All About Eyes

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Today’s program is all about eyes. When it comes to relationships, people’s eyes can be "a window into their hearts." This means that their eyes can tell a lot about how they feel. We will tell a story about a man and woman who are teachers at the same school. The woman is interested in the man. She uses many methods to "catch his eye," or get him to notice her. Once he "sets eyes on her," or sees her, she might try to get him interested in her by acting playful. In other words, she might try to "make eyes at him" or "give him the eye."

Let us suppose that this man gets "hit between the eyes." In other words, the woman has a strong effect on him. He wants to spend time with her to get to know her better. He asks her out on a date.

She is so happy that she may walk around for days with "stars in her eyes." She is extremely happy because this man is "the apple of her eye" -- a very special person. She might tell him that he is the only person she wants, or "I only have eyes for you."

On their date, the couple might eat a meal together at a restaurant. If the man is really hungry, his "eyes might be bigger than his stomach" -- he might order more food than he can eat. When his food arrives at the table, his eyes might "pop out." He might be very surprised by the amount of food provided. He might not even "believe his own eyes." In fact, "all eyes would be watching" him if he ate all the food. This might even "cause raised eyebrows" -- people might look at the man with disapproval.

During their dinner, the couple might discuss many things. They might discover that they "see eye-to-eye," or agree on many issues. They share the same beliefs and opinions. For example, they might agree that every crime or injury should be punished. That is, they firmly believe in the idea of "an eye for an eye." They might also agree that it is wrong to "pull the wool over" a person’s eyes. This means to try to trick a person by making him believe something that is false. But the man and woman do not believe in the "evil eye" -- that a person can harm you by looking at you.

The next day, at their school, the woman asks the man to "keep an eye on," or watch the young students in her class while she is out of the classroom. This might be hard to do when the teacher is writing on a board at the front of the classroom. To do so, a teacher would need to have "eyes in the back of his head." In other words, he would know what the children are doing even when he is not watching them.

Words and Their Stories, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss.

I’m Faith Lapidus.

Scientists Search for New Ways to Stop Mosquitoes

The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of a mosquito can be deadly. Today, we will hear about some of the diseases these insects carry and what scientists are doing to help protect people.

We begin with one of the most common diseases linked to mosquitoes: malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria-related causes in 2012. Most of these cases were in African countries south of the Sahara Desert.

In the United States, scientists are seeking new ways to fight malaria. A group of California researchers is working to develop more effective and less costly ways to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers work at the University of California Riverside. They are investigating mosquitoes’ sense of smell. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin.

Anandasankar Ray is leading the investigation. He says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds until they found a substance called Ethyl pyruvate. He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquito’s receptor inactive.

“When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to the mosquitoes -- hungry mosquitoes in a cage -- then very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out.”

Genevieve Tauxe is a member of the UC Riverside research team. She says it was not easy to find the neurons, or nerve cells, that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin. She describes a device the researchers are using to examine mosquitos.

“With this apparatus, we’re able to insert a very small electrode into the part of the mosquito's nose, effectively, where it’s olfactory neurons are and where the smell is happening.”

The scientists use these instruments to look for the signals that a mosquito's neurons send to its brain when it finds an interesting smell. Computer screen images show when the sense is strong or weak.

Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl pyruvate may cost less to manufacture than DEET, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEET is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.

“Perhaps by finding odors that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEET and finally have the next generation of insect behavior control products.”

The scientists believe they will soon be able to find a way to manufacture less costly and more effective products for the fight against mosquitoes.

I'm Jonathan Evans in Washington. ​​

Can Treated Mosquito Net Stop Elephantiasis?

Scientists are working on ways to stop a disease that threatens one-fifth of the world’s population. Over 120 million people are infected with lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis. The disease is found mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa. It affects the lymphatic system, which is a major part of the body’s natural defenses for
fighting disease.

Elephantiasis can cause swelling, or enlargement, of skin and tissue. The cause is a tiny worm that enters and lives in lymphatic tubes for six to eight years.

Scientists say they have been able to demonstrate that the most common cause of elephantiasis can be stopped. They are urging those at risk to sleep under nets treated with chemicals that kill a common insect: the mosquito.

Lisa Reimer teaches at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She formerly served in Papua New Guinea as part of a team studying the disease. The team involved researchers from Papua New Guinea, Britain, Australia and the United States.
Doctor Reimer says she was surprised at how effective anti-malaria bed nets covered with insecticide could be at fighting the disease.

"Filariasis is only picked up by mosquitoes late in the evening, so this is the time when people are more likely to be protected by their bed nets. So we found that bed net use actually is a greater barrier against filariasis transmission whereas malaria transmission may still be occurring outside the times when the user is under the net."

Doctors normally use drugs to fight the disease. Miz Reimer says doctors in Papua New Guinea gave the drugs to people of five villages. She says this treatment nearly ended the threat from the worm to humans. But the drugs did not stop the threat from mosquitoes.

The treated nets block female mosquitoes from securing blood, which is necessary for them to reproduce. The insecticide also cuts the life of the insects in half.

"If we can reduce mosquito-biting rates then we're able to increase the thresholds below which the disease prevalence will move to zero. So by controlling mosquitoes we're making the targets for the mass drug administration more obtainable."
The World Health Organization has set a goal of stopping lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem by the year 2020. The WHO estimates that 1.4 billion people in 73 countries are at risk of the disease. Children are often infected, but they do not show signs of the disease until later in life.

I’m Bob Doughty. ​​

US Naval Presence ‘Shaping Events’ in South China Sea

The top officer in the United States Navy spoke this week about the Navy’s growing presence in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. He said the growing U.S. presence is beginning to show results, but admitted it will be ‘a long-term effort’. He also said he hoped the Navy will expand cooperation with the new government in India.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert is the Chief of Naval Operations. He spoke during a visit on Monday to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Territorial disputes between China and its neighbors have increased tensions in East Asia. The disputes recently led to anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam. At least two people have died with many others injured in the unrest.

Admiral Greenert said China was among the Asia-Pacific powers that joined the U.S. in accepting a Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea. The document sets rules for naval ships and aircraft to follow during unplanned contacts at sea.

He added that the growing military-to-military discussions with China are beginning to show results, especially in the South China Sea.

"They (China’s Navy) have had situations where they have intervened on our behalf, where one of our ships was being approached by a non-navy Chinese ship and being kind of harassed. And the commander of the (Chinese) warship said, ‘I’ve spoken with this guy (U.S. ship commander), he’s on constant course and speed, wget out of the way, and actually positioned himself (between the ships). So there are a few examples of this. We are starting to shape events. We have got to manage our way through this, in my opinion, through this East China Sea and South China Sea (tensions). We’re not leaving. They know that. They would be the leadership of the Chinese Navy.”

President Barack Obama traveled to four East Asian nations last month. During his trip, the United States signed a 10-year security agreement with the Philippines. The agreement opens Philippine bases to more U.S. troop visits and expands military exercises between the two countries. It also strengthens the information-gathering abilities of the Philippines at sea.

Under the agreement, the U.S. military is permitted to keep ships, aircraft and military equipment at a few Philippine bases over the next 10 years.

The U.S. Navy has asked Vietnam to accept more port calls. Admiral Greenert said he would like to see more cooperation with Vietnam in what he called “a deliberate manner.” He also said he hoped the U.S. could re-establish a useful, strategic partnership with India.

“Stable mil-to-mil relations, they’ve been there with India. We need to improve our communications and our interoperability. Currently, we do exercise with the Indian navy. It’s a lot of humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue, medical. But my goal would be to get back to where we were in the mid-2000s. We were doing very, very comprehensive events in an exercise called Malabar, which is an annual exercise we have with the Indian Navy. We were doing carrier operations together, very, very complex, integrating air wings, and I think it would be great if we could get back to that level.”

The chief of naval operations said the U.S. Navy is fully ready to support President Obama’s “pivot,” or rebalance, to Asia. Today, 51 of the Navy’s 289 ships are deployed in the Asia-Pacific area. The numbers will grow to 58 ships next year and to 67 by the year 2020. And that’s In The News, from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

(This story is written by Victor Beattie, and edited by Hai Do and George Grow)

Cameras to Review Goals at World Cup

From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is. I'm Anna Matteo in Washington.

Technolgoy is changing many parts of our lives. But when it comes to sports, fans do not always like new technology. Sports fans can be very loyal. They may not be too pleased if technology threatens to change the way their sport is played or viewed.

But what if something can be fixed for the better? Something like making sure all good soccer goals count? International soccer’s governing body, FIFA, thinks most sports fans would approve of that change to the game.

