VOA标准英语2010年-Extensions Spread 'Lean' Business Idea

Almost a century ago, in 1914, the U.S. Congress set up a network of county agricultural agents who showed small farmers how to modernize their methods. This Agricultural Extension Service helped make American farms the most productive in the world.

VOA标准英语2010年-Forest Burials Gain Ground

Growing numbers of communities in the United States are facing a painful new reality: they're running out of cemetery space, making traditional burials, especially in urban areas, extremely expensive. More Americans are opting for cremation and a new

VOA标准英语2010年-Aid Organizations Use Technology in Af

The World Food Program provides food assistance to more than 600,000 food-insecure Burundians in a country of eight million people. WFP-Burundi Public Information Officer Marc Neilson says in order to gauge where there is need, WFP staff go out on fa

VOA标准英语2010年-Miami Choir's Take on Old Masterpiece

Seraphic Fire made its debut a little over seven years ago. Classical music critic Greg Stepanich says it's become an essential part of South Florida's music scene - performing works from the Renaissance to the 21st Century. Every concert that they d

VOA标准英语2010年-Grey Fox Festival Showcases Stars of M

Each year, the International Bluegrass Music Association honors a festival with their prestigious Bluegrass Event of the Year award. Last year, the honor went to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, held each July in a tiny town in upstate New York. The

VOA标准英语2010年-Hong Kong Undertakes First Mental Heal

In July, a mentally ill woman decapitated her mother before committing suicide by jumping out of her apartment window. In June, a teenage boy stabbed his mother and sister to death. A month before that, a man with history of mental illness stabbed hi

VOA标准英语2010年-Japan's PM Survives Leadership Challen

An official of the Democratic Party of Japan announces that Prime Minister Naoto Kan has won the party leadership post. Mr. Kan won 721 votes in Tuesday's election, compared with Ichiro Ozawa's 491 ballots. Since the DPJ controls the lower house of J

VOA标准英语2010年-Report: Many Internally Displaced Chil

The United Nations estimates there are about 250,000 child soldiers around the world, and millions more that are victims of armed conflict. Challenges outweigh positives Despite this hapless situation, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representat

VOA标准英语2010年-Star Student Starts Rumors About Own R

Let me just begin by saying there are two sides to every story and this is my side ...the right one. Olive is the best student, easily earning the top grade - A - in all of her classes. Her social life, on the other hand, gets low marks until, inspir

VOA标准英语2010年-Eid-al-Fitr a Somber Affair in Pakista

Celebrations for the holiday Eid-al-Fitr in Pakistan are muted as millions of Pakistanis continue to suffer in the wake of the country's worst flooding. The heavy rains came to Pakistan just before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, known locally as R

VOA标准英语2010年-Indian Kashmir Under Strict Curfew

Authorities imposed a strict curfew across Indian Kashmir a day after 18 people were killed in clashes with security forces. The government, which is searching for a way to calm down the protests that have gripped the region, says it will consult all

VOA标准英语2010年-Luke Bryan Aims for Broader Fan Base W

Doin' My Thing is the title track from Luke Bryan's second album. We really crafted the album and crafted what we felt like we've learned the past couple of years from my fans, and put out an album to really gear toward capturing a broader fan base,

VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Touts Plan to Boost US Exports

The Senate passed the bill Thursday with the help of two key votes from opposition Republicans. It now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is expected to pass the bill and send it to the president to become law. President Obama says U.S

VOA标准英语2010年-Pope Expresses Shock, Sadness Over Sex

Pope Benedict says it is difficult to understand the perversion that has been revealed in the priestly ministry. He addressed the clerical sex abuse scandal that has engulfed the Roman Catholic Church in comments to journalists on the plane from Rome

VOA标准英语2010年-Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks End on

Secretary of State Clinton met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Ramallah. There was no statement and no details of what, if any, progress might have been made after two days of negotiations betwe

VOA标准英语2010年-WHO: Global Maternal Mortality Decline

The report issued by the WHO shows birth-related mortality declined by 34 percent during the past decade - from about 546,000 deaths in 1990 to an estimated 358,000 deaths in 2008. That is an annual rate of decline of about 2.3 percent. Although the

VOA标准英语2010年-British Scientists Develop One-Hour TB

British scientists say they have found a way to diagnose tuberculosis in an hour. Alasdair Reid is an advisor on HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) at UNAIDS. He says diagnosing TB quickly will revolutionize the fight against the illness. It will save time fo

VOA标准英语2010年-Former Beach Boy 'Reimagines' Gershwin

Brian Wilson has been a lifelong Gershwin fan. He heard I've Got A Crush On You, Rhapsody In Blue, and other George and Ira Gershwin classics at an early age. Brian went on to become the co-founder and leader of one of rock and roll's greatest bands,

VOA标准英语2010年-French Ministers Defend Roma Policy

Speaking on French radio, the Secretary of State responsible for European affairs, Pierre Lellouche, described the EU Commissioner's comments as a gaffe. He said France is a great state and as a founding member of the European Union should be address

VOA标准英语2010年-Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Conti

Newspaper columns in Israel and the Palestinian territories have placed little hope that these negotiations will accomplish what decades of attempts at peace have failed to do. Others have expressed optimism that the talks have at least made it into