The Superstitions in Britain. Суеверия в Британи.

 The Superstitions in Britain.

There are many superstitions in Britain. But one of the most widely-held is that it is unlucky to open an umbrella in the house. It will either bring misfortune to the person that Opened it or to the household. The person who opens an umbrella in fine weather is very unpopular. It's very unlucky to walk under a ladder. If you must pass under a ladder you can avoid bad luck by crossing your finger and keeping them crossed until you've seen a dog.

The number 13 is said to be unlucky for some. And when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday, most of the people prefer to stay at home.

The worst misfortune that can befall you is breaking a mirror. That will bring you seven years of bad luck. This superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times. Because mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods. And at last there is a superstition of touching wood for luck. This measure is most often taken if you have said or done something wrong or stupid.

 Questions:

 1. Are there many superstitions in Britain?

 2. What is the most widely-held superstition?

 3. Is number 13 unlucky for people in Britain?

 4. Why is it dangerous to break a mirror?

 5. Why do British people touch wood?

 Vocabulary:

 superstition — суеверие

 ladder — лестница

 misfortune — неудача

 mirror — зеркало

 measure — мера

-----------

 Суеверия в Британи.

В Британии существует много суеверий. Но одно из самых распространенных: открывать зонтик в доме — к несчастью. Это принесет неудачу человеку, который открыл зонт, или семье. Человека, открывающего зонтик в хорошую погоду, сторонятся. К несчастью — ходить под лестницей. Если вам придется пройти под лестницей, вы можете избежать неудачи, скрестив пальцы и держа их так, пока не встретится собака.

Некоторые считают число 13 неудачным. И когда 13-й день месяца попадает на пятницу, большинство людей предпочитает оставаться дома.

Но самая большая неудача постигнет тебя, когда ты разобьешь зеркало. Это принесет тебе 7 лет неудач. Предполагается, что это суеверие пришло из давних времен, потому что зеркала считались принадлежностью богов. И последнее: существует привычка касаться дерева на удачу. К этому часто прибегают после того, как сказали или сделали что-нибудь плохое или глупое.

Officials, Citizens Struggling with High Heat in Southeast Asia (Voice of America learning English April 29, 2024)

Officials closed schools and issued health warnings as a deadly heat wave has spread across Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, the education ministry announced on Sunday that in-person classes at public schools would be canceled for two days.

Benjo Basas is chairperson of Teachers' Dignity Coalition, a group of educators. Basas told DWPM radio station, "We already have reports of high blood pressure and dizziness, and fainting for pupils and teachers in the past days,”

Temperatures in the Philippines are expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius in the next three days, with many classrooms crowded and without air conditioning.

The country's weather agency said the heat index made the weather feel as though the temperature was 45 degrees Celsius. That heat level is considered “dangerous” and might lead to heat stroke.

The heat wave is also putting pressure on power supplies on Luzon, the country’s largest island. Officials closed 13 power plants on the island earlier in the month.

In Thailand, temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees or more in the capital city of Bangkok and the country's central and northern areas. The weather agency advised people to avoid being outdoors for extended periods.

In the northern city of Lampang, temperatures reached 44.2 degrees Celsius on April 22. And officials expect the extreme heat to continue this week.

In the past month, 30 people have died from heat stroke, data from Thailand's health ministry showed.

Dehydration, heat stroke

State media reported that people in Vietnam are heading to air-conditioned shopping centers to escape the heat in Ho Chi Minh City. The country's national weather agency warns of forest fires and the risk of dehydration and “heat shock.”

On Sunday, the agency reported temperatures as high as 44 degrees Celsius in parts of northern and central Vietnam. The heat is expected to last until Wednesday.

Vietnam's state electricity company has also urged people not to overuse their air conditioning. The company warned that electricity usage has reached record highs in recent days.

Malaysia officials issued hot weather warnings on Sunday for 16 areas that have recorded temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees for three straight days.

Earlier in the month, Malaysia’s health ministry said 45 cases of heat-related illnesses had been reported through April 13. The ministry reported two deaths from heat stroke.

In neighboring Singapore, the weather service said the country's temperature could reach higher in 2024 than last year.

Since last month, some schools in Singapore have eased rules for wearing uniforms. Students are being permitted to wear exercise clothing because of the heat.

Warm temperatures in Indonesia are being blamed for an outbreak of dengue fever. The health ministry reported that cases of the mosquito-borne disease more than doubled to 35,000 from 15,000 a year earlier.

