This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
    American history was made, and remembered, this week in Washington.
On Thursday, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California became the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.  The new Congress opened with Democrats in the majority in both houses for the first time in twelve years.  
    Representative: A member of the U.S. House of Representatives or of the lower house of a state legislature
    the House of Representatives: 众议院
    New members in the House include the first Muslim member of Congress.  Keith Ellison of Minnesota placed his left hand on a Koran during a ceremonial swearing-in.  He used a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson, America's third president. 
    Koran: 可兰经    ceremonial swearing-in: 就职典礼
    But before the one hundred tenth Congress opened, Americans looked back at an earlier chapter in their history.
    Funeral services and a national day of mourning took place this week for Gerald Ford.  America's thirty-eighth president died on December twenty-ninth at his home in California.  Mister Ford, a Republican, was ninety-three years old. 
    mourn: 哀悼
    He was remembered as a likeable man who brought calm and healing to a nation torn by the political dirty tricks known as Watergate.  But for many, that time in the early nineteen seventies also represents the end of a period of high public trust in government. 
    likeable: 可爱的，令人喜爱的
    Gerald Ford became the only American ever to serve as president and vice president without election to either office.  That was after he served in Congress for more than twenty years.  
    President Richard Nixon asked him to replace vice president Spiro Agnew.  Agnew had resigned over accusations of financial corruption.  
    accusation: 谴责，指控
    But less than a year later, in August of nineteen seventy-four, Nixon resigned because of Watergate.  Had he not, Congress might have removed him from office. 
    The Watergate scandal is the name given to illegal activities by President Nixon's nineteen seventy-two re-election committee.  The name comes from a group of buildings in Washington, the Watergate complex. A failed break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices there led to the discovery of the illegal activities. 
    scandal: 丑闻         break-in: 非法闯入
    The discovery came from an investigation by two young reporters at the Washington Post -- Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.  
    President Nixon ordered his aides to hide evidence of the wrongdoing. A White House recording proved it.  Soon after the tapes became public, he resigned. 
    aide: 助手，副官
    Then, a month after Gerald Ford became president, he pardoned Richard Nixon for all offenses he may have committed.  Mister Ford often said the pardon was a necessary step to unite the country. To this day, there is debate about whether he acted correctly.  It meant Richard Nixon never had to face trial. 
    About forty people were charged with Watergate-related crimes.  
    Gerald Ford's decision may have cost him the nineteen seventy-six election.  He lost to Jimmy Carter in a close race.  Mister Ford's presidency lasted just twenty-nine months.  
    The former president was buried Wednesday at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  
    And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake.  I'm Mario Ritter.

    HOST:
    Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
    (MUSIC)
    This is Doug Johnson.  On our show today, we tell about some of the best books, movies and songs of the past year. 
    Notable Books of 2006
    Literary critics list the best books at the end of every year. Steve Ember tells us about three critically praised books published in two thousand six.
    STEVE EMBER:
    "The Emperor's Children" by Claire Messud is about three thirty-year-old people who live in New York City. They have been friends since college.  They are well educated and intelligent but are not successful. 
    Julian Clarke and Danielle Minkoff have jobs that are not satisfying.  Marina Thwaite has been writing a book she cannot seem to finish. 
    The young people respect Marina's father who is a famous intellectual, journalist and social activist. He gives advice about life and work but privately violates these ideas. At the end of the book, all of the characters are affected by the terrorist attack on New York City on September eleventh, two thousand one. 
    Another widely praised book from last year is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. It describes the end of the world as we know it. A father and his young son try to survive in a land destroyed by a nuclear disaster. They are two of the last survivors on Earth.  They must continue walking along the road so they do not become victims of attacks by other survivors. They must also search for food and safe places to rest.
    One critic said this frightening book takes readers to places they do not want to go. It forces them to ask questions they do not want to ask. Others praise the descriptions of the relationship between the boy and the father, and the sights and sounds of their horrible world.  
