 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Dan Novak. And I'm Dan Friedel. 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 reports on Chinese migrants to the United States who are increasingly taking a dangerous path through Panama. Dan Friedel has a story on Native American sheepherders, and I have the science reports on research about Antarctica's preserved ancient landscape. Later, Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins present the lesson of the day, but first... The trip through the Darien Gap Forest area in Panama has become increasingly popular with migrants, thanks to social media. Panamanian officials say, in the first nine months of 2023, only Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, and Haitians crossed the Darien Gap in greater numbers than Chinese people. Chinese migrants who seek this path first travel to Ecuador. The country does not require Chinese citizens to have visas to enter the country. Once in Panama, the migrants travel north to the U.S.-Mexico border. Chinese asylum seekers spoke to the Associated Press as well as observers. They told of fleeing an increasingly repressive political climate and worsening economy. The pandemic and China's COVID-19 border policies temporarily slowed emigration. Now people are again leaving, as China's economy is struggling and youth unemployment is high. The United Nations has projected China will lose 310,000 people through emigration this year, compared with 120,000 in 2012. The movement is known as Rongxu, or the study of running away. The term started as a way to trick government agents who control internet content. The term uses a Chinese character that sounds like the English word run, but means too lightly wet. Now Rongxu is an internet meme. Kaixia leads the online commentary site Yibo, and is a former professor at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. She says the movement represents the despair many in the country are feeling. They've lost hope for the future of the country, said Kai, who now lives in the U.S. You see among them the educated and the uneducated, white collar workers, as well as small business owners, and those from well-off families. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 22,187 Chinese for crossing the border illegally from Mexico from January through September. That is an almost 13 times increase from the same period in 2022. Such arrests reached 4,010 in September, up 70% from August. Chinese migrants now represent the ninth highest nationality at the U.S. border, and the highest outside of Mexico, Central, and South America. The huge majority were single adults. Migrants from China join Latin Americans in Ecuador to travel north through the Darien. They continue across several Central American countries before reaching the U.S. border. The trip is well known enough that it has its own name in Chinese. Walk the Line or Zoxia. Social media has supported the movement through the Darien Gap. Short videos and messaging sites provide information, as well as step-by-step guides on how to go from China to the U.S. They include advice on what to bring, where to get guides, how to survive in the wild, and more. There are sites that even tell migrants how much money to pay police for favorable treatment in different countries. The trip can cost a migrant thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Many migrants who spoke to the AP did not give their full names. They said they were fearful it would hurt their chances for asylum. Some said they came for economic reasons and paid as much as $56,000 for the trip. In recent weeks, Chinese migrants have made camps in the California desert, as they wait to surrender to U.S. officials and ask for asylum. Near the small town of Hakumba, hundreds crowded along a border wall. Others tried to sleep on large rocks nearby, or under the few trees in the area. Small campfires keep them warm overnight. Without food or running water, the migrants depend on volunteers who provide water and simple meals. I'm Katie Riever. Members of the Native American Navajo Tribe in Arizona have been raising sheep for over 500 years. The Navajo started working with sheep when Spanish colonists brought the animals to North America. They raised them for meat to eat and wool to keep warm. And it helped turn the Southwest into a center of economic activity. But that way of life is in danger of the spread of the virus. Navajo people are raising fewer sheep for several reasons. It is harder to get a permit to do so. Younger people are not interested in being shepherds, and climate change is making it harder to get food and water for the sheep. In past years, Navajo families in the large Western states of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico raised hundreds of sheep. The sheep were of the well-known Churro breed. Now, many families are only raising a few. Some have completely given up. Amy Begay is 25. She has been working with sheep since she was a girl. At first, her family gave her small jobs. When it was time to butcher the sheep, she collected their blood in a container and held their legs. But now, she competes in butchering competitions. At a recent competition called the Miss Navajo Nation Pageant, she had to cut the sheep into parts in a limited amount of time. She said she respects the work of butchers. We butcher the sheep because it is a way of our life, said Begay, who won the competition. That's how my ancestors were able to provide food for their families. There is another Navajo family called the Begays, and they work with sheep. On most days, J. Begay Sr. takes the sheep out to Greys, near the community of Rocky Ridge, Arizona. He uses a walking stick for support, and takes dogs along to keep the sheep moving in the right direction. The family had about 200 sheep