Hurricane Katrina Voted Top Story of 2005

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

The editors and news directors of the Associated Press have chosen the following as the top ten news stories of two thousand five. The AP chose Hurricane Katrina as this year’s top news story.

Boats destoyed by Katrina in New Orleans

The fierce ocean storm hit the United States’ southern coast in August. It killed more than one thousand three hundred people in five states. The storm destroyed much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It caused flooding that left eighty percent of New Orleans, Louisiana, under water.

Other top news stories of the year included the death of Roman Catholic Church leader Pope John Paul the Second in April. He died after serving twenty-six years as Pope, the third longest in history. Millions of people around the world attended services on the day of his funeral. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany became the new Pope.

In Iraq, rebel violence continued. The Bush administration said more than two thousand American service members and thirty thousand Iraqis have been killed since the war in Iraq began. Iraqi citizens elected a parliament and voted on a new constitution.

In Washington, two new judges were nominated to the Supreme Court. John Roberts was confirmed to take the place of Chief Justice William Rehnquist who died. And Samuel Alito was nominated to take the place of Sandra Day O’Connor who announced her retirement.

Crude oil prices reached a record high of almost seventy-one dollars a barrel. The rise in gasoline prices affected drivers in the United States.

In July, a series of attacks on three trains and a bus in London killed fifty-six people, including four bombers who had ties to Islamic militants.

In October, a huge earthquake near the border of Pakistan and India killed more than eighty-seven thousand people. More than three million people were left without homes.

Terri Schiavo

In the United States, the husband of a severely brain-damaged woman fought for the right to remove the feeding tube that had kept her alive for fifteen years. The United States Congress and President Bush became involved with efforts to keep Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube connected. A judge later ordered its removal. Missus Schiavo’s case raised questions about the role of government in private, family decisions about life and death.

Members of the Bush administration were under investigation and accused of telling the name of an American intelligence agent to news reporters. The agent’s husband had earlier accused the administration of misusing prewar intelligence on Iraq.

And President Bush’s national approval rating dropped below forty percent this year, the lowest of his presidency. Many Americans began to question the president’s decisions about the war in Iraq. Others were unhappy with how the president reacted to Hurricane Katrina.

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

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Top Economic News in 2005

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

Today, we look back on some top stories of two thousand five. In January, we heard about the retirement plans, or pensions, of several airline companies in the United States. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation has since taken control of the pensions of U.S. Airways and United Airlines. Also, Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines requested legal protection from their creditors in September.

United Airlines

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation protects the pensions of more than thirty-four million workers. The federal agency takes control of troubled pension plans. It says the pensions of Delta and Northwest have a total deficit of more than sixteen thousand million dollars.

But the agency has its own troubles. Its chief, Bradley Belt, said in November that the financial health of the agency was not improving. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation reported a deficit of almost twenty-three thousand million dollars this year. Last month, the United States Senate passed rules to strengthen pension plans. But the House of Representatives is not likely to vote on new rules soon.

In September, fuel prices hit new highs. American drivers paid an average of three dollars and seven cents a gallon, or almost four liters. Damaging storms and growing demand were blamed for much of the increase. Hurricane Katrina and Rita damaged about one-third of all oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Department of Energy says problems of supply will remain until next year. As a result, most Americans will pay more for heating during the winter. Natural gas prices could increase the most. But pressure on drivers appears to be easing. Gasoline prices dropped to about two dollars twenty centers a gallon by the middle of December.

This year also marked the tenth anniversary of e-commerce. To many Americans, it may seem much longer. Amazon-dot-com opened in July of nineteen ninety-five. The store has received credit for changing people’s opinions about buying over the Internet.

How much has the Internet changed the way Americans buy things? On the final Monday in November, Americans bought nearly five hundred million dollars in goods over the Internet. That represents a twenty-six percent increase from the same day last year.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. I’m Steve Ember.

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The Best of 2005 in Music, Books and Movies

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. The year two thousand five is coming to a close. So we present a special year ender show this week.

We hear some of the best country songs of the year…

Tell about some popular movies released this year…

And…Report about some successful books published in two thousand five.

Country Music

HOST:

This year, we are looking back at some of the best country music songs released recently. Bob Doughty plays some country music hits of two thousand five.

ANNCR:

VOA Country Music expert Mary Morningstar says one of the songs of the past year she likes best is by singer Jo Dee Messina. It is the first hit song on her album, “Delicious Surprise.” It is called “My Give a Damn’s Busted”.

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Another of Mary’s favorite artists this year is the country group called “Sugarland.” She says everyone should look for more success from this group in the future. One of their big hits this year was from their album “Twice The Speed of Life.” Here it is:“Baby Girl”.

My Kind of Livin'" src="http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/images/amazon_Craig_Morgan_CD_Livin_1501.jpg" vspace="2" width="150" align="left" border="0" height="150" hspace="2">(MUSIC)

Each year, Billboard Magazine publishes lists of the most popular recordings. Billboard says the most popular country single record this year was by Craig Morgan. We leave you now with that song, “That’s What I Love About Sunday”.

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Top Selling Books

HOST:

Hundreds of books are published in the United States each year. Only a few are extremely successful. Here is Faith Lapidus to tell us about three of the best books of the year.

ANNCR:

One extremely successful book published this year is “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. It won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction.

Didion writes about the year following the death of her husband and the serious sickness of her daughter. Critics say the book describes how a person mourns for a loved one and for the end of a long marriage. They say it shows the ways people do and do not deal with the fact that life ends.

People who have read “The Year of Magical Thinking” say that it is extremely honest. But it is not meant to be a self-help book for others who are mourning. Some people say it did help them recognize that they are not alone in sadness after the death of a loved one. Still others say that Joan Didion’s book takes the reader on a trip to a place that people can not fully imagine until they have been there.

Another critically praised book published this year is “The March” by E.L.Doctorow. It is a fictional story based on real people and events in history. The event is the American Civil War during the eighteen sixties. The real main character is the Union General, William Tecumseh Sherman.

The story follows Sherman’s army as it marches through the South in the final days of the war. It shows the burning of southern cities and the executions of captured soldiers. It shows how the characters are changed by the war --Union and Southern soldiers, blacks and whites, men and women. Critics say the book tells a human story that shows how people in the South reacted to the destruction of their world.

A third notable book published this year is “Prep” by a young woman named Curtis Sittenfeld. It tells about the experiences of a young American girl at a high school where the students live. This kind of school is called a boarding school or prep school. The main character is Lee Fiora who tells the story as a twenty-four year old looking back on her school days. People who have read “Prep” say it makes the reader feel what Lee feels during her four years at the school. And it clearly shows how young people will deny their individuality to fit in with the group.

HIT MOVIES

HOST:

Three of the best movies of the year were about American men who became famous during the nineteen fifties and sixties. Pat Bodnar tells us about them.

ANNOUNCER: Critics say “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Capote” and “Walk the Line” were among the best American movies this year. The three films were based on true stories about famous men. Movies about famous people are called “biopics”. The three movies also create detailed pictures of America as it was about fifty years ago.

David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow in the new movie 'Good Night and Good Luck'

“Good Night, and Good Luck” is about the famous CBS television newsman Edward R. Murrow. It shows how he made television broadcasts against Senator Joseph McCarthy in nineteen fifty-four. Murrow showed that the powerful senator’s charges of disloyalty against innocent Americans were false.

David Strathairn plays Edward R. Murrow. The actor looks and sounds very much like the famous newsman. George Clooney plays Murrow’s producer, Fred Friendly. Mister Clooney also directed the movie. Critics say the film is about power, truth-telling and responsibility.

