VOA标准英语2013--Small Illinois Town Gets Boost From New Superman Movie

Small Illinois Town Gets Boost From New Superman Movie Plano Mayor Bob Hausler said, I would say a great Midwestern small town, and we epitomize that. Hausler was in charge of the city's government in 2011 when a Hollywood production company came to

VOA标准英语2013--US Experts Call for Debate on National Security, Civil Liberties

US Experts Call for Debate on National Security, Civil Liberties The controversy has caused outrage - with critics claiming there is too much government overreach, that it goes too far and is too intrusive. Frank Sesno, director of the George Washing

VOA标准英语2013--Reaction Mixed to US Move on Syria

Reaction Mixed to US Move on Syria The fighting has raged in Syria for two years, and the United Nations says more than 93,000 people have been killed. But the deaths of about 100 of them have changed the strategic situation. The U.S. government anno

VOA标准英语2013--Child Soldiers Detained Mali

Child Soldiers Detained Mali A human rights group says children recruited as soldiers and those believed to have ties with armed groups are being illegally detained in Mali. Amnesty International says they are being held alongside adults, and some cl

VOA标准英语2013--Pentagon Weighs Type of Arms to Give Syrian Rebels

Pentagon Weighs Type of Arms to Give Syrian Rebels They are options that Pentagon planners have been working on for almost as long as the conflict in Syria. With Assad's forces gaining ground and confirmation they have used chemical weapons, the U.S.

VOA标准英语2013--G8 Leaders Meet on Economy, Syria

G8 Leaders Meet on Economy, Syria The leaders will meet at this isolated lakeside resort in Northern Ireland. They will have two days of quality time, far from demonstrations like those in London by self-proclaimed anti-capitalists, and far from any

VOA标准英语2013--Effort Under Way to Expand US Parks, Playgrounds

Effort Under Way to Expand US Parks, Playgrounds At the Environmental Charter Middle School in the Los Angeles community of Gardena, several hundred volunteers are building a play area, sanding down benches, putting up swings and slides, and adding a

VOA标准英语2013--Syria, Surveillance Issues Await Obama at G8, Berlin

Syria, Surveillance Issues Await Obama at G8, Berlin While the G8 is normally considered an economic summit, this years gathering at a resort in Northern Ireland will address the bloodshed in Syriaand whether eight of the worlds most influential coun

VOA标准英语2013--Companies Try Natural Gas to Fuel Vehicles

Companies Try Natural Gas to Fuel Vehicles HOUSTON, TEXAS While many Americans want to reduce both pollution and energy costs, the nation's automobile-based transportation system undermines these goals by being largely dependent on petroleum. But in

VOA标准英语2013--UN: Don’t Let Our Future Dry Up

UN: Dont Let Our Future Dry Up June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification. In 1992, the Rio Earth Summit described desertification as one of the greatest challenges to development. This years theme is drought and water scarcity. Water covers most

VOA标准英语2013--Rights Group: Prosecute Alleged Arms Dealer

Rights Group: Prosecute Alleged Arms Dealer A human rights group is calling on Sierra Leonean authorities to investigate a suspected arms dealer. U.N. investigators have alleged Ibrahim Bah supplied arms to rebels during Sierra Leones civil war. The

VOA标准英语2013--Obama Africa Trip is Effort to Re-engage With Continent

Obama Africa Trip is Effort to Re-engage With Continent Obama has spent less than 24 hours in sub-Saharan Africa, an all-too short visit to Ghana in 2009. He spoke to Ghana's parliament about democracy, opportunity and peaceful resolution of conflict

VOA标准英语2013--John Denver Tribute Links Musicians from Various Genres, Generations

John Denver Tribute Links Musicians from Various Genres, Generations The musicians include southern rockers My Morning Jacket, who cover Leaving On A Jet Plane. The 10-piece alternative band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros reinterprets Wooden In

VOA标准英语2013--Syria Conflict Exposes Old Rivalries at G8 Summit

Syria Conflict Exposes Old Rivalries at G8 Summit Intense gun battles rage in the heart of Damascus and Aleppo on the same day that G8 leaders gather in Northern Ireland. The gulf of disagreement on how to end the fighting appears to be widening. Chr

VOA标准英语2013--North Korea Offers Direct Talks with US

North Korea Offers Direct Talks with US North Korea says it is offering direct talks to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. The United States says North Korea must first meet its international obligations to end its nuclear program. North Korea mu

VOA标准英语2013--Some Aid Programs in Sahel Prefer Cash to Food

Some Aid Programs in Sahel Prefer Cash to Food It's market day in the village of Sadio, but it is also payday for these 800 beneficiaries of Catholic Relief Service's Yokkut program. Yokkut means resilience in the local Wolof language. By paying part

VOA标准英语2013--US-EU Set to Pursue Trade Deal, Possibly World’s Biggest

US-EU Set to Pursue Trade Deal, Possibly Worlds Biggest British Prime Minister David Cameron stood with U.S. President Barack Obama and European Union leaders to make the announcement. We are talking about what could be the biggest bilateral trade de

VOA标准英语2013--Congress Debates Limiting US Farmers' Role in Food Aid

Congress Debates Limiting US Farmers' Role in Food Aid When starvation looms, speed is critical. But while the U.S. provides more emergency food aid than any other country, speed is not what it does best. Andrew Natsios witnessed this shortcoming fir

VOA标准英语2013--US Agriculture Industry Opposes Changes to Food Aid Program

US Agriculture Industry Opposes Changes to Food Aid Program Plano, Illinois, farmer Bill Wykes has been behind the wheel of a tractor for almost four decades, planting and harvesting corn and soybeans on land his family has owned even longer. Through

VOA标准英语2013--Obama to Visit Senegal Amid Growing Sahel Terror Threat

Obama to Visit Senegal Amid Growing Sahel Terror Threat France blitzed into Mali in January with air strikes and 4,000 ground troops to push back a southern offensive by al-Qaida affiliates still active in the Sahel-Sahara region. There are no indica