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Welcome to Learning English,
a daily 30 minute program
from the Voice of America.
I'm Katie Weaver.
And I'm Mario Ritter junior.
This program is designed
for English learners,
so we speak a little slower,
and we use words and phrases,
especially written for people
learning English.
Coming up on the show,
we have reports from John Russell
and Bryan Lynn.
Jill Robbins
presents the Everyday Grammar Report,
and we close the show
with the lesson of the day.
But first, here's Bryan.
The European Space Agency,
ESA, is reportedly in talks with America's
Space X to cooperate in efforts
to reduce the growing amount of space
junk.
The talks, reported by Reuters news
agency, aim to get the California
based space company
to join an international agreement
that pushes for policies
to fight space debris.
It has been
estimated that Space X satellites
represent about two thirds of spacecraft
currently in low Earth orbit.
Space debris is anything that humans
have put into space
that is no longer in use.
This could include satellites, equipment,
parts of rockets or spacecraft.
Space junk orbits
hundreds of kilometers above Earth.
It can circle Earth at speeds of about
25,000km/h in low-Earth orbit,
and it can cause major damage
if it hits a space station,
satellite or spacecraft.
The international agreement
that ESA wants space X to join
is called the Zero Debris Charter.
It seeks to stop any new orbital
junk from being created by 2030.
The 22 members of ESA
have been seeking new members
to join the agreement
since the agency announced it in 2023.
ESA Director General Joseph Aschbacher
told Reuters that more than 100
countries and organizations
have so far joined the agreement.
When asked about Space
X's possible involvement,
Aschbacher said ESA was in discussion
with the company to possibly sign up.
Ash Barker did not provide
further details,
but he said that work on the charter
is moving forward and ESA is continuing
raising the issue of space junk
with nations and organizations.
Reuters reported
that Space X did not respond
to a request for comment on the matter.
The news agency said that out of about
10,300 active satellites in space,
an estimated 6300
are part of Space X's fast
growing Starlink internet service system.
Reuters said that information came
from the US Space Force.
Other organizations and nations
are also launching their own large
satellite collections.
China has done
so in an attempt to compete with Space-X.
Reuters reported.
In addition, American based Amazon
expects
to launch more than 3000 satellites
for its Kuiper Internet service
over the next ten years.
Jonathan McDowell is a Harvard
University astronomer
who follows such objects.
He has estimated there are nearly 19,000
pieces of trackable space junk in orbit.
McDowell said he thinks it is important
to have members of industry
publicly support
this kind of charter.
So I'm glad to know Space-X
is considering it, he said.
There are no international laws
on space debris,
but in recent years, countries
have begun to create plans
and national rules
for fighting the problem.
We are not a regulatory body,
we are a technical space agency,
Ash Parker said.
But the fact that we have put the charter
around the table,
which was elaborated
with all the other partners
and that they signed up to it,
is very encouraging.
He added I'm Bryan Lynn.
Researchers in Mexico
have discovered a large, lost Mayan city.
The major urban settlement named Valery
Yana, is hidden deep
in the southern forest of competition.
The discovery adds to existing knowledge
about ancient Mayan settlements.
Valery Yana was discovered by chance
thanks to lidar
or light detection and ranging.
It is a technology that uses lasers
to map the Earth's surface.
The data used for the study
came from around 122km²
of high quality lidar data
collected in 2013.
The work, led by The Nature
Conservancy in Mexico,
was part of a forest
monitoring project called Alianza.
The project aimed to reduce emissions
from tree
cutting or deforestation and land damage,
researchers wrote in the
study, published by Cambridge University
Press,
that the discovery of valerian
highlights
the fact that there are still major gaps
in our knowledge of the existence
or absence of large sites
within, as yet unmapped areas
of the Maya lowlands.
LiDAR technology
revealed a major settlement
filled with buildings
and agricultural infrastructure.
The classical era Maya civilization
dates back to around 1800
to 1100 years ago.
At the time, the Maya civilization
grew its control over present day
southern Mexico
and what are now Belize, El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras.
In the study, the researchers identified
a total of 6764 structures,
suggesting a populous ancient city.
The researchers will carry out further
detailed study of the data set,
both remotely and in the field.
Their discovery serves
as a way to better understand
ancient
Mayan urbanization and settlements.
I am John Russell.
VOA Learning English
has launched a new program for children.
It is called Let's Learn English with Ana.
The new course aims to teach children
American English
through asking and answering questions
and experiencing fun situations.
For more information, visit our website.
Learning English dot VOA News.com.
For VOA Learning English.
This is everyday grammar.
Have you ever been in the conversation
and wanted to check your understanding?
That is the time to use a tag question
in English.
A tag question is a short question
added to a statement.
The tag includes a pronoun
and its matching form of the verb
or auxiliary verb.
If the tag question is negative,
we shorten the phrase
or use a contraction
with the auxiliary verb.
Here's an example.
