쌍둥아빠의 티스토리

A worker in Paju, South Korea, looks at a picture of North Korea's Kim Jong Un on a TV news show. Experts say Kim Jong Il could be preparing his third and youngest son for leadership.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Little is known inside or outside North Korea about the young man who could become the next leader. Kim Jong Un studied in Switzerland but even his age is a mystery. He is around twenty-seven, the youngest of the three known sons of Kim Jong Il. The North Korean leader is sixty-eight and believed to be in poor health.

This week, North Korea published the first official photo of Kim Jong Un after a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party. Some observers had expected him to be named as the country's next leader.

But Korea expert Gordon Flake at the Mansfield Foundation in Washington says the process is not that simple.

GORDON FLAKE: "What we're seeing here is not the succession. What we're seeing here is the first public indications of the beginning of the process of potential succession. But Kim Jong Il is still in power. And so this really is not an institutional rule. This is a personal family rule."

Kim Jong Il came to power after his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, died in nineteen ninety-four.

This week, Kim Jong Un and his aunt, the sister of Kim Jong Il, became four-star generals with little military experience. State media later announced the appointment of Kim Jong Un to the Workers' Party Central Committee.

He was also named to the powerful Central Military Commission. There, he joins Jang Song Taek, who is considered second in power after Kim Jong Il. Jang Song Taek is married to Kim Kyong Hui, the leader's sister.

North Korea specialist Andrei Lankov says Kim Jong Il seems to want the couple to help prepare his young son for leadership. Then, in case of Kim Jong Il's sudden death, he says, they will become "sort of prince-regent and princess-regent."

ANDREI LANKOV: "That is, people who will be running the country and will be making actual decisions."

Yet some North Korea experts say Jang Song Taek was not always so trusted. In two thousand four, he disappeared from public for a year-and-a-half.

Much of what experts know or think they know about North Korea comes from North Koreans who fled the country.

Some experts think this week's political appointments could create tensions with North Korea's aging generals. One theory is that the military could object if the ruling party looks for friendship with South Korea to help save North Korea’s economy.

Another theory is that Kim Jong Un might try to build power by dismissing opponents and inciting South Korea.

But on Thursday military officials from the two Koreas held their first talks in two years. And on Friday the two countries agreed to hold more reunions of families separated since the Korean War. The last reunions took place a year ago.

The talks are the latest signs of improved relations since a South Korean navy ship sank in March. Forty-six sailors died. An international investigation blamed North Korea but it denied any involvement.

In Washington, a Defense Department spokesman, Colonel David Lapan, said leaders in Pyongyang could change, but American objectives remain the same. Those objectives are for North Korea to stop developing nuclear weapons and to look for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson.

The original Carl Zeiss projector at the Smithsonian's Albert Einstein Planetarium projects an image from the show "Infinity Express: A 20-Minute Tour of the Universe"

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STEVE EMBER: I’m Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. A planetarium is a theater with a rounded ceiling onto which images of the stars and planets are projected. Planetariums give educational shows about astronomy and what you can see in the night sky. Today, we tell about the past, present, and future of planetariums. And, we visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

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STEVE EMBER: Since ancient times, humans have worked on ways to understand and represent the movement of the stars and planets. Experts credit the Greek astronomer Archimedes with developing the earliest known device to show the daily movement of the planets. He lived more than two thousand years ago. These mechanical devices that show the relative placement and movement of the planets and moons are sometimes called orreries. Over the centuries, scientific thinkers worked to develop these devices and improve their accuracy and complexity.

The words “orrery” and “planetarium” were once used interchangeably. Today, the world “planetarium” generally means a theater inside a dome.

BARBARA KLEIN: The earliest planetarium that is still working today is in the Netherlands, although the device is actually an orrery. It was built by a man named Eise Eisinga starting in seventeen seventy-four. It took him seven years to build this moving device inside a room in his house. All the planets move at the same speed as the real planets in our solar system. So, it takes one year for Earth to move around the sun and about twenty-nine years for Saturn to do so. Eisinga made his device out of wood, metal nails, a clock and nine weights.

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The oldest working planetarium was built by Eise Eisinga in the Dutch town of Frankston

Other versions of early planetariums were large globes. People could sit inside them. Holes were cut into the walls of these globes to represent stars.

STEVE EMBER: A group of German engineers and scientists helped develop the modern planetarium between nineteen ten and nineteen thirty. The creators of the Deutsches Museum of science and technology in Munich wanted to build a planetarium. So, they asked the Carl Zeiss company in Germany to help with this plan. This company was known for making scientific equipment such as microscopes.

It took engineers at Zeiss several years to invent a new planetarium technology. The complex mechanical device they made projected light through “star plates” of film that contained images of thousands of stars. Public viewings of the first Zeiss planetarium projector began in nineteen twenty-three.

BARBARA KLEIN: Soon, other cities in Europe and later in the United States began ordering planetarium devices from Zeiss. An American business leader named Max Adler learned about these planetariums and traveled to Germany to see one for himself.

He was so amazed with the Zeiss device that he donated the money for a planetarium to be built in his native Chicago, Illinois.

Adler Planetarium in Chicago was the first modern planetarium in the United States

The Adler Planetarium was the first modern planetarium in the United States. It opened its doors to the public in nineteen thirty. Planetariums soon opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California and New York City.

STEVE EMBER: Planetarium technology continues to evolve and improve to this day. But what if you live far away from a city with a planetarium?

