20180419: 美国之音(voa)慢速英语 30分钟
美国之音(voa)慢速英语 30分钟
内容：
1_Trump Confirms CIA Chief’s Meeting with Kim
2_Former US First Lady Barbara Bush Dies at 92
3_‘Smart Farm’ Technology Tracks Behavior of Cows
4_the Making of a Nation （无文本）
<1>文本：
Trump Confirms CIA Chief’s Meeting with Kim
A South Korean army soldier passes by a TV screen showing file footage of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday his Central Intelligence Agency chief secretly met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump wrote on Twitter, (CIA Director) "Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed.”
The president added, “Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearizationwill be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!”
Trump had said on Tuesday the United States and North Korea "had talks at the highest level.” He said the two sides are considering five places for his meeting with Kim, which could take place by early June.
Pompeo is Trump’s nominee as Secretary of State, the nation’s top diplomatic position. Pompeo has said he hopes the two leaders “can have that conversation and will set us down the course of achieving a diplomatic outcome that America and the world so desperately need.” He spoke last week at a Senate hearing on his nomination.
Trump also said he supported South Korea’s plan to negotiate an official end to the Korean War.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim are set to meet on April 27. A South Korean official said Wednesday that peace talks are a possible subject. But the discussion of officially ending the war would need to involve the other countries, like the U.S. and China.
After news reports of Pompeo’s meeting with Kim, China said it welcomes direct contact and talks between the U.S. and North Korea.
China’s foreign ministry said it hopes the two sides will resolve tensions on the Korean Peninsula and set up a plan for peace.
The two Koreas are technically still in a state of war. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
Japan’s interests
Trump’s comments came during his two-day meeting in Florida with Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe.
Abe praised the U.S. president for his position on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. He said, "Donald, you demonstrated your unwaveringdetermination in addressing the challenge of North Korea.”
The prime minister also raised issues of concern to Japan, including North Korea’s kidnapping of Japanese citizens.
I'm Mario Ritter.
Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English. His story was based on reports from VOA and the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
smoothly - adv. without any problem delay and with ease
summit - n. highest level
denuclearization - n. removal of nuclear weapons
conversation - n. a talk involving two persons, parties
course - n. path or direction
achieve - v. to reach a goal
desperately - adv. having a strong need or desire to do something
unwavering - adj. continuing in a strong and steady way
address - v. to deal with an issue, problem
challenge - n. a difficult task or problem
<2>文本：
Former US First Lady Barbara Bush Dies at 92Former US First Lady Barbara Bush Dies at 92
First Lady Barbara Bush poses with her dog Millie in 1990. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
Barbara Bush died Tuesday at her home in Texas. She was 92 years old.
Her husband of 73 years, former United States President George H.W. Bush, was with her at the time.
Barbara Bush reportedly suffered from problems with her heart and lungs.
Just two days earlier, her family had announced that her health was getting worse and she had decided to stop receiving medical treatment.
Second in history
Barbara Pierce Bush was born in 1925 in New York. Her father published magazines for women. Her mother was active in community service.
Young Barbara Pierce was admitted as a student at Smith College in Massachusetts. While there, she met George Herbert Walker Bush. They married in 1945.
She and George Bush went on to have six children. Their second child died of cancer at age three. Their oldest child, George Walker Bush, went on to become the 43rdpresident.
As such, Barbara Bush is one of two women in U.S. history to be both the wife and mother of a president. The other was Abigail Adams, who died 200 years ago, in 1818.
White hair and pearls
Bush was known to be a strong supporter of her husband and family. As recently as 2016, she campaigned for her son Jeb, who was competing against Donald Trump and others for the Republican Party’s nomination for president.
As First Lady, Bush was known for her commitment to literacy. She set up an organization to support reading skills, especially among young children.
And Bush was known for her physical appearance and funny way of speaking. Her brown hair began to turn gray when her daughter was sick with cancer. Bush was not yet 30, yet she refused to color her hair to appear younger. In time, her hair became all white. She said it helped people see her as “everybody’s grandmother.”
Bush was also linked to a necklace she often wore. The piece of jewelry was made of three lines of pearls. Many Americans noted approvingly that the pearls were not real, although Bush’s family was wealthy and she could buy fine jewels. And some liked the reason Bush gave for wearing the necklace – she said it hid the wrinkles in her neck.
These details and others helped give Bush a public image as someone who seemed to be an ordinary person with common sense.
