Learning English Podcast - February 23, 2025
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Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Brian Lynn. I'm Ana Mateo. This program is made for English learners, so we speak a bit slower, and we use words and sentences especially written for people learning English.

Here are the stories we have for you on today's program. First, I bring you a story about the Statue of Liberty. My co-host Brian Lynn brings us a science story. I will return with words in their stories. Later in the program, John Russell brings us a science story. We will end our 30 minutes together with the lesson of the day.

Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins talk about possibilities and guessing what might happen in the future. But first, here is a story from my co-host, Ana Mateo. The Statue of Liberty has served as the guardian of New York Harbor for nearly 150 years. The statue might be one of the most photographed works of art in the world.

a french sculptor frederic auguste bartholdi designed it in the late eighteen hundreds to day the monument remains a beautiful sight on the new york sky-line the materials required for building the statue of liberty were almost lost at sea in eighteen eighty five the ship carrying those materials nearly sank in stormy seas

luckily the ship survived it arrived in june of that year by eighteen eighty six the statue of liberty was erected on what was then called bedloe's island the statue was officially opened that year many years later the island was given a new name liberty island

Lady Liberty, as many people call the statue, was a gift from the people of France. Its full name is Liberty Enlightening the World. The United States and France have been friends and allies since the American Revolution. France helped the American colonial armies defeat British forces. The war officially ended in 1783.

a few years later the french rebelled against their king france had wanted to give the statue to the united states on the one hundredth anniversary of the declaration of independence july fourth eighteen seventy six but technical problems and lack of money delayed the project

france finally officially presented the statue to the united states in paris in eighteen eighty four a pedestal to hold the two hundred tons of weight was finished later the statue also needed a structure that could hold its weight of more than two hundred tons french engineer alexandre gustave eiffel created the necessary technology

later he designed the eiffel tower in paris eiffel and others worked in paris to produce a strong support system for the statue the design also had to have the ability to move a little in strong winds in france workers separated the statue into three hundred fifty pieces put them on a ship and sent them across the ocean

after surviving the rough seas the statue arrived in new york in more than two hundred wooden boxes it took workers four months to build the statue on the pedestal on october twenty eighth eighteen eighty six president grover cleveland accepted the statue in a ceremony he said we will not forget that liberty has here made her home

nor shall her chosen altar be neglected throughout history the idea of liberty has often been represented by images of a woman historians say the statue's face was created to look like bartholdi's mother her right arm holds a torch high in the air her left arm holds a tablet with the date of america's declaration of independence

july fourth seventeen seventy six on her head the statue of liberty wears a crown with seven points each point is meant to represent the light of freedom as it shines on the seven seas and seven continents of the world the twenty-five windows in the crown represent gemstones found on earth

a chain that represents oppression lies broken at her feet lady liberty was officially named a national monument in nineteen twenty four liberty island and fort wood have been overseen by the u s national park service since nineteen thirty three

The Statue of Liberty has survived damage caused by time, visits by millions of people, and the weather. It stood firm during a destructive storm, Hurricane Sandy, which struck the East Coast in October of 2012. But Liberty Island suffered damage, requiring major repairs. I'm Ana Mateo.

Weather experts say extreme cold in many parts of the United States this winter has been driven by a polar vortex. But what is this weather system and how does it work?

the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa describes a polar vortex as strong westerly winds that form each winter in the atmosphere above the north pole

these cold winds move about sixteen to forty eight kilometers above the surface in the arctic area in the part of the atmosphere called the stratosphere at times the polar vortex can weaken causing masses of cold air to break off and move south

A polar vortex can also push warmer air in northerly directions. The Associated Press reports that several vortex events have affected parts of the U.S. this winter. Experts say weather forces in the Arctic have combined to push colder air to the U.S. and Europe.

