 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from The Voice of America. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower, and we use words and phrases, especially written for people learning English. Coming up on the program, Katie Weaver has a story on the spread of bird flu in South America. Brian Lin has the science report on the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse. Later, Jill Robbins and Gina Bennett present the lesson of the day. But first, Anna Mateo reads one of the winning entries from our Teach Us About Ukraine writing contest. My name is Nadia Keban. I am from Cherkasy, and this is my essay. They come in white, red, orange, brown, and yellow. They are the flowers in the gardens of Ukraine. And they are the lessons that I learned from childhood. As a child, I remember plenty of snowdrops in my grandmother's garden. The fragile petals managed to blossom despite a heavy snowstorm. I wanted to bring the white flowers into the house, but I was not permitted to step on them or to pick them. My parents said, We must all cherish the snowdrops. There is no use in withered flowers. Little did I know back then that snowdrops were very rare, and they almost disappeared. I did not know it was more important to have them in the garden. Luckily, there were people who knew better. They created a reserve in Holognia to protect and care for those beautiful white flowers. They taught me to care for and protect even the smallest things. I lived in a village where children always helped to take care of its flower beds. At school, our class weeded beds of roses nearby. It was great fun to be outdoors in the fresh air. Moreover, the roses looked splendid. They smelled sweet in the sun, and girls used to pin them in their hair. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can still smell the beautiful roses. The first time I worked in a bed of roses, I prickled my hand with small but sharp thorns. I did not know that such beauty could hurt you. I understood then that it took much pain to gain something so beautiful. That was one of the most important lessons in my life. If I want something, I must be ready to work hard for it. The roses taught me to be persistent and hearty. And the roses showed me no pain, no gain. What comes to your mind when you hear the word garden? I see marigolds. I see orange, brown, and yellow marigolds. There are so many marigolds in the gardens of Ukrainians that it is hard not to notice them. People sing songs about marigolds. They are everywhere, under the apple trees, in the strawberries, near the fences, in the flower beds, and even on the roads. I used to plant marigolds with my mother. We gathered the seeds in autumn. Then we shared and exchanged the seeds with our friends or neighbors. I have warm memories of my family sitting on the bench in front of the marigold beds. My father told stories and we chatted and joked. Marigolds remind me of home and the best moments of our lives. They taught me to share and communicate, to be a daughter and a friend. I'm Anna Mateo. The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading more aggressively than ever before since its arrival in South America in 2022. It is killing wild birds and marine mammals on the continent. Reuters recently spoke to eight experts in bird flu science. All said, the current spread raises the risk of the virus becoming a bigger threat to humans. The more immediate concern is that the disease, which once affected mostly bird life, appears to be spreading between mammals. The disease has already killed several dolphins in Chile and Peru. It has also killed about 50,000 seals and sea lions along the coasts and at least half a million birds across South America. Scientists have not yet tested infections in living animals to confirm mammal-to-mammal passage of the virus, but they believe it is very likely. It's almost certainly happened, said Richard Webby. He is a virologist at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It's pretty hard to explain some of these large infections and die-off without having mammal-to-mammal spread. The same version of the virus has appeared in many bird species. Among them are migrating species, scientists told Reuters. As climate change continues, animals are forced to move into new territories. Often mixing with animals and viruses that are new to them. It's a matter of time before you will detect the first South American strain in North America, said Alonso Alfaro Núñez, a viral ecologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. The growing concern led the Intergovernmental Pan-American Health Organization, PAHO, to gather health experts and officials for a meeting this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group plans to launch the world's first regional program to supervise bird flu spread. The program will run observation and response efforts, a PAHO official told Reuters. Since the virus was first detected in Colombia in October 2022, there have been two known cases in humans on the continent. One was in Ecuador, the other was in Chile. Birds passed the virus in each case. The patients survived, but often H5N1 kills. About 60% of human cases of the virus end in death. The World Health Organization is unlikely to raise the H5N1 risk level for humans from the current low right now. The experts would require evidence of human-to-human transmission or signs of viral changes that would target humans, experts said. Several drug makers have said they are developing bird flu vaccines for humans. We're seeing the virus do little evolutionary steps that are on the long term moving towards a potential human infection, said Ralph Van Streels. He is a researcher at the University of