VOASE0827_Science In the News

27 August 2007

Obesity as a Social Disease? How Friendship Could Be Fattening
Also: An explanation of allergic reactions and their treatments. And the game of checkers has a new champion.

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This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week, we will tell how friendship could be fattening. We also will tell about allergic reactions and their treatments. And, we report on a computer program that has solved a popular game.

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VOICE ONE:

When one person gains weight, close friends often do, too

Researchers say they have found that fatness can spread from person to person in social groups. When one person gains weight, close friends often gain weight, too. The study was published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers looked at records from the Framingham Heart Study. It gathered health information about more than twelve thousand people from nineteen seventy-one to two thousand three. The information was very detailed. It listed changes in the body-mass index for each individual. The body mass index measures a person's body fat.

The Framingham study also provided information about changes in family and events like marriages and deaths. There was also contact information for close friends of the subjects in the study. As a result, the researchers were able to examine more than forty thousand social ties.

VOICE TWO:

The study showed that when a person becomes severely overweight, there is a fifty-seven percent increased chance that one of their friends will be, too. A sister or brother of the overweight person has a forty percent increased chance of becoming fat. The increased risk for a wife or husband is a little less than that.

Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead investigator in the study. He says his research showed that fat people are not choosing fat friends. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend.

VOICE ONE:

The study found that the sex of the friends is also an influence. In same-sex friendships, a person has a seventy-one percent increased risk of getting fat. The same was true for brothers and sisters separately. A man has a forty-four percent increased risk of becoming obese after a weight gain in his brother. In sisters, the increased risk is sixty-seven percent.

The study also showed that physical closeness of family members and friends did little to increase a person's risk. The other lead investigator was James Fowler of the University of California at San Diego. Mister Fowler says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in your neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of a person’s health is tied to his or her social connections.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Christakis and Mister Fowler say close friends probably influence what a person finds acceptable and unacceptable. So if a friend gets fat, the condition becomes more acceptable. Both investigators agree their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.

The researchers say more studies into the idea of socially spread obesity could provide new ways to fight fat. If friends help make fatness acceptable, then they might also be influential in the fight against obesity. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced health problems, like alcohol dependence.

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VOICE ONE:

Pollen, as seen using an electron microscope

An allergy is an unusually strong reaction to a substance. Many things can cause allergies. The most common cause is pollen. Trees usually produce pollen in the spring as part of their reproductive process. Pollen also comes in grasses in the summer and weeds in the fall.

Other causes include organisms such as dust mites and molds. Chemicals, plants and dead skin particles from dogs and cats can also cause allergic reactions. So can insect bites and some foods.

The most common kind of allergic reaction is itchy, watery eyes and a blocked or watery nose. Allergies can also cause red, itchy skin. Some reactions can be life-threatening -- for example, when breathing passages become blocked.

VOICE TWO:

Avoiding whatever causes an allergy may not always be easy. Antihistamine drugs may offer an effective treatment. Another treatment is called immunotherapy. A patient is injected with small amounts of the allergy-causing substance. The idea is that larger and larger amounts are given over time until the patient develops a resistance to the allergen.

In the United States, experts estimate that up to four percent of adults and up to eight percent of young children have food allergies. Every year these allergies cause about thirty thousand cases of anaphylaxis, a severe reaction that requires immediate treatment. It can result in trouble breathing and in some cases death.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says one hundred to two hundred people die. It says most of the reactions resulted from peanuts and tree nuts such as walnuts.

VOICE ONE:

People can also be allergic to medicines. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says about five to ten percent of bad reactions to commonly used medicines are allergic. So, a person's natural defense system overreacts and produces an allergic reaction. The most common reactions include skin rashes, itching, breathing problems and temporary enlargement of areas such as the face.

But the academy estimates that allergic reactions to drugs cause one hundred six thousand deaths each year in the United States alone. It says antibiotics such as penicillin are among the drugs more likely than others to produce allergic reactions. So are anticonvulsants and hormones such as insulin. Other kinds include some anesthesia medicines, vaccines and biotechnology-produced proteins.

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VOICE TWO:

The game of checkers is popular in many countries. In Britain, the game is better known as draughts. Perhaps you feel like playing a game now? But do not plan on winning if you play against a computer program named Chinook.

Scientists in Canada developed the computer program. No one has ever defeated Chinook. At best, a player who makes no mistakes would tie the computer program.

Chinook represents an important development in computer programming and the area of study known as artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence uses science to understand and create systems of thought and behavior in machines.

VOICE ONE:

The Chinook project began in nineteen eighty-nine. Jonathan Schaeffer is a computer scientist with the University of Alberta. He wanted to create a program that could defeat a World Checkers Champion. To do this, he talked to expert checker players about their methods for winning.

Professor Schaeffer created a computer program with information about the rules of the game, and successful and unsuccessful moves. Then, he and his team carefully corrected and improved the program. For eighteen years, about fifty computers worked without stop on the five hundred billion-billion possible positions in a game of checkers.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen ninety-two, Chinook played against the World Checkers Champion Marion Tinsley. Mister Tinsley won against the computer program. They played again two years later, but he had to withdraw because of poor health.

Mister Tinsley is thought to be the greatest checkers player who ever lived. He only lost three games in forty-one years of competition.

Experts will never know if the earlier version of Chinook could have defeated Mister Tinsley. But he was a human being, and could make mistakes. Chinook, in its latest version, has avoided the possibility of mistake.

VOICE ONE:

Chinook is not the first program to solve a game. For example, there are programs that have yet to lose at the games of Connect Four and Awari. But checkers is by far more complex. Checkers is about one million times more complex than Connect Four. Chinook must make complex decisions in a large and complex space with many possible positions.

Professor Schaeffer says his team has taken the knowledge used in artificial intelligence programs to an extreme level. He says he has replaced human decision making with perfect knowledge.

