American History: An Angry Nation Puts Its Hopes in Roosevelt

Source: All credits for Voa Speacial English http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/us-history/American-History-An-Angry-Nation-Puts-Its-Hopes-in-President-Roosevelt-118130864.html

Photo: fdrlibrary.marist.edu

Herbert Hoover, left, and Franklin Roosevelt in Washington on Inauguration Day

 

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember with Shirley Griffith. This week in our series, we begin the story of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen thirty-two Americans were tired of the policies of Republican President Herbert Hoover. They thought Hoover had done too little to fight the depression that was crushing the economy.

They gave a big victory to Franklin Roosevelt and his Democrats in the elections that year. Roosevelt believed that the federal government should do more to help average Americans.

The election brought hope to many Americans in the autumn of nineteen thirty-two. But Roosevelt did not become president until March of nineteen thirty-three, four months after the election. And those months saw the American economy fall to its lowest level in the history of the nation.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: President Hoover tried to arrange a world economic conference. And he called on President-elect Roosevelt to join him in making conservative statements in support of business.

Roosevelt refused. He did not think it was correct to begin acting like a president until he actually became the president. He did not want to tie himself to policies that the voters had just rejected.

Congress, controlled by Democrats, also refused to help Hoover.

STEVE EMBER: It was a strange period, a season of uncertainty and anger. The economy was worse than ever. The lines of people waiting for food were longer than before. Angry mobs of farmers were gathering in the countryside. And the politicians in Washington seemed unable to work together to end the crisis.

Hoover said, We are at the end of our rope. There is nothing more we can do. And across the country, Americans waited -- worried, uncertain, afraid. What would the new president do?

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The new president was fifty-one years old. His family name was well-known to the American public. Theodore Roosevelt -- a distant family member -- had served as one of America's greatest presidents thirty years earlier.

Franklin Roosevelt was born to a rich and important New York family. He went to the best schools: Groton, Harvard and Columbia Law School. In nineteen ten, he won election to the New York State Legislature. He showed great intelligence and political understanding as a state senator, and worked hard for other Democratic candidates.

Franklin Roosevelt next served as assistant secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. And in nineteen twenty, he was the Democratic Party's unsuccessful candidate for vice president.

STEVE EMBER: The next year, Roosevelt suffered a personal tragedy. He was sailing during a holiday with his family. Suddenly, his body became cold. He felt severe pain in his back and legs. Doctors came. But the pain got worse. For weeks, Roosevelt was forced to lie on his back.

Finally, doctors discovered that Roosevelt was a victim of polio. He lost control of his legs because of the disease. He would never walk again.

Roosevelt had always been an active man who loved sports. But now he would have to live with a wheelchair. All of his money and fame could not get him back the strength in his legs.

fdrlibrary.marist.edu

President Roosevelt in 1933

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Many Americans thought the illness would end Roosevelt's political dreams. But they were wrong. He showed an inner strength that people had never seen in him before.

Roosevelt ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of New York state in nineteen twenty-eight. He won by a small number of votes.

Two years later, the voters of New York re-elected Roosevelt. And they cheered his creative efforts to help citizens of the state who were suffering from the Great Depression.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Franklin Roosevelt always appeared strong and friendly in public. He loved to laugh and enjoy life. But his happy face hid a strong will.

Throughout his life, Roosevelt worked to improve life for the common man. And he was willing to use the power of government to do this. He thought the government had the power and responsibility to improve the life of its citizens.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Roosevelt believed deeply in this. But he was less certain about the best way to do it. "Above all, we must try something," he said during the presidential campaign of nineteen thirty-two. Roosevelt believed that the country demanded creative experimentation.

Americans in large numbers across the country voted for Roosevelt in nineteen thirty-two. They supported his calls for action to end the depression. But no one was really sure just what this new president from New York -- this man unable to walk -- would really do after he entered the White House.

loc.gov

President Roosevelt's inauguration ceremony in Washington

STEVE EMBER: Inauguration Day in nineteen thirty-three began with clouds and a dark sky. Roosevelt went to church in the morning. And then he drove with President Hoover from the White House to the Capitol, the building where Congress meets.

Roosevelt tried to talk with Hoover as they drove. But Hoover said little. He just waved without emotion at the crowd.

The two men arrived at the Capitol. A huge crowd of people waited. Millions more Americans listened to a radio broadcast of the ceremony. The chief justice of the United States, Charles Evans Hughes, gave the oath of office to Roosevelt.

And then Americans waited to hear what the nation's thirty-second president would say.

He told them he was sure they expected him to speak openly and honestly about the situation facing the country. He told them that their great nation would survive as it had survived in the past. That it would recover and become rich again.

He talked about the danger of fear -- a nameless fear that blocked efforts to move forward. And he talked about Americans giving their support to honest, active leadership in every dark hour of their history.

