The Lewis and Clark Exploration: One of the Most Important Events in American History

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VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith, with the VOA Special English program Explorations. Today we finish the story of Lewis and Clark and the land they explored in the American Northwest. We also tell about plans to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of their exploration.

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VOICE ONE:

We have told how Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a group of men and one woman across the American Northwest. The group was known as the Corps of Discovery. They began their trip on May fourteenth, eighteen-oh-four, in Saint Louis, near the central part of the country. It was more than one year before they reached the Pacific coast near the Columbia River. They had traveled by river, horse and foot more than six thousand six hundred kilometers.

William Clark

VOICE TWO:

President Thomas Jefferson asked Lewis to lead an exploration of the northwestern part of the country. He wanted Lewis to learn as much about the land, people, animals and plants as he could. Jefferson asked that Lewis write about the progress of his group each day. Lewis and Clark kept very careful records. Often, Lewis would use more than one thousand words to tell about an animal or a bird. Both men drew maps and pictures of what they saw.

VOICE ONE:

The Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific Ocean near the present city of Astoria, Oregon. The group suffered a lot during that winter. It was not very cold, but it was always wet. It rained almost every day during the winter months between eighteen-oh-five and eighteen-oh-six. Lewis wrote that everything got wet and stayed wet. Many of the men became sick. The men had little to do except hunt for food. They also made new clothing from animal skins for the return home.

VOICE TWO:

William Clark organized most of the hunting during the long winter months. At the same time, he worked on his second map. The map showed where the group had been since it left the area that now is the north central state of North Dakota. It showed their travels all the way from there to Fort Clatsop on the West Coast. Clark drew a correct picture of the American West for the first time.

VOICE ONE:

Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis stayed inside Fort Clatsop and wrote, day after day, of the things they found. He wrote information about one hundred different animals they had seen. Of these, eleven birds, two fish, and eleven mammals had not been recorded before.

He also wrote about plants and trees. He had never seen many of these before. Neither had modern science known about them. He tried to make his reports scientific.

Modern scientists say his information is still good. They say he was extremely careful and provided valuable information for the time. Experts say Lewis wrote more like a scientist of today than one of his own century.

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VOICE TWO:

On March twenty-third, eighteen-oh-six, the explorers left Fort Clatsop and started back up the Columbia River. Progress was slow as the Corps of Discovery climbed higher toward the mountains. They traded with Indians for horses. In the month of May they stayed with a tribe called the Nez Perce.

The Nez Perce said it would not be possible for the explorers to cross the mountains then. The snow was still too deep. Lewis did not agree. The group went forward. They found the Nez Perce were right. The snow was several meters deep. They were forced to stop and return down the mountain.

The Nez Perce agreed to provide guides to take them through the mountains. The Corps of Discovery finally crossed the mountains in the last days of June.

VOICE ONE:

Lewis divided the Corps of Discovery when they left the mountains. He wanted three different groups to go three different ways to learn more about the land. Lewis and his group soon found Indians. They were members of the Piegan tribe, part of the Blackfeet, a war-like group.

At first the Indians were friendly. Then, one tried to take a gun from one of the men. A fight began. Two Indians were killed. It was the only time during the trip that any fighting took place between native Americans and the Corps of Discovery. The fight forced Lewis's group to leave the area very quickly.

VOICE TWO:

The three groups met again in August of eighteen-oh-six. Traveling on the rivers was easier that in the beginning of their trip. The explorers now were going in the same direction as the current. They were in a hurry to get home. They had been away for two years and five months.

Each minute they traveled brought them closer to their homes, their families and friends. On September third, they saw several men traveling on the river. They learned that President Jefferson had been re-elected and was still president of the United States.

VOICE ONE:

A few days later, one member of the group asked Lewis and Clark if he could remain behind. He wanted to go with a group of fur traders that was returning to the area of the Yellowstone River. His name was John Colter. Colter returned up the river and into the wild land. Later Colter became the first American to see the Yellowstone Valley, which became the first national park, Yellowstone. He also became famous as one of the first mountain men in American history to open the way to the Rocky Mountains.

VOICE ONE:

The Corps of Discovery reached Saint Louis on September twenty-third, eighteen-oh-six. They had very little food or supplies left, but they were back. Large celebrations were held in the small town. Lewis and Clark learned that most people believed they were dead. Lewis immediately wrote a long report to President Jefferson and placed it in the mail. A few days later President Jefferson knew they had arrived home safely and their trip had been a great success.

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VOICE TWO:

Experts today say the Lewis and Clark trip was one of the most important events in American history. They also agree that no two men could have done a better job or been more successful. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark added greatly to the knowledge of the American Northwest.

Clark's maps provided information about huge areas that had been unknown. Lewis discovered and told about one hundred seventy-eight new plants, most of them from the far West. He also found one hundred twenty-two different kinds of animals that had been recorded. There was also one great failure, however. Lewis and Clark were not able to find a way to reach the Pacific Ocean using rivers. There was no northwest passage that could be used by boats.

VOICE ONE:

The Lewis and Clark expedition was also a political success. It helped the United States make a legal claim to a huge amount of land that had been bought by President Jefferson from France. The United States bought the land just as the Corps of Discovery began its trip. This land is now the middle part of the United States. It was called the Louisiana Territory. President Jefferson wanted the future United States to include this land, and all other land between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

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VOICE TWO:

Now it is two hundred years since the Corps of Discovery made its historic trip. The United States has many plans to celebrate. Some celebrations will continue until the year two thousand six. Committees in the cities, towns and states that Lewis and Clark passed through are planning the anniversary celebrations.

The National Park Service is also preparing special events. New books have been published, newspaper stories written and television programs produced about Lewis and Clark. And the public is once again discovering the writings of the two men who led the Corps of Discovery. Critics say the word pictures that Lewis created are as clear today as when they were written.

VOICE ONE:

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the first educated white Americans to travel across the land that would become the United States. They wrote about things the American public had never seen before. They saw Native Americans before the Indians were influenced by other cultures. Their success had a lasting influence.

They showed Americans it was possible to travel across the country and settle in the far West. Lewis and Clark's exploration was the beginning of the American campaign to settle that far away, wild land.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week at this time for another Explorations program, in Special English, here on the Voice of America.

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Front Matter Matters: How to Start a Relationship With Your Dictionary

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AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: the second part of our conversation with Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of American dictionaries for Oxford University Press.

RS: We start by talking about the proper way to get to know a new dictionary.

ERIN McKEAN: "I wish that everyone who bought a dictionary, that the first thing that they did was sit down and read the front matter. Lexicographers spend a lot of time and effort writing the introduction to the dictionary. And the introduction to the dictionary is the users manual. And a lot of people, when they buy a new piece of electronics, they never read the users manual, and then they're frustrated by the remote control, they can't figure out how to make it work. Same thing happens with the dictionary."

AA: "Yeah, because I just bought a dictionary and I'll be honest with you, I haven't looked at the ... "

ERIN McKEAN: "I know, no one reads the front matter."

RS: "And you're saying it's really important."

ERIN McKEAN: "It tells you what the kind of habits of the dictionary are. For instance, the New Oxford American Dictionary, as I said before, arranges entries by core sense and then sub-sense. But other dictionaries put their definitions in chronological order, so the oldest one comes first. And other dictionaries put it in frequency order, so the most frequent one comes first."

RS: "How can understanding your dictionary help you to be a better writer?"

ERIN McKEAN: "Well, if you think of words as the tools of writers, the more you work with the words as your tools, the better you'll be with them. I feel that most writers need not just a good dictionary but a good thesaurus, and that they should always be used together. It's like you can't have a hammer without a nail.

"So if you have a thesaurus, that gives you kind of a constellation of words that [are] all grouped together. You should then go to your dictionary and sort out exactly what the two or three likely candidates that you want to use mean. One sign of a very poor writer is someone who goes straight to the thesaurus to replace what they consider to be an ordinary word with something fancy and shiny and sparkly, who chooses a word that is completely wrong for the context."

