California Seeks China's Help in Going Gre

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

California Governor Jerry Brown wants to increase partnerships between his state and China. The governor traveled to China last week to seek Chinese investment in things like high-speed rail, renewable energy and electric vehicles.

The California governor spoke at China's Tsinghua University. He called for a partnership between the United States and China to develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gases.

"China has been instrumental in driving down the costs, and making available that technology. So there is a real connection."

Mr. Brown met with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and China's minister of environmental protection, Zhou Shengxian. Mr. Brown and Mr. Zhou signed a nonbinding agreement to share information about policies to reduce pollution. Pollution is a leading concern in Beijing, where officials advise people to stay indoors when air pollution levels peak.

China's Premier Li Keqiang (R) gestures as he talks to California Governor Jerry Brown during a meeting at the Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound in Beijing, April 11, 2013.

California's biggest city, Los Angeles, has successfully reduced its smog problem. Its efforts included improving its vehicle emission standards, and offering special incentives or rewards for clean energy policies.

Last year California held its first auction of carbon credits under the state's greenhouse gas reduction law. The law forces big polluting industries to buy credits to release carbon dioxide, methane and related gases.

Governor Brown also hopes to create 20,000 new megawatts of renewable electricity by 2020.

Mike Hart is CEO of Sierra Energy, a green energy company.

"Electric vehicles, we're looking at fuel cell vehicles. And also biofuels. And a lot of those areas where the technology needs to be advanced but we need a whole new infrastructure."

To achieve those goals California is seeking help from China. State-backed industries in the country have made gains in reducing the cost of green technologies such as solar panels and electric buses.

Governor Brown says his trip was an appeal for increased trade with China. Green technology is just one of the industries the California governor is interested in working on.

"We are looking for investments into California of any kind. And we're looking for sales from California into China of any kind. So we're looking for partnerships."

California-based environmental scientists and representatives from environmental consulting firms also attended Governor Brown's speech in Beijing. They say their work is increasingly directed at China. That is because rising air pollution levels in that country have created a market for solutions to the problems.

Former Chinese vice president -- now president -- Xi Jinping visited Los Angeles in February. He also called for an increase in economic and cultural ties between the United States and China.

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

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Gonorrhea Getting Harder to Treat

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發佈時間：2013-04-05

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report. Each year an estimated 106 million people get infected with gonorrhea. This sexually transmitted disease is getting harder and harder to treat. The World Health Organization says gonorrhea is increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

The WHO warns that there are few treatment options available. The world, it says, is running out of ways to cure the disease. Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan is a scientist in the Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the WHO. She says infected men and women of reproductive age could become infertile if gonorrhea becomes untreatable. This bacterial disease can also threaten the health of infected pregnant women and their unborn children.

Gonorrhea is one of four major sexually transmitted diseases that can be cured. The other three are chlamydial infection, syphilis and chancroid. But the organism that causes gonorrhea has developed resistance to almost every class of antibiotic. Resistance is caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and by the use of poor quality antibiotics. It also results from natural genetic changes, or mutations, within the organisms that cause diseases.

The WHO says it does not have enough information to know the extent of gonorrhea resistance worldwide. But it says cases of resistance to treatment have been reported in Australia, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Britain. The WHO is calling for smarter use of antibiotics and more research into new ways to treat the infections. Dr. Lusti-Marasimhan says there is currently no research into new drug treatments for gonorrhea. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 12Mar2013)

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VOA  Small Change Can Improve a Child's Reading此文用時2.67 用字309 單字165

進入有聲；http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZut1F_FsHU

發佈時間：2013-04-01

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Teachers and parents usually call attention to the pictures when they read storybooks to preschool children.

But a study published in 2011 suggests that calling attention to the words and letters on the page may help a child's reading. The two-year study compared children who were read to this way in class with children who were not.

The children whose teachers most often discussed the print showed clearly higher skills in reading, spelling and understanding. These results were found one year and even two years later. Shayne Piasta at Ohio State University was an author of the study.

She said most preschool teachers would find this method manageable and would need only a small change in the way they teach. They already read storybooks in class. The only difference would be increased attention to the printed text.

If you get children to pay attention to letters and words, it makes sense they would do better at word recognition and spelling. But research suggests that very few parents and teachers do this in a systematic way. The report appeared in the journal

Child Development.More than 300 children ages four and five were observed for the study. The children came from poor families and were below average in their language skills.

There are different ways that adults can talk to children about print. They can point to a letter and discuss it, and even trace the shape with a finger. They can point out a word.

They can discuss the meaning of the print or how the words tell the story. And they can talk about the organization of the print -- for instance, showing how words are written left to right in English.

For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 07Mar2013)

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此文用時2.67 用字309 單字165

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VOA  Saving the Arctic's Polar Bears

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Scientists say the world has only 20,000 polar bears. A movie called "To the Arctic" is part of an effort to save the animals and their home.

MERYL STREEP: "Feasting on rich seal meat has made these the largest bears in the world. But now the Arctic is warming, and the sea ice is melting away."

The film follows a polar bear mother and her two cubs.

