IRREGULAR VERBS

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/learnamericanenglish

An American in St Peter

For An American in St Peter’s

Language level: Advanced
Source: www.speakup.com.br
Speaker: Trisha Thomas
Standard: American accent



I was looking down at the top of President Bush’s head as i filed my live report the beginning of Pope John Paul II’s funeral, April 8, 2005.

I was on the Braccio di Carlo Magno, the enormous colonnade that spreads out like two arms from St. Peter’s Basilica. A group of journalists had been permitted to watch the funeral from the bird’s eye view above. Down bellow me the US president, Kofi Annan, Jacques Chirac, Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles, royalty from Spain and Jordan, and the Presidents of Iran and Afghanistan were among the dignitaries wishing farewell to the Pope.

Further down the row of onlookers, I noticed a Swiss Guard friend of mine dressed in a suit. He smiled and waved. Below I saw the book of Gospels  open on top of the Pope’s coffin. The pages fluttered and flipped in the wind.

A NATURAL

I would miss the man I had covered for 12 years. Covering him and the Vatican has been a challenge for me as a mother, but in this way, John Paul II made it easier, opening the Vatican up to television and being receptive to journalists. Right up until his death he was a natural on television. He knew how to use it. Back in 1993, for my first interview, inside the Vatican, I dressed in black form head to toe. I looked like a nun. At the Bronze Door, I told a Swiss Guard, in blue and yellow bloomers with a spear-length battle-axe, that I had appointment.

He pointed me to a wide staircase. Eventually I was ushered into a darkly furnished room after a while, the priest entered. He gave me a wet fish handshake, and look at something above my head. I began asking questions. His answers were short and vague. I gave up on acquiring information and just tried to get him to look at me, gesticulating and waving my hands about. He switched his gaze from the ceiling to the table. I gave up, fish-shaked, and left.

Later I learned about “custody of the eyes” according to the Encyclopedia for Catholicism, it is “the practice of diverting one’s gaze to protect the imagination…from sights that might tempt one to greed, lust of idle curiosity.” Certain priests believe that looking a woman in the eyes can be risky.

But it is not always like that. Before my first interview with a Cardinal at the Vatican. I became agitated over how I should address him –should I use “your Eminence,” and should I kiss his ring?  I wondered if I was going to ruin my chances of getting any information by not kissing his ring. While I was fretting, in marched the Cardinal, hand out stretched, “I’m Cardinal O’Connor, how ya’ doin?” Whoops, I had forgotten he was from New York City.

WORKING MUM

The Vatican is an easier assignment than others for a mother. Fortunately even when I was pregnant, I was able to travel on Papal trips. I was six months pregnant with my third child, Chiara, in the spring of 2000 when I traveled with the Pope to Cairo at Mt. Sinai.

And I was pregnant with my middle child, Caterina, on one of the Poland trips. But it was my oldest, nine-year-old Nicoló, who witnessed history. On April 19^th, the second day of the Conclave, I felt sick. I had been working non-stop for months starting in February waiting under John Paul II’s window at the hospital. I decided to run home for a rest.

WHITE SMOKE

At home my children were giving the baby-sitter a hard time. My son begged me t take him to the Vatican. In the taxi I explained how a Conclave works, white smoke if the cardinals have chosen a pope, black smoke if the vote was inconclusive. I said that we would be seeing some black smoke. As we arrived on Via della Conciliazione, a shout went up from the crowd, “Fumo!” I grabbed Nico’s hand and started to run. We couldn’t tell what color the smoke was. White, gray, dark gray, not black. The crowd was confused.

“Giornalista, giornalista!” I shouted waving my press pass as I climbed over wooden barriers in the square. We made it to the obelisk where my colleague was filming the smoke. A few big puffs burst out, clearly “white.” The bells began to toll. The crowd roared.

Ten minutes later we saw the cardinals in their red robes lining up at the windows of St. Peter’s Basilica, and then out he came, the new Pope, Benedict XVI.

George Gershwin, 1898-1937: One of America's Greatest Composers

Source: Voice of America Special English

Source: www.manythings.org/voa/people 

I'm Barbara Klein. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.  Today we tell about the life and music of one of America's greatest composers, George Gershwin.

