VOASE0215_American Mosaic

15 February 2007

On '24,' TV Hero Jack Bauer Fights Terrorists, One Hour at a Time
Also: a dispute heats up over who invented the hamburger. And music from ''Not Too Late,'' Norah Jones' first album to include songs that make political statements.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We answer a question about an American television show …

Play some music from a new album by Norah Jones …

And report about an extremely popular American food.

Hamburger Dispute

Americans love to eat hamburgers -- chopped or ground beef served on bread. Many restaurants in the United States say hamburgers are their most popular food. But no one really seems to know who made the first one. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

History expert Linda Stradley published a hamburger history on the Web site What’s Cooking America. She says sailors who visited the German port city of Hamburg in the eighteen hundreds learned to enjoy ground meat known as Hamburg steak. And German settlers in the United States served ground beef and called it hamburg steak after the German city.

But she says the invention of the modern American hamburger is in dispute. She says one problem is the definition. Is it a hamburger when the meat is placed between two pieces of bread? Or must it be in a kind of bread called a bun? Either way, she tells about a number of people who claim to have served the first hamburger in America. Here are some of them.

The people of Seymour, Wisconsin, say fifteen-year-old Charlie Nagreen sold the first hamburgers in eighteen eighty-five at a local fair. The town holds a yearly hamburger festival to honor him.

People in Akron, Ohio, agree that the hamburger was invented in eighteen eighty-five. But they say the inventors were Frank and Charles Menches. They say the brothers put the meat between two pieces of bread at a traveling fair.

Other claims include the family of Louis Lassen. They are still making hamburgers in New Haven, Connecticut. And people in Athens, Texas, say Fletch Davis, who owned a restaurant, sold the first hamburger.

The modern hamburger became popular after it was served at the Saint Louis World’s Fair in nineteen-oh-four. But the Bilby family in the state of Oklahoma says their grandfather Oscar served the first hamburger thirteen years before that. They claim he was the first to put the meat in a bun.

Because of this claim, the governor of Oklahoma declared the city of Tulsa to be the birthplace of the hamburger. But the Library of Congress has honored Louis Lassen as the inventor of the hamburger.

As recently as last month, language expert Barry Popik wrote about the issue. He says that states should drop claims to be the home of the hamburger because no one really knows who served the first one.

"24"

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Osaka, Japan. Fumio Nishimoto says the television show "24” is popular in Japan and wants to know more about it.

"24" is also still very popular in the United States. The show is now in its sixth year on the Fox Television network. Some critics think more Americans will watch the show this season than ever before.

"24" stars Kiefer Sutherland (pictured) as Jack Bauer, an anti-terrorism agent of the United States government. Jack Bauer has fought nuclear threats, suicide bombers and kidnappers who have seized people he loves.

His work has resulted in the death of his wife and the end of his relationship with his daughter. It also places him in danger and in severe pain.

"24" is what is called a concept show. It uses one interesting artistic device. Each episode covers one hour in Jack Bauer’s life. And the episodes are all connected. So a full season of “24” completes one twenty-four hour day.

Early on, some critics thought the twenty-four hour idea would get tiresome. But, the show continues to be popular among critics and viewers.

"24" deals with current issues and often disputed ones as well. For example, the use of torture as a method for gaining information is a major subject on the show. Other subjects are religious freedom and constitutional rights in the United States. And almost every episode includes some kind of disloyalty or violating a trust.

Imagine Television, Real Time Productions and Fox Television jointly produce "24." The show has received many honors, including an Emmy award last year for Outstanding Drama Series. Keifer Sutherland also received a two thousand six Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He had been nominated every year since the show began.

Here is a tense moment from "24":

ANNOUNCER: "The following takes place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m."

MILO PRESSMAN: "[Phone rings.] Pressman."

JACK BAUER: "They've dumped the car. They must have switched vehicles."

MILO PRESSMAN: "From the underpass they could've merged directly onto any one of six local roads or highways. There's just no way of tracking them without knowing exactly which vehicle they're in."

JACK BAUER: "Damn it, Milo. They could be anywhere. Just find them and get back to me."

Norah Jones' New Album

Jazz and pop singer Norah Jones is the top-selling female artist of the twenty-first century. She has sold more than thirty million records around the world. Now the twenty-seven-year-old singer has released her third album, called "Not Too Late." Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Norah Jones has a voice and singing style that is all her own. It is warm and emotional. Her first two albums were extremely popular. "Come Away With Me" was released in two thousand two. It sold ten million copies in the United States alone. Her second album, "Feels Like Home," was released two years later. Both albums include beautiful songs about love and relationships. Jones or members of her band wrote a few of the songs.

Norah Jones' third album, "Not Too Late," is different from her first two. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album. The songs are sadder and more serious. This one is called "Thinking About You." It is about ending a relationship.

(MUSIC)

"Not Too Late" is also different from Jones' first two albums because it includes songs that make political statements. This song expresses her unhappiness with the results of the presidential election of two thousand four. It is called "My Dear Country."

(MUSIC)

Norah Jones plays piano and guitar on her latest album. She recorded the songs for the album in a studio in her home in New York City. We leave you now with a song from "Not Too Late" that sounds like the music of New Orleans. It is called "Sinkin' Soon."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver, who also was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

And do join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

VOASE0214_The Making of a Nation

14 February 2007

US History: Conflict in Korea Spills Over Into Eisenhower's Presidency
The United States and 20 other United Nations members were providing troops, equipment and medical aid to South Korea.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

(MUSIC)

Today we tell about the Korean War.

VOICE ONE:

President Dwight Eisenhower

The biggest problem facing Dwight Eisenhower when he became president of the United States was the continuing conflict in Korea.

Eisenhower was elected in November nineteen fifty-two. At the time, the United States had been helping South Korea fight North Korea for more than two years. About twenty other members of the United Nations were helping South Korea, too. They provided troops, equipment, and medical aid.

VOICE TWO:

During the last days of the American presidential election campaign, Eisenhower announced that he would go to Korea. He thought such a trip would help end the war. Eisenhower kept his promise. He went to Korea after he won the election, but before he was sworn-in as president. Yet there was no permanent peace in Korea until July of the next year, nineteen fifty-three.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The war started when North Korean troops invaded South Korea. Both sides believed they should control all of the country.

