第一篇：voa名詞集合

voa名詞集合，建議看一下，新聞聽力會有用的（都在voa中摘錄）

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan聯(lián)合國秘書長 安南

General Assembly:聯(lián)合國大會

Security Council:安理會

The chief U.N.weapons inspectors Hans Blix 聯(lián)合國對伊武器核查負責人 漢斯 布里克斯 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries =OPEC

石油輸出國家組織

International Atomic Energy Agency=IAEA

國際原子能組織

North Atlantic Treaty Organization=NATO

北大西洋公約組織

International Monetary Fund=IMF

國際貨幣基金組織

China

Inner Mongolia 內(nèi)蒙古

Lhasa 拉薩

Tibet西藏Tibetan

Uigur維吾爾人

Cantonese廣東人

Hakka 客家人

The United States

President Bush總統(tǒng)布什

Secretary of State Colin Powell國務卿鮑威爾

vice President Dick Cheney副總統(tǒng)切尼

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld國防部長拉姆斯菲爾德

National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice國家安全顧問賴斯

The Dow-Jones industrial average 道瓊斯工業(yè)指數(shù)

The Nasdaq composite stock index 納斯達克

the Senete 參議院

the House of Representative 眾議院

Federal Bureau of Investigation聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局

Central Intelligence Agency美國中央情報局

American Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia James Kelly美國負責東亞事務助理國務卿凱利

British Prime Minister Tony Blair 英國首相布萊爾

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw 外交大臣

Palestine

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat阿拉法特

Jerusalem耶路撒冷

Jenin杰寧

Ramallah拉馬拉

Nablus納布盧斯

Bethlehem伯利恒

Hamas哈馬斯抵抗運動

Islamic Jihad吉哈德-伊斯蘭圣戰(zhàn)組織

Fatah Movement 法塔赫運動

Israel

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon沙龍

Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 本杰明 內(nèi)坦尼亞胡

Former Foreign Minister Shimon Peres佩雷斯

Likud Party 利庫德集團

the newly elected head of Labor Party,Amram Mitzna阿姆蘭·米茨納 Tel aviv 特拉維夫

Iraq伊拉克，Baghdad巴格達

President Saddam Hussein總統(tǒng)薩達姆 候賽因

Foreign Minister Naji Sabri 外長納吉 薩布里

Afghanistan（Afghan人）

Kabul喀布爾

President Hamid Karzai 卡爾扎伊

Foreign minister Abdullah 阿布杜拉

Al-QaedaAl-Qaida 基地組織

Osama Bin Landen奧薩馬 本 拉登

Taliban 塔利班 Mullah Omar 奧馬爾

Kandahar坎大哈

Jalalabad賈拉拉巴德

North Korea

Pyongyang平壤，president Kim Jong-il金正日

North Korea's honorary head of state Kim Yong-Nam 金永南

South Korea

Seoul漢城

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun盧武鉉

president Kim Dae-jung金大中

Millennium Democratic Party 新千年黨

Grand National Party 大國民黨

Sri Lanka斯里蘭卡

Colombo科倫坡

Tamil Tiger：泰米爾猛虎組織

Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe穆加貝

The Czech Public

Prague,布拉格

President Alexander Lukashenko

Russia

President Vladimir Putin普京

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov伊萬諾夫

Ukraine

President Leonid Kuchma庫奇馬

Chechnya 車臣

Chechen

India

New Delhi新德里，Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee瓦杰帕伊

Indian Kashmir印控克什米爾地區(qū)

Pakistan

Islamabad伊斯蘭堡

President Pervez Musharraf穆沙拉夫

Ecuador厄瓜多爾

Venezuela委內(nèi)瑞拉

President Hugo Charves

Iran

Teheran德黑蘭

President Mohammad Khatami 穆罕默德 哈梅內(nèi)伊Egypt

Cairo開羅，President Hosni Mubarak穆巴拉克

Oman阿曼

Qatar卡塔爾

Al-Jazeera station 半島電視臺

Yemen 也門

Yemeni也門人

Aden亞丁(也門人民共和國首都,臨亞丁灣the Gulf of Aden）Kuwait科威特

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah 外長 Algeria阿爾及利亞(北非國家)

Libya利比亞北非國家）

Ethiopia埃塞俄比亞(非洲東部國家)

Cuba 古巴

Cuban dissident Asfao Daopaya 古巴一持不同政見領袖 the Solomon Islands 所羅門群島

Honiara霍尼亞拉[所羅門群島首都]

Baltic States 波羅的海諸國

Lithuania立陶宛

President Valdas Adamkus總統(tǒng)瓦爾達斯·阿達姆庫斯 Vilnius維爾紐斯[立陶宛共和國首都]

Latvia拉脫維亞

Estonia愛沙尼亞

NBA球隊一覽表 提供：lf3721

東部聯(lián)盟 Eastern Conference

大西洋賽區(qū)

1.Boston Celtics 波士頓凱爾特人

2.Miami Heat邁阿密熱火

3.New Jersy Nets新澤西網(wǎng)

4.New York Knicks紐約尼克斯

5.Orlando Magic 奧蘭多魔術

6.Philadelphia 76ers費城76人

7.Washington Wizards華盛頓奇才 中部賽區(qū)

8.Atlanta Hawks亞特蘭大老鷹

9.New Orleans Hornets新奧爾良黃蜂

10.Chicago Bulls芝加哥公牛

11.Cleveland Cavaliers克里夫蘭騎士

12.Detroit Pistons 底特律活塞

13.Indiana Pacers印第安納步行者

14.Toronto Raptors多倫多猛龍

15.Milwaukee Bucks密爾沃基雄鹿 西部聯(lián)盟 Western Conference

中西部賽區(qū)

16.Dallas Mavericks達拉斯小牛

17.Denver Nuggets丹佛掘金

18.Houston Rockets休斯敦火箭

19.Minnesota Timberwolves明尼蘇達森林狼

20.San Antonio Spurs圣安東尼奧馬刺

21.Utah Jazz猶他爵士

22.Memphis Grizzlies孟菲斯灰熊 太平洋賽區(qū)

23.Golden State Warriors金州勇士

24.L.A.Clippers洛杉磯快船

25.L.A.Lakers洛杉磯湖人

26.Phoenix Suns菲尼克斯太陽

27.Portland Trail Blazers波特蘭開拓者

28.Sacremento Kings薩克拉門托國王

29.Seattle Supersonics西雅圖超音速

第二篇：集合名詞

常見集合名詞

第一類 形單可單復 family(家庭)，team(隊)，class(班)，audience(聽眾)

形式為單數(shù)，但意義可以用為單數(shù)或復數(shù),包括family(家庭)，team(隊)，class(班)，audience(聽眾)等，用法特點：若視為整體，表示單數(shù)意義；若考慮其個體成員，表示復數(shù)意義。His family is large.他的家是個大家庭。

His family are all waiting for him.他的一家人都在等他。

This class consists of 45 pupils.這個班由45個學生組成。

This class are reading English now.這個班的學生在讀英語。

第二類 形單意義復cattle(牛，牲畜)，people(人)，police(警察)，sheep(羊)

