This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Precision agriculture is a way of thinking about how to improve production and get more from existing resources. It often involves the use of technology. An example found mostly in wealthier countries is a computer-guided tractor. The computer does most of the driving. It uses signals from satellites in the Global Positioning System. GPS technology helps the tractor cut rows in straight lines and put the right amount of fertilizer in the right place.

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Jimmy Messick is a farmer in northern Virginia, not far from Washington. He says the GPS guidance system makes it easy to come back later and plant the seed in his fields of maize, or corn.

JIMMY MESSICK: "Because the tractor that's pulling the planter also has the same auto-guidance system in it as the tractor that applied the fertilizer and did this tillage, it will come back and put the seed right on top of these marks."

Because of the GPS guidance, Mr. Messick now pays half what he once did for fertilizer.

Bruce Erickson is an agronomist at Purdue University in Indiana. He says saving even a little bit of seed, pesticide or fertilizer "computes directly to cost savings and less environmental damage."

Raj Khosla is an agronomist at Colorado State University. He says farmers in the developing world can use precision agriculture even without high-tech tractors.

RAJ KHOSLA: "We do not necessarily have to have complex, large machinery to practice what could be done as [simply] as using bottle caps."

The idea is to use a bottle cap to pour a measured amount of fertilizer right next to each plant. It takes more work than simply throwing handfuls of fertilizer across a field.

But Mr. Khosla says researchers taught this bottle cap method to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. They discovered that it was worth the extra effort if they could only afford a small amount of fertilizer.

RAJ KHOSLA: "There was a huge difference: more than double, in terms of productivity."

Of course, new technology is not always so cheap. But Mr. Khosla says farmers could form a cooperative or combine their resources to pay for new equipment. He and other researchers worked with a farmer in India to precision-level his irrigated wheat fields. That kept the fields from developing wet and dry areas that reduced productivity. The farmer also added better fertilizers and insect control.

As a result, he was able to grow almost three times as much wheat on the same amount of land. Mr. Khosla says with the extra money the farmer made, and a small loan, he bought his own precision leveler. And now, for a fee, he offers that as a service to his neighbors and other farmers.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. I'm Jim Tedder.

BARBARA KLEIN: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Today, we tell about some unexpected effects of a natural disaster. We also tell about an American intelligence report on water-related problems. And we tell about maps that may offer hope for dry areas in Africa.

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BARBARA KLEIN: Scientists have reported that sandy beaches, their tiny organisms and plants were lost or harmed after recent natural disasters in Chile. But some of the coastal areas showed an unexpected recovery.

By chance, the scientists had been studying nine Chilean sandy beaches in January of twenty ten. A month later, an eight-point-eight earthquake struck. Tsunami waves followed the earthquake. The scientists returned to the beaches soon after both events. Since then, they have worked there many times.

BOB DOUGHTY: Scientists from two continents recently reported on the conditions that helped decide if a beach would be harmed or survive. The journal PLoS ONE published a report from the research team. Its members are from the Universidad Austral de Chile and the University of California, Santa Barbara in the United States.

The researchers found that a beach's future was affected, in part, by the kind of shoreline, or coast, it had. Another influence was the direction and the amount of land level change caused by the disasters. Still another was how much humans had changed the beaches.

The researchers say the changes made by natural disasters are important and seem lasting. Their paper also documents problems caused by the rise of sea levels. That is a major sign of climate change.

BARBARA KLEIN: Before the earthquake, some beaches had sea walls or rocky emplacements – hard material to defend against big waves. This process, called armoring, can reduce the size of the beach area and kill beach life. But, the researchers were surprised by what happened to armored sandy beaches that were raised by the tsunamis. These beaches quickly developed new, welcoming environments for living organisms.

Jenifer Dugan of U.C. Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute says people often think of earthquakes as causing total destruction. And, adding a tsunami is deadly for an ecosystem – its creatures, areas where they reproduce, and other living resources.

BOB DOUGHTY: As expected, research biologist Dugan said the researchers saw dead creatures on beaches and rocky shorelines. But she described the recovery of some of the sandy beaches as "remarkable." Still, she said, armoring itself covers up beaches, killing the habitat. She said this causes loss of ecosystem diversity – differing kinds of plant and animal life, including birds.

Eduardo Jaramillo was lead writer of the report. The zoology expert notes the importance of sandy beaches. He says they form about eighty percent of open coastlines worldwide. In his words, "sandy beaches are very good barriers against the sea level rise we are seeing around the world."

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BARBARA KLEIN: An American intelligence report says water-related problems will likely increase tensions around the world in the next ten years. These problems include water shortages, poor water quality and floods.

The report says the problems will increase the risk of instability and the failure of governments. However, countries are seen as unlikely to go to war over water. The report says water tensions have historically led to more water-sharing agreements than violent conflicts.

But beyond ten years, it warns that some governments could use water as a weapon to pressure others. And water could also be used to "further terrorist objectives."

BOB DOUGHTY: The report is called an Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security. It looks at possible effects of water problems on United States national security interests over the next thirty years. It says the areas that will be most affected by water problems are North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the report on March twenty-second -- World Water Day. The National Intelligence Council wrote the report based on a National Intelligence Estimate she requested a year ago.

HILLARY CLINTON: "Reliable access to water is essential for feeding the hungry, running the industries that promote jobs, generating the energy that fuels national growth, and certainly it is central when we think about how climate change will affect future generations."

BARBARA KLEIN: The report says water-related problems could distract countries from working with the United States on important policy goals. But it also predicts an increased demand for American aid and expert help to solve those problems.

The report says, "Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods by themselves are unlikely to result in state failure." But these could combine with poverty, social tensions, environmental problems, poor leadership and weak governments to produce social disorder. And that combination could cause state failure.

BOB DOUGHTY: The report predicts that from now through twenty forty, "water shortages and pollution probably will harm the economic performance of important trading partners." During the next ten years, it says, the loss of groundwater supplies in some agricultural areas will create a risk to national and global food markets.

Agriculture uses about seventy percent of the world's freshwater. The report says technology that reduces the amount of water needed to grow crops will offer the best defense against shortages.

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BARBARA KLEIN: Millions of people in Africa do not have enough safe drinking water. And crops in many places suffer from lack of irrigation. Only about five percent of African farms use water from pipes, streams or ditches. But now, maps made by researchers in Britain have brought welcome news. Large amounts of groundwater appear to be under the African continent.

Groundwater remains after rain and melting snow run into streams and other waterways. The water is stored in layers of rock or bedrock under the soil, known as aquifers. Scientists say the aquifers hold an estimated one hundred times the water found on the continent's surface.

BOB DOUGHTY: A team from the British Geological Survey and University College London created the new maps. The research team based its work on other maps provided by national governments. The researchers used more than two hundred eighty studies of aquifers. Their report appeared in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

The new maps show that the countries with the most groundwater are in North Africa. They include Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan. And, the researchers say countries now judged to lack water could be on top of deep groundwater.

Helen Bonsor was a writer of the report. She says the maps showing groundwater offer hope for better living conditions.

HELEN BONSOR: "It is a huge resource sitting there. And this work demonstrates that if it is managed appropriately, and with proper governance and technology to access the resource, it could alleviate water poverty, which millions in Africa suffer from."

BARBARA KLEIN: Ms. Bonsor has another piece of good news. She says that even in areas with little rainfall, the groundwater should last for between twenty and seventy years. She adds that, until now, there was not much information about groundwater available.

Richard Taylor of University College London was part of the team. He says the additional resources may help to control the amount of moisture, or water levels, in the soil.

RICHARD TAYLOR: "What we are saying here really is that there are quite considerable groundwater resources in Africa that might help to regulate soil moisture and, therefore, food security."

BOB DOUGHTY: But the researchers are not urging widespread exploration with boreholes. They say a good understanding of local groundwater conditions is needed first. And, they say the process needs to be careful and methodical.

If groundwater in Africa can be put to use, experts say, it could make the future brighter for millions of people. The World Health Organization, for example, says demand for water is growing as population increases. People are moving to cities, and industry is growing.

BARBARA KLEIN: Medical experts say lack of water threatens serious health risks. Drinking and watering crops with polluted water can cause disease. And polluted water stored in homes can appeal to insects that carry diseases.

Helen Bonsor points to the example of people who lack good water sources. She says they must spend valuable time looking for it. And that time could be better used for going to school, growing more crops or working at paying jobs.

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BOB DOUGHTY: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson, and produced by June Simms. I'm Bob Doughty.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Christopher Cruise.

JUNE SIMMS: And I'm June Simms. This week, we tell you about pawn shops and the people who own them - pawnbrokers. We also tell about former boxing champion Mike Tyson and his recent one-man show.

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CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Pawn shops are businesses where people bring their possessions to sell or to get a short-term loan. The United States has about ten thousand of them.

In the past few years, pawn shops have been doing business with more people than ever before. That is because many lenders now do business only with individuals having good credit ratings or a high-paying job. Often, the individuals most in need of a loan have poor credit ratings. But they do not need a good job or credit rating to get a loan from a pawnbroker. They only need something of value.

When a traditional lender approves a loan, it may be days or weeks before an individual receives the money. But pawnbrokers will give a loan in just a few minutes based on the resale value of an object and without asking about the person's job or credit history.

JUNE SIMMS: Many pawn shops specialize in jewelry. But most shops accept almost anything of value, including computers, musical instruments, guns, old coins and other antiques. The item itself acts as the security, or collateral, for the loan. If the loan is not repaid, the object can be sold.

Customers can get the object back -- called redeeming it -- at any time by repaying the loan plus the interest and fees they agreed to pay. Or they can pay the interest and leave the item at the pawn shop for a while longer.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The National Pawnbrokers Association is a national trade group representing pawnbrokers. The association calls pawn-brokering "one of humankind's oldest financial institutions." It says pawnbrokers operated three thousand years ago in ancient China and in early Greek and Roman times.

Pawn shops may be large or small, clean or dirty, but they are all full of stories. This may explain the popularity of television shows like "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel. The show is about a family of pawnbrokers in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Another program, called "Hard Core Pawn," is on the TruTV network. It shows a pawnbroker and his grown children in a large pawn shop in Detroit, Michigan. These programs are among the most-watched shows on the two cable stations.