in the past, but have since reduced their numbers to 50. His son, J. Begay Jr., said a friend told him, you can't blame people for not wanting to work this hard. Begay added that it is harder now because of climate change. A long stretch of dry weather called a drought has reduced the number of sheep. The Navajo Department of Agriculture said there were about 200,000 sheep in 2017. The next count is in 2024, and they expect the number to be lower. Water is hard to find, and a recent Supreme Court decision said the U.S. government is not required to find water for the Navajo Reservation. Valentina Clisto is a past pageant winner, like Amy Begay. She said when she visited other Navajo communities, the people complained about the lack of water. She said dry weather means the sheep cannot find grass to eat. Instead, those who raise the animals must pay for costly food. Lester Craig remembers when his family had 600 sheep. His mother would sell their wool to buy school clothes. Craig stopped raising sheep because his family lives on land polluted by a nearby uranium mine. An accident in 1979 made their water unusable. He now has to travel about 30 minutes to a filling station to get water for his family and the few animals they have left. In addition to climate change, pollution, and water problems, Navajo members say the U.S. government is restricting the number of animals that can live on the land. Some have to wait for years for grazing permits. Miranda Lauder said her family had 300 sheep five years ago. They only have 10 now. Although many worry about the future, Lauder is hopeful. She said more education and better land management can eliminate some of the recent problems. She added that the land just needs time to heal and recover. We just need to give the land time to breathe, she said. I'm Dan Friedel. Antarctica has not always been a land of ice and snow. Earth's southernmost continent once was home to rivers and forests full of life. Scientists are using satellite observations and radar imagery to look deep under the ice. The researchers report finding a large ancient landscape buried under the continent's ice sheet. It is full of valleys and ridges, shaped by rivers before being covered by glaciers long ago. The landscape is located in East Antarctica's Wilkes land area. bordering the Indian Ocean. It covers an area about the size of Belgium. The researchers said the landscape appears to date to at least 14 million years ago, and perhaps beyond 34 million years ago, when Antarctica entered its deep freeze. The landscape is like a snapshot of the past, said Stuart Jameson. He is a professor of glaciology at Durham University in England, and co-leader of the study published in the journal Nature Communications. It is difficult to know what this lost world might have looked like before the ice came along, but it was certainly warmer back then, Jameson added. Depending how far back in time you go, you might have had climates that ranged anywhere from the climate of present-day Patagonia through to something more approaching tropical. Such an environment likely would have been populated by wildlife, Jameson said, but the area's fossil record is too incomplete to know which animals may have lived there. The ice above the ancient landscape measures about 2.2 kilometers to 3 kilometers thick, said study co-leader Neil Ross. He is a professor of polar science and environmental geophysics at Newcastle University in England. The researchers said the surface of the planet Mars is better known than the earth's surface below the ice in Antarctica. They said one way to learn more would be to drill through the ice and take a piece of the earth below. This could uncover evidence showing ancient life, as was done with samples taken in Greenland dating back 2 million years ago. Some earlier studies have uncovered ancient landscapes beneath Antarctica's ice, including mountains, but the landscape discovered in the new study was the first of its kind. Right before 34 million years ago, Antarctica's landscape and wildlife was likely similar to today's cold, temperate rainforests. That includes places like Tasmania, New Zealand, and South America's Patagonia area, Ross added. Antarctica was once part of the Gondwana Supercontinent that also included what is now Africa, South America, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula. But it eventually split off in a process called plate tectonics. Jameson said the researchers think that when Antarctica's climate was warmer, rivers flowed toward a continental coastline that was created as the other land masses broke away. When the climate cooled, he said, some small glaciers formed on hills next to the rivers, with valleys deepening as glaciers eroded. When the climate cooled even more, an ice sheet grew which covered the whole continent, Jameson added. Eventually, the landscape got preserved, likely for 34 million years. Hi Dan, that's a really interesting story on Antarctica today. So, Antarctica wasn't always just ice and snow? No, and a little more than 34 million years ago it was once full of rivers and forests and probably full of wildlife. And what's interesting is that this landscape is preserved under three kilometers of ice. I didn't know any of this myself until writing the story. Well, three kilometers of ice is a lot of ice. Do we know what kind of wildlife lived in Antarctica at the time? No, the fossil record is too incomplete to know exactly what lived there. But the researchers say the climate of Antarctica at the time was like the cold temperate rainforests of today. So places like Patagonia in the southern part of South America in Argentina. But somehow if we could get down below the three kilometers of ice, the landscape would still be preserved. Do you think we're ever going to find out more about what used