A Crowded Field for Best Picture at Academy Awards

mp3


10 movies, instead of the usual five, are nominated this year. We ask some filmgoers for their predictions.

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. Next Sunday night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California. Today we tell about the movies nominated for best picture. And we hear about some people's favorites.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: The eighty-second Academy Awards ceremony takes place March seventh at the Kodak Theater. Actors, directors, writers, producers and others will gather in Hollywood, the center of the American film industry.

FAITH LAPIDUS: There is a big difference this year. Ten movies have been nominated for best picture instead of the usual five. This was reportedly done to increase the audience for the televised ceremony.

The ten movies seem to provide something for everyone. There is a big budget science-fiction movie about humans on an alien planet. And there is a small budget science-fiction movie about aliens from on Earth.

There is a tense movie about the war in Iraq. And a new version of the events of World War Two.

There are also two movies about African-American teenagers and the people who help them improve their lives.

STEVE EMBER:

We start with the 3-D science-fiction adventure movie "Avatar." It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, or Oscars.

(SOUND: “Avatar”)

"Avatar" uses special effects that have never been seen before in a movie. It combines live action with motion-capture, animation and other technologies. The movie tells the story of humans meeting tall blue creatures called Na'vi on a planet called Pandora.

James Cameron was nominated as best director for "Avatar." The film was reported to have cost more than two hundred thirty million dollars to produce. "Avatar" has earned more than two billion dollars around the world, more money than any other movie in history. The record had been held by James Cameron’s earlier film "Titanic."

FAITH LAPIDUS: The other science-fiction movie nominated this year is "District 9." This South African movie tells about the mistreatment of aliens from another planet. The aliens are forced to live in horrible conditions in special areas separate from humans.

STEVE EMBER: The Hurt Locker" is a tense and exciting movie about a group of American soldiers in Iraq. Their job is to find and safely destroy hidden explosive devices. Like "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker" was also nominated for nine Academy Awards.

Kathryn Bigelow directed "The Hurt Locker." She is competing against her former husband, James Cameron, for best director.

FAITH LAPIDUS: "Inglourious Basterds" is another war movie nominated for best picture along with seven other awards. The film is about a group of American soldiers fighting the German Nazis during World War Two. But it tells a different story from what really happened.

Besides best picture, the nominations include Quentin Tarantino for best director and Christoph Waltz for best actor in a supporting role.

STEVE EMBER: For the first time since nineteen ninety-two, the best picture nominees include an animated film. The 3-D movie "Up" tells about an old man and a young boy who have exciting adventures. The old man’s house is carried to South America by millions of balloons. "Up" was also nominated for best animated movie.

FAITH LAPIDUS: "Up in the Air" is another best picture nominee. It is about a man who spends most of his life flying around the country to different cities. His job is to dismiss people from their jobs. This movie hits very close to home.
It includes people who have really lost their jobs during this time of high unemployment in the United States. The film’s star, George Clooney, and director, Jason Reitman, also received Academy Award nominations.

STEVE EMBER: "A Serious Man" was also nominated for best picture. The film is about all the bad things that happen to a common man for no apparent reason. The man in the film is a Jewish professor in Minnesota. But the movie is based on the story of Job in the Bible.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Another nominated film, "An Education," tells the story of a British teenager.

(SOUND: “An Education”)

She has a love affair with an older man who is not what he seems to be.

STEVE EMBER: Another best picture nominee about a teenager is "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." Precious is an extremely overweight black teenager in the Harlem area of New York City. She suffers sexual and physical abuse from both her parents. But caring teachers and social workers help her improve her life.

Lee Daniels was nominated for directing the movie. He is the first African American to direct a film nominated for best picture.

FAITH LAPIDUS: "The Blind Side" is another nominated film about a black teenager.

Sandra Bullock received a best actress nomination. She plays a wealthy white woman who adopts a young homeless man and helps him become a football star.

(SOUND: “The Blind Side”)

The movie is based on the life of a professional football player, Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens.

STEVE EMBER: Meryl Streep is also nominated for best actress, for her role as the famous cooking expert Julia Child in "Julie and Julia." This is her sixteenth Oscar nomination -- more than any other actor in history. She faces strong competition from Helen Mirren, who plays the wife of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station."

Jeff Bridges is nominated for best actor for his role as an aging, alcoholic country music singer in "Crazy Heart."

Colin Firth plays a college professor who is mourning the death of his partner in "A Single Man."

And Morgan Freeman is nominated for his role as former South African president Nelson Mandela in the film "Invictus."

FAITH LAPIDUS: This year there is also a new way of voting for best picture. In the past, the six thousand members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted for the one film they liked best. This year, the members are required to list the nominated films in the order of the ones they like best.

STEVE EMBER: Who will win the Oscars this year? Millions of television viewers around the world will find out on Sunday.

We asked a few people on the VOA Studio Tour for their predictions. Tamme and Leslie are friends from Virginia. We begin with Tamme.

TAMME: "I saw 'The Blind Side' with Sandra Bullock."

REPORTER: "And what did you think of it?"

TAMME: "I loved the movie. Of course, being a true story made me more interested. But seeing the hardships of Michael Oher and what he went through to get where he is today was just awesome."

LESLIE: "I've seen 'Avatar,' 'The Blind Side' and 'Up in the Air.' And by far 'The Blind Side' was my favorite. I loved the compassion. I think our society is so focused on being quick these days that we don't really take the time to show that compassion that she showed to him in the movie, and really take the time to really build and lift someone else up when you see potential."

FAITH LAPIDUS: Next we ask Swetha who lives in Washington and is originally from India. She has seen two of the ten nominees for best picture, "Avatar" and "Up." And her prediction?

Swetha

SWETHA: "I think 'Avatar.' I just saw it twice in three weeks and I loved it, and I really don't know too many of the other movies here, so I can't say how good they are, but 'Up' was very good as well. But I really think 'Avatar' did really well."

REPORTER: "What did you like about 'Avatar'?"

SWETHA: "There was a theme of community. There was a theme of love. There was a theme for the environment. So I just felt like it really hit different notes to really cross different countries and nationalities. So I feel like it's going to have a good chance."

VOICE ONE:
But another of our "critics," Stephanie from Washington, saw things differently in "Avatar."

STEPHANIE: "To me it's too artificial and it's also the same story that you've seen before with indigenous groups and the white colonial forces coming to destroy them or something like that."

REPORTER: "And ultimately saved, though, by -- "

STEPHANIE: "And ultimately saved, of course, by the white, I don't know, soldier."

BRIAN: "Mercenary."

STEPHANIE: "Mercenary, exactly."

That was her friend Brian.

Stephanie and Brian

STEPHANIE: "Well, we saw 'Precious' together."

BRIAN: "And I've seen 'Up in the Air.' And what else have I seen? I've seen 'Crazy Heart,' but that's not one of the best picture nominees. But I think 'Avatar' is going to win, although I think it's Jeff Bridges' year for the best actor. He was great in 'Crazy Heart.'"

REPORTER: "What did you like about 'Crazy Heart'?"

BRIAN: "I think his character was -- I mean, the movie was really good. It's a simple story of redemption and the power of the human spirit, so how can you go wrong with that."

FAITH LAPIDUS: Brian knows a thing or two about the power of the human spirit.

BRIAN: "Even though I'm blind I love to go see movies. Some theaters have these transmitters that you can check out at the front desk where you buy your tickets, and there is an audio track that provides description for the movies.

"As you watch the film you get in your ear a description of 'He is now hitting somebody with a stick,' or whatever the case may be. But most movies don't have that. But I still enjoy it. You can get a lot out of a movie just from the dialog. And then if you have a good friend like Stephanie, sometimes they'll describe things for you if you're very nice. If you buy them popcorn, they'll describe things for you."