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VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Dana Demange, Mario Ritter and Caty Weaver. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again at this time next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

Israeli, Palestinian Leaders to Hold Summit Tuesday

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 27 August 2007

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Israeli and Palestinian leaders will hold a summit meeting on Tuesday in a fresh bid to advance the peace process. But as Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel's "go-slow" approach has left the Palestinians disappointed.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas here in Jerusalem. Both Israel and the United States want to strengthen Mr. Abbas after the violent takeover of the Gaza Strip by the Islamic militant group Hamas two months ago. Hamas routed the forces of the rival Fatah faction, led by Mr. Abbas, who now heads a moderate government in the West Bank.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas (R) meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, (File)

President Abbas and Mr. Olmert have met regularly since the civil war in Gaza. They are trying to hammer out principles for the creation of a Palestinian state ahead of an international peace conference in the United States this fall.

"Ultimately, the Israeli government and the Palestinian government, we share a common view of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace," said Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman.

But Israel has been reluctant to discuss the thorniest issues of the conflict, creating skepticism among Palestinians.

"It is very essential to see and hear some concrete steps taken towards talking about a timeframe for solving the five permanent status issues of the Palestinian cause, namely Jerusalem, refugees, water, borders and settlements," said Palestinian analyst Wadia Abu Nasser. "And without that the people are talking about [a] peace process but not necessarily peace."

Israel's reluctance to discuss those issues may point to a lack of confidence in Mr. Abbas. His forces collapsed during the factional fighting in Gaza, earning him the reputation of a moderate Palestinian leader who cannot deliver.

Greece Battles Unchecked Wildfires for Fourth Day

By VOA News 27 August 2007

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A man looks at blazes burning a mountain next to the village of Theologos in Evia island, 27 Aug 2007

Greece is battling unchecked wildfires for a fourth day and has charged four suspects with starting fires that have killed at least 63 people since Friday.

New fires broke out Monday on the fringes of Athens, triggering a rush of firefighters and airplanes to the suburb of Papagou, where flames swept through brush.

The blazes have cut a swath of destruction from the southern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula to the far northern town of Ioannina, destroying hundreds of villages and leaving thousands homeless. Firefighters and equipment from a half-dozen European countries are helping Greek fire brigades battle the inferno.

With an estimated half of the country on fire today, a top Greek prosecutor said he will determine whether the presumptive arson attacks fall under the country's anti-terrorism statutes. Authorities say such a move would give investigators broader powers to investigate and make arrests.

Since Saturday, government officials have been saying they suspect arson in at least some of the attacks.

Many local officials have accused rogue land developers of setting fires to clear forests and farmland for new construction.

In southern Greece Sunday, the fires stopped just short of Ancient Olympia - the World Heritage site where the first Olympic games were held. A fire protection system started just in time to save the ancient ruins and other priceless artifacts from incineration.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

US Attorney General Gonzales Resigns

By Paula Wolfson Washington 27 August 2007

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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announces his resignation at a press conference at the Department of Justice, in Washington, 27 Aug 2007

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports his two-year tenure as head of the Justice Department was marked by controversy.

The official announcement from the attorney general was brief.

"Yesterday, I met with President Bush and informed him of my decision to conclude my government service as attorney general of the United States effective as of September 17th, 2007," he said.

Alberto Gonzales gave no reason for his decision, and there was no direct mention of the controversies surrounding his tenure, only praise for the Justice Department staff, and an expression of gratitude to President Bush.

"Public service is honorable and noble. And I am profoundly grateful to President Bush for his friendship and the many opportunities he has given me to serve the American people," said Gonzales.

Gonzales's friendship with the president dates back to Mr. Bush's tenure as governor of Texas. He served first as White House legal counsel, and was nominated to be attorney general in 2005, the first Hispanic ever chosen to become the nation's top law enforcement officer.

President Bush stood by Gonzales as questions were raised in Congress about his integrity and competence. And as recently as three weeks ago, the president reaffirmed his confidence in his attorney general.

But when Gonzales offered to leave, the president did not persuade him to stay on. Instead, Mr. Bush went before reporters in Texas and accepted the resignation with regret.

"It is sad. But we live at a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons," said President Bush.

Gonzales' decision to step down comes at a time when Congress is stepping up its scrutiny of the Justice Department. Lawmakers are looking into accusations federal prosecutors were fired largely for political reasons. They are also investigating the Justice Department's handling of a domestic spying program that was used to help track down terrorists.

Democrat Charles Schumer, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says President Bush now has an opportunity to name an attorney general who can be a real leader.

"Unlike the last time, he needs to pick the best person, not his best friend," said Schumer.

Schumer says Democrats will support any nominee who puts the rule of law before political considerations.

"We beseech, we implore the administration to work with us to nominate someone who Democrats can support and who America can be proud of," he added.

There is no word yet on just who that nominee might be. The government's top lawyer, Solicitor General Paul Clement, will fill the post on a temporary basis until a new attorney general is named by the president and confirmed by the senate.

Tsunami Museum Sparks Debate in Indonesia

By Chad Bouchard Jakarta 27 August 2007

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This poster displays the winning design of tsunami museum by architect Ridwan Kamil in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 21 Aug 2007

Indonesia has picked an architect to design a museum in Aceh province in memory of the close to 170,000 people who died there during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. But as Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, the project is not without controversy.

The more than $7.4 million museum project in Banda Aceh will mark one of the most devastating natural disasters of modern times.

Aceh province was decimated nearly three years ago when an undersea earthquake - registering nine on the Richter scale - pushed towering waves onto its shores. The giant tsunami touched a dozen nations ringing the Indian Ocean - but Indonesia suffered the most casualties with 170,000 people dead and missing.

Adamy Aulina, assistant manager for public facilities and building at the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, says she hopes the museum will help survivors heal.

"Aceh Tsunami Museum is a symbol. Respecting the victims and spirit of the survivors," she said. "It would be nice if Acehnese people were proud with the building. It facilitates for people who want to remind their family, friends, or colleagues who died because of the tsunami."

