosi of California will become the first woman to serve as speaker of the House

These were the other top stories of the year The United States and its allies worked unsuccessfully to halt nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran North Korea tested a nuclear weapon in October And Iran moved forward with plans to bring its first nuclear center into operation by the end of next year

In Washington, the United States Congress tried to deal with the problem of illegal immigration from Latin America But deep divisions prevented Congress from approving legislation Supporters of rights for immigrants held several demonstrations

Also in Washington, several congressmen from the Republican Party were involved in cases of wrongdoing One was former House majority leader Tom DeLay who resigned after being charged with campaign finance crimes Another was former representative Mark Foley He resigned after he was found to have sent sexual messages to male students working for Congress

Another top story was former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein being found guilty of ordering the killing

of one hundred forty eight Shi'ite Muslims He was sentenced to death by hanging

In the Middle East, Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia fought a month-long war during the summer More than nine hundred people were killed Much of southern Lebanon was severely damaged

American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned one day after the nation's midterm elections Robert Gates was approved as the new defense secretary

In August, officials in Britain said they prevented a terrorist plot to bomb several passenger airplanes over the Atlantic Ocean This led to new restrictions on what passengers can carry on planes

And in Sudan, violence worsened in the country's Darfur area Fighting between rebels and

government forces has killed more than two hundred thousand people

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

The Housing Market Slows, Charity Gains and Economics Loses Two Great Thinkers

The slow housing market has experts worried Warren Buffett gives billions away And two influential thinkers are

gone Transcript of radio broadcast:

29 December 2006

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report

This week, we look back at a few of the year's biggest economic stories

In recent years, home building and buying have increased, helping expand the American economy But this year, the housing market has cooled New home building dropped by more than twenty-five percent since last November

A house for sale in September in

New York

Many experts blame the housing market for the slow economic growth of two percent in the three-month period ending in October In response, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Banks followed the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates

While housing declined, giving money to good causes increased Businessman Warren Buffett announced a gift of about thirty-seven billion dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Mister Buffett, an investor, is chief of Berkshire Hathaway He is the world's second richest man

Bill Gates is the richest Mister Gates helped start and remains the top shareholder of Microsoft, the world's biggest computer software maker He started his foundation with his wife in two thousand It gives money to health and educational causes around the world

Mister Buffett's gift to the Gates Foundation was one and one half billion dollars this year And finally, the United States lost two influential economic thinkers this year They were on opposite sides of most economic arguments

John Kenneth Galbraith died in April at age ninety-seven He not only influenced economists, but was a political force He advised President John F Kennedy in the nineteen sixties And he opposed President Lyndon Johnson on the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War

The Harvard professor considered economics to be moral as well as mathematical He thought government must intervene in the economy to guarantee fairness in society

Milton Friedman did not trust government to solve problems of joblessness or high prices But he did believe it should control the money supply to fight inflation

Mister Friedman advised President Richard Nixon and President Ronald Reagan in the nineteen seventies and eighties He played a part in pulling the United States out of a period of high

unemployment and inflation in the nineteen seventies

For his work, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics in nineteen seventy-six He died in November at age ninety-four

And that's the VOA Special English ECONOMICS REPORT I'm Mario Ritter

2006: Expanding Ways to Communicate and Have Fun on the Net

A look back at some fast-growing Internet activities Also: musical trends, and remembering the "Godfather of Soul."

Transcript of radio broadcast:

In two thousand six, more people around the world used new ways to communicate and connect with each other through the Internet We take a look at some kinds of technology that became more popular this year

HOST:

The blog is one form of communication that increased in popularity Blog is a short way of saying Web log Through these personal Web sites, people can share their lives, ideas and opinions with anyone on the Internet Millions of people throughout the world are creating and reading blogs There are reportedly thirteen million blogs in the United States alone

A blogger in a Chicago coffee

shop

People of all ages have their own blogs For young people, they are a way to show their writings and other forms of self-expression Blogs also connect people with other people who have the same interests For example, teachers use blogs to share ideas, experiences and concerns about their work with other teachers