(MUSIC: "Rhapsody in Blue")

That was the opening of "Rhapsody in Blue," composed by George Gershwin. Gershwin lived only thirty-nine years. Yet, in that short time, he wrote hundreds of unforgettable popular songs. He wrote

some concert works, such as "Rhapsody in Blue," that are still performed today. And he wrote what many consider to be the most beautiful American opera, "Porgy and Bess. "

George Gershwin was born in New York City in eighteen ninety-eight. His parents were Russian Jews who had immigrated to the United States. George and his two brothers and sister had a close, happy family life. George liked playing games on the streets of New York. He liked exploring the city. He did not like school or studying.

While exploring the city, George heard jazz and blues music spilling out of public drinking places. However, he did not become seriously interested in music until he heard another boy playing the violin in a concert at his school.  George began to take piano lessons. His teacher was a fine classical musician. He immediately recognized George's unusual ability. The teacher wrote about him to a friend: "I have a student who will make his mark in music, if anybody will. The boy is a genius, without doubt. "

George studied classical piano. But his strongest interest continued to be jazz and popular music. At the age of fifteen, he left school and went to work in the music business. The New York City street where most music publishers had their offices was called "Tin Pan Alley."

The phonograph and radio had been invented in the late eighteen hundreds. But it would be many years before there were musical recordings or regular radio broadcasts. Tin Pan Alley publishers needed another way to sell new songs. So, they employed people to play the piano to do this.

The piano players played the songs all day long to interested singers and other performers. George Gershwin was one of the youngest piano players in Tin Pan Alley. Soon, he was considered one of the finest there. He was already writing his own songs. He succeeded in getting one published when he was only eighteen years old. It had a long title: "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em."

George Gershwin was now a real composer. The rest of his life was an unbroken record of success. He wrote song after song. His ideas were so endless that he was not even troubled when he once lost some music he had been writing. "There is plenty more where that came from," he said.

George Gershwin had his first big hit in nineteen nineteen, when he was twenty-one years old.  It was a song called "Swanee." A popular entertainer, Al Jolson, sang the song. "Swanee" was made into one of the first musical recordings. George Gershwin was suddenly famous.  Here is Al Jolson singing what became his trademark song, "Swanee."

(MUSIC)

Music critics note that "Swanee" is not like most of George Gershwin's music. Later, he wrote true love songs. Some were light and funny. Some were full of intense feeling. Many of these songs were written for the popular musical theater. One of his most emotional love songs never became part of a musical play, however. It is called "The Man I Love." Here is a modern recording by Maureen McGovern.

(MUSIC)

George Gershwin's older brother, Ira, wrote the words to that song.  As George became famous, Ira wrote the words to more and more of his songs. The two brothers were very different. Ira, the writer, was quiet and serious. George, the musician, was outgoing -- the life of any party. But George wrote better songs with Ira than with anyone else.  It is impossible to imagine many of George's songs without Ira's perfectly chosen, often surprising words.

One of many examples is the song "They Can't Take That Away From Me."  The Gershwins wrote the song for dancer and actor Fred Astaire for the film "Shall We Dance." That was George and Ira Gershwin's first movie musical.   Here is Fred Astaire, followed by a later version sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

(MUSIC)

This program was written by Shelley Gollust.  It was produced by Lawan Davis.  I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Barbara Klein.  Join us again next week as we continue the story of the music of George Gershwin on PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

American History: US Declares War on Japan, Germany and Italy

Photo: AP

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, center, walking through a desert village in Egypt

Source: www.voanews.com

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

(MUSIC)

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December of nineteen forty-one was one of the most successful surprise attacks in the history of modern warfare. Japanese warships, including several aircraft carriers, crossed the western Pacific to Hawaii without being seen. They launched their planes on a quiet Sunday morning and attacked the huge American naval and air base at Pearl Harbor

(SOUND: Pearl Harbor attack) 

ANNOUNCER: “We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin: The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air, President Roosevelt has just announced.”

ANNOUNCER: “The attack apparently was made on all naval and military activities on the principal island of Oahu. A Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor naturally would mean war.”

STEVE EMBER: Many of the American sailors were asleep or at church. They were unprepared for the attack. In fact, some people outside the base thought the Japanese planes must be new types of American aircraft on training flights. The sounds of guns and bombs soon showed how wrong they were.

The Japanese planes sank or seriously damaged six powerful American battleships in just a few minutes. They killed more than three thousand sailors. They destroyed or damaged half the American airplanes in Hawaii.

AP

The USS California after being struck by a torpedo and a bomb during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

American forces, caught by surprise, were unable to offer much of a fight. Japanese losses were very low.

There was so much destruction at Pearl Harbor that officials in Washington did not immediately reveal the full details to the public. They were afraid that Americans might panic if they learned the truth about the loss of so much military power.

