08. Isaac Newton

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1.This is Shirley Griffith. And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about(1) one of the world's greatest scientists, Isaac Newton.

Much of today's science of physics is based on Newton's discovery of the three laws of motion(3) and his theory of gravity. Newton also developed(4) one of the most powerful(5) tools(6) of mathematics. It is the method we call calculus.

2. Late in his life, Newton said of his work: "If I saw(7)further than(8) other men, it was because I stood(9) on the shoulders(10) of giants. "  One of those giants was the great Italian scientist, Galileo. Galileo died(11) the same year Newton was born(12). Another of the giants was the Polish(13) scientist Nicholas Copernicus. He lived a hundred years before Newton.

3. Copernicus had begun(14) a scientific revolution. It led to(15) a completely new understanding(16) of how the universe worked. Galileo continued and expanded the work of Copernicus. Isaac Newton built(17) on the ideas of these two scientists and others. He found(18) and proved the answers for which(19) they searched(20). Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England, on December twenty-fifth, sixteen forty-two.

4. He was born early(21). He was a small baby and very weak(22). No one expected him to survive(23). But he surprised everyone. He had one of the most powerful minds(24) in history. And he lived until(25) he was eighty-four.

Newton's father died before he was born. His mother married again(26) a few years later. She left(27) Isaac with his grandmother.

5. The boy was not a good student. Yet(28) he liked to make things, such as (29) kites(30) and clocks and simple machines.

 Newton also enjoyed(31) finding new ways(32) to answer questions(33) or solve(34) problems. As a boy, for example, he decided to find a way to measure(35) the speed of the wind(36).

6. On a windy(37) day, he measured how far(38) he could jump(39) with the wind at his back(40). Then he measured how far he could jump with the wind in his face. From the difference between the two jumps, he made hisown(41) measure of the strength(42) of the wind.

7. Strangely(43), Newton became(44) a much better student after a boy kicked(45) him in the stomach.

The boy was one of the best students in the school. Newton decided to get even(46) by getting higher marks(47) than the boy who kicked him. In a short time, Newton became the top student at the school.

 Newton left school to help on the family farm.

8.It soon became clear(48), however, that the boy was not a good farmer. He spent(49) his time solving(50) mathematical problems, instead of taking care of(51) the crops(52). He spent hours visiting a bookstore(53) in town, instead of selling his vegetables in the market. An uncle decided that Newton would do better as a student than as a farmer. So he helped the young man enter Cambridge University to study mathematics.

9. Newton completed his university studies five years later, in sixteen sixty-five. He was twenty-two years old.

At that time, a deadly plague(54) was spreading across(55) England. To escape the disease(56), Newton returned to the family farm. He did more thinking than farming. In doing so(57), he found the answers to some of the greatest mysteries of science.

10. Newton used his great skill(58) in mathematics to form a better understanding(59) of the world and the universe. He used methods he had learned as a boy in making things. He experimented. Then he studied the results and used what he had learned to design new experiments.

11. Newton's work led(60) him to create a new method in mathematics for measuring areas curved in shape(61). He also used it to find how much material was contained in solid objects. The method he created became known as(62) integral calculus.

12. One day, sitting in the garden, Newton watched(63) an apple fall from a tree. He began to wonder(64) if the same force that pulled(65) the apple down also kept(66) the moon circling the Earth. Newton believed it was. And he believed it could be measured.

13. He called the force "gravity." He began to examine it carefully(67). He decided that the strength(68) of the force keeping a planet in orbit around the sun depended on two things. One was the amount of mass(69) in the planet and the sun. The other was how far apart(70) they were.

                                                   Vocabulary

1. tell about = falar sobre 2. physics = física 3. laws of motion = leis do movimento 4. developed = desenvolveu 5. powerful = poderoso 6. tools = ferramentas 7. saw  = viu 8. further than = mais longe do que 9. stood = fiquei 10. shoulders = ombros 11. died = morreu 12. was born = nasceu 13. Polish  = Polonês 14. had begun = tinha começado 15. led to = conduziu a 16. understanding = compreensão 17. built = construiu 18. found = encontrou 19. for which = pelas quais 20. searched = procuraram 21. early = prematuro 22. weak = fraco 23. survive = sobreviver 24. minds = mentes 25. until = até 26. again = novamente 27. left = deixou 28. Yet = porém 29. such as = tais como 30. kites = papagaios 31. enjoyed = adorava 32. ways = formas, maneiras 33. answer questions = responder perguntas 34. solve = solucionar 35. measure = medir

36. speed of the wind = velocidade do vento 37. windy = com vento 38. how far = o quão longe 39. could jump = conseguia saltar 40. at his back = às suas costas 41. own = próprio(a) 42. strength = força 43. Strangely = estranhamente 44. became = tornou-se 45. kicked = chutou 46. get even = ficar quites 47. getting higher marks = conseguindo notas mais altas 48. It soon became clear = logo ficou claro 49. spent = passava 50. solving = solucionando 51. instead of taking care of = Ao inves de cuidar de 52. crops = plantações 53. Bookstore = livraria 54. deadly plague = praga mortal 55. spreading across = espalhando-se por 56. disease = doença 57. In doing so = ao fazer isso 58. skill = habilidade 59. understanding = compreensão 60. led = conduziu, levou 61. shape = forma 62. became known as = tornou-se conhecido como 63. Watched = observou 64. wonder = perguntar-se 65. Pulled = puxou 66. kept = mantinha 67. carefully = cuidadosamente 68. strength = força 69. amount of mass = quantidade de massa 70. how far apart = O quão distantes

07. Michael Jackson

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1. I’m Faith Lapidus. And I’m Bob Doughty with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about one of the most famous performers in the world, Michael Jackson.Known as the “King of Pop,” Jackson sold more than seven hundred fifty million albums over his career.

2. Michael Jackson redefined popular culture with his energetic music, dance moves and revolutionary music videos. But Jackson’s huge success as a performer was not always easy. He was a complex individual with an often troubled private life.

3. That was a song that hardly needs an introduction. “Billie Jean” first came out on the nineteen eighty-two hit album “Thriller.” The Guinness World Records lists that record as the best-selling album of all time. Other famous songs on the album include “Thriller,” “Beat It” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”

4. The album “Thriller” was as much about moves as it was about music. Michael Jackson brought attention to his body’s movements by wearing a shiny white glove, shortened blackpants and white socks.

5. He created dance movements that were electrifying. He could be as hard as a robot, or as smooth as liquid. While doing his famous “moonwalk” step, he seemed to be walkingbackwards on air.

6. Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in nineteen fifty-eight. He was the seventh of nine children. He was five years old when he began singing with his brothers in a group called the Jackson 5. In nineteen sixty-eight the group signed a recording deal from Motown Records. Michael was eleven years old when they released their first album a year later.

7. The Jackson 5 became an immediate success. Their music set records. Their first four songs were “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”  They all reached the number one position in pop music record sales in nineteen seventy.

8. Michael was the star of the group. He was the lead singer and danced with great energy. His extraordinary skill and presence on stage was remarkable, especially for someone so young. The group made youthful and funmusic that was very popular with both African-Americans and white listeners.

9. In the nineteen seventies, the group changed record companies and shortened their name to the Jacksons. They continued to perform together, although Michael Jackson started to record music on his own as well. His first album performing alone was “Off the Wall,” released in nineteen seventy-nine.

10. Three years later, Jackson released “Thriller.” The album was not just the best selling album of all time. It also won eight Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. And it helped establish the popularity of a new form of entertainment, music videos.

11. The video for the song “Thriller” was important in the history of the music industry. Michael Jackson understood the power of these videos in bringing attention to his music and to his image. He worked hard to make excitingvideos with complex stories and dances.

12. In nineteen eighty-five, Michael Jackson helped write the song “We Are the World.” He recorded it with many other famous performers. The aim of the record was to raise money for starving people in Africa. The project raised millions of dollars with this best selling song.

13. Michael Jackson’s next album, “Bad,” produced five number one hits, including “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

Michael Jackson was a huge success, but he was also a very troubled man. His behavior and appearance became increasingly strange. He had many operations to change his face.