Many Web sites offer free services to create personal Web pages and fill them with writings and pictures These sites include MySpace, used mainly by teenagers and young adults MySpace is an online community that lets people share messages and pictures with an increasing number of friends About one hundred twenty million people use MySpace It is the most popular social networking site

on the Web

VOICE ONE:

YouTube is another Internet site that became more popular this year This Web site lets anyone create, share and watch short videos People can watch almost anything on YouTube: news, sports and entertainment events Music videos And videos made by people in their own homes These include videos of people singing or dancing, or animals doing funny things

YouTube says that people watch at least one hundred million videos on the site every day Three young men created YouTube almost two years ago as a personal video sharing service They recently sold it to Google for more than one and one half billion dollars

HOST:

Games and entertainment also became a larger part of the Internet this year One Internet social site is called Second Life It is an online world in which computer users create a new self and live a different life They get married, build homes, operate businesses, buy and sell goods, work, play and attend school About two million people take part in Second Life

People also take part in fantasy sports leagues with the help of the Internet A fantasy sport is a game

in which each member of a group acts as the owner of a team Each owner creates a team of real-life professional players to compete against other teams in the league

Fantasy players get a chance to make the same decisions professional owners and managers do The fantasy teams compete against each other using points earned by the real players of the professional sport

Cameron Ferroni operates

fantasy football software for

Microsoft

More than fifteen million American adults play fantasy sports The industry earns more than one billion dollars each year on publications, memberships and other costs

(MUSIC) VOICE ONE:

There were also some new trends in music this year Many singers expressed a serious side with performances and songs that had a clear political message

For example, during her international concert tour, Madonna showed her support for helping poor people in Africa The country music group the Dixie Chicks wrote songs about standing strong for their political beliefs in their album “Taking the Long Way.” Some fans praised the album while others rejected it

Another example is this song from Bruce Springsteen, “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live.” He recorded it in honor of the people of New Orleans and their struggle after hurricane Katrina

(MUSIC)

HOST:

Music groups that are part of the "independent" or “indie” rock style remained very popular this year These groups are called indie because they often choose smaller record companies over major ones in

order to protect their artistic independence Death Cab for Cutie and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are two bands that received great praise this year

Another is My Morning Jacket Here the band performs their song “ It Beats 4 U.”

(MUSIC)

Many bands were created this year as a result of new musical projects For example, Jack White sings with the rock band called the White Stripes He recently formed another band called the Raconteurs, which has become very popular

Another new group called Gnarls Barkley was formed by the producer Danger Mouse and the singer Cee-Lo Green Their song "Crazy" has become one of the biggest hits of the year

on stage

James Brown was among the first group of musicians welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in nineteen eighty-six In nineteen ninety-two, he received a Grammy Award for his lifetime work One of his most popular songs is "Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud.)" It was a statement of racial pride in nineteen sixty-eight We leave you with the James Brown song "I Got You (I Feel Good.)"

James Brown, the "Godfather of

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com Please include your full name and mailing address Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English And Happy New Year from all of us in Special English!

College Costs in US: Tuition, Housing and Health Care

Schools want to know that all of their students can pay for their medical needs Transcript of radio broadcast:

28 December 2006

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report

We talked last week about the costs of higher education for students who want to study in the United States Today, as our Foreign Student Series continues, we discuss a cost that students may not always consider: health insurance

Medical care can be very costly if a person has an accident or gets sick Health insurance might pay for most or all of it Students might already

be covered under their parents' health plan If not, many schools offer plans of their own

Most American colleges and universities have student health centers Some have hospitals where students can go for more serious problems Our example this week is the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor It has more than four thousand six hundred international students this year

A college student in Iowa receives

an immunization

All University of Michigan students pay a health service fee This fee is included in the cost of tuition

at the school It pays for some kinds of medical care and examinations through the University Health Service It also pays for health education, physical therapy, X-rays and most laboratory tests

But the health service fee does not pay for everything For example, it does not pay for medicines or eyeglasses or routine eye exams It also does not pay for hospital care

