In America, Struggling for the 'Correct' Terminology to Discuss Disabilities

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AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble and this week on Wordmaster: talking about disabilities.

RS: Mark Aronoff is a linguist at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York. He says over the last twenty years, it's become difficult to find a more taboo subject in American society than disability. As evidence, he cites the discomfort that many people have in finding neutral words to talk about disability without offending anyone

AA: In fact, in an essay last week in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Professor Aronoff says that when it comes to terminology, "disability is now at the point that race was fifty years ago," when he was a child.

MARK ARONOFF: "So what's happened is that words that fifty years ago were perfectly acceptable words have become unacceptable words, like 'crippled.' We had 'hospitals for crippled children.' And that was perfectly normal discourse. You could say 'so-and-so was crippled by polio.'"

RS: "What about the word 'disabled'? Is that a word that doesn't work?"

MARK ARONOFF: "I don't know. And what struck me, I guess, was I had that little anecdote in the story about 'accessible' ... "

RS: "Right, why don't you tell us about that."

MARK ARONOFF: "It happened to be in California but it could be anywhere else. I'm approaching a men's room and there's a sign next to it that says 'nearest accessible restrooms on the third floor.' And as I'm walking in, I said to myself, well, accessible to whom? I mean, this is restroom is accessible. And then I realized that what they meant was disabled-accessible. But they didn't want to even use the word."

AA: "So euphemistically they call it 'accessible.'"

MARK ARONOFF: "Right, but what's happened is that -- the greatest euphemism is simply not saying the word at all."

RS: "You say here the disability taboo is part of a larger societal trend to taboo all perceived human defects."

MARK ARONOFF: "Right, and we all have defects, right? It seems to me that on the one hand we are trying to be a much more inclusive society -- even here on campus, for example, we have students with severe, severe physical disabilities that in earlier times would have prevented them from getting a college education. On the other hand, we're bombarded with these images of physical perfection -- you know, David Beckham and Posh."

RS: "I think it's interesting here, you talk about the 'family of euphemisms,' you talk about 'people living with X.' Talk about that construction."

MARK ARONOFF: "Right, it's like a little formula, so that it's 'people living with AIDS,' 'people living with mental retardation,' 'people living with cancer,' whatever you want them to be living with. I call it a 'family of euphemisms' in the sense that it's kind of an open-ended formula that allows you to euphemize about any of these conditions."

AA: "Well, now, I suppose activists would point out the long history of discrimination against people with disabilities or certain diseases and that they might ask: What right does someone who is not disabled have writing something like this, or challenging what might be seen as an attempt to be more sensitive in describing people who are in that condition?"

MARK ARONOFF: "I wasn't trying to pass judgment on people's use of these euphemisms, whether they were good or bad. All that I was trying to point out is that they are euphemisms. I do research on sign language, and deaf people want to be called deaf. They don't want to be called 'hearing-impaired.' And that was a long struggle for them, because for them, by not calling them deaf, you're trying to euphemize them away."

RS: "What you're noticing, do you feel that we have gone so far to the political correctness that we're afraid to even broach a subject? Or do you feel that because the communities that are empowered, that want to be known as who they are, are coming back a little bit to a more central position in which we're able to talk?"

MARK ARONOFF: "No, I think that in public discourse, I mean outside maybe these small communities of activists, this particular topic of disability is becoming more and more difficult to talk about."

AA: Mark Aronoff is a linguistics professor and associate provost at Stony Brook University, part of the State University of New York. The Chronicle of Higher Education published his article in the July twenty-seventh issue of the Chronicle Review.

RS: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Archives are online at voanews.com/wordmaster. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

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Activity for the Brave of Heart (and Heights)? Try Sport Parachuting

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Some of the most modern kinds of parachutes give jumpers much more control over where they float. Jumpers can fall gently down -- or travel forward, while falling, at speeds of 40 kilometers an hour. Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

EXPLORATIONS -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

Members of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team at a performance in North Carolina

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to jump out of an airplane with only a large round piece of material to keep you safe? Well, today, you will find out. I'm Shirley Griffith. Ray Freeman and I will describe the activity known as sport parachuting.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Excitement fills the early morning air as you arrive at the little airport for your lesson in sport parachuting. First you learn to recognize and name each part of the parachute. You also learn what each part does.

The excitement builds as your teacher describes each step of the jump from take-off to landing. He tells you what to do in an emergency. Again and again, he explains the need for safety.

By early afternoon, you have completed the schoolwork. Now it is time for your first jump. As you put on the equipment, you probably begin to think: "Do I really want to do this?" You are excited, of course, but a little afraid, too.

VOICE ONE:

The teacher inspects your equipment. Nothing is loose. Nothing is broken. He asks you questions about safety. Finally, he smiles and says you are ready.

Then you, two other students and the teacher climb into a small airplane. The pilot makes sure everyone is sitting down and that no one else is outside near the plane. The plane's engine starts. The pilot moves the plane to the end of the runway. Moments later, you are climbing into the sky.

The door of the plane has been taken off so you can get out more easily with all the parachute equipment. Without the door, the engine noise and the wind are very loud. Talking is almost impossible. So you sit there and think about everything you have learned. You go over each step for a successful and safe jump. You try to put the fear out of your mind.

While you are thinking, your teacher and the pilot are working. The teacher leans out the door, watching the ground far below. With one hand he points toward a spot in the sky above your landing area. When the teacher is satisfied that the plane is flying toward the right place, he shouts:

VOICE TWO:

"Jump-run!"

VOICE ONE:

This means you are getting close to the jump area. When the plane reaches it, your teacher tells the pilot:

VOICE TWO:

"Cut the engine!"

VOICE ONE:

The pilot slows the plane's engine. Then the teacher points at you, and says:

VOICE TWO:

"Sit in the door!"

VOICE ONE:

Still fighting your fear, you sit in the doorway, with your legs outside the airplane. Then, you get the next command:

VOICE TWO:

"Climb out!"

VOICE ONE:

You reach out and hold the wing support. When you have a good, tight hold with both hands, you slide out of the plane using its wheel as a step. When you reach the right position, you step off the wheel.

Hanging by your hands, you look at your teacher and nod your head. You are ready and waiting for his final command. You look down at the ground, nine hundred meters below your feet. The wind from the plane's propeller feels heavy against your chest.

Then your teacher shouts:

VOICE TWO:

"Go!"

VOICE ONE:

You let go of the wing support and fall away from the plane. You throw your head back, arms out, legs apart, as you learned. You fall face forward toward the Earth below.

The sound of the engine and the scream of the wind disappear immediately. There is only silence. You feel you are moving, but not falling.

Quickly, a line tied to the plane pulls the parachute from its pack. The lines of the parachute and the stiff straps of the parachute harness gently pull on your shoulders and legs.

You look up. The big, colorful parachute is now fully open above you. You look at it carefully to make sure it is not damaged. Reaching over your head, you hold the left and right steering lines. You pull the left one and begin a slow, smooth turn to the left.

VOICE TWO:

You still have no feeling of falling. You seem to hang in the air. There is no longer any feeling of fear. Yet your heart is racing with excitement. You look around. You can see for many kilometers. You look down between your feet. You can see people, cars and buildings. They look very small.

For a few moments, you enjoy the view and the silence of your first parachute jump.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Too soon, it seems, it is time to prepare for landing. You watch the landing area and move toward it by pulling on the left or right steering lines. You aim for the soft sand in the center of the landing place.

Suddenly, the ground is moving quickly toward you. You bring your feet together and bend your legs at the knee. You reach high into the straps above your head. You keep your eyes straight ahead. You hit the ground, gently, it seems. And, as you learned, you roll on your side to the left and come back up onto your feet.