REPORTER: "You whisper the description?"

STEPHANIE: "Yes, I do. I do whisper the description to him sometimes, though you can see people around don't understand and they're watching us like 'What the ... ?'"

BRIAN: "'Tell that woman to shut up!' [Laughter]"

STEPHANIE: "I'm always afraid I'll be yelled at."

(MUSIC: “Avatar”)

STEVE EMBER: Our program was written by Shelley Gollust, and the interviewer at the end was Avi Arditti. Caty Weaver was our producer. I'm Steve Ember.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Read more...

Words and Their Stories: Where Did 'OK' Come From?

mp3


A look at what may be the most commonly used word in the world.

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Millions of people all over the world use the word OK. In fact, some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world. OK means all right or acceptable. It expresses agreement or approval. You might ask your brother, "Is it okay if I borrow your car?” Or if someone asks you to do something, you might say, “Okay, I will.” Still, language experts do not agree about where the word came from.

Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw. The Choctaw word okeh means the same as the American word okay. Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.

But many people dispute this. Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word OK in reports published in the nineteen sixties. He said the word began being used in the eighteen thirties. It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct.” Some foreign-born people wrote “all correct” as “o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t,” and used the letters O.K. Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put the first letters of his names -- O and K -- on each object people gave him to send on the train.

Still others say a political organization invented the word. The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in eighteen forty. They called their group, the O.K. Club. The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born — Old Kinderhook, New York.

Not everyone agrees with this explanation, either. But experts do agree that the word is purely American. And it has spread to almost every country on Earth.

Then there is the expression A-OK. This means everything is fine. A-OK is a space-age expression. It was used in nineteen sixty-one during the flight of astronaut Alan Shepard. He was the first American to be launched into space. His flight ended when his spacecraft landed in the ocean, as planned. Shepard reported: "Everything is A-OK.”

However, some experts say the expression did not begin with the space age. One story says it was first used during the early days of the telephone to tell an operator that a message had been received.

There are also funny ways to say okay. Some people say okey-dokey or okey-doke. These expressions were first used in the nineteen thirties. Today, a character on the American television series, “The Simpsons,” says it another way. He says okely-dokely.

(MUSIC)

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Read more...

Billie Holiday, 1915-1959: The Lady Sang the Blues

mp3


Her life was a mixture of success and tragedy

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: I'm Shirley Griffith.

STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Every week we tell about a person important in the history of the United States. This week, we tell about Billie Holiday. She was one of the greatest jazz singers in America.

(MUSIC: "God Bless the Child")

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: That was Billie Holiday singing one of her famous songs. She and Arthur Herzog wrote it. Billie Holiday's life was a mixture of success and tragedy. Her singing expressed her experiences and her feelings.

STEVE EMBER: Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in nineteen fifteen in Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents were Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday. They were young when their daughter was born. Their marriage failed because Clarence Holiday was not at home much. He traveled as a musician with some of the earliest jazz bands.

Sadie Fagan cleaned people's houses. But she could not support her family on the money she earned. So she moved to New York City where the pay was higher. She left her daughter in Baltimore with members of her family.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The young girl Eleanora Fagan changed her name to Billie, because she liked a movie star, Billie Dove. Billie Holiday loved to sing. She sang and listened to music whenever she could. One place near her home had a machine that played records. The building was a brothel where women who were prostitutes had sex with men for money.

Billie cleaned floors and did other jobs for the prostitutes so she could listen to the records. It was there that young Billie first heard the records of famous black American blues artists of the nineteen twenties. She heard Bessie Smith sing the blues. And she heard Louis Armstrong play the horn. Both musicians had a great influence on her.

STEVE EMBER: Billie Holiday once said: "I do not think I'm singing. I feel like I am playing a horn. What comes out is what I feel. I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That is all I know."

Here is Billie Holiday singing a popular song of the Nineteen thirties, "More Than You Know."

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Billie Holiday had a tragic childhood. When she was ten, a man sexually attacked her. She was accused of causing the man to attack her and sent to a prison for children.

In nineteen twenty-seven, Billie joined her mother in Harlem, the area of New York City where African-Americans lived. Billie's mother mistakenly sent her to live in a brothel. Billie became a prostitute at the age of thirteen. One day, she refused the sexual demands of a man. She was arrested and spent four months in prison.

STEVE EMBER: Two years later, Billie's mother became sick and could not work. Fifteen-year-old Billie tried to find a job. Finally, she was given a job singing at a place in Harlem where people went at night to drink alcohol and listen to music.

For the next seventeen years, Holiday was one of the most popular nightclub singers in New York. She always wore a long white evening dress. And she wore large white flowers in her black hair. She called herself "Lady Day."

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: In the early nineteen thirties, a music producer, John Hammond, heard Billie Holiday sing in a nightclub. He called her the best jazz singer he had ever heard. He brought famous people to hear her sing.

Hammond produced Holiday's first records. He got the best jazz musicians to play. They included Benny Goodman on clarinet, Teddy Wilson on piano, Roy Eldridge on trumpet and Ben Webster on saxophone. They recorded many famous songs with Billie Holiday. "I Wished on the Moon" is one of them.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: In the late nineteen thirties, Billy Holiday sang with Artie Shaw's band as it traveled around the United States. She was one of the first black singers to perform with a white band. But racial separation laws in America made travel difficult for her.

During this time, a new nightclub opened in the area of New York called Greenwich Village. It was the first club that had both black and white performers. And it welcomed both black and white people to hear the performers. The nightclub was called Cafe Society.

It was here that Billy Holiday first sang a song called "Strange Fruit." A school teacher named Lewis Allan had written it for her. The song was about injustice and oppression of black people in the southern part of the United States. It told about how mobs of white men had killed black men by hanging them from trees.

Many people objected to the song. It was unlike any other popular song. But it was a huge hit. Here is Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit."

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: In the nineteen forties, Holiday started using the illegal drug heroin. Soon her body needed more and more of the drug. It began to affect her health.

In nineteen forty-seven, Billie Holiday was arrested for possessing illegal drugs. She was found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison. When she was released, New York City officials refused to give her a document that permitted her to work in any place that served alcoholic drinks. This meant Holiday no longer could sing in nightclubs and jazz clubs. She could sing only in theaters and concert halls.

Ten days after her release from jail, she performed at New York's famous Carnegie Hall. People filled the place to hear her sing. This is one of the songs she sang at that concert. It is called "I Cover the Waterfront."

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: In nineteen fifty-six, Billie Holiday wrote a book about her life. The book was called “Lady Sings the Blues.” A friend at the New York Post newspaper, William Dufty, helped her write the book. A few months later, she was arrested again for possessing illegal drugs. But instead of going to prison, she was permitted to seek treatment to end her dependence on drugs. The treatment was successful.

That same year, she performed her second concert at Carnegie Hall. Here is one of the songs Holiday sang that night. It is called "Lady Sings the Blues." She and Herbie Nichols wrote it.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Billy Holiday's health was ruined by using illegal drugs and by drinking too much alcohol. Her last performance was in nineteen fifty-nine. She had to be led off the stage after singing two songs. She died that year. She was only forty-four. But Lady Day lives on through her recordings that continue to influence the best jazz singers.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I'm Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week at this time for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on VOA.

Read more...

What Next for Health Care Effort?

mp3


Obama's meeting with Democrats and Republicans could mark a final push to pass a reform bill, with or without the Republicans.

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, President Obama led a meeting of Democratic and Republican lawmakers to discuss health reform. Thursday's meeting lasted more than six hours and was broadcast live on television and the Internet.

Some experts think the president could be making his last major push to get a health care bill through Congress. He urged the two sides to look for common ground.

BARACK OBAMA: "I hope that this isn't political theater where we are just playing to the cameras and criticizing each other, but instead we are actually trying to solve the problem."