Truman Capote was a famous, wealthy writer living in New York City. In nineteen fifty-nine, he read a newspaper story about the murder of a family in a small town in Kansas. He decided to write a book about it.

The movie “Capote” shows how he spent the next six years following the case. Capote established a close relationship with one of the two men jailed for the murders. The two were finally executed for their crimes.

Capote published his book, “In Cold Blood,” in nineteen sixty-six. Experts said he created a new kind of non-fiction: a crime story that was literature. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Truman Capote in the movie. The actor changed his appearance and voice to look and sound more like the famous writer.

The actor Joaquin Phoenix also changed his appearance and voice to star as singer Johnny Cash in the film “Walk the Line.” The movie tells about Cash’s life from childhood in a poor Southern family to success as a country music singer.

Phoenix performs Cash’s most famous songs in the movie. Reese Witherspoon plays June Carter, a famous country singer who performs with Cash and later marries him. Some critics say the two were among the best performances by actors in movies this year.

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our special program for the end of the year. And we in Special English wish you a Happy New Year.

Our show was written by Shelley Gollust 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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Bird Flu and Beyond: Health News in 2005

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I’m Doug Johnson with the VOA Special English Health Report.

We look back this week at some of the top health stories for two thousand five.

Doctors in France made world news with a partial face transplant. But a more important story was the concern about avian influenza.

The h-five-n-one virus appeared in birds in Europe for the first time. Yet the only known human cases were still in East Asia.

Chickens are vaccinated at a farm in Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, 16 Dec 2005

The World Health Organization says there have been around one hundred forty confirmed cases since two thousand three. About half the people died.

Most of the victims had touched or been around infected poultry birds, or surfaces with the virus. But the worry is that it could change into a form that spreads easily from person to person.

Several countries are working on vaccines to protect against avian influenza. The effectiveness cannot be known, however, until the virus enters the general population.

If that happens, the drug Tamiflu is the best-known treatment. Yet just last week researchers said resistance to the drug may be more common than experts had thought.

Other health stories in two thousand five involved diseases already well-established. Experts said three million more people died of AIDS-related conditions. Almost five million more became infected. AIDS has killed more than twenty-five million people since nineteen eighty-one.

Treatment efforts have improved. But the United Nations said only one area of the world has not had an increase in the number of H.I.V. cases in the past two years. There was no change in the Caribbean, which is the second hardest-hit area after southern Africa.

Worldwide, an estimated forty million people are now living with the virus that causes AIDS.

Our final story of the year deals with chronic diseases, like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Experts say chronic diseases are the major cause of death and disability among adults worldwide.

Thirty-five million people were expected to die from chronic diseases in two thousand five. Health officials say that is two times as many deaths as from infectious diseases, pregnancy-related disorders and nutritional problems combined. Yet they say a better diet, more exercise and less or, better still, no smoking can often reduce the risk of chronic disease.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. Our year in review can be found on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Doug Johnson, wishing you a happy and healthy two thousand six.

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The History of English: How a Language Grew

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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 present the second of our two programs about the history of the English Language.

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VOICE ONE:

Last week, we told how the English language developed as a result of several invasions of Britain. The first involved three tribes called the Angles, the Jutes and the Saxons. A mix of their languages produced a language called Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. It sounded very much like German. Only a few words remained from the Celts who had lived in Britain.

Two more invasions added words to Old English. The Vikings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden arrived in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The next invasion took place in the year ten sixty-six. French forces from Normandy were led by a man known as William the Conqueror.

The Norman rulers added many words to English. The words “parliament,” “jury,” “justice,” and others that deal with law come from the Norman rulers.

VOICE TWO:

Over time, the different languages combined to result in what English experts call Middle English. While Middle English still sounds similar to German, it also begins to sound like Modern English.

Here Warren Scheer reads the very beginning of Geoffrey Chaucer’s great poem, “The Canterbury Tales” as it was written in Middle English.

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VOICE ONE:

Chaucer wrote that poem in the late thirteen hundreds. It was written in the language of the people. The rulers of Britain at that time still spoke the Norman French they brought with them in ten sixty-six.

The kings of Britain did not speak the language of the people until the early fourteen hundreds. Slowly, Norman French was used less and less until it disappeared.

VOICE TWO:

The English language was strongly influenced by an event that took place more than one thousand four hundred years ago. In the year five ninety-seven, the Roman Catholic Church began its attempt to make Christianity the religion of Britain.

The language of the Catholic Church was Latin. Latin was not spoken as a language in any country at that time. But it was still used by some people.

Latin made it possible for a church member from Rome to speak to a church member from Britain. Educated people from different countries could communicate using Latin.

Latin had a great affect on the English language. Here are a few examples. The Latin word “discus” became several words in English including “disk,” “dish,” and “desk.” The Latin word “quietus” became the English word “quiet.” Some English names of plants such as ginger and trees such as cedar come from Latin. So do some medical words such as cancer.

VOICE ONE:

English is a little like a living thing that continues to grow. English began to grow more quickly when William Caxton returned to Britain in the year fourteen seventy-six. He had been in Holland and other areas of Europe where he had learned printing. He returned to Britain with the first printing press.

The printing press made it possible for almost anyone to buy a book. It helped spread education and the English language.

VOICE TWO:

Slowly, during the fifteen hundreds English became the modern language we would recognize. English speakers today would be able to communicate with English speakers in the last part of the Sixteenth Century.

It was during this time period that the greatest writer in English produced his work. His name was William Shakespeare. His plays continue to be printed, acted in theaters, and seen in motion pictures almost four hundred years after his death.

VOICE ONE:

Experts say that Shakespeare’s work was written to be performed on the stage, not to be read. Yet every sound of his words can produce word pictures, and provide feelings of anger, fear, and laughter. Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet” is so sad that people cry when they see this famous story.

The story of the power hungry King Richard the Third is another very popular play by Shakespeare. Listen as Shep O’Neal reads the beginning, of “Richard the Third.”

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VOICE TWO:

The development of the English language took a giant step just nine years before the death of William Shakespeare. Three small British ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean in sixteen-oh-seven. They landed in an area that would later become the southern American state of Virginia. They began the first of several British colonies. The name of the first small colony was Jamestown.

In time, people in these new colonies began to call areas of their new land by words borrowed from the native people they found living there. For example, many of the great rivers in the United States are taken from American Indian words. The Mississippi, the Tennessee, the Missouri are examples.

Other Native American words included “moccasin”, the kind of shoe made of animal skin that Indians wore on their feet. This borrowing or adding of foreign words to English was a way of expanding the language. The names of three days of the week are good examples of this. The people from Northern Europe honored three gods with a special day each week. The gods were Odin, Thor and Freya. Odin’s-day became Wednesday in English, Thor’s-day became Thursday and Freya’s-day became Friday.

VOICE ONE:

Britain had other colonies in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and India. The English language also became part of these colonies. These colonies are now independent, but English still is one of the languages spoken. And the English language grew as words from the native languages were added.

For example, the word “shampoo” for soap for the hair came from India. “Banana” is believed to be from Africa.

Experts cannot explain many English words. For hundreds of years, a dog was called a “hound.” The word is still used but not as commonly as the word “dog.” Experts do not know where the word “dog” came from or when. English speakers just started using it. Other words whose origins are unknown include “fun,” “bad,” and “big.”

VOICE TWO:

English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words “motor” and “hotel.” Many years ago some one linked them together into the word “motel.” A motel is a small hotel near a road where people travelling in cars can stay for the night.

Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became “Radar.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is usually called NATO.

