Learning English Podcast - December 31, 2024
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Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words and phrases especially written for people learning English. Coming up on the show, California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu.

It is affecting milk cows in that state and causing sickness in some people in other U.S. states. The avian influenza virus, or bird flu, has spread among wild birds, farm birds, and many mammal species.

Ana Mateo reports on the situation with the virus for this week's Health and Lifestyle Report. We close the show with the lesson of the day from Jill Robbins and Andrew Smith. But first, former American President Jimmy Carter died December 29th at the age of 100.

His presidency was marked by rising inflation and unemployment. He helped negotiate a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. He returned the Panama Canal to Panama, recognized mainland China, and signed an arms limitation agreement with the former Soviet Union.

He also faced what is now known as the Iran hostage crisis. Here is Mario Ritter with a look back at the life of Jimmy Carter. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. His presidency was marked by rising inflation and unemployment.

he helped negotiate a peace agreement between egypt and israel he returned the panama canal to the central american country recognized mainland china and signed an arms limitation agreement with the former soviet union however in nineteen seventy nine iran took u s embassy workers hostage in teheran

The Iran hostage crisis dominated his final years in the White House and contributed to his defeat by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election. Carter liked to say the end of his presidency in 1981 was the beginning of a new life. He traveled around the world fighting disease, building hope,

and waging peace, he said. In 2002, the former president received the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House released a statement from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday, calling Carter a dear friend. Biden also declared January 9, 2025,

as a national day of mourning in honor of carter and directed flags at public buildings to be displayed at half staff for thirty days president-elect donald trump posted a message on truth social he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all americans for that we all owe him a debt of gratitude

carter was born on october first nineteen twenty four in the small town of plains georgia carter graduated from the u s naval academy in nineteen forty six and married rosalind smith in the same year as an officer in the u s navy he helped in the development of nuclear submarines

but he returned to his home town in nineteen fifty three to run the family peanut farming business he entered politics in the nineteen sixties as a member of the democratic party carter served two terms as a georgia legislator

before becoming the state's seventy-sixth governor from nineteen seventy one to nineteen seventy five the democratic party chose carter as its presidential candidate for the nineteen seventy six presidential election carter ran against republican president gerald ford who was completing the term of president richard nixon

nixon resigned as a result of the watergate scandal carter narrowly defeated ford to become president the high point of carter's presidency came in nineteen seventy eight he brought egyptian president anwar sadat and israeli prime minister menachem bagan to camp david

a presidential vacation home in rural maryland to negotiate a peace treaty carter said when i became president there had been four wars between arabs and israelis in the previous twenty-five years we had success in getting a treaty between israel and egypt not a word of which has ever been violated

carter negotiated a treaty turning control of the panama canal over to the panamanian government he also normalized diplomatic relations with the people's republic of china recognizing the communist government in beijing but in nineteen seventy nine carter's administration had to turn its attention to iran

a revolution in that country led by religious clerics ousted the government of the u s supported shah mohammed reza pallavi the u s then permitted pallavi to receive treatment for cancer in the country

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants, unhappy with U.S. action, stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage. Thirteen were released weeks later, but the hostage crisis extended through the rest of Carter's presidency.

five months into the crisis in april nineteen eighty carter ordered a complex military operation to free the remaining hostages the operation was aborted when several aircraft developed problems eight u s military members and one iranian civilian died walter mondale carter's vice-president

told voa that that day was the lowest point of their administration the failed mission damaged carter's standing with the american public it took place seven months before the nineteen eighty presidential election which carter lost to reagan carter said that was the number one issue that caused me to fail

Other major events during Carter's presidency included the invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union. As a response, Carter ordered a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. In 1981, Carter returned to Plains.

