Learning English Podcast - February 22, 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 this program, Andrew Smith answers a Chinese listener's question about the words expand, extend, stretch, and enlarge.

Then, Faith Perlow and Jill Robbins present ideas for talking about a special day in everyone's lives. Their birthday. They also talk about asking a person's age and birthday activities.

then hear our american stories program part i of rapaccini's daughter by nathaniel hawthorne but first here is andrew this week on ask a teacher we answer a question from ann in china here is part of ann's question hello teachers

could you please help me understand the difference between extend expand stretch and enlarge when i describe an activity that makes something larger than its current state thank you

we can use the four verbs anne asked about to express an increase in physical size or amount we can also use them to express increasing the time an activity takes extend we often use the verb extend to talk about increasing the amount of time for an activity or program

For example: Officials want to extend the school year by six weeks. We can use the verb extend to express an increase in people, things, or ideas. Consider the following examples: The new rule extends to all employees in the company. They want to extend the benefits of freedom to people around the world.

This research will extend our knowledge. We can also use extend to express the distance or the area something reaches. For example: The Rocky Mountains extend from the United States into Canada. expand We use expand to express an increase in the size of a project or program.

And, like extend, we can use expand to talk about including more people. Consider the following example. Officials want to expand the program to include people from developing countries. We commonly use expand in connection with business or industry. We want to expand our business to reach more customers. Stretch.

We can use the phrasal verb "stretch out" to express increasing the time to continue an activity. I wanted to stretch out my vacation for an extra two or three days. We can use the verb "stretch" to express improving our ability to do something. Learning a new language will stretch your mind and improve your problem-solving abilities.

note that when we use the verb stretch in this way we communicate the idea that the improvement might be a little difficult or take a lot of effort enlarge unlike the verb extend we do not use enlarge to talk about an increase in time

Instead, it simply means to increase in size or scope. Scope means all of the things connected to an activity or project. Consider the following example. They have enlarged their research team to examine the effects of pollution on animals. For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English?

How are you trying to expand your knowledge? We want to hear from you. Send us an email at learningenglish at voanews.com. And please let us know where you are from, too. And that's Ask a Teacher. I'm Andrew Smith. Today on Everyday Grammar...

We will learn to describe our birthdays. When people ask us the question, "When is your birthday?" we can answer a few different ways. We can use the season: spring, summer, autumn/fall, or winter, the month, or the day. My birthday is in the summer. Her father's birthday is in March. Last Sunday was her birthday.

His birthday is the 4th of May. Remember that the word birthday is different from birth date. Birth date is the exact date, like December 7th, 1997. The word birthday can be the date or you can answer more generally. For example, my niece's birthday is in August. Her birth date is August 3rd.

When we want to say how old we are, we can use the present or future verb tenses depending on when our birthdays are. We can use the past tense with the verb turn. If we are talking about a future birthday, say next year or in a few months, we can answer the question of how old will you be with I will be

plus age or I'll be plus number years old. In 2023, I will be 36 years old. On your birthday, you can use the present tense. Debra is 55 today. For the past tense, we can use the structure of the verb be plus age years old

but we generally use it to talk about past ages in reference to something else. We can also use the verb "turn" to talk about how old we are. In this way, "turn" means to reach or pass a certain age. Therefore, we can use the past tense with "turn" for talking about birthdays. For example, I turned 35 this year.

This means that my birthday was in the past. I am still considered to be 35 years old after my birthday. In the present tense, we can use TURN to say that a birthday is today, as in: Bread turns 60 today. And to express a future birthday, we can use the same form, the present tense: Kristin turns 41 this year.

This means that sometime this year, the near future, Kristen will be 41 years old. We can use the modal verb of "will" with "turn" to express a future birthday. I will turn 36 next year. When talking about making plans for a birthday, someone may ask you, "What do you want to do for your birthday?"

You can answer with ideas of plans that you would like to do. You can use the expressions "I want to" or "I would like to" to be more polite. You can even use the expression "I + be going to" if you have already made the plans yourself. She wants to go to a French restaurant for her birthday. I'm going to celebrate with my friends later.