to live there? Scientists said one way to learn more would be to drill through the ice and take a piece of the earth below. This could show some evidence showing ancient life. Something similar was done in Greenland, which is also largely covered with ice and glaciers. Actually, the surface of Mars is better known than the earth underneath Antarctica's ice. Well, I can tell you one thing for sure, Dan. They're going to need a really, really big drill. Thanks for answering my questions, Dan. My name is Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. You're listening to The Lesson of the Day on The Learning English Podcast. Welcome to the part of the show where we help you do more with our series Let's Learn English. The series shows Anna Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. Today we're going to talk about a sport some call America's sport. That's because in Lesson 31 Anna is trying to go to a baseball game. Ah, so that's why Lesson 31 is called Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I'm sure you know that song, Andrew. For our listeners, it's a song that they sing at the baseball parks during a short break in the play. People are encouraged to get up and stretch their legs while they sing the song. Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the park. I think one reason they started that is because baseball games can be long, sometimes three hours or longer. You're probably right, Andrew, but things have changed. At the beginning of this year's season, they decided to use a new rule called the pitch timer. It makes the players move into place quickly and throw the ball or hit the ball within the set time. The games are now about a half hour shorter. That's good news. Maybe I will go see a baseball game then. Let's see what Anna is doing in Lesson 31. Hi there, sports fans. Baseball is America's sport. Today I am going to Nationals Park. It is home to Washington D.C.'s baseball team, the Washington Nationals. Hi, Jonathan. Hi, Anna. Where are you going? I am taking a bus to a Nationals baseball game. Don't take the bus. A taxi is faster than a bus. Oh, good idea. You know, I love baseball. That's great. Have fun. Anna says goodbye to Jonathan, but then runs into another friend on the street, Ashley, and she gives her some advice about getting to the ballpark. Remember, Jonathan told Anna, don't take the bus. A taxi is faster than a bus. But Ashley doesn't think that is such a good idea. Hi, Anna. Hi, Ashley. Where are you going? I am going to see a Nationals baseball game. What time is the game? Seven o'clock. Do you have a ticket? No, not yet. Anna, you should go a lot earlier than seven o'clock. That is why I'm taking a taxi. Anna, that is not a good idea. A bicycle is faster than a taxi. Traffic is always a problem in Washington, D.C. But you learn some ways to get around, even when the streets are crowded. Ashley is telling Anna that she should go by bicycle to the ballpark. That is a good idea. Bikes can ride around a line of cars. But I'm not sure Anna has a bike. I don't think she does. And she tells Ashley. Oh, Ashley. Ashley, Ashley, Ashley. A car is faster than your bicycle. That's why Ashley tells her. In D.C. traffic, sometimes a bicycle is faster than a car. Did you notice her pronunciation there, Jill? I think this is another one of those reduced forms we always find in natural speech. Yep, it is. Let's listen to how to pronounce host John Russell explain in our pronunciation practice video. When English speakers use comparative adjectives, they sometimes do not pronounce the word then clearly. Ashley says, In D.C. traffic, sometimes a bicycle is faster than a car. So you may hear someone say, The metro is faster than a taxi. There, you hear a reduced vowel, the schwa, a, instead of the sound a. Listen, then, then. You know, we could give some examples with some other adjectives to compare ways to get to the baseball park. Oh, like riding a bicycle is cheaper than taking the metro. And taking the metro is cheaper than taking a taxi. Notice also, we use the verb take with both taxi and metro, but we say ride with bike. And of course, we use drive if we are driving a car. In lesson 31, Ashley tries to lend Anna her bike. She soon learns that Anna can't ride a bike. Let's listen to that part. In D.C. traffic, sometimes a bicycle is faster than a car. And right now, there is a lot of traffic. Good point. But I don't have a bicycle. Okay, Anna, you can use my bicycle. Thanks. I really want to learn how to ride one. What do you mean, learn how to ride a bike? Oh, Anna. Well, it looks like Anna is going to have to find another way to get to the game. Let's finish the lesson and see how she gets there. You know, Anna, the metro is faster than a taxi and a bicycle. You want to take the metro. It's that way. Good idea. Okay. See you later. Bye, Anna. Bye. The metro was a lot faster than a bus, taxi, or bike. And now I'm at National Park. This might be a good chance for our listeners to practice their pronunciation by talking about two means or two ways of transportation in their own town or city. Pick a place you want to go and tell us about the different ways you can get there. Send us an email at learningenglishatvoanews.com or write your comment on our YouTube video. And remember that there are dozens of episodes of the Let's Learn English series you can watch to help you learn English. And don't forget, on our website learningenglish.voanews.com, each episode of the Let's Learn English series comes with a lesson plan. You can download to help you learn more or even teach English to others. Thanks for listening to The Lesson of the Day on the Learning English Podcast. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. And that's our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Dan Novak. And I'm Dan Friedel.