用法特點為：只有單數(shù)形式, 但卻表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語用復數(shù)；不與 a(n)連用，但可與the連用(表示總括意義和特指)。如：

People will laugh at you.人們會笑你的。

The police are looking for him.警察在找他。

Many cattle were killed for this.就因為這個原因宰了不少牲畜。

注：表示牲畜的頭數(shù)，用單位詞 head(單復數(shù)同形)。如：

five head of cattle 5頭牛，fifty(head of)cattle 50頭牛

第三類 形復意義復goods(貨物), clothes(衣服

用法特點：只有復數(shù)形式(當然也表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語也用復數(shù))，但通常不與數(shù)詞連用。如：

Clothes dry slowly in the rainy season.衣服在雨季不易干。

Such clothes are very expensive.那樣的衣服很貴。

If goods are not well made you should complain to the manufacturer.如果貨物質量不好，則理應向制造商提出控訴。

第四類 形單意義單 baggage / luggage(行李), clothing(衣服), furniture(家具), machinery(機器), poetry(詩), scenery(風景), jewelry(珠寶), equipment(設備)用法特點：是不可數(shù)名詞，只用單數(shù)形式，不用不定冠詞(當然更不能用數(shù)詞)，沒有復數(shù)形式。如：

Our clothing protects us from [against] the cold.我們的衣服可以御寒。

Have you checked all your baggage? 你所有的行李都托運了嗎? The thief stole all her jewelry.小偷把她所有的首飾都偷走了。

The hospital has no decent equipment.這家醫(yī)院沒有像樣的設備。

The Tang Dynasty is thought of as the high summer of Chinese poetry.人們認為唐朝是中國詩歌的全盛時期。

注：machinery, poetry, jewelry, scenery等相應的個體可數(shù)名詞是 machine, poem, jewel, scene等。如：

a poem / a piece of poetry 一首詩

many machines / much machinery / many pieces of machinery 許多機器

第五類 hair 和fruit 1.hair(頭發(fā)，毛發(fā))

指全部頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為集合名詞(不可數(shù))；指幾根頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為個體名詞(可數(shù))。如：

My hair has grown very long.我的頭發(fā)已長得很長了。The police found two hairs there.警察在那兒找到了兩根頭發(fā)。

2.fruit(水果)

作為集合名詞，它通常是不可數(shù)的。如：

He doesn’t eat much fruit.他不大吃水果。

He is growing fruit in the country.他在鄉(xiāng)下種水果。

但是，當要表示種類時，可視為可數(shù)名詞，即a fruit 指一種水果，fruits 指多種水果。比較：

Some fruits have thick skins.有些水果皮很厚。

The potato is a vegetable, not a fruit.土豆是一種蔬菜，而不是一種水果。

二.閱讀理解主要考查形式主要有四大類：

1．細節(jié)理解題。即要求考生對閱讀材料中的某一具體事實和細節(jié)進行理解。這一題型常見的命題方式有：事實認定題、排序題、圖形辨認題、數(shù)字運算題等。

“帶著問題找答案”．先從問題中抓住關鍵性詞語。然后以此為線索。運用掃讀法(scanning)，還可兼用排除法

干擾項特點：（1）是原文信息，但不是題目要求的內(nèi)容；（2）符合常識，但不是文章內(nèi)容；（3）與原文的內(nèi)容極其相似，只是在程度上有些變動；（4）在意思上與原文大相徑庭甚至完全相反；（5）部分正確，部分錯誤。

2．推理判斷題。這類題主要考查學生根據(jù)文章的字面意思，通過語篇邏輯關系，研究細節(jié)的暗示，推敲作者的態(tài)度，理解文章的寓意等。推理判斷題屬于主觀性較強的高層次閱讀理解題。

意思要靠推斷得出，而不是原文照搬。忠實于原文，以文章提供的事實和線索為依據(jù)

對文字的表面信息進行挖掘加工，由表及里，由淺入深，從具體到抽象，從特殊到一般，通過分析、綜合、判斷等，進行深層處理，合乎邏輯地推理。不能斷章取義，以偏概全。

了解語篇的結構，同時還要體會文章的基調(diào)，揣摩作者的態(tài)度，摸準邏輯發(fā)展方向，悟出作者的言外之意。

3．主旨大意題。該類題主要考察學生對所讀材料中心思想的概括。其考察形式有很多，如概括標題、主題、中心思想等。

主題句在文章中的位置通常有三種情況：開頭、中間、結尾（含在開頭結尾同時出現(xiàn)、首尾呼應的主題句）。

首先，要考慮標題對文章的概括性或覆蓋面。一般要求能覆蓋全文內(nèi)容，體現(xiàn)文章主旨。要避免下列三種情況：①概括不夠（多表現(xiàn)為部分代整體，從而導致范圍太?。?；②過度概括（多表現(xiàn)為脫離本文章內(nèi)容的發(fā)揮）；③以事實、細節(jié)替代抽象具體的大意）其次，要考慮標題的針對性，即標題范圍要恰當，針對性強。

注意：一般說來，擬定標題是以話題為核心，與控制性概念的詞按一定的語法濃縮為概括主題句或中心思想的詞組。注意標題的醒目性，標題的選擇要簡潔、突出、新穎 4．詞義猜測題。即要求考生根據(jù)一定的上下文猜測生詞的詞義。A．構詞法猜詞

如：unforeseeable.這個詞，可以根據(jù)構詞法把它拆成un, fore, see , able；其中 see 是詞根，fore是“先，前，預”的含義，un是否定，able是“能??的，可??的”，因此unforeseeable是“未能預見到的”意思。B．利用同義近義詞猜詞

在詞或短語之間有并列連詞and或or，這些詞語或短語在句中作相同的成分，并且and或or連接的兩項內(nèi)容在含義上是接近的或遞進的，由此確定同等關系中的某個生詞所屬的義域，甚至推出它的大致詞義。C．利用反義詞猜詞

根據(jù)反義或對比關系可從已知推出未知。利用反義詞來說明生詞的意義，如反義詞hot and cold, perfect and imperfect，甚至前、后句為肯定與否定或是與不是等，在句內(nèi)詞與詞之間，在段內(nèi)句與句之間的關系上起著互為線索的作用。D．利用上下文語境猜詞

任何一篇文章中的句子在內(nèi)容上都不是絕對孤立的，都跟句子所在的段落及整篇文章有關。利用上下文提供的情景和線索，進行合乎邏輯的綜合分析進而推測詞義，是閱讀過程中的一大關鍵，這也是近年來高考考查的熱點。E．利用定義和解釋猜詞

科技文章，通常會對一些關鍵詞給予定義，我們可以利用定義來猜測這些詞的意思。釋義法就是根據(jù)文章中的字里行間，對生詞以定語（從句）、表語甚至用逗號、破折號等標點符號引出并加以解釋說明的方式。F．利用例證猜詞

為了說明或證實，文章中經(jīng)常會舉例，往往用來列舉說明前面較難理解的詞，這些例子可幫助我們猜測生詞。舉例時，常常會用一些連接性的詞，如：such as, like, for example, for instance等。

