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[English]

Welcome to Learning English,

a daily 30 minute program

from the Voice of America.

I'm Caty Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter, jr.

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,

Bryan Lynn brings us the Science and Technology report.

He tells about some of the products featured at CBS,

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We also hear stories from Andrew

Smith and John Russell.

We close the show with the Lesson of the day.

Now here's Andrew Smith.

Greenland is the world's largest island

and a self-governed territory of Denmark.

About 57,000 people live there.

Mainly along its coasts.

Most of Greenland lies

north of the Arctic Circle, under thick sheets of ice.

The island plays a large part

in the weather experienced by billions of people every day

and in climate changes around

the planet, experts say

American President elect Donald Trump

is expressing interest in buying Greenland from Denmark.

He said something similar

during his first term in office as well.

The United States has a large

military base on the island.

Geologists say

Greenland has huge amounts of oil and natural gas below

the ice and valuable elements

known as rare earth minerals.

Rare earth minerals are needed in communicate ocean technologies,

including phones.

Most of these resources are trapped under Greenland's ice.

However, the warming temperatures in recent years

have increased melting on the island

as more ice melts.

Some of these resources may become easier to reach.

Jeff De

Balko is a security and environment

professor at Ohio University.

He thinks other countries

are becoming interested in Greenland because China is currently the supplier

of more than half of the world's rare earth minerals.

From 1992 to 2020.

Greenland lost an average of 169

billion metric tons of ice each year,

with losses reaching 444 billion

metric tons in 2019.

Mark Cerise is director of the National Snow

and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

He told the Associated Press that melting from Greenland

will be a central issue through the 21st century.

That is because melting ice

adds to rising sea levels.

Series noted that the amount of melting

will likely increase in the future.

Greenland also serves as the engine

for an important ocean current that influences

Earth's climate in many ways, including storm activity.

The current is

called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation,

or a MOOC.

The current is slowing down because more freshwater

from Greenland's melting ice is entering the ocean.

Saris said

a shutdown of the current could lead to long

term freezes in Europe and parts of North America.

If this global current system were to slow,

substantially or even collapse

as we know it has done in the past,

normal temperature and precipitation patterns around the globe

would change drastically,

said climate scientist Jennifer Francis

of the Woodward Climate Research Center, a nonprofit

based in the American state of Massachusetts.

She added that the changes would have very damaging effects

on farming and ecosystems

as more ice melts.

Greenland is also changing color from the white of ice

to the blue and green of water and land.

These

darker colors hold more heat from the sun

and can increase the speed of warming.

Greenland lies in between northern Canada,

northern Europe and Russia.

That area may become more valuable

to countries if melting in the Arctic Ocean

continues to increase and more ships

pass through the area.

I'm Andrew Smith.

A spacecraft recently

sent back some of the best close up pictures

yet of the planet to Mercury's North Pole.

The European and Japanese robotic explorer

went as close as 295 kilometers

above Mercury's Nightside before passing

directly over the planet's north Pole.

The European Space Agency,

ESA, released images

that show craters with deep shadows

on our solar system's smallest planet.

ESA noted that the edges

or rims of the craters called Prokofiev of Kandinsky

talking and GORDEMER create permanent shadows.

As a result, these unlit craters

are some of the coldest places in the solar system.

Even though mercury is the closest planet to the sun.

Cameras also

took images of neighboring volcanic plains

known as Borealis Planet.

ESA noted that these are Mercury's

largest expanse of smooth plains

and were formed by the widespread eruption of lava

3.7 billion years ago.

Also appearing in the images released

by ESA is Mercury is the largest impact crater.

The color basin, which covers

more than 1500 kilometers.

This was the sixth and final flyby of Mercury

for the Bepicolombo spacecraft

since its launch in 2018.

The recent move put the spacecraft

on a path to enter orbit around Mercury.

Late next year, the spacecraft holds

two orbiters, one from Europe and the other from Japan that will circle

the planet's poles in a statement

on its website, ESA noted that

Mercury, a small, dry planet,

is the least explored planet of the inner solar system.

Learning more about mercury

will shed light on the history

of the entire solar system.

The spacecraft is named for the late Giuseppe

Pepe Colombo, an Italian mathematician.

Colombo played a part in NASA's Mariner

ten mission to Mercury in the 1970s and 20 years later

in the Italian space agency's special

satellite project that flew on the U.S.

space shuttle.

I'm John Russell

at this year's

CBS show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Crowds from around the world came to see the latest products

built with artificial intelligence A.I..