Dan Neafus helps supervise the Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Colorado. He says new technologies are helping to connect planetariums with viewers in other areas. There are relatively few digital planetariums around the world. But this technology could bring space education and the experience of a planetarium show to more people through the use of a computer and Internet connection.

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BARBARA KLEIN: The Loch Ness Production company in Colorado makes shows, images and music for the planetarium community. The company also gathers facts about planetariums around the world. It says there are over one thousand five hundred planetariums in the United States. Many kinds of organizations have planetariums. They include museums, science centers, universities, schools and even astronomy clubs. Some planetariums have domes that measure over twenty meters, while others are much smaller.

STEVE EMBER: Some planetariums use film projections. More technologically advanced planetariums use digital systems controlled by computers. Digital technologies offer planetariums many choices. These theaters can show movies about space. Or, these planetariums can serve as classrooms where live interactive presentations take place. For example, astronomers can guide viewers on a trip around the universe using image databases with real information about the placement of stars and planets.

BARBARA KLEIN: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. has both a digital system and a projector system made by the Carl Zeiss company.

This Zeiss Model VI was a gift to the museum from West Germany in honor of the United States’ two hundred year anniversary. Last week, we attended a live show called “The Stars Tonight.” Astronomer Bill Dedmond showed visitors the night sky as the season changes from summer to fall.

BILL DEDMOND: “See, that’s how night sky is supposed to look. You can see thousands of stars when you are away from the city light pollution. You can even see this bright band of light here all the way across the sky. What is that bright band of light?”

KIDS: “The Milky Way!”

BILL DEDMOND: “OK, Excellent!”

STEVE EMBER: Bill Dedmond talked about the groups of stars or constellations in the night sky. He pointed out an important constellation, the Big Dipper. If you can find this group of stars, you can easily find the North Star, or Polaris. Mr. Dedmond also gave viewers a tour of the planets.

BILL DEDMOND: “Our galaxy contains a couple hundred billion stars and we know there are about one hundred twenty-five billion other galaxies. Just incredible how many stars there are.”

BARBARA KLEIN: Speaking of stars, one of the Air and Space Museum’s planetarium shows is called “Journey to the Stars.” The movie is presented by actress Whoopi Goldberg. It tells about the life of a star using our sun as an example.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: “The first stars changed everything, combining hydrogen and helium into new elements such as oxygen and carbon. Then supernovas blasted these elements into space, supplying ingredients for stars and planets to come. And though it may sound incredible, your body actually contains about a teaspoon’s worth of this stuff formed thirteen billion years ago by the very first stars.”

STEVE EMBER: The movie describes the many stages in the life of a star. Some stars known as super giants are about a thousand times bigger than our sun.

The movie “Journey to the Stars” is very helpful not only because it tells interesting facts about stars and space. The movie helps viewers get a better idea of the extraordinary size and volume of space and the huge number of stars within it. This sense of size is hard to understand by just reading a book. The planetarium makes it feel as if you are observing, moving through and exploring space.

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A scene from the Smithsonian's planetarium show "Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity"

BARBARA KLEIN: Another show at the Smithsonian’s planetarium is called “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity.” Black Holes are not actually holes. They are extremely massive concentrations of matter. The actor Liam Neeson narrates the movie.

LIAM NEESON: “How do you find something that hides in the dark? You have to look for its tell-tale signs. Swift’s instruments are designed to record bursts of high energy radiation. Gamma rays don’t penetrate Earth’s atmosphere, but out here in space, Swift’s view of them is front row center. They erupt when a black hole is born. That happens when a large star dies in a blaze of glory called a super nova.”

STEVE EMBER: It takes a lot of work to produce a good planetarium movie. Experts at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science made the “Black Holes” movie. They worked with movie producers, computer experts, astronomers, astrophysicists and other professionals. Their film is scientifically correct and also a lot of fun to watch. Many images in the movie are based on complex mathematical calculations about space gathered by scientists.

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BARBARA KLEIN: Next week, the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hawaii will host a six-day ‘Imiloa Fulldome Film Festival. Museum and planetarium professionals from around the world will be able to watch some of the latest movies available for digital planetarium theaters.

The ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center is part of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The center’s planetarium has the world’s first three-dimensional planetarium system. Viewers wear special glasses to experience this effect. The Astronomy Center is an example of how technologies will continue to change and improve experiencing the night sky in planetariums of the future.

STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein. You can comment on this program at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

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BOB DOUGHTY: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. This week, we tell about vitamins.

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BOB DOUGHTY: Many jobs must be done with two people. One person takes the lead. The other helps. It is this cooperation that brings success.

So it is with the human body. Much of our good health depends on the cooperation between substances. When they work together, chemical reactions take place smoothly. Body systems are kept in balance.

Some of the most important helpers in the job of good health are the substances we call vitamins.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The word “vitamin” dates back to Polish scientist Casimir Funk in 1912. He was studying a substance in the hull that covers rice. This substance was believed to cure a disorder called beriberi.

Funk believed the substance belonged to a group of chemicals known as amines. He added the Latin word "vita," meaning life. So he called the substance a “vitamine” -- an amine necessary for life.

BOB DOUGHTY: Funk was not able to separate the anti-berberi substance from the rice hulls; it was later shown to be thiamine. Other studies found that not all vitamines were amines. So the name was shortened to vitamin. But Funk was correct in recognizing their importance.

Scientists have discovered 14 kinds of vitamins. They are known as vitamins A, the B group, C, D, E and K. Scientists say vitamins help to carry out chemical changes within cells. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in our food, we are at risk of developing a number of diseases.

FAITH LAPIDUS: This brings us back to Casimir Funk. His studies of rice were part of a long search for foods that could cure disease.

One of the first people involved in that search was James Lind of Scotland. In the 1740's, Lind was a doctor for the British Navy. He was investigating a problem that had existed in the Navy for many years.

The problem was the disease scurvy. So many sailors had scurvy that the Navy’s fighting strength was very low. The sailors were weak from bleeding inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not heal. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting sick because they failed to eat some kinds of foods when they were at sea for many months.

BOB DOUGHTY: Doctor Lind separated 12 sailors who had scurvy into two groups. He gave each group different foods to eat. One group got oranges and lemons. The other did not. The men who ate the fruit began to improve within seven days. The other men got weaker. Doctor Lind was correct. Eating citrus fruits prevents scurvy.

Other doctors looked for foods to cure the diseases rickets and pellagra. They did not yet understand that they were seeing the problem from the opposite direction. That is, it is better to eat vitamin-rich foods to prevent disease instead of eating them to cure a disease after it has developed.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Which foods should be eaten to keep us healthy? Let us look at some important vitamins for these answers.

Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the eyes. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. They may develop a condition that dries the eyes. This can result in infections and lead to blindness.

Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A.

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BOB DOUGHTY: Vitamin B-one is also called thiamine. Thiamine changes starchy foods into energy. It also helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly. Without it, we would be weak and would not grow. We also might develop beriberi.

Thiamine is found not just in whole grains like brown rice, but also in other foods. These include beans and peas, nuts, and meat and fish.

Another B-vitamin is niacin. It helps cells use food energy. It also prevents pellagra -- a disease that causes weakness, reddish skin and stomach problems. Niacin is found in meat, fish and green vegetables.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Vitamin B-12 is needed so folic acid can do its work. Together, they help produce red blood cells. Vitamin B-12 is found naturally in foods like eggs, meat, fish and milk products. Folic acid has been shown to prevent physical problems in babies when taken by their mothers during pregnancy.

Vitamin B-12 is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods, like legumes and citrus fruits. In some countries, it is added to products like bread.

BOB DOUGHTY: In 2003, Japanese researchers identified a new member of the B-vitamin group. It is a substance known as pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ.

The researchers found that PQQ is important in the reproductive and defense systems of mice. They said the substance is similarly important for people. PQQ is found in fermented soybeans and also in parsley, green tea, green peppers and kiwi fruit.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth, and for healthy blood passages. It also helps wounds heal quickly. The body stores little vitamin C. So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.

Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium in the blood. Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally. It also is needed to build strong bones.

BOB DOUGHTY: Vitamin D prevents the children’s bone disease rickets. Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D. Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D. In some countries, milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.

Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding. Bacteria in the intestines normally produce vitamin K. It can also be found in pork products, liver and in vegetables like cabbage, kale and spinach.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Experts agree that everyone needs vitamins so that their bodies can operate normally. In general, a complete diet should provide all the vitamins a body needs in their natural form. In addition, many foods and food products now have extra vitamins and minerals added.

Some people fear they do not get enough vitamins from the foods they eat. So they take products with large amounts of vitamins. They think these products, called vitamin supplements, will improve their health and protect against disease. Many adults now take vitamin supplements every day.

BOB DOUGHTY: In 2006, medical experts gathered near Washington, D.C. to discuss studies about vitamin supplements. The experts found little evidence that most supplements do anything to protect or improve health. But they noted that some do help to prevent disease.

The experts said women who wish to become mothers should take folic acid to prevent problems in their babies. And, they said vitamin D supplements and calcium can protect the bones of older women.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The medical experts agreed with doctors who say that people who know they lack a vitamin should take vitamin supplements. Some older adults, for example, may not have enough vitamin B-12. That is because, as people get older, the body loses its ability to take it from foods.

The experts also noted that taking too much of some vitamins can be harmful. They said people should be sure to discuss what vitamins they take with their doctors.

Several studies have not been able to show that taking vitamin supplements in addition to a balanced diet helps to prevent disease. One study found that older Americans do not get enough Vitamin C and required minerals. The study involved more than 6,000 individuals. More than half of them took vitamin supplements.

BOB DOUGHTY: Vitamins are important to our health. A lack of required vitamins can lead to health problems.

Different vitamins are found in different foods -- grains, vegetables and fruits, fish and meat, eggs and milk products. And even foods that contain the same vitamins may have them in different amounts. Experts say this is why it is important to eat a mixture of foods every day, to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Brianna Blake. I’m Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

Welcome to the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Special English.

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I’m Faith Lapidus.

Today, we listen to music from Kenna.

And we answer a question about marriage between people of different races.

But, first we tell about some unusual museums in the United States.

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Unusual Museums

FAITH LAPIDUS: Americans love museums. We have art museums, history museums, car museums, train museums and space museums. Many are famous. Millions of people from around the world visit them each year. And then we have those other museums. The kind that make you ask, “Did they really build a museum for that?” Mario Ritter tells us about some of these unusual museums.

MARIO RITTER: It may be yellow, brown, grey, mild, or hot and spicy. We put it on sandwiches, squirt it on hot dogs and even dip pretzels in it. No American picnic would be complete without mustard.

People in the town of Middleton, Wisconsin love it so much, they built a museum in its honor. The National Mustard Museum has over five thousand kinds of mustard from sixty countries. You can even have a taste and buy containers of mustard in the museum.

