Learning English Podcast - January 19, 2025
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Hello, and welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Ana Mateo. And I'm Brian Lynn. This program is aimed at English learners, so we speak slowly and we use words and phrases especially written for people learning English.

On today's show, Ana Mateo has words and their stories. John Russell brings us a story about researchers who are using laser technology to study ancient Peruvian mummies. We also have the weekly science report about a pair of private spacecraft now headed to the moon.

And we'll close with another lesson of the day. This time, Jill Robbins and Andrew Smith present a discussion on the present perfect tense with a focus on the word "since." But first…

For more than 5,000 years, humans have covered themselves with permanent artistic designs known as tattoos. In a recent study, researchers used lasers to uncover highly complex designs of ancient tattoos on mummies from Peru.

the skin of the mummies and the black liquid or ink used to make the tattoos permitted researchers to observe fine details these marks are not visible to the human eye said study co-writer michael pittman of the chinese university of hong kong

the researchers examined around one hundred mummies dating to around seven hundred seventy five years ago the mummies were from coastal peru's chonkai culture which grew and developed before the inca empire and the arrival of europeans

all the individuals had some form of tattoos on the back of their hands knuckles arms or other body parts the study paid careful attention to four individuals with exceptional tattoos designs of shapes such as triangles and diamonds said pittman it was not clear how the tattoos were created

but they are of a quality that stands up against the really good electric tattooing of to-day said aaron dieter wolfe of the tennessee division of archaeology dieter wolfe was not involved in the research the study results appeared recently in the publication proceedings of the national academy of sciences

Using lasers that make skin glow, we basically turn skin into a light bulb, said study co-writer Tom Kay of the non-profit Foundation for Scientific Advancement based in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

the findings were helpful to learn about new non-destructive technologies that can help us study and document sensitive archaeological materials such as mummies said dieter wolff the oldest known tattoos ever discovered are on the remains of a neolithic man who lived in the italian alps around five thousand years ago

Many mummies from ancient Egypt also have tattoos, as do remains from cultures around the world. People have used tattooing for many reasons throughout history. The marks can show cultural or individual identity, social standing, and more.

Tattoos also have been used for protection against disease or to deepen relationships with spirits or gods, suggested Lars Krutak. Krutak, who works at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was not involved in the research.

designs on ancient textile and stone products are more commonly found in good condition for study than are ancient tattoos but ancient tattoos when studied can provide information about art forms that would not otherwise be available suggested martin smith of burnmouth university smith was not involved in the recent study

I'm John Russell. And now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English. In life, some of our decisions and actions are well thought out. They involve research, examination, and time for thought. And other decisions and actions are not well thought out.

we make them quickly without thinking almost like a pure physical reaction we can call these decisions actions or reactions knee jerk this term comes from a medical process

Merriam-Webster defines the noun "knee jerk" as an involuntary forward kick produced by a light blow on the tendon below the kneecap. It is an involuntary action. It's automatic. The words "involuntary" and "automatic" are important when understanding the term "knee jerk" and when to use it.

Knee-jerk reactions seem to happen automatically, without a decision-making process. We often use "knee-jerk" as an adjective. Like hitting your kneecap to move your leg, knee-jerk reactions or statements also seem like an involuntary reflex. Knee-jerk also describes predictable behavior.

Again, hit the knee and the leg will kick every time. So, knee jerk describes someone who always reacts quickly and without enough thought. For example, let's say you are on a team with someone who never faces responsibility for their mistakes in the game. If brought to account, the player always blames the dropped ball on other teammates.

You can say that player is having a knee-jerk reaction to criticism. They have a go-to response. It's like a reflex they can't control. We often use knee-jerk in a criticizing or negative way. Now, a gut reaction also happens without thinking, but it is a bit different than a knee-jerk response.

A gut reaction is a feeling. When we have a gut reaction, our instincts are telling us that something may not be right. Gut reactions are instinctual warnings. So we use this expression a bit differently than knee-jerk. We usually talk about our own gut reactions or impulses, not others. Here is an example.

one day i was hiking on a mountain in california i had hiked for about two hours and was near the top the view i was told was truly beautiful i couldn't wait to see it then suddenly i had a strange feeling something just didn't feel right

I can't explain why, but my gut instinct was to turn around and head back down the mountain. I later found out that a dangerous bear had been sighted in the same area that I had fled. I am so thankful I listened to my gut instinct. And that's words and their stories. Until next time, I'm Ana Mateo.