Here’s June Simms with more on that story.

Goal line technology was introduced in international football at the Confederations Cup in Brazil last year.

The move to goal line technology follows international pressure on the sport's governing body, FIFA, after a missed call in the 2010 World Cup.

Video replays of a match clearly show that England's Frank Lampard scored a goal against Germany. That goal, however, was denied. Neither the referee nor linesman saw the ball cross the goal line.

Fans were not happy, to put it gently. And FIFA heard their protests loud and clear.

The incident led to the development of goal line technology approved by FIFA. That technology was put to the test at the Confederations Cup in Brazil in 2013. ​​
​Bjorn Linder is the chairman of GoalControl, the German-based company that won the goal line technology contract for the 2013 Confederations Cup. His team spent weeks in Brazil before the games as part of the FIFA certification process.

“The whole system uses 14 cameras that are installed on the catwalk. We have seven cameras per goal and computers that are connected to those cameras. The computers are catching the images, around 500 pictures per second.”
​​
Computers track the path of the ball in real time and reconstruct the play. “And once the computer (perceives) the ball has crossed the goal line, it gives a signal to the referee's watch. So all the referees on the field receive a signal and it vibrates and gives an optical signal ‘goal’ and he knows a goal has occurred.”

Electronic eyes on the goal line may settle arguments, but the data is still only a reconstruction of reality. Nic Fleming is a London-based science and technology writer. He believes the use of goal line technology is a chance to educate people about the role of uncertainty in science.

“There are fantastic tools, but let’s be realistic about their limitations, that science is about probabilities. Now, what better way than to have this message in a game that's so popular.”

​GoalControl claims an accuracy of plus or minus 5 millimeters. This is well under FIFA’s minimum requirement of plus or minus 3 centimeters. Nic Fleming would like to see that number flashed on the screen. He says viewers could compare the replays to the computer reconstructions and learn a little science.

“And the wider point really is that science is central to many public debates today, whether that's climate change or nuclear power or genetic modification. Now, in all of these cases science provides probabilities. It does not provide yes-no, black-white answers. And it’s quite important that the public understands that.”

Goal line technology may become a central part of the sport. But, it is important to remember that it is still the referee -- not the computer -- that makes the final call.

I’m June Simms.

Cheers, June. And I’m Anna Matteo.

So, what do you think soccer fans? Will this technology help or hurt the game of soccer? Let your goal count … in our comment section! And take our quiz to see how much you learned about this article.

Google Glass Gives NBA Fans 'First-Hand' Views

From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is! I’m Anna Matteo in Washington.

Technology is changing many parts of our lives: from Skype lessons in the classroom to cars that talk to us.

Today, we hear how Google is working with the National Basketball Association to change the way fans experience top-level basketball, all with technology.

Here’s Jim Tedder with more on that story.

The Indianapolis Pacers are the first team in the NBA to use Google Glass to improve the experience of watching a game.

Google Glass is the latest in technology that you can wear. Most of the technologies for Google Glass are already available on smartphones. Google has taken those technologies and added them to eye glass frames.

Chris Dale is the Senior Manager of Communications for Google Glass.
​​“Google Glass is a tiny computer that sits in a lightweight frame and rests neatly above your eye. And it makes exploring and sharing the world around you a lot easier.”

The glasses have a very small video display and a camera that connects wirelessly to the Internet through WiFi, a smartphone or a tablet computer.

When NBA players wear Google Glass during a game, fans can see what it is like to be a professional basketball player. They can see video of what it is like to dribble down the court, or to make a game-winning shot.

Indiana Pacers fans saw first-person views of important moments in their team’s exciting 84-83 victory against the Miami Heat. Coaches can wear Google Glass to provide video from the sidelines where it is impossible to fit larger video cameras. The Indiana Pacers also gave Google Glass to famous people who attend the team’s games to show the action from seats near the basketball court.
​​
But not everyone is excited about Google Glass. Some are concerned about privacy violations. John Simpson is the director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog.

“It is essentially going to allow people to come in and spy on you and record that without you knowing what is going on.”

Google says that it has already dealt with that concern. Mr. Dale explained that in order to start the camera or record a video, the owner must say something out loud.

“I activate the device, and say ‘Okay, glass, take a picture.’ Similarly, I have a little button on the top here that I can push that will again show an explicit gesture to everybody around me that a picture is being taken or a video is being recorded.”

Privacy concerns will not be a question for the Pacer’s use of Google Glass. Everything and everyone recorded will be shown on a huge screen in the arena for all to see.

I’m Jim Tedder.

Thanks, Jim. And I’m Anna Matteo. You are listening to As It Is.

Giving fans a courtside view is one way the NBA is using Google Glass. Can you think of any others? Be creative! Be innovative! Think out of the box! And let us know in our comment section.

US House Members Take Action to Limit Human Trafficking

Human trafficking exists in almost every area of the world. Children, young women, and even men can become trapped, and forced into the sex trade and involuntary labor.

Many Americans think of human trafficking as a problem that exists far away from the United States. But the U.S. government says as many as 17,500 people are trafficked within this country every year. That number does not include those who are kidnapped and forced to become sex slaves within U.S. borders. Now the House of Representatives has taken action to help the victims and punish those responsible.

Shandra Woworuntu is a survivor of human trafficking. She met with House members in Washington this week. She spoke in support of damage payments and other government services to help victims.

Shandra is from Indonesia. She is college educated and worked as a financial specialist in her country until she lost her job because of political unrest. She came to the United States in 2001. At the time, she thought she had been offered a job in the hospitality industry. Instead, she was kidnapped at a New York airport and forced into sex slavery.

“During my arrival, someone picked me up, and took me into the van. They took my passport, they took my hidden ticket, and the same day I was trafficking into underground sex business.”

Shandra escaped, and her trafficker is now in prison. She received help from a non-profit group. She is now working to make people better informed on the problem of human trafficking.

The two main parties in the U.S. Congress agreed on five bills to help state and local governments develop victim-center programs. Under the proposals, the governments would train law enforcement officers to rescue victims, and not treat them as sex workers.

Eric Cantor of Virginia is the House Majority leader.

“And we must confront this issue head on, not just as Republicans, not just as Democrats, but as dads, as moms, as sisters and brothers. We must protect our children.”

New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has worked to fight human trafficking around the world for more than 10 years.

“And there is no crime on Earth more appalling, no offense as terrible, no act of depravity as harmful to the community of a nation and certainly to the individuals affected.”

The five bills also seek to reduce the demand for human trafficking. They do this by urging police and judges to treat those who have sex with children as human traffickers, not everyday criminals. The average age for girls forced into sex slavery is 13. The average age for boys is 12.

A Love of Books Born of Writing Them

Welcome to American Mosaic from VOA Learning English. I'm Caty Weaver. Today on the show we meet some very young book writers.

Reading a book can stretch the imagination, support independent thinking and widen a person’s world. Writing a book can do even more. Educators now are using book-writing to help students develop creativity and a love of reading at an early age.

This is a third grade classroom at Taylor Elementary school in Arlington, Virginia. The eight and nine-year-old students are busy writing, making pictures and talking with their teacher. And today, each student is working on writing a story.

“It’s fun, designing your own book and being able to color it and being able to pick the topic.”

Avalon Bennett is almost finished writing her book. She has named it “Maleficent.” It is about the evil character in the 1959 Walt Disney movie, “Sleeping Beauty.”

“After we learned to change the point of view, and so I just made it from Maleficent’s point of view.”

Her teacher, Paul DiBenedetto, has his students create between five and six books throughout the school year.

“It’s not part of the curriculum; writing is part of the curriculum. You want students to be writing, but it’s a way for them to express themselves.”

Creating a book begins with the children finding the ideas that interest them. Then they write the first version. After that, they edit their work, which means to make corrections and changes.

In the process, he says students learn to think like real writers.

“They start asking the question about whether it’s going along with the topic sentence. Do I have enough details? Once they get to the concluding sentence or the ending of the story, ‘Ooh, does that go along with my story? Once the editing process is done then they go to their final copy which is on the computer. We try to get them on the computer so they’re using technology.”

Holly Karapetkova writes children’s books and teaches literature at Marymount University in Arlington. She says she is happy that her 8-year-old son K.J. and his classmates are writing books at school.

“I think creating books sends them back to books. It encourages them to read more, both the books they are creating and other books.”

Creating books is one of her favorite activities at home with K.J. and his 3-year-old sister, Kalina.