But it did not take long for the health care meeting to become heated. Republicans said the majority Democrats in Congress had ignored them in writing legislation.

LAMAR ALEXANDER: "Our country's too big, too complicated, too decentralized for Washington, a few of us here, just to write a few rules about remaking seventeen percent of the economy all at once."

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said cutting health care costs step by step is better than the Democrats' plan.

LAMAR ALEXANDER: "So our view, with all respect, is that this is a car that can't be recalled and fixed, and that we ought to start over."

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democrats would not start the legislative process all over again. She urged the lawmakers at the meeting to remember all of the American families that are struggling to pay for medical care.

NANCY PELOSI: "What we do here must be relevant to their lives. And for them, they don't have time for us to start over."

At the end of the day, even President Obama admitted that differences between the two sides may be too great for compromise.

BARACK OBAMA: "At least we will have better clarified for the American people what the debate is about."

Democratic leaders say they are hopeful that some good will come out of the meeting. But they also made it clear that they are willing to act alone, if necessary, to pass a health care bill.

Democrats in the Senate have lost their sixty-vote supermajority needed to block any effort by Republicans to kill legislation. But the Democrats could try to pass a health care bill using a process called reconciliation. It requires only a simple majority of fifty-one votes.

On Monday, for the first time, President Obama offered his own version of a plan to breathe new life into the legislation in Congress. His proposal calls for insuring thirty million more Americans at a cost of about one trillion dollars over ten years. Republicans have a plan to insure three million more Americans at a cost of sixty billion dollars for the same period.

The Republicans propose taking smaller steps to reform the health care system. Their ideas include permitting Americans to shop for health insurance in other states and expanding health care savings accounts.

Democrats call the Republicans the party of "no." But on Wednesday, thirteen Republicans supported a jobs bill passed by the Senate. It combines a tax cut for employers and spending for road projects in an effort to reduce unemployment. The fifteen billion dollar bill now goes to the House.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake with Paula Wolfson and Elizabeth Lee. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts are at voaspecialenglish.com, where you can also comment on our programs. I'm Steve Ember.

Read more...

Short Story: ‘The Law of Life’ by Jack London

mp3


An old Indian chief remembers a lesson he learned long ago.

Now, the VOA Special English Program, AMERICAN STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Our story today is called “The Law of Life.” It was written by Jack London. Here is Shep O’Neal with the story.

SHEP O’NEAL: The old Indian was sitting on the snow. It was Koskoosh, former chief of his tribe. Now, all he could do was sit and listen to the others. His eyes were old. He could not see, but his ears were wide open to every sound.

“Aha.” That was the sound of his daughter, Sit-cum-to-ha. She was beating the dogs, trying to make them stand in front of the snow sleds. He was forgotten by her, and by the others, too. They had to look for new hunting grounds. The long, snowy ride waited. The days of the northlands were growing short. The tribe could not wait for death. Koskoosh was dying.

The stiff, crackling noises of frozen animal skins told him that the chief’s tent was being torn down. The chief was a mighty hunter. He was his son, the son of Koskoosh. Koskoosh was being left to die.

As the women worked, old Koskoosh could hear his son’s voice drive them to work faster. He listened harder. It was the last time he would hear that voice. A child cried, and a woman sang softly to quiet it. The child was Koo-tee, the old man thought, a sickly child. It would die soon, and they would burn a hole in the frozen ground to bury it. They would cover its small body with stones to keep the wolves away.

“Well, what of it? A few years, and in the end, death. Death waited ever hungry. Death had the hungriest stomach of all.”

Koskoosh listened to other sounds he would hear no more: the men tying strong leather rope around the sleds to hold their belongings; the sharp sounds of leather whips, ordering the dogs to move and pull the sleds.

“Listen to the dogs cry. How they hated the work.”

They were off. Sled after sled moved slowly away into the silence. They had passed out of his life. He must meet his last hour alone.

“But what was that?” The snow packed down hard under someone’s shoes. A man stood beside him, and placed a hand gently on his old head. His son was good to do this. He remembered other old men whose sons had not done this, who had left without a goodbye.

His mind traveled into the past until his son’s voice brought him back. “It is well with you?” his son asked. And the old man answered, “It is well.”

“There is wood next to you and the fire burns bright,” the son said. “The morning is gray and the cold is here. It will snow soon. Even now it is snowing. Ahh, even now it is snowing.

“The tribesmen hurry. Their loads are heavy and their stomachs flat from little food. The way is long and they travel fast. I go now. All is well?”

“It is well. I am as last year’s leaf that sticks to the tree. The first breath that blows will knock me to the ground. My voice is like an old woman’s. My eyes no longer show me the way my feet go. I am tired and all is well.”

He lowered his head to his chest and listened to the snow as his son rode away. He felt the sticks of wood next to him again. One by one, the fire would eat them. And step by step, death would cover him. When the last stick was gone, the cold would come. First, his feet would freeze. Then, his hands. The cold would travel slowly from the outside to the inside of him, and he would rest. It was easy…all men must die.

He felt sorrow, but he did not think of his sorrow. It was the way of life. He had lived close to the earth, and the law was not new to him. It was the law of the body. Nature was not kind to the body. She was not thoughtful of the person alone. She was interested only in the group, the race, the species.

This was a deep thought for old Koskoosh. He had seen examples of it in all his life. The tree sap in early spring; the new-born green leaf, soft and fresh as skin; the fall of the yellowed, dry leaf. In this alone was all history.

He placed another stick on the fire and began to remember his past. He had been a great chief, too. He had seen days of much food and laughter; fat stomachs when food was left to rot and spoil; times when they left animals alone, unkilled; days when women had many children. And he had seen days of no food and empty stomachs, days when the fish did not come, and the animals were hard to find.

For seven years the animals did not come. Then, he remembered when as a small boy how he watched the wolves kill a moose. He was with his friend Zing-ha, who was killed later in the Yukon River.

Ah, but the moose. Zing-ha and he had gone out to play that day. Down by the river they saw fresh steps of a big, heavy moose. “He’s an old one,” Zing-ha had said. “He cannot run like the others. He has fallen behind. The wolves have separated him from the others. They will never leave him.”

And so it was. By day and night, never stopping, biting at his nose, biting at his feet, the wolves stayed with him until the end.

Zing-ha and he had felt the blood quicken in their bodies. The end would be a sight to see.

They had followed the steps of the moose and the wolves. Each step told a different story. They could see the tragedy as it happened: here was the place the moose stopped to fight. The snow was packed down for many feet. One wolf had been caught by the heavy feet of the moose and kicked to death. Further on, they saw how the moose had struggled to escape up a hill. But the wolves had attacked from behind. The moose had fallen down and crushed two wolves. Yet, it was clear the end was near.

The snow was red ahead of them. Then they heard the sounds of battle. He and Zing-ha moved closer, on their stomachs, so the wolves would not see them. They saw the end. The picture was so strong it had stayed with him all his life. His dull, blind eyes saw the end again as they had in the far off past.

For long, his mind saw his past. The fire began to die out, and the cold entered his body. He placed two more sticks on it, just two more left. This would be how long he would live.

It was very lonely. He placed one of the last pieces of wood on the fire. Listen, what a strange noise for wood to make in the fire. No, it wasn’t wood. His body shook as he recognized the sound…wolves.

The cry of a wolf brought the picture of the old moose back to him again. He saw the body torn to pieces, with fresh blood running on the snow. He saw the clean bones lying gray against the frozen blood. He saw the rushing forms of the gray wolves, their shinning eyes, their long wet tongues and sharp teeth. And he saw them form a circle and move ever slowly closer and closer.

A cold, wet nose touched his face. At the touch, his soul jumped forward to awaken him. His hand went to the fire and he pulled a burning stick from it. The wolf saw the fire, but was not afraid. It turned and howled into the air to his brother wolves. They answered with hunger in their throats, and came running.