Two private spacecraft are on their way to the Moon to carry out separate missions. The landers launched January 15th from the American government's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private company SpaceX used its Falcon 9 launch vehicle to fly the landers into space.

the two separated from falcon nine about one hour into the flight mission leaders said the launch went exactly as planned with no problems reported

The trip to the Moon will take some time. One spacecraft is expected to land on the lunar surface in early March, while the other should touch down in late May or early June. In February 2024, the first private spacecraft completed the first US moon landing in more than 50 years.

The lander, called Odysseus, was developed by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines. The spacecraft experienced some technical problems but was able to carry out several science experiments before powering down permanently on the Moon in late March.

for this current mission texas based firefly aerospace developed blue ghost one of the two landers launched the other named resilience belongs to japanese company ispace

both are designed to collect data and materials to support several planned moon missions some including astronauts in coming years the blue ghost lander is targeting a landing site near a volcanic structure called mons

It is a 480-kilometer basin that sits in the northeast quarter of the near side of the Moon. The American space agency NASA says the two-meter-tall Blue Ghost is carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments.

They aim to gather valuable scientific data studying Earth's nearest neighbor, the agency said. NASA's Artemis program aims to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

The next planned flight in that program is Artemis II, which is set to launch in April 2026. In that mission, four astronauts will fly NASA's Orion spacecraft more than 400,000 kilometers on a trip around the Moon.

Nicola Fox is the associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. She said in a statement the agency's cooperation with private companies is a critical part of bringing humanity back to the moon.

Fox added that NASA chose the new experiments partly because of information learned from NASA's Apollo space program, which began in the 1960s.

She said the current mission seeks to ensure the safety and health of our future science instruments, spacecraft, and most importantly, our astronauts on the lunar surface. Blue Ghost's equipment includes a tool to collect dirt and another to dig a hole for measuring temperatures below the lunar surface.

The spacecraft is also carrying a device built to measure light reflections to be used with lasers to better measure the distance between Earth and the Moon. In addition, Blue Ghost is carrying instruments to examine the structure and density of areas beneath the lunar surface.

Other equipment will seek to capture X-ray images of the edge of Earth's magnetic field. The I-Space lander Resilience is carrying an exploring vehicle called a rover to the Moon. The 5-kilogram rover is designed to collect lunar soil and other materials from the surface.

resilience is also carrying equipment and instruments to complete several experiments for japanese companies and other organizations one of the experiments will test an electrolysis device designed to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen

Such a device could help future astronauts better use water resources on the Moon and produce rocket fuel. Other experiments set for the Resilience mission include food production tests and the deployment of a deep space radiation probe.

The instrument is designed to collect detailed measurements of ionizing radiation in space. NASA has said it is paying $101 million to Firefly for the mission and another $44 million for the experiments. Officials from iSpace did not report how much its mission would cost.

It is the second moon mission for I-Space. During the last one, Japan's space agency JAXA successfully launched its SLIM spacecraft to the moon in January 2024. But the lander touched down imperfectly, causing some communication and power problems.

However, Japanese space officials reported they had stayed in communication with SLIM through late April. During this time, they said the spacecraft was able to collect valuable data about the landing and surrounding area. And now it's time for the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. My name is Andrew Smith, and I'm joined by Dr. Jill Robbins.

Hi, Jill. Hey, Andrew. Our lesson is based on our video series, Let's Learn English. The series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. Here's Ana introducing herself.

My name is Anna Matteo. Today's lesson is going to be a mix. We'll teach you some useful expressions, explain something we call logical connectors, which are special words for connecting phrases, and we'll revisit the present perfect tense by focusing on the word since.

And we're basing all of this on Lesson 15 of Level 2 of the Let's Learn English series. You know, Jill, we've talked about the present perfect several times in these podcast lessons. That's right. We've talked about it ever since we looked at Lesson 48 from Level 1 of the series. But it's so important, I think we should talk about it again. I do, too.

And we use the present perfect a lot in English, so it makes sense that we are revisiting it. We use the word since to refer to a specific time that something began in the past but is continuing now. Let's hear the example from Lesson 15 of Level 2. Anna and her friend Penelope are doing a kind of exercise called speedwalking.

You keep one foot on the ground at all times, but you try to move as quickly as you can. You swing your arms in a special way too that looks a little like chicken's wings. It is a little funny looking. Let's listen. Penelope, even though we both love speed walking, can we slow down a bit? No way. I think because I'm walking with you, I'm walking faster.

Come on, Penelope! Let's take a break! We've been speedwalking since 8 a.m. You're so competitive! You even wore your medals! You brought your trophies! You're out of shape! When we were little girls, we could speedwalk! Wait for me! You know the speedwalking rules! If both feet leave the ground, it's running! You ran! Did you hear when Anna used the word "since" and the present perfect tense?