Experts say that English has more words that explain the same thing that any other language. For example, the words “large,” “huge,” “vast,” “massive,” and “enormous” all mean something really “big.”

VOICE ONE:

People often ask how many words there are in the English language. Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about six hundred fifteen thousand words. Yet the many scientific words not in the dictionary could increase the number to almost one million.

And experts are never really sure how to count English words. For example, the word “mouse.” A mouse is a small creature from the rodent family. But “mouse” has another very different meaning. A “mouse” is also a hand-held device used to help control a computer. If you are counting words do you count “mouse” two times?

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VOICE TWO:

Visitors to the Voice of America hear people speaking more than forty different languages. Most broadcasters at VOA come from countries where these languages are spoken. International organizations such as VOA would find it impossible to operate without a second language all the people speak.

The language that permits VOA to work is English. It is not unusual to see someone from the Mandarin Service talking to someone from the Urdu Service, both speaking English. English is becoming the common language of millions of people worldwide, helping speakers of many different languages communicate.

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VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program, on the Voice of America.

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SEED School Aims to Help Students Grow With Skills for Life

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

The SEED School in Washington, D.C., provides an intensive educational program in a boarding school environment. Students live at a boarding school. The SEED School is one of the few public boarding schools in the country.

Girls at SEED School in Washington, DC

It opened in nineteen ninety-eight. It is a modern, high-technology school in the poorest part of the District of Columbia. Most of the students are black. Often they have grown up in areas of poverty and crime.

SEED officials say the school provides a safe and secure environment twenty-four hours a day. The educational program is designed to prepare students for college. The boarding program is designed to help them learn life skills.

School representatives work with local teachers and the community to identify students who could be helped by the school. Parents and children decide together if the SEED program is the best educational choice for them. It is not for everyone. Students enter the program in the seventh grade. They agree to stay for six years.

The goal is to prepare them for success in college and in future employment. This means that learning continues after classes are over for the day. School officials say the students receive family and community support. They learn about personal responsibility. They learn to balance work and play. They can help teach younger students, or do community service. The school also offers sports and social activities.

The SEED School currently has more than three hundred students. So far, two classes have completed the program. School officials say all of the young people were accepted at universities.

The SEED School is a charter school. This means it is privately operated but receives public money. Private gifts also help pay for the school.

The SEED School has had some important supporters and guests. In November, Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Lady Camilla, spent an afternoon there with First Lady Laura Bush.

The boarding school in the nation's capital is the first opened by the SEED Foundation. The group says it plans to open schools in other cities, such as Baltimore and Los Angeles. More information about the program can be found on the Web at seedfoundation dot com (seedfoundation.com).

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Dana Demange. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

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William McKinley: The Twenty-Fifth President of the United States

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VOICE ONE:

The Making of a Nation -- a program in Special English.

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On December tenth, eighteen ninety-eight, the United States and Spain signed a treaty in Paris officially ending the war between them. The fighting had stopped much earlier.

Spain had made the first move toward peace after its forces surrendered at Santiago, on the Cuban coast. A few weeks before, the United States Navy had destroyed Spain's Atlantic Naval Fleet. The American Naval victory ended any chance that Spain could win the war.

VOICE TWO:

Late in July, the French ambassador in Washington gave President William McKinley a message from the Spanish government. Spain asked what terms the United States would demand for peace. President McKinley sent an immediate answer.

Spain, he said, must give up Cuba. It must also give to the United states the islands of Puerto Rico and Guam. And he said Spain must recognize the right of the United States to occupy Manila in the Philippines. The future of the Philippines, he said, would be decided during negotiations on a peace treaty.

VOICE ONE:

McKinley's terms seemed severe to Spain. But Spain had no choice. It could not continue the war. So, ten weeks after war broke out, Spain agreed to stop the fighting and accept the American terms. It signed a peace agreement in Washington on August Twelfth.

William McKinley

A Spanish note protested sadly that the agreement took away the last memory of a glorious past. "It expels us from the western hemisphere, which became peopled and civilized through the proud efforts of our fathers."

VOICE TWO:

The two countries agreed to meet in paris to negotiate details of a peace treaty. The talks opened October First. The two sides agreed quickly on the issue of Cuban independence, and an American takeover of Puerto rico and Guam. But they could not agree on what to do about the Philippines.

At the beginning of the talks, the United States was not sure if it wanted all or only part of the Philippines. At first, President McKinley wanted Spain to give up only Luzon, the main island. Then he decided that the United States should demand all of the Philippines. McKinley explained later how he made this decision.

VOICE ONE:

"I thought first we would take only Manila. Then Luzon. Then other islands, perhaps. I walked the floor of the White House many nights. More than once, I went down on my knees and asked God to help me decide.

"And one night," said McKinley, "It came to me this way: "That we could not give the Philippines back to Spain. That would be cowardly and dishonorable. We could not turn them over to France or Germany, our trading competitors in Asia. That would be bad business. We could not leave them to themselves.

They were not ready for self-government. So, there was nothing for us to do but to take them all. And to educate the Filipinos, to civilize them, and make Christians of them.

"With that decision," said McKinley, "I went to bed and slept well."

VOICE TWO:

Spain, however, did not want to give up the Philippines. It protested that the United States had no right to demand the Islands. True, Americans occupied Manila. But they did not control any other part of the Philippines.

The two sides negotiated for days. Finally, they reached an agreement. Spain would give all of the Philippines to the United States. In return, the United States would pay Spain twenty-million dollars.

With this dispute ended, the peace treaty was quickly completed and signed. But trouble developed when President McKinley sent the treaty to the United States Senate for approval.

VOICE ONE:

Many Americans opposed the treaty. They thought McKinley was wrong to take the Philippines. Opponents of the treaty included former President Cleveland, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, labor leader Samuel Gompers, writer Mark Twain, and others.

They organized anti-imperialist groups in many cities to oppose the treaty. They made speeches and published newspapers explaining their opposition. Imperialism, they said, had ruined ancient Rome. And it would ruin the American republic.

They said colonies halfway around the world would be costly to protect. A large army and navy would be needed. They said colonial policies violated important democratic ideas upon which the United States had been built. We went to war with Spain, they said, to free Cuba from its colonial masters...not to make ourselves masters of the Philippines.

VOICE TWO:

Republican Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts led the Senate fight for the treaty. The opposition was led by the other Massachusetts senator, George Hoar, also a Republican.

Senator Lodge appealed to national pride. He urged the Senate not to pull down the American flag. Rejection of the treaty, he said, would dishonor the president and the country. It would show that we are not ready as a nation to enter into great questions of foreign policy.

Senator Albert Beveridge of Ohio also spoke in support of the treaty. Senator Beveridge said the Pacific would be of great importance in coming years. Therefore, he said, the power that rules the Pacific will be the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is -- and forever will be – the United States

VOICE ONE:

Senator Hoar spoke strongly against the treaty. He said that taking over the Philippines would be a dangerous break with America's past.

He said the greatest thing the United States had was its tradition of freedom. To take the Philippines, he said, would deny that tradition. It would violate the Constitution and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence: the idea that all men are created equal...and that government exists only with the permission of the governed.

VOICE TWO:

The Senate vote on the treaty was set for February sixth. It seemed that the opposition had enough votes to reject it. But several things happened before the vote.

William Jennings Bryan, the leader of the democratic party, opposed the take-over of the Philippines. But he urged Democratic senators to vote for the treaty. Bryan was looking ahead to the presidential election in nineteen-hundred. He believed that the Philippines' takeover would cause the United States nothing but trouble. He could put the blame for all the trouble on the Republicans. Then -- if he was elected president -- the Democrats could give the Philippines their independence.

