【75,76,77】Volcanic Activity in Hawaii Affects US Travel

---

【75】AS IT IS

Volcanic Activity in Hawaii Affects US Travel

May 22, 2018

---

People take pictures as lava enters the ocean, generating plumes of steam near Pahoa, Hawaii Sunday, May 20, 2018.

Volcanic activity on Hawaii’s Big Island is keeping many travelers and their money away from the island.

Cruise ship operators have canceled planned stops on the Big Island. Hotels there expect many of their rooms to sit empty this summer, even with price cuts.

Many people work in the island’s tourism industry. They depend on the 2 million visitors who travel each year to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. They are now wondering how long their families will survive without a way to earn money.

Tourism officials say summer reservations for hotels on the Big Island have dropped almost 50 percent since Kilauea Volcano began erupting on May 3.

In this Saturday, May 19, 2018, photo released by the U.S. Geological Survey, lava flows from fissures near Pahoa, Hawaii.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the state’s top stop for tourists. Its closure is costing the island $166 million, the U.S. National Park Service reported Monday.

A park service report said the total amount of money lost grows to $222 million when officials include the almost 2,000 jobs indirectly affected by park tourists.

Tourism is the Big Island’s largest industry and employer. The Hawaii Visitors Bureau says it provided more than 30 percent of non-government jobs in 2017.

Erik Storm’s travel company, called EcoGuides, leads tours of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The business stopped operations a month ago when volcanic conditions made it too dangerous to visit.

Members of the media record a wall of lava entering the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii, Sunday, May 20, 2018.

“We have a family to support so we hope that the National Park will reopen again soon, otherwise this could have a serious impact on our life,” he said.

Tourists frightened by liquid rock

The volcano has showed no signs of slowing down. Scientists say the current series of eruptions is among the worst events in a century from one of the world’s most active volcanoes. In 1955, a series of eruptions from Kilauea lasted 88 days. It has been releasing lava and poisonous gas since 1983.

Possible visitors to the Big Island have been frightened by images of lava burning homes and soldiers wearing protection over their faces. More recent pictures showed deadly white clouds of acid and glass particles, as the liquid rock flows into the Ocean.

Lava flows into the Pacific Ocean, southeast of Pahoa, during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., May 20, 2018.

Kilauea’s lava flows are in a relatively small area. However, the volcano has harmed tourism across the island, which is home to 200,000 people.

Beverly Oka works at Uncle Billy’s Kona Bay Hotel, about 193 kilometers west of the lava flows. She says reservations at the hotel for the summer months are about 40 percent lower than normal.

Aerial view of erupting fissure 22 and lava channels flowing southward from the fissure during an early morning overflight during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, May 21, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Volcano Helicopters)

“We are not affected. We have some vog, but not more than usual,” said Oka. The term vog is short for volcanic smoke mixed with fog, which blows from Kilauea. Oka’s hotel is offering a 30 percent cut in prices to try to increase business.

Norwegian Cruise Line has ordered its cruise ships not to stop at the Big Island because of dangerous conditions. Royal Caribbean Cruises also canceled a planned stop at Hilo, the island’s largest city. Hilo is about 32 kilometers northeast of the volcano.

Kilauea Volcano eruptions, May 18

Rob Guzman and his husband fled their guest-house rental business just 10 km from the lava flow. They were worried about the ground shaking from the eruptions, clouds of sulfur dioxide gas and roads being closed.

“We’ve lost more than half of our household income and many other people will be in the same situation indefinitely,” said Guzman, who is staying with friends north of Hilo.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Jolyn Rosa and Andrew Hay wrote this story for the Reuters news service. Phil Dierking adapted their story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Have you had a trip canceled because of natural disasters? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

acid - n. a chemical with a sour taste that forms a salt when mixed with a base

cruise - n. to travel on a boat or ship to a number of places as a vacation

erupt - v. to send out rocks, ash, lava, etc., in a sudden explosion

impact - v. to have a strong and often bad effect on

income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

lava - n. melted rock from a volcano

otherwise - n. in a different way or manner

reservation - n. an arrangement to have something (such as a room, table, or seat) held for your use at a later time

---

【76】AS IT IS

UN Condemns Collective Expulsions of Migrants From Algeria

May 22, 2018

Migrants deported from Algeria gather to retrieve their belongings at the International Organization for Migration transit center in Agadez, Niger, May 6, 2016.

United Nations officials are calling on Algeria to stop the collective expulsions of thousands of migrants. The migrants are mainly from sub-Saharan Africa.

The U.N. Human Rights office condemned the expulsion activity as a violation of international human rights law. The U.N. office says Algerian officials carried out at least six mass expulsions of migrants in Oran, Duira and Boufarik between March 8 and April 19.

Ravina Shamdasani is a spokesperson for the U.N. agency. She said that raids are reportedly carried out at building industry workplaces and in neighborhoods where migrants live. She said police also stop migrants in the street and detain them.

Shamdasani told VOA that Algerian officials are taking the action without any examination or consideration of the individuals.

“We are told that people are often just arrested and detained without even checking their documents. Of the 25 people that my colleagues spoke to in Niger, only one said that she actually had her passport checked."