California, Davis. He is studying South American variants of H5N1. With health officials and experts meeting in Rio this week, Latin American countries will be pressured to increase disease surveillance in the wild. The region's data is lacking and limited resources have left scientists struggling to understand how the disease is spreading in the wild. Scientists expect the number of cases is probably much higher than reported. Some cases are not getting laboratory testing. Bolivia, for example, did not register a case in the wild last year. But the disease has been reported in surrounding countries, said Manuel Jose Sanchez Vazquez, a disease expert for Pajos Animal Health Center. Overseeing, the disease response can also be complex, Sanchez noted. Public health officials deal with threats to humans. Agricultural experts and veterinarians deal with health threats to farm animals, including birds, cows, and pigs. But for wild animal health, care and supervision is provided mostly by environmental officials. The new Regional Commission is expected to be announced on Thursday. The group would aim to set methods for observing, treating, and reporting cases among government agencies. It could also help in sharing laboratory resources. We are worried and we are vigilant, Sanchez said. The more adaptation of the virus to mammals, the more likely it is that transmission to humans could happen. I'm Katie Weaver. A total solar eclipse will take place in North America on April 8th. Millions of people will be able to fully experience the event, which is expected to darken the sky for more than four minutes. A total solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon, and earth perfectly line up. This results in sunlight being blocked. The quality of the observations will depend on weather and the position where people watch the eclipse from. The path of totality, meaning places where people will see a total blockage of the sun, will stretch across areas of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. People in North America who are outside of this path will still be able to see a partial eclipse. The American Space Agency, NASA, says the eclipse will begin over the South Pacific and reach Mexico's Pacific Coast at around 11.07 a.m. Pacific time. It will then enter the United States in Texas. The path of totality will then pass through a series of states before heading out from the northernmost state of Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Ontario and move across the nation before leaving northeastern Canada into the Atlantic. An estimated 44 million people live inside the 185 kilometer-wide path of totality with about 32 million in the U.S. The eclipse is expected to last four minutes and 28 seconds, about twice as long as the one that darkened skies in 2017. The U.S. is not set to see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse until 2045. NASA's Eclipse Watch program is led by Kelly Kurek. She told the Associated Press, the eclipse will permit many people to experience the wonder of the universe without going very far. People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial eclipse. The farther these people are from the path, the less the sun will be covered. For example, experts say Americans farthest from this path, such as in the northwestern cities of Seattle and Portland, will see about one-third of the sun blocked. As was the case with past eclipse events, people are being warned about the dangers of looking directly at the sun during the event. Since normal sunglasses are not considered effective protection, special eclipse glasses are suggested for eclipse watchers. The glasses should only be removed during moments when the sun's face is covered during complete totality. A total solar eclipse develops in several different parts or stages. The event starts with a partial eclipse as the moon begins to pass between Earth and the sun. During this stage, a partial blockage leaves the sun looking a bit like a banana. During the next stage, called Bailey's Beads, points of light from the sun shine around the moon's edges. This effect is produced by the moon's differing landscapes. NASA notes this stage is quite short and may not last long enough to be noticeable to all observers of the total solar eclipse. In the diamond ring stage, a single bright spot appears along the lunar edge even as the sun's atmosphere leaves a ring of light around the moon. This effect, which comes right before totality, looks similar to a diamond ring. After totality, the other stages then repeat as the moon keeps moving along its path until the end of the eclipse. Total solar eclipses generally happen every few years, often in the middle of nowhere, like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse will arrive in 2026. It will be observable along the northern edges of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. North America will not experience totality again until 2033, with that one only passing over Alaska. It will happen next in 2044, with totality limited to western Canada and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota. The next coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the U.S. is expected to happen in 2045. NASA says that one will stretch from northern California to Cape Canaveral, Florida. I'm Brian Lin. Brian Lin is here now to talk more about his science report. Thanks for joining me, Brian. Sure, Dan. Glad to be here. This week's report dealt with an upcoming total solar eclipse arriving in North America on April 8th. We learned that only people within a certain path will experience complete totality during the eclipse. What can people outside this limited path expect to see? It has been explained