Learning English Podcast - January 12, 2025
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Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Brian Lynn. I'm Ana Mateo. This program is made for English learners, so we speak a bit slower, and we use words and sentences especially written for people learning English.

Here are the stories we have for you on today's program. Andrew Smith brings us a story about the dangers of drinking alcohol. My co-host Brian Lynn brings us a science story. I will return with words and their stories. Today I talk about Jack Frost. We will finish our 30 minutes together with the lesson of the day.

Today, we teach you about tag questions. You've been wondering about them, haven't you? But first, here is Andrew Smith. Past research suggested drinking alcohol in moderate amounts could be good for the heart.

But a growing number of public health experts now advise people to limit alcohol intake as much as possible to improve health. One of those experts is Dr. Timothy Namy. He is with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Namy told the Associated Press, "Drinking less is a great way to be healthier." Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for changing his agency's existing health warning on alcoholic drinks to include cancer risks. Such a change would require approval from Congress.

The Surgeon General's proposed change is linked to research suggesting that drinking alcohol raises the risk of several types of cancer, including colon, liver, breast, mouth, and throat. Alcohol breaks down in the body into a substance called acetaldehyde.

This chemical can damage cells and stop them from repairing themselves. The process can create conditions for cancer to grow. Namy said estimates show thousands of U.S. deaths could be prevented each year if people followed government dietary guidelines on drinking alcohol.

the guidelines advise men to limit themselves to two drinks or fewer per day and women to one drink or fewer per day an example of one drink would be equal to one twelve ounce can of beer a five ounce glass of wine or one serving of liquor

U.S. Surgeon General Morthy noted there are about 100,000 alcohol-related cancer cases in the United States each year, and about 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths are reported yearly.

As you consider whether or how much to drink, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to cancer risk, Morthy wrote on the social media service X. Medical experts say the idea that moderate drinking can cause health improvements or benefits came from imperfect studies.

The research compared groups of people based on how much they drank with amounts usually measured at only one point in time. Since some earlier studies did not follow rules about what groups were measured, researchers say they did not effectively prove cause and effect.

Namy said people who report drinking moderately generally have higher levels of education, higher earnings, and better resources for health care. He explained that when those elements are considered, the benefits tend to disappear. Another problem, Namy noted, was that most studies did not include younger people.

Almost half of people who die from alcohol-related causes do so before the age of 50. Namy said the studied groups did not effectively represent all drinkers. This likely created "an appearance of a benefit for moderate drinkers that is not real," he added.

Health guidelines related to alcohol intake have wide differences from country to country. But the overall message today is that drinking less is better for health. Britain, France, Denmark, Holland, and Australia recently examined new evidence and lowered their guidelines for safe amounts of alcohol.

Ireland plans to begin requiring cancer warnings on alcohol containers starting in 2026. Carina Ferreira Borges is an advisor on alcohol for the World Health Organization in Europe. She said scientists had changed their minds from earlier research.

This is because more recent studies suggest drinking alcohol is linked to over 200 health conditions, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and injuries. I'm Andrew Smith.

NASA says a spacecraft that has been examining the sun's outermost atmosphere recently got closer to our Earth's star than any past explorer has.

The American Space Agency announced its Parker Solar Probe passed within 6.1 million kilometers of the sun's outer corona on December 24. Mission leaders established communication with the spacecraft after the operation and said the orbiter was safe.

NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018. Its mission is to study the sun's powerful corona and solar wind. Solar wind is created by a continuous flow of charged particles called plasma into space from the corona.

in twenty twenty one nasa announced the orbiter had passed into the solar atmosphere for the first time researchers said at that time the spacecraft had successfully touched the sun

Parker was believed to be about 13 million kilometers from the center of the Sun when it crossed over into the Sun's outer atmosphere. In a statement, NASA's associate administrator, Nikki Fox, praised the spacecraft's latest pass-by of the Sun.

Flying this close to the sun is a historic moment in humanity's first mission to a star, she said. Fox leads the agency's science mission directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Parker Solar Probe is believed to have traveled at speeds up to 692,000 kilometers per hour during the mission. NASA said this was faster than any human-made object has ever moved.

fox said she hopes data collected by the spacecraft can help scientists better understand how the sun behaves and influences other elements in our solar system and beyond

By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space.

Fox added that such studies can provide valuable information about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet. NASA's statement noted the agency's earlier preparation and operations were all leading up to the latest mission.

To help it get into the right position, the Parker Solar Probe received assistance from several flybys of the planet Venus. The last flyby happened on November 6, 2024.