If you visit the Banana Museum in Auburn, Washington you could learn everything you ever wanted to know about bananas. There are almost four thousand objects in honor of this favorite fruit.

Another unusual museum is in Independence, Missouri. It has over one hundred fifty wreaths and two thousand pieces of jewelry made with human hair. Leila Cohoon owns the museum and says some of the objects are over one hundred years old. The human hair wreaths were considered pieces of art long ago.

If you are ever in Haines, Alaska you might want to visit the Hammer Museum. There you will find over one thousand five hundred different kinds of hammers. Dave Pahl started the museum in two thousand two. He says some of the hammers on display were used thousands of years ago by the ancient Egyptians.

And then there is the Twine Ball Museum in Darwin, Minnesota. It has only one object on display – what it calls the largest twine ball in the world. A man named Francis Johnson began winding twine, or thick string, into a ball in March of nineteen fifty. He wound for four hours a day for twenty-three weeks. The ball got so big, he needed a crane to lift it so he could wind some more. Mr. Johnson wound the ball for about thirty years. When he was finished, the twine ball was four meters across and weighed seven thousand nine hundred kilograms.

Or you could visit Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Museum in San Antonio, Texas. Yes, it is what you think it is! Mr. Smith says he has painted or decorated about one thousand toilet seats. Many of the seats have personal meaning to him. Some show his travels around the world.

Then there is the Museum of Sex in New York City. That museum has …sorry, we are out of time!

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Interracial Marriages

FAITH LAPIDUS: Our listener question this week comes from Nigeria. David Odoviano wants to know about the history of interracial marriages in the United States, especially those between blacks and whites.

Marriages between people of different races were extremely rare in early American history. The first one on record took place in the state of Virginia in sixteen fourteen. A white tobacco farmer named John Rolfe married the famous Indian Pocahontas.

Interracial marriages were illegal in many states. Miscegenation laws made it a crime for people of different races to marry. The state of Maryland passed the first miscegenation law in the early sixteen sixties.

Charles Robinson is with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is vice provost for diversity, director of African-American studies and a history professor. He has done extensive studies on interracial relationships and miscegenation laws.

Professor Robinson says the Maryland law carried a severe punishment for white women who married black slaves.

CHARLES ROBINSON: "It punished them by making them servants to the master of the slave man for the length of that man's life."

FAITH LAPIDUS: Professor Robinson says it is not clear when the first marriage between a black person and a white person took place. But he says it appears to have been sometime in the sixteen sixties.

CHARLES ROBINSON: "It's pretty obvious that blacks and whites had married by sixteen sixty-four in Maryland because that law was instituted as a reaction to white women marrying slave men. But no one knows actually who was the first person or people to do it."

FAITH LAPIDUS: At least thirty states had miscegenation laws at one time or another. Many of the laws remained in force until nineteen sixty-seven. That was when the United States Supreme Court ruled the laws unconstitutional in the miscegenation case of Loving vs. the state of Virginia.

Richard P. Loving and his wife, Mildred in 1965. They won a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1967 that overturned laws prohibiting interracial unions.

At the time, Virginia was one of sixteen states that still banned interracial marriages. The Supreme Court ruling made the laws unenforceable. Still, several of the laws remained on the books for years to follow. In the year two thousand Alabama became the last state to withdraw its miscegenation law.

Since the ruling in nineteen sixty-seven, the number of interracial marriages has been steadily increasing. In the nineteen sixties and seventies, interracial marriages were fewer than one percent of all marriages in the United States.

In June, the Pew Research Center released a new report based on information from the United States Census Bureau. It said more than fourteen percent of all new marriages in two thousand eight were between people of different races or ethnic groups. This is more than double the rate in nineteen eighty.

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Kenna

FAITH LAPIDUS: The music of Kenna is very hard to define. He calls it experimental. Author Malcolm Gladwell wrote about Kenna in his two thousand five book “Blink.” Bob Doughty has more.

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BOB DOUGHTY: That was “Hell Bent,” the first single from Kenna’s two thousand three album “New Sacred Cow.” It was his first album release. The album included everything from hip-hop, to rock, to pop to electronica.

Kenna Zemedkun was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio with his family when he was three years old. But he spent most of his childhood in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He became interested in music after hearing “The Joshua Tree” album from the rock band U2. He began to teach himself to play the piano.

Kenna

Kenna released his second album in two thousand seven. It was called “Make Sure They See My Face.” The single “Say Goodbye to Love” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in two thousand nine.

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In January, the musician climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. He did it to bring attention to the worldwide clean water crisis. He took a team of scientists, activists and celebrities with him. This was Kenna's second attempt to reach the top. It was the largest group ever to complete the climb.

Kenna will release a new album later this year called "Songs for Flight." Until then, we leave you with “Baptized in Blacklight.”

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FAITH LAPIDUS: I'm Faith Lapidus. Our program was written by June Simms and Jim Tedder. Dana Demange was the producer.

You can get transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our shows at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

A laser light show at the South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh earlier this year

STEVE EMBER:  I’m Steve Ember.

FAITH LAPIDUS:  And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.  This week, we tell about one of the most recognizable objects in science fiction — the laser.  And we tell how the laser has made its mark in the fifty years since its invention.

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STEVE EMBER:  Three professional research groups have been leading a year-long celebration of the laser’s fiftieth anniversary.  It is called LaserFest.  The American Physical Society, the Optical Society (OSA), and SPIE, a group that supports the study of light, all have been involved. One goal is to honor the early developers of lasers who were both scientists and business leaders.