    A third best book from two thousand six is "What Is The What" by Dave Eggers.  It is a fictional story about a real person, Valentino Achak Deng.  He was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war. The book tells his story from the age of seven when soldiers destroy his village and he is separated from his family. He joins the other "Lost Boys" who walk through refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya on their way to what they hope will be new lives. Valentino finally reaches the United States as a young man.  But he finds life there in some ways more difficult than it was in Africa.
    Best Movies of 2006
    HOST:
    At the end of each year, critics list what they consider to be the best movies released that year. 
    Many critics praised two historical films directed by Clint Eastwood.  Both were released near the end of the year. They tell about the World War Two battle between American and Japanese forces for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.  The movies describe both sides of the battle that killed almost seven thousand American troops and more than twenty thousand Japanese. 
    Critics especially praised the movie that tells the Japanese story.  It is called "Letters From Iwo Jima."  The Japanese soldiers sent to Iwo Jima to defend the island against the American attack did not expect to survive. The movie tells about those who took part in the battle and their commander. Critics say the movie paints a detailed picture of the island, the lives of the Japanese defending it and the horrors of war.  
    The other movie is "Flags of Our Fathers."  It is about three American servicemen who helped raise the American flag on Iwo Jima. They were sent back to the United States to help the government gain money for the war effort. The movie explores the American public's reaction to them and their own feelings about leaving others to fight the war. 
    MOVIE SOUND:
    "As far as being the heroes of Iwo Jima, that's just not the case.  We really didn't do much at all.  We put up the flag.  The pole we attached it to was heavy so it took a number of us.  We had our picture taken doing it.  The real heroes are dead on that island and we appreciate it if you bought bonds in honor of them. Thank you."
    Another critically praised movie last year told the story of an important event in recent American history. "United 93" is about the terrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one. It shows the events that might have happened on the hijacked airplane that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The passengers tried to gain control of the plane from the terrorists.
    MOVIE SOUND:
    "We have to do something."
    "They're not gonna land this plane.  They are not gonna take us back to the airport."
    "Is there any other option we have?"
    "If we're gonna die, we're gonna die."
    Critics called the movie a real memorial to the forty passengers and crew-members who refused to let terrorists reach their intended target in Washington, D.C.
    Many critics also praised a movie called "Little Miss Sunshine."  It is about what Americans call a dysfunctional family. That is, a family with problems. The movie follows six members of the Hoover family on a road trip together from New Mexico to California. They make the trip so that the daughter, seven-year-old Olive, can compete in a beauty contest.  The movie is very funny, sad and truthful at the same time.
    MOVIE SOUND:
    "I don't want to be a loser." 
    "You're not a loser.  Where'd you get the idea you're a loser?"
    "Cuz. Daddy hates losers."
    "Whoa, whoa whoa. Back up a minute. You know what a loser is?  A real loser is somebody that's so afraid of not winning they don't even try.  Now, you're tryin', right?"
   "Yeah."
    "So, you're not a loser."
    During their trip, the Hoover family learns to trust and support each other. 
    Best Music of 2006
    HOST:
    Music critics also make lists of what they consider the best recordings of the year.  Katherine Cole plays some of the best songs of two thousand six.
    KATHERINE COLE:
    Many critics agreed that one of the best albums of last year was by the Dixie Chicks. "Taking the Long Way" is the group's answer to those who criticized them after lead singer Natalie Maines made a negative public statement about President Bush. She did so in two thousand three, right before the invasion of Iraq. 
    The group said the comment and the reaction to it changed their lives and their music. One of the songs on their album expresses the importance of standing up for what you believe. It is "Not Ready To Make Nice."
    (MUSIC)
    Another critics' choice for best album of two thousand six was "Stadium Arcadium" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  In fact, Billboard Magazine reports that one of the songs on the album was the number one modern rock song of the year.  Here it is -- "Dani California."
    (MUSIC)
    "Modern Times" by Bob Dylan was also chosen as one of the best albums of two thousand six.  Critics at Billboard Magazine voted this album the best of the year.  We leave you now with Bob Dylan singing  "Thunder on the Mountain."
    (MUSIC)
    HOST:
    I'm Doug Johnson.  I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.  
    Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com.  Please include your full name and mailing address.  Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English. 