14. He acted and spoke in a childlike way. Jackson bought a huge property in California which he called Neverland after the children’s story of Peter Pan. He had amusement park rides, a zoo and a large movie theater built for his home.

15. Michael Jackson also went into major debt.And he suffered from injuries and illness that reportedly led him to take many kinds of pain-killing medicines.

16. In nineteen ninety-three, a thirteen-year-old boy accused him of sexual abuse. The child molestation case was settled out of court with Jackson reportedly paying the boy millions of dollars.  But ten years later, a similar accusation by another boy led to a criminal trial which began in two thousand five.

17; A jury cleared Jackson of all charges. He called the trial the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. During this time, Michael Jackson kept recording and performing music. His later albums include “Dangerous,” “HIStory” and “Invincible.”

18. Michael Jackson was briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of musician Elvis Presley. He later married a nurse named Deborah Rowe. They had two children, Michael Joseph Jackson and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. The couple divorced in nineteen ninety-nine. Mister Jackson later had a third child, Prince Michael Jackson.

19. After his two thousand five trial, the singer spent much of his time in Europe and the Middle East. He returned to the United States with the aim of planning what was to be a victorious comeback.   Michael Jackson died on June twenty-fifth, two thousand nine of heart failure. He was just days away from launching a series of fifty concerts in London.

20. Fans around the world mourned his death. Prisoners in a jail in the Philippines danced for him. Fans in Paris, France attended a service at the city’s ancient religious center in his honor. Famous performers around the world told about the influence he had on their work. Michael Jackson left a huge mark on popular culture. His memory will live on in his unforgettable music.

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                            Vocabulary

aim = objetivo although = embora amusement park = parquet de diversões appearance = aparência Awards = prêmios backwards = de costas Bad = mau became = tornou-se began = começou behavior = comportamento bought = comprou briefly = brevemente brought = trouxe built = construído came out = saiu change = mudar changed = trocou charges = acusações childlike way = jeito infantile cleared = absolveu comeback = retorno couple = casal deal = acordo debt = dívida During = durante electrifying = eletrizantes entertainment = entretenimento establish = estabelecer exciting = empolgante fun = divertido(a) hardly = dificilmente hits = sucessos huge = imenso huge = imenso increasingly = cada vez mais injuries = ferimentos jail = cadeia kept = manteve-se Known as = conhecido como lead = lider led = conduziu listeners = ouvintes

major = grande mourned = prantearam musician = músico of all time = de todos os tempos on his own = por si proprio pain-killing medicines = remedies para a dor pants = calças perform = apresentar performers = artistas private = particular property = propriedade raise money = levantar dinheiro reached = alcançaram released = lançaram remarkable = extraordinário(a) reportedly = supostamente sales = vendas seemed = parecia set = estabeleceu settled = estabelecido seventh = sétimo shiny white glove = luva branca brilhante shortened = encurtou signed = assinou skill = habilidade smooth = suave socks = meias sold = vendeu spent = passou stage = palco starving = faminto step = passo suffered = sofreu take = tomar trial = julgamento troubled = problemático troubled = turbulenta understood = entendeu unforgettable = inesquecível was born = nasceu won = ganhou youthful = jovem

06. Marilyn Monroe – Part 2

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1. Marilyn did not stop struggling. She next won a small part in a movie called "Love Happy." It was a comedy starring the famous Marx Brothers. Critics said it was not one of their betterefforts. Marilyn, though, earned praise for simply taking a short walk in the movie.

2. The movie called for her to say, "Some men are following me." Groucho Marx answered that he did not understand why. As he said that, he watched Marilyn walk her famous walk. His eyes opened very wide.

3. That short scene in the movie made many people in Hollywood talk about Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn got her first major chance when director John Huston invited her to act in a movie called "The Asphalt Jungle."

4. Huston said her performance as a criminal's girlfriend was good. It gained Marilyn her dream of a long-term agreement with Twentieth Century Fox, the company that had dismissed her earlier. Now its officials gave her a part in "All About Eve." The movie, released in nineteen fifty, was about a movie star. She played a golden-haired woman who did not have much intelligence -- "a dumb blonde."

