Learning English Podcast - December 10, 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, the Health and Lifestyle Report. We close the show with the lesson of the day. And John Russell has a story on a newly identified leading artist from long ago. But first...

The Union Bank of Switzerland UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report for 2024 said the total number of billionaires worldwide had risen to 2,682 from 2,544 a year earlier.

Their worth increased to $14 trillion from $12 trillion. In 2015, their total wealth stood at $6.3 trillion.

The World Bank says that the world's population was just over 8 billion, and its gross domestic product, or GDP, was about $105.4 trillion last year. GDP is a measure of all the goods and services produced in a year.

This shows that a very small group of people holds about 13% of the world's GDP. The UBS report for 2023 showed that new billionaires gained more wealth through inheritance than through entrepreneurship. But most of the year's new billionaires were self-made.

The 2024 report was based on a study of billionaires between June and September and wealth data on the super-rich. It showed the risk of international conflict and inflation were their main worries.

The study also showed that most billionaires see North America as offering the best investment returns over the next year.

In the United States, the number of billionaires jumped to 835 from 751, led by industrial and tech entrepreneurs, with their total wealth climbing to $5.8 trillion from $4.6 trillion.

In mainland China, the number of billionaires dropped to 427 from 520 and their wealth to 1.4 trillion from 1.8 trillion. In 2021, there were 626 in mainland China.

together worth more than $2.5 trillion, the UBS figures for that year said. Benjamin Cavalli of UBS said the decrease was from losses in real estate markets in China. There was also a drop in the value of businesses owned by some of China's wealthiest in an undependable economic period.

India, the world's most populous country, saw its number of billionaires increase during the past year by over a fifth to 185. Their wealth rose by more than 40 percent to almost $906 billion, UBS said.

In Western Europe, Switzerland passed Britain to become the country with the second highest number of billionaires after Germany, increasing its total by 10 to 85. The British total dropped by 1 to 82, UBS said. Germany, with 117 or 8 more billionaires,

France with 46 or 12 more, Italy with 62 or 6 more, and Spain with 27 or 3 more, all gained billionaires. The combined wealth of France's billionaires was highest among Europeans. Crime-solving methods might have provided an answer to an ancient mystery.

the identity of a leading byzantine painter the artist giotto who lived in italy about seven hundred years ago is often considered the father of western painting but at the same time that giotto lived manuel pensilinus was equally important to a different tradition the art of byzantium

the art of byzantium can be found in eastern orthodox churches across greece serbia and other orthodox countries byzantium is an ancient name for the modern city of istanbul nothing is known of pansalinos's life historians now believe pansalinos was a nickname

they now suspect his real name was likely joannes astrapas he was from the northern greek city of thessaloniki work said to be made by pensilinos from the late twelve hundreds and early thirteen hundreds is considered the finest produced in the byzantine empire that ancient empire covered parts of europe and asia

art historians had long suspected that pansalinos could have been a nickname or a pseudonym for a member of the macedonian school of painting in thessaloniki the name means full moon in greek recent research by a greek monk and a language expert have linked pansalinos with macedonian school painter

now handwriting expert christina sotiragoulou has found new evidence she matched lettering on a document thought to be by astrapas with writing on a church painting at mount athos in northern greece the protaton church painting has been considered pansalinos best work

father cosmas simonopetritus is a former administrator at mount athos the religious community is where the protaton church stands he said sotiragoulous and his own research clearly prove pansalinos real identity

was a real person and the name was just the nickname by which joannes astrapas became known simonopetritus told the associated press or a p constantinos vafiades is a professor of byzantine art who was not involved in the research

vafiades said he found strong points in the nickname theory and naming astrapas as the true artist i agree with attributing part of the paintings to joannes astrapas vafiades said

but again there remains much ground for future research into that person because other mount athos monuments from the same period have not yet been sufficiently published and his fellow artists at the time are linked with a rebirth in eastern orthodox art their work brought back forms and skills inherited from ancient times

simonopetritus said astrapas was an extremely gifted painter with deep knowledge the trail started with linking astrapas to the person who wrote a book called the marcian codex g r five hundred sixteen from the early thirteen hundreds the book contains artwork and is hand-written in greek

among the painted pictures or illustrations is a full moon for me that was the main proof simonopetritus said with a name found for the person who produced the manuscript the next step was to compare it to the writing on the painting in the prototon church that has been traditionally linked with

mrs sotiragoulou who is a handwriting expert filled in that blank simonopetritus said but women have for more than one thousand years been banned from entering the mount athos religious community i was forced to study the protato paintings based on photographs sotiragoulou told the a p

sotiragoulou works as a court expert who examines handwriting in criminal cases the first clue came from the greek letter phi the english f in the marcion codex manuscript it's a phi that stands out and is similar in both the manuscript and the protato painting she said

matches also followed with other letters t with its proportions which is bigger covering the other letters and is topped with a curve the proportions of the k but when the phi was revealed the code of the writing was broken and the job became much easier she added

