【901-903】社交媒体驱动加州超级盛开的“启示录”&从前的村庄，非洲现在有内陆海洋&利维·施特劳斯再次上市
AS IT IS
Levi Strauss Goes Public Again
March 22, 2019
Bart Sights, head of the Eureka Lab, left, and Aykut Aygun, manager of technical innovation, give a demonstration on designing jeans at Levi's innovation lab in San Francisco, Feb. 9, 2018.
Levi Strauss is known as the company that gave America its first pair of blue jeans.
This week, the New York Stock Exchange suspended its "no jeans allowed" policy for one day to celebrate the company going public for the second time. Going public refers to an action a business takes to offer shares or stock that can be exchanged on the open market.
The new public offering comes at a time when Levi faces increasing competition and a changing market. The number of department stores is shrinking. And more women are wearing yoga pants or other athletic sportswear – a trend some refer to as "athleisure."
Marie Driscoll is with the luxury and fashion Coresight Research group. She said the "athleisure trend made denim not as comfortable. But denim brands [like Levi] have responded by adding stretch” to their jeans.
Levi Strauss has also tried to change its image. It focused on changing the fit of its women's jeans with more flexible fabrics. The company has also partnered with famous celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, and marketed at popular events, such as Coachella, a music and arts festival.
Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis invented jeans in the late 19th century. They received a patent to create workpants with rivets, a kind of metal support. The rivets made the workpants stronger in certain areas, such as the pocket corners.
The company, 166 years old, previously went public in 1971. It became a private company in 1985, a decision made by the founder's descendants.
Even with the new public offering, Strauss' descendants will likely still have a large influence over the company's major decisions.
Moving forward, Levi Strauss says it hopes to expand more into China, India and Brazil. It also plans on expanding its retail stores. As of late last year, Levi’s operated 824 stores.
I'm John Russell.
Anne D'Innocenzio reported on this story for AP. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
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Words in This Story
jeans – n. pants made of a strong cloth (called denim)
offering – n. the sale of a company's stock to the public
yoga – n. a system of exercises for mental and physical health
sportswear – n. comfortable clothes that people wear for informal activities; clothes that people wear for playing sports
patent – n. an official document that gives a person or company the right to be the only one that makes or sells a product for a certain period of time
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AS IT IS
Where Villages Once Stood, Africa Now Has an Inland Ocean
March 22, 2019
People take sacks of rice from a warehouse surrounded by flood waters from Cyclone Idai, in Beira, Mozambique, March 20, 2019.
Flooding remains a serious problem in Southern Africa more than a week after Cyclone Idai hit the area.
Idai is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the area’s history. The storm left hundreds of people dead and extensive damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Floodwaters are moving across central Mozambique. Many homes, some towns and villages are still underwater. The water has created an inland sea -- more than 2,500 kilometers wide -- in an area where there used to be farms and villages.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi estimated that the cyclone may have left as many as 1,000 people dead nationwide. There are fears the death toll could jump sharply when rescuers reach the countryside.
Heavy rainfall stopped Thursday, and floodwaters began to subside in the port of Beira and in the countryside, the Mozambican government said. Aid groups were working without rest to rescue families holding onto trees or standing on building tops to escape the water.
On Thursday, “910 people were rescued by the humanitarian community,” said Caroline Haga of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Beira. She spoke to The Associated Press.
Aid organizations are trying to get food, clean water and clothing to the areas hardest hit by the storm. They estimate more than 400,000 people across Mozambique are now homeless.
The country’s environment minister, Celso Correia, said the government plans to build two large camps to house people who have lost their homes.
Gerald Bourke is the United Nations’ World Food Program. He said it was unclear how the government would get people to those camps. “There’s talk of using…helicopters and boats.
It will be days before the water in Mozambique drains toward the Indian Ocean. It will be longer before officials fully understand the level of destruction.
In neighboring Malawi, at least 56 people are confirmed dead and more than 900,000 are homeless.