Bryan succeeded in getting seventeen Democrats and Populists in the Senate to vote for the treaty.

VOICE ONE:

Two days before the vote was taken, violence broke out in the Philippines. President McKinley, without waiting for the senate to act, ordered the American military government in Manila to extend its control throughout the Philippines.

The leader of the Philippine rebels, Emilio Aquinaldo, opposed the order. Rebel forces prepared to fight. On the night of February fourth, thirty-thousand rebels attacked American forces around manila. Sixty Americans were killed, and more than two-hundred-seventy were wounded. Rebel losses were much higher.

VOICE TWO:

News of the rebel attack caused some Senators to change their minds about the Philippines. Some who had opposed the treaty now agreed with the "Washington Star" newspaper that: "the Filipinos must be taught to obey."

Eighty-four Senators were present for the vote on the treaty. To pass, the treaty needed a two-thirds majority -- fifty-six votes. One by one, the Senators voted. Then the count was announced.

Fifty-seven of the lawmakers had voted yes. Only twenty-seven had voted no. The treaty was approved. The Philippines belonged to the United States.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, the Making of a Nation. Your narrators were Steve Ember and Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

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Bees Keep Busy Producing More Than Just Honey (Part 2 of 3)

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

Last week we talked about how bees make honey. Yet bees also produce other useful materials.

Beeswax is another product, although much less of it is produced than honey. Bees need to eat about three kilograms of honey, or more, to produce less than one-half kilogram of wax.

The beauty industry uses a lot of beeswax as a base for skin care products. Anyone who has ever lit a candle might have lit one made of beeswax. Woodworkers mix beeswax with oils to protect wood surfaces. And leatherworkers use beeswax to protect leather from water.

There is even an old saying, "mind your own beeswax." It means "mind your own business." We never said it was a nice old saying.

The "beeswax" in this case may only be a play on the word "business." But some people do mind their beeswax. It is their business.

Beekeepers use it to make structures called foundations. Bees build hives by adding wax to the foundations. Bees keep honey, food and their young in these structures.

Most people know not to interfere with a busy bee. Worker bees have a sting that can inject poison. But the poison is also a valuable product. In some people, a bee sting causes their throat or tongue to swell up. This reaction can be deadly. But treatment with bee poison can sometimes help protect people who suffer these reactions.

In warmer areas of the Americas, some bees are a special concern. Years ago African bees were brought to South America to improve honey production. But they spread out of control. They mixed with populations of European honey bees raised in the Americas.

Africanized honey bees are very aggressive. They have killed animals and people. In the nineteen seventies, they became known as “killer bees.” This may overstate the threat. But Africanized bees must be treated with special care.

Bees face threats of their own. In the Americas, Asia and Europe, mites can destroy hives. The tiny creatures suck the blood of bees. Wax moths are insects that eat wax in the hive. And there are bacterial diseases that attack and destroy young bees.

All these problems add to the cost of keeping bees. But beekeeping remains mostly low cost and very important to agriculture. Listen next week for the final part of our report.

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

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Saying Goodbye to Polio: Not There Yet, but Close

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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

A child is vaccinated against polio in Indonesia

And I'm Pat Bodnar. This week -- a progress report on the campaign to end polio.

VOICE ONE:

And a simpler way to save the life of a heart attack victim.

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VOICE TWO:

Two thousand five was the year that polio was supposed to be gone from the world. World health officials say the goal has almost been reached. But in some countries the fight must go on.

VOICE ONE:

The worldwide campaign to end polio began in nineteen eighty-eight. At that time, the disease existed in more than one hundred twenty-five countries. Each year it affected more than three hundred fifty-thousand children.

Since then, two thousand million children in two hundred countries have been immunized to protect against polio.

Polio is caused by a virus that affects mostly children under five years old. Victims commonly get sick from water that contains human waste infected with the virus.

The disease attacks nerve cells. Some people lose the ability to walk. Some lose the ability to breathe without assistance. About one victim in two hundred suffers permanent paralysis. And some victims die.

VOICE TWO:

More than one-third of all current cases are in Nigeria. The situation there is often described as the biggest threat to the effort to end polio.

In two thousand three, some states in northern Nigeria suspended polio immunization programs. Muslim clergymen disputed the safety of the vaccine.

Vaccinations restarted after a year. Now health experts say Nigeria is working hard again to immunize every child. They say Nigeria should be able to stop the spread of polio in one more year.

While the campaigns were suspended, polio spread to ten countries in west and central Africa that had been free of the disease. But public health experts had good news in November. They said the ten countries had not reported any new cases of polio since June of this year.

The countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad. The others are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Togo.

VOICE ONE:

Health officials report that Sudan has also stopped the spread of polio. Sudan held seven national immunization days in two thousand five. Medical experts say it is important to vaccinate every child in a country. The World Health Organization will declare Sudan free of polio if it has no new cases for three years.

Polio from Nigeria also spread to Yemen and Indonesia. Health officials say it is now being controlled in Yemen, but continues to spread in areas of Indonesia.

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VOICE TWO:

You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English from Washington.

Campaigns to stop the spread of polio include giving children vaccine four times by mouth in the first year of life.

Health workers hope to make more progress with a new kind of vaccine. It is called a monovalent oral polio vaccine.

Until now, vaccines have combined three medicines to fight three different polio viruses. But only one exists in most countries. So health officials have started to use the single strongest medicine that will prevent that type of polio.

VOICE ONE:

The new kind of vaccine is being used in both India and Pakistan. Health officials in those countries report great progress in their efforts to stop the spread of polio. The number of cases in each country this year is about half the number last year.

In Pakistan, health workers involved in the effort to end polio also became some of the first to help victims of the October earthquake. These workers provided emergency services. They also immunized children against other diseases besides polio.

VOICE TWO:

Less than ten years ago, India had seventy-five thousand cases of polio in one year. Last year, health officials reported just one hundred thirty-six cases.

More than a million teams have been going door-to-door all over India to vaccinate children. Immunization days are being held every six weeks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These states have the most polio cases in the country. They also have the highest birth rates.

Health workers mark houses with the letter P if all the children who live there have been vaccinated against polio. If any children are not home, or if the parents are worried about the vaccine, the house is marked with an X. Teams keep returning until the house can be marked with a P.

Doctors say even children who are not feeling well should receive the vaccine. But they need to take it again when they are well in case the medicine washes out of their body.

VOICE ONE:

The fight to end polio has cost four thousand million dollars so far. Now, it also includes immunizing children against five other diseases. These are diphtheria, measles, pertussis, tetanus and tuberculosis.

Money has come from the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Money also has come from the United Nations Children’s Fund and many individual nations. And it has come from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary International has also provided a lot of support.

VOICE TWO:

Ann Lee Hussey of Rotary immunizes a child in Cairo in December 2004

The Rotary Club started in Chicago, Illinois, in nineteen-oh-five. Members are often business people who want to meet each other and help their own communities and others. Today Rotary International has more than one million members in one hundred sixty-six countries.

In nineteen eighty-five, the group decided to help immunize all of the world’s children against polio.

Ezra Teshome is a Rotary member who lives in Seattle, in the northwestern state of Washington. For the past nine years, Mister Teshome has taken a team to his native Ethiopia to help immunize millions of children. In November, Time magazine honored Ezra Teshome as one of ten global health heroes.

VOICE ONE:

Other Rotary members have taken vaccine to children living on boats in Cambodia. In Angola, volunteers found planes and other vehicles to take vaccine to areas with landmines still hidden in the ground after years of war.

