VOASE0909_This Is America

09 September 2007

The Secret to Avoiding Summer Crowds in Washington: Wait for Fall
Some things to see on an autumn visit to the nation's capital and beyond.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Visitors to Washington, D.C., in the summer often want to stay inside air-conditioned museums. The cooler days of fall are a good time to explore the outdoors in and around the nation's capital.

VOICE ONE:

Autumn in Washington is our subject this week.

The US Capitol and the fall leaves of a Yoshino cherry tree

(MUSIC)

Imagine that the calendar says it is fall and you have just arrived on a visit to Washington. The leaves on many of the trees have already begun to change color as they prepare to drop to the ground. Soon they will be gold and orange and red.

The summer crowds of visitors have thinned. Children are back in school, parents are back at work. Points of interest will be easier to photograph. There are fewer people to walk in front of your camera.

The weather should be more cooperative, too. Washington can get very hot and sticky in summertime. July and August are usually the warmest months. By October, you may need to wear a light jacket, especially after sunset.

VOICE TWO:

There are tour companies that will take you around the city. Or you can ride public transportation, or rent a car or take taxis. There is plenty you can see just by walking around.

One place that might interest world travelers is the area of the city called Embassy Row. Washington has more than one hundred seventy diplomatic and consular offices. About one-third of them occupy Embassy Row. This area is between two streets named for states in New England: Massachusetts Avenue and Connecticut Avenue.

VOICE ONE:

An embassy usually has two parts. The ambassador lives in the residence while embassy business takes place in the chancery.

Some of the finest embassies are along the part of Embassy Row near Dupont Circle. Six roads come together at the circle. A number of hotels and restaurants are also in this area.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many diplomatic buildings in the capital once were the houses of wealthy Americans. A building that houses the Embassy of Indonesia, for example, was known for many years as the Walsh mansion.

Thomas Walsh had it built more than one hundred years ago as a home for his family. The architect designed the mansion similar to a style popular at the time in Paris.

Thomas Walsh was born in Ireland. He came to the United States at the age of nineteen. He made a lot of money in the state of Colorado. There, he developed and owned one of the richest gold mines in the world.

VOICE ONE:

Walsh’s daughter, Evalyn Walsh McLean, owned the Hope Diamond. She wore the huge jewel even though she had received warnings that it caused terrible things to happen. Some people saw proof of that in the fact that two of her children and her husband died before her.

Many big parties took place among the costly furnishings of the Walsh mansion. Wealthy and famous people visited the beautifully lighted house.

VOICE TWO:

It was a center of Washington society until the nineteen thirties. The house stood unoccupied for a while, then government agencies used it for offices.

During World War Two, the Red Cross made bandages in the house and also used the space to treat soldiers wounded overseas.

In the nineteen fifties, Ali Sastroamidjojo bought the building for Indonesia. He served as the country’s first ambassador to the United States. About thirty years later, the old mansion was connected to a modern building that was added.

Today, some people attend Friday prayers at the Indonesian embassy. The embassy also offers educational courses.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Traveling along Embassy Row, we pass a number of other embassies. One of the largest is the British Embassy. The grounds include two chancery buildings and a residence. The ambassador's home looks like an English country house.

On the embassy grounds a bronze statue of Winston Churchill welcomes visitors and people passing by on the street.

VOICE TWO:

Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister during World War Two. His statue shows him making a V-for-victory sign with one hand. The other hand holds a cane and a cigar.

Churchill stands with one foot on British land at the embassy and the other foot in Washington. This placement calls attention to the fact that his father was British and his mother was American. It also calls attention to the honorary United States citizenship that he was given.

VOICE ONE:

Close to the British Embassy is the United States Naval Observatory. Astronomers use the observatory to study the positions and movements of the Earth, sun, moon and other objects in space.

The people who work at the Naval Observatory must also find time for another responsibility. They keep the Master Clock for the United States.

We see an electronic sign with red numbers near Massachusetts Avenue. The numbers change by the second. What time is it? Time to continue our tour.

VOICE TWO:

Public tours of the Naval Observatory are available but they are limited.

There are several main buildings on the grounds on the Naval Observatory. One of these is a big white house. No, not the house where the president lives. This is the official home of the vice president.

VOICE ONE:

Next, we leave Embassy Row and head for Washington's historic Georgetown neighborhood along the Potomac River. In Georgetown we stop at a mansion that holds the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Dumbarton Oaks is another fine place for an outdoor visit.

In nineteen forty-four, delegates from the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China met at Dumbarton Oaks. World War Two was nearing its end. The purpose of the Dumbarton Oaks Conference was to talk about ways to secure a just and lasting peace in the world.

VOICE TWO:

Meetings took place between August and October of nineteen forty-four. The delegates talked about proposals for an international organization. Those talks led to the United Nations, which was established in nineteen forty-five.

Today, however, it is not the history but the beauty of the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks that captures our attention.

VOICE ONE:

The gardens offer peace in the middle of a busy city. There are flowers and trees along with pools and fountains of water. Something always seems to be in bloom here. Visitors have even seen roses in full flower in December at the start of winter.