I was visiting a friend
and saw a photo on the wall.
I said,
that's a picture of your grandson,
isn't it?
My friend answered.
Yes it is.
That picture is from when he was two.
He's a lot taller now.
In the example I wanted to confirm
something I thought was true.
So I started with a positive statement.
That's a picture of your grandson.
Then I added a negative
tag question, isn't it?
My friend said I was right.
The picture was of his grandson.
English speakers use tag questions
to encourage a listener to respond.
You will often hear teachers
using tag questions.
You remember the history lesson
from last week, don't you?
Some language researchers say that men use
tag questions more often than women.
They think it might show
that men have more power
in the conversation, and use tags
to ask for information or agreement.
Others say women
use a certain kind of tag questions
to make the conversation
run more smoothly.
Whatever your gender,
when you use a tag question,
you expect an answer.
The form of that answer
depends on the type of tag question.
Let's
look at the two types of tag questions.
We'll talk first about tag questions
that follow a positive statement
with the verb be.
They use a reduced form or contraction.
Make the tag question
with the form of the verb
be combined with the negative
not and the pronoun.
The verb be has to match the number
and person of the pronoun.
Take a look at these examples.
They are walking to school, aren't they?
She is taking the bus, isn't she?
I am supposed to be sitting here,
aren't I?
You are the math teacher, aren't you?
In these examples,
you reverse the order of the pronoun
and verb in the tag question.
They are becomes, aren't they?
And she is.
Becomes, isn't she?
If the
statement uses another verb instead of B,
the tag question uses an auxiliary verb
such as do or have.
For example, in the song A Little Time,
the singing duo
Beautiful South ask the question
me love over your big head, don't you?
Don't you?
And they spin.
Looking like a close person.
It happening.
If you ask a negative tag question,
you expect a positive answer.
Question.
It's raining out, isn't it?
Expected answer.
Yes it is.
Now let's look at tag questions
that follow a negative statement.
These are in the affirmative.
You can use this to confirm
that what you are thinking is true,
and you expect a negative answer.
Question.
You don't eat all the cake.
Do you?
Expected answer. No, I don't.
Negative sentences with positive
tag questions are not as frequent
as our first type.
They use the same form with reversed word
order.
Tag questions
are an example of a big difference
between British and American
English language.
Researchers using computer data
found that British
English speakers use tag questions
nine times
as often as American English speakers,
an understanding
and using English grammar.
Betty Azar says that the intonation
or change in pitch
shows the purpose of a tag question
if the speaker is trying to confirm
information, the tone rises.
Adam works at VOA, doesn't he?
Speakers saying
something that they are almost certain
the listener will agree with.
Use a falling intonation.
It's a nice day, isn't it?
I'm Jill Robbins.
And I'm Jim Tedder.
Now it's your turn.
Write a sentence
with a tag question in the comments.
We'll give you feedback.
On. We just heard
the weekly Everyday Grammar report.
Today it was all about tag questions.
Now Jill Robbins joins me to talk a bit
more about the story.
Can we talk a bit about the word tag?
Sure.
It is a word we use to talk about
something added on to another thing.
Like a tag question is added on
to a declarative sentence.
Exactly.
When you go into a store,
you might find a small piece of paper
that tells you the cost of a product.
A price tag.
You've got it.
And in the US, we call the number plate
on the car a tag two.
I think I've also heard it in relation
to computers and the internet.
That has a similar
meaning of a little addition
in social media nowadays.
We also use it to mean a short description
added on to describe the content,
and on a blog post or a website.
There are tags in each page that help you
when you search for a certain topic.
Tags seem to be everywhere.
I just remembered another one.
The children's game. Right?
We call it playing tag.
When we run around
and try to touch someone,
then they have to touch another person
and say
tag, you're it.
Thanks for joining us today, Jill.
It's always fun
talking with you and our podcast
listeners.
Hello.
My name is Ana Mateo.
My name is Andrew Smith.
And I'm Jill Robbins.
You're listening to The Lesson of the day
on the Learning English podcast.
Welcome to the part of the show
where we help
you do more with our video series.
Let's learn English.
This series shows Ana Mateo
in her work and lives in Washington, D.C..
Lesson
51 of the series is called A Good Habit.
Today we're going to talk about habits
and about fitness.
A habit is something
you do on a regular basis.
On a regular basis
means something that you do,
or that happens repeatedly and frequently.
For example,
if you brush your teeth every day,
you do that on a regular basis.
So that means it is a habit.
And fitness is a noun.
It means the state of having a strong
and healthy body
that can do a lot of exercise.
And the word fit
is the adjective form of fitness.
To be fit,
you need to exercise on a regular basis.
And the expression to be in shape
means the same thing as to be fit.
Over the last 50 years,
running has become a popular way
for people to stay fit or get in shape.
And a big goal for many runners
is to run a marathon in less than 51.
I don't think she can run a marathon too.