The old Indian listened to the hungry wolves. He heard them form a circle around him and his small fire. He waved his burning stick at them, but they did not move away. Now, one of them moved closer, slowly, as if to test the old man’s strength. Another and another followed. The circle grew smaller and smaller. Not one wolf stayed behind.

Why should he fight? Why cling to life? And he dropped his stick with the fire on the end of it. It fell in the snow and the light went out.

The circle of wolves moved closer. Once again the old Indian saw the picture of the moose as it struggled before the end came. He dropped his head to his knees. What did it matter after all? Isn’t this the law of life?

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: You have just heard the American story “The Law of Life.” It was written by Jack London. Your storyteller was Shep O’Neal. Listen again next week for another American story in V.O.A. Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.

Read more...

Americans Set Record at Winter Olympics

mp3

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Today on our program, we play music from the new young pop star, Justin Bieber.

But first we tell about winning American athletes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

(MUSIC)

Winning Olympic Athletes

DOUG JOHNSON: The Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, will end Sunday. The United States has won a record number of medals at the international games. Bob Doughty and Faith Lapidus tell about some of the winning American athletes on and off the ice and snow.

BOB DOUGHTY: On the twelfth day of the Olympics the United States broke its medal record for competition outside America. The men’s four-member Nordic team finished second in the Nordic combined race for a silver medal.

This made a total of twenty-six medals for American athletes. The United States had won twenty-five medals at the last Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The only time the United States had won more was on its own territory, in two thousand at the Salt Lake City, Utah Winter Games.

Nordic combined is ski jumping followed by a cross country ski race. Three men on the American team, Bill Demong, Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane had been to the Olympics before. But the pressure was on Brett Camerota, who was new to the Olympics. Experts say it was his excellent jump that put the team in medal position.

Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn also experienced a sweet victory when she won the gold medal in the women’s downhill ski race. She became the first American woman ever to win the event. And she won even though her right leg was injured.

AP

Julia Mancuso

Vonn’s teammate, Julia Mancuso, crossed the finish line less than a second later for the silver medal. She also won the silver in the super combined, which is downhill and slalom racing.

Mancuso had won a gold medal at the two thousand six Winter Games in the giant slalom. But since then, the twenty-five year old had experienced severe hip and back problems. Treatments over the last few years included an operation and physical therapy.

Now she is the first American Alpine woman skier to have three Olympic medals. She is also the first we know about to wear a jeweled headband called a tiara while competing. Her coach gave her the first tiara years ago for good luck. The native Californian also runs her own clothing company.

Mancuso, Bode Miller and Apolo Ohno have all broken records at these games. Speed skater Ohno won two medals in Vancouver -- a silver and a bronze. With his two golds, two silvers and a bronze from earlier games, Ohno became the most decorated American winter Olympian.

The twenty-seven year old skater was already famous. He has major marketing deals with big companies. In two thousand seven he won the popular television competition show “Dancing with the Stars.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: The Vancouver Winter Olympics have been very good for Bode Miller. He has renewed his image in the sport of Alpine skiing.

Miller had been criticized for his behavior at the games in Turin. He was accused of working harder at drinking and partying than competing. He told reporters that he skied under the influence of alcohol. He won no medals in Turin and withdrew from the United States ski team after the games.

Last year, he returned to the team. Now thirty-two years old, he seems a much different competitor. He won the gold medal in the men’s super combined, a silver in the Super G, and a bronze in the downhill. He has now won the most Olympic medals of any American Alpine skier.

Americans have led the medal count in snowboarding events in Vancouver. As expected, Shaun White took the gold in the halfpipe event. The twenty-three year old invented many of the tricks and flips used by his competitors. Of course, it might be easier for him to invent tricks. The company that makes Red Bull energy drink built him his own halfpipe on Silverton Mountain in Colorado.

Hannah Teter won her second Olympic medal in the halfpipe event at these games. She won her first, a gold, in Turin. Teter is twenty-three and comes from Belmont, Vermont. Vermont-based ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s named an ice cream flavor after her. Some of the profits go to an aid group Teter established two years ago. Hannah’s Gold helps bring clean water and meet other needs in Kirindon, Kenya. She started raising money for the town through sales of Vermont maple syrup.

American figure skaters have won both silver and gold this year. Ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White won a silver medal for ice dancing. The two were born in Michigan in nineteen eighty-seven. They have been skating partners since they were ten. This was their first Olympic competition.

And Evan Lysacek won the gold medal in men’s figure skating. Lysacek became the first American man to win gold in figure skating since nineteen eighty-eight. Russia has led the sport for many years.

(MUSIC)

Justin Bieber

DOUG JOHNSON: Justin Bieber is only fifteen years old. He has become extremely popular. Barbara Klein tells us about this young singer.

BARBARA KLEIN: Justin Bieber was raised by his mother in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. When he was twelve he won second place in a local singing contest. He started posting videos of his contest performances on YouTube for his friends and family. Soon these videos had been seen more than ten million times.

A former music executive saw those videos. He arranged for Justin to fly to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet the singer and songwriter Usher. A year later Justin signed a recording contract. His first album is called "My World." It sold over a million copies in its first two months. Four singles were released before the album.

All became hits. This made Justin Bieber the only artist in the history of Billboard magazine to have four singles from his first album among the most popular songs before the album’s release. This is one of those songs, "One Time." It is about a young person’s first love.

(MUSIC)

Usher helped produce Justin’s first album. He joins him in singing "First Dance." Justin Bieber says it is "a slow groovy song that people can dance to."

(MUSIC)

Justin Bieber performed for President Obama at the White House in December. He was part of a televised musical show that raised money for the National Children’s Medical Center. He was also among the many singers who recorded a special new version of the song "We Are the World."

The song was produced to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. The video has been seen more than seven million times on YouTube. And it was shown during the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on February twelfth.

(MUSIC: “WE ARE THE WORLD”)

Justin Bieber’s family did not have much money when he was growing up. He did not have as much as other children did.

Justin says he wants to influence young people in a positive way. He says his message is that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. We leave you with Justin Bieber singing "Bigger." The song urges young people to work toward their goals.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and Caty Weaver, who was also our producer. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

Read more...

'I Am Deeply Sorry,' Toyota Chief Tells US Congress

mp3


Akio Toyoda rejects electronics as a cause of sudden speed linked to deaths and vehicle recalls

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

In Washington, Congress will again discuss the safety problems at Toyota. On Tuesday, a Senate committee will examine the recent safety recalls and the government's response.

The House of Representatives held two days of hearings this week. On Wednesday lawmakers questioned Akio Toyoda, the head of the company since June.

AKIO TOYODA: "I am deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced."

Defects have been linked to at least thirty-nine deaths over the past several years. Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide over a risk of gaining speed suddenly and uncontrollably.

Toyota is Japan's biggest company and in two thousand eight it passed General Motors as the world's biggest carmaker. But Akio Toyoda said his company paid too much attention to growth and not enough to safety.

AKIO TOYODA: "Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick."

The grandson of the company's founder rejected the possibility that the acceleration problem is related to the electronic controls in his vehicles. The company has blamed problems with the accelerator pedal and badly positioned floor mats.

But this week, lawmakers released a company document showing Toyota had saved one hundred million dollars by negotiating a limited recall over the issue. The document listed that deal among several "wins" for Toyota.

The document added to criticisms that federal officials did not act aggressively enough against Toyota. But others say Toyota is being treated unfairly because the government now owns sixty percent of General Motors.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was questioned earlier in the day and dismissed that idea. He praised the agency that deals with auto industry recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.

