Learning English Podcast - January 28, 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 today's program, Ana Mateo has a story about an increasing interest in natural elements in design. As a result, building designers and others are including trees in their work, aiming to bring nature to more people. Then, in many parts of the world, it is a time for seasonal infections like cold and flu.

Katie and I give some advice on how to avoid getting sick. Finally, Jill Robbins and Andrew Smith bring us the lesson of the day. They give some tips about communicating and summarizing. But first, here is Ana. There is a growing movement worldwide to use plants in building design to establish closer connections with nature.

and soften hard city styles. The movement also seeks to improve designs to help protect the environment and increase personal wellness. Many of the efforts by architects and designers have centered on one natural element, trees.

examples of such design can be found in many places including new york city a building in manhattan that houses the ford foundation has a twelve-story light-filled entrance area or atrium

It is also filled with plants and flowers, including magnolias, eucalyptus, jacaranda, cryptomeria, ironbark, and pear trees. Another example sits within New York City's Brookfield Place Shopping Center.

The center's main atrium includes a collection of 12-meter-tall Washingtonia palm trees. In Singapore, the city-state's Jeul Changi Airport offers travelers an inviting environment. It has 2,500 trees native to nations including Madagascar, Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The airport includes a 2.4 hectare indoor forest with walking paths. Some apartments and mixed-use buildings are also putting trees and other greenery into their designs. Such buildings are sometimes called "green scrapers," a term that comes from the word "skyscraper."

In Milan, Italy, architect Stefano Bueri designed Bosco Verticale, a 44-story building with 800 trees and other greenery. In the Netherlands, he also built the Trudeau Vertical Forest. This is a low-income apartment building with trees growing on all sides. Similar changes are also happening inside private homes.

In some, trees are brought right indoors. In others, outdoor trees are carefully placed as important partners in the building plan. Some architects even build homes around existing trees. Others plant one or more trees inside the home. And some architects or designers imagine natural settings indoors by using parts of trees.

These designs are meant to create the look and feel of real wood, while bringing feelings of peace and calm. Yoko Okada is an architect at New York City's Oda Architecture. She told the Associated Press that she and her co-workers aim to bring outdoor elements indoors as often as they can.

There's nothing more calming than being surrounded by nature, Okada said. She added that a living tree indoors can bring peace and happiness as people watch it grow and change. Another design example came from KAA Design Group in Los Angeles.

a team from the company created a modern home that uses the property's existing trees such as cork oaks rare tory pines and magnolias one very large old cork oak sits in the center of the property at first the owners did not like the look and said they wanted the tree gone

one of the company's partners grant kirkpatrick had to persuade the homeowners to keep it kirkpatrick explained he succeeded by pointing out that the tree was a three hundred year old antique that should be featured rather than removed the driveway on that property also offers a calming design

A black pine tree rises up from the driveway like a piece of natural art. In addition, views from almost every window in the house feature the beautiful nature outdoors. Okada says she suggests people do not plant a full-size tree in their home without first seeking expert advice.

She notes that a living tree will only do well if certain conditions, such as air, light, and soil, are right. Okada added that a living tree needs to be supported by proper infrastructure to stay alive and avoid home damage. She also urges people to heavily research a tree's natural environment

to avoid drawing in unwanted pests. Kirkpatrick noted that planting a tree indoors can be difficult. He explained that at least 1.2 meters of soil depth is needed, along with lots of natural light and the right temperature. Kirkpatrick said he worked on one property that experienced a serious fire in 2016.

His team decided to use parts from one of the burned manzanita trees in the interior design. The piece was painted black and placed inside the property. He said it now represents an eye-catching natural art piece. I'm Ana Mateo. Influenza, or the flu, COVID-19,

norovirus, and the common cold easily spread throughout the winter season. Knowing what these infections are and how they spread can help us avoid them. The Associated Press has listed some things anyone can do to keep healthy and to know more about these infections.

