Learning English Podcast - February 25, 2025
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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.

On today's program, Brian Lynn tells the story of America's early rocket developer, Robert Goddard, on All About America. Andrew Smith reports on work in France on nuclear fusion, the power source of the sun.

Ana Mateo and John Russell share expert advice on easing eye strain from computer screens. Then, Andrew returns with Jill Robbins to explain a tricky subject for many English learners: Partitive Nouns on Lesson of the Day.

But first, here is Brian with this story about Robert Goddard. Today, rocket launches and space missions are common. But in the early 1900s, space travel seemed like a dream. One of the most influential people in the field of rocket science was American Robert Goddard.

the american space agency nasa describes goddard as the father of modern rocket propulsion robert goddard once said that the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow his scientific work gave hope to many dreams about space travel

he turned some of those dreams into reality more than one hundred years ago goddard carried out studies and tests of rocket engines he developed and flew many rockets that got their power from solid fuels chemicals that formed a hard substance

in nineteen twenty five he made and tested the first rocket engine using a soft chemical fuel the next year he successfully launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket

many historians consider liquid fuel rocket flight to be as important as the first airplane flight by the american brothers orville and wilbur wright goddard's work proved that machines could travel outside of earth's atmosphere and into space

during his early research he received money and support from the u s smithsonian institution the smithsonian published several reports about his efforts

one publication called a method of reaching extreme altitudes wrote about his search for ways to send weather recording instruments higher than balloons could fly it described how he developed the mathematical theories for rocket flight

in that report goddard also suggested the possibility of a rocket some day reaching the moon at the time there was a big dispute in the press about this claim many people thought he was foolish for suggesting something that seemed so impossible

many of goddard's ideas are still used in rocket development so in a way every rocket that flies to-day could be considered a goddard rocket brian lynn french scientists have announced they set a new record of twenty-two minutes for keeping hydrogen atoms in a state called plasma

the team said their work marks an important step in the search for nuclear fusion methods that could produce massive amounts of clean energy in the future france's atomic energy commission or cea said the experiment carried out february twelfth

showed the process kept or maintained a state of plasma for 1337 seconds the cea added that the new record was 25 percent longer than the previous one set in china last month

the aim of fusion research is to create the same kind of nuclear reaction that happens in the centre of the sun in a fusion reaction the centres of two atoms fuse or join together to form a new atom with a heavier nucleus or centre this process releases large amounts of energy

Some experts say this means fusion could be a major source of clean, safe and almost limitless energy in the future. However, because fusion happens at very high temperatures, it is difficult to control. The scientists in France used a machine called a tokamak to do their research.

The machine is a circular ring with strong walls to resist intense heat. Inside the ring, hydrogen atoms are heated to temperatures up to about 50 million degrees Celsius. The process creates plasma that is held together by powerful magnets. Anne-Isabelle Etiennevre is the CEA's head of fundamental research.

she told the french news agency afp the new record for making plasma shows that we control its production but also its maintenance however etiennevra noted that there are still many technological barriers to overcome before fusion can produce more energy than it consumes

Scientists say that for nuclear fusion to succeed, hydrogen atoms will need to be heated up to more than 100 million degrees Celsius. At this extreme temperature, plasma can become unstable and difficult to control.

This can lead to energy loss and limit how well a possible future nuclear fusion reactor could work. In the coming months, the research team will look to increase the time they can keep the atoms in a plasma state. They hope to bring the total time up to several hours combined.

The CEA noted that in future experiments, scientists will also aim to heat the plasma to higher temperatures and examine the effects the hot plasma has on their testing machine. Teams from multiple countries are working together in southern France

to build the world's largest tokamak and fusion research center called ITER. The effort includes scientists from the United States, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, and Russia. The teams hope the current research on maintaining plasma will be useful for future projects at ITER.

However, AFP reports that repeated delays and increasing costs have postponed operations at ITER until at least 2033. I'm Andrew Smith.