“We have made books about animals, about weather, a lot of books about letters and numbers to reinforce skills. One of our favorite kinds of books to make is an alphabet book, just with a simple letter, then pictures, either pictures that we print out from our real photos or pictures that the children draw to match those letters.”

She says the way to keep children interested in creating books is to give them freedom of choice.

“Kalina has been more into cooking with me lately and making things in the kitchen and I asked her what do you want to make a book about, and she said, ‘I want to make a cookbook. So we made a cookbook.”

K.J. is into something else.

“I’m working on a joke book and a comic book.”

He has written more than 12 books on different subjects.

“It’s just fun to see all the different types of homemade books you can make. All the books that I create have like different texture, like made out of different things. Like there is a bath book that we’ve made. You make it out of plastic baggies.”

His mother hopes the skills he and Kalina are developing - writing, reading, thinking, imagining - will help them succeed in the 21st century job market.

“Who knows what kind of skills they’re even going to need? The technology is changing so quickly, but I know they’re going to need to know how to think.”

And that starts early, by making writing and reading an everyday fun activity.

Dismissal of Editor Raises Debate about Workplace Equality

The first woman to serve as executive editor of The New York Times was dismissed last week. Jill Abramson had led the newspaper since 2011. Her sudden dismissal has raised the issue of differences between the pay of men and women at American companies. It also raised questions about whether female supervisors are treated differently than supervisors who are male.

Jill Abramson was at Wake Forest University in North Carolina on Monday. She spoke at a ceremony to recognize Wake Forest students for completing their studies. The speech came less than a week after Ms. Abramson was ousted as the top editor at one of the best known newspapers in the United States. She told the graduating students about rejection and resilience – the ability to bounce back.

“And now I am talking to anyone who’s been dumped. You bet – not gotten the job you really wanted or receive those horrible rejection letters from grad school. You know the sting of losing or not getting something you badly want. When that happens, show what you are made of.”

The publisher of The New York Times says Ms. Abramson was replaced because of her management style. Some reports say she was ousted after claiming that she was paid less than the man she replaced as executive editor. Whatever the real reason, the case has led to a debate in the United States about women’s equality in the workplace and in society.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about the general issue at a recent World Bank conference.

“Women’s equal, full participation, their voice and agency, is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing. And that it will make a difference to the prosperity and stability of societies.”

John Ryder is a psychologist, someone who studies behavior and mental processes. He deals with work place issues. He said “respect and trust” are important for both men and women in leadership.

“What I would urge is that not only that women stand up and ask for respect, ask for equal treatment under whatever the laws are, but that men also ask themselves how important it is for us to trust one another.”

He says the failure of a supervisor to ask other top officials for their opinion can lead to big trouble. Some reports say this may have been an issue in Jill Abramson’s dismissal.
“She did not want to reveal all (of) the cards she’s playing with and that created tension between her and the management that she was unable to resolve.”

Recent university graduates are asking the same questions as Ms. Abramson.
“What’s next for me? I don’t know. So I am in exactly the same boat as many of you.”

Her dismissal from one of the top media jobs in the U.S. will continue to create debate about women’s struggle for workplace equality. ​​

Ukraine Crisis Has Effects Worldwide

Ukraine is set to hold presidential elections this Sunday. Some observers say the vote is the most important in Ukraine since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The voting comes two months after Russia’s takeover of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Since then, separatists in eastern Ukraine have declared their independence from the central government. And security forces have clashed with separatists in a number of eastern cities.

The events in Ukraine are being closely watched in Europe and around the world. The unrest has affected efforts by the United States to persuade other countries to change their policies.

U.S. officials travel the world to build support on a number of issues, from the civil war in Syria to Iran’s nuclear program. But some observers believe the West’s reaction to the Russian moves in Ukraine has harmed those efforts.

Olexiy Haran teaches comparative politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

“How are you going to persuade other nuclear states like Iran, North Korea, to give up their nuclear weapons, in exchange for what? They see that, in Ukraine, these guarantees didn’t work.”

Professor Haran notes that Russia was seen as a guarantor of Ukraine’s independence but then took control of Crimea.

“We expect a strong reaction from (the) international community because it undermines the whole system of security which is in Europe now.”

The Russian military has been active along the border with Ukraine. But Western nations have reacted with “soft power” – diplomacy and economic actions. Around the world, that was seen as weak, says Xenia Dormandy. She is a U.S. policy expert with Chatham House in London.

“That’s a very, very dangerous message to take away because each situation is different. That’s how you get people crossing red lines, because of that ambiguity, and you have potential conflict.”

Still, she thinks the soft power response is not as weak as it might seem.

“Absolutely not! The response will, in time, have significant effects on the Russian economy.”

Some of those effects are already being felt. Russian President Vladimir Putin has started to distance himself from militants in eastern Ukraine, at least officially.

However, observers agree the Russian takeover of Crimea cannot be undone. And they say the danger still exists of a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine.
So if other countries are looking for lessons learned in the Ukraine crisis, it may be too early to know what they are.

I’m Anna Matteo.

1850 Compromise on Slavery Aims to Save Union

From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning American English. I’m Steve Ember.

The United States faced a deep national crisis in 1850.  That crisis threatened to split the nation in two.

It began over the issue of slavery in the new territories of California and New Mexico. Many northerners wanted to ban slavery in the new territories.  But southern states believed the federal government did not have the right to decide where slavery could or could not go.

President Zachary Taylor had no clear policy on the issue.  He attempted to be neutral.  He hoped the problem would solve itself.  But he did not get his wish.

Split Over Slavery Widens

In fact, the split between North and South grew wider.  Many southerners said the South should declare its independence from the rest of the country.  Then, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky stepped forward with a plan to save the Union.

Clay had left the Senate in 1842, but returned in 1849.  He was surprised to find how bitter the North and South had grown toward each other in his seven years out of the Senate. Clay urged his friends in the “border states” -- those between the northern and southern states -- to work to build public support for the Union.  He believed their support would help prevent the South from seceding.

Clay also began to think about a compromise that might settle the differences between the two sections of the country.  He once said: "I go for honorable compromise whenever it can be made.  Life itself is but a compromise between death and life.  The struggle continues through our whole existence until the great destroyer finally wins.  All legislation, all government, all society is formed upon the principle of mutual concession, politeness, and courtesy. Upon these, everything is based."

Clay was sure that a compromise between North and South was possible.  Near the end of January in 1850, Clay completed work on his plan.  Most parts of it already had been proposed as separate bills.  Clay put them together in a way that both sides could accept.

Clay Proposes Compromises to Save Union

Clay proposed to the Senate that California join the Union as a slave-free state.  He said territorial governments should be formed in other parts of the western territories, with no immediate decision on whether slavery would be permitted.

Clay proposed the western border of Texas be changed to give New Mexico most of the land disputed by them.  In exchange, he said, the national government should agree to pay the public debts that Texas had when it became a state.

He proposed that no more slaves be sold in the District of Columbia for use outside the federal district.  But he also said that slavery should not be ended in the district unless its citizens and those of Maryland approved.  Clay said a better law was needed for the return of fugitive slaves to their owners.

And, he proposed that Congress declare it had no power to interfere with the slave trade between states.  Senator Clay believed these eight steps would satisfy the interests of both the North and the South.

Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi declared that Clay's compromises did not offer anything of value to the South.  He said the southern states would accept nothing less than extending the Missouri Compromise line west to the Pacific Ocean.  Extending the line meant that land to the south would be open to slavery.

Clay answered that no power on earth could force him to vote to establish slavery where it did not exist.  He said Americans had blamed Britain for forcing African slavery on the colonists.  He said he would not have the future citizens of California and New Mexico blaming Henry Clay for slavery there.

Clay Urges Careful Study, Not Debate

Clay said he did not want to debate, but wished that the senators would think carefully about his proposals.  He said he hoped they would decide on them only after careful study. He asked them to see the proposals as a system of compromise, not as separate bills. Clay expected extremists on both sides to denounce the compromise.  But he believed the more reasonable leaders of the North and South would accept it.

One week after Clay first proposed the compromise, he rose in the Senate to speak in its defense.  The Senate hall was crowded.  People had come from as far away as Boston and New York to hear Clay speak.  Some senators said there had not been such a crowd in the capitol building since the day Clay said goodbye to the Senate eight years earlier.

Clay had to rest several times as he climbed the steps of the capitol. He told a friend that he felt very tired and weak. His friend advised Clay to rest and make his speech later. "No," Clay said. "My country is in danger. If I can be the one to save it from that danger, then my health and life are not important."