RAY LAHOOD: "Over just the last three years, NHTSA’s defect and compliance investigations have resulted in five hundred twenty-four recalls involving twenty-three million vehicles. We haven't been sitting around on our hands. When people complain, we investigate."

Rhonda Smith of Tennessee described how in two thousand six her Toyota-made Lexus sped up for a time to one hundred sixty kilometers an hour.

RHONDA SMITH: "And I prayed to God to help me."

NHTSA blamed a floor mat, but she blames the electronics and says Toyota dismissed her concerns.

Ray LaHood says his department will investigate the electronics used by Toyota and other automakers. And Akio Toyoda promised a new level of openness and speed in dealing with safety issues.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Read more...

8 US States to Test High School Changes

mp3


Some "college ready" students may finish early using board exam systems.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

The Obama administration says American schools should produce students who are "college and career ready." What is the best way to do that? One group that has some ideas is the National Center on Education and the Economy. Marc Tucker is president of this nonprofit organization.

MARC TUCKER: "The president has called for focusing in on what it really takes to be successful in work and in college, and he has called on America's educational institutions, primary and secondary educational institutions, to do whatever it takes to get our kids college ready. That is precisely what we are doing."

The National Center on Education and the Economy will be working with eight states on a project to test board examination systems. Students who volunteer will take board examination classes similar to those found in other parts of the world. Once they pass the exams, they can leave high school as early as the end of the second year.

Marc Tucker says the aim is to make sure students finish high school with enough skills to succeed in at least a two-year college.

MARC TUCKER:"In the United States, one is expected to go to high school for four years and you get a diploma just for showing up or attending. It doesn't particularly attest to any level of accomplishment. What we're trying to do here is to change the system in the United States from one that is based on the time that is spent in the seat to one that is based on your actual accomplishments."

The state projects will start as early as September of two thousand eleven. They will involve ten to twenty high schools in each of the eight states. The states include Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine and New Hampshire. The others are New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Some educators and parents do not like the idea of sending students as young as sixteen off to college, before they may be socially ready.

But Marc Tucker says students who pass the exams could stay in high school and take a demanding set of exams at the upper division level. That program is designed to prepare students for entrance into a competitive college or university.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided more than one million dollars to start the program. Marc Tucker says he expects interest in the idea to grow.

MARC TUCKER:"Our hope is that this will become the way school is in the United States, it will become the dominant way of going to high school."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Does your country use a board examination system? Tell us about it -- post your comments at our newly redesigned Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Read more...

Grant’s Second Term Worse Than First

mp3


The administration of Ulysses Grant was marked by accusations of corruption.

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

America’s eighteenth president, Ulysses Grant, was elected to his second term in eighteen seventy-two. Grant had led the Union army of the North to victory over the Confederate army of the South during the Civil War. He easily won the presidency in eighteen sixty-eight in the first election held after the war. Now, he would spend four more years as president of the United States.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell about Grant’s second term in office.

HARRY MONROE: Grant's first administration was marked by dishonesty and shameful events. The situation grew much worse after he won a second term.

Grant himself was not involved directly. But his administration suffered because of his ties to those who were involved.

Soon after Grant's re-election, for example, there was a serious incident that involved many of his supporters in Congress.

The Union Pacific Railroad Company had helped build a railroad across the American west to California. The cost of building the railroad was very high. The company got large amounts of aid from the government.

Not all this aid came honestly. An investigation showed that leading members of Congress, and even the Vice President, received shares of ownership in the company for free, or at low cost. In exchange, they voted to use federal money to help build the railroad.

KAY GALLANT: A few months later, members of Congress voted a pay raise for themselves and the executive branch of government. The pay raise would be retroactive. This meant the extra money would be paid for the two years already past.

Newspapers and citizens raised a storm of protest. Some lawmakers were afraid they would not be re-elected. So they refused to accept the pay raise.

Within six months, another shameful incident was uncovered. This one involved Jay Cooke, one of the richest bankers in the country. He also was a good friend of President Grant.

In eighteen sixty-nine, Cooke began raising money to build another railroad across America's west. He planned to sell one hundred million dollars' worth of railroad bonds.

Many people invested all the money they had in Cooke's railroad. But Cooke was unable to sell as many bonds as he expected. Soon, his banks had no money left. They could return no money to the thousands of people who had bought railroad bonds.

HARRY MONROE: People hurried to other banks to withdraw their savings. Within hours, many of these other banks had to close. They, too, were out of money. Within a month, more than five thousand banks across the country failed and closed their doors. This created an economic crisis.

The New York Stock Exchange closed for ten days. Factories closed. Thousands of people lost their jobs. Investigations showed that many of the banks that failed had violated banking laws. The laws often were not enforced, because so many bankers had given money to the ruling Republican Party.

KAY GALLANT: Other incidents followed. One of the biggest was called the Whiskey Ring. It involved a group of whiskey producers and some high officials who were friends of President Grant. Together, they found a way not to pay taxes on their whiskey.

One of Grant's close advisers was at the center of the incident. A grand jury found him not guilty of any crime. However, it charged several hundred whiskey producers and government officials with illegal activities.

President Grant had done nothing illegal. But the Whiskey Ring incident increased public feeling that there was no honesty in the White House. The feeling grew that Grant was a failure.

HARRY MONROE: These incidents took place during a time of intense social and political change in the United States. The period after the Civil War was a time of industrial revolution and business growth. Most of this growth was taking place in the North.

Before the Civil War, most businesses were small. Now there were many companies with large numbers of workers. The companies also had large numbers of owners. They sold shares of ownership to anyone with enough money to buy.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: A few men rose to positions of great power in business. In the steel industry, for example, there was Andrew Carnegie. He came to the United States as a boy from Scotland. He took a low-paying job in a factory that produced cotton cloth. He worked hard. In time, he earned enough money to take control of an iron factory.

Carnegie soon built another factory. This one produced steel with a new technology. The system worked well. Soon, he was earning more than one million dollars a year. He competed fiercely with other steel companies. He pressured railroads to transport his steel for lower prices than his competitors. And he cut his prices to force other steel-makers out of the business.

Before long, Andrew Carnegie was the unquestioned leader of America's steel industry. His position gave him great power over the economy of the whole country.

loc.gov

John D. Rockefeller

HARRY MONROE: What Carnegie did for the steel industry, John D. Rockefeller did for the oil industry.

Oil became a useful product only in the middle of the eighteen hundreds. Rockefeller was part of a group of businessmen who built an oil processing center in Ohio. It was so successful that Rockefeller gave up his other business interests. He put all his money into oil production. He formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio.

John D. Rockefeller's new company used the same aggressive business methods as Andrew Carnegie. Rockefeller bought control of other oil processing companies. He started price wars that forced his competitors out of business.

Most important, Rockefeller made a secret deal with the railroads. The deal greatly reduced his transportation costs. This permitted him to crush his competition. Before long, he controlled ninety-five percent of the oil processing industry in the United States.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: As with steel and oil, America's railroads were an extremely important business in the eighteen-hundreds. In fact, they were the nation's biggest business. They were as important as automobiles and airplanes are to the American economy today.

Before the Civil War, most railroads were east of the Mississippi River. Most were small lines. In the years after the war, four major railroads got control of almost all the lines in the east. And they began building new lines in the west.

HARRY MONROE: The first rail line to cross the nation was completed in eighteen sixty-nine. It was built by two companies. One company started from the east and went west. The other went in the opposite direction. Finally, after six years of back-breaking labor, the two work teams met in northern Utah. They connected the rail lines with a golden spike.

It was a great moment in the nation's history. Now, at last, the two coasts of the United States were united by a single line of metal rail. It was like the day -- a hundred years later -- when the first American walked on the moon.

KAY GALLANT: Like the steel and oil industries, the railroad industry also had its stories of intense business competition. In this case, the most influential man was Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt already was rich from the shipping industry. Now he formed the New York Central Railroad. It was the largest railroad in the east.