A health ministry spokesman added that the warm El Niño ocean current has extended the dry season. The ministry said the warmer temperatures have sped up the mosquitoes’ lifecycle.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Neil Morales reported this story for Reuters news agency. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English.

_____________________________________

Words in This Story.

dizziness –n. being unable to keep one’s balance or being unable to stand;

faint –v. to lose consciousness;

pupil –n. a student;

heat index –n. an index that combines several different conditions that aims to express what the weather “feels like” rather than what the reading is from a thermometer;

heat stroke –n. any of a number of bad effects that come from the body getting too hot;

dehydration –n. a condition in which the body does not have enough water causing several dangerous health problems;

uniform –n. clothing worn by all members of a group, such as in schools or in the military, that is the same for everyone;

lifecycle –n. all the different stages in the life of a living thing;

Study: Most Americans Need More Sleep (Voice of America learning English April 28, 2024)

Less than half of Americans say they are getting enough sleep, according to a recent opinion study by the Gallup organization.

The poll found that 57 percent of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep. Only 42 percent say they are getting as much sleep as they need.

Gallup carried out the same kind of study in 2013. That time, the results were different. Fifty-six percent said they got enough sleep, while 43 percent said they did not get enough sleep.

Women under the age of 50 were the most likely to report they are not getting enough rest. Only 27 percent of women in that group said they usually get all the sleep they need.

The poll also asked people to report how many hours of sleep they usually get each night. Only 26 percent said they got eight or more hours. Many sleep experts say adults should aim for eight hours of sleep a night.

Just over half of the respondents reported getting between six and seven hours of sleep a night. And 20 percent said they got five hours or less. That number increased from 2013, when 14 percent of respondents reported getting five hours or less.

Justine Broughal is a self-employed event planner with two small children. She is 31 years old. Her 4-month-old son still wakes up throughout the night. After her 3-year-old daughter goes to bed, she still needs to do some work in the house. That makes it difficult for her to get the sleep she needs.

“I really treasure being able to spend time with (my children),” Broughal says. However, she added that it can reduce the amount of time for her to rest and take care of herself.

Claude Fischer is a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He said that American culture has valued hard work and productivity since the first European immigrants arrived. He added that the religious beliefs of some groups connected hard work with approval from God.

Working hard, he said, “has been a core part of American culture for centuries.”

Late-night relaxing

Some Americans also say their busy workdays make them want to stay up late. After a long day of work, spending time at night on social media or watching television can help them lower stress or have some time to themselves. But this reduces the number of hours they can sleep.

Liz Meshel has experienced this. The 30-year-old American is temporarily living and doing research in Bulgaria. But she also works a part-time job on U.S. hours to help pay her bills. That means she sometimes works until 10 at night local time.

When it is close to her bedtime, she said she thinks about the time she did not have for herself during the day. So, she decides to watch television and look at social media instead of getting to sleep earlier.

That, Meshel said, “will always make the problem worse.”

I’m Andrew Smith.

Deepti Hajela and Linley Sanders wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

Words in This Story.

respondent -n. a person who answers one or more questions;

treasure -v. to value highly;

sociology -n. the study of society or the way it is organized;

core -n. the center or most important part of something;

Huge 3D Printer Aims to Cut Building Time, Labor Costs (Voice of America learning English April 29, 2024)

American researchers have developed a new model of what they say is the largest 3D printer in the world.

The device is designed to build full-sized homes faster and for less money than traditional methods.

A team at the University of Maine said the printer is four times larger than the last one the university built in 2019. That device was named the world’s largest polymer 3D printer by the Guinness World Records organization.

Developers of the new printer said it can create objects up to 29 meters long, 10 meters wide and 5.5 meters high. The machine can use up to 227 kilograms of printing materials per hour.

It was recently introduced to the public during an event at the university in the town of Orono. The latest model received new robotic abilities, additional sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, said Habib Dagher. He leads the project for the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composite Center.

Dagher noted his team could build even larger printers in the future after the university opens a new building this summer. “We’re learning from this to design the next one,” he said.

The old 3D printer was used in 2022 to build a 55-square-meter model home made from a mixture of wood fibers and a plant-based plastic material. The home, called BioHome3D, was first printed in four parts before the pieces were moved to a permanent spot at the university. A team then connected the pieces and completed the building in just a few hours.

Officials in Maine said such large 3D printers might be able to help the state meet a growing demand for housing. State housing officials have suggested Maine will need to build another 80,000 homes over the next six years to keep up with demand.

The university aims to demonstrate that homes can be built almost completely with printers that do not harm the environment. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that building-related industries produce about 37 percent of greenhouse gases. The gases come from the production and use of materials including cement, steel and aluminum.

