– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Welcome to Learning English,

a daily 30 minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

I'm Anna Matteo.

This program is made for English learners,

so we speak a bit slower and we use words and sentences,

especially written for people learning

English.

Here are the stories

we have for you on today's program.

John Russell will tell us about bird watching in the U.S.

state of Alabama.

I will return with words and their stories this week.

I talk about doing too much or

spreading ourselves too thin.

I'll return later with a science story.

We will end our show with the Lesson of the Day

with Andrew Smith and Jill Robins.

But first, a story about bird watching

in flooded

agricultural fields near the Tennessee River.

Tens of thousands of birds called

sandhill cranes in search for food such as berries,

corn seeds and insects.

The cranes come to the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Center

in northern Alabama.

During the winter.

The yearly movement or migration of sandhill Cranes,

brings many birdwatchers who want to see the tall birds up close.

The birdwatchers also come to see the rare and endangered

whooping cranes that migrate in much smaller numbers.

Two wheeler.

Many other birds can be seen, including geese, ducks,

bald eagles, kestrels and hawks.

Park ranger David Young described

the area as a birders paradise, meaning

it is a perfect place for birdwatchers.

The cranes fly from the Great Lakes,

an area far to the north to Alabama.

Each year, the Sandhill Cranes started migrating to Wheeler for the winter.

In the mid 1990s, their numbers

increased by a lot in the mid 2000s.

Young said Last year,

the migratory sandhill population

reached a new record of 30,000 cranes.

The refuge has become a popular place for birdwatchers,

who bring handheld telescopes called binoculars.

Birdwatchers can even get closer to the 1.2

meter tall cranes as visitors

stay hidden behind photography blinds

and a two level observation center.

A yearly festival of the cranes in January

brings more attention and visitors.

The cranes put on a fun show,

dancing on their thin legs, moving their wings

and putting their long beaks in the air to make different sounds.

Diana Mayberry Sharp regularly comes to Wheeler

with friends to hike and look at birds.

It's pretty extraordinary.

I've seen them in other parts of the country where there were

just a few Mayberry, Schaap said.

They're not vocal like they are here.

There's so many here that it's an unusual experience.

The whooping

cranes are part of the eastern migratory population

that comes from the north central state of Wisconsin.

Young said they started coming to Alabama in 2004.

Their population is between 12

and 20 each winter.

Whooping cranes nearly died out in the early 1900s

because of hunting and farming.

The International Crane Foundation

says recovery and reintroduction efforts

have slowly increased their wild

and captive populations to more than 800.

The whooping cranes are sometimes

hard to see among the Sandhills, but their height

and white feathers help them stand out.

Young said the migration patterns of the cranes

might change depending on the climate of both

their nesting places to the north

and their winter homes in the south.

Rob Berggren brought along his camera and a long telephoto lens

and found a good place to work on his wildlife photography skills.

He comes to the refuge about twice a month each year

to photograph the birds and ducks.

You just need to be patient and wait for them to do something

interesting and make their calls, Pruitt said.

You get that cool shot and that's a good day.

The Sandhill Cranes will start leaving the refuge in mid-February.

Young said he notices a lot more activity when the birds are showing

they are ready to travel back to their nesting grounds.

It's usually on a day when we have some sort of a south wind.

Young said They are smart and they will ride the wind back

to their breeding grounds whenever it's most convenient for them.

I'm John Russell.

VOA Learning

English has launched a new program for children.

It is called Let's Learn English with Honor.

The new course aims to teach children American English

through asking and answering questions

and experiencing funds situations.

For more information, visit our website.

Learning English taught VOA News.com.

And now words and their stories.

From VOA Learning English.

So today

we talk about our busy lives.

Many people have family

and work responsibilities.

We might have religious or community activities.

Taking care of our health is also important.

And let's not forget about our personal projects.

Our interests and our friendships

with everything on our plate.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed over

extended care and overcommitted.

However, if we try to do too much,

we may spread ourselves too thin.

This expression

means we have taken on too much.

We are pushed to the limit.

People who are spread too thin take on too many

jobs, projects or goals.

The heavy load requires more energy

or attention than they possess.

If we work on many projects

simultaneously or at the same time,

it is possible that none will get done

well if they get done at all.

And it is possible such multitasking

working could stress us out.

Being spread too thin can also be described

as biting off more than we can chew

when we bite off. More than we can chew.

We attempt to do more than is possible.

Now let's hear some of these terms and expressions

used in a conversation.

So how are your classes going?

Not great.

Many of my best students are failing my course.