Cornelius Vanderbilt tried to take over the railroad industry. He was not as successful as Andrew Carnegie with steel or John D. Rockefeller with oil. A group of other rich railroad owners blocked his plans. But Vanderbilt did succeed in winning a great amount of power and influence.

HARRY MONROE: Vanderbilt and the other new leaders of industry were powerful. And they let others know it. They sometimes made statements about how they did not have to obey the law.

Other powerful men thought the same way. Some were officials elected or appointed to serve in the federal government. Political power blinded them to their responsibility to be honest and fair to the public. As a result, the Republican Party lost public support. The blame was placed on Ulysses Grant. That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

Read more...

Explorers, Danger and a Guiding Presence

mp3


John Geiger discusses the subject in his book “The Third Man Factor.”

DOUG JOHNSON:

I’m Doug Johnson.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about an unusual and mysterious experience that can affect people in extreme situations of danger. People who live through life threatening situations sometimes describe a calming presence or guiding voice that helps them survive.

People have described this experience as “sensed presence” or as an “imaginary shadow person.” It is also known as the “Third Man” syndrome. The Canadian-American writer John Geiger wrote about this in a recent book called “The Third Man Factor.” The book will soon be published in several languages, including Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON:

The Endurance trapped on Antarctic ice

Ernest Shackleton spent his career exploring the little known areas of the South Pole. One of his most famous trips began in nineteen fourteen. The goal of the trip was to cross Antarctica on foot. But it did not go as planned. His boat, the Endurance, became trapped and later crushed by ice.

After many months, Shackleton and a few of his men traveled through dangerous waters to the island of South Georgia to get help and rescue the rest of their crew. They faced extreme hunger, thirst and cold. But their rescue operation was successful, and all twenty-two crew members survived.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Later, Shackleton wrote about the impossible struggles he faced. He described feeling that there was another unseen person with him and his men during the last days of their trip.

He wrote this about his experience: “I know that during that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it seemed to me often that we were four, not three.”

DOUG JOHNSON:

The American poet T.S. Eliot was influenced by Shackleton’s description. Here, the poet includes Shackleton’s vision in part of his famous poem “The Waste Land.”

MARIO RITTER:

Who is the third who walks always beside you?

When I count, there are only you and I together

But when I look ahead up the white road

There is always another walking beside you.

DOUG JOHNSON:

It is from this line of poetry about Shackleton that the Third Man syndrome takes its name.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

johngeiger.net

John Geiger

Writer and researcher John Geiger has twice experienced a similar reaction to extreme danger himself: once as a child and once while suffering from extreme cold in Arctic Canada. He says his experiences made him want to learn about Third Man examples among other explorers.

JOHN GEIGER: “In other words, my experience I think predisposed me to being interested in the kind of phenomena that people in these extreme and unusual environments encounter.”

DOUG JOHNSON:

With Shackleton’s experience in mind, John Geiger started to investigate whether other people facing death or extreme fear had faced similar situations.

He discussed the subject with explorers and extreme sports athletes. He read historical documents written by past explorers, prisoners of war, pilots, and ship wreck survivors. He found that many different people in extreme situations have similar experiences.

JOHN GEIGER: “So when I had a handful of these cases, it seemed to me then there was likely something worth investigating. I began to look very seriously and very quickly found scores of examples of it.”

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

In nineteen thirty-three, the British mountain climber Frank Smythe was attempting to climb Mount Everest in the Himalayan Mountains.

He was at the dangerous altitude of over eight thousand four hundred meters. Smythe was extremely tired and suffering from the effects of low oxygen. He decided to stop, rest and eat. He pulled out a piece of cake, divided it into two pieces, and offered it to another person he sensed nearby. But Frank Smythe was alone. The sense of strength and safety that he felt from this invisible person helped him survive his climb.

DOUG JOHNSON:

John Geiger points out that these Third Man experiences are very common among mountain climbers. But he shows in his book that they take place in other environments as well.

For example, one American astronaut on a four-month long mission on the Russian space station Mir saw a vision of his dead father. His father spoke to him, praised his hard wor k and gave the astronaut a sense of calm during a very stressful space operation.

In another example, pilot Edith Foltz Stearns was flying a plane to a military base in Scotland during World War Two. Because of bad weather she could not see where to land the plane. A voice next to her in the plane called out to warn her about a dangerous hill nearby. She said her imaginary “copilot” guided her to safety.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

John Geiger says that many people who experience the Third Man explain it as a religious experience. But he is more interested in exploring the science behind the Third Man. He discusses how scientists over the years have identified the experience and developed theories to explain it. The findings suggest that the human brain has developed this special ability as a survival method.

DOUG JOHNSON:

Geiger discusses several conditions that seem to produce Third Man experiences. One of these is being alone, far from other people. Being alone can be stressful especially when experienced with monotony. This is when the mind tires from the sameness of a repeated experience. For example, an explorer can be affected mentally after days of walking through the snowy environment of Antarctica. The terrible winds and never-ending whiteness may lead many polar explorers to have visions of other people.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The psychologist Woodburn Heron wrote about this subject in his nineteen fifty-seven work “The Pathology of Boredom.” He said that the brain depends on having continuing information from the body’s senses. The mind can have problems if it has nothing new to sense. Often, the brain’s response is to create its own input, in the form of a hallucination.

A hallucination is a sensory experience that does not exist outside the mind.

DOUG JOHNSON:

Other stressful conditions can lead to Third Man experiences. These include the stress of injury or of seeing an expedition partner become injured or even die. Different scientists have studied the effects of extreme conditions on the human mind and body.

One researcher found that extreme cold can have a damaging effect on the mind. The researcher said that before the body begins to freeze, cold can cause changes in brain chemistry which lead to hallucinations.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Another doctor believes that Ernest Shackleton’s vision was caused by a drop in blood sugar. Explorers working in extreme cold often burn more energy than they can eat. This doctor believes that low glucose levels in the blood lead to hallucinations.

Another theory says that the stress of having to pay constant attention to survive leads to Third Man hallucinations.

DOUG JOHNSON:

Researchers in Switzerland were able to recreate a Third Man experience in a laboratory setting. They sent electric signals into the brain of a young patient who suffered from epilepsy. When the electric current was on, the woman described seeing a presence or shadow nearby who did not speak or move. When the scientists stopped the electricity, the woman said the presence disappeared.

John Geiger believes brain doctors and other scientists should study this interesting issue more fully.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

While writing the book, John Geiger believed that a test of its success would be whether people accepted its subject matter.

JOHN GEIGER: “Here I was writing a book about unseen beings helping people who are in life and death struggles. That seems to me to be a fairly out-there proposition. And yet, the evidence is so overwhelming, that really nobody has surfaced to suggest that indeed this does not happen.”

DOUG JOHNSON:

John Geiger says there is a wide acceptance of the Third Man experience among the scientific community and the general public.

JOHN GEIGER: “People understand that there is this phenomenon, the Third Man Factor. And, that it applies universally, it doesn’t matter what one’s faith is, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter whether they are at great elevation or at sea level.”

FAITH LAPIDUS:

John Geiger suggests that the brain’s effort to create a Third Man is not an accident of human brain structure, or a sign of injury in extreme conditions.

He says it may be an evolutionary characteristic developed to help us. In times of extreme hardship, the human brain may have developed a way to create a social link, the sense of a helpful and guiding partner. So, even in a person’s darkest hour, he or she can feel less alone.

DOUG JOHNSON:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Doug Johnson.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. John Geiger has created a Web site where people who have had Third Man experiences can publish their stories. You can find a link to it on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

Read more...

Vaccine-Autism Study Is Withdrawn

mp3


A look at some recent developments in vaccine research.