RS: "How does the Oxford American Dictionary address grammar?"

ERIN McKEAN: "We do try and give as much information as possible about how words work -- what kind of complements they take, in what context you find them. Are they mostly used as adjectives? If they're nouns, are they mostly used as adjective modifiers? If they're verbs, do they take an object, do they not take an object?

"Unfortunately because our core user, our target user, is a native speaker, we don't give as much information as a learner's dictionary does. And that's the real tradeoff. A learner's dictionary [is] the training wheels on your bike, to get you to the point where you can use a dictionary that's intended for a native speaker."

AA: "Now the Internet makes it easy to look up frequency of use, right? To be able to see how often new words are being used in publications and so forth. Can you give us a hint of what's coming up on the radar -- are there terms you'd like to see in the next edition, or something you tried to get into this one but got overruled?"

ERIN McKEAN: "The Internet is actually very, very frustrating. It gives us glimpses of words that are coming up, but we can't get any exact numbers. I'm trying to think what some of the newer words are. Actually I keep a running memo on my cell phone of words that we want to add. I'm looking at the word 'pathosphere,' which is kind of the realm of pathogens, things that make you sick.

"I know that I want to include the word 'turducken.'"

AA: "Spell that please."

ERIN McKEAN: "T-U-R-D-U-C-K-E-N."

RS: "And what does it mean?"

ERIN McKEAN: "It's this crazy New Orleans Creole delicacy that is served at Thanksgiving. It is a turkey, deboned, stuffed with a chicken, deboned, stuffed with a duck, deboned, and then there's bread stuffing all around all the different layers."

AA: "Sounds good for Thanksgiving."

ERIN McKEAN: "It is good for Thanksgiving."

RS: "Well, what's it going to take to get it into the dictionary?"

ERIN McKEAN: "I need to make sure that it's as widespread as I think it is. I was actually surprised that it wasn't in at this point, because I've heard it for years. It was featured in a Wall Street Journal article, but it just slipped by. Sometimes words sound like they've been around forever."

RS: Erin McKean is editor-in-chief of American dictionaries at Oxford University Press. You can look up the first part of our interview on our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.

AA: And, to send e-mail to Rosanne and me, write to word@voanews.com. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

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Drop in Foreign Students in U.S. Slows

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I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Education Report.

We talked last week about the number of Americans studying in foreign countries. This week, our subject is foreign students in the United States. More than five hundred sixty-five thousand attended American colleges and universities during the last school year.

The Institute of International Education, based in New York, recently published its yearly report, "Open Doors Two Thousand Five." The report says the number of foreign students decreased by about one percent during the school year that began last fall. That was less of a decrease than the year before, when the number fell by almost two and one-half percent.

India sent the most students, more than eighty thousand. That was a one percent increase from the year before. China sent the next highest number, more than sixty-two thousand. That was also a one percent increase. South Korea was third, with more than fifty-three thousand students, up two percent. Japan was fourth, with more than forty-two thousand students, an increase of three percent.

The report says one hundred forty-five American colleges and universities had one thousand or more international students last year. The school with the largest number was the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. It had almost seven thousand international students. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was second with more than five thousand five hundred.

The recent decrease in the number of international students is seen as a result of several things. These include difficulties getting a student visa, especially in scientific and technical areas. They also include higher costs as well as competition from schools in other English-speaking countries and in students' home countries.

Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell says international students are welcome in the United States. In her words, "The United States remains the best place in the world" to seek higher education.

You can read more of the report on the Web site of the Institute of International Education: i-i-e dot o-r-g. And you can get information about how to study in the United States from our Foreign Student Series. Go to voaspecialenglish dot com. Enter the words "foreign student" with quotation marks in the search box, then click on Archive.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. I’m Faith Lapidus.

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Sleep Apnea Linked to Increased Stroke Risk

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder. Experts say it affects about eighteen million Americans. People with sleep apnea stop breathing for brief periods while they sleep. They may awaken for a few seconds as they struggle to breathe. The next day, the sleeper may not remember what happened.

Signs of the disorder include sleepiness during the day and restless sleep. Some people make rough sounds while they sleep. More men have sleep apnea than women do. It is also common in older adults and in persons who are heavy.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form. It happens when soft tissue in the back of the throat blocks the flow of air. Another form is called central sleep apnea. This results from problems with the brain’s normal signals to breathe.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can be life threatening. People may get sleepy while at work or driving. Many people do not know they have it until they are tested in a sleep laboratory and treated.

Studies have linked sleep apnea to more severe problems. A recent study at the Yale University School of Medicine showed that people with obstructive sleep apnea are two times more likely to die from strokes. The risk is linked to the severity of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is also linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attack, and the disease diabetes. Doctors are not sure why. But they suggest that oxygen levels in the blood fall when a person stops breathing. The reduced oxygen increases levels of the hormone adrenaline in the body. This causes the heart to beat faster and raises blood pressure.

Most treatments for sleep apnea begin with simple changes, such as avoiding alcoholic drinks, losing weight and stopping smoking. Others may require an operation to remove tissue and widen the airway.

For more severe cases, doctors use continuous positive airway pressure, also known as CPAP (C-PAP). CPAP is a device worn over the nose that connects to a tube. The tube is connected to a small machine that controls air pressure.

Some studies have shown CPAP can improve sleep, reduce sleepiness during daytime hours and lower blood pressure. But a Canadian study found the devices did not improve survival rates among people with central sleep apnea.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.

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Acne, Eczema and More: Scratching the Surface in the Life of Skin

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Sarah Long with Bob Doughty, and this is the VOA Special English program, SCIENCE IN THE NEWS.

VOICE TWO:

Today, we talk about some disorders of the skin, and ways to treat them.

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VOICE ONE:

Skin. It is the largest organ of the body. The first barrier to the outside. It keeps out many harmful bacteria and other things. Of course, it also keeps in all the things we need inside our bodies.

The skin helps control body temperature. Glands on the skin release fluid to cool the body when it gets too hot. When a person gets too cold, blood vessels in the skin narrow. This helps to trap heat inside the body.

VOICE TWO:

Yet, like other organs of the body, the skin can have problems. Almost any teenager can tell you the most common disorder: acne. Acne is connected to hormones and how they affect the oil glands of the skin.

The skin gets its oil, called sebum, from the sebaceous glands. Each gland connects to a passage of extremely small hairs. The sebum travels through these passages. The oil reaches the surface of the skin through little holes, called pores. Sometimes, the sebum, hair and cells of the pores block these openings. This is how acne starts.

Bacteria can grow in a blocked pore. The bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes. White blood cells -- infection fighters -- travel to the area. All this leads to a growth on the skin, a pimple. This becomes red, hot and often painful.

VOICE ONE:

Some people think eating chocolate or oily foods causes acne. Others blame dirty skin or nervous tension. Yet researchers tell us none of these cause acne.

So what does? Doctors are not sure. But they have some ideas. For one thing, they know that hormones called androgens play a part. Androgens cause the sebaceous glands to grow and make more oil.

Young people will not be happy about this next fact. Androgens increase when boys and girls enter their teenage years.

VOICE TWO:

There are several treatments for acne. Mild cases are generally treated with medicines for use directly on the skin. These often contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.

People with more serious acne may be given antibiotics to take by mouth. Or they might use a combination of pills and creams.

One of the drugs used to treat the most severe forms of acne is called isotretinoin. It is normally taken for about five months. Isotretinoin has been shown to cure acne in ninety percent of people who use it.

However, isotretinoin and another acne medicine called Accutane can cause serious problems in some cases. If used during pregnancy, for example, they can harm the fetus.

VOICE ONE:

Skin experts say there are simple ways to help prevent acne outbreaks. One is to touch your face as little as possible, so as not to add oils or put pressure on the skin.

Another good idea is to avoid the urge to burst pimples. This can leave permanent marks on the skin.

Doctors also say to avoid strong soaps, and to be gentle as you wash and dry your skin.