The dream of a united Korea was a powerful one.

From nineteen-ten until World War Two, Japan ruled Korea. In an agreement at the end of the war, Soviet troops occupied the North. They accepted the surrender of Japanese troops and set up a military government. American troops did the same in the South. The border dividing north and south was the geographic line known as the thirty-eighth parallel.

VOICE TWO:

A few years later, the United Nations General Assembly ordered free elections for all of Korea. With U.N. help, the South established the Republic of Korea. Syngman Rhee was elected the first president.

On the other side of the thirty-eighth parallel, however, the Soviets refused to permit U.N. election officials to enter the North. They established a communist government there, called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Il-sung was named premier.

VOICE ONE:

Five years after the end of World War Two, the United States had withdrawn almost all its troops from South Korea. It was not clear if America would defend the South from attack. South Korea had an army. But it was smaller and less powerful than the North Korean army.

North Korea decided the time was right to invade. On June twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty, North Korean soldiers crossed the thirty-eighth parallel.

The U.N. Security Council demanded that they go back. Two days later, it approved military support for South Korea. The Soviet delegate had boycotted the meeting that day. If he had been present, the resolution would have been defeated.

VOICE TWO:

The U.N. demand did not stop the North Korean troops. They continued to push south. In a week, they were on the edge of the capital, Seoul.

America's president at that time, Harry Truman, ordered air and sea support for South Korea. A few days later, he announced that American ground forces would be sent, too. Truman wanted an American to command U.N. troops in Korea. The U.N. approved his choice: General Douglas MacArthur.

VOICE ONE:

Week after week, more U.N. forces arrived. Yet by August, they had been pushed back to the Pusan perimeter. This was a battle line around an area near the port city of Pusan in the southeast corner of Korea.

North Korean forces tried to break through the Pusan perimeter. They began a major attack August sixth. They lost many men, however. By the end of the month, they withdrew.

VOICE TWO:

The next month, general MacArthur directed a surprise landing of troops in South Korea. They arrived at the port of Inchon on the northwest coast.

The landing was extremely dangerous. The daily change in the level of the sea was as much as nine meters. The boats had to get close to shore and land at high tide. If they waited too long, the water level would drop, and they would be trapped in the mud with little protection. The soldiers on the boats would be easy targets.

VOICE ONE:

American troops storming the beach at Inchon on September 15, 1950

The landing at Inchon was successful. The additional troops quickly divided the North Korean forces, which had been stretched from north to south. At the same time, UN air and sea power destroyed the northern army's lines of communication.

On October first, South Korean troops moved into North Korea. They captured the capital, Pyongyang. Then they moved toward the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. China warned against moving closer to the border. General MacArthur ordered the troops to continue their attacks. He repeatedly said he did not believe that China would enter the war in force.

VOICE TWO:

He was wrong. Several hundred thousand Chinese soldiers crossed into North Korea in October and November. Still, General MacArthur thought the war would be over by the Christmas holiday, December twenty-fifth.

This was not to happen. The U.N. troops were forced to withdraw from Pyongyang. And, by the day before Christmas, there had been a huge withdrawal by sea from the coastal city of Hungnam.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In the first days of nineteen fifty-one, the North Koreans recaptured Seoul. The U.N. troops withdrew about forty kilometers south of the city. They reorganized and, two months later, took control of Seoul again.

Then the war changed. The two sides began fighting along a line north of the thirty-eighth parallel. They exchanged control of the same territory over and over again. Men were dying, but no one was winning. The cost in lives was huge.

VOICE TWO:

General MacArthur had wanted to cross into China and drop bombs on Manchuria. He also had wanted to use Nationalist Chinese troops against the communists.

President Truman feared that these actions might start another world war. He would not take this chance. When MacArthur disagreed with his policies in public, Truman dismissed him.

VOICE ONE:

In June, nineteen fifty-one, the Soviet delegate to the United Nations proposed a ceasefire for Korea. Peace talks began, first at Kaesong, then at Panmunjom. By November, hope was strong for a settlement. But negotiators could not agree about several issues, including the return of prisoners. The U.N. demanded that prisoners of war be permitted to choose if they wanted to go home.

The different issues could not be resolved after more than a year. Finally, in October nineteen fifty-two, the peace talks were suspended.

VOICE TWO:

Fighting continued during the negotiations. As it did, President Truman lost support. This was one reason why he decided not to run for re-election. The new president, Dwight Eisenhower, took office in January nineteen fifty-three.

Eisenhower had campaigned to end the war. He was willing to use severe measures to do this. Years later, he wrote that he secretly threatened to expand the war and use nuclear weapons if the Soviets did not help restart the peace talks.

VOICE ONE:

Such measures were not necessary. In a few months, North Korea accepted an earlier U.N. offer to trade prisoners who were sick or wounded. The two sides finally signed a peace treaty on July twenty-seventh, nineteen fifty-three.

The treaty provided for the exchange of about ninety thousand prisoners of war. It also permitted prisoners to choose if they wanted to go home.

VOICE TWO:

The war in Korea damaged almost all of the country. As many as two million people may have died, including many civilians.

After the war, the United States provided hundreds of thousands of soldiers to help the South guard against attack from the north.

Half a century has passed since the truce. Yet Korea is still divided. And many of the same issues still threaten the Korean people, and the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

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

VOASE0214_Education Report

14 February 2007

Helping Foreign Students in the US Feel at Home
A college's international student office is a good place to start getting to know the country. Part 24 of our Foreign Student Series.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A college is more than just classrooms and laboratories. It represents a working community with a population that can be greater than that of many towns. And college communities have to deal with many of the same issues and problems as the general society around them.

Indiana University in Bloomington

All this can be a little scary, especially if a student is new not only to a college but also to the country. This week in our Foreign Student Series, the subject is college support services for students who come to the United States.

The school we have chosen for our example this week is Indiana University in Bloomington. About ten percent of its almost forty thousand students are from other countries.