5. In nineteen fifty-two, Marilyn again appeared as a dumb blonde in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." This performance at last won her widespread fame.

6. Huge successes now followed. Between nineteen fifty-three and nineteen fifty-nine she appeared in lead parts in many popular movies: "How To Marry a Millionaire." "The Seven Year Itch." "Bus Stop." "Some Like it Hot."

7. Her part in "Some Like it Hot" showed that she was very good at making people laugh. Marilyn's picture appeared on the front cover of many magazines and the front pages of many newspapers. She began to earn more money.

8. Life should have been good. But Marilyn was not happy. She was being asked to repeat her part as a dumb blonde in movie after movie.

9. She wanted to be accepted as a good actress. She went to the Actors' Studio school in New York City with many serious actors. She thought she could change the way people thought of her.

10. MARILYN MONROE: “What I’d like to do, that is, what I would like to accomplish, I would like to be a good actress. And it’s not a matter of being on top because I think some of the best actors and actresses perhaps aren’t on the top. So that’s not the thing. I’m terribly grateful for everything that’s happened because I remember when things weren’t like this at all. But you do miss sometimes just being able to be completely yourself and some place and people just know you as another human being.”

11. But she did not succeed. People thought of Marilyn Monroe as "that blonde bombshell." Few people thought of her as a serious actress.

12. She also failed in her attempts at marriage. She admitted that she got married the first time only to escape from being forced to live in a group home for children without parents. In nineteen fifty-four she married again. Herhusband was the famous New York Yankee baseball player, Joe Di Maggio. They were together for only a few months.

13. Later, she tried again. She married Arthur Miller, a famous writer of plays. That marriage ended unhappily in nineteen sixty-one, after five years.

14. Marilyn returned to Hollywood. But things were different now. Friends said she was drinking too much alcohol. They said she was taking too many drugs.

15. She seemed to always be in trouble with the movie company. She had gained too much weight. Or, she had not learned what she was to say in the movie. Or she had arrived late for the filming.

16. By nineteen sixty-two, Marilyn's problems were threatening her work in the movies. She was to appear in the Twentieth Century Fox movie called "Something's Got to Give.”

17. She lost weight for her part. She tried to arrive on time for the filming. She reportedly knew her part. However, she became sick several times and missed work. Fox company officials dismissed her.

18. On August fourth, nineteen sixty-two, Marilyn Monroe died alone in her home. She was thirty-six years old. Reports said taking too many drugs killed her. But people who knew her said failed marriages, and the failure of her latest movie also led to her death.

19. Many people said Marilyn Monroe never escaped her past. She continued to suffer from the early, sad life of a little girl named Norma Jean.

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                               Vocabulary

accomplish = realizar actress = atriz Asphalt Jungle = selva de asfalto at all = absolutamente at last = enfim attempts =  tentativas became sick = ficou doente began = começou bombshell = “explosive” could = poderia did not stop struggling = não parou de batalhar died = morreu dumb blonde = loira burra early = precoce earned praise = ganhou elogios efforts = esforços failed marriages = casamentos fracassados Few = poucos(as) following = seguindo gave = deu girlfriend = namorada got married = casou-se grateful = grata However = contudo Huge = imenso human being = ser humano husband = esposo in trouble = com problemas invited = convidou it’s not a matter of = não é uma questão de Itch = coceira Later = depois

laugh = dar risada lead = principal learned = aprendido, decorado led to = conduziu a like this = desta forma long-term agreement = acordo de longo prazo magazines = revistas Marry = casar miss = sentir falta missed work = faltou no trabalho named = chamada on time = no horário part = papel perhaps = talvez reportedly = supostamente Reports = relatórios sad = triste seemed = parecia several times = várias vezes should have been = deveria ter sido succeed = ser bem-sucedido(a) suffer = sofrer terribly = “imensamente” though = contudo thought = achou threatening = ameaçando too many = tomando unhappily = de forma infeliz weight = peso widespread = generalizado(a) without = sem won = ganhou writer of plays = escritor de peças teatrais

05. Marilyn Monroe – Part 1

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1. I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about movie star Marilyn Monroe. She died many years ago, yetstill is one of the best known American women.

