Learning English Podcast - March 11, 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, Katie tells the story of the Golden Gate Bridge. John Russell and Jill Robbins give advice on physical therapists. Andrew Smith reports on scientists' predictions about the next ice age. Here, Dorothy Gundy tell about a new medical device that could help disabled people walk.

Then, the lesson of the day. But first... Every day, more than 110,000 automobiles cross a historic and beautiful bridge in Northern California. The span is called the Golden Gate Bridge. It is named after the body of water below it.

The Golden Gate Strait connects the Pacific Ocean with San Francisco Bay. The bridge links the city of San Francisco with Marin County to the north. Joseph Strauss was the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge. Building began in 1933.

The bridge was opened for use in 1937. The distance between the main towers is almost 1,300 meters long. That was the longest suspension bridge span in the world for almost 30 years.

Then, in 1964, the larger Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in New York City. Today, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan has the longest span. Strauss used newly developed protective equipment for the men who worked on the bridge.

These included a special safety net under the bridge, but still, 11 workers fell to their deaths during the building project. The color of the bridge, international orange, is very important.

it was chosen partly because it is easier to see through the heavy fog that often covers san francisco many people consider the golden gate bridge the most beautiful bridge of its kind in the world more than two billion vehicles have crossed the bridge since its opening

But wheels are not the only way to cross the bridge. The Golden Gate is also open to walkers. Many people walk across each year, and there is no cost to do so. On clear days, the bridge provides excellent views of San Francisco, ships down below, and birds all around.

Strauss wrote a poem about his bridge when the work was completed. Here is part of The Mighty Task is Done. At last the mighty task is done, resplendent in the western sun. The bridge looms mountain high, its titan piers grip ocean floor.

its great steel arms link shore with shore its towers pierce the sky i'm katie weaver many of us might only seek out physical therapists if we are recovering from accidental injuries or surgery

However, medical experts say these specialists can also help prevent many health problems if they are seen on a regular basis. One leader in the industry, Sharon Dunn, even calls physical therapists "the best-kept secret in health care."

Dunn is the past president of the American Physical Therapy Association . She recently told the Associated Press she thinks people need to look at physical therapists in a new way, as health practitioners who can help identify possible medical issues before they appear. Other health experts share this opinion.

They include Roger Herr, the current president of the APTA, and Gammon Earhart of Washington University in St. Louis. They both shared Dunn's prevention message in separate discussions with the AP. Earhart urges people to think about physical therapists just as they do dentists.

Even if you're not having any problem, you go in and have everything checked out. She noted that such examinations could help find and deal with problems early. For example, an exam could include a patient's health history and current health, things like physical activity, sleep, nutrition, and so on. This could be followed by a look at how a person is moving.

Exams might uncover things like postural issues or unusual body movements. Herr is a big supporter of yearly wellness visits. He told the AP he believes physical therapists can be helpful for all kinds of people: the young, athletes, or anyone who wants to be as independent as possible.

In the United States, you can now visit a physical therapist in all 50 states without needing permission from a doctor or surgeon. However, a yearly exam might not be covered by a person's health insurance. This could prevent some from seeking out care.

Erhardt estimated such a visit in areas across the US Midwest might cost around $150. Herr suggested a cost of $200 to $300 in more costly areas. But both experts said that in the long run, such exams might save money and can add healthy years.

I think if people understood more that the way they move might be setting them up for a problem down the line, they'd be much more inclined to see a physical therapist, Erhard said. We are all built differently, so it might be useful to examine children early to see what sports or activities might be good for them. Physical therapists can carry out such early exams.

Earhart said, if we screened kids as they were choosing sports and said, this sport is probably not the right kind of stress for the way you are put together, it could save a lot of pain and problems down the line. She added about children, maybe they don't have the hips for ballet. Distance runners could also think this way.