Computer screens are common at work, homes, schools, and stores. An estimated 104 million Americans of working age spend more than seven hours a day in front of screens. The American Optometric Association says all that screen time can cause harm.

Too much screen viewing can lead to dry or watery eyes, unclear vision, and headaches. It can also lead to vision conditions including myopia or nearsightedness, especially in children. Some technology workers even describe short times of dizziness or vertigo when they look at screens for too long.

However, exposure to blue light from digital screens has not been shown to cause permanent eye damage, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says. One reason for the screen-linked vision problems lies in the eye muscles.

staring closely at screens for long amounts of time can cause the muscle used for eye focus to become too tense or tight that muscle's not supposed to stay tight all day long

and if it does it's like picking up a light weight and trying to hold it over your head for hours american optometric association president stephen reid told the associated press a p

it is not hard to lift he said but after a while even though it's not a heavy lift your body just gets tired he added the vision problems can affect work family time and rest

As an optometrist in Mississippi, Reed sees people who are experiencing eye pain, headaches, and unclear vision linked with computer use. He suggests that people with such problems get an eye examination and take regular breaks from screen viewing.

Here are some more tips from eye health professionals to reduce eye strain caused by devices. Take a break every 20 minutes from looking at a computer. During the break, focus your eyes on something that is about 20 feet away or 6 meters for 20 seconds. This will help ease tired, tight eye muscles.

Luckily, eye strain is temporary, said Raj Mathuri, an eye doctor or ophthalmologist at Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis and spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The best way to avoid these symptoms is by taking breaks from our screens.

or near work activities and using lubricating eye drops if needed, he said. People normally close their eyes very briefly, about 18 to 22 times per minute. This helps lubricate the eye naturally. But when looking at a screen, people might close their eyes only three to seven times per minute, the Cleveland Clinic says.

That is when use of eye drops might be considered. Some people find that using a larger computer screen helps reduce eye tiredness or fatigue. You can also increase the image size on your laptop, monitor, or smartphone screen.

Sitting an arm's length away from your screen and looking down at it also can help reduce eye strain, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says. Some products for computer users, such as blue light glasses, are marketed with claims that they will reduce eye strain, improve sleep, and prevent eye disease.

but several studies have found the glasses are not very effective says the american academy of ophthalmology the group says it is how people use digital devices that causes problems not the blue light coming from screens

Even after stepping away from work on larger computers, many adults find themselves using smaller digital devices for reading or watching shows. And many children use small digital devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones in school.

Aisha Melik of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said that too much screen time or focusing on nearby objects can speed development of nearsightedness, especially in children. She added that anyone watching shows should do so on a television instead of a tablet to help avoid eye strain.

Children should follow the 20-20-20-2 rule, she said. The added "2" stands for two hours of play outside every day, which helps with eye development, Melek said. The reality is that most children are engaging with screens throughout the day, at school and home.

It becomes difficult to track the total number of hours, she said. Aim for not more than 20 minutes during any one session. The blue light that digital screens release can increase a person's alertness, experts say. As a result, their use might make it difficult to fall asleep or sleep well.

To give your eyes and brain the rest they need, doctors suggest turning off screens one to two hours before going to sleep. You can also change the setting on digital devices to lower screen brightness. If you are used to watching videos at night, try listening to an audiobook or podcast instead. I'm Ana Mateo. And I'm John Russell.

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. My name is Anna Mateo.

My name is Andrew Smith. And my name is Jill Robbins. 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, DC. In lesson 35 of the series, Ana and her roommate, Marcia, are having some friends over for dinner.

Let's listen. - Washington DC has many fun places to eat, but sometimes it's more fun to cook. In fact, tonight, Marsha and I are cooking for friends. Well, she is cooking, I am doing the shopping. Marsha. Hi, Marsha. - Hi, Anna. Do you have the shopping list? - Yes, I told you, I have the shopping list. Can you hear it?

Okay, good. I hear the list. Anna, please buy all the ingredients on the list. Yes, Marsha, I will. And do not spend too much time shopping. No, Marsha, I won't. See you later. It's always a good idea to bring a shopping list to the store. They say if you stick to your list, you will save money because you won't just buy things that look good. Hmm.