The search for survivors is finished.
Zimbabwe’s eastern mountains also were hit with heavy rain.
Aid has been slow to reach affected villagers because many roads and bridges were destroyed.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited affected areas on Wednesday. Government officials have said that as many as 350 people may have died in the flooding. The force of the water pulled some victims from Zimbabwe down the mountainside into Mozambique, officials said.
In one area, the district of Chimanimani, 90 percent of homes and property suffered major damage, the World Food Program said. It estimated that 200,000 people would need food assistance over the next three months.
Philemon Dada has been rebuilding his life in Chimanimani, once a beautiful town.
With a few tools, he began pulling long sticks from the water to build a shelter for his family. He believes it will be difficult to rebuild his life after Cycone Idai. He lost everything – his home and his animals.
Some people are living with neighbors and others with their religious leaders.
“I can say I am a bit lucky, my wife and son are still here with me but for everything else, I have to start (over),” he said.
“It may take a year, maybe even more years just to get back on my feet,” he added.
I'm Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in this Story
cyclone – n. an extremely large, powerful storm with high winds
toll – n. the number of deaths or injuries resulting from an event, such as a natural disaster or war
subside – v. to go down to a lower level
drain – v. to flow into, away from, or out of something
district – n. a part of a city or country
AS IT IS
Social Media Drives Super Bloom ‘Apocalypse’ in California
March 22, 2019
People pose for a picture among wildflowers in bloom Monday, March 18, 2019, in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A California city has been caught unprepared by people coming to experience a colorful “super bloom” of desert flowers.
We reported last week on this rare event happening in areas around southern California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The park sits about 250 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles. The area is usually a dry desert.
A super bloom is when huge amounts of desert flowers open, or bloom, at the same time. This year’s happening came after heavy rainfall during the winter. The rainy period was followed by warm, sunny conditions at the start of spring.
In the past, super blooms have only happened about once every 10 years. But this year’s event marked California’s second super bloom in just two years.
The area’s desert flowers include several different kinds of poppy plants. Park officials say among the blooming flowers are sand verbena, desert sunflower, brown-eyed primrose and desert lilies.
Large bursts of colorful blooms have also covered hillside areas and areas along roads in several communities. One such community is Lake Elsinore, a small city about 110 kilometers from Los Angeles.
Lake Elsinore has a population of about 60,000. Local officials say the super bloom has brought up to 50,000 people per day to the hillsides around the city.
One reason for the huge crowds is that so many people are sharing their pictures of the super bloom on social media. In fact, the hashtag #superbloom has been used more than 100,000 times on Instagram. Pictures are also being shared widely on Twitter and Facebook.
In the past two weeks, many super bloom fans came to Lake Elsinore to follow a hiking path through the local hillsides. The tens of thousands of visitors have caused problems for people who live and work in the area.
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The most serious problems have involved traffic. Local officials say the large crowds have made it difficult or even impossible for some local people to leave their homes.
Nicole Dailey is a spokeswoman for the city of Lake Elsinore. She told Reuters that, this year, the area saw a large increase in both blooming flowers and the number of visitors. “We did not expect the crowds that we saw,” Dailey said. “Our freewaysand our cities are not designed for crowds that you see in Los Angeles."
At one point last weekend, officials decided to close the hillside trail in Lake Elsinore to stop the flood of people. The city sought help from state and local police agencies to help deal with the traffic around the hillsides, where no public parking exists.
The mayor of Lake Elsinore, Steve Manos, wrote on Facebook Saturday that a city employee was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the area. He also said a visitor to the area was bitten by a rattlesnake. Manos told the Associated Press that the situation had been “insane,” even describing it as a “poppy apocalypse.”
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and online sources. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
freeway – n. a long, wide road, usually used by traffic travelling fast over long distances
insane – adj. shocking or outrageous
apocalypse – n. a great disaster or event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction