Learning English Podcast - December 09, 2024
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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. Today on the show, Ana Mateo brings us words and their stories.

Katie Weaver has a story on proposals in California to protect the state's famous Joshua trees. And we end with a new lesson of the day. This time, Andrew Smith and Joe Robbins talk about a grammatical structure in English known as reported speech. But first...

A new study suggests that Venus likely never had water flowing on its surface. The research was based on data related to the chemical makeup of the planet's atmosphere. Scientists have long considered whether Venus once held liquid water, even possibly large oceans.

such research was based on the fact that venus is like our own planet in many ways it is a rocky planet similar in structure and size to earth and is also our closest planetary neighbor

But the latest study provides evidence that Venus has likely always been the hot, extremely dry planet it remains today. Researchers from Britain's University of Cambridge led the study. It recently appeared in the publication Nature Astronomy.

The researchers' data examinations led them to conclude that both the surface and interior of Venus remain dry. The team said the strongest evidence that Venus once had large amounts of water would be the discovery of some water inside the planet today.

But the study provided no evidence of that. Since water is considered an important element for supporting life, the researchers also suggest that Venus was likely never habitable or able to support life. The lead writer of the study was Teresa Constantinou,

a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy. She told Reuters news agency, ''We suggest that a habitable past would be associated with Venus's present interior being water-rich and a dry past with Venus's present interior being dry.''

The researchers explained they attempted to measure the current destruction rate of molecules in water, carbon dioxide, and carbonyl sulfide in Venus's atmosphere. The state of the planet's atmosphere is linked to volcanic activity, the team said.

"'Vulcanism, through its supply of gases to the atmosphere, provides a window into the interior of rocky planets like Venus,' the researchers wrote in a statement. "'As magma rises from the mantle to the surface, it releases gases from the deeper portions of the planet.'

Volcanic explosions, or eruptions, can provide information on the amount of water contained deep below a planet's surface, the scientists said. On Earth, for example, volcanic eruptions mostly release steam, a vapor created when water gets heated.

Measurements of volcanic gases on Earth have shown they release about 60% water vapor, but the researchers said their examinations suggested volcanic gases released on Venus were less than 6% water vapor.

This persuaded the team to conclude that the planet's interior, the source of the magma that releases volcanic gases, must be very dry. The team noted that scientists have had two leading theories on the history of water on Venus –

The first is that the planet had a moderate climate for billions of years, with liquid water flowing over areas of the surface. Over time, widespread volcanic activity likely led to extreme heat and dry conditions that made the water disappear.

The second theory imagined Venus as being very hot from the beginning, preventing liquid water from ever forming on the surface. Constantinou said, ''Both of those theories are based on climate models, but we wanted to take a different approach based on observations of Venus's current atmospheric chemistry.''

She added that the team did not find evidence that any chemicals being removed from the atmosphere were later being restored. This provides strong evidence that Venus has a very dry interior today, the scientists concluded.

The atmospheric chemistry suggests that volcanic eruptions on Venus release very little water, implying that the planet's interior is equally dry, Constantinou said. She added that her team would have loved to find that Venus was once a planet much closer to our own.

However, Constantinou noted, the finding suggests that researchers should center their searches on planets that are mostly likely to be able to support life, at least life as we know it.

And now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English. Playing cards is a popular pastime for people of all ages. Some games are easy, while others are complex. And people of all walks of life play cards. A set of playing cards is called a deck.

A deck of cards is not costly and can be bought almost anywhere. With one deck of 52 cards, you can play many different games. Some of the games include poker, blackjack, bridge, rummy, 500, snap, hearts, and crazy eights, just to name a few.

The deck of cards also gives the English language many idioms. Today we will talk about a few of them. To win at many card games, you must keep your cards hidden from the other players. In many games, the cards you are dealt and play with are called your hand. If your opponents know your hand, they can easily beat you.

Some players keep their cards hidden by holding them to their chest. In life, you might need to keep some parts of a plan hidden or secret for them to succeed. You might need to keep your cards close to your chest. This idiom means to keep your plans, intentions, or methods secret.

However, with most card games, players must show their cards to the other players at some point, sometimes at the end of the game. This gives us two similar idioms: to show your hand and to lay your cards on the table.