You gather up your parachute, being careful not to cross the many lines. Your first sport parachute jump has been safe, successful and great fun.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The idea of the parachute is almost as old as man's dreams of flight. The first known parachute designs were drawn by Italian artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci as early as fourteen ninety-five. However, there is no evidence that Da Vinci ever built a parachute.

About two hundred years ago, Louis-Sebastian Lenormand of France invented a kind of parachute to save people at the top of tall burning buildings. Historians say he jumped safely from a building in Montpellier, France, using his small device.

The first man to use a real parachute was Andre-Jacques Garnerin. In seventeen ninety-seven, he parachuted from a balloon six hundred meters above the city of Paris.

VOICE ONE:

There were more and more parachute designs after the invention of the airplane. Early planes often crashed. Fliers needed a safety device that would let them escape from a falling plane. Parachutes saved many of their lives.

Parachutes became so dependable that military leaders believed they could be used to get soldiers to a battlefield quickly. American General Billy Mitchell tested the idea in nineteen twenty-eight. Six soldiers jumped by parachute from an airplane. When they landed, they set up a machine gun. The test was a complete success. And the parachute became a useful military tool.

In the past thirty years, parachuting has become an exciting sport. It became popular when young men who learned to parachute in the military wanted to continue jumping when they returned to civilian life. Today, parachuting is enjoyed by men and women, young and old.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

There are many kinds of sport parachuting. One of the most interesting is skydiving.

Jumpers leave the airplane as it flies more than three thousand meters above the ground. They fall for about one minute before opening their parachute. They use their bodies, and the air that rushes past them, to control their flight while falling. They can speed up or slow down. They can turn left or right. They can turn over completely.

People who like to skydive say they can do anything an airplane can do, except go up. Those who jump say skydiving is as close as man will ever come to free flight -- like that of birds.

VOICE ONE:

Today's parachutes are very different from the device Leonardo Da Vinci designed five hundred years ago. They come in many different shapes and colors.

One of the most popular is shaped more like a rectangle than the traditional circle of old parachutes. This one works much like a jet airplane. It forces the air that passes through it to the back. Large openings in the back can be opened or closed to steer it.

Some of the most modern kinds of parachutes give jumpers much more control over where they float. Jumpers can fall gently down. Or they can travel forward, while falling, at speeds of forty kilometers an hour.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to the Special English program, EXPLORATIONS. Your narrators were Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman. Our program was written and produced by Paul Thompson.

Listen again next week at this time for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.

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Discovery of 'Itch Gene' May Lead to New Treatments

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Experiments on mice lead to an accidental find in the central nervous system. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Itchy skin is a common problem. Severe itching can interfere with sleep or lead to

painful damage from scratching. Now, scientists may have a way to develop new treatments for severe itching.

They report finding a gene that sends the itch signal up the spinal cord to the brain. This is the first gene identified for the itch sensation in the central nervous system.

A team led by Zhou-Feng Chen at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri, made the discovery in mice. The study appeared last week in the journal Nature.

The gene is called GRPR, for gastrin-releasing peptide receptor. This gene has been studied for years, but scientists did not know it was linked to itching. The Washington University researchers say they discovered the connection by accident while searching for genes linked to pain.

During their experiments, they gave itch-causing substances to some laboratory mice. They found that mice without the GRPR gene scratched much less than normal mice with the gene. However, the animals reacted to pain in the same way as normal mice.

The scientists say the reaction showed that pain and itch are controlled by separate sets of genes in the spinal cord.

Because the mice without the itch gene did scratch a little, scientists believe there must be other itch genes in the body.

Still, the discovery is seen as good news for people who have severe dry skin or other conditions that cause itching. These include skin disorders like eczema and problems such as kidney failure or liver disease. The researchers, though, have not confirmed whether the GRPR gene is involved in these diseases.

Cancer treatments and strong painkillers like morphine can also cause itchiness.

Yet effective treatments for severe itching are limited. This is partly because scientists have traditionally thought that an itch was a less intense form of pain. Because of this, Professor Chen says itch research has lived in the shadow of pain research.

He notes that many genes have been identified along the pain pathway. Now the discovery of a so-called itch gene could lead to new treatments for people who suffer from severe itching. The researchers suggest that new drugs could be developed to suppress itching without affecting a person's ability to sense pain.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report was written by Brianna Blake. For more health news, along with transcripts and archives of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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Parkinson's Disease: Exploring the Mystery of a Movement Disorder

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Scientists report new research and treatment for a brain disease that mostly strikes older people Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Today we tell about the latest research and treatments for Parkinson’s disease.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is known around the world as one of the great sports stars of the twentieth century. He needed great energy and power to become the world boxing champion. As he grew older, however, he began to change. The energy and power began to disappear. His face lost its expressiveness. His legs lost their speed. Muhammad Ali is sixty-five years old now and long retired from boxing. Yet it was not age that changed him so much. It was Parkinson’s disease.

VOICE TWO:

Parkinson’s is a disease of the central nervous system. It is a progressive disorder. It gets worse over time. The disease affects a small area of cells in the middle of the brain. This area is called the substantia nigra. The cells slowly lose their ability to produce a chemical called dopamine.

The decrease in the amount of dopamine can result in one or more of the general signs of Parkinson’s disease. These include shaking in the hands, arms and legs. They also include difficulty in moving or general slowness of movement. Another symptom is difficulty keeping balanced while walking or standing.

Other signs in some people include decreased movement of the face. Also, there can be emotional changes, like feeling depressed or worried. The symptoms of Parkinson's differ from person to person. They also differ in their intensity. Some people develop minor effects. Others become severely disabled as the effects get worse.

VOICE ONE:

The disease is named after James Parkinson. He was a British doctor who first described this condition in eighteen seventeen. Doctor Parkinson did not know what caused it. During the nineteen sixties, medical researchers discovered changes in the brains of people with the disease. These discoveries led to medicines to treat the effects of the disease. There is no cure for Parkinson's and no way to prevent it. And doctors still are not sure about the cause.

Parkinson’s is found in all parts of the world. The World Health Organization estimates up to six million people have the disease. Most are older adults. The disease affects men a little more often than women.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Most patients have what is called idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Idiopathic means the cause is unknown. People who develop the disease often want to link it to some cause they can identify. This might be a medical operation or extreme emotional stress.

Yet many doctors reject this idea of a direct link to Parkinson’s. They point to other people who have similar experiences and do not develop the disease. Still, doctors say it is possible that such events might cause symptoms of Parkinson's to appear earlier than they would have.

Some studies have found a link between Parkinson's and chemical products for killing insects. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic reported last year that men who often used such products increased their risk of developing the disease. But women who used pesticides had no increased risk.

VOICE ONE:

In May, another study showed the link between pesticide use and Parkinson's. This study also found that serious head injuries also increased a person's risk.

Finlay Dick of Aberdeen University in Scotland led the study. His team collected information about more than nine hundred people with Parkinson's or similar conditions. The team compared this group to almost two thousand people without the disorder. The people lived in Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta. All the people were asked about their use of pesticides, chemical fluids, and metals like iron. The team also collected information on family history of Parkinson's and head injuries.

Farm workers and others who said they often used pesticides had a forty-one percent greater risk of Parkinson's than other people. The disease was also two and one-half times more common among people who had been knocked unconscious more than once in their lives. These people temporarily lost consciousness after suffering a blow to the head. This finding is especially important for athletes like boxers who are often knocked unconscious. As we told you, former boxer Muhammad Ali is probably the world's most famous Parkinson's patient.

VOICE TWO:

Another area of study is family genetics. There are some cases of many members of a family having the disease. Three years ago, scientists linked changes in a gene called PARK-eight to cases of Parkinson’s in some families. Other research involves genes that might increase the risk of the disease in some ethnic groups.