Another goal is to show the public that lasers are a great example of how scientific research can result in technology that improves economies everywhere.  And LaserFest is also meant to inspire young people to take up careers in optical science and engineering.

FAITH LAPIDUS:  Laser is short for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.  The idea behind lasers is complex.  Just how complex?  Consider that it took the mind of Albert Einstein to discover the physics behind the laser.

Theodore Maiman succeed in building the first working laser in nineteen sixty. Mr. Maiman worked at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

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Theodore Maiman with parts of the first laser at Hughes Research Laboratories

A laser fires a light beam.  Before the laser, scientists developed a similar device: a maser which stands for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.   A maser is basically a microwave version of the laser.  Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation similar to, but shorter than, radio waves.  The best-known use of masers is in highly accurate clocks.

In the nineteen fifties, researchers in the United States and Russia independently developed the technology that made both masers and lasers possible.  Charles Townes was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He and his students developed the first maser.

Russians Nicolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov did their research in Moscow.  Their work led to technology important to lasers and masers.  The three men received the Nobel Prize in Physics in nineteen sixty-four.

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STEVE EMBER:  The idea of a thin beam of light with deadly power came much earlier.   By the end of the eighteen hundreds, the industrial revolution had shown that science could invent machines with almost magical powers.  And some writers of the time were the first to imagine something like a laser.

In eighteen ninety-eighty, H.G. Wells published a science fiction novel called “The War of the Worlds.”  In it, he described creatures from the planet Mars that had technology far beyond anything on Earth.  Among their weapons was what Wells called a “heat ray.”  Listen to actor Orson Welles describe the weapon in a famous radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” from nineteen thirty-eight.

ORSON WELLES (PROFESSOR PIERSON):  “I shall refer to the mysterious weapon as a heat ray.  It's my guess that in some way they are able to generate an intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose, by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light. That -- That is my conjecture of the origin of the heat ray.”

FAITH LAPIDUS:  H.G. Wells’ description is not too far from the truth.  All lasers have several things in common.  They have a material that supplies electrons and a power source that lifts the energy level of those electrons.  And, as Wells guessed, many lasers have mirrors that direct light.

Laser light is different from daylight or electric lights.  It has one wavelength or color.  Laser light is also highly organized.  Light behaves like a wave and laser light launches in one orderly wave at a time from its source.

STEVE EMBER:  The physics of the laser may be complex.  Still, it is just a story of how electrons interact with light.  When a light particle, or photon, hits an electron, the electron jumps to a higher energy state.  If another photon strikes one of these high-energy electrons, the electron releases two photons that travel together at the same wavelength.  When this process is repeated enough, lots of organized, or coherent, photons are produced.

In Theodore Maiman’s first laser, a rod of man-made ruby supplied the electrons.  A more powerful version of the flash on a common camera was used to lift the energy state of the electrons.  Mirrors on either end of the ruby rod reflected and increased the light.  And an opening at one end of the rod let the laser light shoot out — just like the flash ray of science fiction hero Buck Rogers.

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FAITH LAPIDUS:  Industry put lasers to work almost immediately after they were invented in nineteen sixty.  But weapons were not first on the list.

The first medical operation using a laser took place the year following its invention.  Doctors Charles Campbell and Charles Koester used a laser to remove a tumor from a patient’s eye at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.  Since then, doctors have used lasers to cut and remove tissue safely with little risk of infections.

Other health uses include medical imaging and vision correction surgery.  Eye surgeons use lasers in LASIK operations to reshape the cornea, which covers the lens of the eye.  The reshaped cornea corrects the patient’s bad eyesight so he or she does not have to wear glasses or other corrective lenses.

STEVE EMBER:  Lasers have made measurement an exact science.  Astronomers have used lasers to measure the moon’s distance from Earth to within a few centimeters.  Mappers and builders use laser technology every day.  For example, drawing a perfectly level straight line on a construction site is easy using a laser.

AP

An optics expert takes a picture of the target area of the huge laser experiment aimed at fusion research at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Livermore, California

Energy researchers are using lasers in an attempt to develop fusion, the same energy process that powers the sun.  Scientists hope fusion can supply almost limitless amounts of clean energy in the future.

Lasers have also changed the way we communicate.  It is likely that laser light on a fiber optic network carried this EXPLORATIONS program at least part of the way to you if you are reading or listening online.  Super-fast Internet connections let people watch movies and send huge amounts of information at the speed of light.

Manufacturers have used lasers for years to cut and join metal parts.  And the jewelry industry uses lasers to write on the surface of the world’s hardest substance, diamonds.

FAITH LAPIDUS:  Since nineteen seventy-four, the public has had direct experience with lasers — at the grocery store checkout line.

Laser barcode scanners have changed how stores record almost everything.  They help businesses keep track of products.  They help in storage and every detail of the supply process.

Experts say no company has put barcode technology to better use than Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas.  By nineteen eighty-eight, all Wal-Mart stores used laser bar code scanners.  Highly detailed records on its products, and how they were selling, helped Wal-Mart keep costs down.  Today, Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest corporation.

STEVE EMBER:  Lasers are found in many products used almost everywhere.  Laser printers can print out forms and documents quickly and are relatively low in cost.  They are required equipment for offices around the world.

If you have a CD or DVD player, you own a laser. Laser disc players use lasers to accurately read or write marks on a reflective, coated plastic disc.  A device turns these optical signals into digital information that becomes music, computer software or a full-length movie.