his plan for a presidential library and museum became the carter center in atlanta georgia under his direction the carter center observed more than eighty elections around the world and aimed to negotiate disputes they included a dispute over nuclear weapons with north korea in nineteen ninety four

and a peace agreement between uganda and sudan in nineteen ninety nine the center also aims to support health and fight disease in poor countries

in one of many interviews with voice of america carter said the greatest parts of his legacy were not the things he did serving the american people as u s president or the nobel peace prize he said his greatest accomplishment was the eradication of guinea-worm disease

as a result there were only thirteen cases of guinea-worm recorded in twenty twenty two carter led an active life until the age of ninety-nine surviving brain cancer in twenty fifteen he last appeared in public during the funeral services for his wife rosalynn in november twenty twenty three

carter said of his hopes for the country i would like to see the united states in the future strive to be the number one champion in the world of peace and human rights and environmental quality and treating everyone equal carter lived longer than any u s president

and his 76-year marriage to Rosalynn is the longest of any president and first lady. He is to be buried on the grounds of his home in Plains, Georgia. I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. VOA Learning English has launched a new program for children. It is called Let's Learn English with Anna.

The new course aims to teach children American English through asking and answering questions and experiencing fun situations. For more information, visit our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu.

It is affecting milk cows in that state and causing illnesses in some people in other U.S. states. The avian influenza virus, or bird flu, has spread among wild birds, farm birds, and many mammal species. The virus is known as type A H5N1.

It was identified for the first time in U.S. milk cows in March. Since then, bird flu has been found in about one-third of U.S. states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, is following the number of cases and is reporting the latest details on its website.

Most of the illnesses have been mild. Health officials said that one person in Louisiana was hospitalized with the nation's first known severe illness caused by the virus. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he declared the state of emergency so state workers could take faster action.

California officials have been testing milk tanks. They said they have found the virus in hundreds of herds. The virus was recently found in Southern California dairy farms. It was found in the state's Central Valley in August. Officials with the CDC repeated that the public has a low risk of getting the virus.

There are no reports of person-to-person infection and no signs that the virus has changed to spread easily among humans. Flu experts say it is too soon to know how the situation will change, but some experts are worried because flu viruses are mutating all the time.

and small genetic changes could take place. Health officials said the first known case of severe illness in the U.S. was found in a patient in Louisiana. The person is older than 65 and has other medical problems. Officials said the person showed severe breathing problems after being near a group of sick birds.

The CDC said that the Louisiana case is the first confirmed U.S. infection connected with backyard birds or birds kept near a home. Almost all the earlier infections in the U.S. have been in farm workers dealing with infected dairy cattle or birds. In two cases, an adult in Missouri and a child in California,

Health officials have not learned how they became infected. Angela Rasmussen is a virus expert at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. She said as more people become infected, more severe illnesses will be reported.

Rasmussen said, I assume that every H5N1 virus has the potential to be very severe and deadly. The World Health Organization says on its website that from 2003 to November 2024, about 142 people died from the H5N1 virus around the world.

Most of the deaths were in Southeast Asia. People who have contact with dairy cows, commercial poultry, or with backyard birds are at higher risk than other people. CDC and other experts said those people should use breathing, eye, and hand protection, especially if the animals appear ill or if they die.

The CDC said in July that it would buy $5 million in vaccines for farm workers to protect against seasonal flu. If someone becomes infected with two flu types at the same time, it might permit the bird flu virus to mutate and to become more dangerous.

The H5N1 virus can also be spread in raw or unpasteurized milk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says pasteurized milk is safe to drink because the heat treatment kills the virus, but high levels of the virus have been found in unpasteurized milk.

Health officials urge people to avoid drinking raw milk. It can spread other germs in addition to bird flu. The U.S. Agriculture Department has increased its testing of raw milk across the country to identify and contain avian flu. Federal officials ordered milk testing, which began this month in 13 states.

I'm Ana Mateo. My name is Ana Mateo. And I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. Welcome to the part of the broadcast where we help you do more with our series, Let's Learn English. The series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C.,

Today we're going to use some examples from Let's Learn English to show how native speakers pronounce words when they are talking quickly. This is very important for understanding spoken English. And it's important for learning to sound more like an advanced speaker of English. That's right. And this is something you can listen for in many episodes of Let's Learn English. Let's get started.