Almost all of the sculptures in the garden were made from limestone from the state of Indiana in the Midwest.

Greenery and flowering bushes surround the Ornamental Pool in the gardens. A visitor has to resist the urge to jump in for a swim.

(MUSIC)

The Washinton Monument, near the White House

VOICE TWO:

Washington has many outdoor memorials and monuments around the National Mall area and throughout the city. But if a road trip out into the country interests you, then here is an idea.

One place to enjoy the beauty of nature in autumn is along Skyline Drive in Virginia. The road is about one hundred forty kilometers from Washington, on the other side of the Potomac River. You can rent a car to get there, or go on a tour bus.

The trees are pretty even if they have not yet reached their full colors in the fall. Visitors may see deer walking in the road. Drivers have to be careful not to hit them. There is another reason not to drive too fast. The road is not very wide.

VOICE ONE:

Skyline Drive is in Shenandoah National Park. The park is in the Virginia part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In turn, the Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains. The drive is along the top of the mountains.

Skyline Drive is the only road through Shenandoah. It passes through about one hundred seven kilometers of the park.

The park has about eighty overlooks where you can pull your car off the road and enjoy a view of nature in all its autumn beauty.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. For more programs about American life, go to voaspecialenglish.com, where you can download transcripts and MP3 files. We will also have links if you would like to take a picture tour of the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks or see what the Indonesian embassy looks like. And we hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0908_People In America

08 September 2007

Beverly Sills, 1929-2007: A Beautiful Voice for Opera and the Arts
She was the “Queen of American Opera.”

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Beverly Sills. Her clear soprano voice and lively spirit made her one of the most famous performers in the world of opera. Sills worked hard to make opera an art form that the general public could enjoy. She spent the later part of her career as a strong cultural leader for three major performing arts centers in New York City.

(MUSIC: “Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille”)

VOICE ONE:

That was Beverly Sills performing a song from the opera “The Tales of

Beverly Sills

Hoffman” by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sills is singing the role of Olympia, a female robot who keeps breaking down while singing a series of high notes. This difficult aria gives a good example of the sweet and expressive voice that made Beverly Sills famous.

VOICE TWO:

Beverly Sills was born Belle Silverman in nineteen twenty-nine. Her family lived in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Morris, came from Romania and her mother, Shirley, was Russian. Sills said that her father believed that a person could live the real American dream only with an educated mind. Part of her early education came in the form of listening.

Beverly’s mother played old opera records. The young child learned to sing by repeating the words of the songs. Shirley Silverman pushed Beverly at a young age to become a performer. By the age of four Beverly was singing on a weekly children’s radio program and also making radio advertisements.

(SOUND)

Beverly also had roles in several short movies. By the age of nine, she had a voice teacher, Estelle Liebling, who taught her the art of coloratura. Coloratura is a method of singing in which notes are added to make a part of a song more complex. Most coloratura sopranos can sing very high notes.

VOICE ONE:

Beverly graduated from professional school in nineteen forty-five. She then started singing with traveling opera companies performing the works of such composers as Gilbert and Sullivan. During these ten years she also made guest appearances at opera companies throughout America. She tried seven times to audition and be accepted into the New York City Opera. Finally, in nineteen fifty-five she succeeded. Also that year, Beverly Sills met Peter Greenough while she was performing in Cleveland, Ohio. She married him the next year and moved to Cleveland.

VOICE TWO:

Sills continued singing for the New York City Opera and traveled back and forth to Cleveland. In nineteen fifty-nine she had a daughter named Meredith. Two years later, she had a son, Peter. Beverly Sills and her husband soon learned that their daughter was deaf.

They also found out their son had major developmental problems. He was mentally handicapped and autistic. In nineteen sixty-one, Sills stopped singing to take care of her children during this difficult time. Her daughter slowly learned to go to school and lead a normal life. But her son later had to live in a care center with medical professionals.

VOICE ONE:

In time, Beverly Sills returned to work. Here she talks about how her family’s situation changed her professionally. The recording is part of a two thousand six documentary movie about her life:

BEVERLY SILLS:

“My whole attitude about life is different and naturally it affected my singing. It affected my whole attitude about my career. How can I be affected by a trivial thing that someone will say to me backstage, that perhaps that they did not like my singing? How can I be affected by that? That’s something that’s a million miles from me! I felt that as far as my singing was concerned that the only person I really had to please was me.”

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills’ big break into fame took place in nineteen sixty-six when she performed Cleopatra in Handel’s “Julius Cesar.” Her performances received some of the greatest critical praise of her career. Here is a song from that opera.

(MUSIC: “Se Pieta Di Me Non Senti”)

VOICE TWO:

Two years later Sills received more praise for her role in the French opera “Manon.” One critic wrote that if he had made a list of the wonders of New York City to give a traveler, he would put Beverly Sills as “Manon” at the top of the list. She would even be ahead of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building! Here is Beverly Sills singing the part of Manon.