Two years ago, researchers completed what they called the first large map to show genetic links with Parkinson's disease. The map identifies changes in twelve genes that may increase the risk in some people.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Improved treatments to ease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease make it possible for many patients to live almost normal lives. People who have lost their ability to do many things are sometimes able to regain some of these abilities with treatment.

The most commonly used drug is levodopa. When it reaches the brain, levodopa is changed into dopamine, the chemical that is lacking in people with the disease.

Levodopa helps deal with the symptoms of Parkinson's. But it does not prevent more changes in the brain that are caused by the disease. It can also produce unwanted effects in some people. These side effects include feeling sick to the stomach. To prevent this from happening, other substances can be combined with levodopa.

VOICE TWO:

Other drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease act like dopamine. They produce reactions in the nerve cells in the brain. For example, the United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved a skin patch to treat early symptoms of Parkinson's. The product, called Neupro, is a cloth-like material placed on the skin. Neupro contains rotigotine, a drug that helps to activate dopamine receptors in the body.

Last month, American researchers reported that a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure also slowed the development of Parkinson's. In animal tests, the drug, isradipine, protected dopamine nerve cells from substances that would normally kill them. The drug still must be tested in people.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Doctors sometimes perform operations to treat Parkinson’s. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved an operation called deep brain stimulation. Doctors place small electrical devices into the brain. These are connected to a small piece of equipment called a pulse generator.

Deep brain stimulation can reduce the need for levodopa and other drugs. It also helps to reduce symptoms such as shaking, slowness of movement and problems with walking.

VOICE TWO:

Scientists are also experimenting with genes to treat Parkinson's. Last month, The British medical journal, The Lancet, reported about an experimental gene therapy. It seemed to improve symptoms of the disease without causing side effects in an early study of twelve patients.

The treatment involved putting billions of copies of a gene into the brain to ease overactive nerve cells. The nerve cells become overactive because they lack the normal supply of an important chemical called GABA. The extra copies of the gene made the brain produce the needed chemical.

The study was designed to test the safety of the method instead of its effectiveness. The scientists were pleased with the results but said they had a lot more testing to do.

VOICE ONE:

Around the world, groups provide education and support services for Parkinson's patients and their families. Last year, the World Parkinson Congress took place in Washington, D.C. More than two thousand people met to discuss the latest progress and treatments. The next such meeting is planned for two thousand ten.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by George Grow. Brianna Blake was our producer. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. You can read and listen to our programs at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

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Goats Employed in Fight Against Kudzu in US South

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The plant, once valued for its good looks, has invaded more than two million hectares of land. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Kudzu kills other plants as it spreads quickly

Once upon a time, people in the southern United States enjoyed kudzu for its beauty. Kudzu is a climbing woody vine native to Asia. It produces big green leaves and sweet-smelling purple flowers.

The Japanese brought it to the United States in eighteen seventy-six. It grew well in the warm, wet climate of the southeastern states. People planted kudzu around their homes to hide things like fences.

In the nineteen thirties, during the Great Depression, the government put people to work planting kudzu for soil protection. Between nineteen thirty-five and the nineteen fifties, the government even paid farmers to plant it. The kudzu also provided cattle feed.

But kudzu kills other growth as it spreads. Finally, in the fifties, the Agriculture Department no longer suggested it as a cover crop. Then, in nineteen seventy, officials declared it a weed. Today it is known as "the plant that ate the South."

Kudzu now covers an estimated three million hectares of land. Over time, much of whatever was nearby died.

People are always looking for better ways to stop the invasive plant. Since last year, the public works department in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been using goats.

This song by Randy Mitchell tells the story of the kudzu-eating goats:

(MUSIC)

It was the end of August in Tennessee's Chattanooga town
The weather had been hot and humid, summer was a hangin’ ‘round
The vines had been growing long and steady all season long
I knew it was time for me to write another kudzu song
That stuff is growing everywhere even choking out a railroad bridge
But now there's kudzu eating goats out on Missionary Ridge
The tunnels got to where it was a danger to try to drive through
They tried poison and herbicides and chopped it up where it grew
But nothing seems to work very long and the city was at wits end
They discovered that goats like kudzu and would eat all up and then
The 3.4 acres would be clear and free of kudzu up to the tunnel's ledge
Cause now there's kudzu eating goats out on Missionary Ridge

Yet even kudzu has fans. Artisans form the twisting vines into baskets. Others use kudzu in food, clothing and herbal medicines.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

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Critics Praise Three American Playwrights

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Sarah Ruhl, Neil LaBute, and Suzan-Lori Parks are writing plays with great creativity and energy. Transcript of radio broadcast

VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. This week we tell about three American writers whose fresh and imaginative plays are receiving great critical praise. Sarah Ruhl, Neil LaBute and Suzan-Lori Parks have very different histories and styles. But all three are adding great energy and creativity to the American theater.

(MUSIC)

A scene from "Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Woolly Mammoth Theatre

VOICE ONE:

At the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. Sarah Ruhl's new play “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” has been a big success this summer. The play is both funny and serious. It deals with death, family, and, well, cell phones. It tells the story of a lonely young woman named Jean. The play starts at a restaurant where Jean is eating and reading quietly. The cell phone of the man at the next table starts to ring.

(SOUND)

Then it rings again.

(SOUND)

The cell phone keeps ringing and starts to interfere with her reading. Finally, Jean stands up to ask the man to answer his phone. But she discovers that he has died.

Jean (talking on his phone):

“I think that there is a dead man sitting next to me.

(Pause)

I don’t know how he died. I’m at a café.”

VOICE TWO:

Jean keeps the dead man's cell phone and gets involved in his life. She answers the phone when his friends, family and business contacts call him. She meets some very unusual people.

VOICE ONE:

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl studied to be a playwright at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Her teacher was the well-known American playwright Paula Vogel. At first, Miz Ruhl studied poetry, but Paula Vogel influenced her to study theater. Sarah Ruhl knew theater well. She grew up going to play rehearsals in Chicago, Illinois with her mother who was an actress.

VOICE TWO:

Sarah Ruhl is only thirty-three years old, but she has already had extraordinary success. Her play “The Clean House” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in two thousand five. The next year she won a MacArthur Foundation fellowship for her work. This organization gives five hundred thousand dollars to people in the arts and sciences who show great skill and creativity in their work.

VOICE ONE:

“The Clean House” is also very funny as well as serious. It tells about a controlling doctor named Lane who employs a Brazilian woman to clean her house. But Matilde does not like to clean. She says if the floor is dirty then one should look up at the ceiling because it is always clean.

Lane has a sister named Virginia who is lonely. Her favorite activity is cleaning. Virginia thinks it is an honor to clean your own house. She loves dust. She says dust always makes progress. Then when she removes the dust she knows she has made progress.

A scene with Virginia and Matilde from "The Clean House" at Woolly Mammoth Theatre

VOICE TWO:

Virginia secretly goes to Lane’s house and cleans all day while Matilde does her own favorite activity, creating jokes. The order of Lane’s life further falls apart when her husband, also a doctor, falls in love with a patient. In the end, this play is about loving and learning to help and forgive others.

VOICE ONE:

Sarah Ruhl has another new play being performed in New York City called "Eurydice". The play re-imagines an ancient Greek story with modern characters and visual effects. Eurydice dies on her wedding day. She must travel through the underworld and struggle to retain the memories of her lost love, Orpheus. Critics have praised the play. They say it provides a fresh look at a timeless love story.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Neil LaBute studied theater at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He writes plays as well as movies that test the fine line between good and bad actions. His stories can be painfully honest in their examination of human relationships. Mister LaBute has said that a good relationship between people equals a bad story. He thinks that the common building material for a play is conflict. And he says his job is to look for ways to ruin a perfectly good day for people.