But the museum has its critics who are concerned the project comes too soon after the disaster, and could draw resources away from thousands of people who are still battling to rebuild their lives.

Aceh Heritage Community Foundation co-founder, Yeyen Rahmayati, says a less expensive commemoration would be more appropriate.

"The idea is good, but I think the timing is not right at the moment because there are many tsunami survivors that still need a house, job and something like that," said Rahmayati.

Another issue is the building's location. Museum planners selected a site high on a hill in the middle of Banda Aceh, where hundreds of residents scrambled to escape the waves. But Rahmayati says that hill has historic significance.

"The location is very strategic in the heart of the city center," said Rahmayati. "There was a colonial heritage used as a railway station office, and they already demolished that building, they plan to demolish another building next to the first building, so there will be two heritage buildings demolished to build the tsunami museum, and for me it's an irony, I think."

Reconstruction officials say one of the historic buildings at the site was damaged beyond repair. But, in response to concerns, the museum committee is discussing ways to incorporate remaining structures into the museum design.

The building will be raised on stilts, using an element of traditional Acehnese houses.

Ridwan Kamil, the architect who won a contest to design the museum, says the elevated structure will also incorporate an evacuation center in case of another disaster.

"That escape hill in the future can be used for an emergency situation, in case there is a flood of tsunami people can use that hill as an escape space," he said.

Kamil adds that he wanted to create a structure that would serve as more than a storage place for artifacts or exhibits.

"For me, the tsunami museum has to reflect also the psychology that people went through during these terrible times," he said.

Kamil says the entrance to the museum, called the tsunami passage, is designed to evoke cathartic emotions for survivors and visitors.

"It's a very tight corridor but very high walls with a waterfall from the left and the right, so people walk through the first space to experience how desperate the victims of the tsunami," he added. "The sound of the water will remind them of the situation."

The names of Acehnese who died in the tsunami will be inscribed in the atrium. The museum will also feature a scientific exhibition on earthquakes and tsunamis, with a before-and-after display demonstrating changes to Aceh's coastline.

Adamy Aulina, with the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, says the building signals a transition in the community's recovery, from focusing on immediate needs to exploring hopes for the future.

"It's also a message. We have to learn from the past," she said. "Well we can learn also what is a tsunami, how we can avoid it. That we can respect and learn nature, yeah? Because with that I hope we can make a better environment and a better life."

Museum officials plan to begin construction on the museum by the end of the year, and hope to have it completed for inauguration on the fourth anniversary of the disaster in December 2008.

VOASE0826_This Is America

26 August 2007

Two Years After Katrina, Revisiting New Orleans, and Its Struggles
Progress continues, but concerns are raised about the physical as well as the mental recovery from the floods. 'There's no way you can tell me to get over it,' says one man.

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Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

Two breeches in the Florida Street levee, looking toward the Mississippi River, are shown Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina moved through the area

And I'm Steve Ember. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Floodwalls around New Orleans, Louisiana, failed. Soon, eighty percent of the city was underwater.

VOICE ONE:

Today New Orleans is making progress. But it still faces major problems as people work to rebuild their homes and their lives.

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RAY NAGIN: "Our city was totally devastated after Katrina. And after two years we are still trying to recover. But our citizens, they continue to suffer."

VOICE TWO:

That was New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, speaking this month at a congressional hearing in Washington.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington

Mayor Nagin continues to meet with federal and state officials about ways to rebuild his city and help its citizens. He has expressed dissatisfaction with levels of financial help for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region.

RAY NAGIN: "I implore, I ask, I beg this committee to really do something to help us.

VOICE ONE:

Congress has already approved tens of billions of dollars in Gulf Coast aid.

That includes seven billion dollars for the Army Corps of Engineers to repair the city's flood protection system. Last week federal officials described proposals for an additional seven and a half billion dollars of improvements by two thousand eleven.

They say the plan would sharply reduce the chances of a repeat of what happened after Katrina.

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VOICE TWO:

Hurricane Katrina hit land three times in the final days of August of two thousand five. Its third landfall, on August twenty-ninth, was the one that caused the most damage by breaking through the flood barriers.

Katrina was blamed for almost one thousand seven hundred deaths. Most of the deaths happened in Louisiana.

It was the most costly hurricane in American history with estimates of at least eighty-one billion dollars in property damage. Whole communities were destroyed.

VOICE ONE:

Many people living in the Lower Ninth Ward remain homeless two years after Hurricane Katrina

The floodwaters in New Orleans tore through areas including some of the poorest in the city, such as the Lower Ninth Ward.

Local resident Glen Madison expresses his dissatisfaction with the way officials are dealing with the problems in the Lower Ninth Ward.

GLEN MADISON: "Instead of sending all that money over there -- more troops. What about us? Because most of the damage was right here. The Lower, Lower Ninth Ward. Had more damage than anybody. And this is the last place they dealing with when it should have been the first."

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VOICE TWO:

Rebuilding has begun. But workers have yet to clear away many of the homes and other buildings wrecked by the storm.

Thousands of people are still living in trailers provided as emergency housing by the government. But there are concerns that the trailers may be making some people sick.

The people have reported headaches, nosebleeds and other problems. Officials have been investigating reports that the cause may be high levels of formaldehyde used in building materials. That chemical gives off a gas that can cause breathing difficulties. But there are no national rules about acceptable levels of formaldehyde in trailers.

Still, hundreds of people in Louisiana are taking legal action against trailer manufacturers. They accuse them of providing the government with poorly built trailers.

Some families in Louisiana and Mississippi have asked to be moved out of their temporary housing because of the concerns. Government officials say they are working to move people from trailers to hotels and other places.

VOICE ONE:

Many homeowners are still waiting for insurance payments or government help to rebuild.