(MUSIC: “Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins”)

VOICE ONE:

Over the next twenty years Beverly Sills became known as "the queen of American opera." In addition to singing, she often appeared on popular television shows. Audiences liked her because of her laughter and funny jokes. Most American opera singers at the time went to Europe for training and jobs. But Sills learned her art in America and that is where she performed. She limited her visits to foreign countries so she could always be near her children.

VOICE TWO:

Beverly Sills as Lucia in "Lucia Di Lammermoor"

When she did perform internationally, critics highly praised her performances. In nineteen seventy-three she performed Donizetti’s “Lucia de Lammermoor” at Covent Garden in London. Here is the famous mad scene where Lucia becomes wild with sadness over a lost love. It is one of the more difficult songs in opera to sing, but Sills performs the aria beautifully.

(MUSIC: “Il dolce suono ”)

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills retired from singing in nineteen eighty. But she did not leave the opera world. She became director of the New York City Opera. For eight years she worked hard to modernize the City Opera. She also raised millions of dollars to keep it operating. She later held other important positions, including chairwoman of the board of supervisors for New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In two thousand two, she became chairwoman of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House before retiring for good three years later.

Beverly Sills died in two thousand seven of lung cancer. She was seventy-eight. She once said that she had never been a happy woman. But she said she had always been able to feel cheerful because her work kept her going.

We leave you with Beverly Sills singing the role of Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “La Traviata.” In this magical performance you can hear the joyous celebration she found in music.

(MUSIC: “Sempre Libera”)

VOICE TWO:

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

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. You can learn more about famous Americans and download scripts and audio of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

VOASE0909_Development Report

09 September 2007

UNICEF to Work With a Private Group to Fight AIDS
Partnership with Family Health International will provide services to women and children in Guyana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Baby girl infected with HIV in India

UNICEF is joining with a nonprofit group to bring H.I.V./AIDS programs to more women and children in five countries. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, will work with Family Health International. The new partnership will be established at first in Guyana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia.

One of the goals is to improve care for babies infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Another is to prevent the spread of H.I.V. from mother to child.

Activities will depend on the needs of each country. In some cases, anti-retroviral drugs will be provided to infected parents of children. Women and children living in rural communities will receive most of the services.

Steve Taravella is the head of communications for Family Health International. He says the partnership is separate from UNICEF's international campaign against AIDS but will support the goals of the U.N. agency.

Both UNICEF and Family Health International say they hope to expand their partnership into more countries in the future.

Family Health International has been working on public health issues since nineteen seventy-one. The organization is based in North Carolina and has programs in seventy countries.

It does research on infections diseases and reproductive health, and also provides services. More than half of its yearly budget of about two hundred forty million dollars comes from the United States government.

Experts say an important part of fighting AIDS is political will. One example they point to is Cambodia. That country has been getting attention for its progress in reducing some of the highest infection rates in Asia.

Experts praise the government for supporting public education efforts and programs to give condoms to sex workers. Prostitutes are taught to enforce a policy of "one hundred percent condom use" at sex businesses.

But there are warnings that H.I.V. rates could still rise among men who have sex with men and among users of injection drugs. Rates could also rise among so-called indirect sex workers -- women who work in bars and clubs.

Today about eighty percent of all people infected with H.I.V. in Cambodia receive life-saving drugs for free.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. You can learn more about H.I.V. and AIDS at voaspecialenglish.com.

VOASE0907_In the News

07 September 2007

Fred Thompson: Actor, Senator, and Now a Late Entry in the '08 Presidential Race
The former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" star joins a group of Republicans with no clear favorite among them.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, former United States senator Fred Thompson announced his candidacy for

Fred Thompson

president. He joins eight others competing for the Republican Party nomination next year.

Fred Thompson arrived in Washington more than thirty years ago as a Senate committee lawyer for the Watergate investigation. He represented Tennessee in the Senate from nineteen ninety-four to two thousand three. He decided to return to a job where he was already well known: acting.

He has appeared in movies including "The Hunt for Red October." He played a New York City prosecutor for the past five seasons of the television show "Law and Order."

In fact, he has even played a president on TV. So it came as no surprise when he announced his candidacy as a guest on a late-night show. He made an official announcement in a Web video.

People thought Fred Thompson would enter the race months ago. He supports President Bush on the Iraq war and hopes to appeal to social conservatives. But he has had problems raising money and organizing a campaign.

So he is entering late -- too late, some say. Yet, in most public opinion studies, he was the second or third most popular choice for a Republican nominee. And that was before he declared his candidacy.

He joins a group without a clear favorite. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been leading the Republican candidates nationally for months. But former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is leading in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Republicans and Democrats are getting ready for the nominating process to begin in January. Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally hold the first votes for delegates, so these two states are important early tests.

The election is not until November. But many states are moving their primary and caucus votes to early in the year. February fifth is going to be a big day. A shorter primary season will increase pressure on candidates, especially any late arrivals.

Now, a listener in China, Simon Yuan from Jiangsu province, asks about the requirements for an American president.

Presidents must be at least thirty-five years old and natural-born citizens of the United States. They must also have lived in the country for at least fourteen years. These requirements are in the Constitution.