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VOICE TWO:

There are other skin problems far more serious than acne. There are several kinds of skin cancer, for example.Skin cancer is often the result of time spent in the sun. Light and heat from the sun can change the chemicals in the skin. The sun produces ultraviolet radiation that causes the skin to burn and, over time, develop cancer.

The most serious skin cancer is melanoma. It begins in the cells that produce skin color. Melanomas can develop anywhere, but are usually found on the back and the shoulders.

Most melanomas are black or brown. They can look like other kinds of growths. But they are the deadliest form of skin cancer. So it is important to watch for signs that can help identify melanoma. Treating it early can make the difference between life and death.

People should see a doctor immediately if they find a growth of a strange shape, with uneven sides or edges that are not straight. Or a growth of different colors. Or a growth larger than six millimeters.

VOICE ONE:

The usual treatment for melanoma is an operation to remove the growth. The surgery is often followed by drugs to kill any cancer cells that remain. Doctors may also order radiation treatment. Radiation kills cancer cells and shrinks cancerous growths.There are experimental treatments for melanoma, as well. Researchers are working on ways to genetically change white blood cells. The goal is to help the body increase its own efforts to destroy the cancer.

Researchers are also working on a possible melanoma vaccine. It would not prevent the disease like traditional vaccines. Instead, it would help the body fight the cancer in a way similar to the genetic treatment.

However, the best thing is to reduce the chances that you might ever get melanoma. Doctors tell people to limit the amount of time they spend in sunlight. They also suggest wearing hats and other protective clothes. And, they urge people to use products that help protect the skin from the sun.

VOICE TWO:

Yet there are times when doctors use ultraviolet light to treat some skin problems -- like psoriasis, for example.

Psoriasis creates raised areas of skin that are dry and itchy. They are found most often on the elbows, knees and head. But psoriasis can spread to cover larger areas.

It usually begins before age twenty or after fifty. The newest research shows that psoriasis is most likely a disorder that causes the body’s defense system to produce too many skin cells.

There is no cure, but there are treatments that can improve the condition. One involves the use of ultraviolet light in the doctor's office to reduce swelling and slow skin cell production. This is sometimes used in combination with a drug called psoralen.

Psoriasis seems to pass down from parent to child. Scientists are searching for a possible gene linked to this condition.

VOICE ONE:

Another skin disorder is atopic dermatitis, commonly called eczema. It creates areas of skin that itch and become rough like leather.

Eczema is most common in babies. At least half of those cases clear up within a few years. But, in adults, this painful condition generally never goes away completely.

People with eczema often also suffer from allergic conditions like asthma and seasonal hay fever. Like psoriasis, there is no cure for eczema. But there are treatments with steroid drugs and also some newly developed kinds without steroids.

Environmental conditions can also play a part. That is why doctors often advise people with eczema not to use cleaners that contain soap, which can make skin dry. Even water can cause dry skin, which can make eczema worse. So can temperature changes and stress.

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VOICE TWO:

Some skin disorders do not cause any physical pain. But, they can cause emotional pain by how they affect the appearance of the skin.

Vitiligo [vit-i-LIE-go], for example, is the destruction of the pigment cells. This disease causes areas of the skin to lose all color. Even the hairs turn white.

For some people, the white spots of vitiligo appear only in one or two areas. Others find pigment loss on just one side of their bodies. Most people, however, develop many such areas all over their skin.

Around the world, as many as fifty-million people have vitiligo. It affects all races and both sexes.

Doctors do not know the cause. However, as with some other skin disorders, they suspect that the body’s immune system is involved.

VOICE ONE:

To treat vitiligo, some patients receive psoralen and ultraviolet light. A number of steroid drugs can also help, especially when started early in the disease.

Doctors may also wish to operate to treat severe cases of vitiligo. However, these are considered experimental treatments.

The newest kind of operation involves the removal of a very small piece of healthy skin from the patient. The skin is placed in a substance that helps it grow more pigment cells. These new cells are then placed in the areas where the patient needs pigment.

Vitiligo can cause extreme changes in a person’s appearance. That is why there are mental health professionals and also support groups that can help people who have this disease of the skin.

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VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver. It was produced by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English Program on the Voice of America.

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Goats: Friendly Animals That Can Be Cared for by Children

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Goats have provided meat and milk for people longer than sheep or cows have. There are several hundred million goats in the world. Each year they provide millions of tons of meat and milk. Also, the hair from goats can be made into wool for clothing and blankets.

More people use milk products from goats than from cows. Goats’ milk improves the diet of many families around the world. Cheese made from goats’ milk is very tasty. In addition, goats are friendly animals. They can be cared for by children.

There are several ways to help goats produce more and better milk. One way is to give the animals high-protein plants like alfalfa, groundnut grasses and vegetable leaves to eat. The covering from rice is also high in protein. Providing a special diet for goats is better than letting the animals find their own food all the time.

Goats with horns seem to survive better in the heat than goats without horns. But all goats should have covered shelters where they can escape the rain and extremely hot or cold weather. If the goat shelter has a metal roof, it should be painted white to reflect heat from the sun. There should be plenty of fresh air inside the shelter.

Goats enjoy exercise and need to move around. When goats are inside a shelter, each adult animal should have at least two-and-a-half square meters of space. When they are outside, a fenced-off area should allow about forty square meters for each animal.

Fences should be about one-and-a-half meters to two meters high. Some wire fences can be dangerous for young goats. Their horns can become trapped. So make sure the wire fence is the right height for young goats.

Many of the same methods used to keep cows healthy can also be used with goats. In fact, sometimes young cows cannot drink a lot of their mother's milk because they get sick. Instead, they are given goat's milk to drink.

You can get more information about raising milk-producing goats from a publication offered for sale on the Web. It is listed at enterpriseworks.org. Click on the link for VITA publications.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Gary Garriott. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. And if you have a general question about agriculture, send it to special@voanews.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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Effort Aims for Low-Cost Computers for Poor Children

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Development Report.

Computer scientists in the United States are working on a low-cost computer for young people in developing countries. The dream is for every child to own one.

The project is led by Nicholas Negroponte, chief of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mister Negroponte first announced the idea of a one hundred dollar laptop computer in January. He just presented an early version of the computer at the World Summit on the Information Society.

The three-day meeting took place earlier this month in Tunisia. The United Nations organized the conference to discuss Internet growth in developing nations.

To save money, the computers are expected to use the free operating system Linux instead of a product like Microsoft Windows. Users without electric power will be able to turn a wind-up handle to recharge the battery. A special full-color display will have the ability to change to a black-and-white image. That way, users could see it even in bright sunlight.

And the computers will be able to connect wirelessly to each other and to the Internet.

The machines will not be able to store huge amounts of information. But they will be made to survive rough conditions. Also, the lime-green color should make them more appealing to children -- and less appealing to robbers.

M.I.T. has set up a non-profit organization called One Laptop per Child to develop the computer. Five companies, including Google and News Corporation, have each given two million dollars to finance the group. The plan is to sell the computers to education ministries that order at least one million of them.

The laptop is still not fully developed. And there are other issues, like how to get Internet service to poor villages. But officials say they should have computers ready for shipment by the end of next year or early two thousand seven.

Countries that have expressed an interest include Brazil, China, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand.

The computers may cost more than one hundred dollars to manufacture in the beginning. But Nicholas Negroponte says he wants to cut the price even more.

A two hundred dollar version may be sold to the public.

In Massachusetts, Governor Mitt Romney has proposed to buy a low-cost computer for every middle and high school student in his state.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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A Small Farm Offers Cheese, Bread and Food for Thought

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Pat Bodnar.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Doug Johnson. This week, learn how a small farm using traditional methods is growing a profitable agricultural business.

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VOICE ONE:

Jonathan and Nina White of Bobolink Dairy

The day begins early in the morning. Jonathan and Nina White help prepare their three children for school. After Paula, Tobias and Jacob are on their way, the two take a short morning meal with their assistant Hannah Beiler. Then it is time to go to bring the cows to the barn.