Here is some of Roosevelt's inaugural address in his own words.

PRESIDENT 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.”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Roosevelt's words caught the emotions of the crowd. He seemed sure of himself. He promised leadership. His whole style was different from the empty promises of wealth offered by President Hoover.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT: “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days my friends will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Roosevelt said that the most important need was to put people back to work. And he said the federal government would have to take an active part in creating jobs.

Roosevelt said there were many ways to help the nation recover. But he said it would never be helped just by talking about it. "We must act," he said, "and act quickly."

STEVE EMBER: Roosevelt had a strong and serious look on his face. He told the crowd that all the necessary action was possible under the American system of government. But he warned that Congress must cooperate with him to get the nation moving again.

Then, his speech finished, Roosevelt waved to the crowd and smiled. Herbert Hoover shook his hand and left. Roosevelt rode alone through the huge crowds back to the White House. And he immediately began a series of conferences.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Roosevelt's inauguration speech of nineteen thirty-three was one of the most powerful and important speeches in American history. Roosevelt's speech was like an ocean wave that washes away one period of history and brings in a new one. The president seemed strong. He gave people hope.

The new president promised the American people action. And action came quickly. During the next three months, Roosevelt and the Democrats would pass more major new programs than the nation had seen in many years.

We look at this beginning of the Roosevelt administration in our next program.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Our program was written by David Jarmul. With Shirley Griffith, I'm Steve Ember. You can find our series online with pictures, transcripts, MP3s and podcasts at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

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This is program #18
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Anorexics, Speak Up

Source: Speak Up

THE GUARDIAN

The new anorexics

Eating disorder experts are treating growing numbers of women who are developing anorexia or bulimia in adulthood, long after the teenage years when the conditions usually emerge.

Psychiatrists are seeing more patients who have become seriously ill with either of the crippling conditions for the first time in their 30s, 40s, 50s and occasionally 60s. In many cases, the illness has been triggered by a relationship breaking down, unemployment, the menopause, losing a parent, or seeing children leave home.

PRESSURE

Some experts say that the rise to what are called late-onset eating disorders as linked to the fact that some women in their 40s and 50s feel under pressure to look young. This is often due to the prominence of age-defying older female celebrities, such as Madonna and Sharon Stone.

“Five or 10 years ago, I would’ve seen one case of an older person developing an eating disorder about once every year or two. But now I see them more often – about five new patients a year with late-onset anorexia nervosa or bulimia,” Said Dr. Sylvia Dahabra, a psychiatrist in Newcastle who works for the regional specialist eating disorders service.

LEAVING HOME

Sian, who didn’t want to be fully indentified, tells the story of her mother, Fiona, who died of anorexia in 2008 aged 48. “The trauma of me moving out of the family home at 18 to live nearby, and then relocating further away to Bournemouth when I was 21, triggered her serious decline. I was pretty much mum’s life, and me leaving meant she was alone. She ended up weighing just six stone when she passed away when I was 21,” said Fiona died in her sleep after contracting bronchial pneumonia.

“Once she got the pneumonia, she couldn’t fight it because her body was so weak form the anorexia,” sad Sian.

DEPRESSION

Major like events are usually the cause of these disorders. “The person can lose their job, suffer bereavement, have a child or see their relationship break down. As a result, their mood deteriorates and they develop a depressive a illness. They lose their appetite and then lose weight, “said Dahabra.” They then notice that they feel better when they don’t eat, that they look better and might even get compliments. This distracts them from what really bothers them and gives them a new focus.” Dahabra has helped women who have developed dysfunctional eating behaviours after their husbands left them. “In one case the husband’s painting words to her were a derogatory comment about her weight. She associated the breakup with being overweight, began dieting. In the end she  was found unconscious at home and hospitalised because her blood sugar level was very dangerously low.”

DIETING

Dr Adrienne Key, the lead clinician for eating disorders treatment at the Priory clinic in Roehapton, south-west London said. “In the last 18 months I’ve seen 10 women in their mid-to late-30s, mainly with bulimia, who have had a baby in the previous few years and have had increased body dissatisfaction. They start dieting but then try more drastic measures such as skipping meals or going on these strange protein, no carbs diets, and then their starvation triggers the biology or an eating disorder.”

Why only some women who do that then develop anorexia or bulimia is not fully understood, but it may be because their brains function slightly differently under the pressure of food deprivation, said Key. “Growing numbers of women in their 30s and 40s are dissatisfied with their bodies because they are presented with visual imagery of perfect bodies especially in magazines. These unobtainable body ideals are often due to airbrushing, and women feel pressured to try to achieve that.

Mental health experts at the British Dietetic Association, which represents dieticians, have also noticed the same trend. Beat, the UK’s main eating disorders charity, is getting more calls from adults, mainly women.

