【685-688】Elon Musk Shows Off High-Speed, Underground Tunnel
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AS IT IS
Elon Musk Shows Off High-Speed, Underground Tunnel
December 19, 2018
Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., arrives in a modified Tesla Model X electric vehicle during an unveiling event for the Boring Company Hawthorne test tunnel in Hawthorne, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. (Robyn Beck/Pool
Businessman Elon Musk has demonstrated part of a planned high-speed, underground transportation system in California.
Musk is best known for founding electric carmaker Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX. But two years ago, he announced on Twitter plans to launch a new company.
His tweet said the business, later formed as the Boring Company, would seek to ease traffic in the city where he lives, Los Angeles.
“Traffic is driving me nuts,” Musk wrote. So he promised to build a tunnel-making machine and to “just start digging.”
Musk says the Boring Company’s aim is to make a series of tunnels in Los Angeles and other cities. The company is developing equipment to dig faster and make the process more cost effective.
Elevators would lower passengers and vehicles into the tunnels. Musk said vehicles could travel at speeds up to 241 kilometers an hour. He wants to use electric, self-driving vehicles to move people around the city.
On Tuesday, Musk showed off the first experimental passageway, which stretches 1.8 kilometers through a neighborhood near Los Angeles. An entrance to the 3.6-meter-wide tunnel is on land belonging to the Boring Company and SpaceX.
Some reporters and invited guests were permitted to test out the system. They first got inside a specially-equipped Tesla Model S, which drove them from the Boring Company to a “station” at the other end of the tunnel. Currently, the station is nothing more than a wall-less elevator built near some homes. The elevator lowered the Tesla into the tunnel, about nine meters below the surface.
The vehicle then waited for a control light to turn green before beginning its trip. An Associated Press news agency reporter said her trip, from one end of the tunnel to the other, took three minutes. For the test, the car traveled at about 64 kilometers an hour. This was far slower than Musk’s target of 241 kilometers an hour.
The reporter described her ride as a bit “bumpy,” as the Tesla shook repeatedly during the trip. Musk admitted to some bumpiness. He explained that “we kind of ran out of time” and said there were equipment problems.
The businessman said such problems are common with test models and promised that future systems will run as “smooth as glass.” The Tesla test car was equipped with special side wheels that were deployed to help keep the vehicle stable during the ride.
Musk also took his own test drive and received a warm welcome from people waiting at the other end of the tunnel. He told the crowd he considered his first ride “epic.” He said he was excited for the first test of the system, which he calls the “loop.”
Musk said a completed system of numerous tunnels could hold up to 4,000 vehicles an hour. He has plans to continue expanding the system in Los Angeles and other cities.
In June, Chicago chose the Boring Company to build a 27-kilometer underground system linking the city’s downtown to the city’s main airport. The company has also proposed an East Coast system to link the city of Washington, D.C. to areas in neighboring Maryland.
However, the Boring Company has already faced opposition. Some groups have expressed concerns about how building and operating such a system would affect local communities.
The “loop” system is separate from another transportation project Musk has worked on called Hyperloop. He has said that system would operate with electromagnetic technology and forced air. It intends to use electric vehicles to carry between 8-16 passengers between major cities at speeds up to 1,000 kilometers an hour.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on information from The Boring Company, Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
drive me nuts – phrase. to annoy, bother or frustrate
tunnel – n. long passage that runs underground or through a mountain
elevator – n. machine that carries people up and down, usually inside buildings
guest – n. visitor; someone who has been invited
bumpy – adj. not smooth
stable – adj. firmly established; permanent
epic – adj. of great importance
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AS IT IS
Vietnam to Increase Electricity Production with Natural Gas Imports
December 19, 2018
Liquefied natural gas can be transported by ship and needs infrastructure to be used as a fuel.
Vietnam plans to start using liquefied natural gas, or LNG, by the year 2020.
Although Vietnam has said it would be hurt by the effects of climate change, it plans to move forward with plans to import LNG.
The decision shows how difficult it is to balance energy costs with efforts to protect the environment.