JUNE SIMMS: Some pawnbrokers say the television shows have made people more willing to consider the idea of pawning their possessions. But others say the programs are misleading because they often show people selling things to the pawnbroker. Pawnbrokers say few people want to sell their belongings. In fact, they may need the item to pawn later. Pawnbrokers say they make more money loaning money than buying items and reselling them.

The National Pawnbrokers Association works to improve the image of the industry. It says pawnshops must follow many federal, state and local laws. The association gives training to its members on how to obey those rules, and urges pawnbrokers to do business in an honest way. It also works to establish good relationships with government and law enforcement officers.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Kevin Prochaska is head of the National Pawnbrokers Association. He owns thirteen pawn shops in Texas. Mr. Prochaska says sixty to seventy percent of his loans are on jewelry. He says it may seem like pawnbrokers make a lot of money, but they have a lot of costs.

KEVIN PROCHASKA: "In my business, my typical stores, we make twenty loans a day, and like I said the average loan's a hundred fifty dollars. So, you know the pawn service charge on that is, if everybody came and picked up their items, you'd get thirty dollars per hundred and fifty. And that seems like a big number. But when you're doing thirty times twenty you're bringing in six hundred dollars a day in revenue. You've got three or four people working there, you've got the rent, you've got the utilities."

There are pawn shops in some wealthy areas in the United States. But such businesses are the exception. The fact is, most pawn shops are in poorer neighborhoods. Most people who pawn items do not earn a lot and have little money saved.

JUNE SIMMS: Not everyone believes pawnbrokers provide a good service. Critics have accused them of abusing the poor by charging high interest rates. But pawnbrokers say the high rates are the result of high business costs, including security and storage. And they say pawning an item may be less costly than losing electricity or heat.

Another criticism involves the custom of "low-balling." This is telling an uninformed customer that an item is worth less than it really is. But the opposite also happens. Customers sometimes invent stories about items and claim they are worth more than they are. That is why pawnbrokers must know a lot about many different things. They have to estimate the age of an item, as well as whether it is valuable or worthless.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Mike Tyson has lived a very public life. He recently appeared in a one-man show at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. The MGM Grand is where the former boxer fought some of his biggest fights. The show was called "Undisputed Truth" because, for years, Mike Tyson was the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion.

He began the show by promising the crowd that he was planning to tell his story in his own words. But some of the show was written by others, including his wife.

Much of what Mike Tyson said during his show cannot be broadcast. That is because his language – like his life – was often shocking, threatening and disrespectful, although it could also be funny.

JUNE SIMMS: Mike Tyson has been called "the baddest man on the planet." He was once one of the most-feared boxers ever. But he said he is now just a "devoted husband and loving father." He told the crowd his "life has come full circle." In his words, "I'm pretty happy for the first time in my life. I'm very thankful for all my blessings."

​​These are things Mike Tyson has said before. But stability and happiness have always seemed to be short-term visitors in his life. He has had major successes and even bigger failures. He was the youngest boxing champion in history. He also earned – and spent – an estimated four hundred million dollars.

People he trusted, he says, stole much of his money or did a poor job protecting it. He also paid a lot of money to end earlier marriages. In two thousand three he was unable to pay his debts and declared bankruptcy. He blamed it on his uncontrolled spending and the poor financial management of others.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: At one time Mr. Tyson was not just out of money – he was thirty-eight million dollars in debt. But money was not his only problem.

In nineteen ninety-two, he began serving a ten-year sentence for raping a Miss Black America contestant. He could have been sentenced to sixty years in prison. He was released after serving three years. He still says he did not rape the woman.

He told the Las Vegas audience that he is still not sure who his father is. He also claimed that his mother was a sex worker who loved alcohol more than she loved her son. Mike Tyson also spoke about his nineteen ninety-seven fight against Evander Holyfield. He claimed his opponent repeatedly hit him in the head with his head. He said that is why he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear during the fight.

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JUNE SIMMS: Mike Tyson often seemed uneasy on stage. He performed the show with the help of a teleprompter. It supplied his prepared comments to television screens that audience members could not see. He told VOA that he had been preparing for the show for more than a month.

MIKE TYSON: "You study for like five weeks, just go over the lines, over the lines and stuff, and then use the stuff, because it's my story, but if I do it from my perspective it'd be too raw for this crowd."

Mike Tyson seemed very open about the mistakes he had made in his life. He told the crowd that, by the time he was twelve years old, he had been arrested thirty times. He said he loved to fight. "It was love at first fight," he said.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The former heavyweight boxing champion said his first trainer, Cus D'Amato, taught him to "do what I hate to do, but do it like I love it." Mr. D'Amato, he said, is the only man he ever loved. And when he died, there was no one to control Mike Tyson.

The former champ also said he has never been a good son or brother. In his words, "I was a pig, a womanizer, a monster. I really wasn't a nice guy. I became a fat cokehead," noting his use of the drug cocaine. A lot people have criticized Mike Tyson for his actions over the years, and he agrees with many of them.

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JUNE SIMMS: Our program was written by Christopher Cruise, and produced by Brianna Blake. I'm June Simms.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I'm Christopher Cruise. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Cathy Hutchinson is a tetraplegic. She has not been able to move her arms, legs or speak since suffering a stroke nearly fifteen years ago. Recently, she learned how to control a robotic arm using her thoughts. She now can use brain activity to serve herself a drink.

The American woman is one of two people who took part in a research project known as BrainGate2. The researchers have spent years studying how to help people who are paralyzed regain movement in their arms and legs.

John Donoghue is a neuroscientist with Brown University and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also was part of the project.

JOHN DONOGHUE: “People who are paralyzed have their brain disconnected from their body. So they are not able to go out and do everyday things that you and I can do, like reach for a glass of water or scratch your nose. So our idea is to bypass that damaged nervous system and go directly from the brain to the outside world so the brain signals can, not control muscle, but control machines or devices like a computer or a robotic limb.”

The two paralyzed people had small sensors connected to the part of the brain that controls movement. The devices measured brain activity and sent that information to a computer.

The computer has special software that turns the information into digital commands for operating other devices. The researchers used a highly developed robotic arm to recreate human actions.

Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the German Aerospace Center also took part in the study.

The BrainGate team had its first success in two thousand six. A tetraplegic stabbing victim was able use the brain-computer interface system to control a computer cursor. John Donoghue says the latest development using robotic arms is a major victory.

A video of the latest experiment shows Cathy Hutchinson using the robotic arm to pick up a cup of coffee. She guides the cup toward her mouth, moves it forward and drinks through a straw.

Lead investigator Leigh Hochberg says the first time she did it was a magical moment.

LEIGH HOCHBERG: “To see her with that robotic arm reach out and pick up that cup of coffee and serve herself that coffee for the first time in nearly fifteen years, it was an incredible moment.”

The research team carried out almost two hundred tests with two different robotic arms. The two individuals were able to pick up their target objects forty-three to sixty-six percent of the time.

The researchers are calling the information very promising. But they say it will take years to fully develop the technology for everyday use.

A report on the BrainGate study appeared last week in the scientific journal Nature.

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. I'm June Simms.

Lucille Ball

MARY TILLOTSON: This is Mary Tillotson.

STEVE EMBER: And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about the much-loved performer Lucille Ball. Her famous television series, "I Love Lucy," was first broadcast in nineteen fifty-one.

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MARY TILLOTSON: The "I Love Lucy" show was a huge success. It was the most popular television show of the nineteen fifties. The kind of television program Miz Ball helped develop is called a situation comedy. Some television experts give her credit for inventing this kind of series. Today, some of the most popular television programs in America are situation comedies.

STEVE EMBER: One reason for the great popularity of "I Love Lucy" may have been its real-life connection with Miz Ball's family. On the show, she was Lucy, the wife of Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban musician. Ricky was played by band leader Desi Arnaz, who was Lucille Ball's husband in real life. The show combined issues common to the life of married people living in the city with musical performances and comic theater.

Often, a show would include a part with Mister Arnaz acting seriously while Miz Ball added a funny element. In the following piece, Mister Arnaz tries to sing normally and Miz Ball adds the comedy.

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MARY TILLOTSON: Also on the "I Love Lucy" show were Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Miz Vance played Ethel Mertz and Mister Frawley played Ethel's husband, Fred Mertz. On the show, the Mertzes were friends of the Ricardos and owned the building in which they all lived.

Fred Mertz loved baseball, which was America's most popular sport at the time. "I Love Lucy" often showed Fred Mertz intensely watching baseball or some other sport like boxing while Ethel added her own funny comments.

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STEVE EMBER: A well-known story about the "I Love Lucy Show" concerns the birth of the Arnaz's son, Desi Junior. Officials of the broadcasting company wondered what to do when Miz Ball became pregnant in nineteen fifty-two. Miz Ball explains that her husband, Desi, came up with a solution.

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MARY TILLOTSON: Miz Ball's pregnancy was made part of the show. In fact, critics say the show in which Lucy Ricardo tells Ricky that she is pregnant is one of the best. In it, Lucy goes to the entertainment place where Ricky's band is playing to tell him that they are going to have a baby. Ricky suddenly understands that he is going to be a father after Lucy secretly requests the song, "We're Having a Baby."

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MARY TILLOTSON: Miz Ball gave birth to her second child on the same day that Lucy Ricardo gave birth. In fact, Desi Junior's birth date was planned to happen on the same day as the broadcast.

The show in which Lucy gave birth was one of the most popular television programs ever broadcast in America. In fact, the story is that Desi Junior's birth replaced reports about Dwight Eisenhower's first presidential ceremony on the front pages of America's newspapers.

STEVE EMBER: The success of the "I Love Lucy" show did not come early in Lucille Ball's life, or easily. Instead, it was the result of years of hard work.

Miz Ball was born near Jamestown, New York, in nineteen eleven. She tried to get into show business at an early age. Early on, she went to the same acting school as the famous actress Bette Davis. However, she left when she was told that she did not have enough acting ability.

In the early nineteen thirties, she moved to Hollywood. She appeared in a number of movies, but was not well known.