VOICE ONE:

A good example of a LaBute play is “The Shape of Things.” It was first performed in London in two thousand one. It tells about two university students, Adam and Evelyn. Adam is a museum guard who meets Evelyn while she is trying to ruin a piece of art to express her radical ideas. They soon fall in love. But Adam’s friends Phil and Jenny notice that something is not right about Adam and Evelyn. Evelyn slowly starts to change Adam’s physical and mental qualities. By the end of the play he is a completely new person. Then Evelyn reveals the terrible secret about her plan for Adam.

After London, the play was performed in New York City. Neil LaBute later directed and produced a movie version of “The Shape of Things.” Here is Evelyn talking with Jenny about her studies:

Evelyn: So everything is good?

Jenny: Yeah, you know, OK. You?

Evelyn: Pretty great actually. Just studying…working on my art.

Jenny: Right., You‘ve got that big thing that you are doing.

Evelyn: Thesis project, for my degree.

Jenny: And it’s going well?

Evelyn: Yeah.

Jenny: What was it again?

Evelyn: I never said.

Jenny: Oh, well that’s why.

Evelyn: Right. It’s this sculpture thingie.

Jenny: Nice. I think what you have done with Adam it’s really great.

Evelyn: What I have done?

Jenny: Just, you know, he’s changed.

Evelyn: That’s right HE’s changed.

Jenny: Of course, I didn’t mean that you…

Evelyn: I know, I am just saying, you know, he did the work.

Jenny: Right.

VOICE TWO:

Another LaBute play is called “Fat Pig.” It tells about the relationship between Helen and Tom. Tom loves Helen but his friends criticize her because she is very overweight. His concern about other people’s opinions of Helen’s appearance finally ruins his relationship with her. The play is fiercely honest and at times upsetting. Neil LaBute’s plays are among the most emotionally demanding and morally shocking in current theater.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Suzan-Lori Parks from studiotheatre.org

Suzan-Lori Parks started writing while studying at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She first studied chemistry, then later changed to English and German literature. She said she started to hear voices in her head that led her to write down what they were saying. Suzan-Lori Parks read one of her stories in a class taught by the famous fiction writer James Baldwin. He asked her if she had ever considered writing for the theater.

VOICE TWO:

The plays of Suzan-Lori Parks usually deal with black culture, American history and family relations. Her nineteen ninety-nine play, “In the Blood,” is a modern version of the nineteenth century novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The play tells about a homeless woman named Hester as she cares for her five children. It gives an intense and honest vision of motherhood, poverty and suffering.

Miz Parks does not limit herself to writing plays. In two thousand three she wrote the book “Getting Mother’s Body.” She has also written screenplays for movies, including “Girl 6” directed by Spike Lee.

VOICE ONE:

In two thousand one, Miz Parks won a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. The next year she won the Pulitzer Prize for her play “Topdog/Underdog.” She became the first black woman to receive the award.

“Topdog/Underdog” tells the story of two African-American brothers, Lincoln and Booth. Lincoln works at a game center as a target for a shooting game. To be the target, he dresses up like President Abraham Lincoln. His brother Booth plays card games to win money. Their parents left the brothers when they were young children and they have depended on each other to survive. The play is a striking exploration of the many emotions and tense competition between the two men.

VOICE TWO:

Miz Parks recently put into action one of her largest projects yet. In two thousand two, she decided to write one play a day for a year. The published collection of these plays is called “365 Days/365 Plays.” Here are the first few lines of “2- For-1” performed by the American Theater Company of Chicago.

(SOUND)

Writer: “Is the rule that I have to keep writing until I think of a play?”

Editor: “There are no rules.”

Writer: “What if my mind is blank?”

VOICE ONE:

From November thirteenth of last year until November twelfth of this year, these plays are being performed every day all over America. More than seven hundred colleges, performance organizations and theater groups are performing the works. One goal of the project is to bring together a worldwide theater community. For more on this special event, visit www.365days365plays.com.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. Transcripts and archives of our shows are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for This is America in VOA Special English.

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In '08 Campaign, a Debate Brings Everyday Citizens Into the Process

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CNN and YouTube invited the public to record questions for the Democratic presidential candidates. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Democratic candidates Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Joseph Biden

Presidential hopefuls in the United States still travel the country, meeting people and shaking hands. But now they also have to reach out for money and support online, and not just through official campaign Web sites. They also use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace and video sharing sites like YouTube.

This week, the eight Democratic candidates gathered for a debate that was the first of its kind. Anyone with Internet access could record a question on video and send it in through YouTube. The debate aired live on CNN, the Cable News Network.

Many of the questions involved foreign policy, especially the Iraq war. The mother of a soldier was concerned that her son is about to return to Iraq.

The mother of a soldier asks the candidates a question

QUESTION: "How many more soldiers must die while these political games continue in our government?"

Senator Barack Obama pointed out that he has always opposed the war.

BARACK OBAMA: "The time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in, and that is something that too many of us failed to do."

Senator Obama also said that if elected president, he would be willing to meet with leaders from Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.

But Senator Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, had a different position.

HILLARY CLINTON: "Because I think it is not that you promise a meeting at that high a level before you know what the intentions are. I do not want to be used for propaganda purposes."

Other questions dealt with racial and social issues, like same-sex marriage.

QUESTION: "Hi, my name is Mary. And my name is Jen. And we're from Brooklyn, New York. If you were elected president of the United States, would you allow us to be married … to each other?"

Most of the candidates who had a chance to deal with this issue said they would support civil unions, a step short of marriage.

This new form of debate was praised because it forced candidates away from the usual questions they expect.

Aid workers recorded a video with children at a refugee camp near Darfur. In another one, a melting animated snowman asked about global warming.

And a man from Michigan wanted to know if "our babies are safe." He meant guns, and he had a large rifle. He asked the candidates about their positions on gun control.

Still, some critics said the public should have been able to choose the questions, instead of CNN.

More than two and a half million people watched the debate on television. Viewing by younger people ages eighteen to thirty-four was said to be the highest ever for a debate in cable news history.

Still, it was the second most-watched debate of the campaign season so far. A CNN-YouTube debate for the Republican candidates is planned for September seventeenth. The election is in November of next year.

If you have a question about the process of electing the president, we might be able to answer it on the air. Write to special@voanews.com. Please include your name and where you are from.

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

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Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004: One of America's Most Popular Presidents

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Before he became the 40th president, Reagan was an actor and governor of California. Transcript of radio broadcast:

ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to People in America in VOA Special English. Today Gwen Outen and Steve

Ronald Reagan

Ember tell about America's fortieth president, Ronald Reagan. Experts say Ronald Reagan re-defined the American presidency during his two terms in the nineteen eighties. He became president when he was sixty-nine years old. It was a far different place from that of his birth on February sixth, nineteen eleven.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. His mother Nelle, father Jack, and brother Neil lived above a bank in the town. Ronald Reagan’s family began calling the baby “Dutch.” The nickname remained for the rest of his life.

Jack Reagan worked at a general store. The family was poor. Yet, in a book about his life, Ronald Reagan wrote that he never felt poor. He was good at sports, especially football. During the summers, he was a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. He reportedly rescued many people from drowning.

Ronald Reagan said there was a feeling of security throughout his childhood. But it was not perfect. His father was dependent on alcohol.

VOICE TWO:

Ronald Reagan studied at Eureka College in Illinois. After seeing a play at college, he said: “More than anything in the world, I wanted to speak the actor’s words.”