They all missed an important deadline for a project.

That's strange.

What else do they have going on?

A lot.

They are all performing in the same play.

So they have had rehearsals

every night for the past month.

And many have part time jobs as well.

Sounds like

they've spread themselves too thin.

They've got too much going on.

I think you're right.

So what are you going to do?

Well, first, I'll extend the deadline

and then I'm going to warn them about biting off

more than they can chew.

And that's all the time we have for this.

Words and their stories.

Until next time I'm Anna Matteo.

Two American astronauts awaiting their return flight

from the International Space Station.

ISIS have stayed busy carrying out

a series of scientific experiments.

The U.S.

space agency Nassar has said the pair,

Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams,

will remain at the ISIS until late

March or early April.

When they arrived at the orbiting

laboratory in June 2024,

the astronauts expected to stay

in space for just one week.

Their trip was a

test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft,

while Starliner safely transported the two to the SS six.

The spacecraft had several problems

that persuaded NASA's to send it back to Earth

for further testing without the astronauts on board.

NASA's current plan calls for Wilmore and Williams

to fly back on a space sex spacecraft

in late March at the earliest.

NASA's has been using Space X's

crew Dragon, to regularly carry astronauts

and supplies to the ISIS since 2020.

The astronauts have been using their extended mission

to carry out experiments.

In addition, Williams stepped out of the space station

earlier this month to complete a spacewalk.

Another NASA's astronaut, Nick Hague,

joined Williams on the spacewalk on January 16th.

The agency said in a statement

the two repaired a piece of equipment

that helps guide the movements of the recess.

The spacewalk also included

work on an x ray telescope

as well as maintenance activities

for other excess systems.

NASA's noted it was the fourth spacewalk

for Hague and the eighth for Williams.

The space agency said William Owens

was preparing for another spacewalk

planned for January 30th.

Wilmore is expected to join Williams on that spacewalk,

which NASA's estimates will last

about six and a half hours.

The two will be aiming to remove

a radio antenna structure.

They will also be searching for microbes

around the ISIS for use in experiments.

Here is a look at other experiments

Wilmore and Williams have completed during their stay.

NASA's said Wilmore and Williams have tested

different methods for growing crops in space.

Such methods could support humans

who have longer stays in space in the future.

One experiment is called the Plant

Water Management Investigation.

NASA's said this experiment uses

the physical properties of fluids to overcome

the lack of gravity and provide hydration to plants.

The experiment aims to help Nassr

develop hydroponic systems

to support future space missions.

Another experiment examines

a new way to grow vegetables, plants

and flowers inside the recess

to provide nutrition and beauty.

As part of this experiment.

Wilmore installed a new light meter

inside the recess.

The device is designed to measure available light

and to help crew members improve growing operations.

Nasser

also said that throughout the current mission, Williams

had deployed and observed three

free flying robots called Astrobee.

This robotic experiment seeks to examine

how such robots could assist astronauts

with daily duties and maintenance work.

The agency said the square shaped

robot's are designed to help scientists and engineers

develop and test new robotic technologies

for use in microgravity environments.

The assistants are also designed

to help astronauts with daily tasks and give ground controllers

additional eyes and ears on the space station.

Williams tested the robot's ability

to map the inside of the space station

and Astrobee flight abilities.

NASA's astronaut is visiting

the SS have a long history of capturing

images of Earth from space,

and this is another activity Wilmore

and Williams have carried out.

The excess gives astronauts

a window to the world as they orbit 400 kilometers

above their home planet during their mission.

NASA's said the two astronauts had captured hundreds of photographs

of Earth, ranging from Auroras Land,

Sea, orbital sunrises and sunsets and more.

Another space station tradition is for U.S.

astronaut arts to connect with students

and other interested individuals during their stay in space.

They have

virtual visits with people back on Earth

who can ask the astronauts how it feels to live in space

and can learn about NASA's experiments aboard the USS.

In early August, Williams

used ham radio technology to connect with students

from Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Nass explained that students get the chance

to communicate with the astronauts when the excess passes overhead.

The students can ask about research on the recess,

as well as the radio wave technology

that makes the communication possible.

I'm Brian Lynn.

Hello, my name is Ana Matteo.

My name is Andrew Smith.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

You are 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 series, Let's Learn English.

The series shows Ana Matteo

in her work and life in Washington, D.C.,

in less than 34 of the series.

Ana has a decision to make.

She is trying to decide what costume to wear

for Halloween, a popular tradition in the United States.

A costume is a special set of clothes,

very different from what a person normally wears.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st.