MARY TILLOTSON: In nineteen forty, she met the leader of a musical group who had been born in Cuba. His full name was Desiderio Alberto Arnaz de Acha the Third. They worked together in a movie and married soon after they met. For the next ten years, she appeared in movies and on radio. He traveled a lot with his band.

In nineteen fifty, the broadcasting company, CBS, decided to make a television program based on the radio show, "My Favorite Husband." Lucille Ball was the star of the radio show. She wanted Mister Arnaz to play the part of her husband on the television show. CBS rejected the idea. But she refused to give up. She and Desi traveled around the country performing in a show together to prove that they would do well on television. Their show was a success. CBS offered them both jobs.

STEVE EMBER: Miz Ball had another demand. She wanted her show to be a production of the best quality. Early television pictures were not of good quality. Miz Ball wanted her program to be filmed, which would improve the picture, and then broadcast later. Yet she wanted people to watch the program as it was being filmed so the sound of their reactions could be captured.

Miz Ball also wanted to film the shows in Hollywood. CBS did not want the extra costs. So, Miz Ball and Mister Arnaz agreed to work for less pay. In exchange, CBS let them own the program. That agreement made them owners of what would become one of the most successful programs on television.

MARY TILLOTSON: During the fifties, Miz Ball won almost every honor there was for television actors including several Emmy Awards. Yet, even the most popular performers could not escape the political realities of the time. Conservative lawmakers accused Lucille Ball of being a communist. The Federal Bureau of Investigation kept a secret record of information about her, just as it did about many Hollywood actors at the time.

STEVE EMBER: Mister Arnaz supervised their company, Desilu Productions. The company produced sixteen different television programs and ran three production centers, called studios.

In nineteen sixty, Lucille Ball and Mister Arnaz legally ended their marriage. Mister Arnaz sold his part of the company to his ex-wife. Miz Ball became the first woman to head a major production company. It was one of the biggest in Hollywood.

Miz Ball also was the star of several other shows of her own. "The Lucy Show" was broadcast from nineteen sixty-two to nineteen sixty-eight. "Here's Lucy" followed until nineteen seventy-four. Miz Ball later sold her production company to Paramount Studios.

MARY TILLOTSON: "I Love Lucy" showed Miz Ball at her best. Mister Arnaz added something that was unusual for American television at the time. Many of the songs on the show were in Spanish. One song, "Babalu," is popularly connected with "I Love Lucy". Its words are Spanish and its sound is Latin American. It is this mixture along with the excellent performances that made the show special.

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STEVE EMBER: Miz Ball died in nineteen eighty-nine after a heart operation. Yet, she still makes people laugh. Her programs are rebroadcast on television and there are hundreds of Internet sites about her. After all these years, everyone still loves Lucy.

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Jim Tedder: Our program about Lucille Ball was written by Mario Ritter and read by Mary Tillotson and Steve Ember. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

A buyer in Jammu, India chooses gold jewelry

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Throughout history, gold has been a sign of purity, beauty and power. Calling something golden means it has great quality and value.

For example, the golden rule is possibly the world's most widespread moral rule.

It says people should treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated. Every major religion has its own version of this idea.

The golden ratio is found in art, architecture and nature. It describes a rectangle with a length about one and one-half times its width. Objects using this ratio in their design seem to please the eye more than others.

Philosophers have their own golden idea. The golden mean says moderation in all things is the best way to live one's life. It is an idea linked to the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Similar thoughts exist in Buddhism and Confucianism.

Ancient Greek myths told of a time long ago when people lived in peace and happiness. Poets called it the Golden Age. A golden age now describes a historical period of great artistic, scientific or economic progress. It can even recall a time of success and popularity for an industry. For example, the nineteen thirties and forties were called the Golden Age of Radio.

You may have heard the proverb silence is golden. This means silence is of great value. It is sometimes better to say nothing than to speak.

You might say your child was good as gold when he behaved well at school. British writer Charles Dickens used this expression in eighteen forty-three. He was describing the child Tiny Tim in the book "A Christmas Carol."

In nineteen thirty-seven, American playwright Clifford Odets wrote a play called "The Golden Boy." This expression describes a young man who has many good qualities and a bright future.

You might tell someone you are golden when that person does something very well.

Gold digger is another description. But this does not say something nice about a person. A gold digger is someone who seeks to marry a rich person because he or she is only interested in that person's money.

Maybe you like old songs from the nineteen fifties or sixties that are still well known and popular today. These are called golden oldies.

In the nineteen eighties and nineties, an American television comedy series told about four older women living in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls often dealt with social issues in a funny way.

Today, most older people look forward to reaching their golden years. This is when hard-working people can retire to a life of ease and fulfillment.

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This program was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our website, voaspecialenglish.com.

Reporters talk with a summit official on Friday before heads of state gather for the NATO summit in Chicago.

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

NATO leaders will meet Sunday and Monday in President Obama's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Afghanistan will be the top issue at the meeting of the twenty-eight member North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The United States last hosted NATO leaders in nineteen ninety-nine. That was two years before al-Qaida launched attacks on the United States. Those attacks led to the first use of the common defense provision of the North Atlantic Treaty of nineteen forty-nine.

As a result, for more than ten years now, the coalition has directed its attention on Afghanistan. The United States and NATO have about one hundred thirty thousand troops serving in the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.

They plan to withdraw all of those troops by the end of twenty-fourteen. The Afghan government is supposed to lead the country's security beginning next year. President Obama talked about the change when he flew to Kabul this month to sign an agreement with the Afghan government.

BARACK OBAMA: "International troops will continue to train, advise and assist the Afghans and fight alongside them, when needed. But we will shift into a support role as Afghans step forward."

President Obama is to meet this Sunday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari also plans to attend the NATO summit. But President Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, says there are no plans for a private meeting with Mr. Obama.

NATO has identified a support level of four billion dollars a year for Afghanistan. Stephen Flanagan of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies says the question is who will pay it.

STEPHEN FLANAGAN: "Most allies have not met their pledges to the existing NATO training mission in Afghanistan over the past four years, so their willingness to do so after the ISAF forces are withdrawn, when they are even more dependent on Afghan forces for their security, particularly given the incidents we have seen of late, that is a key question."

The United States has paid an increasing share of the costs of NATO operations. A year ago, Robert Gates, in his last major speech as defense secretary, criticized cuts in European defense spending. He warned of what he called "the very real possibility of collective military irrelevance" for the alliance.

The NATO summit will include France's new president. Francois Hollande was sworn in Tuesday as the first Socialist president in almost twenty years. In Chicago, Mr. Hollande will have to defend plans for an early French troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. He promised during his election campaign to remove troops by the end of this year. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy had announced plans to remove them by the end of twenty-thirteen.

Charles Kupchan is a NATO expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. He says the leaders in Chicago will once again discuss how to make sure European powers carry their fair share of NATO's military work. Mr. Kupchan says the issue takes on a new importance for several reasons.

CHARLES KUPCHAN: "One is that the United States is pivoting out of Europe, putting more emphasis on the Middle East and East Asia -- our footprint in Europe is going down to about thirty thousand troops. Number two, the U.S. is constrained fiscally and its own defense budget is going down. And that makes the U.S. more sensitive to what its partners in the NATO alliance are doing. And then you have the financial crisis in Europe"

Experts say a good example of sharing responsibility was the intervention last year in the Libyan conflict. The Europeans took a leading military role. But they needed a lot of help.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Mario Ritter.

Sydney William Porter was better known as O. Henry.

STEVE EMBER: Now, the VOA Special English program AMERICAN STORIES. Our story today is called "The Exact Science of Matrimony." It was written by O. Henry. Here is Barbara Klein with the story.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: Jeff Peters and Andy Tucker could never be trusted. One day, the two men decided to open a marriage business to make some quick and easy money. The first thing they did was to write an advertisement to be published in newspapers. Their advertisement read like this:

"A charming widow, beautiful and home-loving, would like to remarry. She is only thirty-two years old. She has three thousand dollars in cash and owns valuable property in the country. She would like a poor man with a loving heart. No objection to an older man or to one who is not good-looking. But he needs to be faithful and true, can take care of property and invest money with good judgment. Give address, with details about yourself. Signed: Lonely, care of Peters and Tucker, agents, Cairo, Illinois."

When they finished writing the ad, Jeff Peters said to Andy Tucker: "So far, so good. And now, where is the lady?"

Andy gave Jeff an unhappy look. "What does a marriage advertisement have to do with a lady?" he asked.

"Now listen," Jeff answered. "You know my rule, Andy. In all illegal activities, we must obey the law, in every detail. Something offered for sale must exist. It must be seen. You must be able to produce it. That is how I have kept out of trouble with the police. Now, for this business to work, we must be able to produce a charming widow, with or without the beauty, as advertised."

"Well," said Andy, after thinking it over, "it might be better, if the United States Post Office should decide to investigate our marriage agency. But where can you hope to find a widow who would waste her time on a marriage proposal that has no marriage in it?"

Jeff said that he knew just such a woman.

"An old friend of mine, Zeke Trotter," he said, "used to work in a tent show. He made his wife a widow by drinking too much of the wrong kind of alcohol. I used to stop at their house often. I think we can get her to work with us."

(MUSIC)

Missus Zeke Trotter lived in a small town not far away. Jeff Peters went out to see her. She was not beautiful and not so young. But she seemed all right to Jeff.

"Is this an honest deal you are putting on, Mister Peters?" she asked when he told her what he wanted.

"Missus Trotter," said Jeff, "three thousand men will seek to marry you to get your money and property. What are they prepared to give in exchange? Nothing! Nothing but the bones of a lazy, dishonest, good-for-nothing fortune-seeker. We will teach them something. This will be a great moral campaign. Does that satisfy you?"

"It does, Mister Peters," she said. "But what will my duties be? Do I have to personally reject these three thousand good-for-nothings you speak of? Or can I throw them out in bunches?"

Jeff explained that her job would be easy. She would live in a quiet hotel and have no work to do. He and Andy would take care of all letters and the business end of the plot. But he warned her that some of the men might come to see her in person. Then, she would have to meet them face-to-face and reject them. She would be paid twenty-five dollars a week and hotel costs.