Some are built to avoid injuries, despite running many kilometers, while others are not. Exams by physical therapists could help identify future problems. Another area where physical therapists can help is with fall prevention. Falling, and the fear of falling, can be major issues, especially for the aging population.

you want to show people they can get back up if they fall herr said and once they know they can do it it gives them confidence and it can help reduce the fear of falling he added one of the risks of falling is that people don't do anything so you don't move and therefore you become more out of shape

Herr said one example could be to introduce exercises involving floor-to-stand movements. These can help improve flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, and planning. It sounds simple getting up from a lying position on the floor to stand, Herr said, but it's a great exercise for all age groups.

erhart estimated about half of physical therapy patients seek help to deal with issues related to being overweight the more weight somebody is carrying the higher the loads are on their joints she said herr said he had watched extremely overweight patients successfully lose large amounts of weight

he noted that some of these individuals are motivated for a specific reason but for others it is not always that clear and easy i have seen people change based on a milestone like having a kid and they really want to be a good parent herr said they want to be a fit parent and the same thing with a grandparent

So that motivates people to engage because of a lifestyle change. I'm John Russell. And I'm Jill Robbins. A recent study suggests the next ice age will likely begin in about 11,000 years unless emissions change the effects of natural climate cycles.

An ice age is a period of reduced temperatures, causing ice to cover large areas of the northern and southern parts of the world. A group of scientists studied changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the tilt of the Earth's axis, and the movement of the axis itself, called a wobble.

These three motions are believed to happen in cycles. The Serbian scientist Mulatine Milankovic developed a theory about 100 years ago that these cycles affected Earth's long-term climate.

the team noted that small changes in earth's orbit around the sun caused predictable cycles of warming and cooling over a period of about one hundred thousand years

These findings permitted the team to determine how the three factors of tilt, wobble, and the shape of Earth's orbit might have affected the Earth's climate over the last 900,000 years. The group published its findings in Science on February 27th.

The scientists examined a million-year record of climate by looking at ice sheets across the northern half of the world and deep ocean temperatures. They then compared this data with small but regular changes in Earth's orbit over time.

The lead writer of this study is Stephen Barker, a professor at Cardiff University in Britain. He told the French news agency AFP that for many years it has been difficult for scientists to show exactly how small changes in Earth's orbit have led to huge changes between warm and cold periods.

Earth is believed to go through cycles of ice ages and warm periods. The last ice age is thought to have ended around 11,700 years ago. Scientists such as Milankovitch have long seen a connection between Earth's orbit and climate.

However, researchers have struggled to precisely date when each of the climate changes happened. It has also been difficult for them to know exactly which orbit positions affect the start and stop of cold or warm periods.

Barker said his team of researchers studied slow changes in temperature over long periods of time instead of only looking at shorter periods of change between cold and warm climates. Barker told AFP, "...we would expect a glaciation to occur within the next 11,000 years,"

and it would end in 66,000 years' time. Lorraine Luzicki is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a co-writer of the study. She said the study shows that changes in climate over tens of thousands of years are not random.

The team aims to expand its findings to investigate the long-term effects of human activity on climate. They also want to find out how it might affect Earth's natural climate cycles. I'm Andrew Smith. Music

Researchers recently reported new evidence from a study of a medical device placed inside the body, a spine-stimulating implant. Three people with a muscle-destroying disease got a little stronger after using the implant.

They were able to stand and walk more easily because of electrical stimulation to their spinal cord. Marco Capagrosso is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, or Pitt, who led the research. These people were definitely not expecting an improvement, he said.

Capagrosso said they were getting better and better over the study that lasted one month. The implant was able to return some muscle function, at least temporarily. The implant was already being tested to treat paralysis in other patients.

This new evidence suggests it might also aid diseases of the nervous system, like spinal muscle atrophy or SMA. SMA is a genetic disease that slowly destroys motor neurons, nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles.

That leads muscles to waste away, especially in the legs, hips, and shoulders, and sometimes those involved with breathing and swallowing. There is no cure. A gene therapy can save the lives of very young children with a severe form of the disease, and there are some medicines to slow the disease in older patients.

Stimulating the spinal cord with low levels of electricity has long been used to treat chronic or long-term pain. Capagrosso's team also has tested it to help people paralyzed by strokes or spinal cord injury move their arms and legs with assistance.

The system sends electrical signals to nerves that have stopped reacting. This has the effect of activating the muscles. Capagrosso wondered if that same technology might help patients with SMA by stimulating sensory nerves to signal damaged muscle cells, causing them to move.

The researchers at the University of Pittsburgh published their study in Nature Medicine. I'm Dorothy Gundy. My name is Ana Mateo. And I'm Andrew Smith. My name is Jill Robbins. You're listening to the lesson of the day on 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 Lesson 43 of the Let's Learn English series, Ana is on her way to teach a ukulele class. She realizes that she has lost something important. Let's listen. Tonight, I am teaching my ukulele class. It is far away, so I am going to ride the metro.