University officials say international students are required to have health insurance

The University of Michigan offers its students a choice of plans One is especially for international students This plan is designed to pay for medical care in emergencies

It does not pay for things like dental care And it generally does not pay for treatment of conditions that existed before the student arrived at school

Students can also buy private insurance policies from independent companies, but the university must first approve them

Whatever the plan, schools want to know that all of their students can pay for their health care needs

Our series on higher education in the United States continues next week with a report on financial aid Our Foreign Student Series is available on the Internet with MP3 files and transcripts at

voaspecialenglish.com

And foreign students can get information from the State Department at educationusa.state.gov And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach I'm Steve Ember

American History: Life in the US After World War Two

The United States experienced major changes as many Americans had become dissatisfied with their way of life

Transcript of radio broadcast:

economy was stronger than ever

Some major changes began to take place in the American population Many Americans were not satisfied with their old ways of life

They wanted something better And many people were earning enough money to look for a better life

Millions of them moved out of cities and small towns to buy newly-built homes in the suburbs Our program today will look at the growth of suburbs and other changes in the American population in the years after World War Two

Big housing developments

took root after World War

Two

VOICE TWO:

The United States has always counted its population every ten years The government needed to know how many people lived in each state so it would know how many congressmen each state should have

The first count was made two-hundred years ago At that time, the country had about four million persons One hundred years later, the population had increased to about sixty-three million persons

By nineteen fifty, there were more than one hundred fifty million persons in the United States

In the early years of America, the average mother had eight to ten children Living conditions were hard Many children died at an early age Families needed a lot of help on the farm So it was good to have many children

This changed in the years that followed Families began to have fewer and fewer children By nineteen hundred, the average woman only had three or four children and by nineteen thirty-six, during the great economic depression, the average American mother gave birth to only two children

VOICE ONE:

This changed immediately after World War Two Suddenly, it seemed, every family started having babies Parents were hopeful about the future There were lots of jobs And people everywhere felt the need for a family and security after the long, difficult years of the war So the birth rate increased suddenly

The number of children between the ages of five and fourteen increased by more than ten million between nineteen fifty and nineteen sixty

Life was different in the suburbs There were all sorts of group activities

VOICE ONE:

There were boy scout groups for the boys Girl scout groups for the girls The parent-teachers

association at the school Barbecue parties where families gathered to cook and eat outside Historian William Manchester described life in the suburbs in this way: "The new suburbs were free, open, and honestly friendly to anyone except black people, whose time had not yet come."

Manchester wrote, "Families moving in found that their new friends were happy to help them get settled Children in the suburbs exchanged toys and clothes almost as though they were group

property If little Bobby out-grew his clothes, his mother gave them to little Billy across the street Front doors were not locked Friends felt free to enter without knocking or asking permission." VOICE TWO:

Parents did everything they could to make life good for their children The number of boys playing on Little League baseball teams increased from less than one million to almost six million between nineteen fifty and nineteen sixty During the same period, the number of Girl Scouts increased by two-million And twice as many bicycles were sold

Parents also tried to improve their children's education In nineteen sixty, parents bought almost three times more educational books for children than ten years earlier

Parents also bought millions of dollars' worth of pianos, violins, and other musical instruments for their children Families in the suburbs wanted a new life, a good life, for their children

immigrants were coming to America for every thousand Americans already living here By nineteen fifty, just one-and-a-half immigrants were coming for every thousand Americans

The kinds of immigrants were changing, too In the past, most came from northern and western Europe But now, growing numbers of people came to the United States from Latin America, Asia, and southern and eastern European countries

VOICE TWO:

Many Americans moved to different parts of the country in the nineteen-fifties

Most Americans continued to live in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country But growing numbers moved to the western states The population of the western states increased by almost forty percent during the nineteen-fifties

America's biggest city in nineteen fifty was New York, with almost eight-million persons Second was Chicago, with more than three-and-a-half million Then came Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Saint Louis

VOICE ONE:

Another population change was in life expectancy In the early nineteen-hundreds, the average

newborn American could only expect to live about forty-seven years But by the nineteen fifties, most American babies could expect to live well past their sixtieth birthday

This increase in life expectancy was due to improvements in living conditions and medical care And

it would continue to increase steadily in the years that followed

VOICE TWO:

The United States was a changing country, a nation on the move And political leaders battled each other for the right to lead it We will look in our next program at political events during this period and look at the presidency of Harry Truman

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America Your narrators have been Harry Monroe and Rich Kleinfledt Our program was written by David Jarmul The Voice of America invites you to listen again next week to THE

MAKING OF A NATION

Americans Ring in the New Year With 'Auld Lang Syne'

The song tells about the need to remember old friends Transcript of radio broadcast:

That is a song millions of Americans will hear this New Year’s Eve It is called “Auld Lang Syne.” It

is the traditional music played during the New Year’s celebration Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish poem It tells about the need to remember old friends The words “auld lang syne” mean “old long since.” No one knows who wrote the poem first However, a version by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in seventeen ninety-six The words and music we know today first appeared in a songbook three years later

The song is sung in the United States mainly on New Year’s Eve Here is Lou Rawls singing his version of it

(MUSIC)

Another version is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet As we end our program with “Auld Lang Syne,” I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very Happy New Year! This is Shirley Griffith

From Clay to Art: Exploring the World of Ceramics

Meet ceramic artist William Wilhelmi Transcript of radio broadcast:

The artist William Wilhelmi made these ceramic pieces How did he make these colorful boots? Today, we answer that question as we explore the world of clay art

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Clay is one of the most universal materials known to humans Throughout history and around the world, people have developed the art of forming clay to make ceramic objects, or pottery Clay is made of water and earth It is formed into different shapes Then high levels of heat harden it to produce many kinds of ceramics

Different kinds of clay contain different minerals such as silicon or iron dioxide The kinds of minerals in clay affect how soft or hard it is to work with The mineral content of clay also affects the temperature level at which it hardens

VOICE TWO:

Earthenware is one of the earliest kinds of clay used by humans Earthenware hardens at a lower temperature than another clay called stoneware Porcelain is yet another kind of clay It is very fine and smooth All these clays need to be fired at high temperatures Early pottery was heated in the sun

or by a fire Later, potters developed heated devices called kilns to control the necessary firing conditions

VOICE ONE:

The development of ceramics has had an important effect on human history Ceramic objects

permitted early cultures to make containers that could hold water This means they could cook foods

like vegetables and meats Improving food production methods meant larger populations could survive Pottery is an art form that grew out of the daily needs of life

Ceramics are also important for historians and archeologists Pieces of ceramics found at

archeological areas help tell about ancient cultures These pieces can last for tens of thousands of years They help answer questions about cultures we know little about

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

There are many different ways to form clay The earliest methods involved shaping it by hand People form containers by pressing a ball of clay into a given shape Or, they place long thin rolls of clay on top of each other and then make them smooth Another method is called slab-construction A ceramist creates several flat pieces of clay that can be joined together to make the sides of the container

Later, ceramists developed the method of "throwing" clay on a wheel A ball of clay is placed on a flat wheel device that turns quickly The potter holds the clay firmly and guides it while the wheel and clay turn Using different amounts of upward pressure the potter can build up the sides of a container This method permits a potter to make similar pieces quickly But it takes a great deal of skill to become an expert at wheel throwing

VOICE ONE:

Slip casting is another method A ceramist pours liquid clay into a hard form or mold As the clay dries, it takes the shape of the form This method is useful for making very detailed objects It is also useful because the mold can be used over and over again to make exact copies of the ceramic form

There are also many ways to add decoration to ceramics These methods can be as simple as

scratching designs and images into the clay Or, they can be more complex such as using liquid glazes

to change the color or shininess of the clay surface

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Pottery provides important examples of cultural exchange For example, native traditions of pottery in Mexico changed greatly in the fifteenth century After the arrival of people from Spain, Mexican ceramists stopped making their own religious figures They started making Christian religious forms instead Also, the Spanish introduced materials and methods used in Europe, including the potter’s wheel

