In recent years, Bill Gates has given financial support to improve American education. Late last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Measures of Effective Teaching project. The project tests new ways to recognize what makes a goo...
FAITH LAPIDUS: And Im Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we enter a world of Christmas magic, snowflakes, sweets and sugarplum fairies. The Nutcracker is one of the most popular ballets in the world. It is also an important...
Freezing weather can mean frostbite and hypothermia unless a person is prepared. Today we talk about how to stay warm, dry and safe. Frostbite is damage that happens when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. It mainly happens on the hands, f...
BOB DOUGHTY: And Im Bob Doughty. Today, we will tell about a possible biological test for autism. We also will talk about some allergic reactions and their causes. And we will tell about an investigation of weight gain in animals. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPID...
An evergreen tree is a Christmas tradition in many American homes. The tree is usually a pine or fir dressed with lights and other colorful decorations. Families might buy a cut tree or go to a tree farm and cut one down themselves. Some people bring...
FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. Im Faith Lapidus. This week on our program we hear from some Americans about Christmas past, present and future. (MUSIC) FAITH LAPIDUS: Jeffrey Davis remembers Christmas two years ago...
A report by the Consumer Electronics Association says electronics are among the most popular gifts being bought this holiday season. It also predicts that spending on these devices will set new records. The CEA says consumers will spend an average of...
BARBARA KLEIN: Im Barbara Klein. STEVE EMBER: And Im Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about Harry Houdini, the great escape artist and magician. BARBARA KLEIN: It was a hot July day in nineteen twelve....
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. This week, President Obama released a progress report on the Afghan war, now in its tenth year. The five-page summary of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Annual Review says there are notable operational gains....
DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. (MUSIC) I'm Doug Johnson. This week we answer a question about the life of magician Harry Houdini ... We also play music by some of this years biggest concert money-makers ... But first...
The season for buying Christmas gifts is the busiest time for most stores and online retailers in the United States. Final numbers for the holiday season including after-Christmas sales will not be known for a while. But a report this week on retail...
STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. This week in our series, Doug Johnson and Shirley Griffith discuss the presidential election of nineteen twenty and the man who won, Warren Harding. DOUG JOHNS...
This is the VOA Special English Education Report. The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, is a two-hour test that compares the performance of fifteen-year-olds. In the latest test, the countries with the best readers were South Kor...
STEVE EMBER: Im Steve Ember. BARBARA KLEIN: And Im Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we visit two museums housed in one building in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian American Art Museum recently opened a show on the New Yor...
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. When parents go to work, their young children often spend the day in child care. That contact with other children can make it easier to get sick. But new research suggests that this might have a protecti...