3D printed buildings can also be recycled, which is unusual in the building industry. “You can basically deconstruct it,” Dagher said. “You can grind it up if you wish, the 3D printed parts, and reprint with them, do it again.”

Dagher added that in addition to cutting down on building time and costs, the 3D printer was designed to make homes that look nice. “We wanted to build a house that people would say, ‘Wow, I really want to live there.’”

The team said it plans next to experiment with different printing materials. The researchers would like to use more wood found locally since Maine is the most heavily forested state in the U.S.

The machine can also be used to print other objects, such as boats or government structures, the developers say. Dagher said upcoming projects with the new printer will include a large boat and small homes to serve the area’s homeless population.

University of Maine Chancellor Dannel Malloy said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided most of the money for the printer, which cost several million dollars.

I’m Bryan Lynn

The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

________________________________________

Words in This Story.

polymer – n. a chemical substance of large molecules that is made from many smaller and simpler molecules;

fiber – n. a structure that is similar to a thread in the body;

greenhouse gas – n. a gas in the Earth’s atmosphere that can trap heat;

cement – n. a powder substance used in building that is mixed with water and sand to make a hard substance;

deconstruct – v. to break something down into parts;

grind – v. to crush something into small pieces or a powder;

Family Life in Britain.Семейная жизнь в Британии.

 Family Life in Britain.

A "typical" British family used to consist of mother, father and two children. But in recent years there have been many changes in family life. For example, since the law made it easier to get a divorce, the number of divorces has increased. That's why 24% of British children live with only one parent, usually their mother.

The contemporary British child doesn't have a lot of companionship from brothers and sisters, because the average family has only one or two children. Most British children live with their parents at least until they finish school at the age of 17 or 18. Then many go away to college, leaving some parents sad and lonely in their empty nest and others enjoying their release from parental responsibilities. But many adults stay with their parents during their college years or return home after graduation. Today's parents cannot even be sure that their married children have moved out forever. After a divorce they may return to the parental home temporarily or even on a long-term basis.

Older people take pride in their independence, enjoy their freedom and don't want to be a burden to their children. The telephone, the car and the airplane keep them in close contact even when they live in different parts of the country.

Members of family — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousinskeep in touch, but they see less of each other than they used to. This is because people often move away from home town to work and so the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions. Although the family group is smaller nowadays than it used to be, relatives often travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together. Family parties may be all the more joyous when they bring together relatives who haven't seen each other for a while.

 Questions:

 1. Why do a lot of British children live with only one parent?

 2. What can you tell about the contemporary British child?

 3. Are there many adults staying at their parents' place?

 4. Older people take pride in their independence, don't they?

 5. What is the traditional season for reunions?

 Vocabulary:

 divorce — развод

 to increase — увеличиваться

 contemporary — современный

 responsibility — ответственность

 temporarily — временно

------------

 Семейная жизнь в Британии.

 Типичная британская семья всегда состояла из матери, отца и двух детей. Но в последние годы в семейной жизни произошло много перемен. Например, с тех пор как закон упростил процедуру развода, количество разводов увеличилось. Поэтому 24% британских детей живут только с одним родителем, обычно с мамой.

 Современный британский ребенок не ощущает большой поддержки братьев и сестер, потому что средняя семья имеет одного или двух детей. Большинство британских детей живут с родителями самое меньшее до тех пор, пока не закончат школу в возрасте 17 или 18 лет. Затем многие отправляются в колледж, оставляя одних родителей печальными и одинокими в опустевшем гнезде, а других наслаждающимися освобождением от родительских обязанностей. Но многие совершеннолетние дети остаются с родителями во время обучения в колледже или возвращаются домой после окончания. Сегодняшние родители отнюдь не могут быть уверены, что их женатые дети уехали навсегда. После развода они могут вернуться в родительский дом временно или на долгое время.

 Старые люди гордятся своей независимостью, наслаждаются ею и не хотят быть обузой своим детям. Телефон, машина и самолет помогают им поддерживать контакт, даже если они живут в разных частях страны.

 Члены семьи — бабушки, дедушки, тети, дяди, кузины — общаются между собой, но они реже, чем раньше, видят друг друга. Происходит это потому, что люди часто уезжают из дома на работу, и поэтому семья оказывается разобщенной. Рождество — традиционный период для воссоединения. Хотя семьи сейчас меньше, чем раньше, родственники преодолевают сотни миль, чтобы провести праздник вместе. Семейные вечера становятся веселее, когда они собирают вместе родственников, которые долго не виделись.