    VOICE ONE:
    THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. 
    (MUSIC)
    The House of Representatives of the Congress closed for business early on the rainy afternoon of April twelfth, nineteen forty-five. The House Democratic leader, Sam Rayburn, stepped down from his chair and invited a friend to come by his office for a drink. "Be there around five o'clock," Rayburn said. "Harry Truman is coming over." 
    The Second World War was not yet over. But it was a quiet afternoon in Washington. President Franklin Roosevelt was in the state of Georgia. He was resting after his recent trip to Yalta to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The president's wife, Eleanor, was at the White House, working on a speech supporting the new United Nations organization. 
    Vice President Harry Truman was at the Senate. But he was not interested in the debate. He spent most of his time writing a letter to his mother and sister back in the state of Missouri. When the debate finished, he went to the office of House leader Rayburn to join him for a drink. It was an afternoon Truman would never forget. 
    VOICE TWO: 
    Rayburn and his other friend were talking in the office before Truman arrived. Suddenly the telephone rang. It was the White House. A voice asked whether Vice President Truman had arrived yet. "No," Rayburn replied. "Tell him to call the White House," the voice said, "as soon as he gets there." 
    Truman entered a minute later. He immediately called the White House. As he talked, his face became white. He put down the phone and raced out the door to find his car. 
    VOICE ONE: 
    Truman arrived at the White House within minutes. An assistant took him up to the private living area for the president. Missus Roosevelt was waiting for him there. "Harry," she said to Truman, "the president is dead." 
    Truman was shocked. He asked Missus Roosevelt if there was anything he could do to help her. But her reply made clear to him that his own life had suddenly changed. "Is there anything we can do for you?" Missus Roosevelt asked the new president. "You are the one in trouble now." 
    VOICE TWO: 
    Within hours, the world knew the news. Franklin Roosevelt was dead. Americans were shocked and afraid. Roosevelt had led them since early nineteen thirty-three. He was the only president many young Americans had ever known. Who would lead them now. 
    The answer was Harry Truman, the vice president. Truman had been a surprise choice for vice president. Delegates at the Democratic presidential convention of nineteen forty-four chose him to be with Roosevelt only after considering several other candidates. Roosevelt and Truman easily defeated their Republican Party opponents. And, when Roosevelt died, Truman became president. 
    VOICE ONE: 
    Truman lacked the fame, the rich family, and the strong speaking voice of Franklin Roosevelt. He was a much simpler man. He grew up in the central state of Missouri. Truman only studied through high school and some night-time law school classes. He worked for many years as a farmer and a small businessman, but without much success. 
    Truman had long been interested in politics. When he was almost forty years old, he finally won several low-level jobs in his home state. By nineteen thirty-four, he was popular enough in the state to be nominated and elected to the United States Senate. And he won re-election six years later. 
    VOICE TWO: 
    Most Americans, however, knew little about Truman when he became president. They knew he had close ties to the Democratic Party political machine in his home state. But they also had heard that he was a very honest man. They could see that Truman had strongly supported President Roosevelt's "New Deal" programs. But they could not be sure what kind of president Truman would become. 
    VOICE ONE: 
    History gave Truman little time to learn about his new job. In one of his first weeks as president, Truman signed a paper on his desk without reading it completely. Only later did he learn that his signing the paper had stopped the shipment of American goods to Britain under the "lend-lease" program. 
    Truman's mistake caused problems for people in both the United States and Britain. But it also taught the new president how much power he now had, and how carefully he must use it. 
    VOICE TWO: 
    The most important power he now possessed was the power of atomic weapons. And, soon after he became president, he faced the decision to use that terrible power or not. 
    Truman understood the tragic importance of using atomic bombs to end World War Two. Yet he firmly believed that using such bombs was the only way to force Japan to surrender. So in August, nineteen forty-five, he gave the orders to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
    The war in Europe had ended several months earlier. Truman met in Potsdam, Germany, with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to plan the peace. 
    The three leaders agreed that their nations and France would occupy Germany jointly. They also agreed to end the Nazi party in Germany, to hold trials for Nazi war criminals, and to break up some German businesses. 