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FAITH LAPIDUS:  Over one hundred years ago, writers imagined that beams of light could be powerful weapons.  Today, lasers guide missiles and bombs.

For example, pilots can mark a target invisibly with a laser.  Bombs or missiles then track the target with deadly results.

And, yes, American defense companies are working on giant laser guns recognizable to science fiction fans everywhere.  But there are technological difficulties.  Scientific American magazine says huge lasers turn only about twenty to thirty percent of the energy they use into a laser beam.  The rest is lost as heat.

That has not stopped scientists from working to perfect powerful lasers that, one day, may be able to shoot missiles out of the sky.

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STEVE EMBER:  This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter.  I'm Steve Ember.

FAITH LAPIDUS:  And I'm Faith Lapidus.  Go to voaspecialenglish.com to comment on this program and for a link to the LaserFest website.  Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

A mare and colt in field of yellow flowers

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Today we have a test for you -- a vocabulary quiz. The words are all related to agriculture. We start with two questions about terms for plants.

Ready? First question: What do we call a plant that lives only one year or one growing season? That kind of plant is called an annual.

You can probably guess the next question. What do we call a plant that produces new growth year after year? Plants that keep growing back are called perennials.

Now we are going to ask some questions about terms for livestock.

What is another name for a male cow? A bull, right? Well, a "bull" can just mean a male cow that has not had its reproductive organs removed. If the animal was castrated as a calf, the name for it is -- what? The answer: a steer.

Next question: What is another name for a young cow? That should be easy. We just said it. A young cow is a calf.

But we have a special name for a young female cow, especially if it has not had a calf yet. What is that name? The answer: a heifer. Maybe you knew that. But can you spell it? This question is just for our radio listeners. Heifer is spelled H-E-I-F-E-R.

Cows, like all mammals, produce milk. There is a medical name for this process. What it is? The answer: lactate. Cows lactate for up to ten months.

In milk, the fat rises to the top. But some people do not like to drink milk that way. So there is a process that is used to reduce the size of the fat particles and mix them all through the milk. What is the name of that process? It's called homogenization.

Milk can be made into cheese. Some people like cheese made with milk from a sheep. Our next question: What do you call a female sheep? The answer: a ewe, spelled E-W-E.

Male sheep have their own name. What is it? Males are called rams.

A lamb is a sheep under a year old. But what do you call the meat from a sheep that is over a year old? Then we call it mutton.

Age also plays a part in terms for horses. For example, a "mare" is generally defined as a female three years or older. But what do you call a female horse that is under three? The answer: a filly.

And the last question: What is the name for a male horse that is under four years old. A young male is a colt.

So how many did you get right? If you want to take this quiz again, you can find it at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. I'm Barbara Klein.

Isadora Duncan was called the "Mother of Modern Dance"

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MARIO RITTER: I’m Mario Ritter with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today Jim Tedder tells about modern dancer Isadora Duncan.

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JIM TEDDER: Angela Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, California in eighteen seventy-seven.  She was the youngest of four children. Her parents’ marriage ended in divorce when Isadora was three years old. Isadora and her brothers and sister were raised by their mother, Mary.

The family was very poor. Isadora taught dance lessons to local children to earn extra money.  She began teaching when she was only five years old.

Mary Duncan taught her children about music, dancing, the theater and literature.  Young Isadora believed this was all the education she needed.  She did not attend school for very long.  She said it restricted her from dancing and thinking about the arts.

Isadora wanted to make dancing her life’s work.  And she wanted to live by her own rules, not by what other people thought was right or wrong. The kind of dancing Isadora wanted  to do was new and different from other dances at the time. She thought dancing should be an art, not just entertainment.

Isadora Duncan did not like ballet.  She said that ballet dancers had too many rules to follow about how they should stand and bend and move.  She said ballet was “ugly and against nature.”  She wanted her “modern” dance style to be free and natural.  Isadora liked to move her arms and legs in very smooth motions.  She said this was like waves in the ocean, or trees swaying in the wind.

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When she danced, Isadora Duncan wore very thin clothing. She wanted people to see her body as she ran across the stage.

Isadora spent most of her teen-aged years in the San Francisco area.  She continued to teach dancing classes, mostly to young girls.

She also visited local libraries to read the works of Shakespeare and to study about the ancient Greeks.

When she was eighteen years old, Isadora urged her mother to move to Chicago and then to New York.  She thought dancing in these two large cities would help her career. She found work in several dance companies or groups of dancers.  But she had to dance as she was directed to do.  She did not dance alone on the stage and could not become the “star” of the show.

Sometimes Isadora Duncan was paid to dance in the homes of wealthy people or at parties they gave in their gardens. But soon it was hard to find jobs that paid her enough money just to survive.  In a short time, she was out of work and poor once again. Using her last dollars, she bought a ticket on a cattle boat and sailed to Europe in eighteen ninety-nine.

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Isadora Duncan arrived in London.  She visited the British Museum every day for several months.  She studied Greek vases and sculpture with their images of ancient Greek women dancing. In nineteen hundred, she danced for a large audience at London’s Lyceum Theater.  The people liked what they saw. Soon art lovers in the city were talking about this new dancer from the United States.

People began to think of her as a great talent.  Isadora Duncan began using the music of Chopin, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner in her performances.  Her fame, and wealth, began to grow.

When she danced, Isadora Duncan wore very thin clothing. Sometimes she dressed in long white tunics, the kind of clothing worn by ancient Greek women.  She wanted people to see her body as she skipped, jumped and ran barefoot across the stage.  Some people criticized her for doing this.  They thought it was not moral to dress this way. At the time, most women wore dresses that covered as much of the body as possible, especially the arms and legs.