Some signs or symptoms of a cold, the flu, COVID-19, or norovirus are similar. This can make it hard to know what is making us sick. However, some symptoms are unmistakable. Norovirus spreads through polluted food, water, and surfaces, including the skin.

the virus causes vomiting diarrhea and stomach pain the sickness can last for about one to three days the common cold can be caused by several different kinds of viruses and can include several symptoms

these include a runny nose congestion cough sneezing and pain in the throat head and other parts of the body it can also cause higher than normal body temperature or a fever the common cold usually lasts less than a week the flu is caused by influenza viruses that are always changing

Infection leads to fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, and feeling tired. Flu symptoms usually hit more quickly than cold symptoms. They can last from a few days to two weeks.

COVID-19 can cause fever, chills, cough, congestion, tiredness, and throat and head pain. Other signs of COVID are the loss of smell or taste, difficulty breathing, nausea, or vomiting. The sickness can last for several days.

The respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, can make people sick for one or two weeks. The signs include runny nose, congestion, coughing, sneezing, breathing problems, fever, and a loss of appetite. So, how can we avoid infections?

Experts say people should wash their hands carefully and often with a cleanser such as soap. Clean hands are very important to reducing the spread of norovirus, colds, flu, and COVID-19.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this is especially true after using the bathroom, eating, or preparing food. Make sure you take enough time to wash your hands. It should take at least 20 seconds to complete the job.

If you do not have soap and water available, cleansers called hand sanitizers are a good substitute. The sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol to be effective against most of these viruses. An exception is norovirus, which requires a stronger sanitizer.

To avoid norovirus, you must immediately clean surfaces that have come in contact with infected food or bodily fluids. The CDC advises disinfecting things with a chlorine bleach solution or one of the products listed on the Environmental Protection Agency website.

do not forget to wash any clothing that has come in contact with vomit or other bodily waste use hot water and soap then wash your hands again with colds and flu it is best to repeatedly clean surfaces that are touched or used often

These include doorknobs, light switches, kitchen workspaces, children's playthings, cell phones, and other objects around the home. Use household cleaning products that contain soap or detergent and follow up with a sanitizer. The CDC has more advice on how to clean.

COVID-19 spreads through the air in small drops and particles. The CDC says there is low risk of getting the virus from surfaces. Viruses can spread through talking, coughing, and sneezing. So cover your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. Then wash your hands.

Do not touch your face. If you have viruses on your unwashed hands and touch your face, eyes, or nose, they can get into your body. Your likelihood of getting sick will increase. You might consider a vaccine if one is available. Updated COVID-19 vaccines are available.

Yearly flu shots for people 6 months and older are also available. For adults 60 and older or people who are pregnant, you might want to get the RSV vaccine. There is no vaccine for norovirus or the common cold.

Your immune system may not work as well if you are lacking enough sleep, water, or are experiencing high levels of tension, rest, sleep, and drink enough water. If you do get sick, you can take a test to find out if you have COVID-19 or influenza.

It is important to know if you have a virus that could be treated with available medicines. The drug Paxlovid treats COVID-19. Tamiflu is used to treat flu. Above all, if you have symptoms of any of these sicknesses, stay at home and away from other people.

This will help stop the spread of viruses. To treat a cold, flu, or COVID-19, rest and drink fluids. You can take pain medicine to lower a fever or to ease pain. Humidifier machines, which increase the amount of water in the air, can also help ease symptoms.

There is no medication for norovirus. You need to replace fluids lost because of the sickness. Drink as much water and other liquids as possible. Seek medical help if you notice you have a dry mouth and throat, are not expelling liquid waste easily, or feel dizzy when standing.

I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 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. My name is Anna 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. In the lessons we have been watching lately, Ana has been trying new things at work. In Lesson 18, she tried reading the news.

And the best word to describe that experience is challenging. Miss Weaver asked Anna to read the news without showing her feelings. Anna is very expressive, so that was difficult. I hope her boss gives her another opportunity in this lesson. Let's watch the beginning of lesson 19, a lesson we call, "When Do I Start?" Anna is talking with her boss on the phone

to explain why she is late coming to work. Summer in Washington, D.C. It's and sunny. I always ride the metro to work. Riding the metro is, but today it's closed. So I am walking to work.