Here it is again. Come on, Penelope! Let's take a break. We've been speedwalking since 8 a.m. We should also remind our listeners that the word since actually has two meanings. Informally, it can mean the same thing as because. Right. Like, we could say, since it's getting dark outside, we should go home.

Anna wants a break from her speed walking and gets some advice about exercise from Penelope. That was great! Wow, Penelope, you're still really fast. Since I've been working in an office, my speed walking has been much slower. You are slower, Anna. Maybe you should hire a personal trainer. That will be great, as long as the trainer understands speed walking.

Try this company. After you fill out an online application, they will match you to the perfect trainer. As soon as I get home, I'll do it. Thanks. Hopefully, the trainer will help Ana in her speed walking. But let's listen one more time to an example with the word "since" and the present perfect tense. Since I've been working in an office, my speed walking has been much slower.

Here, a listener might get confused and think Anna is using the word "since" to mean the word "because." But in a situation like this, where there seems to be two possible meanings, the speaker is probably just talking about what happens after a particular time. If they are not talking about time, they will usually say the word "because" if that is what they mean.

Listeners, we know that might be a lot to understand. The good news is you can always go back and listen to that explanation again. Yes, you can. That's a good idea. Okay, now let's hear what happens to Ana when she meets her new personal trainer. Hi, are you my trainer? If you're Ana, then I'm your trainer, Alaskan Albert. Because I'm from the Alaskan wilderness, I'm skilled in all outdoor activities of the wild.

That's great, but what about speed walking? Speed walking? That's funny. Since I've been living in the city, I've combined wilderness training with a city workout. I call it called the wild parkour. Okay.

But seriously, when do we speedwalk? Your application did not say how funny you are. No, but it did say that I'm a speedwalker. Did you read it? Forget it. We'll have to cancel.

Why? We can't train today because it's too cold and too windy. No way! No pain, no gain. When you exercise in really cold weather, you feel alive. Really? Because right now I just feel cold. You're so funny. But seriously, after our training, you will be ready for any extreme physical challenge. Let's get started.

Anna, even though you're trying really hard, you're really bad at Call of the Wild parkour. And if you're wondering why Anna's trainer makes that extra sound when he says parkour, it's because in the video he's imitating a wolf, a wild animal. Anna is not happy with her new trainer because he's not helping her with her speedwalking.

Instead, he tries to teach her parkour, which is running, jumping, and climbing over objects, usually in the city. However, he does say that Anna is trying hard. And this is where you can hear a logical connector with the words even though. Anna, even though you're trying really hard, you're really bad at Call of the Wild Parkour.

We use the words "even though" to connect one statement with another unexpected, surprising, or contrasting statement. For example, I might say, "Even though it's cold outside, I'm not going to wear my jacket." And now, here's a few more expressions from Lesson 15 of Level 2. Ana's trainer says he is skilled in all outdoor activities in the wild.

We can be skilled in or skilled at something. To have skill or be skilled means to be very good at doing something. We can use the preposition in or the preposition at after the word skilled. Another expression Ana's trainer says is no pain, no gain. That means if you don't work extra hard and maybe feel some discomfort,

You will not make the changes and improvement you need. This phrase is used a lot when we talk about exercise and getting in good physical shape. There's one more kind of connecting phrase we can hear in Lesson 15 as well. Listen to Penelope and Anna again.

You are slower, Anna. Maybe you should hire a personal trainer. That will be great, as long as the trainer understands speed walking. When Anna says "as long as," she is not talking about time. Instead, the phrase "as long as" means we want something only if certain conditions or other situations happen.

In this case, Anna only wants the trainer if he helps her with speedwalking. Well, let's see if he does ever help her. Anna, even though you're trying really hard, you're really bad at Call of the Wild Parkour. I'm bad at Call of the Wild Parkour because I don't want to do Wild Parkour. Speedwalker, it's what I do. It's part of who I am. Why didn't you say something?

I did. Several times. You thought I was joking. Now I understand. Anna, I can help you. If you follow my advice, I'll put the speed back in your speed walk. Go, Anna! Go! At the end, Anna does get the help she wanted. And we hope you've gotten the help you wanted by listening to the lesson of the day.

And remember, as long as you keep listening and studying, your English will keep improving. And even though it can sometimes be difficult, try to speak English as much as you can. Remember, no pain, no gain. That's right. Well, we've come to the end of today's lesson. Thanks for listening. Remember, you can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.

And that's all the time we have for today's show. But join us again tomorrow for another VOA Learning English program. I'm Brian Lynn. And I'm