People dress as monsters,

ghosts, witches or other scary creatures.

They also dress as all kinds

of other things, such as American football players,

animals, and even objects

such as a bottle of beer.

But people can get very creative with their costumes.

Let's listen.

And find out what costume Ana might decide to wear.

Hello.

Halloween is very popular in the United States.

Children, trick or treat.

They ask people for candy.

Children and adults wear costumes and go to parties.

In fact, there is a Halloween party tonight.

I made my friend Jeannie. Jeannie.

Hi. Hi, Grandma.

What do you need tonight?

There is a Halloween party.

I love Halloween.

Are you going?

I might go.

I might not go.

I don't have a costume.

Can you help me dress as a genie?

Great idea.

I can do a genie trick.

Like reminds.

I'll not be careful.

Things might go wrong.

What could go wrong?

You might guess that things will go wrong for Anna.

A genie is a magical person with special powers.

A genie can make people's wishes come true.

In English, we ask a genie to grant us our wish.

To grant us our wish.

Means to make our wishes come true.

And in general, to grant something to someone.

Means to give them something.

Ana thinks her genie costume might also give her the power

to know what other people are thinking or read their minds.

But then again, it might not.

Ana sits outside with a sign.

The sign has the words mind reader written on it.

People see the sign and ask her about it.

Let's listen.

Are you really a mind reader?

I might be.

Okay.

Tell me what I'm thinking.

Sure. First, what do you do?

I study. I'm a junior in college.

What do you study?

I study journalism.

Okay, wait.

You are thinking

you will graduate from college in about one year?

Well, yeah, that's the plan.

I told you, I'm a junior in college.

Right? Wait, there's more.

You are thinking you might get a job writing the news.

I might get a job reading the news.

I might.

That means I might not.

And I'm studying really hard.

No, no, no, no, no.

You will.

You will get a job writing the news.

I will.

You will? I will.

I think

Ana changed

her statement from might to Will.

To make the person feel better and more certain about her future.

Yes, but I'm not sure This person feels very certain

she will get a job writing the news.

It seems that Ana might not have

the mind reading powers, she thought.

I think she will find out pretty quickly

that her costume does not give her a special powers.

The model will expresses certainty about the future.

We use it when we are sure something is going to happen

and we use the expressions it could

or it might when we are not sure something will happen,

something uncertain often depends on things we can't predict

or know in advance.

To predict is to say what will happen in the future.

When we predict, we make a prediction.

A prediction is what we think will happen.

There are accurate and less than accurate predictions

people make about the future.

Meteorologists

are scientists who study the weather.

They also make predictions about the weather.

These predictions are called forecasts,

thanks to computers, satellites and other technology.

Weather forecasts these days are more accurate than they were in the past.

We can say that weather patterns

or kinds of weather that repeat

are predictable.

So we have the verb predict, the noun prediction

and the adjective predictable

and the adverb form is

predictably

like.

Ana is predictably silly in these lessons.

That is a good example.

Sports gambling is another area

where people try to predict what will happen

when people gamble money

or place bets on sporting events.

They are also making predictions.

If they make

the correct prediction, they can win money.

But sometimes a bad prediction can end up costing them a lot of money.

Whether they make money depends on

how the athletes play and these expressions.

It depends and it depends on

are very common and useful in English.

Let's look more closely at these expressions

when we say it depends,

we mean the results or predictions

may be affected by other things or factors.

For example, whether or not

your garden produces a lot of vegetables depends on factors such as the amount

of rain or water, sunshine, temperature

and the condition of the soil or ground.

And notice that we use the preposition

on after the verb depend.

We often add a noun clause after the phrase.

It depends on like this example.

It depends on what kind of phone you have.

The noun clause is what kind of phone you have.

We can say it depends on this or it depends on that,

or it depends on plus a noun clause.

Here's one more example with the noun clause.

The noun clause in this example has four words.

It depends on how much you study.

Did you hear the noun clause?

What are the four words?

That's right.

The noun clauses.

How much you study?

I think for people learning English.

Their success depends on how much they study and how well they study.

Like if they use good methods or ways to improve their English.

That's right.

And the free lesson plans that go with the Let's

Learn English series give learners advice.

Four Ways to Study.

We call these learning strategies.

I predict these strategies will help the learners improve their English,

and I predict that you will

make another prediction about Ana Wu.

My prediction is that Ana will change her costume to something else.

Actually, that's not a prediction.

I am certain she will change your costume because I've already seen lesson

34 of the Let's Learn English series.

What costume does on a change? Two.