Isadora Duncan moved on to Paris, Berlin, Vienna and the other great cities of Europe.  She danced and opened dancing schools.  Newspapers wrote about her. Artists created sculpture, jewelry, photographs and paintings of her.  And by nineteen ten, Isadora Duncan had become the most famous dancer in the world.

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Isadora Duncan was often asked to explain her style of dancing and to say how dance as an art might change over time.  In nineteen-oh-three, when she was twenty-six, she made a famous speech in Berlin.  She said:

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Isadora Duncan said ballet was “ugly and against nature.” She wanted her “modern” dance style to be free and natural.

“Nature is the source of the dance. The movement of the waves, of winds, of the earth is ever in the same lasting harmony.  We do not stand on the beach and inquire of the ocean what was its movement of the past and what will be its movement in the future. Every creature moves according to its nature … that is according to its feelings and physical structure.  The movements of the savage were natural and beautiful.  So too were the movements of the classical Greeks wearing simple tunics and sandals.

“In my school, I shall not teach the children to imitate my movements …but to make their own. The primary or fundamental movements of the new school of the dance must have within them the seeds from which will evolve all other movements, each in turn to give birth to others in an unending sequence of still higher and greater expression, thoughts, and ideas.

“The dancer of the future will be one whose body and soul have grown so harmoniously together that the natural language of that soul will have become the movement of the body.  This is the mission of the dancer of the future.  She is coming, the dancer of the future: the free spirit, who will inhabit the body of new women; more glorious than any woman that has yet been; more beautiful than all women in past centuries:  The highest intelligence in the freest body.”

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JIM TEDDER: Isadora Duncan had very liberal ideas for the time.  She believed in equal rights for women. She did not think a couple had to be married to have children. She had two children, Deirdre and Patrick, by two different men.  She was not married to either of them. She also did not hide the fact that she was bisexual.  She had a number of lovers, both men and women.  She thought the Bolshevik Revolution and Communism were good for Russia.  She said:

“My motto is: no limits.  Virtuous people are simply those who have not been tempted sufficiently.  We may not all break the Ten Commandments, but we are all certainly capable of it.  Within us lurks the breaker of all laws, ready to spring out at the first real opportunity.  You were once wild.  Don’t let them tame you.”

JIM TEDDER: Isadora Duncan is remembered as the mother of modern dance.  But she is also remembered for the tragedy in her life. In nineteen thirteen, Isadora’s two children, Deirdre and Patrick, along with their nurse, were drowned in the Seine River in Paris.  The car they were riding in had stopped running.

The driver got out to fix the engine, but he did not set the brakes.  When the car suddenly started again, it ran down a bank into the river. Isadora was greatly saddened by this.  For a while she thought she would never dance again.

In nineteen twenty-two, she married a Russian poet named Sergei Yesenin. He was almost twenty years younger than she was.  He became a violent alcoholic and then had a mental breakdown. Three years later, he killed himself.

In the late nineteen twenties, Isadora Duncan’s dancing career was over.  People began to think of her as a sad person whose best days were gone. She was seen in public many times after she had too many alcoholic drinks.  She ran out of money, but continued to stay at the finest hotels.  She had many debts that she could not pay. Newspapers carried stories of her “reckless” and “scandalous” life style.

In nineteen twenty-seven, her life ended suddenly. Isadora Duncan was in Nice, France.  She was riding in a car that had the roof down.  She wore a long scarf around her neck.  One end of the scarf got caught in the rear wheel of the car.  The heavy silk tightened around her neck and broke it. She died instantly at the age of fifty.

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The famous American poet Carl Sandburg wrote this about Isadora Duncan:

“The wind?  I am the wind.  The sea and the moon?  I am the sea and the moon.  Tears, pain, love, bird flights?  I am all of them.  I dance what I am.  Sin, prayer, flight, the light that never was on land or sea?  I dance what I am.”

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MARIO RITTER: This program was written and voiced by Jim Tedder.  It was produced by Dana Demange.  Shirley Griffith was the voice of Isadora Duncan.  I’m Mario Ritter. You can find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts on our website, voaspecialenglish.com.  Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

President Theodore Roosevelt stands by a globe in this 1905 photograph

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BOB DOUGHTY:  Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States during the early years of the twentieth century. He was a forceful leader. His national policies led to social reforms and federal protection of nature.

His foreign policy led to greater American involvement in world events.

This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe continue the story of the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

KAY GALLANT:  In nineteen-oh-three, Panama declared its independence from Colombia. Fifteen days later, Panama and the United States signed a treaty. The treaty gave the United States the right to build a canal across Panama.

To protect the canal, President Roosevelt declared greater responsibility for a wide area around the canal. The greatest responsibility was financial. Roosevelt said the United States would guarantee repayment of loans made to Latin American countries.

He did this to prevent European countries from using the issue of non-payment as an excuse to seize new territory in the Western Hemisphere.

HARRY MONROE:  Some Latin American nations were in serious economic trouble. Venezuela was one.

At that time, Venezuela owed millions of dollars to Britain and Germany. The Venezuelan ruler refused to make payments on the loans. Britain and Germany decided to use force to get the money.

Their ships began blocking Venezuela's ports. When they began shelling coastal areas, President Roosevelt intervened. He urged them to let the international court of arbitration at The Hague settle the dispute.

They agreed. And the blockade of Venezuela ended.