But Ronald Reagan did not have enough money to go to New York or Hollywood to become an actor. So, after college he found a job as a sports broadcaster for a radio station in Iowa. Later he moved to a bigger radio station in Chicago, Illinois. He announced the action of baseball games. This work took him on a trip to California. He took a screen test to become an actor. Warner Brothers Studios offered him a job.

Ronald Reagan as ''The Gipper.''

Ronald Reagan moved to Hollywood and became a movie star. He appeared in many movies. “Knute Rockne – All American,” is probably his most famous. It is where he got the nickname “The Gipper.”

Mister Reagan played George Gipp, one of the greatest college football players ever. In the movie, he speaks of the school’s football team as he is dying.

RONALD REAGAN:

“...Ask them to go in there with all they got, win just one for the Gipper.”

VOICE ONE:

Those words, “win one for the Gipper,” later became a political battle cry for Ronald Reagan. In nineteen forty, he married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children, Maureen and Michael. But the marriage ended in nineteen forty-nine.

Ronald Reagan became president of the main labor group for movie actors in nineteen forty-eight. He served six terms. He met actress Nancy Davis through the union. They married in nineteen fifty-two. They later had two children, Patti and Ron.

At this time, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic Party who described himself as a liberal. But, he became increasingly conservative as his worries about communism grew. He opposed anyone in the movie industry who supported communism.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the early nineteen fifties, Ronald Reagan began to appear on television. He presented dramatic shows produced by the General Electric Company. He became a spokesman for the company. Mister Reagan learned a lot about public speaking. He began to campaign for Republican Party political candidates a few years later. Reagan developed the ability to reach people through his speeches. He later became known as “The Great Communicator.”

Nancy Reagan supported her husband’s political interests. Political experts say she was always his most important adviser.

In nineteen sixty-six, Ronald Reagan announced his own candidacy for governor of California. Democrats in the state did not think he was a serious candidate. However, Mister Reagan was elected governor by almost one million votes.

Ronald Reagan received mixed public opinion as governor of the nation’s most populated state. He was praised for lowering California’s debt, yet criticized for raising taxes. Voters re-elected him as governor in nineteen seventy.

VOICE ONE:

Ronald Reagan was unsuccessful in his first two attempts to win the Republican nomination for president. Then, in nineteen eighty, he became the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. His opponent was President Jimmy Carter.

Ronald Reagan debates Jimmy Carter in 1980

The two men debated on national television. Ronald Reagan spoke directly and simply to the American people and asked them some questions:

RONALD REAGAN:

“Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago?”

VOICE TWO:

Ronald Reagan won the United States presidential election by a huge majority. He and his vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush, were sworn into office in January, nineteen eighty-one. Many people called the change in political power “The Reagan Revolution.”

President Reagan immediately began to work to honor a major campaign promise. He called on Congress to lower taxes. But only two months later, tragedy struck. A mentally sick man shot the president and three other people outside a hotel in Washington. President Reagan and his press secretary, James Brady, were severely wounded.

Mister Reagan had a bullet in his left lung, close to his heart. But he showed his sense of humor at the hospital. As the president was taken into the operating room he said he hoped all the doctors were Republicans.

Ronald Reagan recovered from the shooting and returned to work within two weeks.

VOICE ONE:

The President now began work on his main goal to reduce the size of the federal government. He had campaigned on the idea that the government was too costly and interfered too much in the lives of Americans.

Mister Reagan and Congress reduced taxes and cut spending for social programs. The administration argued that these actions would create economic growth.

Extremely high inflation rates did begin to fall. But the United States’ debt rose sharply. This was partly from big increases in military spending.

The Reagan economic policy became known as “Reaganomics.” It had, and still has, supporters and opponents. Some people argued that the cuts in social programs greatly hurt poor people. Others said the policy improved the economy.

President Reagan sought re-election in nineteen eighty-four. His Democratic opponent was former Vice-President Walter Mondale. Again Mister Reagan won the election by a large amount.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

President Reagan dealt with many serious foreign issues while in office. He sent American Marines to Lebanon to stop the fighting among several opposing groups. But more than two hundred Marines were killed in an extremist bomb attack.The so-called “Reagan Doctrine” was the Administration’s most famous foreign policy. That policy was to support anti-communist forces anywhere in the world. Under the policy, American forces invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. The policy also led to secret United States support for rebels in Nicaragua.

President Reagan met with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev several times in an effort to reduce nuclear weapons. He gave a famous speech at the Berlin Wall that divided Soviet-controlled East Germany from West Germany on June twelfth, nineteen eighty-seven.

RONALD REAGAN:

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mister Gorbachev, open this gate! Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

VOICE ONE:

Some historians say Ronald Reagan helped cause the fall of the Soviet Union. They say his military spending forced the Soviets to spend more, too. They say this led to the communist nation’s economic failure.

President Reagan enjoyed very high public approval ratings throughout his presidency. Many Americans considered him a friendly leader, a “man of the people,” filled with hope for America.

VOICE TWO:

Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to California after his second term ended in nineteen eighty-nine. In nineteen ninety-four, Mister Reagan wrote an open letter to the American people. He informed them that he had the brain disease Alzheimer’s. The former president expressed his love for the country and thanked Americans for letting him serve. And, he wrote: “I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Ronald Reagan died at his home in California on June fifth, two thousand four. He was ninety-three.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Caty Weaver. Mario Ritter was the producer. I’m Gwen Outen.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Listen again next week for another People in America in VOA Special English.

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Sandra Bullock: Film Star, Producer, Wife

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Also: Hershey's celebrates the one hundredth anniversary of the chocolate kiss. And listen to the orchestral music of Pink Martini. Transcript of radio broadcast:

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We listen to music from Pink Martini …

Answer a question about actress Sandra Bullock …

And report about a sweet anniversary.

Hershey's Anniversary

HOST:

People around the world know and enjoy the chocolate candy from the Hershey Company. Company officials say they export Hershey's products to more than ninety countries. The Hershey Company celebrated an anniversary earlier this month in its hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The street lights in Hershey, Pennsylvania are shaped like the candies the company is most famous for -- Hershey’s Kisses.

July seventh was the one hundredth anniversary of the Hershey's Kiss. The company

A Hershey's kiss

held a birthday party in its honor. Part of the celebration was the world’s largest Hershey's Kiss. The huge piece of chocolate weighed almost fourteen thousand kilograms. It was more than three and one-half meters tall. A representative from the Guinness Book of World Records officially named it the world’s largest piece of chocolate.

Hershey officials say the huge chocolate Kiss took one hundred fifty-two people nine days to produce. And they say the chocolate in it is equal to that of more than three million normal Hershey's Kisses.

The company began producing the chocolate with the unusual shape in nineteen-oh-seven. Officials today do not really know why the new candy was named a Kiss. One possible story is that the name came from the sound or motion of the chocolate during the manufacturing process.

Workers used to wrap each candy in a small piece of silver foil paper by hand until nineteen twenty-one. Then a machine was developed to do that. Today, the company produces more than eighty million Hershey’s Kisses every day. And modern wrapping machines finish the job. They can wrap more than one thousand Kisses every minute.

Some Hershey’s Kisses have remained the same over the years. But there are also many new versions. There are Kisses with an almond nut inside. Dark chocolate Kisses. And Kisses filled with caramel or peanut butter. There are also similarly shaped brown and white candies called Hugs.

Hershey’s Kisses are produced in Pennsylvania, California and Virginia. Recent news reports say the company will soon close one of its factories in California. The reports say the Kisses will be produced at a new Hershey factory in Mexico. They also say the candy company has closed at least three other factories this year.

Sandra Bullock

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Brazil. Anderlon Rocha de Oliveira wants to know more about actress Sandra Bullock.