    Foreign ministers of the Allied nations later negotiated peace treaties with Germany's wartime allies and other countries, including Italy, Hungary, and Romania. 
    The east European nations all agreed to protect the political and economic freedom of their citizens. However, western political experts were becoming more fearful each day that the Soviet Union would block any effort for real democracy in eastern Europe. 
    VOICE ONE: 
    Truman did not trust the soviets. And as he made plans for Asia, he promised himself that he would not allow Moscow any part in controlling Japan. For this reason, the Allied occupation of Japan was mainly American.
    The American leader in Japan, General Douglas MacArthur, acted quickly to hold a series of trials for Japanese war crimes. He also launched a series of reforms to move Japan toward becoming a modern Western democracy. Women were given the right to vote. Land was divided among farmers. Shinto was ended as the national religion. And the educational system was reorganized. 
    Japan began to recover very soon, becoming stronger than ever before as an economic power. 
    VOICE TWO: 
    While Truman and other world leaders dealt with the problems of making peace, they also were trying to establish a new system for keeping the peace. 
    The United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and the other Allies had formed the United Nations as a wartime organization. But soon after Truman took office, they met in San Francisco to discuss ways to make the United Nations a permanent organization for peace. 
    At the same time, many of the world's economic experts were meeting to organize a new economic system for the world. They created the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to help nations rebuild their economies. 
    VOICE ONE: 
    At the center of all the action was Harry Truman. It was not long before he showed Americans and the world that he had the ability to be a good president. He was honest, strong, and willing to make decisions. 
    "I was sworn-in one night and the next morning I had to get right to the job at hand," Truman remembered years later. "I was afraid. But, of course, I didn't let anybody know that. And I knew that I would not be called on to do anything that I was not able to do. That's something I learned from reading history. "
    "People in the past have had much bigger problems. Somehow, the best of them just went ahead and did what they had to do. And they usually did all right. "
    "The job I had in the White House was not so very different from other jobs," Truman said. "I didn't let it worry me. Worrying never does you any good. So I have never worried about things much. " 
    (MUSIC) 
    VOICE TWO: 
    You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators have been Harry Monroe and Rich Kleinfeldt. Our program was written by David Jarmul. The Voice of America invites you to listen again next week to THE MAKING OF A NATION.

    This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
    Financial aid is the subject this week in our Foreign Student Series on higher education in the United States.  
    Students who want to study in the United States may find that their chances for financial aid are limited. They often have to pay for their education with their own savings or their family's money.   
    A recent report from the Institute of International Education in New York looked at the two thousand five-two thousand six school year: 
    Colleges and universities in the United States had more than half a million foreign students.  Sixty-three percent of them paid for school mostly by themselves or with family help. Twenty-six percent were supported by the school they attended.
    There are other sources of financial aid for international students. These include a student's home government or university, or the United States government. Private sponsors, international organizations and employers may also provide support. 
    sponsor: 担保人，赞助人
    Yet during the last school year, not many students were able to depend on any of these other sources.  Current employers provided the most help.  Still, they represented the main support for just four percent of international students.
    Those at the graduate level, however, are more likely than undergraduates to receive financial aid in the United States. 
    More than eighty percent of foreign undergraduates depended mostly on personal and family money to pay for school last year. The same was true of less than half of graduate students.  Most of the others received financial aid from their college or university in the United States.  
    A list of American schools that offer financial aid to foreign students can be found at a useful Web site. The address is edupass.org -- e-d-u-p-a-s-s dot o-r-g.   
    This site also provides information about scholarship programs.  But it warns foreign students not to pay if there is any charge for scholarship application forms.  You could be cheated out of your money.  
    Our Foreign Student Series continues next week with more information from the Institute of International Education. 
    If you have missed any of our series, you can find the reports online at voaspecialenglish.com.  And if you have a general question that we might be able to answer on our program, send it to special@voanews.com.  Be sure to include your name and country.
    And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

    VOICE ONE:
    I'm Barbara Klein.
    VOICE TWO:
    And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.  
    At the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia, you can see the work of jewelry designer Susan Sanders. Her many gold and silver designs have a clean and modern look. 