And, in India, one hundred thousand Rotarians and family members helped immunize one hundred sixty-five million children in one day. Rotary members now look forward to a day when they can celebrate the end of polio.

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VOICE TWO:

When the heart is in cardiac arrest, it stops pumping blood. Breathing stops. Without lifesaving measures, the brain starts to die within four to six minutes.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation can save the life of a heart attack victim. CPR combines rescue breaths and repeated pressure on the chest. It keeps blood and oxygen flowing to the heart and brain.

The American Heart Association has new guidelines for the public about how to do CPR. It says the steps are simpler than before and easy to follow. They appeared in its journal Circulation.

VOICE ONE:

The biggest change is in the number of chest compressions. The earlier guidelines called for fifteen chest compressions for every two breaths. Now it is thirty compressions for every two breaths -- for adults as well as children. The steps are repeated over and over until medical help arrives.

To do compressions, a person places one hand on top of the other and presses down into the chest. The idea is to push hard and push fast, at a rate of one hundred compressions per minute. With a newborn baby, two fingers should be used.

Studies found that continuous compressions increase blood flow. This would give the victim more time until a defibrillator can be found or the heart can begin to pump again.

A defibrillator is a device that sends an electric shock to the heart in an effort to return a normal heartbeat. Heart experts say CPR is important not only before defibrillation but also immediately after.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States and Canada. Victims who are not in a hospital usually die because most of the public does not know what to do. The American Heart Association says immediate CPR can sharply increase the chances of survival.

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VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Karen Leggett and Cynthia Kirk who was also our producer. I'm Pat Bodnar.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Listen next week for more news about science, in Special English on the Voice of America.

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Bees Keep Busy Producing More Than Just Honey (Part 2 of 3)

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

Last week we talked about how bees make honey. Yet bees also produce other useful materials.

Beeswax is another product, although much less of it is produced than honey. Bees need to eat about three kilograms of honey, or more, to produce less than one-half kilogram of wax.

The beauty industry uses a lot of beeswax as a base for skin care products. Anyone who has ever lit a candle might have lit one made of beeswax. Woodworkers mix beeswax with oils to protect wood surfaces. And leatherworkers use beeswax to protect leather from water.

There is even an old saying, "mind your own beeswax." It means "mind your own business." We never said it was a nice old saying.

The "beeswax" in this case may only be a play on the word "business." But some people do mind their beeswax. It is their business.

Beekeepers use it to make structures called foundations. Bees build hives by adding wax to the foundations. Bees keep honey, food and their young in these structures.

Most people know not to interfere with a busy bee. Worker bees have a sting that can inject poison. But the poison is also a valuable product. In some people, a bee sting causes their throat or tongue to swell up. This reaction can be deadly. But treatment with bee poison can sometimes help protect people who suffer these reactions.

In warmer areas of the Americas, some bees are a special concern. Years ago African bees were brought to South America to improve honey production. But they spread out of control. They mixed with populations of European honey bees raised in the Americas.

Africanized honey bees are very aggressive. They have killed animals and people. In the nineteen seventies, they became known as “killer bees.” This may overstate the threat. But Africanized bees must be treated with special care.

Bees face threats of their own. In the Americas, Asia and Europe, mites can destroy hives. The tiny creatures suck the blood of bees. Wax moths are insects that eat wax in the hive. And there are bacterial diseases that attack and destroy young bees.

All these problems add to the cost of keeping bees. But beekeeping remains mostly low cost and very important to agriculture. Listen next week for the final part of our report.

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

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2005: The Year in Development

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

Two thousand five was a year with several important developments in the world of development. Among them were the decisions made in July at the Group of Eight meeting in Scotland.

Leaders of the G-Eight nations agreed to increase development aid. They also agreed to cancel debts owed to international lenders by some of the world's poorest nations. Others could have their debts forgiven in the future.

Two thousand five was also a year for dealing with the effects of nature at its most unforgiving. In October, an earthquake killed more than eighty thousand in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. And December marked one year since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than two hundred thousand people.

In both cases, the world looked to the United Nations for help. The United Nations celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in two thousand five. Secretary General Kofi Annan presented a major reform plan in March. He proposed a bigger Security Council. But he called for a smaller and more effective group to replace the U.N. human rights commission.

The plan also included ideas for dealing with terrorism and for establishing new rules on when to use military force. World leaders discussed the proposals when they met in New York in September.

At the same time, Bill Clinton held his own conference in New York. The former president raised more than one thousand million dollars to fight poverty and other world problems.

Finally, in December, the World Trade Organization reached a compromise agreement in Hong Kong. Ministers from the one hundred forty-nine member group argued over farm protections. Outside, protesters fought with police.

Wealthy countries agreed on two thousand thirteen as the end date for export assistance to their farmers. They also agreed on other steps to increase trade with the world's poorest nations.

Critics, however, said the results in Hong Kong left much to be desired. The World Trade Organization aims to complete negotiations on a wider agreement in two thousand six.

The World Bank has been among those pushing for free trade as a way to pull millions of people out of poverty. But a new study by economists at the bank says trade reforms would help some countries more quickly than others.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. And it can be found online at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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What Are You Doing on New Year’s Eve?

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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Two thousand six is just about here. Today we look at some of the ways that Americans celebrate the New Year.

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VOICE ONE:

In America, the best-known place to be on December thirty-first is Times Square in New York City. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in the cold. They crowd together and wait for midnight. It feels like a huge party.

The people count down the final seconds. “Ten … nine … eight … ” All eyes watch a huge glass ball as it slides down a pole on top of a tall building. Someone in the crowd says it looks like a bright piece of snow. Someone else says it looks like thousands of stars. This is a famous Times Square tradition.

VOICE TWO:

When the ball reaches bottom, it is twelve o'clock. People shout “Happy New Year!” There is lots of excitement. More than a ton of confetti, little pieces of paper, rains down on the crowd.

The crowd does its duty and tries to sing "Auld Lang Syne," a traditional song of friendship at the New Year. Most people only know the first few words. The song is pretty much a mystery. But a fun mystery.

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VOICE ONE:

People arrive in Times Square while it is still daylight. After dark, at about six o’clock, the New Year’s Eve ball is raised to its highest position. By this time thousands of people are gathered for the celebration ahead.

They ooh and aah when the thousands of little lights in the ball come on. Then everyone waits for midnight. People who have never met talk as if they have known each other all their lives. Visitors from around the world are excited to experience this New York moment.

VOICE TWO:

The first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square took place in nineteen-oh-four. The owners of a building on Times Square held that first party on the roof of their building. Three years later, a New Year’s ball joined the celebration.

The ball has been dropped every year except for two years during World War Two. In nineteen forty-two and 'forty-three, crowds still gathered in Times Square, but there was little to celebrate.

VOICE ONE:

Lots of Americans will be out someplace special for dinner and dancing on New Year's Eve. Some people like to be on a boat when the New Year arrives.

In Chicago, Illinois, for example, people can choose from several special holiday trips on Lake Michigan. These cruises include dinner and dancing to music performed by a band.

Two hours later, midnight will reach the West Coast. In Southern California, some people will be out on boats in the Pacific Ocean.

VOICE TWO:

Some Americans will have parties at home and invite all their friends.

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And no party will be complete without noisemakers -- and a traditional midnight kiss.

Other people will spend a quiet evening at home. They might even be asleep when the clock strikes midnight.

