Learning English Podcast - March 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 this program, Andrew Smith answers a listener's question about the difference between sew and knit.

Jill Robbins and John Russell tell about ways to intensify or down-tone adverbs. Andrew is back to tell us about America's first national park. Then we finish The Open Boat by Stephen Crane on American Stories. But first...

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Rohullah in Afghanistan about using the words "sew" and "knit" and related terms. Dear VOA Learning English, I am sending this email to know what the differences are between sewing and knitting or sew and knit.

Besides that, I wanted to know what I can call a woman or a man that makes clothes. Thank you. I'm happy to answer this question, Rohala. An important difference between sewing and knitting is that when we sew, we connect pieces of fabric or cloth that are already made.

When we knit, we make the cloth itself from strings called yarn. Also, the word sewing can describe many ways people connect or repair fabric and clothes. For example, people can sew many kinds of clothes, such as socks, shirts, dresses, hats, and gloves.

People can also sew larger things, such as window coverings or tents. A person can sew using a sewing machine or simply by using their hands with a needle and thread. Knitting does not generally require use of a machine or a needle and thread. To knit, a person uses thicker strings called yarn

along with two thin sticks called knitting needles. Yarn is usually made of small natural pieces called fibers, such as wool or cotton. While sewing thread is often less than 1 mm thick, knitting yarn is generally 2 to 5 mm thick.

Many people who knit make clothing for cold weather, such as wool sweaters, hats, and scarves. They may also knit blankets or other things that can be used in the home. More than 50 years ago, most Americans who earned money selling clothes in a factory were women. They were called seamstresses.

Today, we sometimes call any person who sews a sewist. Or we can simply say a person who sews. And a person whose job is to sew or repair clothes to make them fit well is called a tailor. For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? Do you like to knit or sew?

We want to hear from you. Send us an email at [email protected]. And please let us know where you are from, too. And that's Ask a Teacher. I'm Andrew Smith. From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine you are at a business meeting. You have just presented a plan to your business partners.

They want to give suggestions for how to make your plan better. The conversation might sound like this: I really like your plan. Yes, it's pretty good, but it needs a little revising. Of course, you did a very good job, but you might need to consider a few more points.

Yes, it will probably be more effective if you highlight the staffing requirements and expand on the budget. Whether you like business or not, this conversation gives you important grammar information that you can use in just about any situation.

In particular, the Exchange offers examples of some of the most important adverbs that you will hear in everyday speech. This week, we will explore special adverbs that increase or decrease the force of a statement. These adverbs are sometimes called amplifiers or downtoners.

Adverbs are words that modify or change the meaning of adjectives, verbs, and sometimes entire sentences. They are often used to show time, a way of doing something, place, or degree, a measure of something. Some kinds of adverbs act as amplifiers.

The word "amplify" means to make something stronger. So these amplifiers make the meaning of an adjective or sentence stronger. In American English, amplifiers have three common uses: increasing intensity, expressing certainty, and showing precision.

This information comes from Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber, two experts on English grammar. Words such as "really" and "very" are among the most common that increase the intensity of a statement. They usually modify an adjective. Take the adjective "good," for example.

Imagine you are trying some food that your friends cooked. Perhaps you want to tell them, "This food is good." You could increase the intensity of your statement by using the word "very." This food is very good. You could express certainty by using an amplifier such as "definitely."

This is definitely the best food I've ever had. Or you could use an amplifier to show precision. At exactly 5:13 p.m. on February 6th, I ate the best food I've ever had in my life. Other kinds of adverbs act as downtoners. Downtoners are the opposite of amplifiers.

They reduce the force of a statement or express doubt. In other words, they set the tone of a statement. You can remember the term "downtoner" by thinking about what it does, toning down a statement. Downtoners have three common functions: reducing intensity, expressing doubt, or showing imprecision.

Three common downtoners in conversational English are "pretty," "maybe," and "probably," say Conrad and Biber. How can you use downtoners to change the meaning of the statement? Take our earlier example: "This food is good." If you wanted to reduce the intensity of your statement, you could say, "This food is pretty good." You could show doubt.

even raise questions by saying, "This is maybe the best food I've ever had." Or, "This is probably the best food I've ever had." These statements express someone's opinion about the food, but they are not as strong as the example sentences that use amplifiers. In other words, saying, "This food is pretty good"

is not as forceful as saying, "This food is really good." So, what does this discussion of food have to do with the exchange we heard at the beginning of this report? Let's think back to the business conversation. I really like your plan. Yes, it's pretty good, but it needs a little revising.