We hope you will watch Lesson 34 to find out

and remember that each lesson has a pronunciation practice video

and a lesson plan you can download for free.

You can find that all on our website

at learning English that VOA Newscom.

Just go to the beginner tab.

Remember that you can find us on YouTube,

Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks for listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast.

I'm Andrew Smith.

And I'm Dr.

Jill.

And that's

all the time we have for today's show.

Thanks for listening.

Some content in today's

show is from the Associated Press

or Reuters News Agency.

And don't forget to join us again

tomorrow when we will have more stories from around the world

aimed at helping you learn English.

I'm Anna Matteo.

And I'm Bryan Lynn.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Welcome /ˈwɛl.kəm/ A1	noun - a greeting given to someone arriving or entering a place
Learning /ˈlɜːr.nɪŋ/ A1	noun - the process of acquiring knowledge or skill
English /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/ A1	noun - the language originating from England, spoken in many parts of the world
Program /ˈproʊ.ɡræm/ A1	noun - a plan or schedule of activities or tasks
Minute /ˈmɪn.ɪt/ A1	noun - a unit of time equal to 60 seconds
Voice /vɔɪs/ A1	noun - the sound produced by humans for speech or singing
America /əˈmɛr.ɪ.kə/ A1	noun - a continent in the Western Hemisphere, or the United States of America
Learners /ˈlɜːr.nɚz/ A1	noun - people who are acquiring knowledge or skills
Slower /ˈsloʊ.ɚ/ A2	adjective - moving or happening at a reduced speed
Sentences /ˈsɛn.tənsɪz/ A1	noun - a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate
Stories /ˈstɔː.riz/ A1	noun - a narrative, either true or fictitious
Bird /bɜːrd/ A1	noun - a warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate distinguished by the possession of feathers, wings, and a beak
Watching /ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ/ A1	verb - to observe or look at something or someone
Alabama /ˌæl.əˈbæm.ə/ B1	noun - a state in the southeastern region of the United States
Migration /maɪˈɡreɪ.ʃən/ B1	noun - the movement of people or animals from one region to another
Birdwatchers /ˈbɜːrdˌwɑːtʃɚz/ B1	noun - people who observe and study birds in their natural habitat
Endangered /ˌɛn.deɪnˈdʒɛr.dɪd/ B2	adjective - at risk of extinction
Paradise /ˈpær.ə.daɪs/ B1	noun - a place or state of great happiness
Binoculars /bɪˈnɑː.kə.lɚz/ B1	noun - an optical instrument designed for magnifying distant objects
Extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔː.dən.ɛr.i/ B2	adjective - very unusual or remarkable
Predict /prɪˈdɪkt/ B1	verb - to say or estimate that something will happen in the future

Key Grammar Structures

• We speak a bit slower and we use words and sentences, especially written for people learning English.

  ➔ Adverbs of degree (bit), comparative adjectives (slower), and the use of 'especially' to highlight a specific detail.

  ➔ The phrase uses an adverb of degree, "a **bit**", to modify the verb 'speak', indicating a slight reduction in speed. The adjective 'slower' is in the comparative form, showing a comparison to normal speech. '**Especially**' introduces information that is particularly relevant to the audience.

• The birdwatchers also come to see the rare and endangered whooping cranes that migrate in much smaller numbers.

  ➔ Use of participial phrase ('that migrate...') to modify 'whooping cranes', relative clauses, and comparative adjectives ('smaller').

  ➔ The phrase "that migrate in much **smaller** numbers" is a relative clause providing additional information about the **whooping cranes**. The word '**rare**' and '**endangered**' are adjectives describing the cranes' conservation status. The comparative adjective '**smaller**' indicates a lower quantity compared to other cranes.

• The cranes fly from the Great Lakes, an area far to the north to Alabama.

  ➔ Appositive phrase ('an area far to the north') providing additional information about 'the Great Lakes'.

  ➔ The phrase "an area far to the **north**" is an appositive, which renames or describes the noun phrase '**the Great Lakes**'. It provides extra information about the location of the Great Lakes. The adverb '**far**' modifies the prepositional phrase 'to the north'.

• The refuge has become a popular place for birdwatchers, who want to see the tall birds up close.

  ➔ Non-restrictive relative clause ('who want to see...') providing additional information about 'birdwatchers'.

  ➔ The clause "who want to see the tall birds up close" is a non-restrictive relative clause, meaning it adds extra information about **birdwatchers** but isn't essential to the sentence's core meaning. The phrase "up **close**" is an adverbial phrase indicating proximity.