第三篇：集合名詞

1.family(家庭)，team(隊)，class(班)，audience(聽眾)等

其用法特點為：若視為整體，表示單數(shù)意義；若考慮其個體成員，表示復數(shù)意義。比較：

This class consists of 45 pupils.這個班由45個學生組成。

This class are studying English now.這個班的學生在學習英語。

2.cattle(牛，牲畜)，people(人)，police(警察)等

其用法特點為：只有單數(shù)形式, 但卻表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語用復數(shù)；不與 a(n)連用，但可與the連用(表示總括意義和特指)。如：

People will laugh at you.人們會笑你的。

The police are looking for him.警察在找他。

For these many cattle were killed.就因為這個原因宰了不少牲畜。

注：表示牲畜的頭數(shù)，用單位詞 head(單復數(shù)同形)。如：three head of cattle 3頭牛，twenty(head of)cattle 20頭牛。

3.goods(貨物), clothes(衣服)等

其用法特點是：只有復數(shù)形式(當然也表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語也用復數(shù))，但通常不與數(shù)詞連用。如：

Such clothes are very expensive.那樣的衣服很貴。

To whom do these goods belong? 這些書是誰的？

4.baggage / luggage(行李), clothing(衣服), furniture(家具), machinery(機器), poetry(詩), scenery(風景), jewelry(珠寶)，equipment(設備)等

其用法特點為：是不可數(shù)名詞，只用單數(shù)形式，不用不定冠詞(當然更不能用數(shù)詞)，沒有復數(shù)形式。如：

Our clothing protects us from [against] the cold.我們的衣服可以御寒。

Have you checked all your baggage? 你所有行李都托運了嗎?

特別提醒：machinery, poetry, jewelry, scenery 相應的個體可數(shù)名詞是 machine, poem, jewel, scene。如：a poem / a piece of poetry 一首詩，many machines / much machinery / many pieces of machinery 許多機器。

5.hair(頭發(fā)，毛發(fā))

指全部頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為集合名詞(不可數(shù))；指幾根頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為個體名詞(可數(shù))。如：

My hair has grown very long.我的頭發(fā)已長得很長了。(D21)

The police found two hairs there.警察在那兒找到了兩根頭發(fā)。(D23)

6.mankind(人類)

是一個不可數(shù)的集合名詞，不用復數(shù)形式，也不連用冠詞。如：

This is an invention that benefits mankind.這是一項造福人類的發(fā)明。

Mankind has its own problems.人類有自己的問題。

特別提醒：mankind 表示“人(類)”時，雖不可數(shù)，但有時卻可以表示復數(shù)意義，尤其是當其表語是復數(shù)時。如：Mankind are intelligent animals.人是理智的動物。

7.fruit(水果)

作為集合名詞，它通常是不可數(shù)的。如：

He doesn’t not eat much fruit.他不大吃水果。

He is growing fruit in the country.他在農(nóng)村種水果。

但是，當要表示種類時，它可視為可數(shù)名詞，即a fruit 指一種水果，fruits 指多種水果。體會：

Some fruits have thick skins.有些水果皮很厚。

The potato is a vegetable, not a fruit.土豆是一種蔬菜，而不是一種水果。

第四篇：集合名詞

常見集合名詞

第一類 形單可單復 family(家庭)，team(隊)，class(班)，audience(聽眾)

形式為單數(shù)，但意義可以用為單數(shù)或復數(shù)

這類集合名詞包括family(家庭)，team(隊)，class(班)，audience(聽眾)等，其用法特點為：若視為整體，表示單數(shù)意義；若考慮其個體成員，表示復數(shù)意義。比較并體會：

His family is large.他的家是個大家庭。

His family are all waiting for him.他的一家人都在等他。

This class consists of 45 pupils.這個班由45個學生組成。

This class are reading English now.這個班的學生在讀英語。

第二類 形單意義復cattle(牛，牲畜)，people(人)，police(警察)

形式為單數(shù)，但意義永遠為復數(shù)

這類集合名詞包括cattle(牛，牲畜)，people(人)，police(警察)等，其用法特點為：只有單數(shù)形式, 但卻表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語用復數(shù)；不與 a(n)連用，但可與the連用(表示總括意義和特指)。如：

People will laugh at you.人們會笑你的。

The police are looking for him.警察在找他。

Many cattle were killed for this.就因為這個原因宰了不少牲畜。

注：表示牲畜的頭數(shù)，用單位詞 head(單復數(shù)同形)。如：

five head of cattle 5頭牛，fifty(head of)cattle 50頭牛

第三類 形復意義復goods(貨物), clothes(衣服

形式為復數(shù)，意義也為復數(shù)

這類集合名詞包括goods(貨物), clothes(衣服)等，其用法特點是：只有復數(shù)形式(當然也表示復數(shù)意義，用作主語時謂語也用復數(shù))，但通常不與數(shù)詞連用。如：

Clothes dry slowly in the rainy season.衣服在雨季不易干。

Such clothes are very expensive.那樣的衣服很貴。

If goods are not well made you should complain to the manufacturer.如果貨物質量不好，則理應向制造商提出控訴。

第四類 形單意義單 baggage / luggage(行李), clothing(衣服), furniture(家具), machinery(機器), poetry(詩), scenery(風景), jewelry(珠寶), equipment(設備

形式為單數(shù)，意義也為單數(shù)

這類集合名詞包括baggage / luggage(行李), clothing(衣服), furniture(家具), machinery(機器), poetry(詩), scenery(風景), jewelry(珠寶), equipment(設備)等, 其用法特點為：是不可數(shù)名詞，只用單數(shù)形式，不用不定冠詞(當然更不能用數(shù)詞)，沒有復數(shù)形式。如：

Our clothing protects us from [against] the cold.我們的衣服可以御寒。

Have you checked all your baggage? 你所有的行李都托運了嗎?

The thief stole all her jewelry.小偷把她所有的首飾都偷走了。

The hospital has no decent equipment.這家醫(yī)院沒有像樣的設備。

The Tang Dynasty is thought of as the high summer of Chinese poetry.人們認為唐朝是中國詩歌的全盛時期。

注：machinery, poetry, jewelry, scenery等相應的個體可數(shù)名詞是 machine, poem, jewel, scene等。如：

a poem / a piece of poetry 一首詩

many machines / much machinery / many pieces of machinery 許多機器

第五類 hair 和fruit

1.hair(頭發(fā)，毛發(fā))

指全部頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為集合名詞(不可數(shù))；指幾根頭發(fā)或毛發(fā)時，為個體名詞(可數(shù))。如：

My hair has grown very long.我的頭發(fā)已長得很長了。

The police found two hairs there.警察在那兒找到了兩根頭發(fā)。

2.fruit(水果)