Mister White and Miz Beiler walk down to one of several fields on the farm. That is where the cows spent the night. They drive the cows from the field to the barn where they will be milked.

(SOUND: Cows Moving to Barn)

VOICE TWO:

The cows have been eating grass in the field for some time now. Most dairy cows on industrial farms eat grain in a barn. Here the cows eat grass and hay from his fields.

Jonathan White knows the names of each of his thirty-six cattle. There are several different kinds, or breeds, of dairy cattle.

There are Ayrshire, Guernsey and Jersey cows. The Whites also have Holstein and a British White. But Bobolink Dairy’s most interesting breed is from Ireland, the Kerry.

Jonathan White has one of about fifty Kerry cattle in the United States. The Kerry is a small but strong dairy breed that is a good milk producer.

Bobolink Dairy's main bull, John, leads the herd up a hill

The main male among the cattle is named John.

Mister White breeds cattle to be able to live outside all year. His cattle are smaller animals that do well in open fields.

The daily process of driving cows from the field to the barn is one that could have taken place in many cultures hundreds of years ago. But Bobolink Dairy in New Jersey depends on modern ideas and some modern equipment, too.

VOICE ONE:

Jonathan White communicates with his wife and several assistants by cellular telephone. He has learned to use the phone to limit trips from one end of the farm to the other. Following him, it is easy to realize that every trip from one part of the farm to the other needs to have a purpose. A wasted trip is wasted time, and time is something a farmer can never have enough of.

VOICE TWO:

The Whites take the best of modern tools and put them to work. One time-saving device is the milking machine. It takes milk from the cows and sends it through a pipe to the dairy. This is what it sounds like …

(SOUND: Milking machine)

A milking machine

VOICE ONE:

The milking machines pump milk directly to a large stainless steel container, or vat. The vat holds milk for making cheese. It is attached to a heating device that controls the temperature of the milk exactly.

Here, the modern meets the traditional. The vat warms the milk to about thirty-two degrees Celsius. This is a little cooler than milk is in the udder of the cow.

Jonathan White does not pasteurize the milk. Pasteurization is a process of heating food to kill most of the organisms in it. Pasteurization would only cause Mister White to have to buy and add bacteria or mold to the milk.

Instead, the natural organisms that enter the milk in the cow’s udder cause the process known as fermentation. A little bit of milk from the previous day’s cheese making is all that is needed to speed the process of turning milk into cheese.

VOICE TWO:

It takes a few hours for the milk to start fermenting. In this process, bacteria start to change milk sugars into lactic acid. The milk starts to become a little sour. When he judges the time is right, Jonathan White adds a substance that will cause the milk to become solid, or curdle.

The rennet he adds contains a chemical substance found in the stomachs of young cows and sheep. It helps them digest milk. When rennet is put in fermenting milk, it forms soft but solid curds. The remaining liquid is called whey.

The whey is a waste product of cheese making. The Whites also have another use for whey.

(SOUND: Pigs)

VOICE ONE:

Jonathan White explains that many dairy producing areas have traditionally produced pig meat, too. This is the case in Parma, Italy, which is famous for Parmesan cheese and for Parma hams. The Whites fatten their pigs on whey. When the animals reach about ninety kilograms, they are ready to be sold for meat.

After the day’s cheese making is done, the pigs at Bobolink dairy get a special meal of whey, which they eat hungrily.

(SOUND: Pigs)

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Cheese making is an art. Many different kinds of cheese can be made from the same

Cheese drying on a rack

curd. After the curds are solid enough, they are put into forms, air-dried, salted and aged.

Jonathan White estimates that about fifteen organisms, bacteria and molds, form the skin of his cheese. He says about one hundred kinds of bacteria ferment the cheese itself.

Since ancient times, people have recognized that fermentation changes food so it can be stored for long periods. Wine, vinegar, pickles and cheese are all examples of fermented foods.

VOICE ONE:

Ann Carroll prepares the bread oven for baking

The Whites added bread to their products last year. That, too, depends on fermentation. Yeast, a kind of mold, causes bread to rise and develop its structure. The Whites built a bread oven that burns wood. The big oven reaches about three hundred seventy degrees Celsius. After the oven reaches the right temperature, the wood is removed and bread is put inside to bake.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The kind of farming done by the Whites is the opposite of industrial agriculture. Big farming is good at producing products all of equal quality in huge amounts.

The Whites serve a different, and growing, market: people who are looking for unusual or one-of-a-kind food products. These goods have higher prices and can be more profitable for small farms than other kinds of farmed goods.

(SOUND: Ballet music)

VOICE ONE:

Nina White is a trained dancer. She still teaches dancing locally, but has taken on many of the duties of doing business with the public. She travels with assistants to local markets selling the farm’s cheese and bread.

She also supervises the farm’s Internet site. The information and pictures she provides inform people about Bobolink Dairy. People can buy cheese and bread electronically. Nina White can send Bobolink products almost anywhere in the country.

VOICE TWO:

Jonathan White's cheese has been described in several magazines. He also supplied cheese to the White House when Walter Scheib supervised the kitchen as presidential chief.

Some local restaurants in New York and New Jersey offer Bobolink cheese. However, the Whites do not accept large buyers. Instead, they run a successful Internet business and serve people visiting the farm.

VOICE ONE:

The Whites consider selling their own farm products as one way that farmers can be economically independent. Bobolink is among a growing number of farms that sell their products directly to the public.

The Whites have chosen to farm using few extra materials beyond what is on their land. They milk and breed several kinds of cattle to create a group, or herd, that is genetically diverse.

VOICE TWO:

Jonathan White says he considers independent farming important not only to agriculture, but to the development of the country:

JONATHAN WHITE: “The reason people poured into this country was because they could actually own land, and owning and tilling the land didn’t exist anywhere else in the world. You either owned it or you worked it.

"That’s basically the root of American democracy. Individuals owning land and farming it and being able to profit from it gave them the independent mind and spirit, which enabled them to elect a free government.

"When agriculture becomes so centralized, either through very large farms or small farms selling to very large manufacturing plants, we lose that.”

VOICE ONE:

Nina White explains that making farm products from start to end is an experience of independence and satisfaction:

NINA WHITE: “What we’re doing here is freeing ourselves by making the product from beginning to end in one location. We can start with the best inputs: sunlight to grass to cow to cheese.”

The Whites enjoy sharing their knowledge of cheese and bread making. You can visit their farm online at cowsoutside.com.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Pat Bodnar. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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George Abbott Was Known as 'Mister Broadway'

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(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with the Special English program. People in America. Every week we tell about a person important in the history of the United States. Today, we tell about the man known as "Mister Broadway," George Abbott.

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VOICE ONE:

George Abbott

Experts say probably no one in the history of the American theater influenced it more than George Abbott. He lived to be one hundred-seven years old. He remained active until he died, January thirty-first, nineteen ninety-five.

You can tell the history of the Broadway theater area in New York City by telling the story of George Abbott's life. He wrote plays. He directed them. He produced plays. And he acted in them. He was involved in more than one hundred twenty productions. Some of his most popular shows were musicals. They include "Jumbo," "Pal Joey," "Call Me Madam," "Pajama Game," "Fiorello!" and "Damn Yankees. " In some years, he had three hit shows at the same time.

VOICE TWO:

"Damn Yankees" opened in New York in nineteen fifty-five. George Abbott helped write the musical play. And he directed it. It won eight of the Tony awards given each year for the best theater productions on Broadway. In nineteen ninety-four, another performance of "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway. George Abbott helped with the production. He was one hundred six years old.

"Damn Yankees" is about a baseball player on the Washington Senators baseball team. He sells his soul to the devil so the senators will win the championship.

A major person in the play is a beautiful woman who works for the devil. Her name is Lola. One of the best known songs from that show is "Whatever Lola Wants":

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

George Francis Abbott was born in eighteen eighty-seven in New York State. His family moved to the western state of Wyoming when he was eleven years old.