MERYL STREEP: "This is a cold stark world, but to polar bear mothers and cubs, it's paradise."

Nature photographer Florian Schulz made a book about the Arctic.

FLORIAN SCHULZ: "The polar bears won't be able to survive without the ice, and, right now, scientists are predicting that by 2040 or 2050, somewhere in between then, the sea ice in the summer will completely go away."

The movie producers had difficulty working in below zero temperatures, and with animals afraid of humans.

"Next year we're coming back with stronger cases."

The movie and book are part of a larger project to protect polar bears and the Arctic, says Suzanne Apple of the World Wildlife Fund.

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

I'm Steve Ember.

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歐洲的馬肉問題。.Europe's Horse Meat Problems .

發佈時間：2013-03-25

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From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English. Ikea recently recalled frozen meatballs from its European stores after tests found some contained horse meat. Czech investigators said they found small amounts of horse meat in Swedish meatballs at an Ikea store in the Czech Republic. Ikea is the big Swedish company that sells furniture.

Microsoft® Translator

從美國之音英語學習，這是特別英語農業報導。宜家最近回顧冷凍的肉丸從其歐洲的商店後測試發現一些載的馬肉。捷克的調查人員說，他們在捷克共和國境內宜家瑞典肉丸中發現少量的馬肉。宜家是大的瑞典公司，銷售傢俱。

But its stores also sell Swedish foods. The packaging said the meatballs contained beef and pork. Ikea said meatballs from the contaminated batch were sent to stores in some other European countries. They included Belgium, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands. Recently, laboratory tests found horse meat being sold as beef in a number of European Union countries.

Microsoft® Translator

但其商店也出售瑞典食品。包裝說所載的丸子牛肉和豬肉。宜家說從受污染批次的肉丸被送往其他一些歐洲國家的商店。他們包括比利時、 英國、法國、 西班牙、 義大利、 希臘和荷蘭。最近，實驗室化驗，發現馬肉作為一些歐洲聯盟國家的牛肉出售。

The EU law enforcement agency, Europol, is investigating the meat industry. Owen Paterson is the British environment secretary. He says the sale of horse meat as beef is unacceptable. He called it a fraud on the public. Millions of food items have been removed from stores, schools and hospitals. No one has reported any health problems, and the French eat horse meat.

Microsoft® Translator

歐盟的執法機構，歐洲刑警組織，正在調查肉類行業。歐文 · 佩特森是英國環境局局長。他表示，馬肉出售牛肉是不能接受。他提醒市民它有欺詐行為。從商店、學校和醫院，數以百萬計的食品專案已被刪除。沒有人報告了任何健康問題，和法國吃馬肉。

But the situation has upset consumers across Europe. In Britain, horse meat was discovered in frozen meals sold by the Swedish-based frozen food company Findus. In France, an investigation has accused the French meat processing company Spanghero of knowingly selling horse meat as beef. The company denies the accusation. The EU requires the packaging of fresh meat to identify the country where it was produced. But in prepared meals only the kind of meat used is required to be listed. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 26Feb2013

Microsoft® Translator

但情況已打亂消費者整個歐洲。在英國，基於瑞典的冷凍食品公司冷凍食品業務出售冷凍食物中發現了馬肉。在法國，調查指控法國肉類加工公司明知而賣馬肉牛肉的 Spanghero。該公司否認這一指控。歐盟要求包裝的新鮮肉類，以查明的該國製造的地方。但在準備好的飯菜只的肉用種需列明。美國之音學習英語，我月桂樹 Bowman。（改編自 2013 年 2 月 26 日播出的廣播節目

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Small Change Can Improve a Child's Reading

最新的一篇  小小的改變可以提高孩子的閱讀

進入有聲影片；http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZut1F_FsHU

VOALearningEnglish·1,134 部影片

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Teachers and parents usually call attention to the pictures when they read storybooks to preschool children. But a study published in 2011 suggests that calling attention to the words and letters on the page may help a child's reading. The two-year study compared children who were read to this way in class with children who were not.

Microsoft® Translator

從美國之音英語學習，這是教育報告。教師和家長通常提請圖片時他們讀故事書給學齡前兒童。但在 2011 年發表一份研究表明在頁面上調用注意單詞和字母可能説明孩子的閱讀。兩年的研究與比較兒童被讀到此類中的方法與孩子不是的人。

The children whose teachers most often discussed the print showed clearly higher skills in reading, spelling and understanding. These results were found one year and even two years later. Shayne Piasta at Ohio State University was an author of the study. She said most preschool teachers would find this method manageable and would need only a small change in the way they teach.

Microsoft® Translator

列印討論最多的老師的孩子在閱讀、 拼寫和理解表明顯然更高的技能。一年，甚至兩年後找到這些結果。Shayne Piasta 在美國俄亥俄州大學是研究報告的作者。她說，大多數幼兒教師會發現這種方法易於管理，而且需要只有小改變他們教的方式。

They already read storybooks in class. The only difference would be increased attention to the printed text. If you get children to pay attention to letters and words, it makes sense they would do better at word recognition and spelling. But research suggests that very few parents and teachers do this in a systematic way. The report appeared in the journal Child Development.More than 300 children ages four and five were observed for the study.