Simon Yuan also asks how many presidents have been members of the Democratic Party. Of the forty-three presidents, fourteen have been Democrats. Eighteen have been Republicans. In the past, the Republicans were the more liberal party and the Democrats were the more conservative.

Presidents have also belonged to parties that no longer exist: The Federalists. The Whigs. The Democratic-Republican Party, and the Democratic/National Union. The first president, George Washington, belonged to no political party at all.

And that's IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. If you have a question about the American political process, we might be able to answer it on the air. Write to special@voanews.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0906_Economics Report

06 September 2007

Starting a Business Means Getting Organized
Companies are structured different ways for different reasons.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.

The simplest form of business is called an individual proprietorship. The proprietor owns all of the property of the business and is responsible for everything.

This means that the proprietor gets to keep all of the profits of the business, but also must pay any debts. The law recognizes no difference between the owner and the business.

Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to decide how much of the partnership each person controls.

There are limited liability partnerships. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits, but they also do not have as many responsibilities.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships to share the profits and risks of doing business. A husband and wife can form a business partnership.

Partnerships can end at any time. But partnerships and individual proprietorships exist only as long as the owners are alive.

The most complex kind of business organization is the corporation. Corporations are designed to have an unlimited lifetime.

Corporations can sell stock as a way to raise money. Stock represents shares of ownership in a company. Investors who buy stock can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business. A company might use some of its earnings to pay dividends as a reward to shareholders. Or it might reinvest the money into the business.

If shares lose value, investors can lose all of the money they paid for their stock. But shareholders are not responsible for the debts of the corporation. A corporation is recognized as an entity -- its own legal being, separate from its owners.

A board of directors controls corporate policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold shares in the corporation.

Corporations can have a few major shareholders. Or ownership can be spread among the general public.

But not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. There are nonprofit groups that are also organized as corporations.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about business and economics by downloading transcripts and MP3 files of our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0906_American Mosaic

06 September 2007

Little League World Series Brings a World of Fun Each Year to Williamsport
A question from Vietnam about how young people buy cars in the US. And Disney prepares for ''High School Musical 3'' to be released in movie theaters next year.

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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 the television movie "High School Musical Two" …

Answer a question about buying a car in the United States …

And report about the worldwide baseball program called Little League.

Little League

HOST:

Georgia's Dalton Carriker after hitting a home run for the Warner Robins Little League's 3-2 victory over Tokyo Kitasuna

Last month, an American baseball team from the state of Georgia defeated a team from Tokyo, Japan, to win the Little League World Series. Children of all ages in more than one hundred countries around the world play in more than seven thousand Little League programs. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Little League began in the state of Pennsylvania in nineteen thirty-nine. It was the result of efforts by a man named Carl Stotz who lived in the small city of Williamsport. He developed the first rules for a summer boys' baseball program.

The teams were all from Williamsport. The first Little League game was played on June sixth, nineteen thirty-nine. The program began to expand to nearby areas, then to other parts of the country. A team from Williamsport, the Maynard Midgets, won the first Little League World Series in nineteen forty-seven. Then the organization became international. Canadian children began playing Little League baseball in nineteen fifty-one.

In nineteen fifty-seven, a team from Monterrey, Mexico became the first team from outside the United States to win the Little League World Series. Since then, teams from Japan, South Korea and Venezuela have also won the World Series.

All the Little League World Series games have been played in Williamsport. The games are no longer for boys only. Girls can also take part in Little League. And the organization has added softball to its programs.

The organization notes that many famous professional athletes played Little League Baseball when they were young. One is Cal Ripken, who recently became a member of the American Baseball Hall of Fame. Others grew up to play American football, like Troy Aikman, an award-winning former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

Actor Danny DeVito played in Little League. So did writer John Grisham, United States Senator Joseph Lieberman and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. And we cannot leave out the only former Little League player to become president of the United States. As a boy, George W. Bush played catcher on a Little League team in Midland, Texas.

Buying A Car

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Misan Ho wants to know if it is possible for a recent college graduate to own a house and a car.

Many American college graduates are able to find a job and begin to earn money quickly. However, houses and apartments in the United States are usually too costly to buy right away. Instead of buying a house, most recent college graduates rent an apartment with roommates.

However, many college graduates are able to buy their own cars. They may need a car to travel to their jobs.

Their first car will probably be a used car because they cost much less than new ones. The prices of used cars can be very different, depending on the kind of car, how old it is and how well it works. A small, older car costs much less than a large, newer one. For example, the average price for a used nineteen ninety-nine Honda Civic is about eight thousand dollars. However, the average price for a used two thousand seven Ford Explorer is about twenty-five thousand dollars.

There are several ways to find used cars. Places that sell new cars usually have used cars for sale as well. The car dealerships get these used cars from people who trade them in for new cars. These cars might cost more than other used cars, but they are more likely to work well. Also, many dealers can promise that the car will work for a period of time or they will fix it for free.

Some people buy a used car directly from the owner. Car owners advertise these cars for sale over the Internet or in the newspaper. It may cost less to buy a car from the owner, but it can also be a bigger risk.