Oh no! I lost my wallet! It has my MetroCard, my credit card, and my money! No! It's times like this I remember my father's important words. He said, "Never, no wait, always have emergency money." It's empty! Time for B, extra emergency money.

No, it's empty too. Anna, it's time for C. We often talk about having a Plan B for when something doesn't go as planned. Anna tells us her father said she should always have emergency money. In the video, we see her pull an envelope out of her bag, but it's empty.

The same thing happened with the envelope in her boot. What do you think her plan C will be, Jill? Anna has made some good friends, so I think she'll call one of them to ask for help. Let's find out. Listen for the way Anna asks her friend for a favor. Marsha? Hi, Anna. What's up? I'm stuck downtown without any money. Would you be able to come downtown?

Anna, I can't. I'm too busy. I have to give a big presentation in one hour. Sorry. That's okay. Good luck with your presentation. Thanks. Time for D. More friends may be getting phone calls, it seems. It's a little awkward, isn't it, to ask friends for money? Did you notice how Anna asked Marcia for help?

I did. She uses a modal verb "would" as she asks: Would you be able to come downtown? This sentence pattern is common when we feel we might be asking someone to make a big effort to help us. When we ask, "Would you be able to?" we are being very polite and giving the other person a chance to say no.

We could say that we are afraid we might be imposing. That's spelled I-M-P-O-S-I-N-G. Imposing on someone by making a request for something like borrowing money. To impose is to expect someone to do more than you usually ask them to do.

Another phrase we use if we feel we are imposing on someone is, would you do me a favor? Let's listen to find out how Ana asks her other friends for help. Listen for a modal verb. Hey, Ana. Things are great. What's up? Well, I was wondering if you could give me some money. What? See, I lost my wallet and I'm stuck downtown.

Anna, I wish I could. I'm at the airport with my mother. Her flight leaves in two hours. That's okay. Tell your mom to have a nice trip. I do wish I could help. Thanks. I'm Andrew Smith, and you're listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. Did you hear a modal verb, listeners?

We hear Anna using another modal verb, could, when she asks Jonathan to give her some money. Like would, the modal verb could softens the request and makes it more polite. Well, I was wondering if you could give me some money. Jonathan uses could two times when he answers.

Anna, I wish I could. I'm at the airport with my mother. Her flight leaves in two hours. That's okay. Tell your mom to have a nice trip. I do wish I could help. Thanks. So everyone is being polite, but Anna is still stuck without any money. There's one more thing about the language we hear in this lesson. Anna says: Well, I was wondering if you

could give me some money. We use wonder in polite questions, like this: Andrew, I wonder if you're going to be busy tonight? No, I'm not busy. Why? Well, I have a project I need help with. I need a tall person who can reach the top shelves in my office. Hold on a minute there, Jill. I'll be glad to do you a favor, but first let's get back to the story.

Anna has one more friend to call, Ashley. This is serious. Time for E. Hello? Hi, Ashley. Whatcha doin'? Uh, Ashley, I was wondering, uh, would you be able to come downtown and could you give me $20? Anna, I can't. I'll pay you back the money. I promise. Anna, I'm not worried about the money. I'm babysitting.

Ashley is caring for a young child or babysitting, so she can't come downtown to help. What is Anna going to do? I remember she said she was going to her ukulele class. Maybe she can use her music to help her ask for money. Let's listen and find out. Well, plans A, B, C, E did not work. Thank Anna for...

Time for F. Won't you give? Could you? Thank you very much, sir. Would you give me money? Won't you give? Oh, thank you very much. Could you give? Won't you give me money? Till next time. Won't you give me money? Listeners, at the end of this lesson, you can hear Anna busking.

that's a word we use to describe when someone performs on the street and asks the people passing by to drop some money into a hat to show their appreciation for the performance to see her and dr jill in her role as a passer-by

go to learningenglish.voanews.com and watch Lesson 43 of the Let's Learn English series. You can also find a fun board game in the lesson for practicing polite requests. Listeners, have you ever lost your wallet or something important like Anna did in this lesson? What did you do? Write to us at learningenglish at voanews.com.

or in the comments on our YouTube channel. And remember that you can find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Thanks for listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. 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 Mario