George worked as a cowboy during summers before the family moved back to New York State, near the city of Buffalo. He attended the University of Rochester, where he played football and took part in the acting club. He then studied play writing at Harvard University. In nineteen twelve, he won one hundred dollars for a play he wrote called "The Man in the Manhole. "

George Abbott moved to New York City in nineteen thirteen. But he had a slow start in the theater. He did not get many acting jobs. Two years later, he became an assistant to a theater producer. Soon he was deeply involved with re-writing plays and producing them. He had his first hit show in nineteen twenty-six. It was called "Broadway. "

VOICE TWO:

George Abbott worked in Hollywood, too. He was involved in producing eleven movies between nineteen twenty-eight and nineteen fifty-eight.

"All Quiet on the Western Front" was one of the most praised. He also produced films of the musical plays "Damn Yankees," "Where's Charley. " And "The Pajama Game".

A few weeks before his death, Mister Abbott reportedly was working on a new version of "The Pajama Game. " The musical play is about workers in a pajama factory. The clothing workers are planning to strike for more pay. How much more? Seven and a half cents.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Beginning in nineteen twenty, George Abbott had at least one play on Broadway each year. Sometimes there were as many as five.

Mister Abbott liked working with young, unknown actors. He once said a producer was better off if he did not have a star in his show. He said working without a star saves money and damage to the nerves. That is why George Abbott gave acting jobs to actors who were unknown at the time. Many became very famous. Helen Hayes, Gene Kelley, Eddie Albert, Shirley MacLaine, and Carol Burnett are just a few. He also helped unknown song writers, dancers and producers like Harold Prince, Leonard Bernstein, Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins.

George Abbott changed the American theater in many ways. He was the first to produce musical shows that were serious dramas, not just light love stories. And he was the first producer to use ballet dancers in a musical show. He worked with the ballet expert George Balanchine. That was in nineteen thirty-six. The play was "On Your Toes. " The music was "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

George Abbott won just about every award a person can win in the theater. He received a special Tony award for his lifetime of work. He also received the Kennedy Center lifetime achievement award in nineteen eighty-two. And he won Tony awards for four of his musical shows including "Fiorello!"

"Fiorello!" also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama after it opened in nineteen fifty-nine. It is about the life of Fiorello LaGuardia, the mayor of New York City during the nineteen forties. Many critics said the song "Little Tin Box" was the best in the show. It makes fun of the way politicians try to explain their actions when they are accused of spending public money for their own use. Here is "Little Tin Box" from "Fiorello!":

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

George Abbott earned millions of dollars in the theater. But he did not spend his money freely. He always helped the poor, however. And he quietly provided money to produce shows that no one else would support.

Mister Abbott was married three times. He had a daughter who also worked in the theater. She died in nineteen eighty-four.

VOICE TWO:

George Abbott was always involved in new projects, usually several at one time. But he always took care of his health. He said it was important to eat three meals a day and get enough sleep each night.

He always wore a suit and tie. And he always said what was necessary, not a word more. For Mister Abbott, the play was the most important thing, and nothing was permitted to interfere. Actors and people who went to his plays loved him for it.

When George Abbott celebrated his one hundredth birthday in nineteen eighty-seven, theater actors honored him with a big party. They also performed for him. They ended their show with a song George Abbott especially liked. So we thought we would end with it too. It is called "Heart", from George Abbott's show, "Damn Yankees. "

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for another People in America program on the Voice of America.

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General Motors Announces Plan to Reduce Jobs and Factories

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I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, General Motors announced a three-year plan to lower its costs. The plan calls for G.M. to reduce its number of workers in North America by thirty thousand. That is a cut of seventeen percent. The company says it will close all or part of twelve factories in the United States and Canada.

Its chief executive officer, Rick Wagoner, says the cuts are necessary for the company to compete. General Motors has lost more than four thousand million dollars this year. And that is not its only problem. In October its largest supplier, Delphi, sought protection in bankruptcy court after heavy losses.

General Motors is the largest automobile maker in the world. But the company has struggled against foreign competitors, especially the Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda. Forty years ago, General Motors controlled half the market in the United States. Now it controls one-fourth of it.

Operations technicians work on inspection line at General Motors Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee

G.M. will reduce production to better meet demand. It plans to produce just over four million cars and trucks a year in North America by the end of two thousand eight. That is thirty percent fewer than it built in two thousand two.

Industry experts blame the situation in part on poor decisions and vehicle designs that have not been very creative. Other reasons, they say, include costly health care and retirement payments.

The new cuts, and measures announced earlier, are expected to lower costs by about seven thousand million dollars next year.

The number of jobs to be lost, thirty thousand, is five thousand higher than Mister Wagoner had announced earlier this year. G.M. officials say they want to reduce employee numbers mainly through retirements.

Still, the United Auto Workers union calls the cuts unfair. The labor union says it will do everything in its power to enforce job security programs.

Union officials reject the idea that the problems at General Motors are because of high labor costs. Yet, they say, workers and their communities will be the ones who suffer because of the actions announced this week.

The current labor agreement requires General Motors to continue to pay workers even when factories close. And the company cannot permanently close factories without union approval. So the factories cannot officially close until the two sides reach an agreement in the next contract talks. Those will take place in two thousand seven.

Some industry experts say the union might not have much choice but to accept the job cuts and factory closings. They say the union has to be careful not to go too far. Too much pressure could send the company into bankruptcy court to seek protection from its creditors. Then all agreements with the union would have to be renegotiated.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com I'm Steve Ember.

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Number of Americans Studying Abroad Continues to Rise

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I’m Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Last week, in the United States, the Institute of International Education released its yearly report. "Open Doors Two Thousand Five" shows continued record growth in the number of American students who study in a foreign country.

The I.I.E. report says the number increased by almost ten percent in the two thousand three-two thousand four school year. This brought the number of Americans studying in another country to more than one hundred ninety-one thousand. The increase the year before was eight and one-half percent.

2004 Open Doors Report

Interest in foreign study has increased for years. But I.I.E. officials say it has taken on greater importance since the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one.

The newest report says sixty-one percent of the students went to Europe. But study in China increased by ninety percent from the year before. And study in India increased by sixty-five percent. Study in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, including Cuba, also increased.

The report says that while more Americans are studying abroad, they are staying for shorter periods of time. Six percent went for a full school year. Thirty-eight percent went for half a year. And fifty-six percent went for a shorter term.

The report says New York University has the largest number of students abroad. Michigan State University is second this year, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ten smaller schools each sent more than forty percent of their students abroad last year. The list includes Carleton College in Minnesota, Elon University in North Carolina and Lewis and Clark College in Oregon.

Recently, Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, announced that it will require all of its students to study abroad. Goucher will be one of the first American colleges to require at least three weeks of study in another country. Goucher says it will provide every student with one thousand two hundred dollars in travel money to help pay the costs.

The president of Goucher is Sandy Ungar, a former VOA director. Mister Ungar says American colleges must help students expand the ways they see the world. And, he says, colleges must help change the way other nations see Americans.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Listen next week for a report about foreign students studying in the United States. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

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Nation Is in Economic Trouble as President Cleveland Takes Office

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(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

I'm Shirley Griffith. Today, Frank Oliver and I begin the story of Grover Cleveland's second presidency.

VOICE TWO:

In March, eighteen eighty-nine, President Grover Cleveland left the White House after four years as President. He had been defeated by Benjamin Harrison.

Crowds gather outside the Capitol building for Grover Cleveland's inauguration in 1893

As the President and his wife left, Misses Cleveland spoke with a member of the White House staff. She said: "I want you to take good care of everything. I want to find it the same when we come back. And we will be back...in four years."

Misses Cleveland was right. She and her husband moved back into the White House after he became president again in eighteen ninety-three. Grover Cleveland is the only man to serve two terms separated by the administration of a different president.

VOICE ONE:

Cleveland did not want to be president again. But he was worried about the future of the United States. He did not think President Harrison could solve the serious economic problems the country faced.

Benjamin Harrison

President Harrison had approved very high taxes on imports. He also had approved an increase in the supply of silver money. Grover Cleveland said both actions had hurt the economy. He also feared that Harrison was not strong enough to oppose the demands of special interest groups in the Republican Party.