Before you decide to buy any used car, it is a good idea to make sure it works well. You should take the car for a test drive. Also, you should get a professional car mechanic to inspect the car. And you should make sure that the car has all of the required legal documents. There are many good used cars available for sale. You just might have to shop around.

High School Musical 2, 3 ...

HOST:

The top selling record album in the United States last year was from the television

Cast of "High School Musical 2"

movie “High School Musical.” Reports say the movie has earned one hundred million dollars. People in one hundred other countries have seen it. That success led the Disney Company to plan more "High School Musical" movies.

The second movie was shown for the first time on American television last month. Reports say seventeen million people watched. That makes "High School Musical Two" the most watched show ever on an American cable television network. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

“High School Musical” is about two American teenagers who try to get parts in the school play and learn about themselves in the process. “High School Musical Two” is about those students and their friends during summer vacation. At the start of the show, they sing about what they expect.

(MUSIC: "What Time Is It?")

The story centers around a high school basketball player named Troy. He is attracted to a rich girl named Sharpay and forgets about his other friends, including his girlfriend Gabriella. But events force him to reconsider and decide what values are important to him. Zac Efron plays Troy. He sings about the problem in the song "Bet On It":

(MUSIC)

The movies are especially popular with girls from ages nine to fourteen. Their parents approve of the movies as well. They say the films are fun and send good messages to kids.

The Disney Company is already preparing for "High School Musical Three" to be released in movie theaters next year. But now, we leave you with another song from “High School Musical Two.” It is called “All For One.”

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Erin Braswell and Nancy Steinbach. 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.

8月合辑来了！

8月合辑制作完毕，包括2007年8月的全部内容，Words and Their Stories的内容也收录其中。
源的地址（需安装 eMule，复制到地址栏）是：
ed2k://|file|VOASE0708.iso|226983936|925D5E9B211279AC21DB036BF3AE1DA2|h=RIVFYU3COCDZAIZXMTQX3G4XETDNNXGJ|/

可能下载贴很快就会给VeryCD贴出来，还在老地方
http://lib.verycd.com/2007/02/07/0000138789.html

顺便提一下，现在PoEnglish使用的下载空间是mediafire
有网友反映G宝盘的下载速度及质量都不是很稳定，PoEnglish也很苦恼 -_-
在热心网友的推荐下试用了下mediafire
一段时间用下来，发现优点多多，上传下载速度还行，网站管理界面也高效稳定（这是本人喜爱的重要原因），而且是国际知名上传空间，对本站在全球拓展其知名度还是有很大好处滴（众人批：不要脸不害臊）
所以，不出意外（世事难料，说不准哪天就被和谐了），将来每日制作的资料会放在那里。欢迎大家写信给我反映在这个空间下的下载问题。

Iraqi PM Meets With Shi'ites to Quell Political Upheaval

By Jim Randle Irbil, Iraq 05 September 2007

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Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with the country's Shi'ite religious leader Wednesday to discuss a political impasse that resulted in half of his cabinet quitting. VOA's Jim Randle reports from northern Iraq.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, addresses the media after meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Wednesday, 05 Sept 2007

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki traveled to the holy city of Najaf to meet with the leader of Iraq 's Shi'ite majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Sistani sponsors the prime minister's ruling United Alliance.

Mr. Maliki later told reporters he sought Sistani's advice on filling empty ministerial posts and government reform.

Mr. Maliki said Sistani pushed him to solve the political, security and economic problems that plague the country.

One of the biggest groups in the United Alliance, the movement of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, left the government in April protesting Mr. Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

The biggest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, the Accordance Front, also pulled out its ministers, accusing Mr. Maliki of favoritism toward Shi'ites.

The walkouts have hurt efforts to resolve tensions between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni Arab communities and reach agreement on laws covering oil revenue and easing restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein' s Ba'ath Party. Reaching compromises is seen in Washington as a key step toward national reconciliation.

Some prominent Democrats in Washington have said Mr. Maliki should be replaced, and he is under growing pressure to make political progress to match security gains in some areas of Iraq.

Man injured in Sadr City blast lies in a hospital bed, 05 Sep 2007

Meanwhile, a bomb blast in Baghdad's mostly Shi'ite Sadr City district was a reminder Wednesday that the military situation continues to be difficult. The attack killed at least 11 people and wounded about 20 others.

Police say the blast occurred in a crowded square as buses gathered to pick up passengers heading to work.

APEC Ministers Push to Revive Stalled Global Trade Talks

By Nancy-Amelia Collins Sydney 05 September 2007

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Foreign and trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members are pushing for ways to revive stalled global trade talks. In a meeting ahead of the annual APEC summit, top trade officials and diplomats also will discuss climate change, global financial markets and security. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins reports from Sydney where APEC officials are gathered.

Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss, front row right, and other participants to APEC ministerial meeting pose for an official photo session in Sydney, 05 Sep 2007

Trade in all forms will dominate talks by the trade and finance ministers at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

As the two-day meeting began in Sydney on Wednesday, outlined the agenda.