作為集合名詞，它通常是不可數(shù)的。如：

He doesn’t eat much fruit.他不大吃水果。

He is growing fruit in the country.他在鄉(xiāng)下種水果。

但是，當要表示種類時，它可視為可數(shù)名詞，即a fruit 指一種水果，fruits 指多種水果。比較：

Some fruits have thick skins.有些水果皮很厚。

The potato is a vegetable, not a fruit.土豆是一種蔬菜，而不是一種水果。

第五篇：VOA短文匯總

A-Community-Helps-Burmese-Refugees-Learn-English This is the VOA Special English Education Report.About eighteen thousand refugees from Burma have come to the United States each year since two thousand seven.Some have settled in Howard County, Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington.A local school began teaching English to the children of the refugees.But while the children learned the language, their parents did not.That makes communication with teachers difficult.Burmese children in class in Howard County, MarylandCurrently almost fifty Burmese youngsters attend Bollman Bridge Elementary School.Laurel Conran is a teacher there.LAUREL CONRAN: “The main idea is the global idea.” She teaches English to speakers of other languages.LAUREL CONRAN: “Today we were doing text structures.I wanted them to know the vocabulary, the language of text structures, so when they go back into the classroom and work with their peers, they can do this successfully in the classroom.” One of her students is Tha Neih Ciang.Another student is Tha Neih's mother, Tin Iang.Ms.Conran practices English with Tin Iang at the mother's workplace.Many Burmese refugees work at Coastal Sunbelt Produce, a supplier of fruits and vegetables to restaurants and other businesses.Laurel Conran started classes at the company to help refugees from the country also known as Myanmar learn English.LAUREL CONRAN: “The program is a six-week session.It's once a week, on every Wednesday, from twelve to one o'clock.So every Wednesday I go to Coastal Sunbelt.” As the Burmese workers eat lunch, they also practice their new language skills.They sit in small groups with an English-speaking volunteer.Lisa Chertok has a child at Bollman Bridge.She is also a manager at Coastal Sunbelt.She helped Ms.Conran develop the lessons, which she says have really helped.LISA CHERTOK: “Well, when the Burmese employees got here, they were very, very shy.Now I find that they are more responsive as employees.They're more communicative.They're also, as parents, they are more involved in their children's school.” Jonathan Davis is the principal of Bollman Bridge Elementary School.JONATHAN DAVIS: “I really see it as the beginning of a great partnership between a business and a school, and we've just begun to scratch the surface with how that could benefit, really, the greater community.” Mr.Davis hopes the lessons will help Burmese parents feel better about communicating with the school.JONATHAN DAVIS: “Even as simply as making a phone call to say that their son or daughter is sick, even if that's the amount of English that they have gotten from the program, that truly will help us.” SPEAKER: “Please welcome Laurel Conran and Lisa Chertok.” For their work, the two women received a Community Builders Award from Howard County.LAUREL CONRAN: “I love this program.As a community we want to work together, collaboratively, because when everybody works together it is a win-win situation.” And that's the VOA Special English Education Report.You can read, listen and learn English and much more with our programs and activities at tingvoa.com.You can watch a video about the Howard County program on our website.And you can find captioned videos at the VOA Learning English channel on YouTube.I'm Steve Ember.Contributing: June Soh

Death-in-the-Family-May-Cause-Real-Heart-Break SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English.I'm SHIRLEY Griffith.MARIO RITTER: And I'm Mario Ritter.Today, we tell about an American study of heart attack survivors.We tell about a scientist recognized for his work in plate tectonics.And we tell how modern-day musicians rated some of the most famous instruments ever made.(MUSIC)SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Learning about the death of a loved one can be among life's most stressful events.A recent study showed that the risk of heart attack increases in the days and hours after getting news of such a death.Researchers studied nearly two thousand heart attack survivors.The subjects were asked whether someone close to them had died in the six months before their heart attack.Elizabeth Mostofsky is with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.ELIZABETH MOSTOFSKY: “We found that the risk of having a heart attack was twenty-one times higher in the day following the loss of a loved one, compared to other times.And that risk remained elevated in the subsequent days and weeks.” MARIO RITTER: Elizabeth Mostofsky says earlier research explored the risk of dying from any cause over a year or more after the death of a husband, wife or child.The earlier research did not include the death of other close family members or friends.Ms.Mostofsky and her team studied information from the days immediately after receiving the news.She says several things could explain why the intense feelings after the death of a loved one could lead to a heart attack.ELIZABETH MOSTOFSKY: “Grief causes feeling of depression, anger, and anxiety, and several studies have shown that these emotions can cause increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and blood clotting.And those in turn, can increase the chances of having a heart attack.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Ms.Mostofsky says the family and friends of those mourning for a loved one should know about the increased risk of heart attack.ELIZABETH MOSTOFSKY: ”People should be making sure that the bereaved person is taking care of himself or herself, including taking regular medications, because they are at that heightened level of vulnerability at this time in their life.“ Her research paper was published in ”Circulation,“ the journal of the American Heart Association.(MUSIC)MARIO RITTER: A few weeks ago, we talked about the science of plate tectonics.Plate tectonics explains why the Earth's surface moves.It also tells how?those changes cause earthquakes and volcanic activity.?Today, we tell about a scientist who helped prove the theory of continental drift.Walter C.Pitman, the third, is an adjunct professor of geophysics at Columbia University.Now in his eighties, he works at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: When Walter Pitman was a teenager, he enjoyed visiting his father's workplace at Bell Labs research center.He remembers asking the researchers about their work.WALTER PITMAN: ”I worked there in the summertime sweeping floors but I was in amongst all these people.It was wonderful.“ Walter PitmanWalter Pitman studied electrical engineering and physics in college.He then went to work for an electronics company.He was not excited about the work, until one project – doing research on submarines – fueled a love for oceanography.Mister Pitman returned to school.For his doctoral studies, he went back to sea on a research vessel.He hoped to gather evidence that all the continents had once been joined.He thought they had been moving apart on large plates for hundreds of millions of years.MARIO RITTER: Walter Pitman helped prove the idea that Earth's continents move.He did this by recording and studying magnetic patterns at the bottom of the ocean.WALTER PITMAN: ”It was electrifying.I didn't imagine ever being involved in anything so astonishing and so very, very important to the geologic sciences at such a young age in my career.I was very fortunate to be there when it all happened.“ The science of plate tectonics explains how the continents move around the oceans.It also explains how continents can strike each other and break apart, creating earthquakes and mountain chains.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Later, Mr.Pitman turned his attention to the surface of the ocean, and sea level changes.He and William Ryan, another Columbia University geophysicist, proposed what is known as the Black Sea Deluge Theory.They suggested that the Black Sea was once a landlocked freshwater lake.Then about seven thousand five hundred years ago, melting ice from glaciers raised water levels in the Mediterranean Sea.WALTER PITMAN: ”You're talking about a huge mass of water coming in to fill a very small basin.And that water as it would come through the Bosporus is going to cut the Bosporus deeper.The deeper it cuts, the faster it flows.The faster it flows, the faster it cuts.There is a feedback mechanism.So soon you start with a trickle and within a very short period of time, it's a roaring, raging flume of water and we're very sure that's what it(the Biblical flood)was, you know.“ MARIO RITTER: Mr.Pitman and other researchers are currently studying the climate of the Arctic Ocean.And they are exploring its effects on water cycles over the past two million years.Their research could help scientists predict the effects of climate change, which is causing sea levels to rise.WALTER PITMAN: ”I've had an incredible, incredibly good time at this kind of endeavor.There are bad spots, of course there are bad spots.But the science is always fascinating.You might, you know, stop reading for the day or something like that and say, ‘Wow, that was so great.I learned something about how the Earth works.' That is really pure pleasure.“(MUSIC)SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This is the sound of the greatest violin ever made.(violin music #1 in full then fade gently out completely)Or maybe it is this one.(violin music #2 in full then fade)It could be a Stradivarius, or an Amati, or a Guarneri made hundreds of years ago.But it might also have been made just last year by someone whose name is not nearly so famous.And that leads us to ask the following.Can you tell, just by listening, which is the best violin? If so, what makes it great? MARIO RITTER: It all began over three hundred years ago in the town of Cremona in northern Italy.If you wanted to buy a really good musical instrument, you probably visited Antonio Stradivari, Girolamo Amati, or Andrea Guarneri.Many people said they made the best violins that money could buy.Today, many still think of those violins as the greatest of all time.Those that still exist can sell for millions of dollars.Itzhak Perlman playing a Stradivarius violin from the year 1714For years, scientists and musicians have sought to discover the secrets of the master violin makers.They know that most of the time, spruce, willow or maple wood was used.Some people have thought that chemicals like borax were added to the wooden parts.Others have said that honey, or even the white of an egg was painted on the parts before they were put together.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Still other researchers say that a special kind of glue was used to connect the parts.Some think the secret is in the varnish, the nearly clear liquid that was used as a final cover to protect the wood.Or maybe the wood was special because it grew at a time when the weather was colder than it is today.In the end, no one knows for sure.And some people say we should not spend a lot of time thinking about the materials and processes used long ago.They instead think that some modern violins sound just as good and cost a lot less.Claudia Fritz at the University of Paris is one of those people.She led a study that was published in ”The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.“ At a musical competition in Indiana, she asked twenty-one really good violin players to test six different instruments.She did not tell them that only three of the violins were very old and costly.Together, the three were worth about ten million dollars.The other three were made by modern luthiers, or instrument makers, and cost a hundred times less.MARIO RITTER: Ms.Fritz asked each of the players to wear welders' goggles, thick, dark eyeglasses, so they could not see the instruments very well while holding them.She thought that some people might be able to identify an old violin by its smell.So she put a little sweet-smelling perfume on the part of the instrument that fits under a player's chin.The test began in a hotel room.All the subjects in the experiment were permitted to play all six violins, and then say which one they would like to own.Then each player was given only two violins to test.One was very old.The other was modern.They were asked which of the two sounded better.The results of the test led Ms.Fritz to believe that there is no secret to how the old, great violins were made.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Of the twenty-one players, only eight chose an old violin as the best.Even a recently made violin was judged to be much better sounding than the world famous Stradivarius.Ms.Fritz says the difference between the old and new instruments is only in the mind of the player.Modern luthiers were happy that she found what they believed.But some professional musicians think the test had little value.One noted that violins are meant to be heard in a concert hall, not a hotel room.MARIO RITTER: Researchers have performed tests like this many times in the past.But Ms.Fritz says those tests asked average listeners to try to predict which violin was made by a master.Her test was given to concert violinists who play at the highest level.They are the ones you would expect to have the best ”ear“ for great sound.There is an old saying that, ”beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.“ If that is true, then perhaps your opinion of how an instrument sounds to your ear is really what matters.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake and Jim Tedder.June Simms was our producer.I'm SHIRLEY Griffith.MARIO RITTER: And I'm Mario Ritter.Listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.A-Goal-for-2012-Learning-English This is the VOA Special English Education Report.這里是美國之音慢速英語教育報道。