KAY GALLANT:  Less than two years later, a similar financial problem arose in the Dominican Republic. Revolutions and dictatorships there prevented re-payment of foreign loans.

The United States offered a solution. It would take over collection of import taxes at ports in the Dominican Republic. Forty-five percent of the money would be paid to the Dominican government. The other fifty-five percent would be used to repay loans. The Dominican Republic agreed. The plan succeeded.

Some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean questioned the right of the United States to act as policeman for the Western Hemisphere. But none openly opposed President Roosevelt's policy.

HARRY MONROE:  Theodore Roosevelt had become president after the assassination of President William McKinley. He completed the last three years of McKinley's term. Then he was ready to be elected in his own right.

Republican Party leaders, however, were not so sure. Roosevelt had made businessmen angry, because of his attempts to control big companies. But he made voters happy, because of his fight for social reforms.

Roosevelt's only serious competitor for the nomination was a long-time senator and presidential adviser. But the man died before the nominating convention. So, Roosevelt won the nomination easily.

KAY GALLANT:  The Democratic Party, in the past two elections, had nominated a progressive, Congressman William Jennings Bryan, as its candidate. This time, the Democrats chose a more conservative candidate. He was a New York judge, Alton Parker.

Judge Parker had no chance to win the election. Theodore Roosevelt was the best-known man in America. He won easily.

On inauguration day, Roosevelt made a short speech. He said America's capitalist economic system had done much good for the country. But it also had created a crisis in social relations. And the crisis had to be solved. "If we fail," Roosevelt said, "the cause of self-government throughout the world will suffer greatly."

HARRY MONROE:  During his new term in office, President Roosevelt was able to get Congress to approve two major new laws. One was the Hepburn Act. This law gave the Interstate Commerce Commission power to limit how much railroads could charge for transporting goods. The purpose was to keep the cost of railroad transportation reasonable.

The other new law was the Pure Food and Drug Act. This law declared it illegal to make or sell foods and medicines containing harmful chemicals. The purpose was to protect the health of all Americans.

KAY GALLANT:  President Roosevelt's most important foreign policy success came as a result of a war between Russia and Japan.

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A Japanese painting from 1904 showing the Battle of the Yalu River between the forces of Japan and Russia

At that time, Russia occupied Manchuria in northern China. Japan occupied Korea. Japan wanted control of Manchuria. It needed that area's coal and iron ore. Japan also wanted to end any Russian threat to Korea. So, it decided to fight.

Japan's navy easily defeated all the Russian fleets sent to the Pacific. But the two sides continued to fight on land. When both began to run out of money, they accepted President Roosevelt's offer to make peace.

HARRY MONROE:  Roosevelt invited Japanese and Russian diplomats to meet with him in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He told them his greatest hope and prayer was for them to find a just and lasting peace quickly. A quick settlement, however, was not easy.

Japan demanded six hundred million dollars for war damages. It also wanted Sakhalin Island. Russia rejected both demands. It had agreed to give up southern Manchuria. Russia would give up nothing else.

Negotiations lasted many days. President Roosevelt became more and more angry when neither side would compromise. But he remained calm and kept the talks going.

Later, he said: "What I really wanted to do was give an angry shout, jump up, and knock their heads together."

KAY GALLANT:  Finally, Roosevelt made a secret appeal to the Emperor of Japan. He asked the Emperor to drop demands for money and for Sakhalin Island. He warned that Russia was ready to fight again if the peace talks failed.

The Emperor agreed to drop the demand for money. But, he still demanded half of Sakhalin Island. Russia agreed to this compromise. The two sides signed a peace treaty.

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President Roosevelt with representatives of the Russian Czar and the Japanese Emperor

HARRY MONROE:  Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russian-Japanese war. However, his efforts were denounced in Japan. Roosevelt was held responsible for the loss of war damage payments. It was money Japan needed badly.

Anti-American riots broke out in some parts of the country. At the same time, tense relations developed between American citizens and Japanese immigrants in California.

Poor Japanese immigrants were willing to work for low pay. As a result, Americans lost jobs. They protested. Then school officials in San Francisco barred Japanese children from attending school with white children.

President Roosevelt opposed the decision. He asked the officials to lift the ban. In exchange, he agreed to ask Japan to stop its poor farmers and laborers from going to live in America.

Japan said it would. The understanding became known as the Gentleman's Agreement.

KAY GALLANT:  Roosevelt worked hard to improve America's relations with Japan. Yet he made clear that the United States would defend its interests in Asia and the Pacific.

As a warning, he sent a naval force on a voyage around the world. The force included sixteen battleships and twelve thousand men. It was called the Great White Fleet.

The voyage lasted fourteen months. The fleet sailed down the Atlantic coast of South America. It went around the bottom of South America into the Pacific Ocean, then on to Hawaii, Australia, and Japan.

Surprisingly, it received its warmest welcome in Japan.

An American reporter said: "The fleet made a deep and far-reaching impression. It caused the Japanese to understand the great power of the United States, as nothing else could possibly have done."

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A cartoon from Harper's Magazine shows President Roosevelt carrying his "big stick" while trying to end a dispute of European powers over Morocco

President Roosevelt believed this show of American strength prevented war with Japan. "Sending out the fleet," he said, "was the most important thing I did for peace."

HARRY MONROE:  Theodore Roosevelt greatly enjoyed playing the part of peace-maker. After successfully ending the war between Russia and Japan, he was asked to settle another international dispute. At issue was control over Morocco.

That will be our story next week.

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BOB DOUGHTY:  Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.