What are we going to listen for first, Jill? Whoa, whoa, slow down, Andrew. Can you ask that again a little bit slower? Okay, sorry. I said, what are we going to listen for first, Jill? Andrew, your question gives a perfect example. We are going to listen to the difference between slower and faster speech when we put together the words what and are.

We are going to listen to some examples from lesson seven of Let's Learn English. Andrew, can you explain what happens to Anna in lesson seven? In lesson seven, it is Anna's first day at work and she is excited to meet people. She also wants to know what they are doing. So she asks them, "What are you doing?" However, she causes some problems by accident.

Let's listen as Anna meets Anne. Anne is busy writing when Anna meets her. I'm Anna. Hi Anna, I'm Anne. Nice to meet you. What are you doing? Um, I'm writing. You are writing. You are writing a lot. Oh, oh dear. No, no, that's okay. I'm sorry. That's okay. Really. Please, please, please stop. Please. Sorry.

Anna says hi to Jonathan, who is busy recording his show. Anna has already met Jonathan at her apartment building. And people all around the world are waiting to hear news about the next president. Jonathan, hi. I live in your building. Oh, hi, Anna. What are you doing? I am doing my show. Oh, sorry. Are you recording? Yes.

And now I have to record again. Sorry. Have a good show. Thank you. Sorry. I think Anna is going to say, I'm sorry, a lot in this episode. Yes, she is. But let's compare the way she asked the question, what are you doing, in our two examples. Here's the first one. I'm Anna. Hi, Anna. I'm Anne. Nice to meet you. What are you doing?

And here is the second example. Oh, uh, hi, Anna. What are you doing? You can hear that Anna says "What are you doing?" a little slower in the second example than in the first. Let's listen to the examples again, but only to the question itself. What are you doing? What are you doing? You can hear that Anna said it faster in the first example.

But still not as fast as you said it, Andrew, near the beginning of our lesson. Let's rewind and hear how I said it. What are we going to listen for first, Jill? I did say it faster. So, we actually have three examples. Not fast, a little fast, and really fast. In your example, the words what and are fast.

get combined into one: water. Water, water, water. It almost sounds like water. Yeah, that's right. But instead of "wa" for water, it's "wuh" for water. And here's how our listeners can learn more about this. On the webpage for Let's Learn English Lesson 7, you can scroll down and click on the Pronunciation Practice video.

Starting 55 seconds into the video, you can hear another example of the difference between slow and fast speech for saying the two words "what" and "are." That's right. And in the first part of the Pronunciation Practice video, you can hear another important aspect of fast speech.

Many times the -ing at the end of words gets shortened to just the sound "in". So if Anna were talking even faster, she would say, "What are you doing?" I have an idea. Let's listen to how the pronunciation practice video from lesson 7 explains this. Is that what we're doing? That's what we're doing. Let's hear it now.

In the present continuous tense, verbs end in -ing. In careful speech, Americans pronounce the -g at the end of the verb. However, in fast speech, many Americans do not pronounce the -g at the end of the verb. The result sounds like this: writin' doin' readin' Here is an example:

Careful speech. I am reading a book. Fast speech. I'm reading a book. Those are good examples. And the Pronunciation Practice video in Lesson 9 gives another useful example of how native speakers put words together quickly. Is it about answering yes/no questions? Yes, it is. Or maybe I should say, yes, it is.

Let's hear it. When Americans answer a yes or no question with yes, we sometimes say the words with no break. The sounds blend together. Here's an example. Listen. Is it sunny today? Yes, it is sunny. We write it like this. Yes, it is. We say it like this. Yes, it is. So, those three words, yes, it is,

can sound like one word. That's right, and I think people learning English should pay careful attention to the differences between fast and slow speech. That might help them train their ears to better understand fast English. And, of course, they should take short phrases like "What are you doing?" and simply practice repeating them faster and faster until it feels natural.

It's like if you want to learn to run fast, well, at some point, you just have to try running fast. That's true. And the more you do it, the better you'll get. We have many more English lessons coming your way. So keep listening and exploring all of the programs on VOA Learning English. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.

And that's our show for today. But join us again tomorrow to keep learning English on The Voice of America. I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm Mark.