This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, has withdrawn a study that scared many parents and angered many experts. The study, published twelve years ago, suggested a link between autism and the vaccine against mumps, measles and rubella.

A British doctor led that study. Andrew Wakefield studied twelve children. He said eight of them showed signs of autism shortly after receiving the vaccine. Autism disorders involve problems with social and communication skills and repeated behaviors.

Other studies since then have failed to show such a link. In January, Britain's General Medical Council found that the Wakefield report was dishonest and misleading.

In other vaccine news, scientists in Britain say they have found a simple, low-cost way to store vaccines at high temperatures. Currently, most vaccines must be kept between two and eight degrees Celsius. This is a big problem in poor countries.

Scientists at Oxford University tested a new method developed by Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies. Oxford's technology transfer company is working with the inventors to market the idea.

The study involved two viruses being used in experimental vaccines. The researchers say they were able to store the vaccines for four months at forty-five degrees Celsius with no loss of quality. They say the vaccines could be kept at thirty-seven degrees for a year or more with only small losses in the amount of vaccine.

The vaccine is mixed with two kinds of sugars, then left to dry into a thin film on a membrane, a simple filter. Adding water returns the vaccine to a liquid.

The results appeared in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Each year, many vaccines must be destroyed because they became too warm or too cold. American researchers have been testing the best ways to store vaccines in refrigerators. Here are some suggestions from the team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology:

Never store vaccines on the door. Opening and closing it changes the temperature too much. Vaccines should also be kept away from the walls of the refrigerator and out of the "crisper" drawers usually found at the bottom. The crispers can get too cold, and the temperature of the walls can change.

Tests also showed that standard-sized refrigerators without a freezer outperformed smaller ones like those popular with college students.

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

Read more...

Scientists Seeking Better Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis

mp3


On SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, scientists have yet to find a cure for MS. But they are developing a better understanding of the disease. Transcript of radio broadcast:

FAITH LAPIDUS:

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

BOB DOUGHTY:

And I'm Bob Doughty. This week, we tell about the disease multiple sclerosis.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Multiple sclerosis is not easy to say. Those who suffer from the disease may also have difficulty naming it. One sign of multiple sclerosis is losing the ability to speak clearly. It is estimated that more than two million five hundred thousand people worldwide suffer from multiple sclerosis, which also is called MS.

MS is a disease of the brain and spinal cord. The cause of the disease is not known. In patients with MS, the covering of the nerves is destroyed. This temporarily blocks signals that pass through the nerves to the muscles of the body and back to the brain.

The disease especially affects the ability to see, the sense of touch and the use of the arms and legs. Most forms of MS are described as progressive. This means that the disease gets worse as time passes.

A file photo of a patient receiving treatment for MS

BOB DOUGHTY:

The central nervous system of the body includes the brain and the spinal cord. The system contains millions of nerve cells joined together by long thin fibers, like wires. Electric signals start in nerve cells and travel along these fibers to and from the brain. A fatty substance called myelin covers and protects the fibers. Myelin works in the same way that protective coverings work on electric wires.

In patients with MS, the myelin becomes infected. It swells, or grows larger, and loses its connection with the nerve fibers. As time passes, the unconnected myelin is destroyed. Hardened, scar tissue then forms over the nerve fibers. The process of hardening is called sclerosis. The word is from Latin and means scar. The many areas of hardened or scar tissue give the disease its name.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

In people with MS, when nerve signals reach a damaged area, some of the signals are blocked or delayed from traveling to or from the brain. This results in problems in different parts of the body. These problems may appear and then disappear, sometimes resulting in long periods when there are no problems at all. Or, they may happen more and more often and become worse. Doctors do not know what causes this process.

Experts say the disease affects women at least two times as often as men. And, they say, the average age of people found to have the disease is between twenty and fifty years old.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY:

For years, doctors believed that the cause of multiple sclerosis was environmental. They believed this because most of those suffering from the disease lived in northern Europe and the northern half of the United States.

In recent years, however, doctors have changed their beliefs about the causes of MS. Studies support the theory that there are several causes, instead of a single environmental cause or genetic problem. The studies appear to show that genetic problems are involved in making people likely to get the disease.

The studies also appear to show that environmental causes like viruses or bacteria may be involved. However, researchers have not identified just what those causes might be. Another likely cause is a problem within the body's defenses against disease, when the defenses misunderstand signals and attack the body.

Recently, an American study showed that women who get plenty of vitamin D during pregnancy may be protecting their babies from developing MS later in life. Vitamin D is found in fortified milk and fatty fish like salmon. Your body also produces the vitamin after contact between the skin and sunlight.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Multiple sclerosis is different from many other diseases. The signs or symptoms of MS are not always the same. Sometimes, symptoms of the disease appear and then disappear for a long time. For example, one symptom is a lack of feeling in one part of the body or another.

Two other symptoms are muscle weakness and low energy levels. However, these also could be caused by other health problems that are not MS. Other symptoms include a loss of the ability to move normally or a loss of balance. A person suffering from MS also may have difficulty seeing well or speaking clearly.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Doctors who suspect a patient has MS must carry out tests and study the patient's history of health problems. MS symptoms can depend on where the nerve scars are in the central nervous system. And some of these signs are not always easy to see.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging is one way to tell if a patient has multiple sclerosis. The test, also known as MRI, involves studying the magnetic signals from all the cells in the body. An MRI can show if there are scars from MS along a patient's nerves. A doctor can use this test to tell if a patient might have the disease, as well as by studying the patient's medical history.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

There are four main kinds of multiple sclerosis. The first is called Relapsing-Remitting. About eighty-five percent of MS patients begin with this form of the disease. More than half of the patients have this form at any one time. These patients have one or two major MS-related problems every one to three years. Then they have periods with no signs of the disease.

The symptoms appear suddenly and last a few weeks or months before slowly disappearing. However, the symptoms may also become worse each time they appear.

BOB DOUGHTY:

The second kind of MS is called Primary Progressive. In this form, the signs of the disease appear and begin to grow worse, with no periods of disappearance. About ten percent of patients begin their struggle with the disease this way.

The third kind of MS is called Secondary Progressive. This form of the disease affects about fifty percent of those with the Relapsing-Remitting form of MS. It begins to affect them several years after they have had Relapsing-Remitting MS. When the disease changes to Secondary Progressive, the disease begins to grow worse.

The fourth kind of MS is called Progressive Relapsing. It is the worst form of multiple sclerosis. New signs of MS appear while existing ones grow worse. This form of the disease is rare.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Scientists say multiple sclerosis does not appear to be passed from parents to children. Yet it does appear to be found in families. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says one in every seven hundred fifty Americans is at risk of developing MS. But the risk rises to one in every forty people among those who have a close family member with the disease.

It does not appear that one gene is responsible for MS. Instead, several genes may increase the possibility that a person will develop MS. Common viruses or bacteria may also increase the chances that some people will develop the disease.

BOB DOUGHTY:

There is no cure for multiple sclerosis. MS does not always result in severe disability. Many patients are able to live normal lives. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says some patients do well with no treatment at all. It notes that many medicines to treat the disease have serious side effects while some carry risks.

Several kinds of medicine are used to treat the symptoms. Some drugs reduce the swelling in nerve tissue. Drugs known as beta interferons also are used to treat MS. Interferons are genetically engineered copies of proteins found naturally in the body. These proteins help fight viral infections and help the body's defenses against disease.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

America's Food and Drug Administration has approved three forms of beta interferon for treatment of Relapsing-Remitting MS. The FDA also has approved a man-made form of myelin basic protein to treat this kind of MS. And, a treatment to suppress the body's defenses against disease was approved to treat severe cases of MS.

Last month, the FDA approved sales of dalfampridine extended release tablets to improve walking in MS patients. This is the first drug approved for this use.