    One of her silver rings has a bold geometric design with small smooth stones inlayed into the metal. 
    geometric: of geometry. 几何学的
    inlay: 镶嵌，嵌入
    How did she make this ring? Today we answer this question as we explore the history and methods of jewelry design.
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE ONE:
    People from almost all cultures throughout history have been making and wearing jewelry. Jewelry is valued for its visual quality, the richness of its materials and the expert way it is made. Since ancient times people have worn jewelry like rings, bracelets and necklaces to decorate their fingers, wrists and necks. 
    bracelet: 手镯，臂镯
    Ancient peoples who lived near the ocean used the shells of sea creatures to make jewelry. Other ancient peoples used materials like small colored rocks and animal bones and teeth. Jewelry often was made from whatever material was considered rare and costly. It expressed the wealth and social importance of its wearer.
    Later cultures learned how to find and work with gold. One of gold's important qualities is that it is a very soft metal. It can be easily formed or even flattened into extremely thin sheets of metal.   
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE TWO:
    Some of the oldest and finest known jewelry comes from the burial site of the Sumerian ruler Queen Pu-abi. This Mesopotamian culture existed more than four thousand five hundred years ago. In this area that is now Iraq, archeologists discovered fine examples of gold jewelry. Many of the jewelry designs combined the brightness of gold with the intense blue stone called lapus lazuli. This jewelry shows some of the earliest examples of metalworking methods such as filigree and granulation.
    filigree: fine ornamental work using gold, silver or copper wire. 精工饰品
    granulation:
    Granulation is a technique in which tiny gold balls are placed in a decorative pattern and joined onto a gold surface. Filigree is made by arranging fine gold or silver wires into patterns or images. Filigree work can either be joined onto a metal surface, or left as openwork. Many cultures have left extraordinary examples of this technique. Examples include the jewelry of ancient Greeks and the eighteenth century Qing period in China. 
    VOICE ONE:
    Several other metal working methods were developed in ancient times and still define jewelry design today.  They include cloisonne work and casting. Cloisonne involves forming metal borders to make different contained areas on the surface of the piece of jewelry. These spaces are then filled with different pieces of finely carved precious stones or with small bits of glass that are melted together. 
    cloisonne:
    The ancient Egyptians were experts of the cloisonné method. For example, at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City you can see a beautiful cloisonne necklace made more than four thousand years ago. More than three hundred small stones make up a detailed image of Egyptian symbols such as birds and snake creatures. The symbols tell about the sun god giving long life to the Egyptian ruler of that time, King Senwosret the Second.
    For thousands of years, Egyptian jewelry represented a great tradition of artistic skill. Many of the pieces were not only beautiful, but also believed to be magical. Amulet jewelry was believed to protect people or give them special powers. For example, scarabs in the form of the beetle insect were believed to be the symbol of new life. Jewelers in ancient Egypt made many examples of finely carved scarab rings and necklaces that still exist today. 
    amulet: piece of jewellery, etc worn as a charm against evil
    scarab: type of beetle regarded as sacred in ancient Egypt
    beetle: 甲虫
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE TWO:
    One very old technique of metal casting is called the lost-wax method. With this method, an artist carves the shape of jewelry he or she wants to make out of wax material. This shape is placed into a piece of clay, which is heated at high temperatures. 
    wax: 蜡
    The clay takes the form of the ring, but the wax inside melts away because of the heat. This is why the method is called lost-wax. The original carved wax model is lost, but its form remains in the clay. Hot liquid metal such as gold is placed inside this clay form. As the metal cools and hardens, it takes the form left by the wax. 
    The rulers of Asante in modern day Ghana wore gold jewelry made with the lost-wax method. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Asante jewelers made beautiful, fine, detailed gold objects. The ruling family and other leaders wore objects as symbols of their importance, wealth and power. 
    Granulation, filigree, cloisonne and casting are only a few of the metalworking methods used by jewelers both in the past and today. 