As an idiom, to show your hand or your cards means to tell people your plans or intentions that you had kept hidden. The same is true of laying your cards on the table. In many card games, the players must show their cards by placing them face up on the table for everyone to see.

When we put our cards on the table, we show something that we have kept hidden. These can be things like our reasons for doing something, our intentions, or our opinions. Now, in a game of cards, luck or chance plays an important part. You must play with the cards you are dealt. This is the case in life, too. Not everything is a choice.

Sometimes we must deal with things that are out of our control. We must play with the cards we are dealt. We can also say, "Play the hand we are dealt." So, luck is part of the game. We cannot know or predict the cards we are dealt. But sometimes, other players cheat. They can do this by stacking the deck.

When you stack the deck, you add cards to the deck that will help you win. This gives you an unfair advantage. In life, we can sometimes feel that things are stacked against us. This means that no matter how hard we try, we still struggle. We feel as though life has dealt us a bad hand, and we must struggle and fight to gain anything at all.

For example, if the deck is stacked against you, the odds are not in your favor. You might have to struggle against all odds to succeed. These are just a few of the idioms English gets from a deck of cards. There are many more, but that's all the time we have today. Keep listening to Words and Their Stories to learn more. Until next time, I'm Ana Mateo.

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.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released a proposed plan to protect the state's famous Joshua trees. Environmentalists say the trees are threatened by wildfires, human development, and climate change.

An early version of the plan calls for avoiding or reducing direct and indirect effects of overgrazing, insect-killing chemical use, and off-roading activity. The plan advises moving trees when projects require their removal or could harm them.

It also calls for identifying and protecting lands where the trees could survive if the climate in Southern California becomes drier and hotter.

In many ways, it's a good, comprehensive plan of the things we need to do if the Western Joshua Tree is going to survive the very, very difficult decades ahead, said Brendan Cummings. He is Conservation Director with the Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Arizona.

The nonprofit group asked the California government in 2019 to list the Western Joshua Tree as threatened under the state's Endangered Species Act. The conservation plan is a requirement by the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act. California lawmakers passed the act last year.

It is the first law in the state to protect a species from the threats of climate change. The law also bars anyone from killing, damaging, or removing a tree without state permission. The proposed plan lists ways to help identify land that should be recognized as most important for conservation.

This includes large areas with Joshua trees or areas with a high density of healthy and adult trees.

The plan suggests placing restrictions on areas where there is low risk of such threats as fires, invasive plants and animals, development, and where pollinators and seed-spreading animals exist.

It aims to identify these lands by December 2025 and place permanent restrictions on 70% of them by 2033.

The plan also calls on land managers and wildlife workers to create methods to reduce and fight wildfires that threaten the trees and lessen effects from rehabilitating burned areas. That includes protecting trees, replanting them, planting other native species, and controlling invasive ones.

The proposed plan says its effectiveness and the survival of the trees will mainly depend on whether reductions can be made in the release of heat-trapping gases. Such emissions come mainly from burning coal, oil, and gas.

Cummings said climate change could destroy most, if not all, of the areas where the trees live if the situation does not change. If emissions are limited as planned, Cummings said, we have a very good chance of saving the species if all the things outlined in this plan are carried out.

And primarily, that's doing what we can to protect as many of them as possible. Approval from California's Fish and Game Commission is necessary for the proposed plan to go into effect. I'm Katie Weaver.

Before we listen to today's lesson of the day, just a quick reminder to all of you to keep going back to our website for additional language lessons and related content. If you like, you can even present questions to be answered by our teachers. Music

And now it's time for the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. My name is Jill Robbins and I'm joined by Andrew Smith. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Jill. 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. Hello, my name is Ana Mateo. Watching and listening carefully to the video series can help you understand and speak English better. And learn about some aspects of American culture. For example, Lesson 20 is called "The Test Drive."

Anna and her friend Penelope go to an auto show. Have you ever been to an auto show, Andrew? You know, I haven't. I've never been, but I have been interested in going. They look interesting. In this video, Anna takes a test drive in a car, which means she drives the car for a short distance to try it out.