"These gravitational assists had put the spacecraft an ideal distance from the Sun every three months," NASA explained. "This distance was close enough to study our Sun's mysterious processes, but not to become overwhelmed by the Sun's heat and damaging radiation."

Developers of the spacecraft say it was built with a shield made with carbon material to protect it from the extreme heat released by the sun's corona. The shield was designed to survive temperatures reaching 1,400 degrees Celsius.

NASA says the data-gathering instruments are placed behind the shield. In 2023, scientists announced they had learned new information about solar wind from data collected by Parker. Data showed that solar wind can reach speeds up to 1.6 million kilometers per hour.

Now from VOA Learning English.

It's time for Words and Their Stories. If this is your first time with us, this program explores words and expressions commonly used in American English. We take a look at where they come from and how best to use them.

So, as winter officially comes to half the world, today we celebrate an expression that means winter is coming. When temperatures drop and a cold snap comes, that means one thing, Jack Frost has arrived. Jack Frost represents the coming of dark, cold days. He is the personification of winter, a human form of winter weather.

So when we say Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, we mean that you feel the cold, icy effects of winter on your face. When a frost or deep freeze comes, you had better bundle up. You should wear enough clothing to stay warm. Now, Jack Frost does indeed bring the cold of winter, but he can also create beauty in nature.

Some traditions claim that Jack Frost is responsible for leaving ice and snow on windows, trees, the ground, anywhere it will stick. While we know frost is a natural event, it is fun to think that an imaginary creature named Jack Frost, or another name in some other cultures, changed the world into a winter wonderland.

That is what poet Hannah Flagg Gould must have been thinking when she wrote a poem called The Frost. Here are parts of that poem. The frost looked forth one still clear night, and he said, Now I shall be out of sight. Then he went to the mountain and powdered its crest. He climbed up the trees, and their boughs he dressed with diamonds and pearls.

With all of its beauty and extremes, winter is a great subject for songs and poetry. But now, let's listen to how we use these wintry expressions in conversation. It is freezing outside. This cold snap came out of nowhere. I don't care how cold it is. I'm going on a hot date. Is that all you're wearing?

You need to bundle up, or Jack Frost will be nipping at more than your nose. Oh, I'll be fine. I'm wearing my new coat. That is not a winter coat. I mean, it looks great, but it's much too thin. You will catch a cold. I know. You can wear my new down coat. It keeps you warm up to minus 30 degrees Celsius.

I'm going on a date. Not exploring the Arctic Circle, thanks, but I'm not wearing that big, thick black coat. Besides, the taxi will take me from door to door. But what if something goes wrong? What if the car skids on the ice and is involved in an accident? You'll have to walk to the restaurant. You might freeze to death.

No, I won't. I'll just call an Uber to come and get me. And what if that vehicle runs out of fuel? Then you'll have to walk to get more. No, the Uber driver will. I'll just call another car.

What if that new Uber driver is a pregnant woman and she goes into labor? You'll have to help. You'll have to wait outside in the cold until help arrives and the roads are already covered with five centimeters of snow. It could take the ambulance an hour to get to you. If you're wearing that thin coat, you'll catch your death. The EMTs will find you frozen solid like a block of

Stop, stop. You win. Give me your coat. Good decision. Here's my ride. Don't forget gloves, a hat and a scarf. Okay, goodbye. Have fun. And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Ana Mateo. My name is Ana Mateo. And my name is Jill Robbins.

And I'm Andrew Smith. You're listening to the Learning English Podcast. Welcome to the part of the show where we help you do more with our series, Let's Learn English. The series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. People all over the world like to talk about the weather, don't they, Jill? They do. It's an important part of daily life. You know what else people like to talk about? What's that? Other people.

That's true. And they like watching them too. In lesson 15 of Let's Learn English, Ana gets to enjoy some nice weather and watch all kinds of people walk by. Let's listen. People from all over the world come to Washington DC.

When I'm at work, I love eating lunch outside. I like to watch people walking by. They all look very different. Today, my friend Ashley is eating lunch with me. Ashley, today the weather is beautiful, isn't it? Yes, it is. Ooh, we have to return to work. No, we have time. Let's people watch a little more.

It helps that Anna lives in Washington, D.C., doesn't it? Yeah, it sure does. She can see people from many different countries almost every day. In Lesson 15, it also helps that the weather is nice. She mentions it to her friend Ashley, and then Anna's boss, Miss Weaver, mentions it to Anna. Ashley, today the weather is beautiful, isn't it? Yes, it is.

It's a beautiful day, isn't it? Yes. Yes it is, Miss Weaver. I noticed that each of them used a tag question when they asked about the weather, didn't they? That's right, they did. And I think we should explain a bit about this. I do too. Okay, for example, let's say that it is a sunny and beautiful day. If I say to Jill, "It's a nice day," Jill would agree.