Father Cosmas said that during his duties on Mount Athos, he attended services at the Protaton Church every day. That's where my desire was born, to explore the mystery around the name and the identity of Pencelinos, he said. I'm John Russell. From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report.

At Myosin Marketing in Austin, Texas, the group employee meeting begins with an uncommon activity for a workplace. The members gather on Zoom and the head of the company, Sean Clayton, leads them through a deep breathing exercise.

Clayton says the activity helps his employees relax and to be willing to take creative risks. At first, they thought it was really weird, he said, adding that most people turned off their cameras. But after a couple of weeks, there was a change. The employees said the deep breathing felt good.

Studies show that deep breathing can be an effective way to reduce tension or stress at work. But people may not think about their breathing while on the job. Workers who sit at computers for long periods tend to take shallow breaths as their shoulders slowly rise.

Workers who spend the day on their feet in retail or health care may be too busy to center their attention on breathing. But there is good reason to stop what you're doing and take deep breaths, research suggests. Long-lasting stress can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Experts at the American Heart Association say it can be as harmful as secondhand smoke. Research suggests deep breathing exercises can lower a person's blood pressure and reduce anxiety. There are many benefits to deep breathing. For starters, it is free. It can be done anywhere.

And unlike a 30-minute meditation practice, most deep breathing exercises do not take much time. Also, it gives you something to focus on, your breathing. Experts say that this can help to calm racing thoughts.

Focusing on breathing for one to five minutes can help you clear your mind and let you get back to focusing on the one thing you want to accomplish, said Glenn Levine. He is a heart and blood system doctor and professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

A good way to do deep breathing exercises is outside, Levine said. However, if that is not possible, doing them at a desk works. Instead of focusing on the screen or work, just focus on your breathing. If possible, Levine said, close your eyes. Even very busy people can find time for daily breathing exercises.

lisa marie delaveau is a marketing professional and mother of five she lost her job several months ago and has struggled to find a new one delaveau wakes early most mornings before her children to do breathing exercises if you set a priority for yourself you can make the time delaveau said

with one breathing exercise she breathes in through one nostril and then out through the other she uses a thumb or forefinger to hold one nostril closed at a time it relaxes my mind it makes my mind so full of ease it brings you back to the present moment she added

To get ahead of anxiety before starting her workday, sales representative Lindsay Carlyle of Michigan does breathing exercises with her seven-year-old daughter during their drive to school. They breathe in for seven counts, hold their breath for five, and then breathe out for seven counts.

They repeat this several times. Throughout that process, my shoulders start to drop on their own. And it really is calming, Carlisle said. Susie Yaloff-Schwartz was an overworked magazine editor when her mother-in-law taught her a three-minute meditation method. Yaloff-Schwartz says it changed her life.

She left her career and founded Unplugged Meditation, a Santa Monica, California company with a meditation studio, an app, and programs for corporate customers. When we slow down our breath, we send a signal to our brain that everything's okay, even when it's not, she said.

Another 16-second breathing exercise is called box breathing. You breathe in for four counts, hold for four, breathe out for four counts, and hold for another four. Yalof Schwartz has taught it to people in stressful jobs, including firefighters, police, and doctors.

It is the best thing that you can do at work before you have a meeting, before you send out an email that you wish you didn't send, before you have a difficult conversation, because it just calms you down, gets rid of your negative energy, she said.

Employers such as Coca-Cola, Mattel, and Netflix have used unplug meditation to teach breathing or meditation. It is not always easy for workers to find space for deep breathing exercises. For example, salespeople often work alongside their customers.

Yalov Schwartz suggests doing breathing exercises when making a sale or organizing items. Carlisle, the sales representative, sets a timer on her phone, telling her to breathe deeply. She also keeps a note near her computer that simply says, breathe.