Let's listen.
D.C. is a popular city for marathons.
A marathon is a long race.
Many marathons raise money for charities.
You know good works.
A marathon is a good fitness goal, too.
I want to challenge myself in a marathon
and maybe win a medal.
Hey! There's Ashley.
Ashley, wait for me! Donna.
Ashley. Ashley!
Ashley!
Ashley, are you okay?
I just ran from over there.
Whew.
Running is really, really hard.
Do you want to sit down?
Oh, no. Whoa!
Do you want some water? Oh! Ooh!
Oh, no.
Thanks. You keep it. Thanks.
I didn't know you like to run.
I love running.
In fact, this weekend
I will run in my first marathon.
I meet two really?
You are running in a marathon?
Yeah.
In a couple of days.
Why do you ask like that?
What do you know
about running in a marathon?
I know
that there's a lot of running,
and sometimes you can win a medal.
And how long have you been training?
I started today.
I've been training for an hour.
Know an hour and seven minutes.
Anna has only been training
for about an hour.
But to run a marathon, most people
need to train for at least a few months.
Or a year to train or to get in shape.
Is an activity
that takes place over a period of time.
That's why Ashley and Anna use
the present perfect continuous tense.
And how long have you been training?
I started today.
I've been training for an hour.
Let's talk a bit more about marathons.
The word marathon comes from a town
in Greece named marathon.
According to tradition,
a Greek runner named Pheidippides
ran from marathon to the city of Athens
to deliver some important news.
The news
was that the Greek military had defeated
the powerful Persian military
at the Battle of Marathon,
and the distance from Marathon
to Athens was about 40km.
After the marathon was added
to the modern Olympic sports competition,
the official distance of the race
became just over 42km.
And speaking of the modern event,
in 2023, a 23 year
old man from Kenya named Kelvin Kiptum
set a new world
record for the fastest marathon ever run.
He ran the Chicago Marathon
in a time of two hours and 35 seconds.
Whoa, whoa.
I read that the average time
for most people is around 4.5 hours.
So that means Kiptum was running more
than twice as fast as the average runner.
Many people wonder
if anyone will ever be able
to finish a marathon in under two hours.
Well, Kiptum is getting pretty close.
Now let's get back to Anna.
She has made
the mistake of underestimating
how long it takes to train for a marathon.
To estimate
is to make a guess about something.
And to underestimate
means to guess an amount
that is too small.
And how long have you been training?
I started today.
I've been training for an hour.
Know an hour and seven minutes on it.
Training a little
every day is a good habit to get into.
Not all at once.
Her friend Ashley is right to get fit.
You need to get
into the habit of exercising.
To get into the habit of doing
something means to start doing something
on a regular basis
and to develop a good habit.
It sometimes helps to have a goal.
Jill, do you have any fitness goals
or things
you want to get into the habit of doing?
I swim regularly.
I try to swim at least three times a week,
and every day I do yoga
and walk about three miles with my dog.
How about you, Andrew?
Right now, I think my problem is that
I don't have a specific fitness goal,
but I do exercise on a regular basis.
But you know what?
I have a friend
who says I don't drink enough water.
So maybe I can just get into the
habit of drinking more water.
Well, anyway, I think
drinking water
should be an easy habit to get into.
I've been reading a book lately
about the habits of successful people.
One of them is to start
with the end in mind, or have a goal,
which is good for language learning to.
For example,
you could say, I want to get in the habit
of listening to English
at least 30 minutes a day
with the voice of America
Learning English podcast.
And Andrew, your goal is to get
in the habit of drinking enough water.
Listeners,
did you notice that if we say the habit of
we use the ING form of the verb after it?
For example,
we say the habit of drinking more water.
The habit of exercising.
The habit of reading,
the habit of walking, and so on.
After the preposition of,
just remember to use the ING form.
Ana is not in the habit of running,
so she is definitely not going to
be able to finish a marathon.
But luckily for her,
the race she wants to run in
is only for children.
I'm here to enter the race.
But ma'am, you can't enter the race.
What?
How am I going to meet my goal?
Ma'am, this race is for children.
You can't run with the children.
Children? Children.
That's perfect.
I just might win.
No, ma'am.
You really can't run with the children.
I'm sorry.
Of course I was only thinking of my goal.
Well, you could help us with our goal,
which is to raise money for sick children.
Would you like to help us?
Ana gets a new goal to help the race
raise money for sick children.
At the end of the video,
she helps the children
and tells them they have done a good job.
I've just found my new goal
and I get to wear a medal.
Good job.
Do you have any fitness
goals or new habits you want to get into?
Send us an email at Learning English
at VOA News.com and let us know.
And remember,
you can also find us on YouTube,
Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks for listening.
I'm Andrew Smith.
And I'm Dr.
Jill.
And that's our show for today.
But join us again tomorrow
to keep learning English
on the Voice of America.
I'm Katie Weaver.
And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
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