And many people are dissatisfied with a state program, financed mainly by the federal government, called Road Home. This program was designed to help aid the citizens of New Orleans in rebuilding their homes.

Homeowners could be approved to receive as much as one hundred fifty thousand dollars to rebuild their home. Or the government could buy their property.

As of now, the program is five billion dollars short of what is needed.

Residents like Lucas Simmons question if the money is being spent properly.

LUCAS SIMMONS: "They keep putting it on the back burner. Then they claim and come back later and say ‘Oh look, we short.’ I guess you is short if you steady lacing everybody’s pocket that don’t need it from the ones that need it. They ain't getting no help."

VOICE TWO:

Lucas Simmons says two years later, some people do not really understand the lasting mental effect of Katrina and the floods.

LUCAS SIMMONS: "Lot of them, they didn’t lose nothing but they always saying ‘Get over it.’ I lost everything. There's no way you can tell me to get over it."

VOICE ONE:

The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, told lawmakers that he has received shocking reports from city health officials. One report said that since Katrina, New Orleans had seen a forty-seven percent increase in deaths.

The medical examiner says there is no question that the after-effects of Katrina are killing people. Stress levels are extremely high and Mayor Nagin said resources for mental health care are limited.

Before Katrina, New Orleans had around four hundred fifty thousand people. Many left after the storm. Large numbers relocated to Texas. But in the last two years, thousands of people have returned to New Orleans. Mayor Nagin said the population now is about three hundred thousand.

VOICE TWO:

Recently a congressional delegation traveled to parts of the Gulf Coast for a two-day visit. The lawmakers promised to work with state and local governments to set goals and time limits to improve health care. That includes mental health services.

The lawmakers also said their visit to Louisiana will help them decide what to do about the financially troubled Road Home program.

In addition to the federal government, state governments have also provided money for Gulf Coast recovery efforts.

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VOICE ONE:

Last year, HBO television showed a documentary by movie director Spike Lee called "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."

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The four-part movie centered on the Lower Ninth Ward.

Jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard wrote and performed for the film. But his connection with the project was far more involved. He had lived in the Lower Ninth Ward for sixteen years. His family's home was among those destroyed. His family lost everything.

Earlier this month Terence Blanchard released an album called "A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina.)"

The songs on the album express the pain caused by the disaster two years ago. This song "Levees" does not need any words to describe feelings both of deep sadness and inner strength.

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VOICE TWO:

Undoing the damage to New Orleans after Katrina has been slow in some cases but not so slow in others. Officials of the city known as the Big Easy are proud to talk about the progress that has been made. For example, crowds have returned to traditions like the yearly Mardi Gras parades.

Resident Glen Madison says the hurricane may have destroyed parts of New Orleans but not the spirit of its people.

GLEN MADISON: "You have mishaps and this is one of those things that just happen. So you just got to regroup and survive."

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by Lawan Davis. To learn more about American life, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can download transcripts and audio archives of our programs. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0826_Development Report

26 August 2007

Mercy Corps Seeks to Expand Its Services
Youth development and climate change are among new areas of interest for US-based humanitarian aid group.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Often, when a natural disaster strikes, one of the first groups to offer help is Mercy Corps. This American nonprofit organization has assisted people in more than one hundred countries.

It grew out of the Save the Refugees Fund. A man named Dan O'Neill started that organization in nineteen seventy-nine. He wanted to help Cambodians who fled the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Soon, he established Mercy Corps with the help of another man, Ellsworth Culver. Today it has programs in more than thirty countries.

A man holds a baby near a destroyed house in the town of Pisco, Peru, 16 Aug. 2007

Joy Portella is the head of communications for Mercy Corps. She says the strengths of the group lie, first of all, in emergency relief services. For example, Mercy Corps partnered with a local aid group to provide help to families affected by the deadly earthquake this month in Peru.

Mercy Corps also works in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Darfur, Sudan.

In Iraq, the group says it is helping populations to identify their rights and work for economic independence. Mercy Corps also supports microlending, small business development and technical assistance. And Mercy Corps is expanding its programs in areas of civil society building and democracy.

A congressman has nominated the group for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Its leaders hope to expand into several new areas. These include youth development, climate change issues and poverty reduction through technology.

Charity Navigator, an independent group that rates American charities, has given its highest rating to Mercy Corps. The American Institute of Philanthropy says Mercy Corps could be more open in reporting which groups receive its donated goods and how those goods are used. But it says the financial performance of Mercy Corps is excellent.

A big help is the fact that the group does not have to spend as much to raise money compared to many other charities. More than half of its budget comes from the United States government. Mercy Corps had a budget last year of two hundred twenty million dollars.

The group employs more than three thousand people. About fifty percent are Muslim and about ninety percent are citizens of the countries where they work. Joy Portella at Mercy Corps says the group has learned the importance of working with local people who have expert knowledge of a country and its culture.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Shep O'Neal.

VOASE0825_People In America

25 August 2007

Nellie Bly, 1864-1922: Newspaper Reporter Used Unusual Methods to Investigate and Write About Illegal Activities in New York City
She also was famous for traveling around the world in seventy-six days.

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Ray Freeman with the Special English program, People in America. Every week we tell about a person important in the

history of the United States. Today, we tell about a reporter of more than one hundred years ago.

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VOICE ONE:

Nellie Bly

The year was eighteen eighty-seven. The place was New York City. A young woman, Elizabeth Cochrane, wanted a job at a large newspaper. The editor agreed, if she would investigate a hospital for people who were mentally sick and then write about it.

Elizabeth Cochrane decided to become a patient in the hospital herself. She used the name Nellie Brown so no one would discover her or her purpose. Newspaper officials said they would get her released after a while.

To prepare, Nellie put on old clothes and stopped washing. She went to a temporary home for women. She acted as if she had severe mental problems. She cried and screamed and stayed awake all night. The police were called. She was examined by doctors. Most said she was insane.