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Some of you shared your goals at the VOA Learning English page on Facebook.And, no surprise, many of you said at least one of your goals for twenty-twelve is to speak English better.Daniel Kwon even went so far as to declare: I'm definitely going to try to study English at least an hour a day.你下新年決心了嗎？一些聽眾在美國之音Facebook頁面上分享了自己的目標。而且毫無疑問，很多聽眾都表示，至少2012年的目標之一是把英語說得更好。Daniel Kwon甚至宣布：我一定要試著每天至少學一小時的英語。

Jose Antonio Velarde says: My first resolution is to speak English as fluently as my Spanish.And Tuti Riel says: My New Year's resolution is to be able to speak English and Mandarin fluently, and be a better person.Jose Antonio Velarde說：我的第一個決心是把英語講得像我的西班牙語一樣流利。而Tuti Riel則說：我的新年決心是能講一口流利的英語和普通話，成為一個更優(yōu)秀的人。

Juwita Zulmi says she wants to improve her English and get a scholarship to study overseas.Another goal for twenty-twelve: a new boyfriend.Juwita Zulmi表示她想要提高自己的英語水平，并獲得一份獎學金去國外留學。另一個2012年的目標是認識一個新男友。

Derly Johanna Barreto has these two resolutions: to speak English fluently and to get a job.Jiseon Kim also has two goals: to lose weight and improve speaking English.And Katie Chekalina has these resolutions: Don't eat meat.I'll take it easy.Then, to learn Spanish or Italian, and find my real love.The last ones will be the most difficult, she thinks.Derly Johanna Barreto有這么兩個決心：講好英語，找到一份好工作。Jiseon Kim也有兩個目標：減肥和提高英語口語。而Katie Chekalina有三個決心：不吃肉，這事我會放輕松的。然后，學英語或意大利語，并且找到我的真愛。她認為最后一點將是最困難的。

Rafa Mtz's main goal is finishing high school and getting into a university.Lola Wazqito Oktobrata says: I am going to get married and finish my undergraduate study with good results.And Uma Cherif is ready for the next step this year: a master's degree.Rafa Mtz的主要目標是完成高中學業(yè)進入大學。Lola Wazqito Oktobrata說：我將要結婚，也將以好成績完成本科學業(yè)。而Uma Cherif已經(jīng)為今年的下一步做好了準備：讀一個碩士學位。

Handri Permana has this resolution: Be more meaningful before my time's up on earth.And Handri has this advice for others: Have fun seriously in life!Handri Permana的決心如下：活得更有意義。而Handri對他人建議說：開心生活。Dionel Paguirigan has fun playing the video game Defense of the Ancients, or DotA.Dionel says: My New Year's resolution is I want to spend more time on my studying than playing DotA.Dionel Paguirigan喜歡玩視頻游戲遠古守衛(wèi)（Defense of the Ancients）。Dionel說：我的新年決心是在學習上花更多時間。

Refky Aditya's resolution is to not be lazy about studying anymore.And Nur Chanifah says: I want to be the best in my national examinations, to be a braver girl, and to take a scholarship abroad.Refky Aditya的決心是在學習上不要在懶惰了。而Nur Chanifah表示：我要在全國統(tǒng)考中做到最好，做一個勇敢的女孩，拿到一份獎學金出國