At auto shows, it's kind of like a fair to demonstrate new models of cars for people interested in learning about them. So you can expect to see new cars and learn about new features. And nowadays, they're really promoting the electric vehicles. That's right. At this car show, Anna and Penelope are there as reporters. They also mention someone named Rick.

who seems to be the videographer. That's right. Rick created all of the wonderful videos in our first two Let's Learn English series. Let's listen in and find out what Anna and Penelope learn.

That's a great idea. Rick, I think we should use this as the opening shot. Ana, did Ms. Weaver give us instructions for covering the car show? She did. She said that we need to show lots of cars. She said we need to interview people. And she also said to have fun. Those were her exact words. Yeah. She said, fun, Ana. And she is the boss. Okay, Rick, are you ready? Okay, great.

Hello, I'm Ana Mateo. Welcome to the Washington Car Show. People all over town are saying that if you like cars, this is the place to be. So let's see what people are talking about. One of the grammar points in this lesson is reported speech. We hear Ana telling Penelope what Ms. Weaver said.

said that we need to show lots of cars. She said we need to interview people. Let's compare how we tell exactly what someone said, like directly, to reporting what they said indirectly. When we quote a person, we give their exact words. Imagine how Ana could directly quote Ms. Weaver. Ms. Weaver said, you need to show lots of cars. You need to interview people.

In reported speech, we make some changes. We add a reporting verb, which in our example is the word "said." It could also be words such as "tell," "ask," "reply," or any other verbs we use for speech. Then we can use a conjunction like "that." The conjunction is optional as we hear in our examples.

Finally, we say the reporting clause, which often uses a different tense from the original. For example, if the verb is present, we might change it to the past, and we may change the pronoun if the quote used one. That sounds like a lot of changes, but it's not too complicated. Listen again. She said that we need to show lots of cars. She said we need to interview people.

Let me give an example where the verb tense changes. Last week, you told me that you were driving to North Carolina for the weekend. I did. And to report that, you changed the verb tense. I said, I am driving to North Carolina for the weekend. Yeah, and I would say, Andrew told me that he was driving to North Carolina for the weekend. Let's listen to one more example from our story.

First, Anna tells Penelope that Ms. Weaver told them to have fun. Then Penelope asks Anna to tell her exactly what Ms. Weaver said. And she also said to have fun. Those were her exact words. Yeah. She said, have fun, Anna. I think that's because she didn't quite believe her. Yeah. Listeners, let's practice this a little bit.

Jill and I will say a quote, then give you time to change it to reported speech. Then, we'll let you know how it should change. Are you ready? Here's the first one: I am going shopping. Jill said she was going shopping. Jill said she was going to go shopping. Notice the verb changed from "am" to "was." Okay, now it's my turn.

I will wash the dishes after lunch. Andrew said that he would wash the dishes after lunch. Here, the past tense applies to the modal verb will. And the next one. Andrew, will you please make me a cup of tea? Jill asked me to make her a cup of tea. Aha! You changed the reporting verb there to ask. Good job! Jill just said that I did a good job. Wait, wait, that wasn't an example. I was just saying that. Haha!

Well, I guess I'm really on a roll with this reported speech. Now, let's see what happens back at the auto show. I think we're in for some silliness or funny situations, which you can see for yourself if you go to our website and watch the video. Okay, I think we got good interviews. Me too. People all had very different opinions, but they all said they loved us. Anna!

A robot. A robot. A robot. Rick, we have to use the robot in the show. What is your first name? Anna. Anna. You know, what an effort. What an effort to robot dance. How about a round of applause for Anna? I've never seen anyone try so hard. Did you hear that? Hank the robot said that he has never seen anyone dance like me.

I'm sure our listeners can imagine Anna doing that robot dance. And did you notice some more reported speech? I did. Anna said, Hank the robot said that he has never seen anyone dance like me. I bet he hadn't. But now it's time for us to end this podcast. Andrew said it was time to end the podcast. But you can still practice reported speech.

Listen to the radio or TV and take one sentence. Write it or say it to yourself using reported speech. I think that's a good idea, Jill. Also, our listeners can write to us in an email to learningenglish at voanews.com. Thanks for listening to the lesson of the day. If you liked this program, please share it with your family and friends.

And remember that you can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. And that's all the time we have for today's show. But join us again tomorrow for another VOA Learning English program. Thanks for listening. I'm Brian Lynn. And I'm Ana Mateo.

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