VOICE TWO:

Nellie Brown was taken to the mental hospital. It was dirty. Waste material was left outside the eating room. Bugs ran across the tables. The food was terrible: hard bread and gray-colored meat.

Nurses bathed the patients in cold water and gave them only a thin piece of cloth to wear to bed.

During the day, the patients did nothing but sit quietly. They had to talk in quiet voices. Yet, Nellie got to know some of them. Some were women whose families had put them in the hospital because they had been too sick to work. Some were women who had appeared insane because they were sick with fever. Now they were well, but they could not get out.

Nellie recognized that the doctors and nurses had no interest in the patients' mental health. They were paid to keep the patients in a kind of jail. Nellie stayed in the hospital for ten days. Then a lawyer from the newspaper got her released.

VOICE ONE:

Five days later, the story of Elizabeth Cochrane's experience in the hospital appeared in the New York World newspaper. Readers were shocked. They wrote to officials of the city and the hospital protesting the conditions and patient treatment. An investigation led to changes at the hospital.

Elizabeth Cochrane had made a difference in the lives of the people there. She made a difference in her own life too. She got her job at the New York World. And she wrote a book about her experience at the hospital. She did not write it as Nellie Brown, however, or as Elizabeth Cochrane. She wrote it under the name that always appeared on her newspaper stories: Nellie Bly.

VOICE TWO:

The child who would grow up to become Nellie Bly was born during the Civil War, in eighteen sixty-four, in western Pennsylvania.

Her family called her Pink. Her father was a judge. He died when she was six years old. Her mother married again. But her new husband drank too much alcohol and beat her. She got a divorce in eighteen seventy-nine, when Pink was fifteen years old. Pink decided to learn to support herself so she would never need a man.

Pink, her mother, brothers and sisters moved to a town near the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pink worked at different jobs but could not find a good one.

One day, she read something in the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper. The editor of the paper, Erasmus Wilson, wrote that it was wrong for women to get jobs. He said men should have them. Pink wrote the newspaper to disagree. She said she had been looking for a good job for about four years, as she had no father or husband to support her. She signed it "Orphan Girl".

VOICE ONE:

The editors of the dispatch liked her letter. They put a note in the paper asking "Orphan Girl" to visit. Pink did. Mister Wilson offered her a job.

He said she could not sign her stories with her real name, because no woman writer did that. He asked news writers for suggestions. One was Nellie Bly, the name of a girl in a popular song. So Pink became Nellie Bly.

For nine months, she wrote stories of interest to women. Then she left the newspaper because she was not permitted to write what she wanted. She went to Mexico to find excitement. She stayed there six months, sending stories to the Dispatch to be published. Soon after she returned to the Pittsburgh Dispatch, she decided to look for another job. Nellie Bly left for New York City and began her job at the New York World.

VOICE TWO:

As a reporter for the New York World, Nellie Bly investigated and wrote about illegal activities in the city. For one story, she acted as if she was a mother willing to sell her baby. For another, she pretended to be a woman who cleaned houses so she could report about illegal activities in employment agencies.

Today, a newspaper reporter usually does not pretend to be someone else to get information for a story. Most newspapers ban such acts. But in Nellie Bly's day, reporters used any method to get information, especially if they were trying to discover people guilty of doing something wrong.

Nellie Bly's success at this led newspapers to employ more women. But she was the most popular of the women writers. History experts say Nellie Bly was special because she included her own ideas and feelings in everything she wrote. They say her own voice seemed to speak on the page.

Nellie Bly's stories always provided detailed descriptions. And her stories always tried to improve society. Critics said Nellie Bly was an example of what a reporter can do, even today. She saw every situation as a chance to make a real difference in other people's lives as well as her own.

VOICE ONE:

Nellie Bly may be best remembered in history for a trip she took.

In the eighteen seventies, French writer Jules Verne wrote the book “Around the World in Eighty Days.” It told of a man's attempt to travel all around the world. He succeeded. In real life, no one had tried. By eighteen eighty-eight, a number of reporters wanted to do it. Nellie Bly told her editors she would go even if they did not help her. But they did.

VOICE TWO:

Nellie Bly left New York for France on November fourteenth, eighteen eighty-nine. She met Jules Verne at his home in France. She told him about her plans to travel alone by train and ship around the world.

From France she went to Italy and Egypt, through South Asia to Singapore and Japan, then to San Francisco and back to New York. Nellie Bly's trip created more interest in Jules Verne's book. Before the trip was over, “Around the World in Eighty Days” was published again. And a theater in Paris had plans to produce a stage play of the book.

VOICE ONE:

Back home in New York, the World was publishing the stories Bly wrote while travelling. On days when the mail brought no story from her, the editors still found something to write about it. They published new songs written about Bly and new games based on her trip. The newspaper announced a competition to guess how long her trip would take. The prize was a free trip to Europe. By December second, about one hundred thousand readers had sent in their estimates.

Nellie Bly arrived back where she started on January twenty-fifth, eighteen ninety. It had taken her seventy-six days, six hours, eleven minutes and fourteen seconds. She was twenty-five years old. And she was famous around the world.

VOICE TWO:

Elizabeth Cochrane died in New York in nineteen twenty-two. She was fifty-eight years old. In the years since her famous trip, she had married, and headed a business. She also had helped poor and homeless children. And she had continued to write all her life for newspapers and magazines as Nellie Bly.

One newspaper official wrote this about her after her death:

“Nellie Bly was the best reporter in America. More important is the work of which the world knew nothing. She died leaving little money. What she had was promised to take care of children without homes, for whom she wished to provide. Her life was useful. She takes with her from this Earth all that she cared about -- an honorable name, the respect and affection of her fellow workers, the memory of good fights well fought and many good deeds never to be forgotten. Happy the man or woman that can leave as good a record.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This VOA Special English program, People in America, was written by Nancy Steinbach. Your narrators were Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman.