The Office of International Services at Indiana University provides assistance to foreign students and scholars. For example, the office organizes a special week-long conference for new foreign students before the start of each semester.

The conference is called the New International Student Orientation. It provides information about classes, social clubs and health services. New foreign students also take placement examinations and a required English language test.

Also, the office of international student services organizes programs to help foreign students feel more at home in the United States. For example, the office works with a group called Bloomington Worldwide Friendship. This group helps international students at the university meet and get to know people who live in Bloomington.

The university also has advisers who explain the rules of student life and try to help international students feel at ease.

Most American colleges and universities have a similar office for students from other countries. These offices can help guide students through the steps to come to the United States. Later, they can provide support so the students become involved in school life and make American friends.

The job is not always easy when students want to spend their free time with friends from their own country or group. But an international student office is one of the best places to start getting to know a new country and its people.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is available on the Internet -- with MP3 files and transcripts -- at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.

VOASE0213_Health Report

13 February 2007

Study Warns of Heart Disease Danger From Dirty Air
Some experts say findings from 65,000 American women show that current pollution limits may not be strong enough.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

A woman wears a face mask to protect her from polluted air in Lanzhou, China, in December

A new study shows that air pollution may be more of a risk for heart disease than scientists have thought. The research involved more than sixty-five thousand women in the United States.

Kristin Miller, a doctoral student at the University of Washington in Seattle, was the lead author of the study. She says the study showed that disease risk was related not just to which city a woman lived in, but also where in the city.

The study found that estimates of the effects of air pollution were often larger within cities than between cities. Yet averages between cities have served as the main measure of the long-term effects of pollutants.

The new findings lead some experts to suggest that current pollution limits may not be strong enough.

The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. The scientists examined rates of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular events in women with long-term exposure to air pollution. The cardiovascular system is the heart and all of the passages that carry blood throughout the body.

The study involved women over the age of fifty who had no sign of cardiovascular disease at the start of the research. The study followed the women for as long as nine years to see how many developed cardiovascular problems.

The researchers used information from a government project, the Women's Health Initiative.

The researchers also examined levels of fine particles in the air in thirty-six areas across the country. That information came from the Environmental Protection Agency. The extremely small particles come from industrial smoke and traffic along with things like wood-burning fireplaces in houses.

In the study, every ten-microgram increase in pollution was linked to a twenty-four percent increase in the risk of a cardiovascular event. But it was related to a seventy-six percent increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

But just how do particles in the air damage the cardiovascular system? Douglas Dockery and Peter Stone at Harvard University in Massachusetts offer some theories in a related report. They say the particles may cause the lungs to swell and release chemicals from the pollutants into the blood. The chemicals then could damage the heart.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOASE0213_Explorations

13 February 2007

Press Freedom: Is It Alive and Well in the World?
Last year was the deadliest year for reporters in more than ten years.

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about freedom of the press around the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Reporters in Harare, Zimbabwe, march last year as part of World Press Freedom Day

In a perfect democracy, the news media serve as an independent observer of government and society. Without the media, citizens would remain uninformed about public officials and their behavior. However, in many countries, corrupt individuals and groups repress, jail or even kill journalists who report information about the misuse of political power.

In nineteen forty-eight, the United Nations approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One part of it says everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression and to hold opinions without interference. Also included is the freedom to seek, receive and share information and ideas through any media, including across national borders.

VOICE TWO:

Reporters Without Borders studies press freedom around the world and releases a report every December. The group said last year was the most dangerous year for reporters in more than ten years. Two thousand six had the highest number of deaths of reporters in one year since nineteen ninety-four. Reporters Without Borders said eighty-one journalists were killed for reasons related to their jobs. At least thirty-two media assistants were killed while performing their jobs or expressing their opinion. Fifty-six journalists were kidnapped during the year.

VOICE ONE:

An Iraqi reporter walks past a wall of photos honoring Iraqi journalists who have lost their lives in the war

Iraq was the world's most dangerous country for the media for the fourth straight year. Sixty-four journalists and media assistants were killed there last year. The second most dangerous country for the media was Mexico. Nine journalists were killed there last year while reporting stories about the drug trade and social violence. The Philippines was third on the list with six journalists killed. Reporters Without Borders also noted attacks on journalists in Russia, Turkmenistan, Lebanon and Bangladesh. It said thirty Internet Web writers were arrested and held for several weeks in countries including China, Syria and Iran.

VOICE TWO:

Vincent Brossel works for Reporters Without Borders. He told VOA that one very important story did not get enough attention -- the shooting death of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Politkovskaya worked for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. She was well known for her reporting on Chechnya. She was also an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies in the rebellious Russian territory. A report by Politkovskaya on torture in Chechnya was to be published just two days before her murder in Moscow in October.

A mourner holds a picture of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya during a gathering in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin in November

Mister Brossel accused Mister Putin of not doing enough to punish Politkovskaya’s killers. Mister Brossel also noted that twenty-one other journalists have been killed since President Putin has been in power in Russia. And he said those responsible have not been put in jail.

VOICE ONE:

Journalists around the world face many risks while trying to do their jobs. Independent reporter Madi Ceesay says Gambia is one of the worst nations in Africa for the press. Mister Ceesay was arrested and jailed in two thousand and two thousand six in his native Gambia. He said his arrest sent a message of fear to other Gambian reporters. He told VOA that Gambian officials consider independent journalists linked to political enemies instead of voices for the oppressed. Mister Ceesay was in the United States recently to receive a Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Christopher Simpson is a journalism professor at American University in Washington, D.C. He told VOA that the United States is generally safe for journalists. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution includes the statement that Congress shall make no laws that reduce or limit freedom of speech or freedom of the press.

Experts say that in a democracy like the United States, the press has two jobs. One job is to inform the public. The other is to observe and investigate government activities. This relationship between the government and the press can be difficult or even hostile at times. Issues of national security often cause increased tensions between the media and government.

VOICE ONE:

Modern technology has changed the way journalists cover the news. Information now spreads quickly because of the Internet computer system and satellite television. As a result, public opinion has changed about what news is and how reporters do their jobs.