    VOICE ONE:
    Of course, not all jewelry is made by metalworking. Many cultures throughout history used other valuable materials as well. For example, in China, carved jade stone was part of an ancient jewelry tradition. This green stone was beautiful and also thought to have magical powers. In southern Nigeria during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, only the ruling family of Benin had the right to wear jewelry carved of white ivory material. 
    ivory: creamy-white bone like substance forming the tusks of elephants 象牙
    These are only a few examples of the creativity humans have demonstrated with the art of making jewelry. What kinds of jewelry traditions exist where you live? 
    VOICE TWO:
    The methods we have described are still being used by artists today. Modern technology and newer methods have only added to the countless ways that stones, metals and other materials can be formed. Today, jewelry designers combine old and new methods with styles from around the world. Many also use unexpected materials, such as plastics, cotton and wood. The creative possibilities of modern jewelry making are limitless.
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE ONE:
    The Torpedo Factory Art Center is in the old area of Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.  Here, on the second floor is a workroom and store called Susan Sanders Design. Let us go back to the modern geometric jewelry we told about earlier. 
    “I'm Susan Sanders. I'm a jewelry designer at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia. I started making jewelry when I was in college but my desire to make things started much earlier than that. My father was a graphics designer and brought me home professional supplies. My original plan was to be a furniture designer, but I like things I can hold in my hand”.
    VOICE TWO:
    Susan Sanders says this ring is not the easiest of her rings to wear. It is more like a finger sculpture. She carved the main sterling silver form of the ring from a piece of hard wax material. With the lost-wax method we told about earlier, she carved the wax model to make the silver form. 
    sculpture: 雕塑，雕刻
    sterling: 标准纯度的，真的，优秀的  / British money
    Then, she used a milling machine to create a perfect circle opening for a finger. She also used this milling tool to carve out the areas where she placed small pieces of onyx and jasper stone. Once the stones were in place, she ground the surface to a smooth finish.
    onyx: 缟玛瑙
    jasper: 碧玉
    VOICE ONE:
    Like most of her work, this ring is very modern and geometric. Susan Sanders says she is not exactly sure where her ideas come from. Some ideas come from subjects she loves such as modern architecture. But the hardest part is choosing an idea for a piece of jewelry since she does not have the time or resources to make every design she imagines.
    Susan Sanders sells most of her work in her store in Alexandria. If you visit the store, you can see her hard at work on new jewelry. Galleries in California also carry her designs. She has even shown her work in countries such as Italy and South Korea.
    Listen as Susan Sanders tells about an exciting show she helped put together in Russia: 
    “I have had quite a number of shows in different countries.  The most exciting of which was a show that we had in Moscow in Russia that was called Two Capitals which was jewelry designers from the Washington, D.C., area and artists also from the Moscow area. We put together a show and went over there with it. We had a fabulous time.
    fabulous: 绝妙的，精彩的
    "We were entertained by three of the country's best opera singers and one of their top pianists, which was absolutely incredible. We had an opportunity to meet some of the other Russian jewelers and visit their studios, so we feel like we have friends over there even though we had to speak through an interpreter.
    VOICE TWO:
    Susan Sanders says to be a good jewelry maker you have to enjoy working long and hard on very small details. She says it is not work that goes quickly. Sanders feels lucky to have grown up with the choices she had. Because her father was an artist, he supported her creative goals early on. Many women did not have the same choices. Susan Sanders says she is thankful to be an artist doing work that she loves. 
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE ONE:
    This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Barbara Klein.
    VOICE TWO:
    And I'm Steve Ember. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. You can also see pictures of Susan Sanders' jewelry.  Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

    This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
    In recent years, research has suggested more health value from vitamin D than had once been thought.
    Vitamin D is produced naturally in the blood.  Sunlight is a major source. It is also found in some foods.  These include eggs, liver and some fish. Vitamin D is also found in pills.  Vitamin D helps to increase levels of calcium in the blood.  It helps build strong bones and teeth.  It also helps in muscle development. 