Cleveland believed he was the only Democrat who could defeat Harrison. He won his party's nomination. And he was easily elected to a second presidency.

VOICE TWO:

Grover Cleveland immediately turned to the nation's economic problems. The country seemed headed for a serious depression.

Only a few days before Cleveland's second inauguration in eighteen ninety-three, a major railroad failed. Then another big company declared failure. This set off a selling panic on the stock market.

In the next few months, almost eight thousand businesses failed in the United States. Four hundred banks closed. One million workers lost their jobs. The prices of farm products fell lower than ever before. And thousands of farmers -- unable to pay their debts -- had to give up their farms.

VOICE ONE:

Experts offered a number of different reasons for the depression. Some said it was a plot by members of the stock market to ruin farmers and seize their land. Some said it happened because American factories were producing more goods than people could use. Still others said the problem was caused by the government's money policy.

For many years, the United States and other nations used both gold and silver as money. Paper money was used to represent a nation's gold and silver holdings. The value of silver was tied to the value of gold.

In the United States in the early eighteen hundreds, fifteen ounces of silver had the same value as one ounce of gold. This value did not change until after eighteen sixty. That was when mines in the western United States began to produce large amounts of silver. The extra silver caused the price of the metal to fall.

VOICE TWO:

In eighteen seventy-one, Germany declared that it would no longer support its paper money with silver. Instead, it would use only gold. Other European countries quickly did the same thing.

The United States did, too. In eighteen seventy-three, Congress passed a law that stopped the government from using silver as money. Western silver producers protested. They put great pressure on lawmakers to change the law. Five years later, Congress passed a compromise bill.

The compromise bill said the government could issue limited amounts of silver money. It said the government must buy two million dollars' worth of silver each month for that purpose.

VOICE ONE:

Twelve years later, during President Benjamin Harrison's administration, Congress passed a new silver purchase bill.

It said the government must buy four-and-one-half million ounces of silver each month. The Treasury Department would buy the silver with new paper money that could be exchanged for silver or gold. The new law increased the amount of silver money used in the United States.

The country soon became sharply divided on the issue of silver money.

Wealthy businessmen and bankers did not want to use silver money at all. They wanted the country's economy to be based only on gold. This was what was known as the "gold standard." They believed the gold standard would keep the value of the dollar high. Using silver, they said, made the dollar less valuable.

VOICE TWO:

Farmers, laborers and others wanted to use silver money. And they wanted an unlimited supply of it. Without silver, they said, the country's money supply would be too small. Gold would increase in value. People who had borrowed money would be hurt. They would have to pay back loans with dollars that were more valuable than those they had borrowed.

President Grover Cleveland

President Cleveland supported the gold standard. He opposed any use of silver for money. He said the United States should use only gold, as other nations did.

VOICE ONE:

President Cleveland was sure the silver purchase law of eighteen ninety had caused the economic depression. He explained the situation in this way:

The law had caused businessmen and investors to lose faith in the government's money policy. They were afraid their money would drop in value, as more silver money was put into use.

Investors began to withdraw their money from businesses. Banks began demanding early payment of loans. Everyone wanted gold. They took their paper money and their silver to the government and exchanged them for gold.

In eighteen ninety, when the Silver Purchase Act was passed, the government held almost two hundred ninety million dollars in gold. After two years, withdrawals had cut that amount to one hundred million dollars.

VOICE TWO:

President Cleveland and other administration officials began to worry. It was possible that gold holdings might fall so low the government could not support the dollar.

Cleveland decided the only answer was to get Congress to kill the silver purchase law. Then the government could stop buying silver. It could return to the gold standard.

The Congress was not in session, however. It would not meet again for several months. President Cleveland did not want to wait. He believed the problem was too serious. So, he called a special session of Congress.

The president did not expect an easy time with the Congress. Many congressmen supported silver money -- especially those congressmen from silver-producing states in the west.

VOICE ONE:

President Cleveland believed he could get Congress to kill the silver purchase law. But if he showed any weakness, the fight would be lost. Then, just before the congressional debate, he learned he would need an operation.

He felt a rough spot in the top of his mouth. It got bigger and more painful. Doctors examined the spot. It was a cancer. President Cleveland asked how long he could wait to have the cancer removed. "If it were in my mouth," one of the doctors said, "I would have it removed immediately."

VOICE TWO:

Cleveland agreed. But he said the operation would have to be kept secret. News from the White House often affected short-term activity on the stock market. News that the president's life was in danger could cause the nation's economic crisis to become worse.

Cleveland decided to have the operation on a friend's boat in New York Harbor. Newsmen were told he was going sailing with his friend.

Doctors made final preparations. They were not afraid of the operation. But they were afraid of what would happen if news of the operation were leaked to the press.

One of them spoke with the boat's captain. "If you hit an underwater rock," he said, "hit it good and hard, so we will all go to the bottom."

VOICE ONE:

As the boat moved slowly up the East River in New York, the doctors put President Cleveland to sleep with an anesthetic drug. Then they began the operation. That will be our story in the next program of THE MAKING OF A NATION.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Frank Oliver and Shirley Griffith. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

(MUSIC)

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Country Music: Lee Ann Womack Is the Big Winner at CMA Awards

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(MUSIC)

HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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

Lee Ann Womack

We hear some award-winning country music …

Answer a question about rescue and recovery teams …

And report about the building of new houses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Habitat for Humanity

Last week, Habitat for Humanity International carried out a project in Washington, D.C., called “America Builds on the National Mall. Faith Lapidus tells us about this effort to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

FAITH LAPIDUS: In August, Hurricane Katrina destroyed hundreds of thousands of houses in the Southern United States. The storm left more than one million people without permanent shelter. Last week, volunteers built the walls for new houses for fifty-one of these homeless families.

They did so in a very special place – near the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington.

The volunteers were from Habitat for Humanity, an independent organization. It has been building homes for poor families in the United States and around the world for the past twenty-nine years.

Habitat for Humanity has built more than two hundred thousand houses in almost one hundred countries. Volunteers are people who give their time and skills to build these houses.

For this special project, Habitat for Humanity groups in each state were chosen to come to Washington to build a house. Each day, groups of volunteers from four states built the frames for four houses. At the end of the week, the fifty-one houses represented each of the United States and the District of Columbia. The houses were carefully packed for shipping and placed on large trucks. The trucks took the houses to communities along the Gulf Coast area of the United States.

Kelle Shultz is the director of one of the busiest Habitat for Humanity groups in the state of Tennessee. She traveled to Washington with twenty volunteers from her office. Miz Shultz first became interested in Habitat for Humanity when a friend invited her along on a trip to build houses in Nicaragua. When she got back to the United States, Miz Shultz applied to become the director of her hometown Habitat for Humanity office. She says the trip was a life-changing experience for her.

Miz Shultz hopes that the “America Builds on the National Mall” project will also be a life-changing experience for the fifty-one families who will receive the houses. However, it will be a very long time until all of the families displaced by Hurricane Katrina will have homes.

Rescue and Recovery Teams

HOST: Our question this week comes from a listener in Vietnam. Pham Hong Hai wants to know about urban rescue and recovery teams. American rescue and recovery teams assist after explosions, earthquakes, storms and other natural disasters in many parts of the world.

The Fire and Rescue Department of Fairfax County, Virginia is one of two groups the United States government sends to help in disasters in other countries. It is also one of twenty-eight organizations deployed in disasters across the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

One recent example is their work following powerful storms that struck the Gulf Coast area of the United States in August. Severe flooding destroyed parts of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Urban rescue and recovery workers treated injuries, rescued survivors, and provided food and water to people who had to leave their homes.

In October, a huge earthquake struck northern Pakistan. A small team from Fairfax County was sent to coordinate rescue efforts.

Fairfax County, Virginia and the Metro-Dade County Fire Department in Miami, Florida first formed urban rescue and recovery teams in the nineteen eighties. These teams were trained especially for rescue work in fallen buildings.