VOASE0824_In the News

24 August 2007

Dangerous Weather, Unforgiving Seas Add Up to Deadliest Job
Commercial fishermen have the highest rate of deadly injuries among US workers. Pilots and flight engineers had the second highest in 2006.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Two tragedies at coal mines on opposite sides of the world remind us all how dangerous some jobs can be.

In China last week, floodwaters from a river trapped one hundred eighty-one miners in two mines. An official in Shandong province said Thursday that there was no hope of finding them alive. Almost five thousand people died in coal mine accidents last year in China.

The Crandall Canyon mine in the American state of Utah collapsed on August sixth, trapping six miners. Last week, another collapse at the mine killed three rescuers and injured six others.

Coal mining deaths have been decreasing in the United States. But last year there were forty-seven, more than double the number the year before. Twelve of the deaths resulted from an explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia.

A commercial fishing boat strikes rocks near Ketchikan, Alaska, in September 2004

The Labor Department has a newly published report on work-related deaths last year in the United States. The construction industry had the largest number. But the single deadliest job in the United States is commercial fisherman.

Fifty-one workers in the fishing industry were killed, a rate of about one hundred forty-two deaths for every one hundred thousand workers. It was by far the highest rate of deaths when compared with other jobs.

A popular television program on the Discovery Channel, "Deadliest Catch," takes people inside the dangerous world of professional fishing.

NARRATOR: "A boat with a full stack of pots is at its most vulnerable. When loaded, the [Alaskan crab boat] Time Bandit will have one hundred ten thousand pounds of steel stacked above deck, increasing the risk of rollover. In the past, the combination of top-heavy boats and rough seas has consistently led to tragedy."

FISHERMAN: "We're laying way over on our side! Five people on the boat, repeat, five people."

In all, the Labor Department says five thousand seven hundred three people in the United States died from work-related injuries last year. There were thirty-one fewer deaths than the year before. And the death rate was the lowest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting this information in nineteen ninety-two.

But deadly injuries increased in some jobs. Aircraft-related deaths were up sharply. Pilots and flight engineers had the second highest death rate of all jobs last year. The third highest was among workers who cut down trees.

Other jobs with high death rates were iron and steel workers, waste collectors and farmers and other agricultural workers. Power-line workers, roofers and professional drivers also had high death rates.

Road accidents were down last year but were still the most common cause of work-related deaths in America.

Congress approved mine-safety reforms last year after the Sago disaster. But mine operators have another two years to put in place two-way communication and tracking devices to help locate trapped miners.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

Saharan Experts Fear Spread of Niger's Tuareg Rebel Violence

By Phuong Tran Dakar 23 August 2007

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Recent rebel violence from a nomadic tribe in northern Niger may escalate into civil war according to analysts, who are concerned the revolt may affect neighboring countries in the West African Saharan region. Phuong Tran brings us this report from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

A group of Tuareg nomads near an army base in the Sahara desert north of Agadez, Niger (file photo)

The Tuareg rebel group, Niger Movement for Justice, has claimed responsibility for recent deadly mine explosions, and violence that has resulted in at least seven deaths this month.

The government has refused to negotiate with the nomad fighters until they stop their attacks, dismissing them as "bandits" and "drug smugglers."

African security analysts say this tactic is dangerous.

David Zounmenou with the South African Institute for Security Studies says the current stalemate can lead to civil war and divide the country into rebel and government held territory.

British anthropologist Jeremy Keenan has worked in the Saharan region for the past 40 years, and says Niger's remote northeast, home to the country's uranium mines and Tuareg rebels, is a rough place to conquer.

"The Niger army is not doing real well in the military sense," said Keenan. "It is up against rebels who are supremely in command of the terrain. If that escalates, it has the potential to spread very rapidly into Mali."

Both analysts say rebels in Niger and Mali formed an alliance last month called the Alliance of Niger and Malian Tuaregs. Rebels in neither country have confirmed or provided details.

Keenan says a Tuareg alliance could change the domestic uprising into a regional problem.

"The situation in the region now is probably more dangerous than at any other time in the threat of a wider almost trans-Saharan conflagration of rebellion," he said.

The government has accused "rich foreign powers", of backing the revolt to weaken the government's ability to bargain on mining contracts and initiate oil exploration.

The nomad rebels last took up arms in the 1990s, saying foreign mining companies exploited their tribe with government support.

A foreign-mediated peace deal ended fighting in 1995.

Last February, the rebels reignited the low-intensity war against the government, demanding more services and a bigger share of the country's uranium royalties, a major source of government revenue.

A Niger government spokesman told VOA the rebels' demands are unrealistic. Iboun Gueye said uranium profits are for the entire country, just like gold mining royalties in the west must be distributed nationwide and not just where the mineral is found.

The fighting has killed at least 44 people since the beginning of the year, critically wounded dozens, led to the hostage taking of more than 70 government security forces, and a number of high-ranking defections.

Despite the country's mineral wealth, the United Nations has ranked Niger's living conditions as the worst in the world for the past two years.

VOASE0823_Economics Report

23 August 2007

Recalls Add to Pressure on Toy Industry
Mattel, the world's biggest toy company, has urged parents to return millions of products because of risk from small magnets, lead paint.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Parents know about supply and demand. What they supply is not always what children demand. Toymakers have the same problem. These days, they not only face greater competition -- kids have more entertainment choices than ever. But parents could also become more choosey.

Last week, the world’s largest toy company announced the largest recall in its history. Mattel is recalling more than eighteen million toys that contain small, powerful magnets. These can cause serious injury if swallowed. One death has already been reported.

The toys were made over the past five years based on Mattel designs that the company says have now been improved.

Mattel combined its announcement with a separate recall of more than four hundred thousand toy cars. Mattel said the manufacturer, Lee Der Industrial in China, used lead-based paint without permission. Chinese media said the company owner hanged himself.

The 'Sarge' vehicle recalled because of lead paint

The vehicles are based on the "Sarge" character in the movie "Cars."