CBS is produced by the Virginia based

Consumer Technology Association.

It presents the latest electronic product offerings

or features targeting consumers.

More than 138,000 people

attended the event, which ended last weekend.

More than 4000 companies presented

products at CES 2025.

Here is a look at some of the top products

shown at this year's 2025 show.

CBS is historically an event

at which large electronics manufacturers

introduce their latest and greatest televisions.

This year was no different.

South Korean TV makers LG and Samsung

both announced new smart models with built in A.I.

tools.

Others, including Japan's Panasonic and China's

Hisense and TCL, also released

TV models with new AI tools.

Korean Menu Factory.

LG said its latest models are equipped with A.I.

technologies designed to autonomously improve

picture brightness, sharpness and sound quality.

The AI improvements are powered by the company's own

A11 processor technology.

LG also announced new updates

for its magic remote device controller,

saying new AI tools were added to provide more detailed

search and interact active possibilities with users.

Samsung introduced a system called Samsung Vision

AI for its line of OLED and Q LCD TV models.

The company said the AI tools are meant

to turn the TVs into more intelligent assistive devices

and to help simplify and enrich

everyday living for its users.

One example is a feature

that permits users to click on different screen elements

to receive immediate information about what they see,

the company said.

Another tool makes it possible to activate

live language translations on screen.

Several companies at CBS introduced

robotic transport vehicles designed to travel over

many kinds of surfaces or terrain.

One model was built by Kubota,

a Japanese maker of farm and building equipment.

The company demonstrated did how the k

tr four wheeled robot uses hydraulics

to control the vehicle's four legs independently.

This design seeks to keep the robot secure and level

even when working on hills or in Rocky areas.

Kubota says the vehicle,

which is able to carry loads up to 240 kilograms, is small enough

to be transported in most pickup trucks.

Chinese developer Unit Tree Robotics showed off.

A dog like robot model called Go to The Robot was designed

with a series of cameras, sensors and AI tools.

The company says this permits Goto

to make smooth movements and automatically follow its owner.

It is able to carry small loads on its back

and can also be used in security operations involving business

cars or individuals.

Demonstrations at CBS

showed Goto doing tricks like standing on two legs,

dancing and giving high fives to visitors.

The company produces several other dog like models

as well as humanoid robots.

The latest flying car designs

are also a yearly favorite at CBS,

but this year, Chinese automaker X Pang took its presentation

a step further by introducing a combination truck

and flying vehicle.

The company calls the system a land aircraft carrier.

It includes a large transport

van with enough space to transport

a vertical landing flying vehicle inside.

The idea is for users to be able

to launch the flying vehicle from anywhere the van can go.

The flying car is fully autonomous

and can carry two people at a time.

Chinese media reported the company,

which also offers several traditional vehicles on its website, plans

to sell the combination for about $300,000.

X Pong said it will aim to increase production

for all its vehicles in the coming year.

California based app Terra Motors demonstrated

a new electronic vehicle model

with a built in charging system.

The company explains on its website

that the vehicle has solar panels on its surface

to capture energy from the sun when charged this way.

App Terra claims the car can travel up

to 64 kilometers in a single day

without being plugged in to a power source on a full charge.

The company says the vehicle can travel up

to 640 kilometers.

Japanese drink producer Kirin Holdings

introduced a new product that aims to strengthen or enhance

the taste of salt in food products

without increasing the amount of salt.

The spoon shaped device uses

electricity to increase saltiness.

The company says the tool, which can be taken anywhere,

sends a weak electric current through the top of the device to food.

French electric sports equipment maker Rescue Motors

presented an all terrain electric board

that can move on roads and snow.

The company calls its invention the Stern Board.

It is a three wheeled board with an electric motor in the back.

First designed to be an electric skateboard,

a version was developed to move on snow.

The power to boards have reached speeds of more than 60 kilometers

per hour in tests, but the snow versions are not designed for speed.

They seek to provide users with the ability to go up hills

or move long distances over level land.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Hello.

My name is Anna Matteo,

and my name is Jill Robbins.

And I'm Andrew Smith.

You're listening to 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 Anima Teo in her work and life in Washington, DC.

Today's lesson has three parts.

First, you will hear and repeat

a few informal expressions as Anna uses

that are very common in American English.

Next, you will hear Andrew and me having

a native speaker conversation.

Third, you'll get to practice hearing and listening

to phrases that begin with the word What?

