VOA慢速听力【640-643】State Funeral to Honor Former US President...
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AS IT IS
State Funeral to Honor Former US President George H.W. Bush
Last Updated: December 03, 2018
The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)
Former United States President George H.W. Bush returns to Washington, D.C., Monday for the last time.
Americans plan to honor the 41st U.S. president with a state funeral on Wednesday.
Bush died last Friday at the age of 94. He served one term as president, from 1989 to 1993, after a long career in government service.
President Donald Trump has sent a presidential airplane to Texas to fly Bush’s body to Washington.
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The former president will lie in state inside the U.S. Capitol building from late Monday to Wednesday morning. Americans will then mark a national day of mourning for Bush, as the state funeral is held.
President Trump has ordered the federal government closed on Wednesday. And flags on public buildings are flying at half-staff for 30 days in honor of Bush.
Trump and his wife Melania are to attend the funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, as will other former presidents and their wives.
After the service, the body will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. On Thursday, it will be buried on the grounds of Bush's presidential library at Texas A&M University.
Bush will be buried next to his wife Barbara Bush, who died in April, and Robin Bush, a daughter who died in 1953.
What is a State Funeral?
In the United States, a state funeral is an honor set aside for those who have been elected president or other people chosen by the president.
The last state funeral was held in 2007 to honor Gerald Ford, the 38th president. The first national day of mourning was believed to be held in 1791 with the death of Benjamin Franklin, a founding father.
In 1799, the nation officially had its first state funeral with the death of George Washington, the first president. His funeral was held with full military honors at Mount Vernon, his home, in the state of Virginia. News of his death, however, was slow to spread across the country due to limited communication and travel at the time.
With improved technology, news spread more quickly when the United States held the state funeral for President Abraham Lincoln on April 19, 1865.
Lincoln was the first president to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Other leading Americans have also been honored with the tradition, including Senator John McCain earlier in the year.
Military honors usually accompany state funerals for presidents, as they also served as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
When Bush lies in state at the Capitol, his remains will be surrounded by a guard of honor representing the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
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I'm Caty Weaver.
Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
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Words in This Story
lie in state – idiom placing the body of a dead person in a public place so that people can see it and show respect
half-staff – adj. to hang on the middle of a flag pole
repose – n. a place of rest; lying at rest
library – n. a collection of books, important papers and other documents
accompany – v. to go with; to attend
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AS IT IS
Children Return to School after Deadly 'Camp Fire' in California
December 03, 2018
California Gov. Jerry Brown, second from left, looks at a students work book displayed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, that was found during a tour of the fire ravaged Paradise Elementary School Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
Monday marked a return to school for thousands of children who lost their homes to a deadly wildfire in Northern California.
In Butte County, California, schools have been closed since November 8, when the wildfire now known as “the Camp Fire” started. It quickly moved through the towns of Paradise, Concow and Magalia.
The Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in the United States in a century. It killed at least 88 people. Many others are still listed as missing.
The Paradise Unified School District lost eight schools to the wildfire. District officials were not sure how many of their nearly 3,500 students will report to schools that will temporarily replace those destroyed in the fire. Some families have left California. Others are staying with nearby relatives or friends. It is too far for some of them to drive to one of the temporary schools every day.
But nearly all the teachers are returning to provide a calm, familiar face to the children who are able to make it to class.
Jodi Seaholm’s daughter Mallory is about to turn 9 years old. In October, Mallory had radiation treatment to remove cancer in her brain and showed no fear, Seaholm told the Associated Press. But “this situation, with her house burning down, has absolutely devastated her,” she added.
“It’s important that the kids are able to stay together and have some sort of normalcy in the crazy devastation that we’re having now,” Seaholm said.
Two neighboring school districts have permitted children from Paradise to make use of available space in their school. Children who formerly went to Paradise Elementary School will go to school in nearby Oroville, California. Children from Ponderosa Elementary School will be at a school in Durham.
Paradise High School survived the fire. But the school building remains closed because officials have yet to let people return to the area.
The district does not yet have space for middle and high school classrooms. So for the 13 days before the start of the traditional winter break in the school year, students will learn through independent study. They will be given homework online and be able to visit a special drop-in center in Chico, California. Children going there can get help from teachers or visit other classmates.
Loren Lighthall, who heads Paradise High School, said studying will likely be less important than dealing with pain and reconnecting with friends.
“They don’t have their school, they don’t have their work, they don’t have their friends, they don’t have any of that stuff and we’re asking them to write … essays?” Lighthall said. “It’s just unreasonable at this point. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to be super flexible with what we require.”
Search crews have stopped looking for victims in burned cars and neighborhoods. But they remain available if people believe they find human remains when they are permitted to re-enter the community.
Forty-seven year old Marissa Nypl is living with her family at the home of her husband’s coworker in West Sacramento until they can move much closer. That is 145 kilometers from her 10-year-old daughter’s temporary school in Durham. It is too far to drive every day. But Nypl wanted to be sure her daughter is there with the other children on the first day back. It will likely be an important part of the healing process.
“They’re going to need something that they feel like is still a normal part of life,” Nypl said, noting just about everything in town is gone. “The school’s going to be the only thing they have … to feel like something’s still routine.”