NOT ONLY WOMEN

Men can succumb too. Dahabra has treated one man who developed depression and when anorexia in his 40s after grief at losing his mother. Another patient of the same age was under severe stress, first at work, and then after losing his job and supporting his partner through a serious illness. Lee Powell, a 37-years old civil servant in Gloucester, saw his weight drop from over10st to just over seven when obsessive exercise led him to start trying even harder to lose weight. “I used to have a cereal bar for breakfast and another of lunch and then some proper food for my tea, but that quickly became just a salad. My wife, Annette, once said I looked like something out of a prisoner of war camp and broke down crying.”

Experts are unsure whether the growing number of older onset cases they are treating indicates a real change in people behavior or simply GPs becoming better and identifying eating disorders.

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SOURCE: FAMILY ALBUM, USA

Force of Nature, Japan Earthquake

Source: www.maganews.com.br acessem e assine, recomendo, access and got a wonderful magazine, recommend.

Learn more about earthquakes

What causes an earthquake?  Is Brazil at risk? The answers are below

   Recent earthquakes in Haiti (January-2010), Chile (February-2010), and Japan (March 2011) have not only chocked the world but have also raised a lot of concern [1] in other nations in South America and Central America. The ground has shaken [2] in a number of regions in Brazil in recent years, but they were low [3] intensity shakes. Experts say that Brazil’s chances of suffering from a major earthquake are minimal. Earthquakes are caused by geological cracks [4]. Major shakes happen when two underground [5]  tectonic plates [6] collide. The most affected countries are those located on the edge [7] of such plates. Brazil has been lucky. It is located in the middle of a huge plate, away from a dangerous “contact zone” between two major plates. However, in some cases, an earthquake may also be caused by a volcanic eruption. The most common scale used to measure the intensity of an earthquake is Charles Francis Richter’s. His scale ranges from 0 to 9 degrees.   

Chile and Haiti

Every year, thousands of shakes strike [8]  the ground around the globe, but most of them are of such low intensity that they are not even felt by people. The higher [9] the intensity of the earthquake and the closer the epicenter is to a major city, the higher the risk of great tragedies. In Chile, the earthquake reached 8.8 on the Richter’s scale, which was higher than the one recorded in Haiti (7.7). However, the tragedy in Haiti was much more intense. In Chile, the epicenter was 115 km away from the city of Concepción, but in Haiti, it was only 25 km away from the capital Port-au-Prince. This is one of the factors that explain why over 220,000 people died in Haiti and “only” a little over 700 died in Chile. There are other factors that made the consequences worse, such as the quality of constructions and the depth [10]  of the earthquake. In Chile, the epicenter was in the sea at 35 km depth, while in  Haiti it was only 10 km below the surface.  

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Picture - Vehicles are crushed by a collapsed wall at a carpark in Mito city in Ibaraki prefecture onMarch 11, 2011 after a massive earthquake rocked Japan AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS

Vocabulary

1 to raise a lot of concern – aqui = deixar preocupada (s)

2 the ground has shaken – a terra tremeu

3 low - baixo

4 geological cracks – aqui = falhas geológicas

5 underground - subterrânea

6 tectonic plates – placas tectônicas (gigantescos blocos de terra)

7 on the edge – nas bordas

8 to strike – sacudir

9 the higher the – quanto maior for

10 depth - profundidade

CONFESSIONS OF A LATIN TEACHER Part 1

Source: Speak Up

Standard: British accent

Language level:  Upper intermediate

CONFESSIONS OF A LATIN TEACHER Part 1

I have a confession to make. As well as being a writer, I am a teacher of Latin (and Ancient Greek).

Do the British study Latin? 50 years ago, a large percentage of school children did. Now it is mainly taught in private schools. Many teachers retire schools. Many teachers retire every years; only two universities train new teachers. Many students classical works only in translation. Surely this means the end of Latin – and, some will say, good riddance.

PROPHETS OF DOOM

Journalists and other prophets of doom constantly predict the end of Latin. To me it seems comical to predict the death of an extinct language.

When I admit I am a Latin teacher, people look at me as if I were a dodo. They often send me news paper articles about:

      How useless Latin is.

      How important Latin is.

      How Latin is making a comeback.

      Why do people get so worked up about it? Somehow  Latin provides a focus for all our fears about education: vocational against no-vocational, privileged against under- privileged.

      WHO AND WHY?

Why do we study Latin? It’s not the basis of our language, as it is for Italian, Spanish and Portuguese speakers. Yet, despite the Germanic structure of English perhaps 45 per cent of our vocabulary is Romance-derived. Significantly, intellectual vocabulary is often Latinate the language of science, art and technology.