Tributes
Barbara Bush was also sometimes criticized for speaking in a way that seemed sharp or insensitive to others. But this week, famous Americans have only kind words for the former first lady.
President Donald Trump called her a supporter of the American family. Former president Barack Obama noted her generosity, humility, and decency.
Former president Bill Clinton, who defeated Bush’s husband when he sought re-election, called Barbara Bush “a remarkable woman. She had grit and grace, brains and beauty.”
And former president George. W. Bush said this: “Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you for all your prayers and good wishes.”
Her funeral will take place Saturday in Houston, Texas.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Some of the information in her report came from the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
commitment - n. a promise to do or give something
literacy - n. the ability to read and write
grandmother - n. the mother of your father or mother
wrinkle - n. small line or fold that appears on your skin as you grow older
ordinary - adj. not unusual, different, or special
generosity - n. the quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish
decency - n. polite, moral and honest behavior and attitudes that show respect for other people
remarkable - adj. likely to be noticed
grit - n. mental toughness and courage
grace - n. a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving
<3>‘Smart Farm’ Technology Tracks Behavior of Cows
In this March 28, 2018, image made from a video, a cow stands in a pasture on Seven Oaks Dairy in Waynesboro, Ga. On the cow’s neck is a device called “The Intelligent Dairy Farmer’s Assistant,” created by Connecterra. (AP Photo/Marina Hutchinson)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived on the farm.
A Dutch company has developed technology to follow the movements and activities of cows. The high-tech system, powered by AI and motion sensors, is called “The Intelligent Dairy Farmer’s Assistant.”
The company, Connecterra, launched the system in the United States in December 2017 after several years of testing and operations in Europe.
A device is put around the neck of the cow to record its movements. This information is then processed by a computer that uses AI to learn about the animal’s behavior over time.
The system can tell farmers what the cow is doing in real time.
This information can help predict when cattle get sick, become less productive or are ready for mating.
Richard Watson owns the Seven Oaks Dairy in Waynesboro, Georgia. He was one of the first American farmers to use the high-tech system.
“It can pick up whether the cow is eating, whether it is ruminating, whether it is walking, whether it is drinking, whether it is laying down, standing up.”
Watson said the system is a big help because it is impossible for farmers to keep up with the activities of each cow individually.
He added that having a computer identify which of his 2,000 cattle need attention could help improve farm productivity by up to 10 percent. He estimates this difference could greatly increase his profits.
“Just a 10 percent or five percent increase, or improvement in productivity, means hundreds of thousands of dollars to us, aside from the fact that we just want happier and healthier and more welfare in our animals, anyway.”
Watson says he sees the technology being used in many large farming systems if it continues to be successful over time.
The founder and head of Connecterra is Yasir Khokhar. He says the idea for the system came while he was living on a dairy farm south of Amsterdam.
“It turns out the technology farmers use is really outdated in many respects,” Khokhar told the Associated Press. He added that most of the technology that does exist is difficult to use. He says modern agriculture greatly needs new technology like this.
The company says information about the cows can be collected and seen on a cellphone or other mobile device. A text message can also inform farmers of concerns involving the animals.
Some American farmers are using other sensor equipment to receive messages about their cows.
Moocall, a business based in Ireland, says its products can send farmers a text message when their cows are ready to give birth. A device put on the cow’s tail measures the number of contractions to predict the most likely time of birth.
The company also sells a product called Moocall HEAT. It says this device uses temperature sensors to predict the exact time a female is in heat, the time that she is ready for mating.
Mary Mackinson Faber is a fifth-generation farmer who lives near Pontiac, Illinois. She said such devices could be great tools to inform farmers about the condition of their cows before problems happen.
“That if a cow is calving it will shoot us a text, and we can – you know – come out here and check on it.”
Faber added that while the technology is a very useful tool, she believes it will always take more than machines to do what is right for the animals.
“There are certain tasks that it can help with, and it can assist us, but I don’t think it will ever replace the human.”
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Ryan Nakashima reported this story for the Associated Press. Bryan Lynn adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Words in This Story
artificial intelligence – n. the ability of a machine to reproduce human behavior
ruminate – v. to bring up and chew again what was already chewed and swallowed
welfare – n. the state of being happy and healthy
outdated – adj. no longer useful or acceptable: not modern or current
contraction – n. a strong, painful movement of muscles experienced during the birthing process
task – n. a piece of work given to someone
<4>
<the Making of a Nation>
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