Senator Clay began his speech by talking of the serious crisis that faced the nation.  He said that never before had he spoken to a group as troubled and worried as the one he spoke to now.  Clay listed his eight resolutions.

Then he said: "No man on earth is more ready than I am to surrender anything which I have proposed and to accept in its place anything that is better.  But I ask the honorable senators whether their duty will be done by simply limiting themselves to opposing any one or all of the resolutions I have offered.”

“If my plan of peace and unity is not right, give us your plan.  Let us see how all the questions that have arisen out of this unhappy subject of slavery can be better settled more fairly and justly than the plan I have offered.  Present me with such a plan, and I will praise it with pleasure and accept it without the slightest feeling of regret."

Clay said the major differences separating the country could be settled by facing facts.  He said the first great fact was that laws were not necessary to keep slavery out of California and New Mexico.  He said the people of California already had approved an anti-slavery state constitution.  And he said the nature of land in New Mexico was such that slaves could not be used.

Clay said there was justice in the borders he proposed for Texas -- it would still be a very large state after losing the area it and New Mexico each claimed.  And he said it was right for the United States to pay the debts of Texas, because that state no longer could collect taxes on trade as an independent country.

Clay said there was equal justice in his resolutions ending the slave trade in the District of Columbia and strengthening laws on the return of runaway slaves.  He said the South, perhaps, would be helped more than the North by his proposals.  But the North, he said, was richer and had more money and power.

To the North, slavery was a matter of feeling.  But to the South, Clay said, it was a hard social and economic fact.  He said the North could look on in safety while the actions of some of its people were producing flames of bitterness throughout the southern states.

Then Clay attacked the South's claim that it had the right to leave the Union.  He said the union of states was permanent -- that the men who built the country did not do so only for themselves, but for all future Americans.

Clay warned that if the South seceded, there would be war within 60 days.  He said the slaves of the South would escape by the thousands to freedom in the North.  Their owners would follow them and try to return them to slavery by force.

These events, he said, would lead to war between the slave-holding and free states.  He said this would not be a war of only two or three years.  History had shown, he said, that such wars lasted many years and often destroyed both sides.

Even if the South could secede without war, he said, it still would not get any of the things it demanded.  Secession would not open the territories to slavery.  It would not continue the slave trade in the District of Columbia.  And it would not lead to the return of slaves who escaped to the North.

So, said Clay, the South would not help itself by leaving the Union.  His two-day speech gave new hope to many that the Union could be saved.  But extremists on both sides opposed his plan.  The continuing dispute will be our story next week.

I’m Steve Ember, inviting you to join us next time for The Making of a Nation — American history from VOA Learning English. ​​

September 11 Museum Opens at Ground Zero

It has been more than 12 years since terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City. The grounds where the trade center’s North and South Towers once stood are now called Ground Zero. Last Thursday, Ground Zero was a place of sorrow and closure, celebration and silence. An estimated 700 people went there to attend the opening of the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

An atmosphere of shared mourning and public satisfaction filled a large underground room at the start of the hour-long ceremony. The crowd listened as the Young People’s Chorus of New York City performed “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the chairman of the memorial museum.

“This museum, built on the site of rubble and ruins, is now filled with the faces, the stories and the memories of our common grief and our common hope. It is a witness to tragedy. It is an affirmation of human life. It’s a reminder to us and to all future generations that freedom carries heavy responsibilities, and it is reflection of our belief that the true hope of humanity resides in our compassion and our kindness for one another.”

Another speaker at the ceremony was President Barack Obama. He spoke of the museum and its pictures, oral history recordings, pieces of wreckage and other objects. He says they combine to tell the human stories of the September 11th attacks.

Very personal objects bring the tragedy home to visitors. One example is a broken watch. Its hands stopped when a hijacked airplane hit the building.

The collection also includes the shoes Florence Jones was wearing that day. She had walked down to safety from the World Trade Center’s 75th floor. She then walked another 50 city blocks to a friend’s office. When she heard that museum officials were looking for donations, she remembered her ruined shoes.

“I had put them in a plastic container, and when I took them out, they still had the smell on them from that awful day. And I knew I would never wear them again. So I decided to donate them here. I wanted my nieces and my nephew and every person that asked what happened to see them and maybe understand a little bit better what it felt like to be ‘us’ on that day.”

These and other speeches made for an emotionally difficult ceremony. Many people seemed both touched and thankful when LaChanze went to the front of the room to sing. She was eight months pregnant with her second child when her husband was killed in the 2001 attacks.

Near the end of the ceremony, Michael Bloomberg seemed to speak for many of those in attendance. He noted that, “There are hard lessons to be learned, but also shafts of light that can illuminate the days ahead.”

I’m June Simms. ​​ ​​

Can You Erase Information on the Internet?

The European Court of Justice recently ruled in a case involving the Internet search engine Google. The court ruled that Google must sometimes, on request, remove links to reports containing personal information. The case has led to a public debate about this “right to be forgotten.” Many people are now asking, which is more important: the right to privacy or the freedom of information?

Glenn Gabe is president of G-Squared Interactive. The company has provided digital marketing services to businesses, business leaders and movie stars. He says many people have something in their past that they would like to remove from the Internet.
“They went to prison, right? And maybe 10 years ago everything happened and everything’s still showing up in Google on page one, even though they’ve paid their dues.”

Marc Rotenberg is head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He agrees with the European Court of Justice that privacy is a basic right.

“You have to consider the ability of individuals to control the dissemination of information about themselves. That is, in many respects, the core of free expression – how we choose to express ourselves or not to say things or do things – that’s, you know, it makes us human.”

In the United States, a number of privacy activists disagree with the European court’s Google ruling. Jules Polonetsky is head of a group called the Future of Privacy Forum. He says the ruling is likely to limit the freedom of information.

“So if someone can tell search engines or news aggregators or maybe bloggers, ‘Sorry, that information tells us about some individual, that individual doesn’t want to be found. You need to take it down,’ the effects really could be dramatic. It breaks the Internet.”
The European Court ordered Google to remove links containing personal information about a Spanish lawyer. He asked the company to take down links to his 1998 tax problems because the information was old and no longer important.

The right to a free press is noted in the United States Constitution, but the right to privacy is suggested only indirectly.

Jules Polonetsky says the right to public information must be protected.

“So it’s a real blow to transparency if legal, public information can be obscured simply because somebody decides that it’s information that they would rather not be available.”

Marc Rotenberg disagrees. He says the European judges did a good job of balancing privacy with press freedom.

“And what the European Court of Justice has done with this decision is to say, in effect, you know, search is an important service, but it has to be done in a way that protects privacy.”

The court ruling will be costly for Google and other search engines in Europe. But it is not expected to affect their U.S. operations any time soon.

E-Cigarettes Safer, But Not Risk Free

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

Cigarette smoking kills. That we know. So, manufacturers made electronic cigarettes as a safer smoking choice - safer than tobacco.

E-cigarettes contain the drug nicotine like cigarettes. But they do not use tobacco. And you do not light them. They are powered by battery.

So, if e-cigarettes are so safe, why have poison control centers around the United States seen an increase in telephone calls about e-cigarette poisonings?

The answer is children.

Most of the calls are from people worried about children who have played with the devices. In the period of one month this year, the United States Centers for Disease Control say 215 people called the Center with e-cigarette concerns. More than half of these calls were for children ages five and younger. The devices apparently had made them sick.

Tim McAfee is director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. He says the problem is regulation. Meaning, the U.S. federal government does not control e-cigarettes even though they contain liquid nicotine. Mr. McAfee adds that liquid nicotine is a well-known danger.

“Nicotine historically has been used as a pesticide in the United States. And that’s where we have really had for many, many decades significant poisonings when people got exposed to nicotine that was in liquid solutions.”

Mr. McAfee explains that nicotine poisoning happens when the substance gets into the skin, gets into the eyes or is swallowed. Even a small amount, he says, can make a person sick.

Nicotine poisoning can cause stomach pain or a sense of unbalance. Headaches and seizures are also common signs of nicotine poisoning. And too much nicotine can kill.

Tim McAfee says e-cigarettes do not create the level of risk to people that tobacco products do. He notes that almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cigarettes.

“So, cigarettes are the winner in that contest. And we don’t really know what’s going to happen with e-cigarettes.”

E-cigarettes do not contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that are found in real cigarettes. So, the U.S. Surgeon General has suggested that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for adults trying end their tobacco use, or quit.