Sharah Radinka offered this comment: My resolutions are to pass vocational school, get a scholarship and visit Singapore and Malaysia.And Sita Ayudha is thinking of Australia in twenty-twelve: I wish I could have a career abroad in my dreamland of Oz.And let's see, as I'm an optimist, I'm gonna make it real this year, hahaha.Sharah Radinka寫下了這樣的評論：我的決心是從職業(yè)學校畢業(yè)，獲得獎學金，并到新加坡和馬來西亞游覽。而Sita Ayudha在2012年正考慮澳大利亞：我希望可以到我的心儀之地澳大利亞工作。我們來看看，因為我是一個樂觀主義者，今年我要把它實現(xiàn)，哈哈。

AIDS-Study-Called-2011-Breakthrough

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

The journal Science chose an AIDS study as the twenty-eleven ”Breakthrough of the Year.“ The study found that antiretroviral drugs can greatly lower the risk of spreading HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.It showed that infected people with early treatment were ninety-six percent less likely to infect their partners.《科學》雜志評選一項艾滋病研究作為2011年的“突破”。該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，抗逆轉錄病毒藥物可以極大地降低艾滋病毒傳播的風險。這表明，接受早期治療的感染者感染其性伴侶的幾率要低96%。

The study was a clinical trial known as HPTN 052.Myron Cohen led an international team that began the study in two thousand seven and announced the results last May.But Dr.Cohen says the work really began twenty years ago.該研究是一項被稱為HPTN 052的臨床試驗。邁倫·科恩（Myron Cohen）領導的一個國際研究小組于2007年開始了這項研究，并于去年5月宣布了研究結果。科恩表示，這項研究工作真正開始于20年前。

MYRON COHEN: ”We had a strong suspicion based on all the biological studies we had done that when we treat people and lower the concentration of HIV in the blood and secretions, we were rendering them less contagious.But we didn't understand the magnitude of the benefit.It blows a gigantic wind behind the idea that treatment will serve as prevention.“ 科恩：“我們強烈懷疑，基于我們在治療病人和降低血液及分泌物中艾滋病毒的濃度時所做的所有生物實驗，我們降低了它們的傳染性。但我們不清楚其受益程度。它讓我們突發(fā)想象：治療可以用作預防?！?/p>

Dr.Cohen is director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases paid for the study.科恩博士是北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校全球衛(wèi)生和傳染病研究所所長。美國國立過敏和傳染病研究所為該研究提供資金。

The study involved heterosexual couples in nine countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas.The results have already had an effect on government policies.Those changes include treating HIV-infected people when their immune systems are still relatively healthy.該研究涉及了生活在非洲、亞洲和美洲9個國家的異性伴侶。研究結果已經(jīng)影響到政府的政策。這些變化包括在艾滋病病毒感染者的免疫系統(tǒng)仍相對健康時對他們進行治療。

MYRON COHEN: ”This particular 052 study in the last six months has generated policy changes at the level of the United States and the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.And it's inspired new community-based clinical trials that are just about to be launched that apply the scientific discovery.So when you do a single study and it receives so much recognition, and then seems to inform policy in a dramatic way, you think, OK, this was twenty years well-spent.“ 科恩：“過去6個月，052這一特殊研究已經(jīng)在美國、世界衛(wèi)生組織和聯(lián)合國艾滋病規(guī)劃署這一層面上產(chǎn)生了政策變化。它也啟發(fā)了正要推行的應用了科學發(fā)現(xiàn)的基于社區(qū)的新臨床試驗。因此當你從事一項單一研究并得到這么多的認可，然后似乎又以一種戲劇性方式影響到政策，你就會認為這20年功夫沒白費?！?/p>

Dr.Cohen says the study results will be wasted unless they are linked to other areas of HIV treatment and prevention.科恩博士表示，如果不和其它方面的艾滋病病毒治療和預防相結合，這一研究結果就將被浪費。

MYRON COHEN: ”So the 052 study kind of lends itself to understanding that if we don't know who's positive and negative, there's no benefit.If people aren't linked to care, there's no benefit.If they aren't provided drugs, there's no benefit.If they receive the drugs but don't take the pills, there's no benefit.So this cascade is now the focus of our attention.“ 科恩：“052研究有點兒便于理解，如果我們不知道誰是陰性和陽性，如果人們不與治療掛鉤，如果不給他們提供藥物，如果他們得到了藥物卻不吃，都不會從中受益。所以這一系列問題是我們現(xiàn)在關注的焦點?！?/p>

AIDS activist Mitchell Warren was among those who welcomed the results.艾滋病活動家米切爾·沃倫（Mitchell Warren）是歡迎這一研究結果的人士之一。MITCHELL WARREN: ”Treatment is prevention.And that becomes a fundamentally different conversation because for many years debates have waged whether we should do treatment or prevention.And the results of the HPTN 052 study actually affirm once and for all that treatment is prevention.“ 沃倫：“治療就是預防，這成為了一種本質不同的對話。因為多年來一直辯論我們是否應該進行治療和預防。HPTN 052研究的結果實際上徹底肯定了治療就是預防?！?/p>

Science also recognized nine other scientific developments last year.You can find the list at tingvoa.com.They include progress on a malaria vaccine and research on the DNA of our ancient ancestors.They also include a study of cells that have stopped dividing.It found that clearing them from the bodies of mice can delay some of the effects of aging.《科學》雜志還表揚了去年的另9項科技發(fā)展。你可以在tingvoa.com網(wǎng)站上找到該名單。這其中包括瘧疾疫苗以及我們遠古祖先的DNA研究的進展。還包括一項已經(jīng)停止分裂的細胞的研究，該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，從老鼠身體中清除這種細胞后，可以延緩衰老。