Jim Van Nostrand is an editor for McClatchy Interactive. It is part of the McClatchy Company, one of the top newspaper businesses in the United States. Mister Van Nostrand says the old newspaper model provided only one-way communication. The newspaper printed a story and the people read it. Now, people can play a part in the reporting process. The power of the Internet is changing the way newspapers deliver their product and their relationship with readers. With the Internet, people can get news immediately. They can send comments and questions. They can help a news organization shape the way it reports the news.

VOICE TWO:

But modern technology has also created problems for the news industry. In recent years, the number of newspapers sold in the United States has been dropping by as much as two percent every year. More and more people are getting information from the Internet. Print news organizations, especially newspapers, are seeing their profits drop and their readership disappear. Most people either love or hate how technology is changing the news industry. Yet experts agree these changes have helped strengthen freedom, democracy and human rights. This is because societies now have more information to consider.

VOICE ONE:

Jeffrey Dvorkin is with the Committee of Concerned Journalists. He told VOA that governments sometimes change policies because of news on the Internet. For example, in two thousand five, a video on the Internet showed police abusing an ethnic Chinese woman detained in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The incident had an international effect. Malaysia’s home minister launched an investigation after China expressed concern.

VOICE TWO:

Some experts say the spread of information over the Internet and by satellite television has also helped strengthen human rights movements. Professor Simpson told VOA that non-governmental groups are collecting and broadcasting information about people’s lives to show extreme poverty and police abuse.

Some experts believe this is why the Internet is restricted in places like China, and repressive governments ban satellite television. Still, new satellite television stations in several countries show that the world is ready for more news and information. Professor Simpson says the expansion of information helps increase democracy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Satellite television and other modern technology to send information cost a lot of money. This is one reason why media ownership has changed in the United States. More and more news organizations are coming under the control of a small group of huge mass media companies.

Fifty years ago, many American newspapers and broadcast stations were owned by local companies. This is no longer the case, said Jeffrey Dvorkin of the Committee of Concerned Journalists. Now, five large corporations own most of the news media in the United States. And, he said the corporations are under continuous pressure to guarantee large profits to their shareholders.

VOICE TWO:

The news industry, like any other, must aim to make profits. But, Mister Dvorkin questioned whether this push for greater profitability in the news industry has affected the quality of journalism. Technology has provided more choices of where to get news. But, Mister Dvorkin noted there are also fewer independent organizations doing independent reporting than ever before.

He also said the news media are special because they have an important responsibility in a democracy. He said journalism should inform people about issues that concern them as citizens of their community, their country and the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. You can find our reports on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

VOASE0212_Science In the News

12 February 2007

From Asia to Europe to Africa, Trying to Stop the Spread of Deadly Bird Flu
First in a series of special reports about avian influenza and what people can do to protect themselves and their families.

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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

A chicken trader holds up a bird to be sold at a market in Lagos, Nigeria

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today we begin a series of reports about the disease bird flu. The series will examine how quickly the disease has spread. It will also tell what is being done to stop the spread and how people can protect themselves and their families from bird flu.

从今天开始，我们将带来一个有关禽流感的系列报道。这个系列将会探讨禽流感是如何快速传播，我们如何阻止这种传播以及人类该如何保护自己和他们的家人免受这种疾病的困扰。

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The disease bird flu has killed people in at least ten countries since two thousand three. The United Nations World Health Organization confirmed one hundred sixty-five human deaths by the end of January.

禽流感自2003年以来已经在超过10个国家至人死亡。联合国世界卫生组织证实截至2007年1月，有1065人因被传染禽流感死亡。

Earlier this month, health officials in Britain reported that more than two thousand turkeys had died of bird flu. The officials immediately ordered people to keep at least three kilometers away from the turkey farm. Workers destroyed more than one hundred thousand healthy birds as a safety measure. There is no evidence that any people became sick with the disease.

本月早些时候，英国卫生官员说有超过2000只火鸡死于禽流感。他们立即要求民众远离事发的火鸡农场，到3公里以外的的地方去。农场工人捕杀了超过100000只健康火鸡，以防万一。暂未发现有人患病。

VOICE TWO:

The new head of the World Health Organization says it will be years until farm birds are safe from bird flu. W.H.O. Director-General Margaret Chan says that, until then, the world must work very hard to keep the disease from infecting many people.

新任世界卫生组织总干事陈冯富珍说，禽鸟不再受禽流感的威胁还需要若干年时间，全世界必须积极共同努力，才能使禽流感不再影响人类。

Wild and farm birds often get a flu virus. Yet they usually are able to carry the virus without getting sick. In nineteen ninety-seven, six people in Hong Kong died of a different kind of bird flu virus. It is called the h-five-n-one virus. The Hong Kong government quickly ordered the killing of all farm birds there. That stopped the spread of h-five-n-one to people in Hong Kong.

野生禽类和家禽经常携带流感病毒。但他们常常能够抵抗病毒而不发病。1997年，6个香港人死于一种特殊的禽流感病毒，就是所说的H5N1型禽流感病毒。香港政府很快下令捕杀所有农场内的禽鸟。这样才阻止了H5N1型禽流感病毒在香港的广泛传播。

Yet the virus had already spread to other parts of Asia. It was found in sixteen countries between two thousand three and two thousand six.

但这种病毒也很快传到了亚洲的其他地方。有16个国家在2003至2006年发现了此种病毒。

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The h-five-n-one virus first appeared in Africa last year. This raised many concerns about the spread of the disease. Scientists do not know exactly how bird flu came to Africa. At first, they thought wild birds were to blame. Now, officials with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization believe the main cause is trade in farm birds.

H5N1型禽流感病毒于2006年首次出现在非洲。这引起了有关此种病毒传播的广泛关注。科学家不知道禽流感到底是如何带到非洲的。起初，他们认为野生禽类是罪魁祸首。联合国粮食及农业组织的官员相信主要原因在于家禽贸易。

The bird flu virus is found in the waste and liquids of infected birds. The virus spreads when healthy birds or people touch sick birds or any infected part of sick birds. Right now, the virus is not spreading from person to person. But the virus could change and start spreading among people. Health officials believe that is even more possible now that bird flu has spread to Africa. That is why international organizations are working so hard to stop its spread.