"We'll cover the multilateral trading system and contributions APEC can make to the successful conclusion of the WTO [World Trade Organization] Doha round. We'll also be looking at ways and means of promoting further regional economic integration, structural reform and behind the border issues which impact on the costs and risks of competitiveness of doing business in our region and the sorts of things that inhibit our genuine market integration," said Truss.

Truss plans to talk to other officials about reviving the World Trade Organization talks, which have been stalled by differences over agricultural trade barriers and barriers on imports of manufactured goods.

He also says the delegates at the ministerial meeting will discuss the potential for a free trade zone for the 21 economies that make up APEC. The idea, which has been discussed for several years, has been slow to progress.

One of the main topics of this year's APEC meeting is how to deal with global warming, without reducing growth and development.

After their summit ends on Sunday, the leaders of the APEC members are expected to issue a joint statement calling for members to reduce carbon emissions, which are thought to contribute to climate change.

The ministerial meeting will prepare that statement, and statements on other key issues, such as clean development.

"I think it's important that over the next few days we provide clear advice to our leaders on these key issues, that we develop an appropriate response to the matters of concern," added Truss. "It's also proposed to brief colleagues on preparations for the leaders meeting including some of the issues that will be on their agenda like climate change, energy security, clean development."

The trade minister says the gathered ministers also will discuss such issues as security, terrorism and recent financial market instability.

German Officials Arrest Three Men on Terrorism Charges

By Tom Rivers London 05 September 2007

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German officials say they have arrested three men on suspicion of planning a "massive" terrorist attack on U.S. facilities in the country. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

Unidentified man believed to be terror suspect, center, is led away in Karlsruhe, 05 Sep 2007

German authorities say the men are suspected Islamic militants and were arrested for allegedly planning bomb attacks targeting a number of locations including the U.S. Ramstein Air Base and Frankfurt's international airport.

German federal prosecutors say two of the three in custody are German citizens who converted to Islam. The men are believed to have received training at camps in Pakistan run by a group known as the Islamic Jihad Union. The third man being held is either Turkish or Pakistani and also allegedly received training in Pakistan.

German authorities says the men, all in their 20s, had obtained 700 kilograms of hydrogen peroxide which could have been used to produce explosive devices even larger than those used in the London and Madrid train bombings.

In Strasbourg, the European Union's top justice official, Franco Frattini, says despite the arrests, the threat level in Europe has not been reduced.

"All sources indicate that the threat of new terrorist attacks continues to be high," he said. "Our member states' authorities have been able to prevent a number of attacks, for which we must be very grateful. I am talking about Spain, Italy, Belgium, U.K. and Germany."

Officials say the suspects were under surveillance for a long time. They were arrested Tuesday at a vacation home in central Germany.

In recent months, German and U.S. officials have warned of the possibility of new attacks, and security measures have been enhanced.

VOASE0905_Education Report

05 September 2007

Virginia Tech Report Criticizes Mental Health System, School Actions
An official committee presents its findings about the April killings of 32 people by a student.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A family member of one of the Virginia Tech victims, student Daniel Alejandro Prez Cueva, after the dedication of a memorial

A committee gave its findings last week about the Virginia Tech shootings in April. The committee appointed by Virginia's governor and led by a retired state police official called for more than seventy changes. The goal is to prevent a similar tragedy in Virginia or anywhere else.

On April sixteenth Seung-Hui Cho, a student, killed thirty-two people and wounded seventeen before killing himself. Among other things, the Virginia Tech Review Panel discussed his mental health history.

In nineteen ninety-nine, he wrote in middle school about killing himself and others. This was after the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. His teachers thought he should get treatment, which he did.

He also received services in high school. But school officials thought privacy laws prevented sharing this information with Virginia Tech.

There, he caused a number of troubling incidents. The report says the university in Blacksburg did not intervene effectively. It says no one knew all the information and no one put it all together.

The committee pointed to problems with Virginia's mental health system. It also found widespread misunderstanding about federal and state privacy laws.

In two thousand five, a court judged the young man a danger to himself and ordered him to get treatment. But he was not ordered into a hospital. Still, his name should have been added to federal and state lists of people barred from buying guns.

Virginia law did not make that clear. Governor Tim Kaine has moved to deal with this. But Virginia officials found that less than half the states report any mental health information to a federal database used for gun purchases.

At Virginia Tech, emergency services reacted quickly after two people were killed early that morning. But the report says police may have been too quick to decide that a possible suspect was probably no longer in the area. And top administrators are criticized for failing to send out a warning message about the shooting for almost two hours.

Minutes after that, the shootings began in Norris Hall. Still, the committee says quickly securing all buildings would not have been possible.

Some victims' families want the university president and police chief to resign or be dismissed. The governor rejected that idea.

Virginia Tech began a new school year August twentieth, a day after a ceremony for a memorial to the thirty-two victims.