    It also appears to do more than just protect against rickets.  That serious bone disease was the reason vitamin D was added to milk.  Rickets is now rare in the western world.  But it is still a common childhood disease in developing countries.  Rickets can cause bone pain and weakness, teeth problems and muscle loss.  
    rickets: 佝偻病
    Now researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston say vitamin D might protect against multiple sclerosis, also called MS.
    sclerosis: condition in which there is abnormal hardening of soft tissue 硬化症
    MS is a progressive disease of the central nervous system that affects about two million people around the world. There is no cure. MS causes problems with speech and movement.  The level of severity can differ from person to person. But is usually seriously disabling.
    The study in Boston involved blood samples from more than seven million members of the American military.  It found that people with higher levels of vitamin D had lower rates of MS.  It found that the chance of developing MS was sixty-two percent lower among those with the highest level of vitamin D than those with the lowest level.
    Alberto Ascherio led the study.  He says vitamin D may become a future treatment for MS.  But, he says first scientists must carry out a large, controlled study in which some people get vitamin D and others do not.
    This is not the first study to show a possible relationship between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis.  But it has provided the clearest evidence of a direct link.
    The National Institutes of Health says some studies also suggest vitamin D may protect against some kinds of cancer, especially colon cancer.  But it says more human studies are needed to learn if a lack of vitamin D increases the risk of cancer…or if treatment with large amounts of vitamin D could protect against the disease.
    colon: lower part of the large intestine. 结肠
    And that's the Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver.  You can get transcripts of our health reports, and download audio, at voaspecialenglish.com.  I'm Steve Ember.

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    VOICE ONE:
    This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.  I'm Mario Ritter.
    VOICE TWO: 
    And I'm Bob Doughty.  This week, we talk about last year.
    VOICE ONE:
    We tell about some important science stories of two thousand six -- discoveries in medicine, space and the environment.  
    (MUSIC)
    VOICE TWO:
    Some of the biggest science stories last year were in health and medicine.  And two of them came late in two thousand six. First is a major finding about the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
    In December, AIDS researchers announced findings about adult male circumcision.  Two studies in Africa found that circumcised men had about half the risk of getting HIV from sex with women as uncircumcised men had.  The studies took place in Kenya and Uganda. 
    circumcise: cut off the foreskin of a male person as a religious rite or for medical reasons / cut off the clitoris of a female person
    HIV rates are generally lower in areas of the world where the removal of the foreskin from the penis is common in babies or young boys.  
    penis: organ with which a male animal copulates and urinates
    The findings of the African studies were so clear that the United States National Institutes of Health decided to end both studies early.  All the men involved now are being offered circumcision. 
    The researchers said male circumcision could also lead to fewer infections in women where HIV is spread through heterosexual sex.  Health experts say they hope circumcision will become one of the basic tools to fight HIV and AIDS.  But they expect some cultural and economic barriers.  Some people have also expressed another concern about circumcision.  They say it might make men think they do not need to do anything else to prevent HIV infection.  
    heterosexual: feeling sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex
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    Another major health story last month concerned breast cancer.  The news came from cancer researchers at the University of Texas in Houston.  They had found a sharp decrease in newly found breast cancer rates between two thousand two and two thousand three.  It was the first such drop in seventy years.  And it followed a huge decrease in the number of older women treated with female hormones to ease conditions caused by a natural decrease in such hormones.
    hormone: 激素，荷尔蒙
    For years doctors treated these conditions of menopause with the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.  But in two thousand two a large study showed hormone replacement therapy seemed to increase the risk of breast cancer.  The use of hormone replacement therapy then dropped by fifty percent.
    menopause: time when a woman ceases to menstruate, usually around 50.
    oestrogen: 雌激素
    progesterone:孕酮，黄体酮
    The researchers at the University of Texas say overall rates of new breast cancers dropped seven percent the next year.  And they said breast cancer that is linked to oestrogen decreased by at least twelve percent. However, health experts say the findings do not prove that hormone replacement therapy causes breast cancer.  
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    There was also news about a new vaccine to prevent another cancer in women -- cervical cancer.  United Nations health officials called for the wide use of the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or H.P.V.  H.P.V. causes seventy percent of all cervical cancers.  It is a leading cause of cancer deaths in women in developing countries.  
    vaccine: substance that is injected into the bloodstream and protects the body by making it have a mild form of the disease.
    cervical:
    human papilloma virus:
    The vaccine could prevent more than two-thirds of deaths from cervical cancer around the world.  Officials say the vaccine is safe and effective for females between the ages of nine and twenty-six. 