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock is one of the most popular movie stars in America. She is especially famous for her work in funny love stories. But she has also proven herself a fine dramatic actress in movies like "Crash," and "Infamous."

Sandra Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia in nineteen sixty-four. Her mother was a German-born opera singer. She died of cancer in two thousand. Bullock's father was a voice teacher and Defense Department employee. He now leads her production company, Fortis Films.

Sandra Bullock began performing as a young girl, often in music shows with her mother. She was involved in theater in high school. Then she studied acting at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Bullock lived in New York City for a short time after college. She moved to Los Angeles, California after winning her first big job, a part in a movie made for television.

Sandra Bullock has performed in more than forty films. She has played a police officer, an alcoholic, a witch, a single mother, a rich lonely wife and many other characters. Her most recent movie, "Premonition," was released earlier this year.

Next up is a romantic comedy called "All About Steve." Bullock will play a woman who decides a reporter she sees on television is her true love. She starts to follow him all around the country hoping to persuade him that he loves her too.

Sandra Bullock does not have to do this kind of thing in real life. Two years ago she married Jesse James, the star of a television show called "Monster Garage."

Sandra Bullock is also known for helping others in need. She witnessed the terrorist attack on New York City in two thousand one. She was staying at a hotel several blocks away when the twin towers were destroyed. She gave one million dollars to the Red Cross to help those affected.

Bullock gave the organization another one million dollars to help victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami in two thousand four. And she continues to give time and money to help the city of New Orleans. That city is still recovering from the severe damage that Hurricane Katrina caused in two thousand five.

Pink Martini

HOST:

Pink Martini may sound like a kind of drink. But it is really a small orchestra of twelve musicians. A classically trained pianist, Thomas Lauderdale, created the group. He says the members of Pink Martini are like musical archeologists. They like to bring together sounds from different periods and parts of the world. Barbara Klein has more.

(MUSIC: "Tempo Perdido")

BARBARA KLEIN:

That was Pink Martini’s main singer China Forbes performing “Tempo Perdido” in

Pink Martini

Portuguese. It is from the group’s latest album, “Hey Eugene!” The song was first performed in nineteen thirty-four by the famous Brazilian actress and singer Carmen Miranda. The beat of the song captures the sounds of another time period.

China Forbes and Thomas Lauderdale met in college. Several years later, Lauderdale asked her to join his new band.

Pink Martini skillfully recreates older songs from around the world in a modern and fresh way. Sometimes they find long forgotten favorites. Other times, China Forbes and Thomas Lauderdale write their own music and give it a special sound from the past. They have sung in many languages including French, Spanish, Japanese and Italian. At times they even sing in English. Here is China Forbes singing a song she wrote called “Everywhere."

(MUSIC)

Thomas Lauderdale says Pink Martini is very much an American band. But the band members spend a lot of time in other countries. He says his band tries to show that Americans are serious about being involved with the rest of the world.

We leave you with “Bukra Wba’do.” This is Pink Martini’s first song in Arabic. The song title means “tomorrow and the day after.” A professor of Arabic helped China Forbes and the group of twenty-five singers learn the correct pronunciation. The resulting song shows off Pink Martini’s musical as well as language skills.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver, who also was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

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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Trying to Renew Trust in 'Made in China' Label

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Chinese officials move to strengthen food safety laws, but also accuse some foreign media of overstating the problems with exports. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

China has recently been faced with serious issues of product safety. Some

In May, the Costa Rican Health Ministry ordered the removal of this Chinese toothpaste and other kinds made in China.

cases have brought attention internationally to the increased use of imported ingredients to make food and medicine.

In Panama, medicine made with a poisonous chemical killed or sickened more than one hundred people. A Chinese company had identified the additive as glycerin, a safe sweetener and thickener. But it was really diethylene glycol, a low-cost substitute commonly used in automobile antifreeze.

Some countries have banned Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylene glycol. China has now told companies to discontinue this use, even though it says the toothpaste is safe.

Another industrial chemical, melamine, was found in wheat flour used to make pet food in North America. Thousands of dogs and cats died or became sick.

The United States has restricted some imports of Chinese seafood because they contained banned substances. And questions have been raised about other products, including children's toys covered in lead paint.

The European Union is China's biggest trading partner. Meglena Kuneva, its commissioner for consumer protection, was in Beijing this week. Chinese officials promised her they would provide the European Union with detailed reports on enforcement efforts against unsafe goods.

China agreed in January of last year to do this every three months. She said China has not done so.

Li Changjiang is director of the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. She said China will work to guarantee the quality of its products.

China recently closed three companies linked to the Panama deaths and the pet food scare. And it executed the former head of its food and drug administration. He was found guilty of corruption for approving unsafe drugs.

This week, China said a conference of the State Council approved a proposed special measure on the supervision of food safety. The Xinhua news agency said it calls for stronger controls over producers, greater responsibilities for government and more serious punishment for illegal activities.

But Chinese officials have accused some foreign media of overstating problems with goods made in China. They say food imports from the United States also fail inspection sometimes. Next week, American and Chinese food safety officials plan to hold five days of meetings in Beijing to discuss cooperation.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

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US History Series: A 'Man From Hope' Is Elected to the White House in 1992

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Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas, defeated Republican George H.W. Bush's attempt to win a second term. Even as the new president took office, critics were accusing him of wrongdoing. Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992

And this is Steve Ember with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we begin telling about Bill Clinton, America's forty-second president. He led the United States for eight years. He acted on many important issues that affected the United States and other countries. President Clinton also had to defend himself against accusations of dishonesty and sexual wrongdoing.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen ninety-one, many Americans felt happier and more secure than they had in years. Worries about nuclear war had eased. The United States had led a coalition of allies to victory in the Persian Gulf War. In a little more than four days, the coalition freed Kuwait from invaders from Iraq and deeply damaged the Iraqi military.

Republican President George Bush had won huge popularity after successfully leading the war effort. Most political experts believed President Bush would easily be re-elected in nineteen ninety-two.

VOICE TWO:

President Bush’s popularity fell, however, as many people lost their jobs. Unemployment climbed to its highest rate since nineteen eighty-four. Economic growth slowed to recession levels. The federal government was deeply in debt after years of borrowing to pay for its programs.

The opposition Democratic Party correctly believed it had a good chance to elect a president in nineteen ninety-two. It placed its hopes for winning the White House on Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton.

VOICE ONE:

The future president was born William Jefferson Blythe on August nineteenth, nineteen forty-six, in Hope, Arkansas. His parents were William Jefferson Blythe and Virginia Blythe. Bill’s father was a traveling salesman. His father had died in a car accident three months before Bill was born. At age two, Bill was sent to live with his grandparents while his mother studied to become a nurse.

Bill’s mother married Roger Clinton when Bill was four years old. The family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, in nineteen fifty-three. Bill officially changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton at age fifteen.

VOICE TWO:

Bill Clinton’s new father, Roger Clinton, drank too much alcohol. Bill’s life at home was unpleasant at times. However, he did well in school and liked it very much. He also developed a strong early interest in politics. He competed for many offices while in high school.

In nineteen sixty-three, Bill Clinton met President John F. Kennedy. Bill was visiting Washington, D.C. as a delegate for a citizenship training program. President Kennedy provided the young Bill Clinton with a strong example of leadership.

Bill continued his education at Georgetown University in Washington. He graduated in nineteen sixty-eight. Excellence in his studies won him a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University in Oxford, England. He spent two years there before entering Yale University Law School in New Haven, Connecticut.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

At Yale, Bill fell in love with another Yale law student. Hillary Rodham of Park Ridge, Illinois shared his deep interest in politics and public service. They were married in October of nineteen seventy-five. Their daughter Chelsea was born in nineteen-eighty.