Shamdasani said many of the migrants were not permitted to get their belongings before they were expelled. She said some migrants were quickly sent to Niger.

Others, she said, have been detained in reportedly inhumane conditions in military bases.

“Nigeriens are transferred by bus to Agadez in Niger, while the others are crammedin to big trucks to be transferred to the Nigerien border where they are then abandoned and left to walk for hours in the desert heat."

Shamdasani said that the U.N. office has heard statements suggesting that the migrants who remain in Algeria are “very fearful.”

Shamdasani added that U.N. observation workers have expressed concern about these collective expulsions to Algerian officials. She would not discuss any answers they might have provided. But she said governments usually claim security issues as a reason for expulsions.

Under international human rights law, migrants are not to be subjected to arbitraryarrest or detention. They also are not to be arbitrarily deprived of property or documents. The law says migrant returns should be carried out in safe conditions and with respect.

I’m Caty Weaver.

Lisa Schlein reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Ashley Thompson was the editor.

___________________________________________________________

Words in this Story

sub-Saharan – adj. south of the Sahara Desert

cram – v. crowd into a small space

abandon – v. to leave without needed protection or care

arbitrary – adj. not planned or chosen for a particular reason

deprive – v. to take something away from someone or something : to not allow (someone or something) to have or keep (something)

---

---

【77】AS IT IS

Trump Suggests North Korea Meeting Could Be Delayed

May 22, 2018

---

President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office of the White House, May 22, 2018, in Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump says his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might not take place next month as planned.

“If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later,” Trump said. But he added, “There’s a good chance we’ll have the meeting.”

The president spoke during talks at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

United States officials had announced earlier that the talks between Trump and Kim would take place in Singapore on June 12.

On Tuesday, reporters asked the U.S. leader if that meeting would take place as expected. They noted statements in North Korean media and from officials questioning the timing of the meeting.

Trump said that he had noticed “a little change” in Kim Jong Un’s words after the North Korean leader made a second trip to Beijing earlier this month. Kim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit.

The U.S. leader said he hoped that Xi supported the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. He added that China had been weakening its border enforcement measures to continue the “maximum pressure” campaign against North Korea.

China is by far the North’s largest trading partner.

Mixed signals from North Korea?

Recent messages from North Korea have raised concerns about its willingness to negotiate. Last Wednesday, North Korea cancelled a high-level meeting with South Korean officials to plan for the upcoming summit.

The North said it objected to the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises currently being held.

A North Korean foreign ministry official said his country was not interested in “one-sided” negotiations.

This has led observers to question how willing North Korea is to carry out denuclearization and what that would mean for all sides involved.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced strong support for the summit. He said it is important to the “fate and future” of the Korean Peninsula.

Moon also said that recent efforts to bring North Korea back to negotiations have brought the dream of a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons “one step closer.”

Some observers are concerned that Moon has pushed too hard for the summit.

Some officials in the United States and other countries say that Trump has been questioning his aides and foreign leaders about the summit. They say he is asking whether he should proceed with preparations for the talks.

On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence said on national television that there is “no question” that Trump could still call off the meeting. He said that could happen if it appears that the talks would not lead to denuclearization.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Steve Herman reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted his report for Learning English with additional material from the Associated Press. 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

denuclearize - v. to remove nuclear weapons from a country or place

peninsula - n. a piece of land almost completely surrounded by water but still attached to a larger land mass

fate - n. the things that will happen to a person or thing : the future that someone or something will have

maximum - adj. greatest possible in amount or degree

summit - n. a meeting or series of meetings between the leaders of two or more governments

tough - adj. very difficult to do or deal with

prefer - v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else

---

---

往期回顾：

---

---

推荐：

---

还没听够看够？关注本公众号（漂泊者乐园微信公众号），定期收听收查看各种精彩内容。跑步入场还不晚哦。

（学习交流微信：littleflute）

特别说明：

漂泊者乐园微信公众号关键词回复说明:

关注本公众号（漂泊者乐园微信公众号），然后在后台回复以下相关关键词。

mv1     MV(音乐视频） MV10-17。

---

A. 如果您想收听全部中级美国英语内容，有两种方法:

(1) 在漂泊者乐园微信公众号回复：zjmgyy 。

(2）点击左下角的 阅读原文 。

B. 本平台（漂泊者乐园微信公众号）会不定期推送各种各样的在线资源，为了不错过收听查看机会，建议广大亲朋好友们关注本公众号（漂泊者乐园微信公众号）。

C. 本平台（漂泊者乐园微信公众号）主要推送以下几类资讯：

（1）各种英语学习资料。

（2）各种音乐学习资料。

（3）各种中国象棋学习资料。

（4）各种计算机学习资料。

（5）各种电子图书。

（6）各种MP3,MP4等音像资源。

D. 本平台（漂泊者乐园微信公众号）诚招合作者。有意者请联系 微信：littleflute。

---

提示： 
1. 回复  president  可收听查看所有《美国总统》文章。
2. 回复  park          可收听查看所有《美国国家公园》文章。
3. 回复  zjmgyy      可收听查看所有《中级美国英语》文章。
4. 回复  bztl           可收听查看所有 《VOA标准听力》。

---