The following day, President Franklin Roosevelt went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war against Japan.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: “Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

"Yesterday, December seventh, nineteen forty-one -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor, looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific …

"No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory…

"We will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us …

"I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, nineteen forty-one, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

STEVE EMBER: The Senate approved President Roosevelt's request without any opposition. In the House of Representatives, only one congressman objected to the declaration of war against Japan.

(MUSIC)

Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Congress reacted by declaring war on those two countries.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ended the long American debate over whether to become involved in the Second World War. American politicians and citizens had argued for years about whether to remain neutral or to fight to help Britain and France and other friends.

drlibrary.marist.edu

An American soldier in training

Japan's aggressive attack at Pearl Harbor united Americans in a common desire for military victory. It made Americans willing to do whatever was necessary to win the war. And it pushed America into a kind of world leadership that its people had never known before.

President Franklin Roosevelt and his advisers had to make an important decision about how to fight the war. Would the United States fight Japan first, or Germany, or both at the same time?

Japan's attack had brought America into the war. And it had severely damaged American military power. But Roosevelt decided not to strike back at Japan immediately. He would use most of his forces to fight Germany.

There were several reasons for Roosevelt's decision. First, Germany already controlled much of Europe, as well as much of the Atlantic Ocean. Roosevelt considered this a direct threat. And he worried about possible German intervention in Latin America.

Second, Germany was an advanced industrial nation. It had many scientists and engineers. Its factories were modern. Roosevelt was concerned that Germany might be able to develop deadly new weapons, such as an atomic bomb, if it was not stopped quickly.

Third, Britain historically was one of America's closest allies. And the British people were united and fighting for their lives against Germany. This was not true in Asia. Japan's most important opponent was China. But China's fighting forces were weak and divided, and could not offer strong opposition to the Japanese.

(MUSIC)

Adolf Hitler's decision to break his treaty with Soviet leader Josef Stalin and attack the Soviet Union made Roosevelt's choice final. The American leader recognized that the Germans would have to fight on two fronts: in the west against Britain and in the east against Russia.

He decided it was best to attack Germany while its forces were divided. So the United States sent most of its troops and supplies to Britain to join the fight against Germany.

American military leaders hoped to attack Germany quickly by launching an attack across the English Channel. Stalin also supported this plan. Soviet forces were suffering terrible losses from the Nazi attack and wanted the British and Americans to fight the Germans on the west.

However, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other leaders opposed launching an invasion across the English Channel too quickly. They worried that such an invasion might fail, while the Germans were still so strong. And they knew this would mean disaster.

For this reason, British and American forces decided instead to attack the Italian and German troops occupying North Africa.

British forces had been fighting the Italians and Germans in North Africa since late nineteen forty. They fought the Italians first in Egypt and Libya. British forces had successfully pushed the Italians across Libya. They killed more than ten thousand Italian troops and captured more than one hundred thirty thousand prisoners.

But the British success did not last long. Hitler sent one of his best commanders, General Erwin Rommel, to take command of the Italians. Rommel was brave and smart. He pushed the British back from Libya to the border with Egypt. And in a giant battle at Tobruk, he destroyed or captured more than eight hundred of Britain's nine hundred tanks.

(SOUND: Rommel’s tanks)

Rommel's progress threatened Egypt and the Suez Canal. So Britain and the United States moved quickly to send more troops and supplies to stop him.

Slowly, British forces led by General Bernard Montgomery pushed Rommel and the Germans back to Tripoli in Libya.

AP

Erwin Rommel

In November nineteen forty-two, American and British forces commanded by General Dwight Eisenhower landed in northwest Africa. They planned to attack Rommel from the west, while Montgomery attacked him from the east.

But Rommel knew Eisenhower's troops had done little fighting before. So he attacked them quickly before they could launch their own attack.

A major battle took place at Kasserine Pass in western Tunisia. American forces suffered heavy losses. But in the end Rommel's attack failed. Three months later, American forces joined with Montgomery's British troops to force the Germans in North Africa to surrender.

The battle of North Africa was over. The allied forces of Britain and the United States had regained control of the southern Mediterranean Sea. They could now attack Hitler's forces in Europe from the south.

(SOUND)

The Allies wasted no time. They landed on the Italian island of Sicily in July of nineteen forty-three. German tanks fought back. But the British and American forces moved ahead. Soon they captured Sicily's capital, Palermo. And within weeks, they forced the German forces to leave Sicily for the Italian mainland.

