2025-03-15 ‘Watching the Grass Grow’ Is Not Fun
And now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. Springtime is a time of renewal and growth. Many plants end their long winter sleep and form new buds and…
2025-03-14 ‘The Open Boat’ by Stephen Crane, Part Two
We continue the story of “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane. As we told you last week, the story is based on true events. In eighteen ninety-six, Crane was traveling…
2025-03-14 Sew and Knit
This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Rohullah in Afghanistan about using the words “sew” and “knit” and related terms. Dear VOA Learning English, I am…
2025-03-13 Common Adverbs in Conversation: Amplifiers, Downtoners
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine you are at a business meeting. You have just presented a plan to your business partners. They want to give suggestions…
2025-03-12 Researchers: South Korea’s Birth Rate Increase Last Year Unclear
In 2024, the number of babies born in South Korea increased for the first time in nine years. The change is welcome news for a country that is dealing with…
2025-03-12 Methods for Protecting Earth against an Asteroid Strike
Astronomers following asteroid activity in space estimate there is a very small chance an object large enough to destroy a whole city could strike Earth in 2032. But space agency…
2025-03-12 The Goodyear Blimp Has Been Flying Over America for 100 Years
The Goodyear Blimp is an airship that is also a traveling advertisement for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The airships are immediately recognizable to most Americans. For the past…
2025-03-11 Australian Navy Rescues Rower Crossing Pacific from California
A Lithuanian rower attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean has been rescued by an Australian warship after hitting stormy waters off the coast of Queensland state. Royal Australian Navy officer…
2025-03-11 Total Lunar Eclipse to Turn Moon Red
A total lunar eclipse is about to make the moon appear a reddish color across the Western Hemisphere. The event will happen Thursday night into Friday morning. The best places…
2025-03-11 Images Can Help You Retain Vocabulary
Suppose you are listening to a program in English and hear the word “borrow.” You have heard this word many times but forget its meaning. So, you look up the…
2025-03-11 James Madison, Father of America’s Constitution
The men who created America’s Constitution are often called the nation’s “founders.” But only one of those men, James Madison, is widely considered “the father of the Constitution.” Madison was…
2025-03-10 Study Shows How Earth’s Orbit Affects Ice Ages
A recent study suggests the next ice age will likely begin in about 11,000 years unless emissions change the effects of natural climate cycles. An ice age is a period…