Commanders plan the operations. Technical and structural experts work to make rescue attempts safe for the rescue workers. Searchers look for victims, alive or dead. Rescuers try to pull the victims from the wreckage. Medical workers treat the injured.

Dogs do an important part of the work of urban search and rescue teams. Dogs can move into areas that are too small or too dangerous for people. They use their sharp sense of smell to find victims. Then they signal their success to their handlers. Some dogs are taught to bark when they make a discovery. Others lie down.

Urban rescue and recovery teams continue to provide assistance to communities after disasters. The teams provide security to the area. They also help people to rebuild their communities.

CMA Awards

The American Country Music Association presented its yearly awards last week in New York City. This was the first time the awards ceremony was held outside Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music. Pat Bodnar has some of the award-winning music.

PAT BODNAR: The biggest winner of Country Music Association Awards this year was Lee Ann Womack. She won three awards for musical event with George Strait, album of the year and single of the year. The single was on Womack’s award-winning album, “There’s More Where That Came From.” It is called “I May Hate Myself In The Morning.”

(MUSIC)

Another big winner this year was Australian singer Keith Urban. He won two awards — male singer of the year and entertainer of the year. Here he sings from his latest album, “Be Here.” The song is called “Days Go By”.

(MUSIC)

Jerry Douglas was another Country Music Association Award winner this year. He was named musician of the year. Douglas plays an unusual stringed instrument called a dobro with the group Union Station. We leave you now with Jerry Douglas playing the song “When Papa Played The Dobro.”

(MUSIC)

HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program.

Our show was written by Lawan Davis, Katherine Gypson and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer.

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.

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Peter Drucker, 1909-2005: A Thinker for Business Leaders

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Peter Drucker was a voice for change and new ways of thinking about social and business relations. He died in Claremont, California, on November eleventh at the age of ninety-five.

Peter Drucker was born in Austria in nineteen-oh-nine. In the late nineteen twenties, he worked as a reporter in Frankfurt, Germany. He also studied international law.

He fled Germany as Adolf Hitler came to power in nineteen thirty-three. Peter Drucker spent four years in Britain as an adviser to investment banks. He then came to the United States.

Mister Drucker used his knowledge of international law to advise American businesses. He developed this advice into books on business methods and management.

In the middle of the nineteen forties, Peter Drucker argued that the desire for profit was central to business efforts. He also warned that rising wages were harming American business.

Mister Drucker was later invited to study General Motors. He wrote about his experiences in the book “The Concept of the Corporation.” In it, he said that workers at all levels should take part in decision-making, not just top managers.

Critics of Peter Drucker have said that he often included only information that supported his arguments. But even his critics praised his clear reasoning and simple writing. He was called a management guru.

Peter Drucker changed his thinking as times changed. In nineteen ninety-three, he warned that seeking too much profit helped a business’ competitors. That was almost fifty years after he had argued the importance of profits.

Mister Drucker taught at the Claremont Graduate School of Management for more than thirty years. He also advised companies. And he wrote for the Wall Street Journal opinion page for twenty years, until nineteen ninety-five. He commented on many economic and management issues.

Peter Drucker may be most famous not for answering questions but for asking them. He once said that business people must ask themselves not “what do we want to sell?” but “what do people want to buy?”

Mister Drucker used terms like “knowledge workers” and “management goals.” Many of his ideas have grown to be highly valued in business training and politics.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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The Makers of the Oxford English Dictionary Present ... American English

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AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of American dictionaries for Oxford University Press -- which, she says, is trying to promote the use of American English worldwide.

RS: But wait, isn't the Oxford University Press a British company?

ERIN McKEAN: "It's a little counterintuitive that Oxford has a very strong American dictionary component. But people have a choice in what kind of English they want to speak. There are many different Englishes all around the world, and for some uses American English can be more appropriate. So we find that people who are learning American English are often more concerned about business, they are often studying science and technology. And American English is the English for those purposes."

AA: "Well, you know I want to ask you one thing. I've noticed -- and other people have noticed this, too -- in recent years we're hearing terms like dead-on and spot-on and one-off."

ERIN McKEAN: "I blame BBC television. No, it's just -- "

RS: "Are Americans sounding more British?"

ERIN McKEAN: "I don't know if Americans are sounding more British. I think that in America, Britishisms have always been seen as upper class, refined, more aristocratic -- even things in Britain that would not be considered aristocratic uses."

RS: "Like what?"

ERIN McKEAN: "I'm thinking that in New York the last couple of times I've been there, the people who are fashionable know what a chav is."

AA: "What's a chav?"

RS: "And spell it."

ERIN McKEAN: "A chav -- c-h-a-v. They're supposed to be distinguished by wearing Burberry and antisocial behavior and gaudy displays of wealth."

AA: "Are chavs dodgy? [laughter] Because that's a term I hear now, dodgy."

ERIN McKEAN: "I believe that they can be. The problem, of course, is that some people self-identify as chav and use it as a term of pride, and some people use it as a term of denigration."

AA: "And dodgy, can you explain it?"

ERIN McKEAN: "Sure. In fact, I could probably even give you a definition. I have the whole dictionary right here on my cell phone."

AA: "Wow."

ERIN McKEAN: "Yes, I love this thing so much. [laughter] We label it as British, informal, [meaning] dishonest or unreliable: 'a dodgy second-hand car salesman.' Or something that's potentially dangerous: 'Activities like these could be dodgy for your heart.' Or, of low quality."

RS: "Now how can an American dictionary, such as the one you edit, help students of English as a foreign language learn American English?"

ERIN McKEAN: "Well, our perspective is always American, so that the first use, the core use of the word that you see in the dictionary will always be the American use. And usages from other varieties of English will be a little further down in the entry, although I have to say that one of the most important things you can do when you're looking up a word in the dictionary is read to the end of the entry, because especially in a dictionary like the New Oxford American Dictionary, we arrange the entries in a different way than most dictionaries.

"We start from the core sense, which is the sense that we think is the most central, the most general meaning of the word. And then we have sub-senses which are extensions of the word that can be figurative. So you have to read all the way to the end to make sure that you get the whole story."

AA: "Well, you know this is interesting, because dictionaries use to be prescriptive, where they would tell you what this word -- how it should be used and what it should mean. And now, I know some people complain about dictionaries are more descriptive. They sort of just describe how people use the language. So how do you know whether this definition is correct or whether this word is being used correctly?"

ERIN McKEAN: "We are highly descriptive. And by that I mean we describe what's going on, but we tell you everything about it. And that means whether or not other people like that use."

RS: "Give us an example."

AA: "Yeah, get on your cell phone there."

ERIN McKEAN: "I will -- so, irregardless is a word that people love to hate. Irregardless is just regardless. The -ir part doesn't really mean anything. And we give a usage note that says 'irregardless with its illogical negative prefix is widely heard perhaps arising under the influence of such perfectly correct forms as irrespective. Irregardless is avoided by careful speakers of English. Use regardless to mean without regard or consideration for or nevertheless.'

"So if someone heard the word irregardless and looked it up and didn't find it, they would probably be more likely to go ahead and use it, thinking it was just too new. But here we put it in and we say lots of people really are annoyed by this word."

RS: Listen next week for more with Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of American dictionaries for Oxford University Press.

AA: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Send e-mail to word@voanews.com, and visit us at voanews.com/wordmaster. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

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Opening the American West: Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery

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(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith, with the VOA Special English program, Explorations. Today we continue our story of Lewis and Clark. Their exploration in the early eighteen hundreds led to the opening of the American West.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Last week we told how President Thomas Jefferson suggested the trip to his private secretary Meriwether Lewis. The president said Lewis and a group of men should travel northwest up the Missouri River as far as possible and then continue west to the Pacific Ocean. The explorers were to report about the land, people, animals and plants they found.