Le Van Luc is with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. He said that as the economy grows, energy supplies have not kept up with demand.
He said that, for many years, his country was an energy exporter.
“However, in 2015, we became a net energy importer, especially of coal and natural gas,” he added.
Climate change concerns compete with energy needs
Vietnam is home to nearly 100 million people. It was among the nations that sent representatives to the recent climate change talks in Katowice, Poland. The United Nations gathering failed to set targets for the reduction of carbon gases linked to rising temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere.
Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand, plan to burn more coal to meet their energy needs, yet they fear the effects of climate change.
Vietnam is turning to imports of liquefied natural gas partly because policymakers believe there are limits to renewable energy.
Luc notes that the country is reaching the upper limit of electricity production from dams. Wind and solar power are more costly than LNG.
The United States wants Vietnam to use LNG because U.S. companies could export it.
Last week, the U.S. government organized a conference on natural gas. At the event, the U.S. consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, Mary Tarnowka, warned of energy shortages in southern Vietnam. She said that the city has economic growth of 10 percent, but energy is needed to fuel that growth.
“All of this is creating a growing middle class, and a society and culture that is growing as quickly as their energy demands,” she said.
Tarnowka added that demand for energy is growing at nearly eight percent this year.
Natural gas has traditionally been transported through pipelines. But for longer distances, it can be cooled into a liquid, so that it can be shipped in containers. In this way, LNG could be transported across the Pacific Ocean from U.S. businesses.
Once it arrives, Vietnam needs technology to turn LNG back into gas so it can be used as fuel. U.S. companies and government agencies are advising on the necessary infrastructure and equipment.
Le Van Luc said, “The difficulty and challenge for Vietnam is that we have yet to have any experience in constructing or operating LNG infrastructure.”
Luc noted that Vietnam is investing in electricity from wind and the sun. But, he said fossil fuels, like natural gas, are still needed.
Le Viet Phuy is an environmental economist with Fulbright University Vietnam. He said the country needs a mixture of ways to produce energy. Le said the country will continue to use coal and increase natural gas while other energy also will be used more. But, he noted that renewable energy is costly.
“We have seen renewables picking up speed recently, but it will be years until we see some significant impact on the system,” he said.
I’m Mario Ritter Jr.
Ha Nguyen reported this story for VOANews.com. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
net – adj. related to the amount or value of something after all costs and charges have been taken away
solar – adj. of or related to the Sun
infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures that are needed for a country, area or organization to operate
challenge – n. a difficult task or problem, something that is hard to do
construct – v. to build
significant – adj. important
impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect
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AS IT IS
Climate Change Leading to Strange Poisonous Fish
December 19, 2018
Fishing boat Shikishima-maru captain Yukio Yamamoto, 49, flanked by his mother Yoko, 70, cleans pufferfish near Ohara port in Isumi, east of Tokyo, Japan November 21, 2018. (REUTERS/Issei Kato)
People in Japan pay good money to eat the deadly pufferfish. There, the food is called fugu. The fish can cost more than $100 a kilogram. Eating fugu is especially popular now, during the winter holiday season.
But in the last few years, the fugu market has seen a change. The part of the ocean where pufferfish live is warming quickly. In answer, pufferfish are traveling north to find cooler water. Along the way, new kinds of poisonous fish are being created.
These pufferfish hybrids worry government officials. They are afraid people will accidentally eat them and die. The Japanese government has ordered fishermen and fish traders to throw away any hybrids that they catch.
Some industry workers strongly object to the order. They note that hybrids have poison in the same areas as regular pufferfish. Trained cooks and fish butchers know how to remove the areas that contain the poison. Usually the poison is in the fish’s liver and reproductive organs, or sometimes the skin or muscle.
Naoto Itou leads a seafood-processing company in the city of Shimonoseki. He disagrees with the government’s rule to throw away pufferfish hybrids. “But we have to follow the rules,” he says, “because if there’s any problems it leads to hysteria.”
The Japanese take pufferfish danger seriously. A supermarket in western Japan once accidentally sold some pufferfish that had not had their poisonous livers removed. The town used its missile alert system to warn residents.