Mattel is based in California but makes about sixty-five percent of its products in China. The company promises greater testing.

On August first, Mattel recalled almost one million toys from its Fisher-Price division because of lead paint. That recall cost the company thirty million dollars.

Other companies have also recalled children's products. Last week Toys "R" Us recalled baby bibs made in China. Independent tests showed that the vinyl bibs contained high levels of lead.

The seller of a simple test for lead in products has seen its sales jump. The kit from Homax can be found in stores including home improvement centers. Homax's Donald Hamm says the company is receiving five or six calls each day from businesses wanting to sell the LeadCheck kit.

The company has now set up a Web site to sell directly to the public, at leadtesttoys.com.

China has formed a cabinet-level committee to improve the quality and safety of its exports. This follows a number of recalls around the world.

But China has also criticized the quality of some American imports. And it has accused the United States and the European Union of trade protectionism.

The American toy industry is worth an estimated twenty-two billion dollars. Eighty percent of the toys are made in China. But now several companies that still make toys in the United States are reporting increased sales.

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

VOASE0823_American Mosaic

23 August 2007

For Linda Blair, Life After 'The Exorcist' Includes Animal Rights Activism
Also: The results are in from the Special English listener contest. And former Shangri-Las singer Mary Weiss returns to music.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We listen to music from Mary Weiss …

Answer a question about American actress Linda Blair …

And report about the recent Special English listener contest.

Listener Contest

HOST:

The results of the Special English listener study are in. Many of you might have answered our announcement back in May. If you did, thank you for taking a few minutes to communicate with us. The information you provided will help Special English better understand who is listening to us, and how. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

We asked listeners to tell us when they listen to us and how: shortwave or medium wave radio frequency, by satellite or on the Internet. We received just over one thousand letters and e-mails. They came from ninety-nine countries all around the world.

More than three hundred responses came from East Asia. More than two hundred sixty came from Africa. The largest number came from listeners in China, followed by Nigeria. Most of our fans are listening to Special English by shortwave, followed closely by the Internet.

Here are quotes from some of the e-mails we received:

Orlando in Venezuela told us that he listens to Special English every night on his shortwave radio and also downloads the text of our programs from our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. He says he is learning to write and read and hear in English and each day is better than the day before.

Mohsen from Iran wrote that he has been listening to our programs for more than ten years. He is now an English teacher and recommends our programs to his students. He also uses materials from our Web site to teach his students about the culture, history, people and language of the United States.

Joanna from Poland told us that she also uses our Web site. “I can read the text, check the meaning of the words and I can hear the pronunciation... Thank you very much for very interesting information.”

We wish we could read on the air all the wonderful messages we received. We also wish we could give every person who responded a shortwave radio. But, only one lucky person wins the radio. That person is Nguyen Kim Vu Bao, an eighteen-year-old student from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vu Bao wrote a letter saying he has never missed any of our programs since he first discovered our broadcasts on the radio more than a year ago.

Twenty other listeners will receive smaller VOA gifts. We want to thank everyone who took part in our study and hope you all will keep listening to Special English.

Linda Blair

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Brazil. Ivan Crespo wants to know what actress Linda Blair has done since she starred in the nineteen seventy-three movie “The Exorcist.”

In that famous movie, Linda Blair played a child who becomes possessed by the devil. The movie was very successful. The thirteen-year-old actress was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Today, most people know that the scary parts of "The Exorcist" were done with special effects. But Linda Blair says: "You would not believe how often people ask me to make my head spin around."

After ”The Exorcist,” she starred in other movies, playing troubled teenagers. She also starred in the sequel to the movie that made her famous, “Exorcist Two, the Heretic.” But it was not very successful.

In the nineteen eighties she was in several other movies that were not very popular. She also dated the singer Rick James. Some people have said that James wrote his popular song “Cold Blooded” about their relationship.

In nineteen ninety, Blair made fun of "The Exorcist" in the movie “Repossessed.” She also appeared on some television shows. In two thousand one, she hosted the show “The Scariest Places on Earth.”

Linda Blair always loved riding horses. In the nineteen eighties she competed in

Actress Linda Blair appearing in support of pit bull owners in Sacramento, California, in 2005

horse-riding events. She has a long history of helping animals. In fact, as a young girl, she had wanted to become a veterinarian, a doctor who treats animals. She has received many awards from the animal rights organization PETA. The City of Los Angeles honored her for her work with abused and lost animals.

She also began the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation. This organization provides animals with health care, food, training and shelter. It also helps people learn how to care for animals, so that fewer of them will be left alone or hurt in the future.

Mary Weiss

(MUSIC)

HOST:

That was "Leader of the Pack," a nineteen sixty-four hit song by the Shangri-Las. The four girls in this popular group were only about sixteen years old when they started making records in Queens, New York. Their songs expressed the ups and downs of being a teenager. Now, more than forty years later, the band’s lead singer Mary Weiss has returned to music. Her new album is called “Dangerous Game.” Faith Lapidus has more.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

That was the album’s title song, “Dangerous Game.” Mary Weiss worked with the

music band Reigning Sound to make her record. They did not want to copy the music of the Shangri-Las. Mary Weiss said that nobody wants to go back to the past. But she did want to keep the style of the past in her record. She said her favorite song on her album is “Break it One More Time.”

(MUSIC)

Mary Weiss’s deep, smoky voice has changed a lot since she was a teenager. She says she is always surprised to learn how many people still listen to her old songs. Now, people can listen to her new songs.

Mary Weiss has said she learned what kinds of music young people are listening to through the social networking Web site, MySpace. She even created her own MySpace page.

We leave you with “Cry About the Radio.” This song criticizes the workings of the music industry.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Erin Braswell, Dana Demange and Jill Moss. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

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.