"Give me five minutes to get ready," Missus Trotter said. "Then you can start paying me."

So Jeff took her to the city and put her in a hotel far enough from Jeff and Andy's place to cause no suspicion.

Jeff Peters and Andy Tucker were now ready to catch a few fish on the hook. They placed their advertisement in newspapers across the country. They put two thousand dollars in a bank in Missus Trotter's name. They gave her the bank book to show if anyone questioned the honesty of their marriage agency. They were sure that Missus Trotter could be trusted and that it was safe to leave the money in her name.

Their ad in the newspapers started a flood of letters – more than one hundred a day. Jeff and Andy worked twelve hours a day answering them. Most of the men wrote that they had lost their jobs. The world misunderstood them. But they were full of love and other good qualities.

Jeff and Andy answered every letter with high praise for the writer. They asked the men to send a photograph and more details. And they told them to include two dollars to cover the cost of giving the second letter to the charming widow.

Almost all the men sent in the two dollars requested. It seemed to be an easy business. Still, Andy and Jeff often spoke about the trouble of cutting open envelopes and taking the money out.

A few of the men came in person. Jeff and Andy sent them to Missus Trotter and she did the rest. Soon, Jeff and Andy were receiving about two hundred dollars a day. One day, a federal postal inspector came by. But Jeff satisfied him that they were not breaking the law.

(MUSIC)

After about three months, Jeff and Andy had collected more than five thousand dollars, and they decided it was time to stop. Some people were beginning to question their honesty. And, Missus Trotter seemed to have grown tired of her job. Too many men had come to see her and she did not like that.

Jeff went to Missus Trotter's hotel to pay her what she was owed, and to say goodbye. He also wanted her to repay the two thousand dollars that was put into her bank account.

When Jeff walked into the room she was crying, like a child who did not want to go to school.

"Now, now," he said. "What's it all about? Somebody hurt you? Are you getting homesick?"

"No, Mister Peters," she said. "I'll tell you. You were always a good friend of my husband Zeke. Mister Peters, I am in love. I just love a man so hard I can't bear not to get him. He's just the kind I've always had in mind."

"Then take him," said Jeff. "Does he feel the same way about you?"

"He does," Missus Trotter answered. "But there is a problem. He is one of the men who have been coming to see me in answer to your advertisement. And he will not marry me unless I give him the two thousand dollars. His name is William Wilkinson."

Jeff felt sorry for her. He said he would be glad to let her give the two thousand dollars to Mister Wilkinson, so that she could be happy. But he said he had to talk to his partner about it.

Jeff returned to his hotel and discussed it with Andy.

"I was expecting something like this," Andy said. "You can't trust a woman to stick with you in any plan that involves her emotions."

Jeff said it was a sad thing to think that they were the cause of the breaking of a woman's heart. Andy agreed with him.

"I'll tell you what I am willing to do," said Andy. "Jeff, you have always been a man of a soft and generous heart. Perhaps I have been too hard and worldly and suspicious. For once, I will meet you half-way. Go to Missus Trotter. Tell her to take the two thousand dollars out of the bank and give it to this Wilkinson fellow and be happy."

Jeff shook Andy's hand for a long time. Then he went back to Missus Trotter. She cried as hard for joy as she had done for sorrow.

(MUSIC)

Two days later, Jeff and Andy prepared to leave town.

"Wouldn't you like to go meet Missus Trotter once before we leave?" Jeff asked Andy. "She'd like to express her thanks to you."

"Why, I guess not," Andy said. "I think we should hurry and catch the train."

Jeff was putting all the money they had received in a belt he tied around his body. Then Andy took a large amount of money out of his pocket and asked Jeff to put it together with the other money.

"What's this?" Jeff asked.

"It's Missus Trotter's two thousand dollars," said Andy.

"How do you come to have it?" Jeff asked.

"Missus Trotter gave it to me," Andy answered. "I have been calling on her three nights a week for more than a month."

"Then you are William Wilkinson?" Jeff asked.

"I was," Andy said.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: "The Exact Science of Matrimony" was written by O.Henry. It was adapted for Special English by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to other AMERICAN STORIES on our Web site, www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

A screen at NASDAQ in New York City lists Facebook on its first day of public trading.

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Facebook is the world's biggest social network. It has over nine hundred million users worldwide. And it reported three point seven billion dollars in sales for last year.

The company has been privately held since two thousand four. That was when Mark Zuckerberg and several classmates at Harvard University started Facebook as a business. But on May eighteenth, Facebook becomes a publicly traded company. That means its shares will be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, and sold to the public.

Interest in the stock has been building since Facebook announced details of its initial public offering, or IPO, earlier this year. The IPO will make billionaires of the company's founders, including Mr. Zuckerberg. Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder, has been strongly criticized for giving up his United States citizenship. He will avoid a fifteen percent tax on the value of his shares by claiming to be a citizen of Singapore.

This week, Facebook told the Securities and Exchange Commission that it wanted to increase the number of shares being offered to over four hundred twenty million. The company had earlier said it planned to offer three hundred thirty-seven million. The starting price has been set at between thirty-four and thirty-eight dollars -- also an increase. Now, some financial experts say Facebook could raise sixteen billion dollars, making it one of the biggest IPOs ever.

Facebook says most of its money comes from online advertising. But the company also says it expects to earn money from fees charged on the sales of virtual goods. These are digital products used in social games, not physical goods. Facebook says it sees important income coming from this new market, which could reach fourteen billion dollars by twenty sixteen.

Not everyone is pleased. General Motors ended its advertising agreement with Facebook this week. The carmaker said it did not see results from the millions of dollars it spent on advertising with Facebook.

And Facebook has been criticized for some recent business decisions. It offered one billion dollars to buy Instagram, an application for sharing photographs. The deal requires government approval and has yet to be finalized.

So is Facebook worth the price of the stock? That will be for investors to decide.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Barbara Klein.

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm June Simms. This week on our program, we remember two music greats, Chuck Brown and Donna Summer…

But, first, we visit the northern most part of the Earth and the creatures who live there in the movie, "To The Arctic."

(MUSIC)

"To The Arctic"

JUNE SIMMS: Few people can visit the Arctic. But soon people all over the world will be able to feel like they have made the trip. A new movie, "To The Arctic," explores the life and environment in the wilderness area, especially the condition of its polar bears. Barbara Klein has our story.

BARBARA KLEIN: "To The Arctic" is forty-five minutes long. But the film was shot in eight months over a four year period. The director is Greg MacGillivray. He and his brother Shaun produced the film. It was made for release on the huge IMAX theater screens. "To The Arctic" also is three-D, or three dimensional, giving theater goers the sensation of being part of the action.

​​The film tells the story of a mother polar bear and her two cubs. Through their struggle to survive, theater-goers see the results of rising temperatures on the Arctic and its animals. The bears are central to the film because they cannot survive anywhere else. And, the movie says their environment is warming two thirds faster than anywhere else on Earth.

Academy Award winner Meryl Street narrates the film.

(SOUND)

"To The Arctic" is part of an international campaign to save the polar bears and their home. Scientists say there are only twenty thousand polar bears alive today. And, they say, their long term existence is at risk.

Nature photographer Florian Schulz has produced a book to go along with the movie. He says the purpose of both works is to educate people about what is happening in Earth's extreme north.

FLORIAN SCHULZ: "The polar bears won't be able to survive without the ice, and, right now, scientists are predicting that by two thousand and forty or two thousand and fifty, somewhere in between, the sea ice in the summer will completely go away."

Mister Shultz spent eighteen months in the Arctic. He lived in a tent and would get around on a special vehicle powered by the sun's energy. The extreme cold presented some interesting problems for the work.

FLORIAN SCHULZ: "You have to let your equipment completely freeze and then it will stay frozen. You can't take it inside your sleeping bag or inside your tent because then the condensation will go on top of it, and then the ice will build and then you don't get rid of the ice anymore."

Florian Schultz says there were also some dangerous incidents with wildlife. Like a bear that showed interest in a camera. The animal got within seven meters of the photographer.

FLORIAN SCHULZ: "We then shot with a flare gun at the ground level so the bang was closer to the ground and the bear understood that he should move on. That was definitely a scary moment."

The movie and book are part of a larger campaign to save polar bears and the Arctic. Suzanne Apple is with the World Wildlife Fund.

SUZANNE APPLE: "This area that we are focused on called the last ice area in northern Canada, Greenland and Denmark. Our research shows that this is the ice that will persist the longest. So we are hoping to protect and preserve that."

"To The Arctic" is getting mixed reviews from critics. Although most praise the extraordinary images, several critics say the writing is weak.

Remembering Chuck Brown and Donna Summer

JUNE SIMMS: America lost two major entertainers this week. Chuck Brown was considered the Godfather of Go-Go music. Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco.

Chuck Brown died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. The musician had developed the blood infection sepsis during treatment for pneumonia. He was seventy-five.

The singer was born in North Carolina but moved to the American capital when he was eight. The city remained his home, and it was where he invented the music known as Go-Go.

(MUSIC)

Chuck Brown grew up poor. He was raised by his mother, Lyla Louise Brown. He never knew his father. Chuck stopped going to school soon after the family moved to Washington. He worked instead. He held jobs including shining shoes and selling newspapers.

Chuck Brown got into trouble as a teenager. He spent eight years in a prison near Washington. He started playing guitar while there.

(MUSIC)

When Chuck Brown gained his freedom he did not look back. He moved back to Washington. He began playing his guitar and singing at events in the area.

In his late twenties, Brown joined some local bands. Within two years he had formed his own. Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers found a new sound that combined funk, jazz and rhythm and blues music. The bouncy beat of Go-Go music was especially popular in the Washington area. But it influenced music in many other areas.

The nineteen seventy-eight song "Bustin' Loose" is probably the most widely recognized Go-Go recording. It was Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers' biggest hit.