Now for a musical question -- Nancy Wilson asks, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”

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VOICE ONE:

Some people do too much on New Year’s Eve. To reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents, people will be urged to use a designated driver. This is one person who drinks little or no alcohol while out with friends. That way the designated driver can safely drive the other people home.

In many cities, free tax service will be offered to take people home if they have been drinking.

VOICE TWO:

Many cities will also hold what are called First Night celebrations. These are events without any alcohol. Local artists in Boston, Massachusetts, organized First Night celebrations in nineteen seventy-six.

People in Boston can choose among hundreds of performances and exhibits around the city. People can look at huge statues made of ice. Families can watch fireworks early in the evening. Later, fireworks light the midnight sky.

VOICE ONE:

After the celebrations on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day is often a quiet day.

Many people spend the first day of the New Year at home. Some watch football games on television. Millions like to watch the college game traditionally played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day.

This year, the big game will be played on January fourth. The Rose Bowl Game will serve as the national championship game in college football. The University of Southern California will play the University of Texas Longhorns. The Trojans of Southern California are the two-time defending national champions.

VOICE TWO:

The Rose Bowl Game traditionally follows the Rose Parade in Pasadena. The parade is a show of motor-driven floats covered in flowers. They make a beautiful sight.

But the one hundred seventeenth Rose Parade will take place this year on Monday, January second. That is because January first is a Sunday. When that happens, the parade takes place on the following day.

VOICE ONE:

Some people invite friends to their home to visit on New Year’s Day. In some parts of the country, children and adults still follow an old custom from Europe on January first. They go from house to house singing to friends and neighbors.

One popular song wishes people love and joy in the New Year. Listen now as the Christ Church Cathedral Choir sings the “Wassail Song, ” arranged by Gustav Holst.

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VOICE TWO:

Many Americans follow traditions that they hope will bring them good luck in the New Year. Some start the year by eating black-eyed peas or cabbage.

In the South, some people prepare a traditional food called Hoppin’ John. It contains peas, onions, bacon and rice. Children long ago were said to like it so much, they hopped around the room while waiting for it to cook.

VOICE ONE:

Asian-Americans might eat fortune cookies at the New Year. Fortune cookies contain small pieces of paper with a short message telling about a person’s future.

And there are other things people do to celebrate the New Year. Some Latinos, for example, stand on a chair and eat grapes.

Whatever you do to welcome the New Year, we wish you a very happy two thousand six.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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White Christmas: One of the Best Loved Holiday Songs

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This is Steve Ember with a VOA Special English holiday program.

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Music fills the air. Colorful lights shine brightly in windows. Children and adults open gifts from loved ones and friends. These are all Christmas traditions.

Another tradition is snow, at least in the northern part of the world where Christmas comes a few days after the start of winter. In many places, a blanket of clean white snow covers the ground on Christmas Day. This is what is meant by a "White Christmas."

Of course, many places do not get snow at Christmas. In fact, they may be very warm this time of year. People who like snow, but live where it is warm, can only dream of having a white Christmas.

American songwriter Irving Berlin captured these feelings in his song, "White Christmas." It is one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time.

The opening words explain why the singer is dreaming of a white Christmas. Most people never hear these words so they never really understand the true meaning of the song. Here’s how it starts:

The sun is shining.

The grass is green.

The orange and palm trees sway.

I’ve never seen such a day in Beverly Hills, L.A.

But it’s December the twenty-fourth

And I’m longing to be up north.

Up north, where it is cold and snowy.

Not south, where it is warm and sunny.

Over the years, hundreds of singers and musicians have recorded "White Christmas." But the version most people still know best was sung by Bing Crosby.

(Bing Crosby)

Songwriter Irving Berlin was born in Russia in eighteen eighty-eight. He did not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. He was Jewish.

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But his song celebrates an idea of peace and happiness that anyone, anywhere -- snowy or not -- can enjoy.

To all of you, best wishes this holiday season from all of us in VOA Special English. This is Steve Ember.

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Christmas Music With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

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I’m Shirley Griffith with a VOA Special English program for the Christmas holiday.

Christians around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. In the United States, people are observing the Christmas holiday in homes and religious centers. Music has always been an important part of Christmas. Holiday music fills the air. Today, we will hear a program of Christmas music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

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That was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with “Joy To the World.” The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the largest singing groups in the world. It has more than three hundred singers.

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The members of the choir offer their time and skills without payment. All choir members are Mormons who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Many Christmas songs sound most beautiful when sung by a large group. Here is the choir performing a Ukrainian song, “Carol of the Bells.”

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“Silent Night” is perhaps the best known of all Christmas songs. An Austrian clergyman named Joseph Mohr wrote the words. His friend Franz Gruber wrote the music. The song was performed for the first time at a religious service on the night before Christmas in eighteen eighteen.

At that time, it was performed with a single musical instrument -- a guitar. Here are the men of the Tabernacle Choir with “Silent Night.”

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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is based at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. The choir made its first recording in nineteen ten. Since then, it has made more than one hundred fifty recordings.

One recording of holiday music is called “A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas.” You are listening to music from that recording.

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This is Shirley Griffith. We hope you enjoyed our program of Christmas music. This program was written and produced by George Grow. Our studio engineer was Greg Burns. All of us in Special English wish you a very happy holiday season.

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A Special Story for Christmas: 'The Gift of the Magi'

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ANNOUNCER: Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.

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STORYTELLER: One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it in the smallest pieces of money - pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by negotiating with the men at the market who sold vegetables and meat. Negotiating until one's face burned with the silent knowledge of being poor. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but sit down and cry. So Della cried. Which led to the thought that life is made up of little cries and smiles, with more little cries than smiles.

Della finished her crying and dried her face. She stood by the window and looked out unhappily at a gray cat walking along a gray fence in a gray back yard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy her husband Jim a gift. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result.

Jim earned twenty dollars a week, which does not go far. Expenses had been greater than she had expected. They always are. Many a happy hour she had spent planning to buy something nice for him. Something fine and rare -- something close to being worthy of the honor of belonging to Jim.

There was a tall glass mirror between the windows of the room. Suddenly Della turned from the window and stood before the glass mirror and looked at herself. Her eyes were shining, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Quickly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, Mister and Missus James Dillingham Young had two possessions which they valued. One was Jim's gold time piece, the watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.

Had the Queen of Sheba lived in their building, Della would have let her hair hang out the window to dry just to reduce the value of the queen’s jewels.

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, shining like a brown waterfall. It reached below her knees and made itself almost like a covering for her. And then quickly she put it up again. She stood still while a few tears fell on the floor.

She put on her coat and her old brown hat. With a quick motion and brightness still in her eyes, she danced out the door and down the street.

Where she stopped the sign read: "Madame Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." Della ran up the steps to the shop, out of breath.

"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take your hat off and let us have a look at it.”

Down came the beautiful brown waterfall of hair.

"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the hair with an experienced hand.

"Give it to me quick," said Della.

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The next two hours went by as if they had wings. Della looked in all the stores to choose a gift for Jim.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. It was a chain -- simple round rings of silver. It was perfect for Jim’s gold watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be for him. It was like him. Quiet and with great value. She gave the shopkeeper twenty-one dollars and she hurried home with the eighty-seven cents that was left.

When Della arrived home she began to repair what was left of her hair. The hair had been ruined by her love and her desire to give a special gift. Repairing the damage was a very big job.

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny round curls of hair that made her look wonderfully like a schoolboy. She looked at herself in the glass mirror long and carefully.

"If Jim does not kill me before he takes a second look at me," she said to herself, "he'll say I look like a song girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?"

At seven o'clock that night the coffee was made and the pan on the back of the stove was hot and ready to cook the meat.