In late July, Italy's dictator, Benito Mussolini, was overthrown and placed in prison. The Germans rescued him and helped him establish a new government, protected by German troops. But still the Allies attacked.

They crossed to the Italian mainland. The Germans fought hard. And for some time, they prevented the allied troops from breaking out of the coastal areas.

The fighting grew bloodier. A fierce battle took place at Monte Cassino. Thousands and thousands of soldiers lost their lives. But slowly the allies advanced north through Italy. They captured Rome in June of nineteen forty-four. And they forced the Germans back into the mountains of northern Italy.

The allies would not gain complete control of Italy until the end of the war. But they had succeeded in increasing their control of the Mediterranean and pushing back the Germans.

One reason Hitler's forces were not stronger in Africa and Italy was because German armies also were fighting in Russia. That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

Our program was written by David Jarmul. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

___

This was program #191. For earlier programs, type "Making of a Nation" in quotation marks in the search box at the top of the page.

American History: Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Pulls US Into War

Source: www.voanews.com 

Photo: AP

The USS California after being struck by a torpedo and a bomb during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

(MUSIC)

History is usually a process of slow change. However, certain events also can change the course of history. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was such an event. So was the first airplane flight by the Wright brothers. Or the meeting between the Spanish explorer Cortez and the Aztec king Montezuma.

All these events were moments that changed history. And so it was, too, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December seventh, nineteen forty-one.

(SOUND)

NEWS BULLETIN: "We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by air, President Roosevelt has just announced. The attack also was made on all naval and military facilities on the principal island of Oahu.

"We take you now to Washington. The details are not available. They will be in a few minutes. The White house is now giving out a statement. The attack was apparently made on all naval and military activities on the principal island of Oahu.

"The president’s brief statement was read to reporters by Stephen Early, the president’s secretary. A Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor naturally would mean war. Such an attack would naturally bring a counterattack. And hostilities of this kind would naturally mean that the president would ask Congress for a declaration of war."

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER:The surprise attack on America's large naval base in Hawaii was a great military success for Japan. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor had more than a military meaning.

The attack would force Americans to enter World War Two. More importantly, it would also make them better recognize their position as one of the most powerful nations in the world.

In future weeks, we will discuss the military and political events of World War Two. But today, we look back at the years before the United States entered that war.

The period between the end of World War One and the attack on Pearl Harbor lasted only twenty-three years, from nineteen eighteen to nineteen forty-one. But those years were filled with important changes in American politics, culture and traditions.

We start our review of these years with politics.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen twenty, Americans elected Republican Warren Harding to the presidency. The voters were tired of the progressive policies of Democratic president Woodrow Wilson. They were especially tired of Wilson's desire for the United States to play an active role in the new League of Nations.

Harding was a conservative Republican. And so were the two presidents who followed him, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

All three of these presidents generally followed conservative economic policies. And they did not take an active part in world affairs.

Americans turned away from Republican rule in the election of nineteen thirty-two. They elected the Democratic presidential candidate, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And they continued to re-elect him. In this way, the conservative Republican policies of the nineteen twenties changed to the more progressive policies of Roosevelt in the nineteen thirties.

This change happened mainly because of economic troubles.

(MUSIC)

The nineteen twenties were a time of growth and business strength.

President Calvin Coolidge said during his term that the "chief business of the American people is business." This generally was the same belief of the other Republican presidents during the period, Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover.

There was a good reason for this. The economy expanded greatly during the nineteen twenties. Many Americans made a great deal of money on the stock market. And wages for workers increased as well.

(MUSIC)

However, economic growth ended suddenly with the stock market crash of October nineteen twenty-nine.

In that month, the stocks for many leading companies fell sharply. And they continued to fall in the months that followed. Many Americans lost great amounts of money. And the public at large lost faith in the economy. Soon, the economy was in ruins, and businesses were closing their doors.

President Hoover tried to solve the crisis. But he was not willing to take the strong actions that were needed to end it. As time passed, many Americans began to blame Hoover for the terrible economic depression.

Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was elected mainly because he promised to try new solutions to end the Great Depression.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: "This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

STEVE EMBER:Soon after he was elected, Roosevelt launched a number of imaginative economic policies to solve the crisis.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources.

"Hand in hand with that, we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers. And by engaging, on a national scale, in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. Yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this, the power to purchase the output of our cities.

"It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the federal, the state, and the local governments act forthwith on the demands that their costs be drastically reduced."

STEVE EMBER: Roosevelt's policies helped to reduce the amount of human suffering. But the Great Depression finally ended only with America's entry into World War Two.