禽流感病毒存在于受感染禽类的排泄物和体液中。当健康的禽类或人碰到患病的禽类或任何被感染的部分，病毒就开始传播。现在，病毒不会在人和人之间传播。但很可能发生变异，在人和人之间传播。卫生官员相信禽流感很有可能已经传到了非洲。这也就是为什么国际组织竭尽全力阻止其传播的原因。

VOICE TWO:

Nigeria is the first African country where bird flu was reported. Scientists have learned that the virus came into the country on chickens imported from China. Now bird flu has been found in farm birds in seven other African countries. They are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Niger and Sudan. By the end of January, twelve people had died of the disease in Africa.

尼日利亚是第一个报道有禽流感的非洲国家。科学家了解到病毒是从中国进口的活鸡中带来的。现在禽流感已经在其他7个非洲国家的家禽中发现。他们是布基纳法索国，喀麦隆，吉布提，埃及，象牙海岸，尼日尔和苏丹。到2007年1月，非洲有12人死于禽流感。

Health officials believe bird flu could be an even bigger problem in Africa than it has been in Asia. In Africa, many people are already suffering from serious diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. There is not enough money to fight these diseases. There is even less money to fight a disease like bird flu, which has yet to kill many people. People are more likely to get a disease like bird flu if they are sick or weak from hunger. Both of these conditions are problems in many African countries.

VOICE ONE:

Stopping the spread of bird flu is most successful when action is taken quickly. But the signs of bird flu are like many other diseases. So there could be many cases of bird flu, in birds or in people, before health care workers learn about it and are able to take action.

Africa does not have enough laboratories that can confirm an H-five-N-one bird flu infection. There are also not enough hospitals to take care of patients who have bird flu. And, there are not enough animal health care systems to control the disease among farm birds.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Bird flu causes both health and financial problems. In Asia and Africa, most of the cases have been found on small farms or among families who keep chickens. These birds often come into people's homes and share spaces where children play. The chickens often mix freely with wild birds.

The best way to stop the spread of bird flu is to kill all the chickens in an area where bird flu has been discovered. More than four hundred fifty thousand chickens have been killed in Nigeria since bird flu was first found one year ago.

VOICE ONE:

In many countries, small farms provide food and even money for the education of children. The city of Jos, Nigeria, supports two thousand farmers who sell eggs all over the country. A man named Pius Ilonah lost seven thousand chickens when bird flu infection was discovered in a farm near his. "We do not have any savings or earn money now," says Mister Ilonah.

Two of his children are in high school. Two others are university students. But Mister Ilonah says there is no more money to keep them in school. Nigeria is attempting to organize a program to replace chickens as soon as the disease has stopped spreading.

VOICE TWO:

The story is similar in Niger. Nana Aicha raises chickens to sell in Nigeria. She buys grain with the money she earns to feed her children. One day, traders from Nigeria brought bird flu virus to the border on their clothes or vehicles. People and chickens returned to Niger after the day of trading. They already had been infected with the disease.

Miz Aicha says she lost everything because the chickens and ducks died or government workers killed them. "Today," she says, "I will feed my five children and myself with millet, rice, some milk, salt and peppers."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Indonesia has the most human deaths from the h-five-n-one virus. Eighty-one people had been infected with bird flu by the end of January. More than sixty of them died. That is more than in any other country. A twenty-six year old woman from West Java was the most recent victim. Indonesian officials said she had been involved in killing sick chickens.

Countries in Africa are using many ways to inform people about bird flu and stop its spread. Nigeria continues to give children medicine to protect against the disease polio. When health care workers visit homes, they are also talking about bird flu. Benin plans to spend more than five million dollars to pay chicken farmers if their chickens are killed because of bird flu.

Angola, Congo, Kenya and other countries have banned the import of live birds and eggs from areas infected with bird flu. In Ivory Coast, the government has a program to clean vehicles and airplanes that travel through infected areas. Mali has programs to study the large numbers of wild birds that fly along the Niger and Senegal Rivers. In Togo, groups are investigating deaths of farm birds that cannot be easily explained.

VOICE TWO:

By the end of January, eleven people had died of bird flu in Egypt. Infected birds have been found in twenty-three of the country's twenty-six governates. A fifteen-year old girl and two members of her family died in December two thousand six. They all lived in the same house where birds were being raised. All three people who died had been cleaning and killing infected ducks.

Most of the people who died in Egypt were raising birds in their homes, not on large farms. Almost thirty-percent of the population there raises birds near their homes. Farm birds bring in thirteen-percent of their earnings. Up to thirty million farm birds all over Egypt have been killed. That represents a loss of one billion dollars to the chicken industry.

The Egyptian government is training health care workers and others to help stop the spread of bird flu. The government operates centers for people to call with questions about bird flu. More than one hundred thirty thousand calls were received in the first week after the disease was first reported in Egypt.

VOICE ONE:

Local governments and international organizations are working hard to answer questions about bird flu and stop its spread. We will hear more about these efforts next month in the second part of this series.

((THEME))

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Karen Leggett. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week at this time for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

中文翻译由Tony Lee提供 PoEnglish感谢致敬！

VOASE0212_Agriculture Report

12 February 2007

Raising Goats for Their Hair
Into the world of cashmere and mohair.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Goats are raised not just for their milk and meat, and their ability to control weeds and help renew grasslands. They can also be valuable for their hair.

Cashmere comes from cashmere goats and angora fiber comes from Angora -- rabbits. Mohair comes from Angora goats.

Angora goats in Maine

Mohair is used in sweaters, scarves, coats and other clothing, along with floor rugs and carpets and things like doll hair.

An adult Angora can produce as much as seven kilograms of hair each year. As the goats grow older, however, their hair becomes thicker and less valuable. Hair from white or solid-colored goats is the most popular, but the appeal of mixed-color mohair has grown in recent years.

The United States is one of the main producers of mohair, and exports most of its production.

Angora goats are also popular show animals. They are considered friendly and require little special care. The animals need milk from their mothers for three or four months. They reach full maturity when they are a little more than two years old. But even then they are smaller than most sheep and milk goats.