Temperature readings that take into account the effects of wind, called windchill readings, fell to minus 51 degrees Celsius in parts of the U.S. Midwest. Meteorologists say windchill readings are colder than air temperature readings.

the u s national weather service nws warned people in affected areas that such low temperatures can cause frostbite and hypothermia if skin is not protected from the cold

Weather officials also warned that long-term cold temperatures can cause water pipes in or around homes to freeze and burst. The NWS noted that almost every U.S. state, except for Hawaii, California, and Florida, is expected to report low windchill temperatures,

the coldest temperatures were expected in the midwestern states of kansas nebraska and missouri in an explanation on its website noah states that the polar vortex always surrounds both of earth's poles the systems strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer

Every year or so the polar vortex becomes weaker. This can cause the system to be pushed off the pole or split into two. This can lead to cold air at the surface being pushed southward and warm air being pushed to the north.

noaa says its weather models are predicting low temperatures for states including oklahoma colorado nebraska missouri illinois and iowa

other states likely to have very low temperatures are wyoming montana north dakota south dakota minnesota wisconsin and michigan the agency said some storms could bring heavy snow or flooding during that time brian

And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. Technology is always progressing. Today, many modern devices can be controlled by touch or voice. This has led to some traditional electronic controls, such as dials and switches, being replaced with new technologies.

Digital displays have also become increasingly common. For example, digital number readouts have long replaced the hands on many clocks. Many other devices also now operate purely with digital tools instead of mechanical systems. But some expressions and idioms used by English speakers still describe older technologies.

First, let's talk about dials. These controls are used for changing settings on a piece of equipment, like a radio or old television. We use the dial to tune in to a specific channel. That's where the expressions "dialed in" and "tuned in" come from. If we are dialed in or tuned in to a radio or television program, we can hear it clearly.

there is no noise or static. The same can be said when using these terms in personal conversations. For example, if you are dialed in to a project or problem, you know exactly what needs to be done, you are thinking clearly about it, and remain very focused. And when you are tuned in, you understand clearly what is going on around you.

Don't touch that dial and stay tuned are two ways to tell someone to keep watching or listening to a program. Now let's talk about switches. These are built to either be off or on. There are no in-between settings like with a dial. So when we flip the switch, we make something happen quickly and easily.

It can also mean that we suddenly change something. Let's listen to an example. The restaurant's change to all organic food happened slowly over time. It wasn't a matter of flipping a switch. Now for our last expression, to move the needle.

Needles on measuring devices, like a scale, move to show a desired level has been reached. So when something moves the needle, it causes a noticeable change in something, usually for the good. And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Don't forget to tune in again for another story about American English expressions.

Until next time, I'm Anna Mateo. Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy and, scientists now say, lead pollution. That is the finding of a study that recently appeared in Communications, Earth and Environment.

the researchers studied sediment cores removed from mainland greece and below the aegean sea they found in the cores the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating back around five thousand two hundred years

that is one thousand two hundred years older than the former oldest evidence of lead pollution that evidence was discovered in serbia in ancient times lead was released into the atmosphere as a product of copper and silver production

the toxic or poisonous metal turned to dust over time and settled on to the soil joseph maron of heidelberg university was a co-writer of the new study

silver was used for jewelry for special objects but it wasn't found in a pure state it was mined in ore combined with lead maran said the place with the earliest signs of lead is in northeastern greece near the island of thasos

past evidence suggests phasos was one of the area's most important places for silver mining and metalwork said moran yale historian joseph manning who was not involved in the study said lead released from smelting is the world's first form of toxic or industrial pollution

The researchers found that levels of lead contamination remained fairly low in ancient Greece. The levels remained low throughout the Bronze Age, the Classical Period, and the Hellenistic Period. The Classical Period is famous for Athenian democracy and the thinkers Socrates and Plato.

and the Hellenistic period saw Greek cultural influence reach its height across the Mediterranean.

but the new study shows that around two thousand one hundred fifty years ago a very strong and abrupt increase in lead releases caused by human activities took place across greece said co-writer andreas koutsoudendris of heidelberg university

Around that time, the Roman army won control of the Greek peninsula, completely changing the area's society and economy. As Roman trade, colonies, and shipping grew across the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, demand for silver coins also grew.

as a result more smelting was required kutsadendris said later the roman empire used lead to make tools for eating and building including pipes past research including a study of ice cores from greenland had detected high levels of lead across much of the northern hemisphere during roman times

But the new study adds a more exact and local picture to how lead levels changed, said Nathan Chelman. Chelman, an environmental scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, was not involved in the research. I'm John Russell. My name is Anna Mateo. And my name is Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.