Roosevelt's victory in nineteen thirty-two also helped change the balance of power in American politics. Roosevelt brought new kinds of Americans to positions of power: Labor union leaders. Roman Catholics. Jews. Blacks. Americans from families that had come from places such as Italy, Ireland and Russia.

These Americans repaid Roosevelt by giving the Democratic Party their votes.

The nineteen twenties and thirties also brought basic changes in how Americans dealt with many of their social and economic problems.

The nineteen twenties generally were a period of economic growth with little government intervention in the day-to-day lives of the people. But the terrible conditions of the Great Depression during the nineteen thirties forced Roosevelt and the federal government to experiment with new policies.

The government began to take an active role in offering relief to the poor. It started programs to give food and money to poor people. And it created jobs for workers.

The government grew in other ways. It created major programs for farmers. It set regulations for the stock market. It built dams, roads and airports.

American government looked much different at the end of this period between the world wars than it did at the beginning. Government had become larger and more important. It dealt with many more issues in people's lives than it ever had before.

(MUSIC)

Social protest increased during the nineteen twenties and thirties. Some black Americans began to speak out more actively about unfair laws and customs. Blacks in great numbers moved from the southern part of the country to northern and central cities.

The nineteen twenties and thirties also were a time of change for women. Women began to wear less conservative kinds of clothes. Washing machines and other inventions allowed them to spend less time doing housework. Women could smoke or drink in public, at least in large cities. And many women held jobs.

Of course, the women's movement was not new. Long years of work by such women's leaders as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had helped women win the constitutional right to vote in nineteen twenty.

(MUSIC)

The nineteen twenties and thirties also were important periods in the arts.

George Gershwin wrote his “Rhapsody in Blue” originally for piano and jazz band. It later went on to become a symphony concert favorite.

loc.gov

George Gershwin

Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill and others made this what many called the "Golden Age" of American writing. Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects designed great buildings. Film actors like Clark Gable, and radio entertainers like Jack Benny did more than make Americans laugh or cry. They also helped unite the country. Millions of Americans could watch or listen to the same show at the same time.

Politics. The economy. Social traditions. Art. All these changed for Americans during the nineteen twenties and thirties. And many of these changes also had effects in countries beyond America's borders.

However, the change that had the most meaning for the rest of the world was the change produced by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

America's modern history as a great superpower begins with its reaction to that attack. It was a sudden event in the flow of history. It was a day on which a young land suddenly became fully grown.

Our story continues next week.

Our program was written by David Jarmul. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

___

This was program #18

9

Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004: One of America's Most Popular President

Source: www.voanews.com

Welcome to PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today Gwen Outen and Steve Ember tell about America's fortieth president, Ronald Reagan. Experts say Ronald Reagan re-defined the American presidency during his two terms in the nineteen eighties.  He became president when he was sixty-nine years old.  It was a far different place from that of his birth on February sixth, nineteen eleven.

(MUSIC)

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois.  His mother Nelle, father Jack, and brother Neil lived above a bank in the town.  Ronald Reagan's family began calling the baby "Dutch." The nickname remained for the rest of his life.

Jack Reagan worked at a general store.  The family was poor.  Yet, in a book about his life, Ronald Reagan wrote that he never felt poor. He was good at sports, especially football. During the summers, he was a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. He reportedly rescued many people from drowning.

Ronald Reagan said there was a feeling of security throughout his childhood.  But it was not perfect. His father was dependent on alcohol.

Ronald Reagan studied at Eureka College in Illinois. After seeing a play at college, he said: "More than anything in the world, I wanted to speak the actor's words."

But Ronald Reagan did not have enough money to go to New York or Hollywood to become an actor.  So, after college he found a job as a sports broadcaster for a radio station in Iowa. Later he moved to a bigger radio station in Chicago, Illinois.  He announced the action of baseball games. This work took him on a trip to California. He took a screen test to become an actor. Warner Brothers Studios offered him a job.

Ronald Reagan moved to Hollywood and became a movie star.  He appeared in many movies. "Knute Rockne – All American," is probably his most famous.  It is where he got the nickname "The Gipper."

Mr. Reagan played George Gipp, one of the greatest college football players ever. In the movie, he speaks of the school's football team as he is dying.

RONALD REAGAN:

"...Ask them to go in there with all they got, win just one for the Gipper."

Those words, "win one for the Gipper," later became a political battle cry for Ronald Reagan. In nineteen forty, he married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children, Maureen and Michael.  But the marriage ended in nineteen forty-nine.

