VOA标准英语2012--APEC Leaders to Discuss Rival South China Sea Claims

APEC Leaders to Discuss Rival South China Sea Claims Chinese patrols in contested waters, and a new Chinese garrison on a disputed island put rival claims to the South China Sea front and center at this week's forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coope

VOA标准英语2012--Expanding Health Insurance in Developing Countries

Expanding Health Insurance in Developing Countries Rwanda will host a regional conference next week (9-11/13), with a focus on health insurance. Rwanda has been praised for moving toward universal coverage for its population. But many say its a compl

VOA标准英语2012--'Silent Spring' Turns Fifty

'Silent Spring' Turns Fifty In the 1950s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was spraying more than a quarter-million kilograms of pesticides each year. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, revealed that pesticides like DDT were lethal not only for insec

VOA标准英语2012--DNC Protests Target Charlotte-based Companies in ‘Wall Street South’

DNC Protests Target Charlotte-based Companies in Wall Street South In Charlotte North Carolina, the protests are bigger and livelier than similar events at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, because protesters say this is where President Ob

VOA标准英语2012--Ban Calls for Renewed Effort to Wipe Out Polio

Ban Calls for Renewed Effort to Wipe Out Polio Creating a polio-free world - that is what international leaders gathered in New York said they hope to do. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon expressed his delight at the new promises by member states t

VOA标准英语2012--UN Envoy Has High Hopes for Somalia

UN Envoy Has High Hopes for Somalia The U.N. Special Representative for Somalia says the backbone of the al-Shababs militant group has been broken. However, Augustine Mahiga says isolated terrorist attacks in the country may continue for a time. Spea

VOA标准英语2012--New Heart Stents Better Than Old Ones, Study Says

New Heart Stents Better Than Old Ones, Study Says A heart stent is a mesh tube made of metal that, when inserted into an artery, keeps it open. Stents can be metal only or they can contain medicine released once the stent is in place. These are calle

VOA标准英语2012--Glaucoma, A Stealth Disease And Major Cause of Blindness

Glaucoma, A Stealth Disease And Major Cause of Blindness If you think you are not at risk for glaucoma, think again. Glaucoma is a disease that steals the sight of people around the world -- and they typically don't even know they have the disease un

VOA标准英语2012--American Car Makers Bet Billions on Russia’s Car Boom

American Car Makers Bet Billions on Russias Car Boom This week, Moscows International Motor Show is supplying plenty of glitz. But behind the hoopla, the real excitement is that Russia is on its way to become one of the worlds top five car markets. W

VOA标准英语2012--Donors Set Health Priorities

Donors Set Health Priorities A new article in PLOS Medicine says large donors have a major influence on which health issues get funded. The author says its an attempt by governments and others to exert more control over international agencies. Oxford

VOA标准英语2012--Sirleaf: Liberia Will not Destabilize its Neighbors

Sirleaf: Liberia Will not Destabilize its Neighbors Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says she will never allow her country to be used to destabilize neighboring countries. Speaking Wednesday at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in N

VOA标准英语2012--Kenny Chesney's Latest Album Builds on Success

Kenny Chesney's Latest Album Builds on Success Feel Like A Rock Star was the first single released from Chesneys new album. The recent Top 10 hit is a duet with his longtime friend Tim McGraw. As of late July, their co-headlining Brothers of the Sun

VOA标准英语2012--Oil Giants Eye Arctic Reserves

Oil Giants Eye Arctic Reserves Last winter in the Arctic, the Russian tanker Renda carved its way to the remote Alaskan port of Nome. Not long ago this voyage - made in December and January - would have been impossible. The warming climate means thin

VOA标准英语2012--Syria Rebuffs Egypt's Bid for Negotiated End to Conflict

Syria Rebuffs Egypt's Bid for Negotiated End to Conflict As fighting continues, the Syrian government says it welcomes another attempt to bring an end to the conflict - this time by new United Nations-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. But Syria's In

VOA标准英语2012--2012 Americana Music Award Nominees Announced

2012 Americana Music Award Nominees Announced Jason Isbell and the 400 Units Here We Rest earned the onetime member of the Drive-By Truckers an Artist of the Year nomination, along with nods for Album of the Year, Duo/Group of the Year and Song of th

VOA标准英语2009年-Growing Scientific Consensus on Climat

Causes and solutions remain in dispute Michael Bowman | Washington, DC 01 December 2009 Droughts, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, retreating glaciers, and melting polar ice caps are just some of the occurrences scientists say are becoming more common a

VOA标准英语2009年-Speculators Cause New Price for Garlic

Alison Klayman 17 December 2009 Over the last few months garlic prices have risen 40 times in some parts of China, the world's main garlic supplier. A smaller garlic crop and frenzied speculation gave consumers nationwide a reason to complain at the

VOA标准英语 Top Republican Senator to Switch Parties

Veteran U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania stunned the Washington establishment by announcing he is leaving the Republican Party to become a Democrat. The move will bring Democrats closer to the 60-vote majority they need to overcome potenti

VOA标准英语 US Officials Hopeful on Climate Talks

Senior Obama administration officials say they believe a Washington meeting on climate change this week has somewhat improved chances for a new international treaty to tackle global warming. Experts from 16 major countries and the European Union too

VOA标准英语 Russia: Opposition Charges Election Fraud in Future

Sunday's mayoral election in Sochi, Russia, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, has resulted in charges of fraud against the Kremlin favorite who is reported winning the contest in a crushing landslide. In an election seen as a test of President Dmitr