'Ever' in Questions. (May 3, 2024 Voice of America learning English)

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Shenchuan in China.

Question.

I really want to know the meaning of will ever be able to.

Thanks,

Shenchuan from China

Answer.

Thank you for writing, Shenchuan. I am happy to answer this question.

“Will ever be able to” is a verb phrase. “Will be able to” refers to possibility at a future time. “Ever” is an adverb. In an Ask a Teacher years ago, we explained several meanings of “ever.” One meaning is “at any time.”

The word often appears in the phrase when someone is asking a question. For example,

Have you ever been to Zanzibar?

What is the best movie you have ever seen?

The difference in usage of “ever” in a question is so small that you might not even notice at first. But it is important to fully understand the meaning of “will ever be able to.”

Often, we use “ever” in questions such as “have you ever” to add emphasis, or strength, to a sentence. We might use “ever” if we expect people to agree with us, or have the same answer. For example,

Have you ever heard a better definition?

Have you ever been yelled at for just asking a question?

In these examples, “ever” shows a strong feeling.

We can also use “ever” with a question we believe will have a negative answer or feeling. And, we might not even expect an answer. For example,

Did you ever think about me?

Will I ever be able to climb Mount Everest?

In these examples, we use “ever” because we think the answer is no. And we may not expect anyone to actually answer the question.

We hope this explanation has helped you fully understand the meaning of “will ever be able to,” Shenchuan.

Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Gena Bennett.

Gena Bennett wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

usage–n. the way a word or phrase is used.

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.

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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.

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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;

In Vietnam, New Rice Growing Methods Aim to Reduce Methane (Voice of America learning English April 28, 2024)

Farmers in Vietnam are growing rice using a new method thought to reduce emissions of methane gas and labor costs.

The method is called alternate wetting and drying, or AWD. It uses about 30 percent less water than traditional ways of growing rice. It also uses small flying vehicles called drones to put nutrients in the soil.

Traditional rice farming methods flood fields with water. The water stops oxygen from entering the soil. Low amounts of oxygen permit more methane-producing bacteria to grow.

Scientists say methane can trap 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a short period of time. Climate scientists say releasing methane into the atmosphere increases the warming of the earth. A 2023 United Nations report said rice farming makes up about eight percent of all human-made methane in the atmosphere.

Vietnam is the world’s third-largest rice exporter. Boats carry rice up and down the Mekong River, and the grain is an important food in Vietnam.

Vo Van Van is a 60-year-old rice farmer who lives along the Mekong River. For the past two years, he has been using the AWD method with support from one of Vietnam’s largest rice exporters, the Loc Troi Group.

Van said using the drone to add organic fertilizer saves on labor costs. He says it is becoming harder to find people to work on the rice farms because more people are moving to the cities. The drone also puts the exact amount of fertilizer needed. Too much fertilizer causes the soil to release nitrogen gas. Nitrogen also traps heat in the atmosphere.

After the harvest, Van does not burn the remains of the rice plants. Instead, the Loc Troi Group collects the extra plant material. It then sells it to other companies. These companies can use the remains to feed livestock and grow mushrooms.

Van said the AWD method helps him in several ways. It lowers his costs while the amount of rice he produces is the same. Using organic fertilizer helps him sell for a higher price in European markets. He also has more time to take care of his own garden. “I am growing jackfruit and coconut,” he said.

Nguyen Duy Thuan is the chief of the Loc Troi Group. He said the AWD method uses 40 percent less seed and 30 percent less water. The Loc Troi Group said the method is used on 100 hectares of rice farms. Thuan said the company wants to expand AWD farming to 300,000 hectares.

The Vietnamese government aims to grow low-emissions rice on 1 million hectares by 2030. Vietnamese state media reported that officials said the method could reduce production costs by about 20 percent and increase profits by more than $600 million.

Effects of a changing environment

In recent years, the Mekong River’s water quality has changed. Dams in China and Laos have reduced water flow. Building projects cause problems because they use a lot of water and sand from the river. And rising sea levels have increased the amount of salt in the river’s large delta.

A recent study by Vietnam’s Water Resources Institute estimates rice farmers lost millions of dollars every year because of salty water.

Lewis H. Ziska is a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University in New York City. He said that using different methods of farming can improve water use. Growing more kinds of rice would also help. Some kinds can better resist hot weather or need less water, Ziska said.

Some rice farmers in Vietnam are already growing different kinds of rice. Nguyen Van Nhat is director of a rice export company. He said growers are using rice that can grow in salty water and in hot weather.