Cashmere goats are usually larger than Angoras. The Breezy Meadow Cashmere Farm in Bellingham, Washington, says cashmere goats are big enough to be kept with sheep and cattle.

The outer hair of the animal is called guard hair. Behind it is the valuable material on a cashmere goat. Cashmere is valued for its softness and warmth without much weight.

Some farmers comb their cashmere goats to remove the hair. But if the animals do get a haircut, it often takes place at the time when they naturally lose their winter coat -- between December and March.

Angora goats generally get their hair cut two times a year, in the spring and fall. The job can be done with simple cutting tools or by hiring a professional shearer. Angoras may need special protection from the cold for about a month after shearing.

The value of an animal's coat depends on the age, size and condition. But whatever kind of goat you choose, be sure to have a good fence. Goats love to explore.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts and audio files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. If you have a question about agriculture, send it to special@voanews.com. We cannot answer mail personally, but we might be able to answer your question in a future report. So please be sure to include your name and country. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0211_This Is America

11 February 2007

Young, Strong-Willed, a Revolutionary. Meet George Washington
Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Virginia, and his image get a new look in an effort to increase their appeal, especially to young people.

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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. George Washington won the Revolutionary War and was the first president of the United States. But can the man known as the father of his country still command attention?

VOICE ONE:

George Washington's home at Mount Vernon

This week on our program, we take you to a place where a lot of money has just been invested to make sure the answer is yes. That place is George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens in Virginia.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

George Washington lived in a number of homes as a boy and young man. But he spent most of his life at Mount Vernon, twenty-four kilometers to the south of the city of Washington.

He helped choose where to build the new capital city and the White House. Yet George Washington is the only president who never lived in the White House -- it was completed after he left office. When he was president, New York City and, after that, Philadelphia served as the nation's capital.

VOICE ONE:

1850 portrait by Rembrandt Peale

George Washington was born two hundred seventy-five years ago. His birthday is celebrated every year at his home and burial place at Mount Vernon.

The public is invited onto the grounds free of charge next Monday for ceremonies including military performances. The honor is fitting for a man who loved music and was the commander of the Continental Army.

Washington's birthday became a federal holiday in eighteen eighty-five, long after his death. Today the holiday is observed on the third Monday in February and is commonly called Presidents Day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Entering Mount Vernon is like stepping back into the eighteenth century. It still looks much like when George Washington lived there with his wife, Martha.

Sheep still chew grass near the Potomac River. The animals are the same kind that grazed on the property when the Washingtons lived there. Farming also continues at Mount Vernon.

But Mount Vernon has recently gained many up-to-date things to see and do. About one hundred ten million dollars in changes have been made over the past several years.

The new look was in reaction to concerns among the operators and supporters of Mount Vernon. They wondered especially if a visit there met the needs of today's young people.

So the group that operates Mount Vernon used private donations to add two buildings and many new exhibits and films. The new buildings are the Ford Orientation Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. They were built mostly below ground. They opened last October.

VOICE ONE:

Many Americans have an image of George Washington as a very serious older man. Artworks generally present him that way. But the additions to Mount Vernon present a younger and livelier George Washington.

A million visitors a year come through Mount Vernon, often with school groups. Wayne Howland has worked as a volunteer providing information to the public at Mount Vernon for many years. He says it will be interesting to see if the new additions make George Washington more meaningful to visiting students.

VOICE TWO:

Visitors to the orientation Center are welcomed by a statue of George and Martha Washington, holding hands with two grandchildren. The entrance area is light and airy in the winter sunshine. Colorful glass windows present important times in Washington's life.

Films are shown in two theaters. In one movie, television personality Pat Sajak talks about what to see and do at Mount Vernon. He also introduces a film called "We Fight to Be Free."

VOICE ONE:

It presents George Washington as a young and strong-willed revolutionary. He commands the army of the American colonies. He unites men, some of them half-starved and shoeless, to fight for freedom from British rule.

We also see him meeting his future wife, Martha Custis. Her first husband had died, leaving her with two children.

VOICE TWO:

After the film, we walk over cobblestone paths to the main house at Mount Vernon. Guides describe what daily life was like in the long, white home on a hill overlooking the Potomac River.

As we look out from the back of the house, the Potomac shines blue in the winter sun. No boats are out on the icy river. The home seems to rest on the hill in perfect stillness.

VOICE ONE:

The main house is three floors high. George Washington was responsible for much of the design. His office contains many of his books. This is where Washington planned the activities of the farms on his land.

George Washington owned African slaves, as did many other people. But even at that time, there was great debate about slavery. Washington ordered that his slaves be freed after he and his wife died. In his will, he left instructions for the care and education of some of his former slaves, and support and training for the children.

At the time of his death, Washington had more than three hundred slaves. They provided much of the labor at Mount Vernon. Most were field workers, sixty percent of them women. The workday lasted from sunup to sundown, six days a week.

Mount Vernon has a gallery that deals with the slavery issue and a monument that honors the slaves.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

George and Martha Washington often invited friends for meals in the dining room at Mount Vernon. The Washingtons also provided sleeping rooms and food for travelers. Very few hotels existed then. So George and Martha Washington offered a place to stay for more than six hundred visitors a year.

VOICE ONE:

After visiting the main house, we stop at the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. Here we meet a life-size George Washington made of wax. He is riding his horse, Blueskin.

A movie in the Reynolds Center tells us about his major battles. Our seats shake as cannons fire and smoke rises. White particles fall from above. "Snow!" calls out a child in the audience.

VOICE TWO:

The museum shows about five hundred objects from the Mount Vernon estate, the Revolutionary War and Washington's presidency. Through exhibits and films, we learn about George Washington as a soldier and statesman, but also as a young boy, a land surveyor and a woodsman.

Visitors crowd around a glass container. It holds Washington's false teeth. They were made of hippopotamus ivory and human teeth. When he became president, he had only one of his own teeth left in his mouth.