(MUSIC)

Chuck Brown was considered a hero to many in Washington D.C. The city loves him so much it named a street block for him. Hundreds gathered outside the Howard Theater on Chuck Brown Way Wednesday to remember the musician.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Disco singer Donna Summer died Thursday. The sixty-three year old had battled lung cancer. Christopher Cruise remembers her life and her work.

(MUSIC)

​​CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Donna Summer was born LaDonna Gaines to a large family in Boston, Massachusetts, in nineteen forty-eight. She sang in church as a child. As a teenager she began forming musical groups.

Summer's voice was clear, high and powerful. Her first big hit came in nineteen seventy-five with "Love to Love You, Baby." She was in her twenties at the time.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen seventy-nine Donna Summer had three number-one hits. One of them, "Hot Stuff," won a Grammy.

(MUSIC)

Donna Summer was married twice. She had two children. Her last album "Crayons" was released in two thousand eight. Donna Summer won numerous awards during her career including five Grammys. We leave you with Donna Summer performing her hit song, "Last Dance."

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: I'm June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Zulima Palacio provided additional reporting.

Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic in VOA Special English.

ANNOUNCER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

(MUSIC)

Hard economic times and social conflict have always offered a rich source of material for artists and writers. A painter's colors can show the drying of dreams or the flight of the human spirit. A musician can express the tensions and uncertainty of a people in struggle. The pressures of hard times can be the force to lift a writer's imagination to new heights.

So it was during the nineteen-thirties in the United States. The severe economic crisis -- the Great Depression -- created an atmosphere for artistic imagination and creative expression. The common feeling of struggle also led millions of Americans to look together to films, radio, and other new art forms for relief from their day-to-day cares. This week in our series, we tell about American arts and popular culture during the nineteen-thirties.

(MUSIC: Benny Goodman Orchestra: "Let's Dance")

The most popular sound of the nineteen-thirties was a new kind of music called "Swing." And the "King of Swing" was a clarinet player named Benny Goodman.

Benny Goodman and other musicians made swing music extremely popular during the nineteen-thirties.

Swing was a new form of jazz. Many of its first players were black musicians in small, unknown groups. It was only when more well-known white musicians started playing swing in the middle nineteen-thirties that the new music became wildly popular.

One reason for the popularity of swing music was the growing power of radio during the nineteen-thirties.

Radio had already proven in earlier years that it could be an important force in both politics and popular culture. Millions of Americans bought radios during the nineteen-twenties. But radio grew up in the nineteen-thirties.

(MUSIC: Singing Sam sings "Reminiscing")

SINGING SAM: "Howdy, Folks. Yes, it is your old friend Singing Sam, so let's just settle back and reminisce a bit, what you say, huh?"

(MUSIC: Frank De Vol: "On the Radio")

Producers became more skillful in creating programs. And actors and actresses began to understand the special needs and power of this new electronic art form.

Swing was not the only kind of music that radio helped make popular.

(MUSIC)

The nineteen-thirties also saw increasing popularity for traditional, classical music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and other great composers.

In nineteen-thirty, the Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS, began a series of concerts by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday afternoons. The next year, on Christmas Day, the National Broadcasting Company, NBC, began weekly opera programs from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

(MUSIC: Toscanini conducts NBC Symphony in Brahms)

In nineteen-thirty-seven, NBC asked Arturo Toscanini of Italy to lead an orchestra on American radio. Toscanini was the greatest orchestra leader of his day. Millions of Americans listened on Christmas night as Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra began playing the first of ten special radio concerts.

It was a great moment for both music and radio. For the first time, millions of average Americans were able to hear classical music by great composers as it was being played.

Music was an important reason why millions of Americans gathered to listen to the radio during the nineteen-thirties.

(MUSIC: Rossini: "William Tell Overture")

But even more popular were the many series of weekly programs, whether comedy, suspense, or drama.

FRED FOY (Original Announcer for "The Lone Ranger"): "The Lone Ranger Rides Again…Easy, steady, big fella"

Families would gather around the radio, and thrill to the adventures of "The Lone Ranger," or laugh at the funny experiences of such comics as Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen and his wooden ventriloquist's dummy Charlie McCarthy, WC Fields, and George Burns and Gracie Allen.

ANNOUNCER: "Yes, it's 'Maxwell House Coffee Time,' starring George Burns and Gracie Allen."

Radio helped people forget the difficult conditions of the Great Depression. And it helped to bring Americans together and share experiences.

(MUSIC: Benny Goodman Orchestra: "Don't Be That Way")

Swing music. Classical music. Great comedy programs. The nineteen-thirties truly were a golden period for radio and mass communications. But it was also during this period that Hollywood and the American film industry became much more skilled and influential.

(SOUND: Film Projector)

In previous years, films were silent. But the "talkies" arrived in the nineteen-thirties.

(MUSIC: Selznick Studios Theme)

Directors could produce films in which actors could talk. Americans reacted by attending film theaters by the millions.

(MUSIC: Max Steiner's Main Title to "Gone with the Wind")

It was a great time for Hollywood.

The films had exciting new actors. Spencer Tracy. Bette Davis. Katharine Hepburn. The young Shirley Temple. The most famous film of the period was "Gone with the Wind" with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in the starring roles of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara.

RHETT BUTLER: "No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how."

SCARLETT O'HARA: "Oh, and I suppose you think you're the proper person."

RHETT BUTLER: "I might be. If the right moment ever came."

Directors in the nineteen-thirties also produced such great films as "It Happened One Night," "Mutiny on the Bounty," and "The Life of Emile Zola."

(MUSIC)

The success of radio and films, as well as the depression itself, caused problems for many Americans newspapers during the nineteen-thirties. The trouble was not so much that readers stopped buying newspapers. It was that companies talked about their products through advertisements on radio instead of buying advertising space in newspapers.

(SOUND: Maxwell House Radio commercial)

GRACIE ALLEN: "Another cup of Maxwell House coffee, George?"

GEORGE BURNS: "Sure, pour me a cup, Gracie."

GRACIE ALLEN: "You know, Maxwell House is always good to the last drop."

GEORGE BURNS: "And that drop's good, too."

ANNOUNCER: "For America's Thursday night comedy enjoyment, it's George and Gracie. And for America's every day coffee drinking enjoyment, it's Maxwell House. Today, more Americans buy and enjoy Maxwell House than any other brand of coffee at any price."

(MUSIC)

Nearly half of the nation's independently-published newspapers either stopped publishing or joined larger companies during the nineteen-thirties. By World War Two, only one hundred-twenty cities had competing newspapers.

Weekly and monthly publications faced the same problem as daily newspapers -- increased competition from radio and films. Many magazines failed. The two big successes of the period were Life Magazine and the Reader's Digest.

"Life" had stories for everyone about film actors, news events, or just daily life in the home or on the farm. Its photographs were the greatest anywhere. Reader's Digest published shorter forms of stories from other magazines and sources.

(MUSIC)

Most popular books of the period were like the films coming from Hollywood. Writers cared more about helping people forget their troubles than about facing serious social issues. They made more money that way, too.

But a number of writers in the nineteen-thirties did produce books that were both profitable and of high quality. One was Sinclair Lewis. His book, "It Can't Happen Here," warned of the coming dangers of fascism. John Steinbeck's great book, "The Grapes of Wrath," helped millions understand and feel in their hearts the troubles faced by poor farmers.

(MUSIC)

Erskine Caldwell wrote about the cruelty of life among poor people in the southeastern United States, and James T. Farrell and Studs Terkel wrote about life in Chicago.

The same social concern and desire to present life as it really existed also were clear in the work of many American artists during the nineteen-thirties.

Thomas Benton painted workers and others with strong tough bodies. Edward Hopper showed the sad streets of American cities. Reginald Marsh painted picture after picture of poor parts of New York City.

The federal government created a program that gave jobs to artists. They painted their pictures on the walls of airports, post offices, and schools. The program brought their ideas and creativity to millions of people.

Indeed, we are proud to have, in the lobby of our VOA building, several such murals by artist Ben Shahn, capturing many facets of the American experience in the nineteen thirties.

(SOUND/MUSIC)

At the same time, photography became more important as cameras improved in quality and became smaller and more portable. Some photographers like Margaret Bourke-White and Walker Evans used their cameras to document the difficult conditions of the Depression.

(SOUND)

The German émigré Alfred Eisenstaedt's photographs of new events and celebrities appeared regularly on the covers of Life.

(SOUND)

Alfred Stieglitz was another famous photographer in the nineteen thirties. He not only helped to establish photography as an art form, but was influential through his galleries in introducing avant garde artists from Europe to the public.

(SOUND)

The nineteen thirties were a particularly productive time for landscape photographer Ansel Adams, who also turned to photographing factories and industrial themes.

All this activity in the arts and popular culture played an important part in the lives of Americans during the nineteen-thirties. It not only provided relief from their troubles, but expanded their minds and pushed their imaginations.

The tensions and troubles of the Great Depression provided a rich atmosphere for artists and others to produce works that were serious or just plain fun. And those works, in turn, helped make life a little better as Americans waited, worked, and hoped for times to improve.

Our program was adapted from a script written by David Jarmul. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at www.unsv.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

I'm Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.

___

Contributing: David Jarmul

This was program #184. For earlier programs, type "Making of a Nation" in quotation marks in the search box at the top of the page.​​

Children learn about plant science at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Outdoors, in the open air, seems like a natural place to study natural science. It also makes sense in a place like Southern California where people like to be outside a lot. Now the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is working to bring the indoors to the outdoors for its visitors.

The museum has redesigned an outdoor space into a living exhibit. This is a big change for the one and a half hectare area. It used to include a parking lot. Now, instead of cars, it welcomes birds, butterflies and other living things.

EVA ENG: "What else do the plants need, Jaime?"

CHILDREN: "Sunshine!"

Teacher Eva Eng and her young students recently visited the museum's outdoor campus. Ms. Eng says they enjoyed their experience. The children were learning about plant science in school.

EVA ENG: "They really like hands-on things, getting their hands in the mud, and planting seeds, watering them, watching them grow."

Scientists who work at the museum come outside to describe plants and insects in the natural setting of this outdoor laboratory.

Greg Pauly specializes in studying turtles, like the western pond turtle. He tells the students how development has changed its natural habitat. He says these turtles are happiest around small bodies of water that grow and shrink with the seasons.