Jim was never late coming home from work. Della held the silver chain in her hand and sat near the door. Then she heard his step and she turned white for just a minute. She had a way of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."

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The door opened and Jim stepped in. He looked thin and very serious. Poor man, he was only twenty-two and he had to care for a wife. He needed a new coat and gloves to keep his hands warm.

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a dog smelling a bird. His eyes were fixed upon Della. There was an expression in them that she could not read, and it frightened her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor fear, nor any of the feelings that she had been prepared for. He simply looked at her with a strange expression on his face. Della went to him.

"Jim, my love," she cried, "do not look at me that way. I had my hair cut and sold because I could not have lived through Christmas without giving you a gift. My hair will grow out again. I just had to do it. My hair grows very fast. Say ‘Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let us be happy. You do not know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I have for you."

"You have cut off your hair?" asked Jim, slowly, as if he had not accepted the information even after his mind worked very hard.

"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Do you not like me just as well? I am the same person without my hair, right?

Jim looked about the room as if he were looking for something.

"You say your hair is gone?" he asked.

"You need not look for it," said Della. "It is sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It is Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it was cut for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the meat on, Jim?"

Jim seemed to awaken quickly and put his arms around Della. Then he took a package from his coat and threw it on the table.

"Do not make any mistake about me, Dell," he said. "I do not think there is any haircut that could make me like my girl any less. But if you will open that package you may see why you had me frightened at first."

White fingers quickly tore at the string and paper. There was a scream of joy; and then, alas! a change to tears and cries, requiring the man of the house to use all his skill to calm his wife.

For there were the combs -- the special set of objects to hold her hair that Della had wanted ever since she saw them in a shop window. Beautiful combs, made of shells, with jewels at the edge --just the color to wear in the beautiful hair that was no longer hers. They cost a lot of money, she knew, and her heart had wanted them without ever hoping to have them. And now, the beautiful combs were hers, but the hair that should have touched them was gone.

But she held the combs to herself, and soon she was able to look up with a smile and say, "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"

Then Della jumped up like a little burned cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful gift. She happily held it out to him in her open hands. The silver chain seemed so bright.

"Isn't it wonderful, Jim? I looked all over town to find it. You will have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."

Instead of obeying, Jim fell on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

"Dell," said he, "let us put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They are too nice to use just right now. I sold my gold watch to get the money to buy the set of combs for your hair. And now, why not put the meat on."

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The magi were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Baby Jesus. They invented the art of giving Christmas gifts. Being wise, their gifts were wise ones. And here I have told you the story of two young people who most unwisely gave for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

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ANNOUNCER: You have heard the American story “The Gift of the Magi.” This story was written by O. Henry and adapted into Special English by Karen Leggett. Your storyteller was Shep O’Neal. The producer was Lawan Davis.

Listen again next week at this time for another American story in VOA Special English. I’m Shirley Griffith.

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Holiday Gifts: So What Have Americans Been Buying This Year?

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

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

We hear music popular at this time of the year …

Report about a short story writer and his famous story …

And tell about some popular holiday gifts.

Holiday Gifts

Millions of American families will celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah next week. One part of these celebrations is giving and receiving gifts. Faith Lapidus tells us about some of the most popular gifts for young people this year.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Many American young people want electronic gifts. At the top of the list is the Apple iPod or other digital music players. These electronic devices have appeared for the first time on the National Retail Federation’s yearly list of the most popular toys.

Last year, these devices were popular with adults. But experts say their use has greatly increased among young people. The new Microsoft Xbox Three-sixty is another popular gift for young people this year. The Xbox Three-sixty is a new kind of video game player system.

Recent newspaper reports say that stores may have sold all of their supplies of the most popular toys before the holidays begin.

These include an interactive doll called “Amazing Amanda” that expresses feelings. Another is the iDog, an electronic dog that connects to a digital music player. It can lift its ears and move its head in time to the music.

Another toy that connects to a digital music player is called “Iz." This device permits its owner to create music and sound effects by moving parts of its body. Reports say that one surprise best selling toy this year is called “ChatNow.” It is two cell phones that permit communication free of charge between people within a distance of about three kilometers.

A group of college students in the state of New Jersey went to a shopping area and asked more than five hundred people about their holiday spending this year. The students were doing market research for their business class. They found that many people like to buy young people gift cards. These look like credit cards. They are worth a set amount of money that can be spent at one store.

Buying a gift card is a good way to solve the problem of what to buy someone. But gift cards have restrictions. They can lose some or all of their value unless they are used within a period of time. Business experts say gift cards earn a lot of money for stores. People often spend more money than the amount of the card. And some of the people who receive gift cards never even use them.

O. Henry

HOST: Have you ever read anything by the American writer known as O. Henry? He was the writer who first developed the short story into a recognized kind of literature. One of his best loved stories is popular during the Christmas holiday. Bob Doughty tells about his life and work.

BOB DOUGHTY: O. Henry was the name used by William Sidney Porter. He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in eighteen sixty-two. His mother died when he was three years old. He left school at the age of fifteen to work in his uncle’s drug store. He moved to Texas five years later. He lived in the city of Austin where he got married, worked in a local bank and owned a weekly newspaper.

William Sidney Porter had bad luck in Texas. His wife became sick, their baby died and his newspaper failed. Then he was accused of stealing money from the bank where he worked. He fled to Honduras, but returned to be with his sick wife. She died in eighteen ninety-seven. Porter was sentenced to prison.

That is where he started to write. His first story was published in a national magazine in eighteen ninety-eight. After being released from prison in nineteen oh-one, Porter went to New York City. He published more stories, all under the name O. Henry. No one really knows where he got that name.

O. Henry’s first book was a short story collection called “Cabbages and Kings”. It was published in nineteen-oh-four. O. Henry published thirteen other collections of short stories. He wrote six hundred stories during his life. He wrote so quickly that he could complete about one story a week.

Porter tried to forget his past, but could not. He did not have any good friends. He began to drink too much alcohol. A second marriage failed. He died of tuberculosis in New York City in nineteen ten. He was forty-eight years old.

The stories by O. Henry are well known for their surprise endings. One of his stories takes place during the Christmas season. It is called “The Gift of the Magi” (MAY-jie). It tells how a poor young husband and wife express their love for each other at Christmas. But I will not tell you any more about it. You can hear “The Gift of the Magi” Saturday on the Special English program AMERICAN STORIES or on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Holiday Music

HOST: Next week, Americans will celebrate three holidays. The Christian holiday Christmas is on December twenty-fifth, as always. Christians celebrate the day as the birthday of Jesus. They gather around an evergreen tree that they have placed in their homes and exchange gifts. Tradition says that Santa Claus travels to every house on the night before Christmas and leaves gifts for the children.

Many Americans also attend church, go to Christmas parties and sing holiday songs. Listen as Nat King Cole sings “The Christmas Song.”

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The African-American celebration of Kwanzaa begins every year on December twenty-sixth. It is celebrated for seven days. Kwanzaa does not replace Christmas. It honors black culture, especially the importance of the family. People celebrating Kwanzaa may gather for a family meal or party and light candles. They may also play African music, like this song, from South Africa. It is performed by Dark City Sisters. It is called “Sekusile” (si-KOO-sel-lay).

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This year, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah starts the night of December twenty-fifth. This eight-day holiday celebrates the Jewish people’s successful battle for religious freedom more than two thousand years ago. Jews around the world light candles and exchange gifts. They also play games and sing songs of joy. We leave you now with a popular Hanukkah song that describes one of those games – “The Dreydl Song”.