that the path of totality will start in Mexico before entering the southern U.S. in Texas and will keep passing over a stretch of the country until exiting the state of Maine and then heading towards Canada. While people in the path of totality will see the sun completely blacked out, those in other areas will not. But they will see a partial eclipse still and it will really depend on how close they are to that path of totality that will determine how much sunblockage they see. The report notes that these total solar eclipses generally happen every few years. What can you tell us about the next one? Yes, that total eclipse is set to arrive on August 12th, 2026. And this time it will not be passing over North America. Instead, experts say totality will be visible for people in Russia, Greenland, and parts of Europe. In Europe, the path of totality will move across Iceland, Spain, and Portugal. And that eclipse is expected to last two minutes and 18 seconds. So that one will be quite short compared to the one coming to North America next month which will last about four and a half minutes. Well, I'm pretty excited for April 8th. I hope it's a sunny day. Thanks again for joining me, Brian. You're welcome. Thank you, Dan. Hi, Gina. Did you hear Anna's having a party? No, I didn't. It's this weekend? Yes, and you just gave me an example of what I want to talk about today. What are we talking about today? Restating using intonation to clarify what you heard. And you did that by raising your voice at the end of a sentence, like this. It's this weekend? So it's not really in the question form where we usually change the order of the subject and verb. Instead, here we are using the same word order but adding rising intonation to clarify we heard correctly. That's something really useful for people learning English, isn't it? You bet. And let's learn English lesson 10. We see Ashley going over to Anna's house. Let me guess. She'll ask about how to get there? You just did it again. I'm really good at this. Let's listen. Hi, today my friend Ashley is coming over. I'm showing her my new apartment. That's Ashley calling. Hi, Anna. I'm coming to your apartment. Where is your apartment? My apartment is near the Columbia Heights Metro. It is near the Columbia Heights Metro? Yes, exit the Metro and turn right. Then at the bus station, turn left. Then walk straight ahead. How many times did you hear Ashley restate what she heard using rising intonation? I think she did it twice. It is near the Columbia Heights Metro. And exit Metro, turn right, turn left, then go straight ahead. I'm Gina Bennett and you're listening to Voice of America's Learning English podcast. I think there's another good point we can teach from this lesson, Dr. Jill. What's that, Gina? The verb forms are all in the imperative. Sometimes we call it the command form. I get confused when someone gives me directions using a different form. I know what you mean. So this is just the simple verb, no endings, exit, turn, go. Let's hear how Anna says it again. Yes, exit the Metro and turn right. Then at the bus station, turn left. Then walk straight ahead. I noticed Anna tried to help Ashley with some more information, a landmark to look for. Listen to what she says about a coffee shop. Okay, exit Metro, turn right, turn left, then go straight ahead. Yes, my apartment is near a coffee shop. Okay, see you soon. Hi, Ashley. Hello, Anna. Which coffee shop? There are three coffee shops. Okay, my apartment is across from a big department store. A big department store? Ah, I see it. Hey Jill, did you notice? Ashley did that thing again with raising her voice at the end of a sentence to make sure she understood about the department store. Hi Ashley. Hello, Anna. Which coffee shop? There are three coffee shops. Okay, my apartment is across from a big department store. A big department store? Ah, I see it. In the next lesson, lesson 11, we see Marcia is helping Anna find things in her neighborhood. There's the usual question you hear when someone is asking directions that begins with where is. Marcia, before we get ice cream, I need to return three books to the library. Where is the library? It is on this street, on the corner. That's right, you can ask that way, or you can use another expression. Anna needs to mail some letters, so she asks. Anna, what are those in the book? Marcia, these are letters to my family and friends back home. Four letters. Is there a post office near here? I'm Jill Robbins, and you're listening to Voice of America's Learning English podcast. Marcia helps Anna, but doesn't send her to the post office. Let's listen. Um, no. The post office is far from here. But there is a mailbox across from the store. Awesome, let's go. Marcia, now I need to buy stamps. Do you have cash? No. Is there a bank near here? There is a bank behind you. Now I have cash. I can buy stamps. That store sells stamps. Wait here. I have stamps. Wow, you're fast. Thank you. Thank you, Letters, for sending my words, my love, to my family and friends back home. Do you have more cash? I do. Ice cream! The bank is near our apartment. Even hair salons and ice cream. Until next time. I noticed she helped her with two things she needed, money and stamps. That reminds me, Gina, are you driving to Anna's party on Saturday? I plan to. Why? Do you need a ride? You guessed it. That's another kind of question. I asked you a yes-no question, but I really wanted to ask for more information. Like, your question leads to another one. Can you give me a ride? Sure, I'd be glad to. If you don't mind riding on the back of my motorcycle. Sounds like fun. See you on Saturday. And that's our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. And I'm Dan Novak.