If your birthday has already passed, someone may ask you, "How was your birthday?" You can answer by describing your birthday with an adjective. My birthday party was wonderful. Then they may ask you, "What did you do for your birthday?" You can answer in the past tense. For my birthday this year, we went to an amusement park. If someone wants to get you a gift for your birthday,

They may ask you, "What do you want for your birthday?" "What do you want on your birthday?" If you want something for your birthday, that means a gift, generally. If you want something on your birthday, that could be a party or to make some type of plans to celebrate on the actual date. On my birthday next year, I would like to go to the countryside. Please don't buy me anything for my birthday.

After your birthday, people may ask you what you received as a gift for your birthday. What did you get for your birthday? What did you get on your birthday? You could say that you got or received something. I got a cat for my birthday. Or you could say what you got and who gave it to you. My mom sent me a lovely birthday card in the mail. Here's how you might tell someone about another's birthday.

Her husband gave her jewelry for her birthday. Let's end this report with a homework assignment. In 5 to 8 sentences, write about your birthday this year. Try to use ideas that you have learned about in today's report. You can use the question headings as your guide. Remember to use the correct verb tense depending on when your birthday is. Send your writing to our email address.

[email protected]. We will select one piece of writing and provide feedback and suggestions in a future report. I'm Faith Perlow. And I'm Jill Robbins. 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.

Next is our American Stories series. In this podcast, you will hear the first part of a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a classic American writer from the 1800s.

Hawthorne wrote about serious issues like life and death, love, sacrifice, and punishment. Shep O'Neill introduces the story that was first published in 1844. Now, the special English program, American Stories. Our story today is called Rappaccini's Daughter.

It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We will tell the story in two parts. Here is Kay Gallant with the first part of our story. Many years ago, a young man named Giovanni Guascunti left his home in Naples to study in northern Italy.

He rented a small room on the top floor of a dark and ancient palace. Long ago, the building had belonged to a noble family. Now, an old woman, Signora Elisabetta, rented its rooms to students at the University of Padua. Giovanni's room had a small window.

From it, he could see a large garden that had many plants and flowers. "'Does the garden belong to you?' he asked Signora Elisabetta one day. "'Oh, no,' she said quickly. "'That garden belongs to the famous doctor Giacomo Rappaccini. People say he uses those plants to make strange kinds of medicine.'

He lives in that small brown house in the garden with his daughter Beatrice. Giovanni often sat by his window to look at the garden. He had never seen so many different kinds of plants. They all had enormous green leaves and magnificent flowers in every color of the rainbow. Giovanni's favorite plant was the

was in a white marble vase near the house. It was covered with big purple flowers. One day, while Giovanni was looking out his window, he saw an old man in a black cape walking in the garden. The old man was tall and thin. His face was an unhealthy yellow color. His black eyes were very cold.

The old man wore thick gloves on his hands and a mask over his mouth and nose. He walked carefully among the plants as if he were walking among wild animals or poisonous snakes. Although he looked at the flowers very closely, he did not touch or smell any of them. When the old man arrived at the plant with the big purple flowers,

He stopped. He took off his mask and called loudly, Beatrice, come help me. I am coming, father. What do you want? Answered a warm young voice from inside the house. A young woman came into the garden. Her thick dark hair fell around her shoulders in curls. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were large and black.

She seemed full of life, health and energy as she walked among the plants. Giovanni thought she was as beautiful as the purple flowers in the marble vase. The old man said something to her. She nodded her head as she touched and smelled the flowers that her father had been so careful to avoid.

Several weeks later, Giovanni went to visit Pietro Baglioni, a friend of his father's. Professor Baglioni taught medicine at the university. During the visit, Giovanni asked about Dr. Rappaccini. "He is a great scientist," Professor Baglioni replied, "but he is also a dangerous man." "Why?" asked Giovanni. The older man shook his head slowly.

because Rappaccini cares more about science than he does about people. He has created many terrible poisons from the plants in his garden. He thinks he can cure sickness with these poisons. It is true that several times he has cured a very sick person that everyone thought would die.