Amelia-Earhart-First-Woman-to-Fly-Across-the-Atlantic-Alone MARY TILLOTSON: This is Mary Tillotson.STEVE EMBER: And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS.Today, we tell about Amelia Earhart.She was one of America's first female pilots.(MUSIC)MARY TILLOTSON: Amelia Earhart was born in eighteen ninety-seven in the middle western state of Kansas.She was not a child of her times.Most American girls at the beginning of the twentieth century were taught to sit quietly and speak softly.They were not permitted to play ball or climb trees.Those activities were considered fun for boys.They were considered wrong for girls.Amelia and her younger sister Muriel were lucky.Their parents believed all children needed physical activity to grow healthy and strong.So Amelia and Muriel were very active girls.They rode horses.They played baseball and basketball.They went fishing with their father.Other parents would not let their daughters play with Amelia and Muriel.STEVE EMBER: The Earharts lived in a number of places in America's Middle West when the girls were growing up.The family was living in Chicago, Illinois when Amelia completed high school in nineteen sixteen.Amelia then prepared to enter a university.During a holiday, she visited her sister in Toronto, Canada.World War One had begun by then.And Amelia was shocked by the number of wounded soldiers sent home from the fighting in France.She decided she would be more useful as a nurse than as a student.So she joined the Red Cross.MARY TILLOTSON: Amelia Earhart first became interested in flying while living in Toronto.She talked with many pilots who were treated at the soldiers' hospital.She also spent time watching planes at a nearby military airfield.Flying seemed exciting.But the machinery – the plane itself – was exciting, too.After World War One ended, Amelia spent a year recovering from the disease pneumonia.She read poetry and went on long walks.She learned to play the banjo.And she went to school to learn about engines.When she was healthy again, she entered Columbia University in New York City.She studied medicine.After a year she went to California to visit her parents.During that trip, she took her first ride in an airplane.And when the plane landed, Amelia Earhart had a new goal in life.She would learn to fly.(MUSIC)STEVE EMBER: One of the world's first female pilots, Neta Snook, taught Amelia to fly.It did not take long for Amelia to make her first flight by herself.She received her official pilot's license in nineteen twenty.Then she wanted a plane of her own.She earned most of the money to buy it by working for a telephone company.Her first plane had two sets of wings, a bi-plane.On June seventeenth, nineteen twenty-eight, the plane left the eastern province of Newfoundland, Canada.The pilot and engine expert were men.The passenger was Amelia Earhart.The planed landed in Wales twenty hours and forty minutes later.For the first time, a woman had crossed the Atlantic Ocean by air.MARY TILLOTSON: Amelia did not feel very important, because she had not flown the plane.Yet the public did not care.People on both sides of the Atlantic were excited by the tall brave girl with short hair and gray eyes.They organized parties and parades in her honor.Suddenly, she was famous.Amelia Earhart had become the first lady of the air.She wrote a book about the flight.She made speeches about flying.And she continued to fly by herself across the United States and back.STEVE EMBER: Flying was a new and exciting activity in the early nineteen twenties.Pilots tested and demonstrated their skills in air shows.Amelia soon began taking part in these shows.She crashed one time in a field of cabbage plants.The accident did not stop her from flying.But she said it did decrease her desire to eat cabbages.Flying was fun, but costly.Amelia could not continue.She sold her bi-plane, bought a car and left California.She moved across the country to the city of Boston, Massachusetts.She taught English to immigrants and then became a social worker.MARY TILLOTSON: In the last years of the nineteen twenties, hundreds of record flights were made.A few were made by women.But no woman had flown across the Atlantic Ocean.A wealthy American woman, Amy Guest, bought a plane to do this.However, her family opposed the idea.So she looked for another woman to take her place.Friends proposed Amelia Earhart.STEVE EMBER: American publisher George Putnam had helped organize the Atlantic Ocean flight that made Amelia famous.Afterwards, he continued to support her flying activities.In nineteen thirty-one, George and Amelia were married.He helped provide financial support for her record flights.On May twentieth, nineteen thirty-two, Amelia took off from Newfoundland.She headed east in a small red and gold plane.Amelia had problems with ice on the wings, fog from the ocean and instruments that failed.At one point, her plane dropped suddenly nine hundred meters.She regained control.And after fifteen hours she landed in Ireland.She had become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone.(MUSIC)MARY TILLOTSON: In the next few years, Amelia Earhart set more records and received more honors.She was the first to fly from Hawaii to California, alone.She was the first to fly from Mexico City to New York City, without stopping.Amelia hoped her flights would prove that flying was safe for everyone.She hoped women would have jobs at every level of the industry when flying became a common form of transportation.STEVE EMBER: In nineteen thirty-five, the president of Purdue University in Indiana asked Amelia to do some work there.He wanted her to be an adviser on aircraft design and navigation.He also wanted her to be a special adviser to female students.Purdue University provided Amelia with a new all-metal, two-engine plane.It had so many instruments she called it the ”Flying Laboratory.“ It was the best airplane in the world at that time.Amelia decided to use this plane to fly around the world.She wanted to go around the equator.It was a distance of forty-three thousand kilometers.No one had attempted to fly that way before.MARY TILLOTSON: Amelia's trip was planned carefully.The goal was not to set a speed record.The goal was to gather information.Crew members would study the effects of height and temperature on themselves and the plane.They would gather small amounts of air from the upper atmosphere.And they would examine the condition of airfields throughout the world Amelia knew the trip would be dangerous.A few days before she left, she gave a small American flag to her friend Jacqueline Cochran, another female pilot.Amelia had carried the flag on all her major flights.Jacqueline did not want to take it until Amelia returned from her flight around the world.”No,“ Amelia told her, ”you had better take it now.“(MUSIC)STEVE EMBER: Amelia and three male crew members were to make the flight.However, a minor accident and weather conditions forced a change in plans.So on June first, nineteen thirty-seven, a silver Lockheed Electra plane left Miami, Florida.It carried pilot Amelia Earhart and just one male crew member, navigator Fred Noonan.Amelia Earhart in front of a map of her proposed trip around he world Amelia and Fred headed south toward the equator.They stopped in Puerto Rico, Surinam and Brazil.They crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, where they stopped in Senegal, Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia.Then they continued on to India, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.MARY TILLOTSON: When they reached New Guinea, they were about to begin the most difficult part of the trip.They would fly four thousand kilometers to tiny Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.Three hours after leaving New Guinea, Amelia sent back a radio message.She said she was on a direct path to Howland Island.Later, Amelia's radio signals were received by a United States Coast Guard ship near the island.The messages began to warn of trouble.Fuel was getting low.They could not find Howland Island.They could not see any land at all.STEVE EMBER: The radio signals got weaker and weaker.A message on the morning of July second was incomplete.Then there was silence.American Navy ships and planes searched the area for fifteen days.They found nothing.Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were officially declared ”lost at sea.“(MUSIC)MARY TILLOTSON: This Special English Program was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.It was produced by Paul Thompson.This is Mary Tillotson.STEVE EMBER: And this is Steve Ember.Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the VOICE OF AMERICA.American-History-Life-in-the-1970s-and-80s STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION--American history in VOA Special English.I'm Steve Ember.This week in our series, we look back at some of the social issues and cultural changes in America in the nineteen seventies and eighties.