VOICE ONE:

Another popular exhibit is called "hands-on history." Bitsy Unkle works at Mount Vernon. She explains the children's clothing and toys in this room. She points to dolls made of cloth, and describes how children learning to read shaped the dolls into letters.

(SOUND)

BITSY UNKLE: "This is how children took these -- it's like a little rag doll. They have to form the alphabet, and that's how children learned their letters in the eighteenth century."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

After his victory in the Revolutionary War, some people wanted George Washington to be president for life. Or even king. But Washington said Americans had fought for freedom from such rulers.

He was elected president two times and served from seventeen eighty-nine to seventeen ninety-seven. He was offered a third term, but he refused. He wanted to return to the life he had led at Mount Vernon before the war.

VOICE ONE:

Yet George Washington did not get to enjoy a long retirement at Mount Vernon. He died there in seventeen ninety-nine. Modern doctors believe he died of a severe infection. He was sixty-seven years old.

He and his wife are buried at Mount Vernon. After Martha Washington died, Mount Vernon was given to other family members. By the eighteen fifties, the person who owned it did not have enough money to keep it in good condition. He offered to sell Mount Vernon to Virginia or to the federal government. Both said no.

So the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association collected money. The group bought the property and has operated George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens to this day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can find our program, along with a link to the Mount Vernon Web site, at voaspecialenglish.com. And we hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0211_Development Report

11 February 2007

Filter for Arsenic-Polluted Water in Bangladesh Pays Off for Chemist
Abul Hussam, a professor in Virginia, wins $1 million Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability for his Sono treatment system.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Every day, millions of people around the world drink water from wells that are polluted with high levels of arsenic. Arsenic is an element that can be released into groundwater by soil and rocks. Over a long period of time, water from poisoned wells may lead to deadly cancers.

Chemist Abul Hussam has developed a home treatment system for drinking water in his native Bangladesh. Almost all arsenic is removed as water passes through two containers. They hold river sand, pieces of iron and wood charcoal.

Sono filter system is manufactured in his hometown of Kushtia, where he also did much of his research. He tells us that his first task was to develop instruments to measure the exact amounts of arsenic in the water.

Early tests on two wells at the home where he lived as a child found arsenic levels three to four times higher than normal. As a chemist, he felt that if he could not solve what he calls the "home problem," then his education would not be very useful.

His ten-year effort to find the right mix of active materials for the Sono filter system has just earned him a one million dollar prize. Abul Hussam is the top winner of the two thousand seven Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability. The prize is administered by the National Academy of Engineering in the United States.

Abul Hussam is a chemistry professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He says he will give five percent of the money to the university. And he plans to use twenty-five percent of the award to develop smaller filters. Currently the system weighs almost sixty kilograms.

But Professor Hussam says he will use the remaining money to increase production of the filters in Kushtia. One hundred workers currently produce about two hundred filters a week.

About thirty thousand homes in Bangladesh are using the system. It costs families thirty-five dollars. But Professor Hussam says the filters are extremely cost effective compared to the price of bottled water.

He says each system is guaranteed to clean about one million liters of drinking water over five years. In theory, though, he says they should last around thirty-five years.

He is now seeking international patent rights for the active materials in the system -- and he hopes to increase their power. Abul Hussam says he also hopes that someday the Sono arsenic removal system will be available around the world.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0210_People In America

10 February 2007

Rachel Carson, 1907-1964: Her Books Helped Launch the Environmental Protection Movement in the U.S.
Her book, "Silent Spring," led the U.S. to ban DDT.

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ANNOUNCER: People America, a program in Special English on the Voice of America. Today, Steve Ember and Rich Kleinfeldt tell about scientist Rachel Carson. Her work started the environmental protection movement in the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson was born on May twenty-seventh, nineteen-oh-seven in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Rachel’s father, Robert Carson, was a salesman who invested in local land. He purchased twenty-six hectares of land to make a home for his family. The area was surrounded by fields, trees and streams. The Carson family enjoyed living in the beautiful, country environment.

Rachel’s mother, Maria Carson, had been a schoolteacher. She loved books. She also loved nature. Rachel was the youngest of three children. Her sister and brother were already in school when she was born. So Missus Carson was able to spend a lot of time with Rachel. She showed Rachel the beauty of nature. She also taught Rachel a deep love for books. Missus Carson became the most important influence on Rachel’s life.

VOICE TWO:

Rachel was a quiet child. She liked to read and to write poems and stories. She was very intelligent. At a very early age she decided she wanted to be a writer someday. Her first published story appeared in a children’s magazine when she was ten years old.

Rachel went to the Pennsylvania College for Women. She studied English because she wanted to become a professional writer. Yet, she felt she did not have the imagination to write creative stories. She changed her area of study from English to science after she took a biology course that she liked. Her professors advised her not to study science. They said there was no future for a woman in science.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen twenty-nine, Rachel graduated from college with high honors. She won a financial award to study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. In nineteen thirty-two, she earned a master’s degree in zoology, the scientific study of animals. She taught zoology at the University of Maryland for a few years. During the summers, she studied the ocean and its life forms at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. That is when she became interested in the mysteries of the sea.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Rachel’s life changed greatly in the middle nineteen thirties. Her father died suddenly in nineteen thirty-five. He left very little financial support for Rachel’s mother. It was during the economic decline in the United States called the Great Depression. Rachel now had to support her mother and herself. She needed more money than her teaching job could provide. She began part-time work for a federal government agency, the Bureau of Fisheries in Washington, D.C.

One year later, Rachel’s sister died. Her sister was the mother of two young girls. Rachel and her mother cared for the girls. Rachel now had to support her mother, two nieces and herself. Again, she needed a job with better pay.

VOICE ONE:

A full time job for a biologist opened at the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Rachel Carson was the only woman to try for the position. She had the highest score of all the people competing for the job.

Miz Carson got the position in August, nineteen thirty-six. She was chosen to work in the office of the chief of the biology division.

Her first job was to write a series of programs called “Romance Under the Waters.” The series was broadcast on radio for a year. She continued to write and edit publications for the Bureau of Fisheries for many years. The bureau was happy to have a scientist who was also an excellent writer. Rachel Carson provided information to the public in interesting and understandable ways.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen forty, the United States Bureau of Fisheries and the Biological Survey joined to become the Fish and Wildlife Service. Miz Carson continued as one of the few women employed there as a scientist. The other women worked as office assistants.