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

VOASE0905_The Making of a Nation

05 September 2007

US History Series: After Attacks of 9/11, Bush Launches 'War on Terror'
''It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated,'' the 43rd president declared after hijackers struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He was still in his first year in office.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we tell about the first term in office of President George W. Bush. Mister Bush dealt with the most deadly terrorist attack against the United States in history.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

George W. Bush became the nation's forty-third president on January twentieth, two thousand one. He and his vice president, Dick Cheney, were sworn in on the steps of the Capitol building. George Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, had served as the forty-first president.

The inauguration marked only the second time in American history that the son of a former president also became president. More than two hundred years ago, John Adams was elected the second president of the United States. His son, John Quincy Adams, later served as the sixth president.

VOICE TWO:

President Bush at the World Trade Center with a firefighter

George W. Bush had been in office for fewer than eight months when the most important event of his first term took place on September eleventh, two thousand one. Americans call the event Nine-Eleven. On that morning, nineteen Islamic extremists hijacked four American passenger airplanes.

The planes were flying from the East Coast to California. The hijackers were from Middle Eastern countries. Each group included a trained pilot.

American Airlines Flight Eleven had left Boston, Massachusetts, when three terrorists seized control of the plane. Shortly before nine o’clock in the morning, they crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Another group seized United Airlines Flight One Seventy-Five and crashed it into the World Trade Center's South Tower a few minutes later. The two giant skyscrapers stood in the heart of America's financial center.

The planes exploded in fireballs that sent clouds of smoke pouring from the skyscrapers. Wreckage and ashes flew into the air. On that morning, each tower held between five thousand and seven thousand people. Thousands of people were able to escape from the buildings.

The South Tower of the World Trade Center fell shortly before ten o'clock. The North Tower collapsed about thirty minutes later. Within an hour the ruins of the two buildings were being called Ground Zero.

VOICE ONE:

Damage caused by a hijacked airplane that hit the Pentagon

Other hijackers on United Airlines Flight Seventy-Seven crashed the plane into the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters near Washington, D.C. The plane exploded against a wall of the huge five-sided building where more than twenty thousand people worked.

The hijackers also seized United Airlines Flight Ninety-Three. Some passengers found out about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington through cell phone calls to their families. Several passengers and crew members tried to retake control of the plane. It crashed near the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Investigators later said the hijackers probably planned to attack the Capitol building or the White House in Washington.

The terrorist attacks on Nine-Eleven were the most deadly in American history. Almost three thousand people died. Most of the victims worked in the World Trade Center. They included many citizens of other countries. The victims also included three hundred forty-three New York City firefighters and twenty-three city police officers. They died trying to save others.

VOICE TWO:

Search and rescue operations began immediately. Hundreds of rescue workers recovered people and bodies from the wreckage. Aid was organized for victims and their families. President Bush stood in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and promised that the attacks would be answered.

It took workers eight months to complete the cleanup of Ground Zero. Every day, thousands of people visited the area to see where the attack took place and to honor those who died there.

Near Washington, D.C., people left flowers and messages near the heavily damaged wall of the Defense Department headquarters. One hundred eighty-four military service members and civilians died there.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

New York City changed forever on that day. The attack destroyed a major part of the financial center of the city. It had a huge economic effect on the United States and world markets. The New York Stock Exchange was closed until September seventeenth. When it reopened, American stocks lost more than one trillion dollars in value for the week.

For days after the attacks, most planes stopped flying. When normal flights began again, many people were too afraid to travel by air. The airline and travel industries suffered. Thousands of hotel workers and others lost their jobs. Many other businesses suffered as well. When people started flying again, they found it much more difficult because of increased security at airports.

People across America experienced great shock, fear, sadness and loss. They could not understand why anyone would attack innocent Americans. They also felt a renewed love for their country. They put American flags on their houses, cars and businesses.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

President Bush said Osama bin Laden and terrorists linked to his al-Qaida group plotted and carried out the attacks on Nine-Eleven. On September twentieth, the president declared a War on Terror. The goals were to find and punish Osama bin Laden and to use economic and military actions to prevent the spread of terrorism.

PRESIDENT BUSH: "Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

VOICE ONE:

Osama bin Laden

American officials said the Taleban administration in Afghanistan was sheltering Osama bin Laden. They said al-Qaida terrorists operated a training camp in Afghanistan under Taleban protection. President Bush demanded that the Taleban close the training camp and surrender Osama bin Laden. The Taleban refused. American and British airplanes launched attacks against the Taleban in Afghanistan on October seventh. The goals were to oust the Taleban, capture Osama bin Laden and destroy al-Qaida.

VOICE TWO:

The bombers struck in and around the Afghan capital, Kabul. Ethnic tribal groups of the Afghan Northern Alliance then led a ground attack. By November the Taleban began to collapse in several provinces. Taleban forces fled Kabul and the city of Kandahar. The military offensive defeated the Taleban and ousted them from power. It also captured a number of Taleban fighters and al-Qaida terrorists. But the war in Afghanistan was not over. And the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, had not been captured.

VOICE ONE:

Some enemy fighters seized in Afghanistan were sent to a United States Navy detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The United States government did not identify them as prisoners of war. Instead, the detainees were called "unlawful enemy combatants." As such, they lacked some of the rights provided by an international treaty on conditions for war prisoners.