GREG PAULY: "You know, one hundred fifty years ago, before there were very many people here, all the streams were just seasonal streams. And the western pond turtle loved that habitat. And with people, we have changed the habitat."

Today, he says, there is a lot more permanent water, like a pond at the Natural History Museum itself. And he says the changing habitat is one reason why western pond turtles are shrinking in number.

In addition to science lessons, the open-air exhibit can provide contact with nature in a way that some city children rarely get.

Landscape architect Mia Lehrer says children can get real-life answers to questions they may be wondering about.

MIA LEHRER: "What does it mean to see what strawberry plants look like, that they do not come from a container in the store? And a tomato -- children have been asked, 'Where does ketchup come from?' They do not know."

Only parts of the new outdoor campus are open now. But Karen Wise says more changes are coming. Ms. Wise is the museum's vice president for education and exhibits.

KAREN WISE: "Now we are opening up the whole museum, making it an indoor-outdoor experience, so that our visitors can be a part of the experience."

The work is expected to be completed by June of twenty-thirteen. Next year is the museum's one hundredth anniversary.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can watch a video about the new outdoor exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also read, listen and learn English with our programs and activities. I'm Bob Doughty.

Contributing: Mike O'Sullivan and Jerilyn Watson

我们勤劳的会员“哈哈泰”于2012年5月17日发布了关于这篇文章的精华帖子，全文如下：

1. It is 23 hours 30 universal time, and here is the news in special English.
2. The trial of former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic started Wednesday at a United Nations court in The Hague. The former army general faces 11 charges including genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is accused of ordering the killing of about 8000 men and boys near the Bosnian city of Srebrenica. * a lawyer for the court said the former general wanted to punish anyone who was not an ethnic Serb. They were loaded in groups of * into a bus, a bus was driven to a field that has were forced oil as they could see the bodies of those killed before the they were murdered as they left the bus. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor spoke to judges Wednesday about those who suffered during Sierra Leone's deadly civil war. But he did not apologize for crimes carried out by rebels he armed in exchange for diamonds from Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor spoke before the United Nations supported special court for Sierra Leone in the Hague. As I have done before my time had to again here and I express my sadness and because civil for atrocities and crimes that were so for the by individuals and families. * spoke to the court for 20 min. The court plans to sentence him on May 30. Last month he was convicted of crimes against humanity. His lawyers have rejected calls for an 80 year jail sentence in a British prison. They say the sentence is too severe.
3. Syrian activists say government shelling and gunfire killed at least nine people in Syria Wednesday. A rights group says five of the deaths happened in the northwestern town of * after security forces launched raids in the area. On Tuesday, Syrian forces reportedly shot and killed at least 20 mourners at a funeral in *. Also on Tuesday, the vehicle of United Nations observers visiting * were damaged by a bomb. Six observers were visiting the town. It is not known who was responsible for the explosion. Separately, Syrian President Bishara Assad said Wednesday that his forces have captured and killed foreign fighters. He told the Russian 24 television station that his government will show the mercenaries to the world. Russia is an important supporter of the Syrian military.
4. Greece has sworn in a judge as the country's new temporary Prime Minister Council of State. President * was appointed Wednesday after the country's major political parties failed to form a coalition government. Parliamentary elections earlier this month did not give any political party a majority. Mr. * will be responsible for organizing a new election to be held on June 17. Experts say that election is also unlikely to produce a Parliament with the majority party. But they say a coalition opposed to major spending cuts has gained enough support to have a major influence. This could create problems between Greece and the European Union which wants the country to reduce its debt.
5. You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.
6. Russian police raided an opposition protest in a park in central Moscow on Wednesday. 20 protesters who police said refused to leave the area were arrested. A court had ordered police to end the demonstration by the middle of the day Wednesday. The raid brought a quick end to the country's first occupy like demonstration. The protest was launched last week after Pres. Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a new term. Some Russians say there was cheating in the election that returned Mr. Putin to the presidency. A change to the Constitution permits a Russian President to stay in office for a second six-year term. That means Mr. Putin could be president until 2024.
7. Chinese activist * says he and his family have completed passport application. He says Chinese officials have told him that his travel documents could be ready by the end of the month. Mr. * spoke to VOA Wednesday from his hospital room in Beijing. He has been there for two weeks recovering from injuries he suffered during his escape from house arrest last month. Mr. * said passport photographs were taken and that the application forms were brought to his hospital room by local security officials. This is the first act by the Chinese government on Mr. Chen's request for approval to leave China. Government officials agreed earlier this month to let him travel to the United States to study at New York University.
8. The worst flooding in more than 100 years has hit the Brazilian city of Manaus. More than 1 million people live in Manaus which is the largest city in the state of *. Weeks of heavy rain caused the * grow to reach its highest flood levels since 1902 when information was first recorded. There are no reports of deaths or injuries at this time.
9. Finally, the price of oil in New York reached its lowest level since last November on Wednesday. And in London, the price of oil dropped to its lowest level in almost 4 months. Experts say the political crisis in Greece is affecting oil prices. They say economic problems in Europe could reduce the demand for oil. The United States government also says the country's oil supplies are now at their highest level in 22 years.
10. Now briefly here again is the major news for this hour. The trial of Ratko Mladic has begun in The Hague the former Bosnian Serb commander is charged with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has told judges he has deep sympathy for those who suffered during Sierra Leone's deadly civil war, but he did not apologize. And Syrian activists say government shelling and gunfire killed at least nine people across the country on Wednesday. That's the news in VOA special English coming to you from Washington.

如果你想参与该帖讨论，请访问：World News-2012年5月17日

US Considers Approving Drug to Prevent HIV

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Studies show that a drug called Truvada can prevent HIV infections. The pill is taken once a day. Studies showed it was ninety percent effective when people took it every day. It was only half as effective when people did not take it every day.

Currently, in the United States, the drug is only approved for use as a treatment for people already infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Now a government advisory committee says Truvada should become the first drug approved for use to prevent HIV.

The Food and Drug Administration is not required to follow the advice of its Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, but usually does. The FDA is expected to decide by June fifteenth.

Mitchell Warren, head of the HIV prevention group AVAC, explains that Truvada is a combination pill.

MITCHELL WARREN: "It's made up of two different antiretrovirals -- tenofovir and emtricitabine. And those two drugs had already been approved by the FDA a number of years ago individually, and then about eight years ago they were approved as the combination drug. But all of those approvals related to the use of the drug for treating people who are already infected with HIV."

The advisory committee held a twelve-hour hearing on May tenth to consider the evidence. The committee urged the FDA to approve the drug for use by those who are considered at high risk for getting infected. The committee held two separate votes on recommending Truvada. One vote dealt with gay and bisexual men. The other dealt with heterosexual couples where one person has HIV.

Mr. Warren says Truvada offers hope for a new way to fight HIV.

MITCHELL WARREN: "If you are at risk of HIV, if you perceive yourself to be at risk, if you're able to take this pill every day as part of a combination of activities, including getting frequent HIV testing, you can reduce your risk of infection quite substantially."

The manufacturer of Truvada, Gilead, would have to produce what is known as a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy. This would be a plan to help ensure the safe and effective use of Truvada. The plan would include extensive training for health care providers. It would also include testing to make sure people are not already infected with HIV before they take the pill.

Some doctors say Truvada is a step toward ending the threat from AIDS. But some critics say the drug could give people a false sense of security and make them less likely to use condoms. Critics say it could also take financial resources away from more cost-effective methods of prevention, like using condoms.

Truvada currently sells for about fourteen thousand dollars a year. The drug would cost much less in developing countries, possibly several hundred dollars a year. But that could still be too high for some countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Christopher Cruise.

STEVE EMBER: I'm Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I'm Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about one of the greatest thinkers in the world, Leonardo da Vinci. He began his career as an artist. But his interest in the world around him drove him to study music, math, science, engineering and building design. Many of his ideas and inventions were centuries ahead of his time.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: We start with one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous drawings, called "Vitruvian Man." This work is a good example of his ever questioning mind, and his effort to bring together art, math and science.

"Vitruvian Man" is a detailed sketch of a man's body, which is drawn at the center of a square and circle. The man's stretched arms and legs are in two positions, showing the range of his motion. His arms and legs touch the edges of the square and circle.

​​SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: With this drawing Leonardo was considering the size of the human body and its relationship to geometry and the writings of the ancient Roman building designer Vitruvius.

Leonardo wrote this about how to develop a complete mind: "Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else."

STEVE EMBER: Leonardo da Vinci spent his life studying and observing in order to develop a scientific understanding of the world. He wrote down his thoughts and project ideas in a series of small notebooks. He made drawings and explained them with detailed notes. In these notebooks, he would write the words backwards. Some experts say he wrote this way because he wished to be secretive about his findings. But others say he wrote this way because he was left-handed and writing backwards was easier and helped keep the ink from smearing.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The notebooks show many very modern ideas. Leonardo designed weapons, machines, engines, robots, and many other kinds of engineering devices.

When disease spread in Milan, Leonardo designed a city that would help resist the spread of infection. He designed devices to help people climb walls, and devices to help people fly. He designed early versions of modern machines such as the tank and helicopter. Few of these designs were built during his lifetime. But they show his extraordinarily forward- thinking mind.

The notebooks also contain details about his daily life. These have helped historians learn more about the personal side of this great thinker.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Very little is known about Leonardo's early life. He was born in fourteen fifty-two in the town of Vinci. His father, Ser Piero da Vinci, was a legal expert. Experts do not know for sure about his mother, Caterina. But they do know that Leonardo's parents were never married to each other. As a boy, Leonardo showed a great interest in drawing, sculpting and observing nature.

However, because Leonardo was born to parents who were not married to each other, he was barred from some studies and professions. He trained as an artist after moving to Florence with his father in the fourteen sixties.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: It was an exciting time to be in Florence, one of the cultural capitals of Europe. Leonardo trained with one of the city's very successful artists, Andrea del Verrocchio. He was a painter, sculptor and gold worker. Verrocchio told his students that they needed to understand the body's bones and muscles when drawing people.