2. Her name at birth was Norma Jean Baker. Her life as a child was like a bad dream. She lived with a number of different people, and often was mistreated.

3. At age sixteen Norma Jean married a sailor. But she soon ended that marriage. She changed her hair color from brown to shining gold. And she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

4. She wanted to be an actress. And she succeeded. She appeared in a number of Hollywood movies. Millions of people went to see them. By the time Norma Jean had reached the age of twenty-six, her beautiful face and body earned her a place as one of America's leading movie stars.

5. But success and fame were not enough to make her happy. The troubles of her childhood days stayed with her. She drank too much alcohol. She took too many drugs.

6. At the age of thirty-six, she took her own life. She has been dead since nineteen sixty-two. Still, her fame continues to grow. People born long after she died are watching her movies on television. Objects that belonged to her bring huge prices at public sales.

7. People continue to talk about what they feel is her strange death. Some people believe she was murdered. Two investigations showed that she died as the result of too many drugs.

8. Why is the public still so interested in a woman who died so many years ago? A number of reasons. Her exciting but tragic life. Her connections with well-known people. And her image as an especially desirable woman.

9. In the nineteen fifties, many Americans believed sex was a very private subject. People often severely judged those who were sexually appealing.

10. Into this atmosphere burst Marilyn Monroe. As one critic said, her body was round in all the right places. She wore her clothes like skin. When she walked, she moved her lower body in a way that few other actresses had done. Her voice was soft and breathy. She soon became America's golden girl.

11. The story of Marilyn Monroe begins on June first, nineteen twenty-six. Norma Jean was born that day in the West Coast city of Los Angeles, California. Her birthplace was not far from the Hollywood movie studios where she would someday be a star.

12. Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from mental problems. Often the mother had to be treated in a hospital for long periods of time. Her daughter was sent to live with a number of different people.

13. The actress later would describe her stays with these foster families as sometimes very unhappy. During the worst experiences, she would go to a movie theater. There the young Norma Jean escaped into the make-believe world of movies.

14. By the time she was seventeen, Marilyn was trying very hard to be a movie actress. She finally was able to get an actors' agent to help her. He got Twentieth Century Fox Company to give Marilyn parts in some movies it produced.

15. Marilyn may have worked more to improve her appearance than to improve her performance in acting classes. Some people at Twentieth Century Fox said she did not like to work at all. She appeared in only one movie. And she had only one line to speak in that. The Fox movie company dismissed her.

16. Soon, however, her agent got her a job at Columbia Pictures. She appeared in a movie called "Ladies of the Chorus." She sang two songs. Several critics praised her performance. But Columbia dismissed her.

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                                          Vocabulary

actress = atriz appealing = atraente at all = absolutamente bad dream = sonho ruim became = tornou-se belonged = pertenciam birth = nascimento birthplace = local de nascimento breathy = sussurrada burst = estourou, explodiu By the time = Na época em que childhood = infancia classes = aulas daughter = filha death = morte describe = descrever desirable = desejável died = morreu dismissed = dispensou During = durante earned = ganhou enough = suficiente exciting = empolgante far from = longe de feel = sentem few = poucos(as) foster = adotivo grow = crescer however = contudo huge prices = preços imensos improve = melhorar line = fala lower = parte de baixo, inferior

make-believe world = mundo de “faz-de-conta” marriage = casamento may = pode (possibilidade) mistreated = mal tratada movie star = estrela de cinema movie theater = cinema murdered = assassinada(o) Often = frequentemente own = próprio(a) parts = papéis praised = elogiaram private subject = assunto particular reached = alcançado right places = lugares certos sailor = marinheiro sang = cantou Several = vários severely judged = julgavam rigorosamente shining = brilhante showed = mostraram skin = pele soft = suave sometimes = às vezes stays = estadias succeeded = foi bem sucedida suffered = sofria took = tirou took = tomava trying = tentando voice = voz was able to get = conseguiu obter well-known = bem conhecidos wore = vestia worst = pior yet = porém