VOASE0822_The Making of a Nation

22 August 2007

American History: How Science and Technology Helped Shape '90s
The last decade of the 20th century is often called one of the best periods in US history. There was peace. The economy grew. The Internet spread. But social problems included race riots in Los Angeles.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Doug Johnson with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we tell about life in the United States during the nineteen nineties.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Many experts describe the nineteen nineties as one of the best periods in United States history. During almost all that time, America was at peace. The frightening and costly military competition with the Soviet Union had ended. The threat of a nuclear attack seemed greatly reduced, if not gone. Military officials said America’s defenses were strong.

A boy browses a Web site with a TV and wireless keyboard at a store in 1997

The economy improved from poor to very good. Inflation was low. So was unemployment. Production was high. Scientists and engineers made major progress in medicine and technology. The Internet computer system created a new world of communications.

VOICE TWO:

America grew by almost thirty-three million people during the nineteen nineties. This is the most the United States has ever grown during a ten-year period. Some minority groups are growing faster than the white population. For the first time in seventy years, one in ten Americans was born in another country.

During the past ten years, there was a huge increase in immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. More than two hundred eighty million people lived in the United States by the end of the twentieth century.

This population was getting older, however, and needing more costly health care. And, America had other problems in the nineteen nineties. Some people feared crime in the streets. People were shot and killed in offices and schools. Divisions grew between rich people and poor people.

Racial tensions remained high. In nineteen ninety-nine, Congress impeached the president of the United States. President Clinton was accused of lying to courts about a sexual relationship with a young woman who worked in the White House. Bill Clinton was found not guilty. Still, the trial and the events leading to it caused deep concern among some Americans.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

American families changed in the nineteen nineties. More people ended their marriages. The rate of these divorces increased. So did the percentage of children living with only one parent. Children in such families were more likely to be poor or get into trouble. Many American children did not live with their parents at all. The number of children living with grandparents increased greatly.

Test scores and national studies during the nineteen nineties showed that many public school students were not learning as they should. The nation needed more and better teachers.

VOICE TWO:

Rodney King shows the injuries he received from four Los Angeles police officers

Racial divisions in America were a continuing and serious problem. In nineteen ninety-one, an African-American man named Rodney King was fleeing from police in Los Angeles, California. The police had chased his speeding car for miles before stopping him. They say he reacted violently when they tried to seize him.

Police officers beat and kicked Mister King as he lay on the ground. A man who lived nearby filmed the beating with a video camera. He took the video to a local television station. Soon people all over the country were watching the police repeatedly striking Rodney King.

The four white police officers were arrested for their actions. They were tried outside Los Angeles at their request. A jury in a nearby wealthy, conservative community found them not guilty.

Fire damage in Los Angeles from rioting in April 1992

Within a short time, angry African-Americans began rioting on the streets of Los Angeles. The unrest lasted three days. Fifty-five people died in the violence. More than two thousand others were injured. One thousand buildings lay in ruins.

VOICE ONE:

Another major court trial divided black people and white people. O.J. Simpson had been a football hero and an actor. In nineteen ninety-four, Simpson was accused of killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a male friend of hers. Simpson is African-American. Nicole Brown Simpson was white. Many legal experts believed the case against him was strong. Still, the mainly African-American jury judged him not guilty. Later, a mainly white jury found him guilty in a civil damage case.

Studies showed that white people believed Mister Simpson had killed his former wife and her friend. Black people thought he was not guilty.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteen nineties, scientists worked to map the position of all the genes in the human body. Research on this human genome map progressed slowly at first. Then it speeded up. The goal was to help scientists study human health and disease. The discovery was expected to change the way some diseases are treated.

Since nineteen eighty, doctors had made important progress in treating diseases like cancer, AIDS and Parkinson’s disease. But they still could not cure them. They hoped treatments developed from knowledge of human genes would help.

Computer technology also had progressed greatly in the nineteen eighties. During the next ten years computers became even more important in American life. People depended on computers both at work and at home. They used the Internet to send electronic messages, get information and buy all kinds of products. They completed and sent their income tax forms. They read newspapers and books. They even listened to music.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Americans continued to attend classical music concerts and operas. However, many more people enjoyed popular music. One popular music form was called rap. Rap music is spoken quickly rather than sung to the music of recorded rhythms. Some rap songs suggest violent actions. Others contain sexual suggestions that many people found offensive. But rap music was very popular with many young people. So was a form of rock music called grunge.

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteen nineties, Americans watched traditional television programs as well as new kinds of shows. Millions of people liked weekly dramas like "ER" that takes place in a busy hospital emergency room. A program called “Law and Order” tells about the work of police officers, lawyers and judges. "NYPD Blue" shows the work of police officers in New York City. A show called “Seinfeld” also told about life in New York City. But this program was very funny. “Seinfeld” was the most popular television show of the decade.

Another funny and popular show was the animated series called "The Simpsons." Cable television programs also grew in popularity. One of the most popular was MTV. It showed music videos and other programs for young people.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in ''Titanic''

At the movies, Americans saw popular films like “Titanic.” It told about the sinking of the famous passenger ship on its first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in nineteen twelve. Two young people are shown falling in love during this tragic event. Another popular film was “Jurassic Park.” It brought ancient, frightening dinosaurs to life.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

As usual, Americans enjoyed sports. Public interest in baseball decreased sharply, however, after a players’ strike in nineteen ninety-four. The strike cancelled the championship World Series games that year. In nineteen ninety-eight, interest in baseball increased when two great players competed to hit the most home runs. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire helped restore the popularity of baseball.

In basketball, experts say Michael Jordan became the best player in history. He led the Chicago Bulls team to win many championships.

VOICE TWO:

As the nineteen nineties ended, some experts worried about computers making the change to the year two thousand. They feared that computer failures might cause serious problems for everyday life. But midnight of December thirty-first passed with only a few incidents of computer trouble. Millions of people celebrated the beginning of a new century and another one thousand years. Life in the nineteen nineties had been good for many Americans. They hoped for even better days to come.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by George Grow. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.