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Jonathan J. Cooper reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. How can officials help students recover from the effects of the wildfire? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
district – n. an area or community; part of a territory
devastate – v. to bring to ruin; to wreck
kids – n. children
online – adj. connected to or involving a computer or telecommunications system
essay – n. a short piece of writing on a given subject
flexible – adj. easy to bend or influence
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AS IT IS
Trump Notes Relations with Xi, Possible New Trade Deal with China
December 03, 2018
President Donald Trump with China's President Xi Jinping during their bilateral meeting, Dec. 1, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote Monday of his "very strong and personal relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He added that a new trade deal between the two countries would help American farmers sell more of their products to China.
Trump’s comments appeared on the news and social networking service Twitter.
Stock prices in Asia, Europe and the United States rose Monday following reports about talks between Trump and Xi last weekend.
The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met face-to-face at the G-20 (Group of 20) meetings in Argentina. Each side agreed not to increase tariffs on the other's exports for the next 90 days while they negotiate details of a trade agreement.
Trump wrote on Twitter, "Relations with China have taken a BIG leap forward! Very good things will happen."
China's ministry of foreign affairs said Monday that the Chinese and U.S. presidents had agreed to work towards removing all tariffs.
Late Sunday, Trump tweeted that "China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40 percent."
The United States had a $335.4 billion trade deficit with China in 2017.
The two countries agreed to negotiate an end to their trade disagreements in the next 90 days. Experts say that is not a lot of time.
China's offers to buy U.S. agricultural, energy, industrial and other products are considered helpful to the negotiations. What will be more difficult are the other issues that U.S. officials said the two sides agreed on.
Those include the promises to immediately open trade talks on issues such as non-tariff barriers, services and agriculture. U.S. officials also want to talk about Chinese laws requiring the release of technology secrets by American companies that want to do business in China. They also want negotiations on issues like intellectual property rights and protection of cyber technology.
Raymond Yeung is an economist at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. He said that an end to trade war between the two sides would not come easily.
"Markets should not be too happy too early," he said, adding that the statement released by the Trump administration demanded a lot of changes from China for the U.S. not to increase tariffs.
Liao Qun is chief economist at China Citic Bank International. He said it was clear that both governments want to talk and work out their differences, but the agreement is only a “ceasefire.”
"There's still uncertainty that the trade war could be back on in three months," he said.
Both Yeung and Liao said the major issue could be what the Chinese government wants to do with its Made in China 2025 Initiative. That is a government policy that aims to end China’s need for other countries’ technology and make the Chinese economy like that of industrial nations.
Both Yeung and Liao told VOA they do not think China will overturn the policy. But some small changes are possible, Liao said.
“Maybe China can make concessions in other areas in exchange for keeping the plan…” Liao said.
Made in China 2025 is a 10-year campaign that China launched to help improve its technology. Many other countries worry the plan will only worsen trade problems.
The Made in China 2025 plan names 10 areas in which China seeks progress. They include information technology; robotics; medicine and medical equipment; and ocean engineering equipment.
An opinion piece in the Chinese Communist Party-supported Global Times said the meeting in Argentina had given both sides a chance to take important steps.
It added that the presence of White House trade policy adviser Peter Navarro at the meeting "was not necessarily a bad thing."
Navarro is one of the Trump administration’s strongest supporters of tariffs against China. The article suggested that his presence shows the deal with China has wide support in Washington.
VOA’s Bill Ide reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
tariff- n.a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country
networking– adj. of or related to an exchange of information or services
leap– n.a jump
intellectual property- n.something (such as an idea, invention, or process) that comes from a person's mind
cyber – adj.relating to online actions
uncertainty – n.something that is not sure; suspicion
initiative – n. the act of giving up something or doing something in order to reach agreement
concession– n. the act of giving up something or doing something in order to reach agreement
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Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador poses for a photo with the parents of the 43 missing Mexican students of Ayotzinapa, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
Mexico’s new president has taken first steps in leading the country as a “common man.” He says his rule marks the end of years of secrecy, high security and luxuryliving enjoyed by past presidents.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was sworn in Saturday to a six-year term. By Monday morning, he was already holding his first news conference.
Such events were extremely rare in past presidencies. Lopez Obrador told reporters that he plans to hold a press conference almost every day. He did the same as mayor of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005.
There have already been other signs of changes, too. Mexico’s presidential airplane, for example, has been sent to California to be prepared for sale. Mexico paid $368 million for the plane in 2012, just before Enrique Pena Nieto took office as president.
The decision to sell the costly airplane is part of the new leader’s push for austerity, or money-saving measures. Lopez Obrador plans to continue flying on commercial planes in coach, the lowest priced area of seats.
He arrived at Mexico City’s National Palace Sunday in the same small, white car he used before becoming president. He has refused the military bodyguards used by past presidents. Instead, he travels with a small team of assistants who also provide security.
“I feel safe, protected and supported by the Mexican people,” Lopez Obrador said.
I’m Ashley Thompson.
The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in This Story
luxury - n. a condition or situation of great comfort, ease, and wealth
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