Of course, you did a very good job, but you might need to consider a few more points. Yes, it will probably be more effective if you highlight the staffing requirements and expand on the budget. You might notice that one of the speakers uses amplifiers such as "really" and "very."

She is using these words to give more force to her statement. She is probably more excited about the business plan. The second speaker uses downtoners, the words "pretty" and "probably," for example. So you might suspect that he is more guarded about the plan.

Maybe he has doubts that the new plan will be better. The amplifiers and downtoners they use are also among the most common ones that you will hear in American English. These words are useful in a number of settings. They are polite and acceptable in almost any situation.

Remember this: the amplifiers and downtoners we have discussed today are common in conversation. Different amplifiers and downtoners are more common in writing. For example, you are more likely to read words such as "indeed," "certainly," or "approximately" than you are to hear them in everyday conversation.

If you use these amplifiers and downtoners in conversation, your speech will take on a very official sound. While that might be a good idea in a formal presentation or speech, it might not be the best choice for an everyday conversation. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm John Russell.

Yellowstone National Park in the western United States was the world's first national park. Established in 1872, it is famous for its geothermal activity and wild animals. It includes beautiful mountains, deep canyons, lakes, and rivers.

yellowstone is still one of the largest national parks in the u s it takes up almost nine thousand square kilometers most of the park lies within the western state of wyoming the park is unusual because of what lies underneath it it sits on top of an ancient supervolcano

known as the yellowstone caldera the caldera remains an active volcano a lake of hot liquid rock is about six kilometers under the park experts say this lake is under huge amounts of pressure

the pressure and heat cause geysers to shoot hot water out of the ground and mud to boil at yellowstone the park is home to more than three hundred geysers there are more geysers and hot springs in yellowstone than any other place on earth

Old Faithful is the name of the park's most famous geyser because it erupts about every 90 minutes. Yellowstone is home to the largest group of wild animals in the lower 48 United States. These include bison, grizzly bear, elk, deer, moose, fox, beaver,

coyote, and wolves. In 2024, park officials estimated the bison population to be about 4,500 animals. That makes it the largest group of wild bison in the world. There is still a Wild West in America, and its name is Yellowstone. I'm Andrew Smith.

We continue the story of The Open Boat by Stephen Crane. As we told you last week, the story is based on true events. In 1896, Crane was traveling to Cuba as a newspaper reporter. On his way there, his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean. Crane climbed into the last remaining small lifeboat.

Three men got into the boat with him. They were the ship's captain, the cook, and a sailor named Billy. For three days the men steered the tiny boat through high waves off the coast of Florida. At last they saw land. Here is Shep O'Neill with the final part of the story.

A long stretch of coast lay before the eyes of the men. Slowly the land rose up out of the mountainous sea. The men could see a small house against the sky. To the south they could see a lighthouse. Tide, wind, and waves were pushing the lifeboat northward.

The man thought someone on land would have seen the boat by now. Well, said the captain, I suppose we'll have to attempt to reach the shore ourselves. If we stay out here too long, none of us will have the strength left to swim after the boat sinks. So Billy the sailor turned the boat straight for the shore. If we don't all get ashore, said the captain,

I suppose you fellows know where to send news of my death. The men then exchanged some information. There was a great deal of anger in them. They thought, if I am going to be drowned, why in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea was I permitted to come this far and think about sand and trees? The waves grew stronger.

They seemed always just about to break and roll over the little boat. The coasts were still far away. The sailor said, "Boys, the boat won't live three minutes more, and we're too far out to swim. Shall I take her to sea again, Captain?" "Yes, go ahead," said the captain. The sailor turned the boat and took her safely out to sea again.

"'It's funny those life-saving people haven't seen us,' one of the men said. "'Maybe they think we're out here for sport. "'Maybe they think we're fishing. "'Maybe they think we're fools.' "'Once more the sailor rowed the boat, and then the reporter rowed. "'Suddenly they saw a man walking along the shore. "'The man stopped walking. "'He moved his hand in the air to wave at them. "'He saw them!'