Who learns Latin today? One definition of the typical English gentleman is: “Someone who once knew the classics but has forgotten them: “We think of aristocratic Oxbridge comics showing off on clever TV shows: actor/writer Stephen Fry: John Cleese and his Monty Python gang: Boris Johson, mayor of London.

This elitism elicits anger as well as admiration. The Campaign for Plain English has fought a war against unnecessary Latin layers no longer use Latin phrases where there are English alternative. Yet we love the scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian where the centurion correct Brian’s graffiti. To get the joke properly, you need to know Latin. “Romanes eunt domus” is nonsense; he means “Romani, ite domum” (Romans, go home).

EVERYDAY LANGUAGE

Everyday English is full of Latin words. Many are borrowed directly; many more are derivations.

Science (from Latin) and technology (Greek) have filled English with classical vocabulary: galaxy, protons, electric, democracy and telephone (Greek): universe, circuit, election and Prime Minister (Latin): Bones are Latin, from patella to clavicle. Organs and diseases are often Greek: stomach, leukemia. Botanists and zoologists give plants and animals classical names. Other school subjects have Greek names: geography, history, maths, psychology, philosophy.

WHERE NEXT?

It’s all Greek to me is a phrase from Shakespeare used to dismiss anything we can’t understand. Yet we still admire those who have Latin on their curriculum vitae: George Bush Senior’s notoriously ignorant vice president, Dan Quayle, regretted not studying Latin harder in school when he visited Latin America!

People pay me to translate club mottos, degree certificates and tattoos. They buy furniture, stationery and T-shirts with Latin on them. David Beckham has Latin tattoos (and the Roman numeral VII). Why? Because it seems important. Latin has dignity, grandeour, gravitas, so, even if you think it is useless, remember: quod latine, dictum est altum vdetur, or What ever you say in Latin seems deep.

PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING

English speakers pronouncing Latin are confused. When a word is normal English, it is unashamedly anglicised: alias, alibi, audio, doctor, exit, flux, memorandum, status. Quasi in English has long and I sound. The second c in cancer is soft, the g in agenda is also soft, and there is a j in de jure.

When the English adopt a whole phrase, their pronunciation is a little more Latinate: sine qua non, me culpa, modus vivendi, quid pro quo. When the English sing Latin in church, they use Latinale style. But in school they follow stand and European Erasmus pronunciation –and is amusing when the English  read phrases like arma virumque cano…”

When British English adopts Greek words like encyclopaedia, it keeps the ae after the “p”. Whereas the American use a simple “e,” as in encyclopedia. This causes confusion with names. Aeschylus usually can either be written with an oe, or a simple e at the beginning, while Oedipus can either be written with an oe, or a simple e at the beginning: Edipus. And Daedalus can either be written with an ae – Daedalus – or with an e –Dedalus. And we love Latin abbreviations, even if we rarely know what they stand for, but here are some example.

AD Anno Domini

Am ant meridiem

Exempli gratia – by way of example

Ie id est: that is, to explain

Viz videlicet: namely

QED quod erat demonstrandium.

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Some People's Names Have Special Meanings in American Expressions

Reference: www.manythings.org and www.voanews.com 

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

A person's name is very important. Some names also have special meanings in popular American expressions.  To better understand what I mean, sit back and listen.  You might even want to get a cup of Joe, I mean, a cup of coffee.

One day, an average Joe was walking down the street.  An average Joe is a common person – either male or female.  This average Joe was lost.  He did not know Jack about where he was going.  By this, I mean he did not know anything about where to find things in the city.

So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank.  John Q. Public is also a common person – male or female. 

"Jeez Louise," said John Q. Public.  This is an expression of surprise.  "Jeez Louise, don't you know that all banks are closed today?  It is Saturday."

"For Pete's sake," said average Joe.  This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment.

"For Pete's sake.  I do not believe you," said average Joe.  He was being a doubting Thomas, someone who does not believe anything he is told.

At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman.  Joe Blow is also an expression for a common man. Now this Joe Blow was NOT walking next toa plain Jane.  A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty.  She is simply plain.  No, the woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila – a beautiful woman.   

Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday.  "No way, Jose," she answered.  This is a way of saying "no."  "No way, Jose.  Many banks are open on Saturdays."

Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam.  That is, he did not know them at all.  But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.  

When he arrived, he walked to the desk of the chief bank employee.  Now this man was a true Jack of all trades.  He knew how to do everything.

"I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam," said average Joe.  Uncle Sam represents the United States government.  The banker produced some papers and told average Joe to sign his John Hancock at the bottom.  A John Hancock is a person's signed name – a signature.  Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence.  Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all the others. 

As average Joe left the bank he began to sing.  But sadly, average Joe was not a good singer.  He was a Johnny One Note.  He could only sing one note.

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss.  I'm Faith Lapidus.

Family Album, 49

Source: Family Album, USA.