2023-05-27 Message to 2023 Graduates: ‘Want Things to Change? Take Over’
Musicians, actors, politicians, business leaders, writers, and Nobel Prize winners were among the commencement speakers in 2023. At Howard University in Washington, D.C., graduates heard from U.S. President Joe Biden.…
2023-05-27 ‘Watch My Dust!’
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. Dust is very small pieces of earth or other matter. It is so fine it floats in the air. And…
2023-05-27 Franklin Pierce: Ineffective
VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents. Today we are talking about Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. He took office in 1853 at age 48. At that…
2023-05-27 Swimmers Worry about Shark Attacks, Experts Say They Are Rare
Recent shark bites in Florida and Hawaii and a suspected case in New Jersey have raised an age-old summer question for beachgoers — is it safe to go in the…
2023-05-26 Farmers in Kansas Give Up on Wheat after Drought, Cold
The midwestern U.S. state of Kansas is one of the country’s top grain-producing states. But farmers there are having to kill or plow over their winter wheat crop after a…
2023-05-26 Asian American Artist Uses Cookies as Her Canvas
Artist Jasmine Cho paints images of both well-known and forgotten Asian Americans. But she does not use paper or canvas to create her art. She uses cookies. Cho, who is…
2023-05-26 ‘Pecos Bill,’ An American Folk Tale
Today we tell a traditional American story called a “tall tale.” A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story…
2023-05-26 Noncount and Mass Nouns
Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about noncount and mass nouns. Question: Dear Learning English, Thank you so much for your excellent programs. How…
2023-05-25 Tina Turner, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Star, Dies at 83
Singer Tina Turner, known as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” has died at the age of 83. Turner’s representative said she died Wednesday night after a long illness in…
2023-05-25 Modern Genome Data Suggests How Homo Sapiens Developed in Africa
The human species, Homo sapiens, developed about 300,000 years ago in Africa. The oldest-known Homo sapien fossils were discovered at a place in Morocco called Jebel Irhoud, between Marrakech and…
2023-05-25 UN: Extreme Weather to Blame for 2 Million Deaths in Last 50 Years
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its latest report that extreme weather caused more than 2 million deaths over the past 50 years. Weather and water-related events also caused…
2023-05-25 Grammar for Guests
Do you like to have guests? Who would you invite over to a party? Would you have a guest stay overnight? In this week’s Everyday Grammar, we will learn the…