The anxiety is always going to be there, Carlisle said. But at least I know I have one small tool. It sounds so simple and silly, but it works. And that's the Health and Lifestyle Report. I'm Ana Mateo. And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

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. My name is Ana Mateo.

In Lesson 19 of Level 2 of the series, Anna and Pete are going to the theater to watch a movie. Pete does not like it when people talk or make noise in the theater. So before he and Anna go in the theater, Pete asks Anna if she talks during a movie. Hi, Pete. Thanks for the movie invitation. Yeah, sure, Anna.

I love movies. I love the plot. I love the set design. I love the costumes. I love... Anna, I take movies very seriously. You're not one of those people who talks during a movie, are you? No. Good. Anna says she doesn't talk during a movie, but Pete probably does not like any sounds or distractions when he watches a movie.

A distraction is something that takes your attention away from something you want to focus on or concentrate on. And the verb form of this word is distract. Jill, can you give an example of a distraction? That's an easy question. Mobile phones distract people all the time. Very true. And sometimes they can distract people in a movie theater.

So here's another question. If you are in a theater and someone is distracting you by talking or looking at their phone or making noise, how can you politely ask them to stop? Today's lesson answers that question. In general, to make polite requests, we use the words "would" or "could" at the beginning of the question. But there are other ways as well. Andrew,

Would you please play the next part of Lesson 19 for our listeners? That way they can hear more examples of polite ways to ask questions. Sure. Here's Anna and Pete in the movie theater. Listen for the ways Pete asks Anna to stop doing certain things. Look, the previews are starting. I love to see what movies are coming out. Oh, this one looks good. Anna, the previews are part of the movie experience.

So would you mind not talking? Oh, sure. I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? No, there's still a lot of milkshake at the bottom. Anna, would you mind not drinking so loudly? I'll try, but it's really thick. Anna, what are you doing? Pete is getting a little upset with Anna, and he does not try to make his last question polite. Instead, it is very direct. Anna, what are you doing?

But his other questions were more polite. Listen to them again and see if you can hear the phrases he uses to make them sound polite. So would you mind not talking? I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? Would you mind not drinking so loudly? We often use the phrase "would you mind" or "do you mind" to make questions more polite. When we say "would you mind,"

The verb must take the ING form. Jill, would you mind giving our listeners another example of polite requests? Sure, no problem. We can also use the expression, I was wondering, like Pete did. I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? Now let's hear more of Lesson 19. Listen for the phrase, would you mind, plus the ING form of the verb. I don't...

Would you mind opening that a little bit more quietly? Anna, just give it to me. It's not mine. I'm opening it for her. Here. Now, would you mind being more quiet? Excuse me. Would you mind turning down your phone light? Sorry, I forgot to turn my phone off. Oh, no, I dropped it. Where is it? Anna, can you please turn your phone off?

Excuse me, would you mind lending me your phone light for a minute? No, I'll get it. People in the theater are now asking Pete to be quiet. And that's what we call an ironic situation. Because Pete is a person who really wants it to be quiet when he watches movies. In addition to the word ironic, we have another expression for this. We could say the tables have turned on Pete.

That means the thing you want or the thing you are fighting against affects you negatively and you don't get what you want. We just heard four more examples of questions with the expression, would you mind? Here they are again. Would you mind opening that a little bit more quietly? Now, would you mind being more quiet? Excuse me.

Would you mind turning down your phone light? Excuse me, would you mind lending me your phone light for a minute? Finally, Pete gets upset and loudly tells everyone in the theater that he is not a person who makes noise in a movie theater. But he says it so loudly that a security guard politely asks Pete to leave.

Excuse me, sir. You can't yell in a movie theater. Would you mind coming with me? You're kicking me out? Me? But I'm always the quiet one in the movie. Poor Pete. He's had a really bad day at the movies. But we hope you've had a good time with the lesson of the day on our podcast. To review, here are some ways we can ask questions politely.

We can begin the question with the words "could" or "would," like this: Could you please explain some more? Sure. We can also start the question with the expression "I was wondering." I was wondering if you could explain even more. Sure, no problem. We can also use the expression "would you mind" plus the -ing form of the verb. Would you mind telling our listeners where they can learn more?

Sure. Just visit our website and you can download a lesson plan for Lesson 19. It explains more about polite questions. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. 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