But McAfee worries that teenagers may think electronic cigarettes are harmless. They could become addicted, or hooked, on the nicotine and then start smoking real cigarettes. In other words, he fears that for young people fake e-cigarettes could be a “gateway” to the real thing.

And that the Health Report. I’m Anna Matteo.

Clinton Remains Silent on Health Questions

Americans will be electing a new president in two years. Many people expect former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to seek the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. Last week, a leading adviser to the Republican Party angered Ms. Clinton’s supporters when he raised questions about her health. Some political observers say the incident might demonstrate what is to come in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Last week, the New York Post published a story based on the comments of Republican Party adviser Karl Rove. He formerly served as a political adviser to George W. Bush during his presidency.

During a recent speech, Mr. Rove raised questions about the health of Hillary Clinton. The newspaper used the words “brain damage” at the top of its report. Ms. Clinton was treated for a blood clot in 2012 after suffering a concussion -- a minor brain injury -- in a fall at her home.

Hillary Clinton has not publicly commented about what Mr. Rove said in the speech last Friday.

Former President Bill Clinton laughingly dismissed Karl Rove’s comments. He said his wife is in good health.

“Now they say she’s really got brain damage. If she does, then I must be in really tough shape because she is still quicker than I am.”

Karl Rove sought to clarify his comments in an appearance on Fox News television.

“I didn’t say she had brain damage. She had a serious health episode. This will be an issue in the 2016 race, whether she likes it or not.”

Ms. Clinton says she will decide on the possibility of a presidential election campaign by the end of this year.

Celinda Lake works for the Democratic Party. She studies the likes and dislikes of voters. She says Ms. Clinton can expect more political attacks if she decides to seek the nomination.

“Just as people were unbounded in their commentary about Obama, they will be unbounded in their commentary on her, and she’s tough enough, she can take it. She’s taken it for years.”

A special congressional committee is expected to raise questions about Hillary Clinton’s record as secretary of state. Republican members set up the committee to investigate the attack two years ago on the American diplomatic offices in Benghazi, Libya. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Americans.

The former secretary of state defended her actions and decisions during a Senate hearing in 2013.

“Was it because of a protest or was it because guys were out for a walk one night and they decided to kill some Americans? What different at this point does it make?”

Karlyn Bowman is an expert on public opinion. She says Republicans often attacked Hillary Clinton during the eight years her husband served as president.

“There is a base of opposition to Hillary Clinton. It is part of the Republican conservative base, and that’s not inconsequential, but I think she looks like a pretty strong candidate at this point.

Ms. Clinton has written a book about her years as secretary of state. That book, called Hard Choices, will be released next month. I’m Caty Weaver.


Editor's Note: The following sentence has been re-edited to correct a mistake in the quote.

“Just as people were unbounded in their commentary about Obama, they will be unbounded in their commentary on her, and she’s tough enough, she can take it. She’s taken it for years.”

Project Remembers Chinese Railroad Workers in US

Next year marks the 150th anniversary of when large numbers of Chinese started working on a huge project in the United States. They helped to build America’s first transcontinental railroad, connecting the East Coast with the West.

Very little is known about the Chinese railroad workers and what happened to them after the project was finished. Stanford University in California wants to learn more about the lives of these men by reaching out to their families. Pat Bodner has more.

Two words -- hopelessness and bravery -- could very well describe what led the ancestors of Bill Yee to come to the United States.

“I don’t think I could do it. To come to a strange country and don’t know a word of English. But I guess it’s between eating or starving. I guess you have to do what you have to do for your family.”

His ancestors came from southern China. They became part of an important event in American history.

“My great-great-grandfather came over during the ‘gold rush’ days and he returned back to China as a wealthy man. And then my great-grandfather came over to work on the railroad. He came over as a -- to work with black gunpowder, black powder on the railroad and he died working on the railroad.”

But that did not stop his grandfather from coming to the U.S. on false papers. He operated a laundry, a service for cleaning clothing. Bill Yee’s father continued to head the business.

“Things were pretty bad in some parts of China at that time. They came to America at all costs.”

Shelley Fisher Fishkin wants to hear stories like this.

“The records of specific individuals and their names and experiences are so sparse.”
​​Ms. Fishkin is helping to direct the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project
at Stanford University. She is working with experts in Asia to look for descendants of railroad workers on both continents to learn more about the lives of these men.
“Many of the Chinese workers who came to work on the Transcontinental and other railroads returned to China after their work was done, created families there. Some of them had families who they left when they came here and they may have descendants in China.”

The goal is to create a digital record of old objects, documents and spoken histories from the families of the railroad workers. Historians would then piece together the mystery of who they were and what happened to them.

“…and the U.S. could not have become the modern industrial nation it did without the railroads, and the railroads would not have come together when they did without the crucial work of these Chinese workers.”

Jonathan Wong’s ancestor studied English and left China to work as a language assistant on the Transcontinental Railroad. He later brought his family to the United States, and they settled in San Francisco.

“He kind of had a different experience than having to do labor. He wouldn’t go home feeling that he was going to be in danger the next day. It was more of a closer relationship obviously with the white community, his white superiors. But obviously, I know that he was still treated as if he was the inferior minority.

Shelley Fisher Fishkin says it was part of life as a Chinese railroad worker.
“They suffered greatly from discrimination and from prejudice. They were paid less than their Euro-American workers.”

Bill Yee wants his six children and 19 grandchildren to know their family history.
“They have to appreciate the sacrifice that our grandparents did for us. Otherwise I might be working in the rice fields now. So it really brings a big opportunity to this generation.”

Through the Stanford University project, the lives of these men can be remembered. This will help others more fully understand their part in American history.

I’m Pat Bodnar. ​​ ​​

Southeastern US Recovering from Deadly Tornadoes

From VOA Learning English, this is Science in the News.

I’m Anna Matteo.

And I’m Christopher Cruise.

This week, we explore the science of tornadoes. Weather experts say tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms. They strike in many parts of the world, including the United States.

Tornado season has begun in the United States. In late April, tornadoes struck nine southeastern states. At least 35 people were killed in the two days of storms.

The hardest-hit areas were around the city of Little Rock, Arkansas. Officials there say tornadoes killed at least 15 people in Arkansas. The storms destroyed hundreds of homes, flattened trees and overturned cars.

The Associated Press says the wreckage included a new $14 million school that was to open later this year.

About a week later, President Barack Obama went to the town of Vilonia, north of Little Rock. He told people there that the federal government would help them recover from the storms.

What exactly is a tornado? It is a violently-turning tube of air suspended from a thick cloud. A tornado extends from a thunderstorm in the sky down to the ground. The shape is like a funnel: wide at the top, narrower at the bottom.

Tornadoes form when winds blowing in different directions meet in the clouds and begin to turn in circles. Warm air rising from below causes the wind tube to reach toward the ground. Because of their circular movement, these windstorms are also known as “twisters.”

The most severe tornadoes can reach wind speeds of 320 kilometers an hour or more. The resulting paths of damage can be up to three kilometers wide, while the smallest widths are less than 10 meters. In some cases, the paths of damage can extend more than 480 kilometers.

With a tornado, bigger does not necessarily mean stronger. Large tornadoes can be weak. And some of the smallest tornadoes can be the most damaging. But no matter what the size, tornado winds are the strongest on Earth. Tornadoes can carry trees, cars and homes from one place to another. They can also destroy anything in their path.

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. But experts say they are most commonly seen in the United States. On average, more than 1,000 are reported nationwide each year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration keeps records of tornado sightings. It says tornadoes kill 70 people and injure 1,500 others nationwide in an average year.

Tornadoes are observed most often in the center of the United States, where the land is mostly flat. The area where the most violent tornadoes usually happen is known as “Tornado Alley.” This area extends from Texas to South Dakota between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians.

Tornadoes can happen any time of the year. But most happen from late winter to the middle of summer. In some areas, there is a second high season in autumn.

Tornado seasons are the result of wind and weather patterns. During spring, warm air moves north and mixes with cold air remaining from winter. In autumn, the opposite happens. Cold weather moves south and combines with the last of the warm air from summer.

Tornadoes can strike with little or no warning. Most injuries happen when flying objects hit people. Experts say the best place to be is in an underground shelter, or a small, windowless room in the lowest part of a building.

People driving during a tornado are advised to find low ground and lay flat -- facedown -- with their hands covering their head. People in the path of a tornado often just have minutes to make life-or-death decisions.

The deadliest American tornado on record was the Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925. It tore across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 people. Technology was less-developed a century ago. Weather experts were not able to give warnings about possible tornadoes, like they sometimes do today.