Leonardo took his teacher's advice very seriously. He spent several periods of his life studying the human body by taking apart and examining dead bodies. Experts say his later drawings of the organs and systems of the human body are still unequalled to this day.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: While training as an artist, Leonardo also learned about and improved on relatively new painting methods at the time. One was the use of perspective to show depth. A method called "sfumato" helped to create a cloudy effect to suggest distance. "Chiaroscuro" is a method using light and shade as a painterly effect. The artist also used oil paints instead of the traditional tempura paints used in Italy during this period.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Leonardo's first known portrait now hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. He made this painting of a young woman named Ginevra de'Benci around fourteen seventy-four. The woman has a pale face with dark hair. In the distance, Leonardo painted the Italian countryside.

He soon received attention for his extraordinary artistic skills. Around fourteen seventy-five he was asked to draw an angel in Verrocchio's painting "Baptism of Christ." One story says that when Verrocchio saw Leonardo's addition to the painting, he was so amazed by his student's skill, that he said he would never paint again.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Leonardo once said the following about actively using one's mental abilities: "Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." His mind was so active that he did not often finish his many projects.

One religious painting he never finished was called "Adoration of the Magi". He was hired to make the painting for a religious center. The complex drawing he made to prepare for the painting is very special. It shows how carefully he planned his art works. It shows his deep knowledge of geometry, volume and depth. He drew the many people in the painting without clothes so that he could make sure that their bodies would be physically correct once covered.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Around fourteen eighty-two, Leonardo moved to Milan. There, he worked for the city's ruler, Ludovico Sforza. This ruler invited Leonardo to Milan not as an artist, but as a musician. Historians say Leonardo was one of the most skillful lyre players in all of Italy. But he also continued his work as a painter. He also designed everything from festivals to weapons and a sculpture for Ludovico Sforza.

STEVE EMBER: One famous work from Leonardo's Milan period is called "Virgin of the Rocks." It shows Jesus as a baby along with his mother, Mary, and John the Baptist also as a baby. They are sitting outside in an unusual environment. Leonardo used his careful observations of nature to paint many kinds of plants. In the background are a series of severe rock formations. This painting helped Leonardo make it clear to the ruler and people of Milan that he was a very inventive and skillful artist.

​​SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Leonardo later made his famous painting "The Last Supper" for the dining room of a religious center in Milan. He combined his studies in light, math, psychology, geometry and anatomy for this special work. He designed the painting to look like it was part of the room. The painting shows a story from the Bible in which Jesus eats a meal with his followers for the last time. Jesus announces that one of them will betray him.

The work received wide praise and many artists tried to copy its beauty. One modern art expert described Leonardo's "Last Supper" as the foundation of western art. Unfortunately, Leonardo experimented with a new painting method for this work. The paint has suffered extreme damage over the centuries.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: In addition to the portrait of Ginevra de'Benci that we talked about earlier, Leonardo also painted several other non-religious paintings of women. One painting of Cecilia Gallerani has come to be known as "Lady with an Ermine" because of the small white animal she is holding. This woman was the lover of Milan's ruler, Ludovico Sforza.

However, Leonardo's most famous portrait of a woman is called the "Mona Lisa." It is now in the collection of the Louvre museum in Paris. He painted this image of Lisa Gherardini starting around fifteen-oh-three. She was the wife of a wealthy businessman from Florence named Francesco del Giocondo. It is from him that the painting takes its Italian name, "La Gioconda."

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Lisa Gherardini is sitting down with her hands crossed in her lap. She looks directly at the painter. She seems to be smiling ever so slightly. A great deal of mystery surrounds the painting. Experts are not sure about how or why Leonardo came to paint the work. But they do know that he never gave it to the Giocondo family. He kept the painting with him for the rest of his life, during his travels through France and Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci died in France in fifteen nineteen. A friend who was with him at his death said this of the great man's life: "May God Almighty grant him eternal peace. Every one laments the loss of a man, whose like, Nature cannot produce a second time."

STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I'm Shirley Griffith. You can see some of Leonardo da Vinci's work at our website voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English

我们勤劳的会员“哈哈泰”于2012年5月16日发布了关于这篇文章的精华帖子，全文如下：

1. It is zero hours 30 universal time and that's time for the news in Special English.
2. The new president of France and Germany's Chancellor say they will work together on proposals to create economic growth in Europe and avoid a monetary crisis. French President Holland and flew to Berlin after his swearing-in Tuesday. He and Chancellor * spoke to reporters after their meeting. * expressed her belief that the two nations could find solutions because she said both want economic development for Euro. Mr. Holland had been expected to ask that adept resolution agreement for euro nations be renegotiated to assist growth instead of reduce spending.
3. Negotiations to settle the political crisis in Greece have ended. Greek President * said the talks have failed. Socialist. Party leader * says Greece will have to hold new elections possibly next month. Political leaders in Greece have tried unsuccessfully to form a coalition government. They have not been able to agree on spending plans approved by European Union countries to resolve Europe's debt crisis. Greek voters rejected plans deep spending cuts or tax increases and reductions in government jobs.
4. Syrian activists say government forces shot and killed at least 20 mourners during a funeral march in central Syria. Minutes later a bomb exploded near United Nations observers in the area. The 2 incidents took place Tuesday in * a town near the city of Homs. Syrian Observatory for human rights accused government forces of killing the people in the presence of the UN observers. No one was hurt when the bomb exploded, but several vehicles were damaged. Syrian dissidents also reported the killings of at least seven other people across the country.
5. The leaders in Mongolia are facing international pressure over the treatment of former president *. A Mongolian court approved the former presidents conditional release from jail on Monday he is being treated in a hospital after refusing to eat to protest his detention. * was then arrested in April and charged with the is misusing government property. Activists say he was arrested to prevent him from taking part in parliamentary elections. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reportedly told Mongolian President * that he was worried about the former presidents condition. In the United States, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she asked the office of VP Joe Biden to tell Mongolian leaders about the need for a full legal process.
6. Burmese democracy leader Aung San Su Kii says she supports efforts by American Sen. John Mccain to suspend that not remove restrictions against her country. She says that would send a message of support for democratic reforms by the new Burmese government. Aung San Su Kii made her comments during a video discussion with the George W. Bush Presidential Institute in Washington.
7. You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.
8. Chinese activist * says American and Chinese officials have been discussing plans for him to travel to the United States. The activist told VOA that an official from China's central government had visited him in the hospital to discuss details of the trip. And American officials say the United States has completed processing his travel documents. The activist has been offered a chance to teach and study in New York.
9. Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr is defending his country's military ties with the United States. Mr. Carr spoke Tuesday on his first official visit to China. He said that his talks with Chinese officials have been mostly about Australia's decision to accept up to 2500 American troops. The first American Marines began arriving in April. The United States says the troop deployment is aimed at improving security in East Asia and the Pacific. Mr. Carr told reporters in Beijing that Australia's military relationship with the United States is not new. He also said he would like to see greater military cooperation between Australia and China.
10. The trial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic begins Wednesday at a United Nations court in The Hague. The former army commander faces 11 charges, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He is accused of ordering the killing of about 8000 men and boys near the Bosnian city of *. He is also accused of ordering the long deadly attack on Bosnia's capital Sarajevo in the early 1990s.
11. In Columbia, a bomb attack has killed at least two people and wounded 17 others. President Juan Manuel Santos says the bombing was an attempt to murder of a former interior minister. The president said the target was Fernando * who was among the wounded. Mr. Santos said the explosion killed Mr. * driver and a policeman. The Colombian president condemned the attack and said his government will not be frightened by terrorism. No one has claimed responsibility. Mr. * was interior minister under former Pres. * who led a military campaign against Colombian rebels.
12. Nobel award-winning Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes has died in Mexico City he was 83 years old. Mr. Fuentes wrote mainly about modern Mexico and what he saw as its political failures. His first novel "the air is clear" was published when he was 29 years old. Mexican Pres. * says he deeply regrets the death of what he calls the country's beloved and respected writer.
13. And now briefly here again is the major news at this hour. The leaders of France and Germany say they will work together on proposals to create economic growth in Europe and avoid a monetary crisis. Syrian activists say government forces shot and killed at least 20 mourners during a funeral march. And Mongolia's leaders are facing international pressure over the treatment of former President *. And that's the news read in VOA Special English coming your way from Washington.

如果你想参与该帖讨论，请访问：World News-2012年5月16日

Vitamin K found in spinach and other foods is needed for healthy blood

BOB DOUGHTY: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week, we tell about vitamins.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Many jobs must be done with two people. One person takes the lead. The other helps. It is this cooperation that brings success.

So it is with the human body. Much of our good health depends on the cooperation between substances. When they work together, chemical reactions take place smoothly. Body systems are kept in balance.

Some of the most important helpers in the job of good health are the substances we call vitamins.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The word "vitamin" dates back to Polish scientist Casimir Funk in nineteen-twelve. He was studying a substance in the hull that covers rice. This substance was believed to cure a disorder called beriberi.

Funk believed the substance belonged to a group of chemicals known as amines. He added the Latin word "vita," meaning life. So he called the substance a "vitamine" -- an amine necessary for life.

BOB DOUGHTY: Funk was not able to separate the anti-berberi substance from the rice hulls; it was later shown to be thiamine. Other studies found that not all vitamines were amines. So the name was shortened to vitamin. But Funk was correct in recognizing their importance.

Scientists have discovered fourteen kinds of vitamins. They are known as vitamins A, the B group, C, D, E and K. Scientists say vitamins help to carry out chemical changes within cells. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in our food, we are at risk of developing a number of diseases.

FAITH LAPIDUS: This brings us back to Casimir Funk. His studies of rice were part of a long search for foods that could cure disease.

One of the first people involved in that search was James Lind of Scotland. In the seventeen-forties, Lind was a doctor for the British Navy. He was investigating a problem that had existed in the Navy for many years.

The problem was the disease scurvy. So many sailors had scurvy that the Navy's fighting strength was very low. The sailors were weak from bleeding inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not heal. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting sick because they failed to eat some kinds of foods when they were at sea for many months.

Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, including oranges

Other doctors looked for foods to cure the diseases rickets and pellagra. They did not yet understand that they were seeing the problem from the opposite direction. That is, it is better to eat vitamin-rich foods to prevent disease instead of eating them to cure a disease after it has developed.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Which foods should be eaten to keep us healthy? Let us look at some important vitamins for these answers.

Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the eyes. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. They may develop a condition that dries the eyes. This can result in infections and lead to blindness.

Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A.

BOB DOUGHTY: Vitamin B-one is also called thiamine. Thiamine changes starchy foods into energy. It also helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly. Without it, we would be weak and would not grow. We also might develop beriberi.

Thiamine is found not just in whole grains like brown rice, but also in other foods. These include beans and peas, nuts, and meat and fish.

Salmon contains B vitamins

FAITH LAPIDUS: Vitamin B-twelve is needed so folic acid can do its work. Together, they help produce red blood cells. Vitamin B-twelve is found naturally in foods like eggs, meat, fish and milk products. Folic acid has been shown to prevent physical problems in babies when taken by their mothers during pregnancy.

Vitamin B-twelve is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods, like legumes and citrus fruits. In some countries, it is added to products like bread.

BOB DOUGHTY: In two thousand three, Japanese researchers identified a new member of the B-vitamin group. It is a substance known as pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ.

The researchers found that PQQ is important in the reproductive and defense systems of mice. They said the substance is similarly important for people. PQQ is found in fermented soybeans and also in parsley, green tea, green peppers and kiwi fruit.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth, and for healthy blood passages. It also helps wounds heal quickly. The body stores little vitamin C. So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.

Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium in the blood. Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally. It also is needed to build strong bones.

Milk products can contain Vitamin D

Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding. Bacteria in the intestines normally produce vitamin K. It can also be found in pork products, liver and in vegetables like cabbage, kale and spinach.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Experts agree that everyone needs vitamins so that their bodies can operate normally. In general, a complete diet should provide all the vitamins a body needs in their natural form. In addition, many foods and food products now have extra vitamins and minerals added.

Some people fear they do not get enough vitamins from the foods they eat. So they take products with large amounts of vitamins. They think these products, called vitamin supplements, will improve their health and protect against disease. Many adults now take vitamin supplements every day.

BOB DOUGHTY: In two thousand six, medical experts gathered near Washington, D.C. to discuss studies about vitamin supplements. The experts found little evidence that most supplements do anything to protect or improve health. But they noted that some do help to prevent disease.

The experts said women who wish to become mothers should take folic acid to prevent problems in their babies. And, they said vitamin D supplements and calcium can protect the bones of older women.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The medical experts agreed with doctors who say that people who know they lack a vitamin should take vitamin supplements. Some older adults, for example, may not have enough vitamin B-twelve. That is because, as people get older, the body loses its ability to take it from foods.

The experts also noted that taking too much of some vitamins can be harmful. They said people should be sure to discuss what vitamins they take with their doctors.

Several studies have not been able to show that taking vitamin supplements in addition to a balanced diet helps to prevent disease. One study found that older Americans do not get enough Vitamin C and required minerals. The study involved more than six thousand individuals. More than half of them took vitamin supplements.

BOB DOUGHTY: Vitamins are important to our health. A lack of required vitamins can lead to health problems.

Different vitamins are found in different foods -- grains, vegetables and fruits, fish and meat, eggs and milk products. And even foods that contain the same vitamins may have them in different amounts. Experts say this is why it is important to eat a mixture of foods every day, to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Brianna Blake. I'm Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

我们勤劳的会员“哈哈泰”于2012年5月15日发布了关于这篇文章的精华帖子，全文如下：

1. It is zero hours 30 universal time. Here is the news in Special English.
2. The International Atomic Energy Agency has again urged Iran to let UN nuclear officials see documents talk to Iranians and visit Iranian nuclear centers. The request from the IAEA is part of the UN effort to learn if Iran is developing nuclear weapons. The request came Monday a head of talks between Iran and the United Nations nuclear agency. A major issue for the meetings in Vienna is permission for a UN visit to the * military center. Agency officials suspect the center has a container protesting nuclear explosives. Also, on Monday, Washington Post newspaper reported that Iran has repeatedly violated shipping laws. It said Iranian oil transport ships have been turning off their satellite tracking systems in an attempt to avoid restrictions.
3. Greek President * is asking party leaders to form a government of experts and professors instead of politicians and administrators. Greek political leaders have been holding talks about forming a government since parliamentary elections last week. None of the three top parties of the *, * and new democracy won enough seats to rule alone. The leader of the * party Alexi refused to take part in the talks Monday. He said Greek officials who still support deep spending cuts did not get the message from Greek voters. But Mr. * says he will join the talks on Tuesday.
4. Afghan officials say a bomb attack has killed nine people including a government official. Police say the bomb exploded at a market in * province. A local council member was among those killed in the explosion. It is unclear who was responsible for the bombing. The Taliban denied responsibility for the council members that on Sunday a member of Afghanistan's 70 member hide peace Council was shot to death in Kabul. Afghan officials have said they expect violence after the Taliban recently announced the start of its spring offensive.
5. Pakistan says there has been progress in talks with the United States about reopening supply paths to international troops to Afghanistan. Pakistan closes the transport paths after deadly American airstrikes last November. 24 Pakistani troops were killed in the attacks near the Afghan border. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Killarney said the talks would likely produce results. Pakistani military and civilian leaders are to meet to discuss the issue on Tuesday. Police in Pakistan say a bomb explosion has killed two soldiers in Kwacha the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province. At least 10 other people were wounded. The bomb exploded in a car near some military vehicles. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Belarusian separatists and Taliban militants are active in the area.
6. You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.
7. Syrian activists say rebels killed 23 soldiers in fighting near the city of Rostock. The fighting began after the Syrian army shelled the city near Homs. Several people were wounded and several army vehicles were destroyed. Reports say at least 25 people also were killed in fighting. In Syria, on Sunday almost 200 United Nations observers are in Syria to support a cease-fire deal reached last month. United States, Europe and Gulf Arab states want Syrian President Bishara Assad to resign. But Russia has blocked the UN Security Council from taking additional action against Syria.
8. The international organization for migration has begun moving thousands of South Sudanese from camps in Sudan. An airplane carrying 164 refugees landed Monday in South Sudan's capital Juba. The refugees are among 12,000 to 15,000 South Sudanese who are waiting to leave. The crowded camp south of Khartoum South Sudan's humanitarian affairs Minister met the returnees at the airport. He said his government will have to provide for them since they lost most of their property.
9. The Philippines and China are ordering fishing bans in an area of the South China Sea. The two countries dispute possession of the area. China has ordered the fishing ban in the area once a year since 1999. The measure runs from May 16 to August 1. China says the goal is to protect sea creatures. However, the Philippines does not honor the ban since it covers waters it considers its own. The country plans to also order its own fishing there, but the dates have not been announced. Last month the Chinese military (到底是谁动用了军舰呢? VOA一贯是搅屎棍) stopped the Philippines from arresting Chinese fishermen in the area. Both nations have now deployed non-military ships there. The area is about 230 km from the main Philippine island(这话说的,混淆视听的能耐不小,值得国人好好学学,谁近就归谁?).
10. South Korean President * is in Burma for a two-day visit. He is the first South Korean president to visit the country in 30 years. Mr. Lee met with Burmese President Teng Sun on Monday. They discussed economic ties as well as cooperation on energy and natural resources. Mr. Lee is expected to meet with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Su Kii on Tuesday. The last South Korean leader to visit Burma was * in 1983. North Korean agents attempted to kill him when he was there. He was unhurt in the bomb attack, but 21 people were killed.(还有这个猛料,VOA抖了抖老底.)
11. Prices on European stock markets fell Monday. Experts say investors were concerned about Greece's membership in the European money system. Stock measures in London, Paris and Frankfurt all dropped about 2%. Major stock measures in New York dropped 1%. The value of the euro also fell below 29986.29 for the first time in almost 4 months.
12. Now briefly here again is the major news at this hour. The international atomic energy agency has again urged Iran to let UN nuclear officials see documents, talk to the Iranians, and visit Iranian nuclear centers. Greek President * is asking party leaders to form a government run by experts and professors instead of politicians and administrators. And Syrian activists say rebels killed 23 soldiers Monday in fighting near the city of Rostock. That's the news in VOA Special English from Washington.

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Farmers plant rice in a field in Indonesia

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The United Nations is expecting the world to harvest more rice in twenty twelve than was produced last year. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the world rice harvest should rise almost two percent, mainly because of increased production in Asia. Large gains are expected for Bangladesh, Burma, China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.

The FAO also is predicting a recovery for rice harvests in Africa. It expects increased production from Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.

But the UN agency says harvests will be lower in the European Union and the United States. Two reasons for this are unusually dry weather and falling rice prices, which have led some farmers to plant other crops. Smaller rice harvests also are expected in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Concepcion Calpe is an economist with the FAO. She says good harvests in Asia will lead to reduced demand for rice this year. Demand is expected to fall nine hundred thousand tons to about thirty-four million metric tons.

Ms. Calpe says one reason for the expected drop is better than expected production by some major importers, like Indonesia and Bangladesh. Other countries have set limits on how much rice they are willing to import.

The FAO says rice prices have stayed high for many reasons. They include higher costs for fuel, fertilizer and, in some areas, labor. One country where rice prices remain high is China. Concepcion Calpe says the high prices appear to be in disagreement with official Chinese reports of record harvests.

In Thailand, a government price-support program has led rice exports to fall by twenty percent, to less than eight million tons. The program keeps Thai rice export prices above market prices. As a result, the FAO says, exporters like Australia, India and Vietnam have captured a larger market share.

Ms. Calpe notes that Burma could become a major exporter of rice. Many Western governments have eased trade restrictions on Burma recently because of its efforts at political and economic reform. Foreign investment and increased productivity in Cambodia also might help that country export more rice.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. To read, listen to and learn English with our stories, go to VOASpecialEnglish.com. You can also find captioned videos of our program at the VOA Learning English channel on YouTube. I'm Jim Tedder.

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Contributing: Ron Corben