Bill Clinton returned to Arkansas after completing law school. He soon entered politics as a Democrat, narrowly losing an election for Congress. Later, Arkansas citizens elected him attorney general -- the top law official for the state. In nineteen seventy-eight, he became the Democratic Party candidate for governor. He easily defeated his Republican opponent. He was the youngest man ever elected governor of Arkansas.

VOICE TWO:

While Bill Clinton was governor, the federal government operated a holding center for Cuban refugees in Arkansas. Rioting among these Cubans hurt his chances for re-election. Governor Clinton’s opponent said he should have done more to get the government to hold the Cubans someplace else. Mister Clinton also supported unpopular new taxes.

Bill Clinton was defeated in his effort to be re-elected governor of Arkansas in nineteen eighty. He deeply regretted this loss. He promised himself he would again be governor. Bill Clinton gained his goal in the election two years later. He continued to serve as governor of Arkansas until nineteen ninety-two.

VOICE ONE:

Education in Arkansas improved under the leadership of Governor Clinton. Many more students graduated from Arkansas high schools. The number of students entering college also rose. The state began requiring examinations for teachers. It also increased their pay. Mister Clinton started health centers in public schools. And he expanded Head Start programs to help prepare poor children to begin school.

While governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton also served in national organizations for governors and Democratic Party leaders. He became well known as a moderate Democrat.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen ninety-one, William Jefferson Clinton announced he would compete for the Democratic nomination for president. Former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas and former California Governor Edmund Brown, Junior were his main opponents for the nomination.

However, Paul Tsongas later suspended his campaign for lack of money. Mister Clinton won a big lead over Mister Brown in state nominating elections.

Democrats met for their national nominating convention in New York City in July, nineteen ninety-two. They named Bill Clinton as their candidate for president. He chose Senator Al Gore of Tennessee to be his vice president in the election.

VOICE ONE:

The Republican Party nominated President Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for a second term. Texas businessman Ross Perot competed as an independent. His vice presidential candidate was a former top Navy officer, James Stockdale.

President Bush talked about his foreign policy successes during the campaign. He said he would cut taxes. He said Bill Clinton would raise taxes. Many Americans, however, remembered that President Bush had raised taxes after promising not to do this.

VOICE TWO:

Bill Clinton criticized President Bush mostly about important domestic issues in the United States. He said the president had failed to deal with the slow economy and high unemployment. President Bush answered that the Democrats controlled Congress. He said the Democrats defeated most of his domestic proposals. Ross Perot criticized both Republican President Bush and Democratic candidate Clinton. Mister Perot said neither man considered the importance of the huge federal debt.

VOICE ONE:

Bill Clinton and Al Gore won the nineteen ninety-two presidential election. They received about forty five-million votes. President Bush and Mister Quayle had about thirty-nine million votes. About eighteen million people voted for Mister Perot and Mister Stockdale.

VOICE TWO:

Bill Clinton became America’s forty-second president on January twentieth, nineteen ninety-three. At age forty-six, he was the third youngest person ever elected president.

At his swearing-in ceremony, the new president said there was no longer division between foreign and domestic issues. Listen to these words from President Bill Clinton’s swearing-in-speech:

BILL CLINTON: "The world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world’s arms race -- they affect us all. Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable. Communism’s collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers. Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.”

VOICE ONE:

Even as President Clinton took office, critics were accusing him of wrongdoing. There were questions about sexual relationships outside his marriage. Other accusations involved an investment he and Missus Clinton had made years before. In nineteen seventy-eight they had bought land in Arkansas to sell for holiday homes.

President Clinton denied any dishonorable actions. But the criticism and suspicion of America’s forty-second president continued.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

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

VOICE ONE:

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

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Specialty Summer Camps Offer Kids More Choices of Fun

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The growing popularity of technology camps and other substitutes for a traditional experience in the woods. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

(MUSIC)

Students learn to paint at the Museum of East Texas Summer Art Camp

Millions of children in the United States go to summer camp. Some go to play outdoors at traditional camps in the woods, in the mountains or on a lake.

But families now have many choices of specialty camps. These can be in the middle of nature or a big city. Specialty camps offer young people the chance to learn about different subjects. Anything from space exploration to business to medicine.

In technology camps, one subject that children can learn about is video game design. They learn how to use computer programs to create games of their own.

One program that teaches video game design is called Cybercamps, located at the University of Maryland. Children can learn how to design their own virtual worlds to set their video game in. Then, they program their own rules and objects into the game.

Cybercamps also offers courses in robot building and Web design. A recent story in the Washington Post described how one child made a robot that could sing a song. Another made a robot that could follow a black line drawn on a piece of cardboard. Also, children can learn how to make Web sites. One child made a site for Pokemon, one of his favorite cartoon shows.

Kids-N-Technology is a day camp offered in several American cities. Boys and girls age eight to eighteen get the chance to build their own desktop or laptop computer or game machine. They take it home after the camp is over.

In the past twenty years, the number of day camps in the United States has grown by almost ninety percent. Still, more than half of all camps are overnight camps. But the American Camp Association says, over all, the most popular length of time for kids to attend a summer camp is one week or less.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Erin Braswell, with music from the best of Allan Sherman. To learn about American education, and for transcripts and archives of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

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Space Station Remains a Work in Progress, One Great Big Piece at a Time

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Also: NASA has big plans for the red planet. And the Hubble Space Telescope will get an upgrade.Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. This week we tell about the most recent flight of the space shuttle Atlantis. We also tell about a new spacecraft that will explore the polar areas of Mars. And we tell about an upgrade to the Hubble Space Telescope.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Space shuttle Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California

The space shuttle Atlantis returned safely to earth on June twenty-second after fourteen days in space. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. Rainy weather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida prevented the shuttle from landing there. Rain could have damaged the heat protections system on the spacecraft. This was the first shuttle launch of the year for the United States space agency. The shuttle traveled more than nine million kilometers.

VOICE TWO:

The main goal was to continue construction of the International Space Station. This flight of the shuttle brought a new piece of equipment to the space station. The piece, called a truss, weighs seventeen and one-half tons.

It includes large solar energy collectors more than seventy-three meters long called solar arrays. The solar arrays change the light of the sun into electricity providing power to the space station. Each solar array contains many thousands of photovoltaic cells. The extra power will be needed in the future when other missions add new pieces to the space station.

The truss also contains a Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. This device keeps the solar arrays pointed toward the sun at all times. This permits the arrays to continuously gather electricity for the space station.

VOICE ONE:

During the mission, American astronaut Sunita Williams set a major spaceflight record.

Sunita Williams

She has spent more time in space than any other woman. She worked on the international space station for more than six months. Miz Williams also set a record for spacewalking by a female astronaut. She has spent more than twenty-nine hours working outside the space station.

Miz Williams was launched into space on the shuttle Discovery on December ninth, two thousand six.

In addition to her other records, Sunita Williams became the first person to run a marathon in space. She ran in place on an exercise machine called a treadmill on April sixteenth. That was the same day as the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts. In fact, she was officially entered in the race. Miz Williams finished the forty-two kilometer race in four hours and twenty-four minutes.

Last month, astronaut Clayton Anderson replaced Miz Williams on the space station. He joined Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov.

VOICE TWO:

The shuttle flight had several major problems. In fact, one crisis temporarily threatened the one hundred billion dollar space station. Part of the station's computer system failed when astronauts connected the new truss to the space station.

The International Space Station after a new solar array was added

Three navigation computers in the Russian section failed and could not be restarted. These computers control the position of the station in its orbit around the Earth. Control of the space station was then passed to the space shuttle. The shuttle had enough fuel to hold the space station's position for several days.