(MUSIC)In some ways, the nineteen eighties seemed like the opposite of the nineteen sixties.The sixties were years of protest for social justice and change.Many Americans demonstrated against the Vietnam War.Blacks demonstrated for civil rights.Women demonstrated for equality.Many people welcomed new social programs created by the government.By the nineteen eighties, however, many people seemed more concerned with themselves than with helping society.To them, success was measured mainly by how much money a person made.People wanted to live the good life, and that took money.The changes started to become evident during the nineteen seventies.For a while, these years brought a continuation of the social experiments and struggles of the sixties.But then people began to see signs of what society would be like in the eighties.There were a number of reasons for this change.One reason was the end to America's military involvement in Vietnam after years of war.Another was the progress of civil rights activists and the women's movement toward many of their goals.A third reason was the economy.During the nineteen seventies, the United States suffered a recession.Interest rates and inflation were high.A shortage of imported oil as a result of tensions in the Middle East only added to the problems.As the nineteen seventies went on, many Americans became tired of economic struggle.They also became tired of social struggle.They had been working together for common interests.Now, many wanted to spend more time on their own interests.This change appeared in many parts of society.It affected popular culture, education and politics.ARCHIE BUNKER(CARROLL O'CONNOR): ”Let me hear your idea again.“ MICHAEL(ROB REINER): ”O(jiān)K, I want us to watch Jack Lemmon and a group of famous scientists discuss pollution and ecology on channel thirteen.“ ARCHIE: ”Good.And I wanna watch football highlights on channel two.Now guess what's gonna happen.“(MUSIC)One of the most popular television programs of that time was a comedy series that often dealt with politics and serious social issues.The show was called ”All in the Family.“ The family was led by a factory worker named Archie Bunker.Carroll O'Connor played Archie, and Jean Stapleton played his wife, Edith.The Bunkers lived in a working-class neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York City.Archie represented the struggles of the blue-collar working man against the social changes in America.He loved his country and was socially conservative--in the extreme.ARCHIE: ”What about John Wayne? And before you say anything, lemme warn you –-when you're talking about the Duke, you ain't just talking about an actor;you're talking about the spirit that made America great.“ MICHAEL: ”Are you kidding?“ His opinions on subjects like race and women's equality were always good for an argument with his liberal daughter and even more liberal son-in-law.MICHAEL: ”Good.I can mail my letter today and it'll get to Washington by Monday.“ EDITH(JEAN STAPLETON): ”Washington--are you writing to Washington? GLORIA(SALLY STRUTHERS): “That's right.Michael wrote the president.” ARCHIE: “Write to the president, about what?” GLORIA: “All the things we've been talking about – the pollution of our air, the pollution of our water, the way us housewives have no protection from foods without nutrition, how they make products with harmful things in them.Like you saw what happened to Michael from that shirt.” ARCHIE: “You, Michael Stivic, Meathead, you have the nerve to write to the president of the United States about your rash?” Edith would always try to make peace.EDITH: “Maybe he knows a good skin man [dermatologist].”(MUSIC: “Happy Days” theme)Another popular program, “Happy Days,” about family life in the nineteen fifties, offered an escape from the social issues of the day.(MUSIC)Music also changed.In the nineteen sixties, folk music was popular.Many of those folk songs were about social problems.But in the nineteen seventies, there was hard rock and punk.TV HOST: “Here is Wonder Mike, Hank and Master G--the Sugarhill Gang.” And in nineteen seventy-nine a group called the Sugarhill Gang brought rap music to national attention with a hit called “Rapper's Delight.”(MUSIC: “Rappers Delight”)In bookstores, the growing number of self-help books offered another sign of social change.These books advised people about ways to make themselves happier.One of the most popular self-help books was “I'm OK--You're OK” by Wayne Dyer.It was published in nineteen sixty-nine and led the way for many other popular psychology books throughout the seventies.(MUSIC)Politically, the United States went through several changes during the nineteen seventies.For most of the sixties the nation was governed by liberal Democratic administrations.Then in nineteen sixty-eight a conservative Republican, Richard Nixon, was elected president.Nixon won a second term four years later, but had to resign in nineteen seventy-four because of the Watergate scandal.Nixon's vice president, Gerald Ford, took his place.Two years later, Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter, a Democrat who until then was little known nationally.The election showed that Americans were angry with the Republican Party because of Watergate.But they soon became unhappy with President Carter.They blamed him for failing to improve the economy and for failing to end a crisis involving American hostages in Iran.He lost his re-election campaign to Ronald Reagan.RONALD REAGAN: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”(MUSIC)Michael Douglas in “Wall Street”Reagan, a Republican, won two terms and led the nation during most of the nineteen eighties.For many people, the Reagan years offered a renewed sense of economic opportunity.Reagan reduced taxes, which increased his popularity.But the national debt grew as he raised military spending to put pressure on the Soviet Union.(MUSIC)The self-centeredness of many people in the seventies and eighties gave rise to terms like the “me” generation.“ And there was the rise of ”yuppies“--young urban professionals remaking older neighborhoods in cities, often displacing poorer people.Popular entertainment at that time was often about financial success.ANNOUNCER: ”Premiering Sunday, April second, 'Dallas,' where money buys power and passion breeds conflict...“(MUSIC: ”Dallas“ theme)”Dallas“ was a TV drama about a Texas oil family with more money, and more problems, than they knew what to do with.It became a hit not just in the United States but around the world.Actor Larry Hagman played JR.JR EWING(LARRY HAGMAN): ”Your daddy lacked the killer instinct.He forgave those who transgressed against him.People just weren't afraid of him.And he overlooked ol' JR's golden rules.CASEY(ANDREW STEVENS): “And what might they be?” JR EWING: “Don't forgive and don't forget.And do unto others, before they do unto you.And, most especially, keep your eye on your friends, 'cause your enemies will take care of themselves.Oh, and one other thing – the oil business is a little bit like a poker game.It's good to get caught bluffing early on, 'cause, after that, somebody's gonna call you when you've got a winning hand.”(MUSIC)“Dynasty” was another popular series about rich people behaving badly.One of its stars was veteran actor John Forsythe.BLAKE CARRINGTON(JOHN FORSYTHE): “Those banks are going to find out that they've got more than they can handle.Denver-Carrington [company] is Blake Carrington, and they'll come begging to me to run the company again.I know they will.And I'll make them get down on their knees when they come begging.” There was also “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” a series about real-life wealthy people, hosted by Robin Leach.ROBIN LEACH: “Our bustling capital city combines the chic with the freak, the 'Oh, God' with the avant garde.So let's go 'upper deck' with a couple of my good friends, and run away with the rich and famous...” And at the movie theater, there was the nineteen eighty-seven film “Wall Street.” GORDON GECKO(MICHAEL DOUGLAS): “The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.Greed is right.Greed works.” Michael Douglas played a character named Gordon Gecko, who earns his wealth by raiding companies and illegally trading on inside information.President Reagan during a news conference at the White House on March 19, 1987GORDON GECKO(MICHAEL DOUGLAS): “Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.And greed – you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A.Thank you very much.[Applause]”(MUSIC: “Rambo” theme)Good triumphed over evil in the “Rambo” action films starring Sylvester Stallone.He played a troubled hero who had fought in Vietnam.The films were violent.But they represented a more positive view than society had shown in the past toward veterans of that unpopular war.In the nineteen eighties people came to fear a new disease that could be spread by sex or blood.It was the rise of the AIDS epidemic.At the same time a new drug--crack cocaine--started a wave of violence in American cities.Technology was also on the rise.ANNOUNCER: “You don't have to be a genius to use a computer.Let Computer Land show you how easy it is to manage your own small business or home finances with the Atari 800.Record keeping, information, communication, and a world of new ideas from Atari.” Personal computers appeared in more and more offices, schools and homes.Michael Jackson performs with his brothers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on December 3, 1984The nineteen eighties brought stardom to young entertainer Michael Jackson.(MUSIC: “Beat It”/Michael Jackson)And no history of the eighties would be complete without noting the rise of Music Television--better known as MTV.(MUSIC: “Money for Nothing”/Dire Straits)You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at tingvoa.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: Jerilyn Watson This was program #225.