Ms. Weaver, I am late this morning. The metro is closed, so I am walking to work. That's too bad. It's really hot today. Yes, it is. When you arrive, please come to my office. I have important news to tell you. Of course. Goodbye. My boss has news for me. The question is, is it good news or bad news? Hmm.

This is a phrase you will often hear in jokes and daily conversation. We talk about something being good news or bad news and give our listener a choice to hear one of them first. What do you think she will hear, Andrew? I think she might hear some bad news since she had so many problems trying to read the news objectively, as we said in our last podcast.

Let's watch and find out. Hello, Ms. Weaver. Anna, I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want to hear first? The good news. No. Okay, the bad news. Notice the way Ms. Weaver asked Anna to choose. She said, which do you want to hear first? If we have some difficult news or criticism to tell someone,

we can add a more pleasant comment to make it easier to take. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right? Let's see what the bad news is first. The bad news is you are not good at reading the news. Oh, I am very sorry to hear that. So, starting next month, you will not read the news.

Next month is July. You are firing me in July. No, I am not firing you in July or in August or in September. That is the good news. Okay, you are not firing me. I am not reading the news. What will I be doing? Once again, you're listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. I'm Jill Robbins.

If any of our listeners are not familiar with the word Anna uses here, firing, it means when someone is ordered to leave their job. Here we heard good news and bad news. The good news was that Anna will not lose her job. The bad news is Anna is not very good at reading the news. I wonder what new position Anna will have. Did you notice how Anna summarized what Ms. Weaver says?

or what she thinks she said. This is a skill we call summarizing. That means saying something you read or heard again in a shorter and simpler way. A lot of school assignments involve summarizing. In fact, you could say a big part of our job here at VOA Learning English is summarizing. We take news stories and put them into simpler sentences.

And Anna summarized what she heard Ms. Weaver say as a way of confirming her understanding. Okay, you are not firing me. I am not reading the news. What will I be doing? You're listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. I'm Andrew Smith.

Maybe Ms. Weaver should review Ana's skills and try to find something she's more able to do. Great idea, Andrew. I think you'll be happy with the next clip then. Well, you are good at asking questions. You are good at talking to people. You are good at showing your feelings. And you are great at being silly.

Thank you, Ms. Weaver. But what does all that mean? I have a new assignment for you. Your skills are perfect for a new show. A children's show. A children's show? That... When do I start? You start next month. Start thinking of ideas for the show. That sounds familiar.

I think she has tons of ideas for the show too. But you're right. Ms. Weaver helps Anna to see her strengths and gives her a new assignment. She doesn't want to spend a lot of time discussing them, so she summarizes them this way. Well, you are good at asking questions. You are good at talking to people. You are good at showing your feelings.

And you are great at being silly. Jill, have you ever changed roles at a job? Yeah, lots of times. But I had one job where I started out with limited responsibilities. But gradually my supervisor saw that I had some skills in organizing projects. So I was given more responsibility.

Skills like that can be learned through experience or by working with someone who is more experienced than you are. I think you might also have some talent, which is a quality you're born with. I've never thought about that talent in relation to career skills. How about you? What talents and skills do you think are most valuable in your job?

Hmm. That's a good question. And I think that's kind of a chicken and egg question or chicken and egg idea. That means it's hard to say which one comes first.

I think I've developed some of my natural talents, like being able to use my voice well, maybe being able to sing a few simple songs or something like that. And those skills can help with broadcasting. I think other skills like writing have come mostly from my education and working to improve them.

I think you have great people skills too, like the soft skills we talked about in another podcast. I had to learn those skills myself because I was very shy when I was younger. Yes, those soft skills sometimes take some time to learn, just like other skills. Now, I think before we go today, we should give our listeners a good news, bad news joke.

are you sure most of those jokes are pretty dark i mean they deal with some serious issues like illness that's true but don't worry i have a good one here's the joke there's a troop of soldiers out in the middle of the desert the captain gets his men together and says i have good news and bad news the bad news is we have run out of food and there is nothing to eat but sand

Oh, I know this one. The captain goes on to say, the good news is there's plenty of sand. Oh. So that's all for this lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. Be sure to follow us on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

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