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    Not all the science news last year was medical.  In August, more than two thousand members of the International Astronomical Union met in the Czech capital, Prague. They agreed to a new definition of planet.  They also agreed that Pluto did not meet the terms of the new definition.  So, now the solar system has eight planets instead of nine.  
    Czech: Czechoslovakia 捷克斯洛伐克    Prague
    Pluto: 冥王星
    But do not cry for the former ninth planet. The astronomical union says we should not think we have lost a planet but that we have gained a new kind of space object: the dwarf planet, Pluto.
    dwarf: 矮子，侏儒；矮小的动物或植物
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    Astronomers and physicists were also interested in some information provided by the Hubble Space Telescope last year.  It provided some light on the mysterious force known as dark energy.  The Hubble examined stars that exploded billions of years ago.  The findings: dark energy has been present for most of the history of the universe.
    Dark energy is a mysterious force that causes the universe to expand at an increasing rate. Scientists do not know much about dark energy. But they say it makes up about seventy percent of the energy in the universe.  It appears to balance the force of gravity.  
    Most physicists consider dark energy to be the force that Albert Einstein called the cosmological constant.  It prevents gravity from pulling all matter together in a cosmic crush.  This latest study shows dark energy was present in the universe as long as nine billion years ago. Over the next four billion years the power of dark energy grew.  
    The expansion rate of the universe began speeding up about five billion years ago. That is when scientists believe that dark energy's force overtook gravity. Adam Reiss of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland led this research.  
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    Hubble also got some good news of its own last year.  NASA announced it would fly a shuttle crew to the space telescope to make repairs and add new equipment. The telescope orbits six hundred kilometers above the Earth.  The shuttle crew is expected to make the trip in May of next year.  They hope to fix Hubble so it can continue operating until two thousand thirteen.  
    NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    shuttle: 穿梭机
    In other news from last year, the American space agency, NASA, returned to space.  Three successful launches of the space shuttle visited the International Space Station.  NASA's two Mars vehicles, Spirit and Opportunity, continued their exploration of the red planet.  They found signs of recently flowing water on the planet.  
    An orbiting spacecraft gave the world extraordinary images of the planet Saturn and its rings.  NASA also announced important plans for the future.  It will update the design of the space shuttles.  And it is planning an international permanent base on the moon by the year twenty twenty. 
    Saturn: 土星
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    Global warming remained a hot subject of earth science last year.  Scientists declared that the ice at both the North and South Poles was melting.  A long-term study showed that Greenland lost one hundred billion metric tons of ice between two thousand three and two thousand five.
    Antarctica at the South Pole contains almost seventy percent of the world's fresh water.  The continent is almost all ice.  In some areas that ice is close to two thousand meters thick.  Scientists said the Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as one hundred fifty-two cubic kilometers of ice every year.  
    One study suggests that melting ice from both poles could cause sea levels in the world to rise by several meters by the end of  this century.  As a result, low-lying areas of land could be under water. 
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    Some international ecology scientists and economists gave a serious warning about the future for fish. They reported that seafood supplies from the world's oceans could be almost gone within fifty years because of overfishing.  
    ecology: 生态学
    The researchers reported their findings in Science magazine in November.  They said there had already been a collapse in wild populations of almost one-third of currently fished seafoods.  The study says that means the catch has fallen by ninety percent from the highest levels.  The scientists said that species have recently been disappearing from oceans at increasing speed.  
    collapse: sudden decrease, sudden fall
    The scientists said it is not too late to repair the damage done to the oceans from overfishing, climate change and other forces.  They said governments and industries must work together to establish shared fishing, pollution and species protection controls.
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    SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver and produced by Brianna Blake.  I'm ­­­­­­­­­­­Bob Doughty.
    VOICE ONE:
    And I'm Mario Ritter. For more science news, MP3 files and transcripts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com.  And join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.