Ronald Reagan became president of the main labor group for movie actors in nineteen forty-eight.  He served six terms.  He met actress Nancy Davis through the union. They married in nineteen fifty-two.  They later had two children, Patti and Ron.

At this time, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic Party who described himself as a liberal. But, he became increasingly conservative as his worries about communism grew.  He opposed anyone in the movie industry who supported communism.

(MUSIC)

In the early nineteen fifties, Ronald Reagan began to appear on television.  He presented dramatic shows produced by the General Electric Company.  He became a spokesman for the company. Mr. Reagan learned a lot about public speaking. He began to campaign for Republican Party political candidates a few years later. Reagan developed the ability to reach people through his speeches. He later became known as "The Great Communicator."

Nancy Reagan supported her husband's political interests.  Political experts say she was always his most important adviser.

In nineteen sixty-six, Ronald Reagan announced his own candidacy for governor of California.  Democrats in the state did not think he was a serious candidate.  However, Mr. Reagan was elected governor by almost one million votes.

Ronald Reagan received mixed public opinion as governor of the nation's most populated state.  He was praised for lowering California's debt, yet criticized for raising taxes.  Voters re-elected him as governor in nineteen seventy.

Ronald Reagan was unsuccessful in his first two attempts to win the Republican nomination for president.  Then, in nineteen eighty, he became the Republican Party's presidential candidate.  His opponent was President Jimmy Carter.

The two men debated on national television.  Ronald Reagan spoke directly and simply to the American people and asked them some questions:

RONALD REAGAN:

"Are you better off than you were four years ago?  Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago?  Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago?"

Ronald Reagan won the United States presidential election by a huge majority. He and his vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush, were sworn into office in January, nineteen eighty-one.  Many people called the change in political power "The Reagan Revolution."

President Reagan immediately began to work to honor a major campaign promise.  He called on Congress to lower taxes.  But only two months later, tragedy struck.  A mentally sick man shot the president and three other people outside a hotel in Washington. President Reagan and his press secretary, James Brady, were severely wounded.

Mr. Reagan had a bullet in his left lung, close to his heart.  But he showed his sense of humor at the hospital.  As the president was taken into the operating room he said he hoped all the doctors were Republicans.

Ronald Reagan recovered from the shooting and returned to work within two weeks.

The President now began work on his main goal to reduce the size of the federal government.  He had campaigned on the idea that the government was too costly and interfered too much in the lives of Americans.

Mr. Reagan and Congress reduced taxes and cut spending for social programs.  The administration argued that these actions would create economic growth.

Extremely high inflation rates did begin to fall.  But the United States' debt rose sharply. This was partly from big increases in military spending.

The Reagan economic policy became known as "Reaganomics."  It had, and still has, supporters and opponents.  Some people argued that the cuts in social programs greatly hurt poor people.  Others said the policy improved the economy.

President Reagan sought re-election in nineteen eighty-four. His Democratic opponent was former Vice-President Walter Mondale.  Again Mr. Reagan won the election by a large amount.

(MUSIC)

President Reagan dealt with many serious foreign issues while in office.  He sent American Marines to Lebanon to stop the fighting among several opposing groups.  But more than two hundred Marines were killed in an extremist bomb attack.The so-called "Reagan Doctrine" was the Administration's most famous foreign policy.  That policy was to support anti-communist forces anywhere in the world.  Under the policy, American forces invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada.  The policy also led to secret United States support for rebels in Nicaragua.

President Reagan met with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev several times in an effort to reduce nuclear weapons. He gave a famous speech at the Berlin Wall that divided Soviet-controlled East Germany from West Germany on June twelfth, nineteen eighty-seven.

RONALD REAGAN:

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate!  Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!  Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Some historians say Ronald Reagan helped cause the fall of the Soviet Union.  They say his military spending forced the Soviets to spend more, too.  They say this led to the communist nation's economic failure.

President Reagan enjoyed very high public approval ratings throughout his presidency. Many Americans considered him a friendly leader, a "man of the people," filled with hope for America.

Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to California after his second term ended in nineteen eighty-nine.  In nineteen ninety-four, Mr. Reagan wrote an open letter to the American people.  He informed them that he had the brain disease Alzheimer's.  The former president expressed his love for the country and thanked Americans for letting him serve.  And, he wrote: "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."

Ronald Reagan died at his home in California on June fifth, two thousand four.  He was ninety-three.

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This program was written by Caty Weaver.  Mario Ritter was the producer.  I'm Gwen Outen. And I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.