Now he was running to the house. The captain tied a cloth to a stick and waved it. Now there was another man on the shore. The two men waved their hands in the air as if they were saying hello to the men in the boat. Now what was that moving on the shore? It was a bus, a hotel bus.

A man stood on the steps of the bus and waved his coat over his head. The man in the boat wondered what he wanted to say. Was he attempting to tell them something? Should they wait for help? Should they go north? Should they go south? The man waited and waited, but nothing happened. The sun began to go down. It got dark and cold.

They could no longer see anyone on the beach. The sailor rowed, and then the reporter rowed, and then the sailor rowed again. They rowed and rowed through the long night. The land had disappeared, but they could hear the low sound of the waves hitting the shore. This was surely a quiet night. The cook finally spoke. Billy,

"'What kind of pie do you like best?' "'Pie,' said the sailor and the reporter angrily. "'Don't talk about those things.' "'Well,' said the cook, "'I was just thinking about ham sandwiches, "'and a night on the sea in an open boat is a long night.' "'The sailor continued to row until his head fell forward "'and sleep overpowered him.'

Then he asked the reporter to row for a while. They exchanged places so the sailor could sleep in the bottom of the boat with the cook and the captain. The reporter thought that he was the one man afloat on all the oceans in the world. The wind had a sad voice as it came over the waves.

Suddenly there was a long, loud swishing sound behind the boat and a shining trail of silvery blue. It might have been made by a huge knife. Then there was another swish and another long flash of bluish light, this time alongside the boat.

The reporter saw a huge fin speed like a shadow through the water, leaving a long glowing trail. The thing kept swimming near the boat. He noted its speed and power. The reporter wished the man would wake up. He did not want to be alone with the shark.

The reporter thought, as he rode, he was angry that they had come so close to land and yet might still die at sea. Then he remembered a poem that he had learned as a child. It was a poem about a soldier of the French Foreign Legion. The soldier lay dying in Algiers. Just before he died, he cried out, I shall never see my own, my native land.

And now, many years after he had learned this poem, the reporter, for the first time, understood the sadness of the dying soldier. Hours passed. The reporter asked the sailor to take the oars so that he could rest. It seemed like only a brief period, but it was more than an hour later when the sailor returned the oars to the reporter.

They both knew that only they could keep the boat from sinking. And so they rowed hour after hour through the night. When day came, the four men saw land again. But there were no people on the shore. A conference was held on the boat. Well, said the captain, if no help is coming, we might better try to reach the shore right away.

If we stay out here much longer, we will be too weak to do anything for ourselves at all. The others agreed. They began to turn the boat toward the beach. The captain told them to be careful that when the boat came near the beach, the waves would sink it. Then everyone should jump out of the boat and swim to the shore.

as the boat came closer to land the waves got bigger and more violent at last a large wave climbed into the air and fell on the small boat with great force

The boat turned over as the men jumped into the sea. The water was like ice. The reporter was tired, but he swam toward the beach. He looked for his friends. He saw Billy the sailor in front of him, swimming strongly and quickly. The cook was near him. Behind, the captain held on to the overturned boat with his one good hand.

Soon the reporter could swim no longer. A current was carrying him back out to sea. He thought, "'Am I going to drown? Can it be possible?'

But the current suddenly changed and he was able to swim toward the shore. The captain called to him to swim to the boat and hold on. The reporter started to swim toward the boat. Then he saw a man running along the shore. He was quickly taking off his shoes and clothes.

As the reporter got close to the boat, a large wave hit him and threw him into the air over the boat and far from it. When he tried to get up, he found that the water was not over his head, only halfway up his body, but he was so tired that he could not stand up. Each wave threw him down, and the current kept pulling him back to sea.

Then he saw the man again jumping into the water. The man pulled the cook to the shore. Then he ran back into the water for the captain. But the captain waved him away and sent him to the reporter. The man seized the reporter's hand and pulled him to the beach. Then the man pointed to the water and cried, What's that?

In the shallow water, face down, lay the sailor. The reporter did not know all that happened after that. He fell on the sand as if dropped from a housetop. It seems that immediately the beach was filled with men with blankets, clothes, whiskey. Women brought hot coffee.

the people welcomed the men from the sea to the land. But a still and dripping shape was carried slowly up the beach, and the land's welcome for the sailors' body could only be its final resting place. When night came, the white waves moved in the moonlight. The wind brought the sound of the great sea's voice,

To the men on the shore. 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 Ramos.