The danger linked to the fish may be one reason for its popularity. One man who fishes for pleasure said, “Some people like it when they feel a bit of tingling on their lips.”
A high-end fish seller adds that the fish tastes good. But the seller, Koichi Kushida, notes that pufferfish hybrids are a concern. As more hybrids appear in the market, Kushida checks all the fish himself.
“When we hand it to our customers, we have to be sure it’s absolutely safe,” he says. “We can’t have any problems.”
But in truth, even experienced fish handlers and scientists cannot always identify the hybrids. The one certainty is that the hybrid population is increasing. And this rise of mixed pufferfish is another example of the effects climate change is having on sea creatures.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
The Reuters News Service reported this story. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
hybrid - n. an animal or plant that is produced from two animals or plants of different kinds
butcher - n. someone who cuts and sells meat in a shop
hysteria - n. a situation in which many people behave or react in an extreme or uncontrolled way because of fear, anger, etc.
tingling - n. a feeling like the feeling of many small sharp points pressing into your skin
customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business
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AS IT IS
US Included on List of Deadliest Countries for Journalists
December 19, 2018
FILE - In this April 30, 2018 file photo, relatives, colleagues and friends of AFP chief photographer, Shah Marai, who was killed that day in a second suicide attack, carry his coffin in his village, Guldara, a district of Kabul province, Afghanistan. (AP
The number of journalists killed worldwide for their work nearly doubled this year. That information comes from a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The New York-based group reported that 34 journalists were killed because of their work as of December 14, while at least 53 were killed in all. That compares to 18 retaliation killings among the 47 deaths confirmed by the committee in 2017.
The new report lists the name of Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote opinion pieces for The Washington Post. Khashoggi was a native of Saudi Arabia, but fiercely critical of its ruling family. He went missing on October 2 during a visit to Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic offices in Istanbul. Turkish officials claim he was attacked and killed inside the consulate.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last week that the United States is still investigating the killing. However, the Central Intelligence Agency found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in Khashoggi’s murder.
U.S. President Donald Trump has condemned the violence against journalists. Yet the committee noted that he has called some “enemies of the people.”
In addition to retaliation killings, media workers have died in armed conflicts or on dangerous reporting assignments. The deadliest country for journalists in 2018 has been Afghanistan, where 13 journalists were killed, the report said. Some died from suicide bombers whose actions were claimed by the militant group Islamic State.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders noted that the United States made it into the top five deadliest countries for journalists this year for the very first time.
Six journalists were killed nationwide. They included four who were among five people killed by a gunman who attacked the offices of Maryland’s Capitol Gazettenewspaper on June 28. The shooting was the deadliest single attack on the media in recent U.S. history. The man had lost a defamation case against the newspaper.
Two other journalists died while reporting on extreme weather conditions.
In addition, the committee said the imprisonment of journalists has been on the rise.
“Changes in technology…have allowed more people to practice journalism,” the committee said. It added that the same technology has made journalists less important to criminal groups who once needed the media to spread their message.
Time magazine last week recognized jailed and killed journalists as its “person of the year.” By name, they included Khashoggi and workers at the Maryland newspaper. The other honorees were reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, jailed in Myanmar, and Maria Ressa, held in the Philippines.
Journalists have died this year in Slovakia, where 27-year-old reporter Jan Kuciak was shot while investigating suspected corruption.
The committee said that at least four journalists were murdered in Mexico, two in Brazil and two Palestinian journalists were killed by Israeli soldiers during protests in the Gaza Strip.
In Syria and Yemen, two countries with violent civil wars, the fewest journalists were killed since 2011. Three were killed in Yemen. In Syria, the committee recorded nine deaths compared to a high of 31 in 2012.
I’m Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
journalist – n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and producing stories for newspapers, television, or other medium
retaliation – n. to do something bad to someone who has hurt you or treated you badly; to do something to answer an action
assignment – n. a duty or job; the act of asking someone to do something
defamation – n. the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something
allow – v. to permit; to let
practice – v. to carry out; to perform
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