VOA标准英语2012--Africa Policy Watchers Lose Hope in President Obama

Africa Policy Watchers Lose Hope in President Obama While walking onto the House floor to deliver his recent 2012 State of the Union speech, President Obama told U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta great job tonight. It was later explained the commen

VOA标准英语2012--US Security Vigilant for Super Bowl

US Security Vigilant for Super Bowl A large parking lot, mostly out of view to the public, was the scrimmage line [the field of play] for the team protecting Super Bowl football fans. Agents like Brian Bell from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

VOA标准英语2012--Harrowing Minnesota Race Tests Endurance

Harrowing Minnesota Race Tests Endurance Last year, overnight temperatures plummeted to minus 31 degress Celsius. The year before, minus 37. That year, cyclist Jason Buffington saw one of his friends - a fellow racer - who'd stopped. I came up on Cha

VOA标准英语2012--Deadline Passes for Occupy Washington to End Park Camps

Deadline Passes for Occupy Washington to End Park Camps On the day the U.S. Park Police planned to enforce a no-camping rule, the mood was festive in McPherson Square. Some chanted Occupy slogans. Others milled around waiting for a noon deadline. Joh

VOA标准英语2012--Realtors' Association Welcomes GOP Debate on Housing Market

Realtors' Association Welcomes GOP Debate on Housing Market More than four years after the housing bubble burst, the U.S. housing market is still struggling to recover. Among the hardest hit states are California, Nevada and Florida, where foreclosur

VOA标准英语2012--Annie Leibovitz Takes New Path in 'Pilgrimage'

Annie Leibovitz Takes New Path in 'Pilgrimage' There are homes and personal items that belonged to people who are no longer with us, including artists, scientists, photographers, and a U.S. president. Leibovitz says she went on a journey from 2009 to

VOA标准英语2012--Negotiating Medical Aid in Conflict Zones

Negotiating Medical Aid in Conflict Zones The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders works in many of the worlds hot spots, including Somalia, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories. However, humanitarian assistance often depends on delicate

VOA标准英语2012--Obama Seeks to Contain College Costs

Obama Seeks to Contain College Costs President Obama told the students the rising cost of college is slowing efforts to strengthen Americas economic future. Since most of you were born, tuition and fees have more than doubled. That forces students li

VOA标准英语2012--Prehistoric Amber Reveals Natural Ancient Alliance

Prehistoric Amber Reveals Natural Ancient Alliance Scientists say a piece of amber - recently found in India and dating back at least 52 million years - offers proof of the ancient relationship between fungi and flowering trees, which sustains modern

VOA标准英语2012--Study: Food Production Must Double in 30 Years

Different Blood Pressure in Both Arms Linked to Heart Disease Cardiologist Oscar Garfein takes blood pressure readings from both of his patients' arms. That technique saved the life of one of his patients. I found that in one arm, it was very, very l

VOA标准英语2012--Facebook To Raise $5 Billion From Initial Public Offering

Facebook To Raise $5 Billion From Initial Public Offering With more than 800 million users worldwide, Facebook is second only to Google as the most visited website on the Internet. But with plans to raise an initial $5 billion from its first IPO, ana

VOA标准英语2012--HIV Activist Runs for Parliament in Burma

HIV Activist Runs for Parliament in Burma Last year authorities in Burma threatened to shut down Phyu Phyu Thin's AIDS clinic in a suburb of Rangoon. More than 40 patients live here in basic conditions. Most are too poor to afford treatment, or have

VOA标准英语2012--Arab World Faces Serious Poverty, Food Security Challenges

Arab World Faces Serious Poverty, Food Security Challenges A new report says Arab countries face a serious food security challenge and that poverty rates are much higher than official numbers suggest. It blames the situation on vulnerability to volat

VOA标准英语2012--Encyclopedias Survive by Going Online

Encyclopedias Survive by Going Online The other day, a few of us here at VOA got to talking about occupations that have grown obsolete, or nearly so, in these fast-changing times. Typewriter repair technician for one. And typist, come to think of it.

VOA标准英语2012--Inherited Vulnerability to Drug Addiction Discovered

Inherited Vulnerability to Drug Addiction Discovered Scientists have discovered structural abnormalities in the brains of drug addicts and their non-addicted siblings, a finding that suggests there may be an inherited vulnerability to addiction, and

VOA标准英语2012--US Economy Remains Focus of Presidential Race

US Economy Remains Focus of Presidential Race It is the central political issue of 2012: the U.S. economy, which suffered the worst recession of the post-World War II era in 2007 and 2008, and has endured an anemic recovery since. But the economic la

VOA标准英语2012--Coalition Commander Says Afghan Plan Still Intact

Coalition Commander Says Afghan Plan Still Intact General Allen took command of international forces in Afghanistan last July. Since then, his mission has been to put himself out of a job - to train Afghan troops to take over, against a weakened Tali

VOA标准英语2012--Russians Ignore Arctic Cold and Keep Protest Flame Burning

Russians Ignore Arctic Cold and Keep Protest Flame Burning Arctic cold held Moscow in its icy grip, but tens of thousands of people left their warm apartments to demonstrate against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Braving the same sub-zero tem

VOA标准英语2012--Medical Exam Provides Stage for Actors

Medical Exam Provides Stage for Actors Ted Bell portrays a 55-year-old patient who'd had stomach pain for three months. I am a teacher, he tells nursing student Emily Tyrrell. Several times it has happened at school. Bell is actually a retired civil

VOA标准英语2012--Study: Heavy Facebook Users Less Happy

Study: Heavy Facebook Users Less Happy Students at George Mason University in Virginia were asked how many friends they have on Facebook. Um, Ive never actually stopped and looked at it. Probably somewhere between 350 and 400, responded one student.