Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. As we told you last week, every American state has a nickname. Here are some more of them. Idaho is known as the Gem State. This is not because it has diamonds but because it believes it i...
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. On Sunday, the people of southern Sudan begin deciding whether or not to become the world's newest nation. A week of voting is expected to split Africa's largest country in two. (SOUND) Friday was the final...
I'm Doug Johnson. This week we play music by Americas Ambassador of jazz Billy Taylor who died last week in New York. We also answer a question about business leader and aid donor Bill Gates. But first a report on the Peoples Choice Awards held Wedne...
Facebook is the world's biggest social network -- and the subject of the movie Social Network. (SOUND) The real Mark Zuckerberg and his friends at Harvard University launched the site in two thousand four. Facebook says it reached five hundred millio...
BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION American history in VOA Special English. There were many changes in the social customs and day-to-day life of millions of Americans during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge. Many young peop...
Songs teach language. Consider a song like Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega. An American teaching English overseas once told us that students love it. (MUSIC) Recently we asked people on Facebook to suggest other songs that English learners might like. No...
STEVE EMBER: This is Steve Ember. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we present the first of two programs about the history of the English Language. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: More people...
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Many people have low iron in their blood. But pregnant women need extra iron for their own health and their baby's health. Iron is important to the development of a baby's brain and central nervous syste...
FAITH LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus. STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. Scientists who study the Earth tell us that the continents and ocean floors are always moving. Sometimes, this movement is violen...
People who do not get enough vitamin A in their diet may develop night blindness. But in the developing world a lack of vitamin A causes much more serious harm to children. The World Health Organization links vitamin A deficiency to as many as two hu...
BARBARA KLEIN: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. This week on our program, we play some favorite songs about winter. (MUSIC) BARBARA KLEIN: It is winter in many parts of the world....
An organization called the World Future Society publishes a yearly report about how technology, the economy and society are influencing the world. Tim Mack heads the World Future Society. He says medicine is one area of growth. TIM MACK: I was surpri...
FAITH LAPIDUS: Im Faith Lapidus. STEVE EMBER: And Im Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we remember six interesting people who died in the past year. FAITH LAPIDUS: We start with Elizabeth Edwards. She was the wife of fo...
Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. A nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. America's fifty states have some of the most historically interes...
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. At the end of each year, the Associated Press releases a list of the top ten news stories of the year. American editors and news directors are asked to vote for what they consider the top stories. This year...