Microsoft® Translator

他們已經讀故事書類中。唯一的差別會更多地注意到列印的文本。如果你讓孩子注意字母和單詞，很有的意義他們會做得更好在單詞識別和拼寫。但研究表明很少有家長和教師這樣做有系統的方式。兒童 Development.More 比 300 名兒童年齡為 4 個和 5 個被觀察研究報告出現在日誌中。

The children came from poor families and were below average in their language skills. There are different ways that adults can talk to children about print. They can point to a letter and discuss it, and even trace the shape with a finger. They can point out a word. They can discuss the meaning of the print or how the words tell the story. And they can talk about the organization of the print -- for instance, showing how words are written left to right in English. For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 07Mar2013)

Microsoft® Translator

兒童來自貧窮的家庭，並且是在平均之下在他們的語言技能。有成人可以跟孩子談列印的不同方法。他們可以指向一封信和討論它，並甚至追蹤具有一個手指的形狀。他們可以指出一個字。他們可以討論的列印或字這個故事的意義。他們可以談談組織的列印 — — 例如，顯示如何到右左寫單詞的英語。美國之音學習英語，我是亞曆克斯比利亞雷亞爾。（改編自一個電臺節目廣播 2013 年 3 月 7 日)

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VOA News for 27 Mar 2013 - 20130327 .ListenAndReadAlong·435 部影片

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VOA NEWS

March 27, 2013

From Washington, this is VOA news. US condemns new North Korean threats. Syrian opposition gets a boost from the Arab League. I'm Ray Kugel reporting from Washington.

The United States says it is concerned about North Korea's latest warning that it can strike targets on Guam, Hawaii and the US mainland.

Pentagon spokesman George Little says the North must stop threatening peace, noting that such rhetoric does not help anyone.

"North Korea's bellicose rhetoric and threats follow a well-worn pattern designed to raise tensions and intimidate others. North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia."

Spokesman George Little says US forces are ready to respond to any contingency.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says two separate peacekeeping forces will be needed in Mali to keep peace and take on any major combat.

In an advanced copy of a report to be presented to the Security Council and obtained by VOA, Mr Ban says an 11,000-member peacekeeping force eventually will take over the mission from an initial African-led force.

Former Congolese general and rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court Tuesday, saying he is innocent of the charges against him.

Prosecutors say Ntaganda was criminally responsible for the use of child soldiers and acts of murder, rape and sexual slavery while serving as a militia leader in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He faces seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity.

The UN Children's Fund reports many communities in most of the rebel-controlled areas of the Central African Republic lack basic services. UNICEF says it is seriously affecting about 600,000 children and the situation is getting worse since rebels seized control of the capital, Bangui. Lisa Schlein has details.

UNICEF spokeswoman, Marixie Mercado, says hundreds of thousands of children are extremely vulnerable. They are receiving little assistance because humanitarian organizations have no access to them. She says a UNICEF mission to three rebel-controlled areas earlier this month found shortages in life-saving medicines.

"Health activities have been seriously disrupted as most doctors have left. Many schools are closed, occupied by armed groups, or without teachers. We estimate that 13,500 children will suffer from life-threatening malnutrition this year and many nutrition centers are closed and looted."

Lisa Schlein for VOA news, Geneva.

Syria's opposition representatives took the country's seat at an Arab summit for the first time Tuesday, saying that the United States should use Patriot surface-to-air missiles to protect rebel-held areas from President Bashar Assad's airpower. NATO says it has no intention of intervening militarily in Syria.

Banks remain closed Tuesday in Cyprus as the Mediterranean island nation began to cope with life under terms of the $13-billion bailout it secured to avert an economic collapse.

The country began to shut down its second largest bank, Cyprus Popular, and restructure its largest, the Bank of Cyprus.

The US Supreme Court Tuesday heard the first two landmark cases on same sex marriage.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the court as justices heard arguments on the constitutionality of a California state law, known as Proposition 8. It bars gay people from marrying. VOA's Michael Bowman has more.

Excitement and anticipation could be seen in the faces of John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, partners of 25 years.

"We would not want to be anywhere else right now. This is history in the making."

The San Francisco couple wed during a brief period when California allowed same sex marriage. That was before the passage of a 2008 ballot initiative, known as Proposition 8, that restricted marriage to heterosexuals in the state. Prop 8's constitutionality has been contested for the last four years. Tuesday, the case was aired before the Supreme Court.

Michael Bowman, VOA news, Washington.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule returned to Earth parachuting into the Pacific Ocean, west off Baja California in Mexico about six hours after it undocked from the International Space Station Tuesday.

The commercially-owned spacecraft carried 1,200 kilograms of science samples from experiments conducted on board the orbiting lab.

And President Obama says he will be appointing Julia Pierson as the first woman to head the US Secret Service, the agency that protects the president and his family.

I'm Ray Kugel, VOA news. More at voanews.com.

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