Scientists are working to develop other treatments for MS. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says more than one hundred studies are continuing around the world. Doctors are hopeful that new treatments will help patients with multiple sclerosis in the future.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Oliver Chanler and Brianna Blake, who was also our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

Read more...

Winter Gives a Hard Chop to Washington's Cherry Trees

mp3


Workers are busy preparing for this year's National Cherry Blossom Festival, set to begin March 27. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Official snowfall records for Washington date back to eighteen eighty-four. By early February, this winter had already broken them with one hundred forty-two centimeters of snow measured.

But the recent storms that buried the city broke more than seasonal records. Heavy snow and high winds damaged some of Washington's famous cherry trees.

In the spring, crow

Cherry trees in Washington that were damaged by recent storms

ds expect a beautiful show as the trees blossom along the edge of the Tidal Basin next to the Jefferson Memorial.

Workers have been busy picking up broken branches, some as thick as fifteen centimeters. A few trees have lost their canopies.

Peak blooming, when the trees are in full flower, may be delayed a little. But the National Park Service says people can expect the usual show of pink and white flowers. This year's National Cherry Blossom Festival is set for March twenty-seventh through April fourth.

Twelve kinds of cherry trees grow around the Tidal Basin. The first trees were a gift from Japan in nineteen twelve. The Japanese later sent two more gifts of cherry trees.

Cherry trees are valued for their flowers but also for their wood and their fruit. The United States and Turkey are leading producers of cherries, though not all cherry trees produce fruit.

The two major kinds of cherries are sweet and sour. Sour cherries, sometimes called tart cherries, are used in foods and drinks.

The state of Michigan is the nation's top producer of sour cherries. Washington -- not the city, but the state in the Pacific Northwest -- is the top producer of sweet cherries.

Now speaking of Washington and cherry trees, maybe you have heard the story about America's first president. As a boy George Washington supposedly told his father: "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree."

Is the story true? "Probably not," says the Web site for his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Monday was George Washington's birthday. But not much is known about his childhood. So it seems that a biography written shortly after his death included several invented stories about his early life. These were meant to show where he got his heroic qualities. Children then learned the story of the cherry tree in a school book, and it became rooted in popular history.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts, MP3s and captioned videos of our reports can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also practice your English by posting comments. I'm Mario Ritter.

Read more...

Music Spotlight: Reba, Zac Brown Band and More

mp3


The latest albums by country star Reba McEntire and saxophonist David Sanborn. The appeal of the Zac Brown Band. And music from the Jeff Bridges movie ''Crazy Heart.'' Transcript of radio broadcast:

BARBARA KLEIN:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. This week on our program, we have music from the latest albums by country singer Reba McEntire and saxophonist David Sanborn.

We also tell you about a hot new group, the Zac Brown Band. And we play music from the movie "Crazy Heart."

(MUSIC)

"Consider Me Gone" is from Reba McEntire's latest album. She has recorded more than thirty albums since she had her first number one song on the country music charts. "Can't Even Get the Blues" was released in nineteen eighty-three.

(MUSIC)

Reba McEntire has won two Grammy Awards and seven Country Music Association Awards. Add to that her twelve Academy of Country Music Awards and fifteen American Music Awards.

But her main interest in recent years was acting. She had a situation comedy series on television for six seasons. And she starred in a musical play on Broadway. She was Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun."

Today, the fifty-four year old entertainer says she is only doing music. She spent twenty-five years with MCA Records. Now she has moved to Valory Music, an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee. Her new album, her first for the new label, is called "Keep on Loving You." She says she was thinking of her loyal fans.

(MUSIC)

Reba McEntire has sold millions of albums over the years. But the first release from her newest album was the fastest rising single of her career. The song is called "Strange."

(MUSIC)

Reba McEntire is now performing on tour with two other country stars, George Strait and Lee Ann Womack. And in April she will host the Academy of Country Music Awards for the twelfth time.

(MUSIC)

Last year the Academy of Country Music named the Zac Brown Band as top new group. Now they have won the Grammy Award for best new artist.

They released the first of their two albums in November of two thousand eight. The first hit single from "The Foundation" was a song called "Chicken Fried."

(MUSIC)

The band is from the American South. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Zac Brown was born and raised in the state of Georgia. He and the five other members of his group strongly identify with country music. But their songs also appeal to fans of bluegrass, reggae and other kinds of music.

Here is the Zac Brown Band with a song called "Whatever It Is."

(MUSIC)

The Zac Brown Band is on tour and will be in the western United States next month.

(MUSIC)

Alto saxophonist David Sanborn is a three-time Grammy winner who has been recording music for thirty-five years. His first album was "Taking Off" in nineteen seventy-five.

(MUSIC)

David Sanborn became serious about music at the age of eleven. That was after going to a live performance by Ray Charles and hearing the saxophone of Hank Crawford. On his new album David Sanborn plays Hank Crawford's hit "The Peeper."

(MUSIC)

David Sanborn is on tour around the country performing songs from his latest album. The album is called "Only Everything." David Sanborn plays "Blues in the Night."

(MUSIC)

Ever heard of a country singer named Otis Blake?

(MUSIC)

He calls himself Bad Blake, and bad is a good description of his life. He was a big star. Now he is fifty-seven and damaged by too much alcohol, too many cigarettes and not enough inner strength. The best he can do is open shows for the young star he trained. He ruins his chance with a woman who tries to save him. But in the end there is hope for this singer, who exists only in a movie and its soundtrack.

Bad Blake is a character played by actor Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart." The movie's theme song, "The Weary Kind" by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, is nominated for an Academy Award. And so is Jeff Bridges. He is nomined for best actor. If he wins on March seventh, it will be his first Oscar out of five nominations in the past forty years.

(MUSIC)

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach, Mary Morningstar and Doug Levine. Caty Weaver was our producer. I'm Barbara Klein. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can all be found at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Read more...

The Dangers of Counterfeit Drugs (First of Two Parts)

mp3


Medicines that are not what they seem are a widespread problem in developing countries. They are a dangerous and sometimes deadly trick for a quick profit. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Possible counterfeits

Counterfeit medicines are a widespread problem in developing countries. Like other counterfeits, they look like real products. But counterfeit drugs may contain too much, too little or none of the active ingredients of the real thing.

People do not get the medicine they need. And in some cases the counterfeits cause tragic problems of their own.

About a year ago, more than eighty children in Nigeria died after being given medicine for teething pain. And more than twenty children in Bangladesh died last year after being given acetaminophen. In both cases, the medications contained ingredients that looked, smelled and tasted like the real thing.

But the medicine in Bangladesh was produced by a local drug manufacturer that used a dangerous substitute to save money. And in the case in Nigeria, an illegal chemical dealer sold counterfeit glycerin to a drug company. That company then used the chemical to make the teething medicine.

The World Health Organization says the problem with counterfeit medicines is especially bad in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The W.H.O. estimates that up to thirty percent of the medicines on sale in many of those countries are counterfeit.

Counterfeit medications are also a problem in the Middle East and in many countries of the former Soviet Union.

The problem is less widespread among industrialized countries. The W.H.O. says counterfeits represents less than one percent of the illegal drug market in countries like the United States, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.

But the agency also says as much as fifty percent of the medicine sold on the Internet is counterfeit.

Most people have no way to tell if medications are what they seem.

The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a group in New York supported in part by the drug industry. It predicts counterfeit sales will reach seventy-five billion dollars worldwide this year -- nearly double the level of two thousand five.

Substandard medicines are also a widespread problem in the developing world. How are they different from counterfeits? The legal difference is that counterfeit drugs are made with the purpose of misleading people. Substandard drugs are just poorly made.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. Next week, learn what is being done to fight counterfeit medicines. Transcripts, podcasts and captioned videos of our reports can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Read more...