Lewis asked his friend William Clark to join the group. Clark accepted and the two men agreed to act as equal leaders of the group they named the Corps of Discovery. Their trip began on May fourteenth, eighteen-oh-four.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

It was one hundred sixty-four days into the trip. Lewis and Clark had traveled about two thousand four hundred twenty kilometers when they were stopped by the cold winter weather. They named their winter home Fort Mandan. Mandan was the name of an Indian tribe that lived nearby.

VOICE ONE:

Lewis and Clark meet Sacagawea

At Fort Mandan, Lewis and Clark met French Canadian hunter Toussaint Charbonneau. He was living with the Indians. He asked to join the Corps of Discovery. He also asked if his Indian wife could come too. Her name was Sacagawea. She was pregnant. Lewis and Clark agreed to let them join their group for two reasons. The first was that Charbonneau spoke several Indian languages. The second concerned Sacagawea. She came from the Shoshoni tribe that lived near the Rocky Mountains in the far West.

She had been captured as a young girl by another Indian tribe. Lewis and Clark knew that no Indian war group ever traveled with women. They knew that Sacagawea's presence with them would show Indians that the Corps of Discovery did not want to fight. Sacagawea gave birth to her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, on February

eleventh, eighteen-oh-five. The baby, too, would make the long trip to the Pacific Ocean. He was the youngest member of the Corps of Discovery.

VOICE TWO:

In early April, the Corps of Discovery prepared to travel west. The smaller group of soldiers that had aided them during their trip to Fort Mandan prepared to return south to Saint Louis. The soldiers took the larger of the three boats the group had used to follow the Missouri River. They also took Lewis and Clark's first maps, animals, plants and reports to President Jefferson. These reports provided much detail about the land and what was on it. For example, Lewis used more than one thousand words to tell about one bird.

Today, visitors to President Jefferson's home in the southeastern state of Virginia can see many things collected by Lewis and Clark. Animal heads and weapons made by the Mandan Indian tribe

are among them.

(((MUSIC BRIDGE)))

VOICE ONE:

The Corps of Discovery again moved up the Missouri River as soon as the warm weather of spring began to return. Lewis wrote of seeing thousands of animals: American bison, deer, huge elk and very fast antelope. Lewis saw thousands of animals all feeding together.

VOICE TWO:

Lewis and Clark soon decided to leave behind important information, plants and things collected from Indians. They were having problems carrying everything they were gathering. They also decided to leave extra food behind. They did this by digging a deep hole and burying everything to protect it from animals. They would do this again and again on their way west. They would collect everything on their return trip.

VOICE ONE:

The explorers soon reached an area where a series of waterfalls blocked passage on the river. This area is near the modern city of Great Falls, Montana. Here, the Corps of Discovery pulled the boats from the water and took them over land to the river. They carried the boats almost thirty kilometers. To make the trip easier, they made wooden wheels for their boats. Later they buried the wheels with more food and things they had collected.

VOICE TWO:

On July twenty-fifth, eighteen-oh five, Meriwether Lewis and two other men saw a small river that was flowing to the west. All rivers before had flowed east or southeast. Lewis correctly guessed he had reached the line that divides the North American continent. Rain falling to the west of the imaginary line becomes rivers that flow to the Pacific Ocean.

Rain that falls to the east of the line forms rivers that flow to the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Meriwether Lewis became the first American to cross this continental line. At that point, Lewis could tell from the huge mountains he saw ahead that they would find no waterway across the continent. A lot of the trip would have to be over land.

VOICE ONE:

Meriwether Lewis met two Shoshoni Indian women in this same area. About sixty men from the tribe quickly arrived riding horses. They were dressed and painted for war. It was something that few white men ever saw -- a Shoshoni war party prepared to fight. Lewis made peace signs. There was no trouble.

VOICE TWO:

Two days later, Clark arrived with the main group. The Corps of Discovery met with the Indians. At the meeting, Sacagawea began to cry as she looked at the Shoshoni chief, Cameahwait. Cameahwait was her brother. She had not seen him since she was kidnapped many years before.

Lewis and Clark could communicate with the Shoshoni Indians.

But it was not easy. Sacagawea would listen to the Shoshoni. She would then speak to her husband, Charbonneau, in the Hidatsa language. He would speak in French to a soldier in the group, Francis Labiche, who then spoke in English to Lewis. It took a long time, but it worked.

The Corps of Discovery decided to leave the boats and continue west on horses. Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark trade for horses. She also helped them find an Indian guide to lead them. His name was Toby. It was already the month of September when they reached the high mountains. It was also extremely cold. The explorers began to suffer from a severe lack of food. They were forced to kill and eat several of their horses.

VOICE ONE:

In October they found the huge Columbia River. High winds and rain slowed the group's progress. On November seventh, they reached the Pacific Ocean. Clark recorded that five hundred fifty-four days had passed since they left their camp at Wood River near Saint Louis. They had traveled six thousand six hundred forty-eight kilometers.

VOICE TWO:

For several days the Corps of Discovery camped in an area that is now the extreme southern part of the state of Washington. But the hunting was poor. Indians told them the hunting would be better across the Columbia River. Lewis and Clark decided to hold a vote and let the Corps of Discovery decide. The Corps of Discovery voted to move south across the river into what is now the state of Oregon.

William Clark's black slave York and the Indian guide Sacagawea

were included in the vote. History experts say this was the first free, democratic election west of the Rocky Mountains. And they say it was the first time in American history that a black slave and a woman voted in a free election.

VOICE ONE:

The explorers quickly built a camp of wooden buildings on the Columbia River. They would stay there during the winter months between eighteen-oh-five and eighteen-oh-six. They named the buildings Fort Clatsop. "Clatsop" was the name of a nearby group of friendly Indians. The area of Fort Clatsop is very near the present city of Astoria, Oregon. Visitors to that area today can walk through a copy of Fort Clatsop that was built in nineteen fifty-five.

VOICE TWO:

The group stayed at Fort Clatsop for four months. It rained all but twelve days. During the long winter months, the explorers hunted and preserved food. They used animal skins to make new clothes and shoes. They also studied the Indians, fish, animals and lands near the area of the fort. Clark made extremely good maps of the area. Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the other members of the Corps of Discovery were prepared for their return trip to Saint Louis. That

will be our story next time.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, Explorations. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith. Our program today was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Join us again next week on the Voice of America as we finish our story of Lewis and Clark and the land they explored.

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Cases of "Katrina Cough" Reported in Cities Hit by Storm

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Health problems now affect New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina flooded much of the city

Recovery efforts continue in the southern American states hit by Hurricane Katrina in August. But health officials are investigating reports of what is being called "Katrina cough." It is believed to be caused by reactions to the mold and dust left after the storm. The effects are said to be similar to those of a cold, but with a dry cough that will not go away.

Health officials say they do not yet know how widespread the problem is. But since Katrina, doctors in the hardest-hit areas say they have seen a twenty-five percent increase in some kinds of problems. These include sinus headaches, runny noses and sore throats.

The city of New Orleans, in Louisiana, appears to have the most cases. It had the worst damage from Katrina. More than one thousand people died in Louisiana. Officials say the biggest public health concern there now is mold.

Mold is a fungus. It is everywhere in nature. Mold can grow almost anywhere, indoors or outdoors. It grows best in warm, wet environments. New Orleans has higher-than-normal levels of mold because of its climate. But homes that flooded in the storm are now covered in mold.

Mold can be a health risk especially for people with conditions such as asthma, allergies or weakened immune systems. Mold spreads and reproduces by making spores. It can affect people who breathe it, swallow it or get it on their skin. Some molds can cause skin disorders or lung infections.

Public health officials have advised people to wear gloves and face coverings if they decide to return to their homes in New Orleans. But some officials have urged people with conditions such as asthma or weakened defenses not to return to the city.

Government officials have said repeatedly that the air quality in areas affected by Katrina is safe. Some people, however, say there has not been enough testing for levels of mold carried in the air.

Officials from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are studying the issue. They are working with state health officials in Louisiana and Mississippi to see how widespread the so-called Katrina cough is. The agency says it is observing health care centers to learn if there is an unusual increase in sick people.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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