I can agree by saying something like, "Yes, it sure is." So, Jill agrees with me. Tag questions basically ask if the listener agrees with the speaker. So, if I say, "It's a nice day, isn't it?" I'm asking Jill if she agrees that it's a nice day. So, my answer would be the same as before because I agree. I could just say, "Yes, it is."

But if I want to stress how nice it is, I might say, "It sure is." Tag questions might be confusing for some learners if they try to get the meaning based on the exact words spoken. When I say, "Isn't it?" which is the shortened form of "Is it not?" The word "not" can be confusing because in a tag question, it actually means something different from "not."

Yep, the tag question really means the same thing as adding the short question, right? That's true. You can also think about it this way. If I say "isn't it" at the end of a sentence, I'm really saying "Is this in fact true?" So, listen to these two examples. Example 1: This restaurant is really good. Is this in fact true? Example 2:

This restaurant is really good, isn't it? Example 1 and Example 2 mean the exact same thing. The speaker wants to know if the listener agrees with the idea that the restaurant is in fact good. You're listening to the Learning English Podcast. We also use tag questions with the auxiliary "do," don't we, Jill?

Yes, we do. Let's give our listeners some more examples of tag questions, but with different forms of the verbs. Okay, I'll start. You like teaching English, don't you? Yes, I do. That professor talks a lot, doesn't she? Yeah, she sure does. That was a great concert, wasn't it? Yeah, it sure was. We don't have to work tomorrow, do we? No, we don't.

In this example, the tag or end of my question was simply "Do we?" The NOT was put in the first part of the question when I said "We don't have to work tomorrow." The NOT goes at the end tag for positive statements like "The weather is nice, isn't it?" and in the beginning part for negative statements. And there is another case we should explain.

If we are not asking if someone agrees, like about the nice weather, but instead are really trying to confirm if something is in fact true, then we usually put the "not" into the first part of the question and there is no tag at the end. Alright, let's give an example. I can say, "Doesn't Michael work in California?" That means Andrew thinks Michael does in fact work in California, but he is asking to check.

"Doesn't Michael work in California?" means, "Is it in fact the case that Michael works in California?" Okay, by now I think we've explained enough about tag questions, don't you? Yes, indeed. But what about people watching? Anna likes to do that, and so does her boss, Ms. Weaver. They just look at people for a brief moment. They don't really stare at them. That would be rude, wouldn't it?

In general, that would be rude, especially if the people are close by. So, we usually just look at a person for a few moments, but it does depend on the distance. Is people watching something you like to do too, Andrew? Um, yeah, sometimes, especially in places like airports or tourist areas like Washington, where there are a mix of people from different areas.

And I think that when you really know a culture deeply, you can make some good guesses about what country or even what area of a country people are from, sometimes just based on their clothes. That's true. You are more aware of small details. For example, I spent some time in France, and I can often notice if someone is from France just by some very small details in clothing and the way they walk and move their body.

I don't even have to hear them speak. That's because you've seen more details of French culture. Yes, but on the other hand, I think we all need to be careful not to jump to conclusions about other people just based on the way they look. Especially if that leads you to stereotype or overgeneralize about other people. Each person has their own individual story to tell.

You know, this is a big, deep topic that I think is worth a longer discussion. Why don't we continue with this in another Learning English podcast soon? I think that's a good idea. There is a lot to talk about. Oh, but before we go, I just thought of another really good place to people watch. What's that? It rhymes with the number two. Hmm, it rhymes with two. The zoo? Yes.

Sometimes I think it's more fun to watch the people watching the animals than to watch the animals themselves. I think you're right. But, you know, that's kind of a tricky sentence you just said. Let's play it again for our listeners. Let's play it four times. Okay, here we go. Okay, but before we do, here's something our listeners can try.

After you hear the sentence the first time, try to speak along with the sentence the next three times the sentence repeats. Or try to write down what you hear and then play it again and try to repeat it. Here's the sentence: Sometimes I think it's more fun to watch the people watching the animals than to watch the animals themselves.

Sometimes I think it's more fun to watch the people washing the animals than to watch the animals themselves.

Well, like we said, there's lots more we could say about people watching and cultures. So listen for that discussion in another Learning English podcast soon. And be sure to keep learning English with VOA Learning English. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. And that's all the time we have for today's show. Thanks for listening.

Some content in today's show is from the Associated Press or Reuters News Agency. And don't forget to join us again tomorrow when we will have more stories from around the world aimed at helping you learn English. I'm Ana Mateo. And I'm Brian Lynn.