Another computer problem affected the environmental system of the space station. That system provides oxygen for the station and removes the carbon dioxide gas from the air. The Russian cosmonauts were able to repair the computers, but only after several tense days.

VOICE ONE:

The Atlantis flight was supposed to last eleven days, but the problems extended it to fourteen days. One main problem took place during the launch. Part of the shuttle's heat protection system came loose. NASA said the damage was not so severe that it threatened the shuttle. However, it required an extra spacewalk by a shuttle astronaut to repair. Astronauts used the fifteen-meter-long robotic arm of the shuttle to inspect the heat shield after the shuttle left the space station.

Still, the astronauts and NASA were satisfied with the mission. Commander Rick Sturckow said the astronauts were able to solve all the problems and complete the mission.

NASA had expected to launch Atlantis in March. But a hail storm damaged the fuel tank. This mission was the twenty-eighth for Atlantis. It was the one hundred eighteenth flight in the space shuttle program.

The next space shuttle flight is planned for August ninth. The shuttle Endeavor will add another truss to the International Space Station.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

NASA continues to explore the red planet, Mars. A new spacecraft, the Phoenix Mars

An artist's version of the Phoenix Mars Lander

Lander, will investigate the planet's north polar area next year. The spacecraft will land in a place that is believed to have huge amounts of frozen water and, possibly, conditions for life.

Scientists have found that Martian polar areas hold a surprising amount of water. In March, the European Space Agency announced findings from its Mars Express spacecraft. It said measurements showed that there was enough water trapped in the southern polar area of Mars to cover the entire planet to a depth of eleven meters.

A special device on Mars Express took the measurements. The instrument is called the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, or MARSIS. NASA and the Italian space agency jointly built MARSIS.

The device uses radar to "see" through levels of ice to the ground surface beneath. MARSIS found that icy material at the southern polar area was three point seven kilometers deep in some places.

VOICE ONE:

Now NASA will explore the north polar area with the Phoenix Mars Lander. It is expected to be launched in August and to reach Mars in May or June of next year. It will dig into icy layers of material using its robotic arm.

One important instrument on the lander is the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. It will help scientists study water and substances in the Martian soil including the elements hydrogen and carbon. These are considered the building blocks of life. The instrument will heat materials found on the surface to examine their chemical composition. Another device will test soil by adding water to it and examining the results.

The Phoenix Mars Lander will also have a special set of cameras that will be able to see in different wavelengths of light. NASA scientists hope that the lander will give them a better understanding of the history of water on Mars. They consider this important if they are to find out if life could or did exist there.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

A picture of the Orion Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

The telescope is the most important tool in astronomy. Scientists have been learning more and more about space ever since Galileo first used the telescope to observe the stars in the seventeenth century. In nineteen ninety, NASA sent the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit around the Earth.

Over the years it has been the most important telescope in modern astronomy. Using Hubble, scientists have been able to learn the age of the universe, take pictures of far-away young galaxies and study the mysteries of the universe. Now, NASA is planning a new mission to update the telescope next year. This project, called Servicing Mission Four, will add important instruments.

VOICE ONE:

Scientists designed Hubble to be visited by NASA astronauts who could fix and update the telescope. Over the years, NASA has sent several teams to carry out these updates. Each of these missions has made Hubble even more powerful. Servicing Mission Four will fix old parts and add new, advanced instruments that can make new observations.

Hubble's gyroscopes are some of the old parts that will be fixed. The gyroscopes help control the telescope. Also, new batteries will be added to keep the telescope operating. Thermal blankets will also be added, which will help keep the instruments warm.

The instruments that will be added are called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, and the Wide Field Camera Three. The COS will be able to observe and measure the structure of the universe, and how the universe has changed over time. The Wide Field Camera Three will let Hubble see deeper into the universe. It will also permit the telescope to observe more kinds of light that come from different places in the universe.

These improvements are expected to keep the Hubble telescope working until at least two thousand thirteen.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Erin Braswell and Mario Ritter who was also the producer. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

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Showing Students That Good Writing Matters, and Not Just in English Class

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AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: a teaching method that emphasizes writing not only in English classes but also in other disciplines.

RS: It's called writing across the curriculum, and it's an old idea, but one that has taken on new importance in American education. So says Nancy Tuten, an English professor at Columbia College in South Carolina and director of the program there.

NANCY TUTEN: "We realized that not only could we use writing as a tool for learning -- that is, writing is thinking and writing exercises in every discipline could be very valuable tools for learning. But we also realized that we as a faculty, not just the English faculty, but the entire faculty, have a responsibility to teach students how to be competent writers in every discipline, so that when they go out into the workplace, the engineer knows how to do the kinds of writing that engineers have to do, and with the voice of that discipline."

AA: "So does that mean, then, that the engineering professor or the chemistry professor has to also be a good writing teacher?"

NANCY TUTEN: "Well, sometimes you have colleges asking the English department to teach courses for other disciplines, but it really works most effectively when the engineering professor him or herself says to the students: 'This is valuable, and I use it every day in my career, and let me share with you what I know about writing as an engineer.'

"The English teacher can't do that. We can teach the organization, development, voice. We can talk about the conventions of that discipline. But we can't speak with the authority of one who does it day in and day out and to whom the students look for their guidance as professionals. If it's all pushed off to the English department all the time -- and this is true at the college level, the secondary level, all the way down. If it's pushed off the English language arts teacher, the students believe that it matters only in those classes."

RS: "How does it work at Columbia College, where you head this program?"

NANCY TUTEN: "Well, I'm very fortunate. We had a businessman endow our program about ten years ago, but at that time, we already had active writing across the curriculum. In fact, one of the strongest writing across the curriculum departments on our campus is the math department, because they understand that having students write a paragraph about how they solve an equatio, it not only helps the student understand where her holes are in her understanding, but it helps the faculty member see where the student is getting off track."

AA: "But what about a situation where, especially in the sciences, many of the teachers, many of the professors in this country are not necessarily native English speakers?"

NANCY TUTEN: "Right."

AA: "How does it work for them to teach English or to teach writing to their students?"

NANCY TUTEN: "Well, I think the comfort level differs from one faculty member to another. Some are very comfortable teaching writing and are more likely to be the one to assign the formal five-page, ten-page, whatever length-page papers that are expected to be polished and well-organized and have a clear thesis and good examples and use documentation properly and so forth. Others in the department may be less comfortable, and that's where the writing-across-the-curriculum director comes in and can help that person develop his or her own skills, if that's the professor's desire."

RS: "Now, how is Columbia College doing this, and how are they doing it well?"

NANCY TUTEN: "I think what makes Columbia College's program special is that we are endowed [have a steady source of revenue], so we aren't subject to the rise and fall of college budgets. We have money dedicated to the program, so we can offer one-on-one instruction to our faculty who wish to have it. It's not really instruction as much as it is collaboration. And we also, by the way, do this on the oral communication side, as well, not just writing, but with speaking."

AA:Professor Tuten says providing models of good writing for the student is helpful.

NANCY TUTEN: "We look at the whole picture: how is this writing assignment evolving and how can we strengthen it to ensure success on the students' part, and to lessen the burden on the faculty member's part? Because let's face it, one reason many faculty members won't assign writing is the time-consuming factor. It's very time consuming to grade writing, so we look at ways to try to design rubrics that will ease that burden. We try to talk about designing grading and assessment rubrics that ask for the same kinds of qualities of writing that we're asking for in the English department, so students can say: 'Hey, I learned how to do that. I know how to do that. You mean you want me to do the same thing over here in my history class? Oh!'"

RS:Nancy Tuten is director of the Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Program at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina. It's a small, private liberal arts college for women, with a co-educational graduate school and evening college.

AA:And that's Wordmaster for this week. You can learn a lot more about English at our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.

RS:And our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

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