While she was working for the government, Miz Carson wrote at night and on weekends. In nineteen thirty-seven she wrote a report about sea life. It was called Undersea. It appeared in the magazine, Atlantic Monthly. An editor at a publishing house encouraged her to write a book about the sea for the general public. So she did. Her first book, "Under the Sea Wind," was published in nineteen forty-one.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen forty-eight, Miz Carson began working on another book, "The Sea Around Us." It became her first best-selling book.

Rachel Carson always researched carefully when she wrote. She gathered information from more than one thousand places to write "The Sea Around Us." She also wrote letters to experts all over the world.

"The Sea Around Us" was published in nineteen fifty-one. It was number one on the best-seller list for more than a year. It won the National Book Award. "The Sea Around Us" made Rachel Carson famous. The money the book earned eased her financial responsibilities for the first time in years.

In nineteen fifty-two, Miz Carson was able to leave her job at the Fish and Wildlife Service and spend her time writing. Miz Carson moved to a home on the coast of Maine. There she studied the ecology of the sea. Her next book, "The Edge of the Sea," was published in nineteen fifty-five. It told of the connection of all living creatures in areas where land and ocean meet.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Rachel Carson’s most famous book, "Silent Spring" was published in nineteen sixty-two. The idea for the book developed from a suggestion from a friend. Rachel’s friend owned a protected area for birds. An airplane had flown over the area where the birds were kept and spread a powerful chemical called DDT. It was part of a project to control mosquitoes. Many songbirds and harmless insects were killed by the DDT.

Miz Carson and other scientists were very concerned about the harmful effects of DDT and other insect-killing chemicals called pesticides. After World War Two, these poisonous chemicals were widely used to control insects. Pesticides were sprayed almost everywhere including agricultural fields and communities. DDT and other pesticides had become popular with the public and the government because they were so effective. Manufacturing these chemicals had become a huge industry.

VOICE ONE:

Rachel Carson tried to get many magazines interested in publishing a report about the subject. However, none would agree to publish anything about such a disputed subject. They said no one wanted to hear that industrial companies could cause great ecological damage.

Miz Carson believed the public needed to know about this important issue. She decided to write a book about it. She collected facts from experts from all over the world. She gathered studies that showed the harmful effects of DDT, including declining bird populations and increased human cancers.

In her book "Silent Spring," Miz Carson questioned the right of industrial companies to pollute without considering the effects on the environment. Miz Carson argued that this kind of pollution would result in ever-decreasing populations of birds and other wildlife. She said this would lead to the loss of the wonderful sounds of nature. The chemical poisoning of the environment, she said, would cause a silent spring.

VOICE TWO:

The chemical industry felt threatened. Industry spokesmen and other critics said the book was non-scientific and emotional. They misunderstood the message of the book. Miz Carson did not suggest that all pesticides be banned. She urged that control of these substances be given to biologists who could make informed decisions about the risks involved.

Support for the book increased. By the end of nineteen sixty-two, there were more than forty bills in state legislatures proposing to control pesticides. Finally, in November, nineteen sixty-nine, the United States government ruled that the use of DDT must stop in two years.

Rachel Carson did not live to see how her book influenced the government’s decision to ban DDT. She died of breast cancer in nineteen sixty-four. She was fifty-six years old.

VOICE ONE:

Two memorials honor Rachel Carson. One is the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. The other is the Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale, Pennsylvania, the home she lived in when she was a child. Education programs are offered there that teach children and adults about her environmental values.

Rachel Carson’s voice is alive in her writings that express the wonder and beauty of the natural world. And her worldwide influence continues through the activities of the environmental protection movement she started.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: This Special English program was written by Lawan Davis. It was produced by Paul Thompson. Your announcers were Steve Ember and Rich Kleinfeldt. I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another People in America program on the Voice of America.

VOASE0209_In the News

09 February 2007

Calls for Action Follow UN Report That Human Activity Is 'Very Likely' to Blame for Global Warming
Chirac urges environmental and political revolution; US Congress considers steps; China says developed countries caused the problem and must take the lead.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Last week, a United Nations report said humans are "very likely" the cause of most of the temperature increases in the last fifty years. It said global warming is undeniable, and that the world can expect to feel the effects for centuries to come.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the report in Paris at a conference of climate experts. Representatives of more than one hundred governments agreed on the findings. This is the most detailed scientific report to date on global warming and the influence of fossil-fuel burning and other human activity.

The scientists say there is greater than a ninety percent chance that greenhouse gases are the main cause of rising temperatures and sea levels. The report also links global warming to other changes including increased dryness in some areas and violent storm patterns.

The U.N. panel released its last climate change report six years ago. The scientists say the new report is based on numerous studies done since then, and stronger agreement on global warming.

The new report makes no policy proposals. But the aim is to press governments and industries to cut the release of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for trapping heat.

Some of the scientists wanted to include policy suggestions in the report. Ideas included increased use of renewable energy resources and development of so-called geo-engineering technologies. But most of the scientists at the Paris conference said they believe the immediate goal must be to reduce carbon emissions.

French President Jacques Chirac called for an environmental and political revolution to save the planet.

The White House this week published an open letter on President Bush's position on climate change. The purpose was to show that he has been concerned about the problem since his first year in office. For example, it says that the administration has spent more than nine billion dollars on climate change research.

In the new Democratic-controlled Congress, lawmakers have been holding hearings and proposing bills to deal with global warming.

China is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases after the United States. Experts believe China could become the largest producer as soon as two thousand ten.

But China reacted to the report by saying developed countries are responsible for global warming, and must lead in cutting emissions. China says it lacks the resources to cut its own emissions.

Some people criticized the report, saying the public is being misled about the dangers of climate change. One of those critics, for example, was Bryan Leyland, an energy consultant with the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. He said sun-related effects could fully explain the recent changes. He said people should be more concerned about saving energy and fighting poverty.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Brianna Blake.Transcripts and audio files are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.