Two employees work in a warehouse packed with bags of rice packaged for shipment at Hoang Minh Nhat, a rice export company in Can Tho, Vietnam, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Two employees work in a warehouse packed with bags of rice packaged for shipment at Hoang Minh Nhat, a rice export company in Can Tho, Vietnam, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

He also said the export company is using different methods to dry the rice because of changes in the weather. He said unseasonal rains are making it harder to dry the rice in the sun. As a result, the company has built places to dry it in their factory. The company will also put machines to dry the grain closer to the rice fields.

“We don’t know which month is the rainy season, like we did before,” Nhat said.

I’m Andrew Smith. And I’m Jill Robbins.

Aniruddha Ghosal reported this story for the Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story.

emissions –n. gases released by a process;

alternate –adj. something that happens for a period and does not happen for the following period, repeating the pattern over time;

organic fertilizer –n. nutrients for plants that are considered organic, meaning they do not have man-made materials in them;

delta –n. a triangular area where a river flows into the sea and that has rich soil;

AI Tries Hand at Blending Coffee in Finland (Voice of America learning English April 26, 2024)

Human experts spend years roasting and tasting coffee from many places to learn about the beans. They might then combine a coffee bean from Africa with another one from South America to come up with a new blend.

But, a coffee roasting company in Helsinki, Finland is hoping that artificial intelligence, or AI, can help ease the workload.

Kaffa Roastery recently launched its “AI-conic” blend at the Helsinki Coffee Festival. The blend is a mixture of four kinds of beans, including Fazenda Pinhal from Brazil. It is the result of a joint project by Kaffa and Elev, a local AI business.

Elev told The Associated Press that its computer models, similar to ChatGPT and Copilot, created a blend that would “push the boundaries of conventional flavor combinations.”

Svante Hampf is the founder of Kaffa Roastery. He and his partners wanted to do an experiment to see what blend the computer would produce.

“We basically gave descriptions of all our coffee types and their flavors to AI and instructed it to create a new exciting blend,” Hampf said.

The “AI-conic” blend combined beans from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala. It is described as “a well-balanced blend of sweetness and ripe fruit.”

Hampf said he thought the combination was “somewhat weird.” He was surprised that the AI program chose to make the blend out of four different kinds of beans. Most humans choose only two or three beans.

However, after the first blind test of the new blend, Kaffa’s coffee experts agreed that the AI-assisted blend was perfect. There was no need to change.

Elev’s Antti Merilehto said “AI-conic” is an example of “how AI can introduce new perspectives to seasoned professionals.”

The International Coffee Organization says that the 5.6 million people in Finland drink the most coffee per person in the world. And the roasters at Kaffa said they hope the AI project will help to bring more things to the strong coffee culture in the country.

Hampf called it a “first step,” adding, “I think AI has plenty to offer us in the long run. We are particularly impressed of the coffee taste descriptions it created.”

I’m Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press.

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Words in This Story.

roast –v. to cook something over heat;

blend –v. to combine multiple flavors to come up with something new, for example, mixing three kinds of red wine;

conventional –adj. common, usual, traditional;

type –n. a categorization that shows the differences among one kind of thing, for example different grapes, or coffee beans;

flavor –n. how something tastes;

ripe –adj. ready to be picked and eaten or put to use;

weird –adj. strange, unusual;

perspective –n. a way of looking at things;

seasoned –adj. experienced;

We want to hear from you. Would you leave your morning coffee up to AI?

Pillbot Could Explore Inner Human Body (Voice of America learning English April 27, 2024)

A new, small robotic camera designed to be swallowed for use in medical examinations was recently demonstrated at a conference in Canada. The device called PillBot can be guided through a body remotely, meaning electronically from outside. Its creators hope the device will replace traditional endoscopies. An endoscopy is when a camera attached to a wire is directed down the throat and into a sleeping patient’s stomach.

The company Endiatx based in Hayward, California, developed the device. The research hospital, Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, is a partner in the project.

The PillBot is designed to be the first motorized endoscopic camera. Here is how developers say it works: A patient does not eat for one day, then swallows the PillBot with lots of water. The PillBot acts like a small submarine controlled by a wireless remote control. When the exam is complete, the body will expel the PillBot in the same way it expels other solid waste.

Dr. Vivek Kumbhari is co-founder of the company. He is professor of medicine and chairman of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. It is the latest step toward his larger goal of making complex medicine more accessible.

If endoscopies can be moved from a hospital setting to a patient’s home, he said, "then I think we have achieved that goal." Use of the device would require fewer medical workers and no anesthesia, he said. The device provides "a safer, more comfortable approach,” he added.

Kumbhari also said the technology is more efficient and permits people to get treatment earlier in the progress of a disease.

Alex Luebke is the co-founder of Endiatx. He said the PillBot can help people in rural areas where medical centers and treatment are lacking.

"Especially in developing countries, there is no access" to complex medical care, he said. "So being able to have the technology, gather all that information and provide you the solution, even in remote areas - that's the way to do it.”

The micro-robotic pill is undergoing testing. It could come before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for consideration in the coming months. If approved, the PillBot could be available by 2026.

Kumbhari hopes the technology can be expanded to the bowels, vascular system, heart, liver, brain and other parts of the body.

I’m Dan Novak.

Craig McCulloch reported this story for Voice of America. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story.

accessible — adj. able to be reached or approached;

achieve — v. to get or reach by working hard;

anesthesia — n. loss of feeling in a person's body or part of the body through the use of drugs;

comfortable — n. not causing any physically unpleasant feelings;

approach — n. to begin to deal with or think about;

bowel — n. the long tube in the body that helps digest food and carries solid waste out of the body;

vascular — n. of or relating to the veins, arteries, etc., that carry fluids through the body;

Why Is Methane Gas Coming Out of the Ground on Mars? (April 28, 2024 Voice of America learning English)

Scientists are seeking to find out what is producing the slow release of methane gas on Mars.

Methane often results from biological processes. On Earth, most of the gas comes from living creatures. For this reason, the American space agency NASA has been investigating methane levels on Mars in a search for signs of current or past life. So far, no evidence has been found.

But a new study is providing fresh details about methane on Mars. NASA’s Curiosity explorer, or rover, has repeatedly measured methane levels on the Martian surface. The rover arrived on Mars in 2012 and has been exploring areas around Gale Crater. This area is believed to have contained a lake at one time and has also shown other evidence of flowing water in the past.

NASA says Gale Crater is the only place where methane has been discovered. Even a spacecraft sent to collect data on the Martian atmosphere has not identified the presence of methane. That spacecraft, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, is operated by the European Space Agency.

In addition to only being discovered, or detected, around Gale Crater, the observations of methane happen only at night, NASA researchers recently reported. Levels also go up and down during different seasons and at times, rise sharply for short periods.

The mysterious methane releases leave scientists considering “a lot of plot twists,” said Curiosity project leader Ashwin Vasavada. But a NASA research group recently proposed a possible explanation for how the gas behaves on Mars.

The researchers theorize that all detected methane could be trapped, or sealed, underneath hardened pieces of salt in Martian regolith. Regolith describes soil that contains rock and dust that sits on or below the surface.

The scientists say increases in temperature might explain the differences in gas release. During certain seasons or times of day warmer temperatures could weaken the seal on the methane, causing gas to be released.

NASA said the research was led by Alexander Pavlov, a planetary scientist at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He said small amounts of methane could also be released when the regolith seal is broken by weight from above, for example, when the Curiosity rover drives over the area.

Pavlov said this theory could help explain why methane levels have only been discovered in the Gale Crater area. It is the only place on Mars where NASA’s Curiosity rover is currently active.

NASA has another rover working on Mars, Perseverance. But it has been exploring the Jezero Crater area on another part of the planet. Jezero Crater is also believed to have contained large water bodies in the distant past. But Perseverance is not equipped with a methane-detecting instrument.

Pavlov noted that the latest theory came from his memories of an unrelated experiment carried out in 2017. The experiment involved growing microorganisms in a simulated Martian environment that included frozen soil that contained salt.

During that experiment, researchers observed that the collection of soil on top formed an icy, salty crust. Changes in conditions caused the ice to melt, turning the solid material into a gas and leaving the salt behind.

Pavlov’s team tested five samples of frozen soil containing different kinds of salt material commonly found on Mars. A new set of Earth-based experiments was carried out in which the frozen material was exposed to different temperatures and air pressures inside an environment at Goddard that was designed to be like Mars.

The team was able to repeatedly copy the salt sealing process in Mars-like conditions during laboratory testing. The researchers said they plan to keep carrying out experiments under different conditions and using salt minerals to confirm their theory.

But the researchers noted that to carry out more detailed methane investigations, they will likely need a whole new generation of sensitive instruments. These would be designed to measure methane continuously from many places on Mars.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Words in This Story.

plot twist – n. an unexpected development that happens in a play, movie, etc.;

simulate – v. to do or make something that behaves or looks like something real, but which is not;

crust – n. the hard, dry layer on the surface of something;

expose – v. to remove what is covering something so that it can be seen;