Trade exchanges spread ceramics all over the world As early as the tenth century, the Chinese traded their ceramics throughout the Middle East and southeast Asia Chinese ceramics later had a great influence on Europe Europeans started to copy the fine traditions of Japanese and Chinese ceramics

as early as the eighteenth century

VOICE ONE:

Ceramics also demonstrate the depth of human creativity This art shows the local needs and materials

of a group of people Pottery is often very different from country to country But it can also be very

different within areas of the same country For example, in Mexico, every area has a different clay tradition In one part of the state of Oaxaca, potters have been making black clay containers in the same way for centuries

In another area of this state, pottery for cooking is made with a shiny green coating Nearby, artists make female figures out of orange clay

In the Mexican state of Michoacán potters make white clay containers

painted

A ceramic pineapple container from Mexico

with line drawings of fish and other animals In another part of this state,

artists make green painted containers in the shape of the pineapple fruit

In the state of Mexico, artists make clay candle holders covered with clay

animals, plants, and people They are painted in bright colors These

traditions are just a few of the examples of Mexican ceramics

Imagine how many different kinds of clay traditions exist in other areas of

the world What kinds of ceramics are made where you live?

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the United States, W Studio is on a quiet street in Corpus Christi, Texas This is where the potter William Wilhelmi makes his art Let us go back to the ceramic cowboy boots we talked about earlier Listen as Wilhelmi describes why he made these special boots in porcelain:

“I’m William Wilhelmi and I made the porcelain cowboy boots at the Smithsonian in Washington DC That’s the only pair of porcelain boots We use here a low temperature fired clay, which is very easy

to work with The reason the ones at the Smithsonian are porcelain is they were having a show called

“American Porcelain” I was asked if I would enter a pair of boots in the show They said, are they out

of porcelain? And I said 'Why, sure!'”

VOICE ONE:

William Wilhelmi made these boots with the slip cast method He took two real cowboy boots and made a hard form using their shape Then, he poured liquid clay into the forms Once the boot forms dried, he added clay details to the shoes to represent leather shoe material Later, he painted a Texas night sky on the sides of the boots And he made the points of the shoes a shiny gold

An example of William

Wilhelmi is also known for his clay "monster" creatures He adds these friendly little creatures to many of his ceramics forms He says they add humor and a sense of activity Another design Wilhelmi likes to use is the eucalyptus tree He paints these trees in black on many of his clay dishes, bowls, and cups VOICE TWO:

William Wilhelmi says being a potter can be difficult You do not always know if a clay object will survive being fired at high temperatures You can spend a great deal of time making an object only for

it to break in the kiln But he says it is also very pleasant working with clay And it permits him to use his sense of design, color and shape in many ways

William Wilhelmi’s work can be found in museums all over the United States Many important people collect his work For example, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, owns some of these clay boots So does Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico To see a large collection of the artist's work, you can visit the Wilhelmi/Holland Gallery next to W Studio Here, people can buy Wilhelmi’s work as well as the work of other artists

Or, visitors can watch Wilhelmi at work in his studio This large room is filled with interesting objects like photographs, art and books There are many worktables covered with tools, color glazes and clay forms In one area of the room there are three kilns as well as a potter’s wheel

VOICE ONE:

William Wilhelmi finds new artistic ideas by traveling and reading books He tells about how clay art

is both universal and personal

“The thing about clay is every culture knows clay, because they use it That is one of the advantages

of working in clay Everyone can relate to clay It’s been part of our human evolution And it goes from very basic to extremely baroque things And also as one lives one's life, you take in all your experiences Then when I sit down to work, these things come out It is the experiences of life you reflect in your work.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange I’m Barbara Klein

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember You can read this program and download audio on our Web site,

voaspecialenglish.com Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English

Wilhelmi's clay monster

creatures and his eucalyptus tree

design

Healthier Eating in New York Hard For Some to Swallow

City health officials order restaurants to cut trans fats in their foods; an industry group sees 'misguided social

engineering.' Transcript of radio broadcast:

26 December 2006

Download Audio - MP3

Listen in RealAudio

This is the VOA Special English Health Report

New York City wants to fight fat The Board of Health has passed a ban on trans fats in all

restaurants

Eating places have until July to stop frying foods in oils high in fatty acids And they have until July of two thousand eight to reduce trans fat in other foods to less than one-half gram per serving

trans-Kentucky Fried Chicken sells a

fried chicken free of trans fats

Trans fats are often called partially hydrogenated fats They form when hydrogen is added to liquid oils and fats to make them solid Trans fats make foods last longer

But they increase the level of low-density lipoprotein, known as bad cholesterol, in the blood High levels of LDL can increase the risk for heart disease

The use of trans fats expanded because of worries about saturated fats Saturated fat also raises bad cholesterol So is one fat worse than the other?

James Cleeman is coordinator of the cholesterol education program at the National Institutes of Health Doctor Cleeman says gram for gram, both raise LDL levels about the same But he points out that American adults on average get more than four times as much saturated fat in their diet as trans fat

Trans fats, though, also lower the level of HDL, high-density lipoprotein so-called good

cholesterol Saturated fats do not

Doctor Cleeman says lower levels of good cholesterol have been linked to increased risk for heart disease in the population as a whole But for an individual, he says, lowering good cholesterol by eating trans fat has not been shown to increase the risk

Other cities may also ban trans fats A measure proposed in Chicago has been awaiting further action

The New York Board of Health also wants menus in fast-food places to now list the number of

calories in foods The idea is to help people make wiser choices

Public health officials say two out of three Americans are overweight

But the National Restaurant Association calls the actions in New York misguided social engineering And it says the ban raises serious legal concerns

The group notes that many restaurants have recently announced they are moving away from using trans fat And it says without much time to change, many will have no choice but to use oils high in saturated fats

Some people see the ban as an attack on freedom of choice They say food inspectors should worry more about dangers like E coli bacteria

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Jill Moss I'm Shirley Griffith

Biotech Foods Continue to Produce Mixed Feelings in US

Safety is a concern of many, but opinion researchers also find the public not well informed on the subject Transcript

of radio broadcast:

25 December 2006

Download Audio - MP3

Listen in RealAudio

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report

Americans are still split in their opinions about genetically engineered foods The finding is from one thousand adults questioned for the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology This is a project of the University of Richmond in Virginia supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts

Thirty-four percent said they believed genetically modified foods are safe Twenty-nine percent thought they are unsafe

Support increased when people were told that most processed foods contain at least small amounts of genetically engineered organisms

After that, forty-five percent thought the foods were safe But nine percent still believed they were unsafe

twenty-Only twenty-one percent said that five years ago when the project first measured public understanding and support for biotechnologies

Genetically engineered soybeans, corn and cotton have been available to American farmers for ten years Much of the corn and soy is fed to animals But many foods contain genetically modified soy lecithin, corn syrup and other products

Supporters say these foods are safe They say genetic engineering improves crops These versions are often designed to resist damage from insects or agricultural chemicals

But the Pew Initiative says public understanding of biotech foods remains low Sixty percent said they believed they had never eaten them

The Food and Drug Administration does not require companies to identify biotech foods to the public Forty-three percent of the people said they would feel better if the F.D.A had more rules Now, the agency only asks companies to consult with it about biotech foods they want to market Some companies market products as being free of genetically modified organisms

This year the Pew research added questions about animal cloning Only twenty-seven percent of those who said they had heard of it expressed comfort with the idea Sixty-one percent said they were uncomfortable with it

The F.D.A says it is moving closer to permitting the sale of milk and meat from animals that are genetic copies of other animals For now, companies are being asked to cooperate with the agency and not market such products

Thirty-seven percent of the people said family and friends were their most trusted sources of

information about biotech foods Farmers were second, then scientists Five years ago, the top answer was the F.D.A Now it is fourth

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson I'm Steve Ember