Oh, do you mean impulse buying? I know. When I go to the store, they always have the cookies and cupcakes right at the front. They're the first thing you see when you walk in, and they look so tasty. But if they're not on your list, just pass them by. Impulse buying, buying something without thinking about it too much, can be hard on your food budget.

Anyway, Ana has her list. Let's find out if she was able to get everything they need to make dinner for their friends. - Ana, what took you so long? Our guests will be here soon. - Don't worry, Marcia. I bought everything on the list. - Let me see. You bought a bunch of bananas, a box of pancake mix, a bag of coffee. Ana,

This is all wrong. What do you mean wrong? A jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. No, wait. Two loaves of bread. Ana, these are the wrong ingredients. These ingredients are on the list. I took this list from the counter. Ana, it's the shopping list for breakfast. I said...

Take the shopping list on the refrigerator for... Marsha, there was no shopping list on the refrigerator for dinner. Uh-oh, I can tell this will be an interesting dinner. Did you notice all the partitive nouns in that part, Jill? I did. I think we should explain.

We use partitive nouns to talk about a quantity of something. Together with another noun, they tell us how much of it there is. So, Marsha said... You bought a bunch of bananas, a box of pancake mix, a bag of coffee. Ana, this is all wrong. So, the partitive structures there are a bunch of bananas.

Bunch is the partitive noun. A box of pancake mix. There, the partitive is box. And a bag of coffee. Bag is the partitive noun. You could also call these measure words since we are measuring the amount we have. Let's see if our listeners now can pick up some more of these words in what Anna says. What do you mean wrong, Ibar?

A jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. No, wait. Two loaves of bread. Did you get them? They are "jar" and "loaf." One more thing I noticed, Jill, is the pronunciation of the word "of" in these structures. It seems to be reduced.

I think it is. We might just use the reduced vowel, our old friend schwa, instead of clearly saying the word "of." Right. So I could say a loaf of bread. And you hear that very quickly, just the "uh" sound. A loaf of bread. I wonder what Marcia is going to do with these foods. Peanut butter sandwiches for dinner? Let's listen. What are we going to do?

When do our guests arrive? They arrive in 30 minutes. I can fix this. Do you trust me? Do I have to? Yes. So it was a mix up with the lists. Andrew, I think we're going to have to skip ahead to lesson 36 to find out what Anna makes. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Anna seems like a very creative person. I think she can improvise. As a musician, you know to improvise means to play something without a plan, right? Without music. But we use improvise in other situations, like when you make or do something using whatever you have. You don't plan it in advance. You just do it because you need to do something.

That's right. You do it on the spot, we say, without planning ahead of time. So, let's see if Anna improvises with her bag of breakfast foods. What are you cooking? I made my favorite recipe, peanut butter banana pancakes. You made breakfast. Yes, I call it, let's eat breakfast for dinner dinner. Hmm.

Hey, this tastes good. You made it work. Of course. I'm Jill Robbins, and you're listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. We've been talking about lessons 35 and 36 of Let's Learn English, a 52-lesson course you can study for free on our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. In lesson 35, Anna made a mistake.

she took the wrong shopping list to the store and bought breakfast food instead of food for a dinner party but it all worked out fine in the end that reminds me of a lesson i often teach my students make the most of your mistakes

That's so true, Andrew. You know, I've studied a lot of languages and I always learn more when I try something using what I've learned and I make a mistake. When I hear that what I said was wrong, it sinks in and I remember not to say it that way again. So in lesson 36, we see that Anna embraces her mistake and makes a delicious dinner for her friends. Now, here's something you can do.

Think of a language mistake you made when you were learning English. How did the mistake help you? Did it help you remember the correct word or structure? Tell us about it at learningenglish at voanews.com. We do like to hear your comments and what you think of the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. Leave a comment on our YouTube channel where you can find this podcast and our videos.

Remember that you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Thanks for listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Dr. Jill. 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.