Between March and May of 2011, there were 1,159 confirmed tornadoes across the United States. Scientists say that is the most on record for any three-month period. The most-active month was April 2011, when 758 tornadoes were confirmed. That is the most ever for any month.

That April, the country broke a 37-year-old record for the largest tornado outbreak. A “tornado outbreak” is commonly defined as six or more tornadoes produced by the same weather system within a day.

Scientists say the 199 tornadoes on April 27, 2011, were the most for any single day. They say the storms killed 316 people -- the most ever in modern records for a 24-hour period.

No two tornadoes look exactly the same. And no two tornadoes act the same way.

Even a weak tornado requires the right combination of wind, temperature, pressure and humidity. Weather experts can identify these conditions. And, when they observe them, they can advise people that tornadoes might develop. But they are not able to tell exactly when or where a tornado will hit. Tornado warnings still depend in large part on human observations.

Usually, a community will receive a warning at least a few minutes before a tornado strikes. But each year there are some surprises where tornadoes develop when they are least expected.

The tornado reporting system involves watches and warnings. A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible in the area. A tornado warning means that a tornado has been seen. People are told to take shelter immediately.

Yet tornadoes can be difficult to see. Sometimes only the objects they are carrying through the air can be seen. Some night-time tornadoes have been observed because of lightning strikes nearby. But tornadoes at night are usually impossible to see.

Tornadoes that form over water are called “waterspouts.” But tornadoes cover a much smaller area than hurricanes -- which form over oceans.

Tornadoes can be measured using wind speed information from Doppler radar systems. Tornadoes usually travel in a northeasterly direction, but they have been known to move in any direction. The average forward speed is about 50 kilometers an hour. But they can have a forward speed of up to 115 kilometers an hour. Or, they may not move in any direction.

In the United States, the force of a tornado is judged by the damage to structures. Scientists inspect the damage before they estimate the severity of a tornado. They measure tornadoes on the “Enhanced Fujita” -- or “EF” -- scale.

Ted Fujita was a weather expert who developed a system to rate tornados in the 1970s. The EF scale involves wind estimates based on levels of damage to 28 different kinds of structures and other objects. Tornadoes that cause only light damage are called an EF-zero. Those with the highest winds -- that destroy well-built homes and throw vehicles great distances -- are called an EF-5.

Some people make a sport out of watching and following tornadoes. They are called “tornado chasers,” or “storm chasers.” Their work can be seen in the extreme weather videos that are popular on television and the Internet.

Some chasers do it just because it is their idea of fun. Others do it to help document storms and warn the public. Still others are part of weather research teams.

A few years ago, an international team of scientists completed a tornado research project called VORTEX2. More than 100 researchers traveled throughout America’s Great Plains in 2009 and 2010. They used weather measurement instruments to collect scientific information about the life of a tornado. The goal of the project was to examine in detail how tornadoes are formed and the kinds of damage they cause.

A film about the VORTEX2 project was released in 2011. The film includes never-before-seen images of tornadoes.

The National Weather Service says the United States gets more severe weather than any other country. One reason for this is because the U.S. is bigger than many countries. It also has many different kinds of conditions that create many different kinds of weather.

There are seacoasts and deserts, flatlands and mountains. The West Coast is along the Pacific Ocean, which is relatively calm. The East Coast is along the Atlantic Ocean, which is known for its hurricanes. These strike mainly the southeastern states.

This Science in the News was written by George Grow and Christopher Cruise, who also produced our report.

I’m Anna Matteo.

And I’m Christopher Cruise.

Join us again next week for more news about science on the Voice of America.

Democrats Are Worried about November Elections

In the United States, congressional elections are less than six months away. But some Democratic Party activists are already worried about the election results. They believe Democratic voters will show less intensity than Republican Party voters in November. Mario Ritter takes an early look at the political likes and dislikes of Americans nationwide.

More Americans vote in presidential election years than in other years. Twenty fourteen is a non-presidential election year, and that concerns President Barack Obama and other Democrats.

Republicans are hoping for voter dissatisfaction with the president and the nation’s health care law, says political observer Charlie Cook.

“In a presidential election year, the turnout is big, it’s diverse and it looks more or less like the country. But in mid-term elections, when the turnout is smaller, it’s older, it’s whiter, it’s more conservative, it’s more Republican. It’s just real different.”

That presents a huge test for Democrats. Celinda Lake works for the Democratic Party. She studies information about likely voters. She says a huge issue for the Democrats is just who will be voting in November. She says the party is concerned about Latinos, African-Americans, unmarried women and young people who are dissatisfied with the economy.

Republican candidates are expected to talk about the president and health care during the election campaign. John Boehner is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He thinks the Republicans also have to talk about the economy.

“You know whenever I go around the country, I think it takes some audacity to call for greater cooperation amongst nations on the economy when they won’t even focus on the jobs issues that we’ve got right here in America that need to be resolved.”

Karlyn Bowman studies politics for the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute. She says the Republicans are expected to hold their majority in the House. And she thinks they could make enough gains in the elections to retake the Senate.

“These Senate contests are such high-stakes contests. The Republicans would desperately like to win control of the Senate and actually have a decent margin in the Senate in order to try to move some of their own issues along.”

Americans will fill 36 of the 100 Senate seats and all 435 House seats in the November elections. I’m Mario Ritter.

Mariachi Music Gains in Popularity

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English!

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program we will tell you about -- and listen to -- different kinds of American music. We will report on the growing popularity of mariachi music -- especially in states along the border with Mexico.

“It is a combination of everything. Like, I believe it’s the melting pot of, of the world, and music-wise.”

Then we will tell you how some Americans used music to support -- and then fight -- an amendment to the United States Constitution.

“There are people who stop drinking alcohol. About one in five Americans take a temperance pledge -- that is, an anti-drinking pledge.”

More listeners to mariachi music, and how music played a part in an American constitutional debate: those are our subjects today on As It Is.

Mariachi Music Gains Popularity Across Ethnic Lines

Mariachi music has been popular among Mexican-Americans in the United States for more than a century. It is especially popular in Texas and other states along the border with Mexico. There are now mariachi groups in all parts of the U.S. and in some European and Asian nations.

Mariachi music has long been popular with the large Mexican-American population in San Antonio, Texas.
​​
Among the young performers at a recent event was 12-year-old Ajani Rhames. She is not of Mexican ancestry. She is an African-American. She says she fell in love with the songs she heard in Mexican restaurants and on local radio stations.

“I like ‘Las Margaritas,’ which is about daisies and I like ‘El Pastor,’ which is about a shepherd.”

Concert producer Cynthia Munoz says Anani Rhames shows the appeal of mariachi music.

“She feels this very strong connection and love for the music and it sends a very powerful message to our entire community that this music is truly international.”

Singer William Carlton Wayne Galvez is an example of the ethnic mix of mariachi music. He describes himself as one-third Mexican, one-third Anglo and one-third African American. He says the music represents it all.
​​
“It is a combination of everything. Like, I believe it is the melting pot of, of the world, and music-wise.”

Singers are at the center of mariachi concerts. Guitars, violins and horns are among the instruments that create the mariachi sound.

Texas public schools and state colleges have programs that provide training and a chance to perform in public.

Music Fuels the Fight Over Alcohol Ban

The U.S. Congress approved the 21st Amendment to the Constitution more than 80 years ago -- on December 5th, 1933. The amendment cancelled an earlier ban on the production and sale of alcohol in the country. It also marked the end of a political struggle that lasted more than 100 years. The struggle had been argued, in part, through music.

Many issues captured the attention of Americans in the years between the War for Independence in the late 1700s and the Civil War in the 1860s. They included the separation of state and religion, and US relations with France and England. While those and other issues came and went, the battle over one subject never stopped. That subject was alcohol.
​​
The war against alcohol in the US started in the early 1800s. Before then, Americans had been heavy drinkers.

Scott Gac is a professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He wrote a book about reform in the 19th century. He says that in the 1820s and 1830s, American religious leaders began saying that God wanted people to take better care of themselves.

“So they start eating differently. There are people who actually became some of the first vegetarians in the United States. There are people who stop drinking alcohol. About one in five Americans take a temperance pledge -- that is, an anti-drinking pledge. The breadwinner in the family was going out, spending what little money he had, and thus creating poverty for his family. So, his, his wife had to work, his kids had to go out and beg on the street, so drunkenness was eating at the core of American families.”

Christian leaders were largely responsible for what became known as the “temperance movement.” As a result, many of the movement’s songs were based on popular Christian hymns. People sang these songs at meetings of groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Its members were known to go out and attack public drinking places with axes.
​​
By 1900, more than half of the American states had gone “dry.” In other words, they restricted -- or even banned -- the sale of alcohol. Many other people opposed the restrictions. They also expressed themselves in song.

Soon after World War I, temperance supporters had enough votes in Congress to approve a nationwide ban on alcohol. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors.”

But the Constitution still protected people’s right to argue that the prohibition of alcohol was a bad idea. And they did.
​​
The ban on alcohol lasted 13 years. By 1933, the anti-alcohol forces admitted defeat. Congress cancelled the 18th Amendment, and alcohol flowed freely again in the United States. And that, too, was cause for song.

And that’s our program for today.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

Thank you for joining me today on As It Is on The Voice of America.

Nose and Ear Expressions

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

A person’s nose is important for breathing and smelling. The nose is also used in many popular expressions.

Some people are able to "lead other people by the nose." For example, if a wife "leads her husband by the nose," she makes him do whatever she wants him to do.

Some people are said to be "hard-nosed." They will not change their opinions or positions on anything. If someone is "hard-nosed," chances are he will never "pay through the nose," or pay too much money, for an object or service.

It is always helpful when people "keep their nose out of other people’s business" -- they do not interfere. The opposite of this is someone who "noses around all the time." This kind of person is interested in other people’s private matters. He is considered "nosey."

Someone who "keeps his nose to the grindstone" works very hard. This can help a worker "keep his nose clean," or stay out of trouble.

One unusual expression is "that is no skin off my nose." This means that a situation does not affect or concern me. We also say that sometimes a person "cuts off his nose to spite his face." That is, he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry.

More problems can develop if a person "looks down his nose" at someone or something. The person acts like something is unimportant or worthless. This person might also "turn up his nose" at something that he considers not good enough. This person thinks he is better than everyone else. He "has his nose in the air."

In school, some students "thumb their nose" at their teacher -- they refuse to obey orders or do any work. Maybe these students do not know the correct answers. My mother always told me, if you study hard, the answers should be "right under your nose," or easily seen.

I think we have explained the nose expressions. What about ears? Well, I hope you are "all ears," or very interested in hearing more expressions. We might even "put a bug in your ear," or give you an idea about something. We also advise you to "keep your ear to the ground." This means to be interested in what is happening around you and what people are thinking.

If you are a good person, you will "lend an ear" to your friends. You will listen to them when they have a problem they need to talk about. Our last expression is "to play it by ear." This has two meanings. One is to play a song on a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music. "Play it by ear" also means to decide what to do at the last minute instead of making detailed plans.

This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Jill Moss.

I’m Faith Lapidus.

Does a Fast-Growing Economy Mean Healthier Children?

Hello again, and welcome to As It Is! I’m Jonathan Evans in Washington.

Today on the program, we take a look at how Somalia is working to rebuild its economy. But first, a recent study questions whether placing attention on economic growth is the best way to improve child nutrition in low- and middle-income countries. Mario Ritter has more.

Subu Subramanian is a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts. He says there is a common belief on the best way to improve child health in developing countries. He puts it this way:
"Let’s just go after economic growth and then everything else will just follow."

But, he says, that is not always true. Take India, for example. A common measure of a country’s economic health is gross domestic product, or GDP. India’s GDP has been growing by more than five percent a year. That is a higher growth rate than most Western countries.

Yet more than two-fifths of India’s children are underweight. And Subu Subramanian says the percentage of underweight children has changed little since the early 1990s.
He and other researchers asked a question. Was economic growth failing to reach children in countries other than India? They looked at health surveys carried out since 1990 in 36 low- and middle-income countries, mostly south of Africa’s Sahara Desert.
The researchers compared the effect of GDP growth and signs of child malnutrition, like stunted growth and being underweight. But the researchers found only a small relationship, or correlation.

“Practically zero to very, very small.”

The group reported their findings in the journal Lancet Global Health.
Subu Subramanian says money should be spent on clean water and waste treatment systems, childhood immunization campaigns and other programs.
“Without these direct investments, what we are seeing is economic growth by itself is not making much impact.”

But that is not how Lawrence Haddad sees the issue. He is head of the Institute of Development Studies in Britain.

Lawrence Haddad says malnutrition has dropped sharply over the past 20 years in countries like Vietnam, Ghana or Brazil. He says economic growth was responsible for half of those declines.

“And the other half is attributable to strategic investments in water, sanitation, health systems, nutrition programs.”

He says it takes both GDP growth and the right investments to improve child nutrition. I’m Mario Ritter.

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

For years, Somalia has been called a failed state. Piracy, poverty and terrorism have been problems in the country for a long time. But recent improvements suggest that the country is taking steps toward lasting security. Here again is Mario Ritter.

Conference Seeks to Rebuild Somalia's Economy

Somali officials say a stronger economy is extremely important to peace. Last week, Somali officials traveled to the United Arab Emirates hoping to attract foreign investment. The event, called The Somalia Investment Summit, was held in Dubai. The goal was to present Somalia as a good place to invest.

Somalia is still dealing with the effects of a 20-year civil war. Foreign intervention is the main cause of increased security in the country. Over the past year, African Union troops helped drive al-Shabab militants from major cities. And international naval forces have sharply decreased pirate attacks.

But, Ali Mohamed Gedi warns that the results of these efforts could be temporary. Mr. Gedi is the former prime minister of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government. He says poverty must be ended. He says poverty is the reason young people join al-Shabab.
"If we create jobs for them I believe that they’ll play a role in the stabilization and the security of the country."

The chairman of the Somali Economic Forum, Hassan Dudde, agrees. He says the pull of illegal activity, such as piracy, is strong when there are no jobs available. He says attracting investment to Somalia now, while security is improving, is very important.
“I think what the international organizations and the international community is starting to realize is that bringing troops to Somalia will not be the answer to this problem. When people have jobs and a better life they will be less likely to get in trouble.”

Although conditions in Somalia are improving, safety threats remain. Somalia lacks a central government. Corruption is common. And the workforce is largely unskilled. These problems concern possible investors.

Also, there are no secure legal safeguards for foreign investors. Hirsi Dirir is Chief Executive Officer of Dahabshil Bank, which operates in 130 businesses in the country.
“Investors are a bit afraid of going into situations like that, but there’s a huge opportunity.”

Somali officials are preparing legislation to create investment safeguards. And, increased security has led to a growing number of foreign investors. Currently, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen are the top investors in Somalia.
I’m Mario Ritter.

And that’s our program for today. We hope you continue to invest your time in As It Is and other programs from VOA Learning English. I’m Jonathan Evans. Thanks for listening.

What is the Best Way to Learn a Language?

From VOA Learning English this is As It Is. I’m Anna Matteo in Washington.

Today on, As It Is, we will hear about something our listeners do every day they hear, read or watch VOA Learning English -- learning a second language.

We will hear whether being surrounded by a foreign language, or immersed in it, is the best way to learn a language. Or are traditional lectures with grammar rules and vocabulary lists the best way to learn to speak like a native speaker.

Steve Ember has more on that topic.

What is the best way to learn a new language? A small study of foreign language learning in adults compared two methods. One is known as the explicit or classroom method. This is the kind of traditional classroom teaching where students are taught a lot of information about grammar rules.

The other method is known as the implicit or immersion method. The idea here is to learn much the way children do when they learn a native language. That is, by being with native speakers and absorbing the language that surrounds them, generally without a lot of explanation. Teachers may combine these two methods into what Professor Michael Ullman calls immersion-style classroom teaching. But is that necessarily a better way to learn a language?

Mr. Ullman was the senior investigator for the new study. He is a professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington. He says he was surprised to find that combining the two methods might not help the brain in processing the new language.

MICHAEL ULLMAN: "You know, if my life were on the line, and I had to learn a language, what would I do? I'm not sure. One possibility would be that, to start with explicit and then go to immersion, right? Start with classroom and then go to immersion. But there is this possibility that classroom could hurt later immersion. That's what, you know, one possibility of interpreting our data."

The twenty-one adults in the experiment learned Brocanto2, a thirteen-word language created for the study. The words and grammar rules relate to a computer game similar to chess that the learners played. For example, "Blom neimo lu neep li praz" means "The square blom-piece switches with the neep-piece."

The researchers tested the people three to six months after they had learned the language, to see how well they could remember it. The study found that those who had learned it with the immersion method had brain waves similar to those of native speakers of a language when speaking that language.

Professor Ullman says those who trained with the classroom method also became more native-like in their brain processing. But only the immersion group showed full native-like processing of the grammar. Still, he says teachers should be careful how they use the results of his study.

MICHAEL ULLMAN: "You know I would not make any curriculum changes based on this. Nevertheless, it is suggestive, and I think it warrants further research to see whether in fact what kind of training might in fact be best not just for reaching the native brain bases but also for, you know, maximum proficiency in different aspects of language, like grammar, you know, syntax and lexicon. So I think further research is warranted. And it may be, for example, that a combination of classroom and immersion might be best. But we don't know that."

I'm Steve Ember.

And I’m Anna Matteo.

So which way of learning a language is working best for you? Do you think immersion is the best way to learn a language? Or do you believe the traditional lecture model is good enough? Let us know in our comment section!

And find us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for more Learning English stories. ​​ ​​

Creating 'Students of the World'

Parents all around the world want the best for their children, especially when it comes to education. Today we will talk about a program that educates children with an international focus.

World economies are becoming more and more interconnected. And people are moving around the world in search of personal and professional opportunities. With this global way of living becoming more common, an international approach to education seems like a good one. The goal of the International Baccalaureate Organization is to create “Students of World.”

The International Baccalaureate Organization was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. The IB organization works with schools in 147 countries to offer programs for students three to 19 years old. These programs, it says, "help to develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world."

The organization says that IB programs are in nearly 3,800 schools worldwide. The majority of these schools offer IB diploma programs. High school students have to complete six courses, pass exams and write a 20-page paper to earn an IB diploma. And schools accepted into the IB program are expected to “walk the walk and not just talk the talk.”

Students are given opportunities to attend events that open their eyes to a larger world. There are IB workshops and conferences held all over the world.

One such event was a five-day conference at the University of British Columbia in Canada. The conference was called “The New Sustainability: Making Things Better, Not Just Less Bad.” Three hundred students from 13 counties attended.

One of the speakers was Drew Deutsch, director of IB Americas. He says the conference was meant for students to not only learn about the environment, but also to become more international in their thinking and develop lasting relationships.

DREW DEUTSCH: "We want to send the students back to their schools to highlight issues surrounding protecting the environment, but also make sure that these students become more students of the world, and that they form bonds with peers their own age from around the world. And, obviously, with social networking and the tools that are available to students today, we expect that they will have formed these bonds really for life."

Seventeen-year-old Itzel Chavez was one of 21 IB students who received scholarships to attend the conference.

ITZEL CHAVEZ: "I really wanted to go. So I applied for a scholarship and I had to write an essay. And in my school they chose one person, and I got chosen for the scholarship. So I got to go."

She says the main speakers would describe a sustainability program or tell how a special project improved the environment in their community. Then the students had to choose a project to present to the conference.

ITZEL CHAVEZ: "We would get into groups of about nineteen or twenty students and we would have to come up with a project for the end of the week that showed what we learned."

How do you feel about teaching children to be global citizens? Share your thoughts about the International Baccalaureate model of learning in our comment section!

I’m Anna Matteo. Join us again tomorrow for another As It Is.

Chinese Worker Killed in Vietnam Protest

Relations between China and Vietnam were tense this week because of Chinese activity in waters claimed by both sides. Chinese and Vietnamese ships have engaged each other since China deployed an oil rig in the South China Sea last month. In Vietnam, the area is known as the East Sea.

The device was set up in an area that Vietnam says is within its Exclusive Economic Zone. The deployment led to protests across the country. On Thursday, Vietnamese officials reported that one Chinese worker was killed after a protest at a steel factory turned violent. More than 100 other people were injured. The unrest came after thousands left their jobs and destroyed factories reportedly owned by Chinese.

In southern Vietnam, up to 20,000 protestors burned buildings and attacked factories at Binh Duong, a major manufacturing center. A sign at the entrance to one factory said, “We are South Korean, no Chinese officials work at our company.” Another sign showed a Japanese flag and the words, “We always support Vietnam.”

Government officials blamed what they called “bad elements.” They said most people condemned the violence. Officials in Cambodia said hundreds of Chinese nationals had crossed the border from Vietnam.

In Beijing, the Chinese government expressed serious concern about the situation. A foreign ministry official urged Vietnam to punish those responsible for the violence. She appealed to the Vietnamese government to guarantee the security of Chinese companies and employees.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said anti-China protests to express patriotism, or nationalism, are “legitimate.” But he said those that violate laws and destroy foreign businesses would be “strictly dealt with.”

Some observers questioned whether his statement came too late. Jonathan London is a professor with City University of Hong Kong.

“So you have coverage of the dispute on the high seas, and coverage of the violence, but you don’t have any reportage of what this means. What are Vietnamese authorities saying about this? What are we to make of these events? So you know what the result is – a very disjointed flow of information that does not contribute to a stable political environment.”

China is Vietnam’s biggest trading partner. Many observers fear that rising tensions could damage the Vietnamese economy.
​​China and Vietnam are not the only nations with claims to parts of the South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines each claim all or part of the sea. Two island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys, are said to contain oil and natural gas.

The Philippines’ Department of National Defense accused China of developing land in Spratlys. Edwin Lacierda is a spokesman for the president.

“I would like to believe that China would like to be a member of the international community in good standing. However, it appears they are doing things, which we find objectionable.”

On Friday, more than 100 Filipinos and Vietnamese held a joint protest near the Chinese consulate in Manila. They demanded that China stop activities in areas claimed by their countries.

And that’s In The News, from VOA Learning English. I’m Pat Bodner.

*For the latest information on this story, go to www.voanews.com

Editor's note: The following sentence has been re-edited to accurately reflect the engagement between Vietnam and China.

Chinese and Vietnamese ships have engaged each other since China deployed an oil rig in the South China Sea last month.

American Teenagers Making a Difference

Welcome to American Mosaic from VOA Learning English. I’m June Simms.

Today on the show, we tell about some unusual young people who work to make a difference in the world.

Most teenagers in the United States spend their time trying to make time for school, family and friends. But some choose bigger goals. Christopher Cruise tells us about three American teens working to make a difference in the world.

At age 15, Winter Vinecki has already had more successes than most people have in their lifetime.
“I recently completed a marathon on all seven continents and became the youngest person in the world to do so. And, I was really doing this for my dad.”

Doctors discovered Winter’s father had a rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer when she was nine years old. He died 10 months later.

“When he was first diagnosed I immediately knew I had to do something to help him. That’s when I formed Team Winter for prostate cancer research and awareness.”

Through Team Winter and social media, Winter Vinecki has raised almost 500,000 dollars. She has taken prostate cancer education worldwide from Kenya to Mongolia through foot races called marathons, on seven continents. In the United States she travels continually to talk about prostate cancer and urge others to act.

Winter Vinecki spoke recently at a conference in Los Angeles, California. She was one of several teenagers who spoke about young people who are living extraordinary lives.

“So prostate cancer is much more common but the men don’t want to talk about it. So that’s why a nine-year-old girl had to go out there and start talking about it for them.”

Another speaker was Jack Andraka. He invented an inexpensive sensor that identifies cancers of the pancreas, ovaries and lungs. He was 15 at the time.

“Without Google, Wikipedia, I would have never been able to learn all this stuff I needed for this project. I mean I didn’t even know what a pancreas was before developing my test for pancreatic cancer.”

Jack is now 17 and seeking patents for his latest inventions. He has developed low-cost water quality devices. They help identify and remove heavy metals and poisonous chemicals from water.

“I hope to see them employed in the developing nations such as Bangladesh and parts of China and India, especially as well as in parts of Africa, where these heavy metal and pesticides and other industrial effluents are a major problem.”

Sixteen-year-old Mary-Pat Hector saw a problem in her own community. She says too many young people were dying in gun violence.

“It was seeing my friends hurt; it was seeing it on the television constantly. It kind of made me feel like I had to do something about it.”

So, Mary-Pat became the national youth director of one of the largest U.S. civil rights organizations, the National Action Network. She also started a campaign to educate young people about gun violence.

“My eight-year-old brother drives me, you know, I think, about how innocent he is. I just want to the world to be a better place for him and my children.”

Mary-Pat Hector, Jack Andraka and Winter Vinecki say a combination of supportive parents, the Internet and social media has helped them succeed. But Winter and Jack also credit their inner selves.

“I think the biggest thing for kids and adults is to never let age and gender be a barrier and to not just dream but to dream big.”

“Never let anyone else tell you no. Always keep going for your dream, and think if a 15-year-old could do it, just think what you could do.”

They say with that kind of thinking anything is possible.

I’m June Simms. Join us again next week for American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.