But Rappaccini's medicine has also killed many people. I think he would sacrifice any life, even his own, for one of his experiments. But what about his daughter? Giovanni said, I'm sure he loves her. The old professor smiled at the young man. So, he said, you have heard about Beatrice Rappaccini.

People say she is very beautiful, but few men in Padua have ever seen her. She never leaves her father's garden. Giovanni left Professor Baglioni's house as the sun was setting. On his way home, he stopped at a flower shop where he bought some fresh flowers. He returned to his room and sat by the window. Very little sunlight was left. The garden was quiet.

The purple flowers on Giovanni's favorite plant seemed to glow in the evening's fading light. Then someone came out of the doorway of the little brown house. It was Beatrice. She entered the garden and walked among the plants. She bent to touch the leaves of a plant or to smell a flower. Rappaccini's daughter seemed to grow more beautiful with each step.

When she reached the purple plant, she buried her face in its flowers. Giovanni heard her say, ''Give me your breath, my sister. The ordinary air makes me weak, and give me one of your beautiful flowers.'' Beatrice gently broke off one of the largest flowers. As she lifted it to put it in her dark hair, a few drops of liquid from the flower fell to the ground.

One of the drops landed on the head of a tiny lizard crawling near the feet of Beatrice, where a moment the small animal twisted violently. Then it moved no more. Beatrice did not seem surprised. She sighed and placed the flower in her hair. Giovanni leaned out of the window so he could see her better.

At this moment, a beautiful butterfly flew over the garden wall. It seemed to be attracted by Beatrice and flew once around her head. Then the insect's bright wings stopped and it fell to the ground dead. Beatrice shook her head sadly. Suddenly, she looked up at Giovanni's window. She saw the young man looking at her.

Giovanni picked up the flowers he had bought and threw them down to her. Young lady, he said, wear these flowers as a gift from Giovanni Guasconti. Thank you, Beatrice answered. She picked up the flowers from the ground and quickly ran to the house. She stopped at the door for a moment to wave shyly at Giovanni. It seemed to him...

that his flowers were beginning to turn brown in her hands. For many days, the young man stayed away from the window that looked out on Rappaccini's garden. He wished he had not talked to Beatrice because now he felt under the power of her beauty. He was a little afraid of her, too. He could not forget how the little lizard and the butterfly had died.

One day, while he was returning home from his classes, he met Professor Baglione on the street. "'Well, Giovanni,' the old man said, "'have you forgotten me?' Then he looked closely at the young man. "'What is wrong, my friend? Your appearance has changed since the last time we met.' It was true. Giovanni had become very thin. His face was white, and

and his eyes seemed to burn with fever. As they stood talking, a man dressed in a long black cape came down the street. He moved slowly, like a person in poor health. His face was yellow, but his eyes were sharp and black. It was the man Giovanni had seen in the garden. As he passed them, the old man nodded coldly to Professor Baglioni,

But he looked at Giovanni with a great deal of interest. ''It's Dr. Rappaccini,'' Professor Baglioni whispered after the old man had passed them. ''Has he ever seen your face before?'' Giovanni shook his head. ''No,'' he answered. ''I don't think so.'' Professor Baglioni looked worried. ''I think he has seen you before. I know that cold look of his.''

He looks the same way when he examines an animal he has killed in one of his experiments. Giovanni, I will bet my life on it. You are the subject of one of Rappaccini's experiments. Giovanni stepped away from the old man. You are joking, he said. No, I'm serious. The professor took Giovanni's arm. Be careful, my young friend.

"'You are in great danger.' Giovanni pulled his arm away. "'I must be going,' he said. "'Good night.' As Giovanni hurried to his room, he felt confused and a little frightened. Signora Elisabetta was waiting for him outside his door. She knew he was interested in Beatrice. "'I have good news for you,' she said.'

I know where there is a secret entrance into Rappaccini's garden. Giovanni could not believe his ears. Where is it? He asked. Show me the way. You have just heard part one of the story called Rappaccini's Daughter. It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and adapted for special English by Donna DeSantis. Your storyteller was Kegeland.

Listen next week for the final part of our story. This is Shep O'Neill. ¶¶

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...