You're listening to the Lesson of the Day on the Learning English Podcast. Welcome to the part of the show where we help you do more with our series, Let's Learn English. This series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. In a recent Lesson of the Day podcast, we talked about Ana trying to be a genie. That's spelled G-E-N-I-E.

in Lesson 34 of the Let's Learn English series. A genie has special magical powers. Anna thinks these include the power to read people's minds. To read minds means to know what other people are thinking. We should add that in Let's Learn English, Anna meets a genie who does have some magical powers.

But this genie only gives Anna some special genie clothes. She does not give Anna magical powers. Anna was dressing like a genie for Halloween, a popular tradition in the United States celebrated on October 31st. People dress as scary creatures such as monsters or ghosts or as any other special thing or person.

Ana discovers she is not very good at reading people's minds. So, at first, she uses the word "might" because she is not sure. But when Ana says "might," this makes people worry about what will happen to them in the future. Let's listen to this part of Lesson 34. Can you really read minds? I might. Well, today I will ask my girlfriend to marry me. What am I thinking?

Wait, wait! You are thinking you might have a wedding very soon. Might? Might? She won't say no. Will she? No, no! She will say yes! I will have a wedding, won't I? You will. You will. Thanks. I think. Good luck!

Anna had to predict or say what she thinks will happen in the future. You know, Lesson 34 of Let's Learn English made me think about predictions and about chance, which means how likely it is something will or will not happen.

and it reminded me of two conversations I recorded with Faith Perlow, who writes Ask a Teacher and Everyday Grammar articles on the Learning English website. Faith and I talked about making predictions. Did she try to read your mind? No, she's not a genie, but she is a teacher, and we made the recording to explain some expressions. Oh, now I'm curious. Let's hear it.

Okay. Here's our first conversation. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Faith. So, Andrew, do you have any plans for the weekend? I do. I'm going to play tennis tomorrow. You are? I think it's supposed to rain. Really? I thought it was supposed to be good. Let me check my phone. Okay. So it says there's a 30% chance in the morning and 90% later in the day.

Well, I play in the morning, so those are pretty good odds. Though the odds of me winning are not very good. Why? Are you playing with somebody really good? Yeah, he's good. I can practice with him fine, but in a match, I have to play my best, and he has to play kind of poorly for me to have a chance. So it's very unlikely I'll win, but it's still super fun either way.

Well, it sounds like you have a 100% chance of fun. That's right, as long as it doesn't rain. And here's our second conversation. So, Faye, I notice there really are a lot of ways to talk about what we think might happen in the future. That's right. We're talking about what's likely to happen. So we talk about the odds or the chances.

Odds and chances are basically the same thing? Yes. If we say "what are the odds of" or "what are the chances of," we are asking how likely something is to happen. And talking about the percent chance, math and science tend to use the word "probability."

That's right. It's used a lot in the sciences and mathematics to talk more precisely about the chances. So, we can say something is probable or likely. Probable is an adjective. Or instead, we can say something will probably happen. Probably is an adverb. And we can talk about the probability of an event.

Probability is a noun. And I hope our listeners notice that we add the preposition of after the noun probability. We say the probability of something. Just like we say the odds of something or the chances of something. Well, Andrew, I hope this was helpful for our listeners. Me too.

Chances are it was helpful for at least some people. And what about your tennis game? How did it go? Well, I said I was unlikely to win and that prediction was correct. But it was still super fun? It was, but winning might be even more fun. Ah, better luck next time. Thanks, though I think I need more than luck. I need to practice.

We all need to practice things we are learning or things that take skill, especially when you're learning a language. Right, like learning English. Yeah, and you know, speaking of predictions, we can also talk about the word weather. You mean the rain? No, not that kind of weather. Spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R. I mean the other word spelled W-H-E-T-H-E-R.

like when we want to know whether or not something will happen. Yes, and here's a good detail for people learning English to notice. It's more common to say the word "if" than "whether." For example, we typically say, "I want to know if it's going to rain." But we can use "whether" when we want to clearly state two or more different possibilities.

For example, we might say, I need to know whether my car has a problem with its battery or with its engine. So, whether you find us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or our website, learningenglish.voanews.com, we hope you have enjoyed the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. And thanks for listening. I'm Dr. Jill. And I'm Andrew Smith.

And that's all the time we have for today's show. Thanks for listening. Some content in today's show is from the Associated Press or Reuters News Agency. And don't forget to join us again tomorrow when we will have more stories from around the world aimed at helping you learn English. I'm Ana Mateo.

And I'm Brian Lynn.