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I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our special holiday program. Our show was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer.

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

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Giving to the Needy, and Making Sure the Money Is Well-Spent

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

Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons basketball team helps buy holiday gifts for 9-year-old Shakima Johnson, displaced from her Mississippi home by Hurricane Katrina. At right is her mother, Wykima.

Americans gave almost two hundred fifty thousand million dollars to charity in two thousand four. It was a five percent increase to a new record for giving in the United States. The estimates are from the Giving USA Foundation. The group says about seventy to eighty percent of Americans give yearly to at least one charity.

Charities are non-profit organizations. They might raise money to provide services, or to support the social good.

Americans can reduce their taxes by giving to charities. The federal tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service, recognizes donations to official charities. But many people give to charities even without saving on the taxes they owe.

Individuals provide about seventy-five percent of all donations. The largest share of charitable giving goes to religious groups. The Giving USA Foundation says more than thirty-five percent of all giving in two thousand four went to religious organizations. Some Americans give a percentage of their pay to religious groups.

Schools and other education-related organizations were second on the list. They received about thirteen percent of all charitable giving in two thousand four.

Many people want to know how their gifts are being spent. They want to be sure the money is not wasted or misused. Not long ago, in the Washington, D.C., area, the local leader of a national charity stole nearly half a million dollars from the group.

There are organizations that examine how charities spend the money they receive. These groups include Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy. They also include the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau. Such groups provide reports or ratings that measure how effectively charities spend money.

Charity Navigator says seventy percent of the groups it studies use at least three-fourths of their money to support their causes. Charities that spend too much on administrative or operating costs are not considered to be carrying out their purpose.

Charity-rating groups get information from a tax document called Form Nine-Ninety. Charities are not taxed, but they must report their financial information each year to the Internal Revenue Service.

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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Many Voices, Trained and Untrained Alike, Join in 'Messiah'

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Now, a VOA Special English program for the Christmas holiday. I’m Mary Tillotson.

Each December, thousands of Americans take part in a traditional musical event called the “Messiah Sing-Along.”

In seventeen forty-one, German composer George Frideric Handel started writing an oratorio or musical drama called “Messiah.” The music contains words from the Bible, the Christian holy book. The words tell of the coming birth of Jesus of Nazareth. They praise his life and tell of his death and return to life.

Many professional musicians have performed and recorded “Messiah.” Every year, thousands of untrained singers from the public also perform this beautiful music. These people take part in a “Messiah Sing-Along” in churches or theaters.

For example, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. holds this event each year before Christmas.

Listen now as the Tallis Chamber Choir shows why so many people want to sing “Messiah.”

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No Gunplay, Just Wordplay, With a Cowboy Named 'Palindrome'

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AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: palindromes aplenty!

RS: A palindrome is something that reads the same backwards or forwards. Palindromes make us think of Janus, the Roman god with one face looking forward, another looking backward.

AA: And from Janus we get January. And from that we get the idea to rerun "The Ballad of Palindrome" each New Year.

RS: It features a skit that spoofs a cowboy show on television in the 1950s called "Paladin." Here now is the group Riders in the Sky joined by singer and songwriter Johnny Western.

AUDIO: "The Ballad of Palindrome/Palindrome: The Scene with Johnny Western"

RS: That's Riders in the Sky, from their 1998 album "A Great Big Western HOWDY!" on the Rounder Records label.

AA: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. And our segments are all online at voanews.com/wordmaster. Wishing you a great big happy 2006, with Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

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Where Did the English Language Come From?

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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 present the first of two programs about the history of the English Language.

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VOICE ONE:

More people are trying to learn English than any other language in the world. English is the language of political negotiations and international business. It has become the international language of science and medicine. International treaties say passenger airplane pilots must speak English.

English is the major foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe. School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age. English is the official language of more than seventy-five countries including Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Africa.

In countries where many different languages are spoken, English is often used as an official language to help people communicate. India is good example. English is the common language in this country where at least twenty-four languages are spoken by more than one million people.

VOICE TWO:

Where did the English language come from? Why has it become so popular? To answer these questions we must travel back in time about five thousand years to an area north of the Black Sea in southeastern Europe.

Experts say the people in that area spoke a language called Proto-Indo-European. That language is no longer spoken. Researchers do not really know what it sounded like.

Yet, Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. These include the languages that became ancient Greek, ancient German and the ancient Latin.

Latin disappeared as a spoken language. Yet it left behind three great languages that became modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and one of the languages that developed into English.

VOICE ONE:

The English language is a result of the invasions of the island of Britain over many hundreds of years. The invaders lived along the northern coast of Europe.

The first invasions were by a people called Angles about one thousand five hundred years ago. The Angles were a German tribe who crossed the English Channel. Later two more groups crossed to Britain. They were the Saxons and the Jutes.

These groups found a people called the Celts, who had lived in Britain for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders fought.

After a while, most of the Celts were killed, or made slaves. Some escaped to live in the area that became Wales. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages. The result is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English.

Old English is extremely difficult to understand. Only a few experts can read this earliest form of English.

VOICE TWO:

Several written works have survived from the Old English period. Perhaps the most famous is called Beowulf. It is the oldest known English poem. Experts say it was written in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person who wrote it is not known.

Beowulf is the story of a great king who fought against monsters. He was a good king, well liked by his people. A new book by Seamus Heaney tells this ancient story in modern English.

Listen as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of this ancient story.

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VOICE ONE:

The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north beginning about one thousand one hundred years ago. Fierce people called Vikings raided the coast areas of Britain. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value.

In some areas, the Vikings became so powerful they built temporary bases. These temporary bases sometimes became permanent. Later, many Vikings stayed in Britain. Many English words used today come from these ancient Vikings. Words like “sky,” “leg,” “skull,” “egg,” “crawl,” “ lift” and “take” are from the old languages of the far northern countries.

VOICE TWO:

The next invasion of Britain took place more than nine hundred years ago, in ten sixty-six. History experts call this invasion the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror led it.

The Normans were a French-speaking people from Normandy in the north of France. They became the new rulers of Britain. These new rulers spoke only French for several hundred years. It was the most important language in the world at that time. It was the language of educated people. But the common people of Britain still spoke Old English.

Old English took many words from the Norman French. Some of these include “damage,” “prison,” and “marriage.” Most English words that describe law and government come from Norman French. Words such as “jury,” “parliament,” and “justice.”

The French language used by the Norman rulers greatly changed the way English was spoken by eight hundred years ago. English became what language experts call Middle English. As time passed, the ruling Normans no longer spoke true French. Their language had become a mix of French and Middle English.

VOICE ONE:

Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now. Many written works from this period have survived. Perhaps the most famous was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet who lived in London and died there in fourteen hundred. Chaucer’s most famous work is “The Canterbury Tales,” written more than six hundred years ago.

“The Canterbury Tales” is a collection of poems about different people traveling to the town of Canterbury. Listen for a few moments as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of Chaucer’s famous “Canterbury Tales.”

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Now listen as Mister Scheer reads the same sentences again, but this time in Modern English.

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VOICE TWO:

English language experts say Geoffrey Chaucer was the first important writer to use the English language. They also agree that Chaucer’s great Middle English poem gives us a clear picture of the people of his time.

Some of the people described in “The Canterbury Tales” are wise and brave; some are stupid and foolish. Some believe they are extremely important. Some are very nice, others are mean. But they all still seem real.

VOICE ONE:

The history of the English language continues as Middle English becomes Modern English, which is spoken today. That will be our story next time.

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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 to hear the second part of the History of the English Language on the VOA Special English program, EXPLORATIONS.

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