VOA标准英语2012--Report: Africa Agricultural Reforms Could Ensure Food Security

Report: Africa Agricultural Reforms Could Ensure Food Security Experts say Africa needs agricultural market reforms if its going to overcome food shortages and high prices. A new report outlines what it calls high payoff, low-cost solutions. The Alli

VOA标准英语2012--US Immigrant Restaurateurs Share Dishes of Mexican State

US Immigrant Restaurateurs Share Dishes of Mexican State Gilberto Cetina Jr. and his father are conducting a special class to teach high school students about the food of Yucatan, their native state in southern Mexico. The food is distinctive, with m

VOA标准英语2012--Cowboy Culture Takes Over America's Fourth-Largest City

Cowboy Culture Takes Over America's Fourth-Largest City On parade day, horses displace cars on the streets of America's fourth-largest city. We have never seen so many cowboys and cows and horses all together with the trail wagons, one spectator said

VOA标准英语2012--Rwanda's 'Specialty Coffee' Under Attack by Stink Bugs

Rwanda's 'Specialty Coffee' Under Attack by Stink Bugs Rwanda is gaining a worldwide reputation for its bourbon and other specialty coffee, a crop grown in the country's rich volcanic soils. Specialty coffee comprises almost one-third of Rwanda's agr

VOA标准英语2012--Between the Kremlin and the Protesters: A Church Mediator?

Between the Kremlin and the Protesters: A Church Mediator? The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church has a residence inside the Kremlin. The church depends heavily on government funding. When mass protests broke out this winter, few people expecte

VOA标准英语2012--New App Helps ID Altered Fingerprints

New App Helps ID Altered Fingerprints Altered state Biting the pads off fingertips or surgically replacing the fingerprints with toe prints might seem like drastic measures but Anil Jain, a biometrics expert and professor at Michigan State University

VOA标准英语2012--Occupy Movement Turns Anger Towards Individual Corporations

Occupy Movement Turns Anger Towards Individual Corporations Pfizer, the worlds biggest pharmaceutical company, is among the activists' targets. Protesters rallied at Pfizer world headquarters in New York this week, alleging it sometimes charges $50 f

VOA标准英语2012--Gene Therapy Halts Vision Loss in Dogs

Gene Therapy Halts Vision Loss in Dogs Researchers have stopped vision decline in dogs with an inherited disease that causes blindness. The gene therapy technique they used may someday stop vision loss in humans. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an eye d

VOA标准英语2012--Mental Stimulation Might Cut Dementia Risk

Mental Stimulation Might Cut Dementia Risk People who engage in mentally-stimulating activities over a lifetime have lower levels of a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds. That supports other research which sug

VOA标准英语2012--Rise in Tropical Diseases Blamed on Turmoil in Mideast, N. Africa

Rise in Tropical Diseases Blamed on Turmoil in Mideast, N. Africa A family of illnesses called Neglected Tropical Diseases [NTDs] adds to the troubles in the Middle East and North Africa. These diseases traditionally affect poor countries, but the ne

VOA标准英语2012--US Called On to Lead Global Health Fund Replenishment

US Called On to Lead Global Health Fund Replenishment The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is marking its 10th anniversary. But celebrations have been subdued because of a lack of donations needed for future projects. The United St

VOA标准英语2012--Syria Human Rights Investigation Mired in Politics

Syria Human Rights Investigation Mired in Politics After a week of heavy shelling, there is still no end to the violence in the Syrian city of Homs. The death toll continues to rise, and some human rights activists accuse President Bashar al-Assad's

VOA标准英语2011--Does a Fortune Await You?

Each year in the United States, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of unclaimed property - especially stock certificates, jewelry left in safe-deposit boxes, and seemingly forgotten money in checking accounts - are turned over to state government

VOA标准英语2011--Community Gardens Thrive in Urban Jungle

Community Gardens Thrive in Urban Jungle Friday, April 22, is Earth Day, a time set aside to appreciate nature and to dedicate ourselves to protecting and sustaining it. New York City, a place many think of as an urban jungle, is home to more than 50

Fighting Poverty with Better Nutrition for Women

Hunger and poverty continue to be major obstacles to the well-being of millions of women and children around the world. The Bread for the World Institute says those problems can be reversed by improving the social, economic and political status of ru

VOA标准英语2011--Americans Avoid Being the 'Middle' Man

Americans Avoid Being the 'Middle' Man You probably missed The New York Times photograph that showed a revealing picture of New Yorkers' rides into work on commuter trains. The photographer stood behind a long series of rows, three seats to a row. In

VOA标准英语2011--It's Time for New Orleans Jazz Fest

It's Time for New Orleans Jazz Fest The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is back for its 42nd season (4/29-5/1 and 5/5-5/8), and the word is come early and stay late. The good news is Jazz Fest 2011 is not sold out. Matter of fact, Jazz Fest ne

VOA标准英语2011--New York Bay Cleanup Focuses on Hindu Ri

New York Bay Cleanup Focuses on Hindu Ritual Items The sound of gentle waves and the call of wild shorebirds are normally all you can hear on the shores of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, an oasis of nature just a few kilometers from the bustling urban

VOA标准英语2011--China Hopes Trade Deficit Will Slow Call

China Hopes Trade Deficit Will Slow Calls for Weaker Currency China hopes its first quarterly trade deficit in seven years will quiet calls for it to revalue its currency, which Western nations say is artificially low and gives Chinese companies a tr

VOA标准英语2011--Biblical Bad Girls Get a Makeover

Biblical Bad Girls Get a Makeover Men in the Bible - like Abraham, Moses, King David - are often well-developed characters playing a central role in complex stories. But, more and more authors are focusing on the women of the Bible - developing their