The United States government also detained hundreds of foreign citizens. Most of these people had violated immigration laws. No terrorism charges were brought against them. Human rights activists and some legal experts protested the treatment of the prisoners. The activists said holding people in secret without trial violated the United States Constitution.

VOICE TWO:

In October, Congress passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act. It provided the government with more power to get information about suspected terrorists in this country. Critics said the legislation invaded citizens' rights to privacy. Civil liberties groups charged that it gave law enforcement and other agencies too much power.

After Nine-Eleven, government agencies were criticized for not cooperating to gather intelligence that might have prevented the terrorist attacks. In two thousand two, a new Department of Homeland Security was created to strengthen defenses against terrorism.

Twenty-two agencies were combined into a new department of about two hundred thousand employees. The Department of Homeland Security was one of the major changes brought about by the attacks of Nine Eleven. Many Americans believed the attacks had changed their lives, their country, and the world, forever.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program, The Making of a Nation, was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Jill Moss. This is Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

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

Bush to Meet Chinese President

By Paula Wolfson Sydney 05 September 2007

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President Bush says he is eager to talk to China's president about trade and climate change - the two main issues at this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush will meet with Hu Jintao on Thursday, as regional leaders gather in Sydney for the annual APEC meeting.

President Bush says he has a lot to discuss with President Hu, and climate change tops the list.

China was recently ranked as the world's second-largest emitter of so-called greenhouse gases, which are thought to contribute to climate change. The United States is the largest.

"In order for there to be an effective climate change policy, China needs to be at the table," said Mr. Bush. "In order to get China to the table, they have to be part of defining the goals."

President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard speak to reporters during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, 05 Sept 2007

At a joint news conference Wednesday in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Mr. Bush said the U.S. relationship with China is complex. He talked about financial issues, and again spoke of the need to convince China to let its currency float on world markets.

"We still have got a huge trade deficit with China, which then causes us to want to work with them to adjust - to let their currency float," he said. "We think that would be helpful in terms of adjusting trade balances."

Mr. Bush was asked if he plans to bring up recent allegations that Chinese hackers with government ties were able to tap into an unclassified e-mail system at the Pentagon's computer.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the system was hacked, but would not confirm that the source was in China.

President Bush said he has not seen all the information in the case, and declined to say if he believes the allegations. Instead, he focused on the need to build a relationship with China that enables Washington and Beijing to discuss sensitive issues openly and candidly.

"There's a lot of issues which we wish they would - wish they would have a different lean to their policy. So I'm going to discuss these with him," added Mr. Bush. "But it's best to be able to discuss these issues in an environment that is frank and open and friendly, as opposed to one in which there's tension and suspicion."

Mr. Bush said there are areas where the United States and China are working together to tackle world problems. He made specific mention of progress in efforts to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions. He says he would like to see that kind of cooperation in dealing with Iran, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

Bush Apologizes for APEC Summit Chaos

By Phil Mercer Sydney 05 September 2007

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There has been commuter chaos in parts of Australia's biggest city, a result of the tightest security the country has ever seen. The disruption to daily life, caused by this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, has been so massive that President Bush has apologized to the people of Sydney for the inconvenience caused by his visit. Phil Mercer files this report from Sydney.

The visit of President Bush and other world leaders has prompted Australian authorities to mount an unprecedented security operation.

Five thousand police officers and troops are on patrol, along with fighter jets and combat helicopters.

Pedestrians walk through fences that cordon off streets around the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, 05 Sept 2007

In the center of Sydney, a giant steel barrier has been erected to protect key APEC summit sites. Parts of downtown Sydney have been declared no-go zones for the public.

The sweeping measures have caused peak-hour chaos, with angry commuters being met by a raft of road closures. Many residents have asked why the conference was not held in the national capital, Canberra, which has hosted many high-profile visits in the past.

The already tight clampdown has been increased since the arrival of President Bush late Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush told the people of the city he is sorry to be responsible for so much disruption.

"Look, I don't want to come to a community and say, you know, what a pain it is to have the American president. You know, unfortunately, however, this is what the authorities thought was necessary to protect people, and uh, we live in a free, you live in a free society, people feel like they want to protest, fine, they can," said Mr. Bush. "And unfortunately, evidently, some people may want to try to be violent in their protest. But I apologize to the Australian people if I've caused this inconvenience."

Thousands of people are expected to take part in rallies to voice their feelings on a range of issues, from the Iraq war to the environment. They are also demonstrating over a number of domestic issues, including unpopular labor reforms.

Activists have insisted they want to make their point peacefully, but there has been violence at other international gatherings in recent years, and the police are prepared for that eventuality here. The Sydney authorities have cleared out jail cells to be prepared for any mass arrests of protesters.

Even without the protests, such hot issues as climate change and Iraq are expected to be key themes during a week of meetings among APEC officials. The meetings will culminate in the leaders' summit at the end of the week.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is a loose grouping of economies that border the Pacific Ocean. Its 21 members include the United States, China and Japan, and smaller economies in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America.