We have a lot to do in today's lesson, so let's get started.

Here's Anna in lesson 19 when she learns

that she is going to make a new TV show.

I have a new assignment for you.

Your skills are perfect for a new show.

A children's show.

A children's show.

That is awesome.

When do I start?

You start next month.

Start thinking of ideas for the show.

I have tons of ideas.

I can show children what it's like in outer space or great

tons of is an informal way

of saying a lot of

a ton.

And the units of weight used in the United States is £2,000,

which is about 907 kilograms.

So that's why a ton of four

tons of means, a lot or very many.

Anna has a lot of imagination, so she has tons of ideas.

I have tons of ideas and there are tons of things we can talk

about based on the Let's Learn English series

from VOA Learning English.

Here's some more examples with the expression tons of.

So, Andrew, I'm going to Charlotte,

North Carolina next weekend for a work meeting,

but I haven't had time to plan my trip and I don't really know what to do.

Oh, don't worry about that.

There's tons to do.

There are more than one really good art museums downtown.

There are major sports teams.

There's an NBA basketball team and NFL

football team soccer teams.

There's a very good symphony orchestra and a lot of good restaurants.

You will have plenty to do.

Yeah, I'm sure I will.

Hey, I meant to ask you,

could you help me move my office furniture?

If you're not too busy?

Yeah, no problem.

I've got tons of time.

Speaking of the office, do you have any paperclips?

Oh, I've got tons of them.

Take all you want, Andrew.

Pretty soon our listeners will have tons of examples.

That's true.

I think they probably get the idea,

but they should remember that tons of is a little bit informal,

and it is used more in speaking

than in formal writing.

That's true.

So how about teaching another informal expression?

Well, how about how about.

Yeah, we can do that.

Here's Anna and Jeannie in lesson 14.

Anna needs some clothes to wear, and a genie appears and tries to help.

Tonight I am going to the theater with my friends,

but I don't know what clothes to wear.

Maybe this magazine can help.

Her clothes are beautiful.

I really want a friend like her to help me.

Who are you?

I am Jeannie.

You want help?

I am here to help you find the right clothes.

Awesome.

How about jeans and a t shirt?

No jeans and a T are to casual.

How about something more formal?

Sure.

When Anna says, how about she means what if we try this?

Awesome.

How about jeans and a t shirt?

And when we speak quickly, we sometimes

drop the sound from about and just say bout.

So it sounds like this.

How about this?

Or how about that?

How about we listen to Anna one more time?

Can you put on a jacket?

Why not?

I love the jacket.

How about a hat?

I think we can find tons of examples of people

saying, How about.

I'm sure we can.

But how about we do something else?

There's something honest says at the end of Lesson 19

that we could talk about for our native speaker conversation.

Let's listen.

I have tons of ideas.

I can show children what it's like in outer space

or great in the deep, dark ocean.

Those are great ideas.

Anna, please go.

Think of more at your desk. Yes.

What other things can I show them?

Mount Everest.

Everyone has different skills.

You have skills? I have skills.

The important thing is to know what you are good at.

Until next time.

I think Anna has some useful advice.

It is important to know what you are good at.

Yeah.

For example, last week I realized that I'm good at catering.

You know, like setting up food and tables for a party.

It's probably something I learned from watching my mother.

Let's move on to our third topic for today.

Phrases that start with the word what grammatically.

These are called noun clauses.

But you don't have to worry about the name.

Just listen to the word order.

You hear the word What?

Then you hear a subject followed by a verb.

Here's Anna again in lesson 19.

Excited that she's going to have a new TV show.

The noun clause is at the end,

a children's show.

That is awesome.

When do I start?

You start next month.

Start thinking of ideas for the show.

I have tons of ideas.

I can show children what it's like in outer space.

When she

says what it's like, you hear the word.

What?

Plus the subject. It.

Plus the verb is using

the contraction form. It's

so normally when we ask a question with words

such as what or where the verb comes before the subject.

Like when we say. What is your name?

But if we put the what or where

inside a sentence or statement,

the subject and verb change places like this.

I want to know what your name is.

The words, what your name is.

Ah, the object of the verb. No.

So their job in the sentence is to function like a noun

instead of a question.

So that's why the word order is not like a question.

With what?

It can be tricky to reverse the subject and verb order correctly.

But don't worry.

We're going to give you tons of examples.

I can show children what it's like in outer space.

And how about these examples?

I can show you what I want.

I can show you what I need.

I can tell you what I think.

I can tell you what I see.

You can show me what you want.

You can show me what you need.

You can tell me what you think.

You can tell me what you see.

I can tell you what to do.

I can tell you where to go.

You can?

Yes, I can.

Go ahead.

Tell me some more.

I can tell you what time it is.

I can tell you what the weather is.

I can tell you what my cat likes to eat.

I can tell you where my cat likes to sleep.

I can tell you what it's like to watch the moon and stars at night.

I can tell you what I want.

I can tell you what I need.

But I can't tell you what to do.

Because that's really up to you.

You know, I think that's true.

You can't tell me what to do.

But you can give me some good advice.

Well, here's some advice for our listeners.

Practice repeating the sentences you hear on this lesson of the day.

And use the Let's Learn English series

to find many more examples of things you can learn to say.

That is some good advice.

We hope you've enjoyed today's lesson of the day

on the Learning English podcast.

I'm Andrew Smith.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

And that's our show for today.

But join us again tomorrow to keep learning

English on the Voice of America.

I'm Caty Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter, Junior.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
program ˈproʊɡræm A2	noun - a plan or system of activities, projects, or procedures
designed dɪˈzaɪnd A2	verb - to plan or create something with a specific purpose
learners ˈlɜːrnərz A1	noun - people who are learning something
phrases freɪzɪz A2	noun - a group of words that form a unit and have a particular meaning
featured ˈfiːtʃərd B1	verb - to include or highlight something as a special part
territory ˈtɛrɪtɔːri B1	noun - an area of land under the jurisdiction of a particular country
self-governed ˌsɛlf ˈɡʌvərnd B2	adjective - having the power to govern itself
coasts koʊsts A2	noun - the land next to the sea
Arctic ˈɑːrktɪk A2	adjective - relating to the region around the North Pole
climate ˈklaɪmət B1	noun - the weather conditions in an area over a long period
expressing ɪkˈspresɪŋ A2	verb - to show a feeling, opinion, or fact
military ˈmɪlɪtɛri B1	adjective - relating to soldiers or the armed forces
geologists dʒiˈɒlədʒɪsts B2	noun - scientists who study the Earth's structure
valuable ˈvæljuəbəl A2	adjective - worth a lot of money
communicate kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt A2	verb - to share information or ideas
technologies tɛkˈnɒlədʒiz B1	noun - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
trapped træpt A2	verb - to be unable to escape from something
temperatures ˈtɛmpərətʃərz A2	noun - the degree of hotness or coldness
professor prəˈfɛsər A2	noun - a teacher of the highest rank in a university
security sɪˈkjʊrɪti A2	noun - the state of being free from danger or threat

Key Grammar Structures

• He said something similar during his first term in office as well.

  ➔ Reported speech (past simple)

  ➔ The verb "said" is in the past simple to report what someone previously expressed.

• Greenland has huge amounts of oil and natural gas below the ice and valuable elements known as rare earth minerals.

  ➔ Relative clause

  ➔ The phrase "known as rare earth minerals" is a relative clause that describes "valuable elements".

• The current is slowing down because more freshwater from Greenland's melting ice is entering the ocean.

  ➔ Causal clause (because)

  ➔ The clause introduced by "because" explains the reason why "the current is slowing down".

• If this global current system were to slow, substantially or even collapse as we know it has done in the past, normal temperature and precipitation patterns would change drastically.

  ➔ Second conditional (unreal) with modal "would"

  ➔ The structure "If ... were to ..." expresses an unreal situation, and "would change" shows the possible result.

• I can show children what it's like in outer space.

  ➔ Noun clause with "what"

  ➔ The clause "what it's like in outer space" functions as the object of the verb "show".

• You can tell me what you think.

  ➔ Noun clause with "what" as object

  ➔ The clause "what you think" serves as the object of "tell".

• There are more than one really good art museums downtown.

  ➔ Existential "there are" with quantifier

  ➔ "There are" introduces the existence of "more than one" art museums.

• The company says the vehicle can travel up to 64 kilometers in a single day without being plugged in to a power source on a full charge.

  ➔ Modal "can" + passive infinitive "being plugged in"

  ➔ "can travel" expresses ability, and "without being plugged in" uses the passive infinitive to describe a condition.

• The company announced new updates for its magic remote device controller, saying new AI tools were added to provide more detailed search and interact active possibilities with users.

  ➔ Reporting verb with present participle "saying"

  ➔ "saying" introduces a participial clause that conveys the content of the announcement.