 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. Today, Dan Friedel has a report about China's production and sales of very low-cost electric vehicles and solar panels. Brian Lin presents this week's Technology Report, and we hear today's lesson of the day from Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins. But first, China can produce and sell a lot of very low-cost electric vehicles and solar panels. This worries the U.S. Treasury Department, President Joe Biden, and opposition candidate and former President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently brought attention to the abundance of products, such as car batteries and solar panels from China. She said they are exported at artificially depressed prices because of low labor costs and government support. Trump spoke at a political gathering late in March in Ohio. He said the U.S. needs to do something about the possibility of China's electric cars entering North America through Mexico. He said it could be a bloodbath or a huge defeat for the U.S. auto industry if that happens. The International Energy Agency in Paris said China accounts for 60% of electric vehicle sales around the world. China also produces 10 million more electric cars each year than it can sell within its own borders. That means China needs to find a way to sell the cars overseas. Eswar Prasad is an economist at Cornell University in the state of New York. He said China will aim to export products such as cars, steel, batteries and solar panels if its economy does not improve. American officials have been concerned about China's extra capacity for a long time. Speaking recently on a trip to China, Yellen talked about Saniva, a solar panel company in Georgia. It was forced to shut down at one point because it could not compete with low-cost products from China. It is important that this doesn't happen again, she said. Saniva closed in 2017. It reopened after getting financial support from the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress in 2022. Steel and aluminum imports from China sharply increased after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. In 2017, Donald Trump's administration put tariffs in place that turned American buyers away from those Chinese imports. Biden has kept the tariffs in place. Brad Setzer is with the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Treasury Department official. China said that China's overcapacity in solar cells, batteries and now electric cars is insane. China notes that the US also offers incentives to both businesses and people who want to purchase electric cars or solar panels. Some of the financial aid being offered to US car buyers is a violation of World Trade Organization rules. However, an international trade research group studied the issue. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC found that the financial aid China was offering its green industry in 2019 was more than double the amount of support coming from the US government to its industries in all forms. Both Presad and Setzer noted that while China is supporting industry, it offers few incentives to citizens to purchase Chinese goods. That leads to overcapacity. The two sides have agreed to discuss the problem. China says its less costly green products will help the world so the US should not oppose them. But China also notes that its overcapacity and lack of consumer spending is a problem if it wants to keep its economy growing. One China expert said another concern should be policies that place too much importance on one or two industries. Wang Anquan is an expert on industrial policy. He said China should coordinate the development of new technologies so that every province does not aim to develop the same industries. Speaking in China, Yellen said there should be protections so the US market is not flooded with low-cost Chinese products. I think the Chinese realize how concerned we are about the implications of their industrial strategy, she said. Adding, I think they have heard that this is an important issue to us. I'm Dan Friedel. ChatGPT developer OpenAI has introduced a new tool that it says can reproduce human voices with just a short audio sample. The tool is among several developed by technology companies that aim to clone voices with a high level of exactness. The system is called voice engine. OpenAI released details about voice engine on March 29. The company also released some examples of how the tool performs. The company explained in a statement that the system uses written instructions and a 15 second audio sample to produce or generate natural sounding speech in the voice of any speaker. OpenAI said it has been working on developing the tool since late 2022. It plans to continue developing it before releasing it to the public. The company said the delayed release represents a cautious and informed effort to prevent possible misuse. OpenAI said it began testing voice engine with a small group of trusted partners. This testing aims to help company officials decide how to improve the tool's safety and learn how it can be used for good across different industries. There have already been highly publicized examples of false or fake voice recordings that sound like well-known people and politicians. One such example was an AI manufactured voice claiming to belong to US President Joe Biden. The voice was turned into a message that was sent by telephone to voters earlier this year in the state of New Hampshire. In the fake audio, Biden appears to try to urge voters not to take part in presidential primary voting. Election officials in New Hampshire are still investigating the incident. OpenAI's statement identified such election risks. We recognize that generating speech that resembles people's voices has serious risks which are especially top of mind in an election year. There have been other examples of so-called deep fakes being used in political campaigns around the world. A deep fake is a piece of audio or video created to make it appear that people in it are saying or doing things that they never did. OpenAI said it is currently discussing how to limit these and other risks of such voice cloning systems. Technology experts have also warned such tools can be used to carry out financial crimes. For example, voices can be recorded and then reproduced to represent another individual in an effort to carry out fraud. The company said it has been in contact with US and international partners from across government, media, entertainment, education, civil society, and beyond. The aim is to get advice from people in these groups about the best ways to develop and deploy the system, OpenAI said. OpenAI said its early voice engine testers have agreed not to represent a person without their permission and to clearly state that the voices are produced by AI. The company is best known for its launch of the AI-powered chat GPT tool which was launched in November 2022. There are several other companies developing similar voice cloning tools. One of the most widely known is called Descript. The company explains on its website the AI-powered system can clone any person's voice with a 60 second audio sample. Descript also offers other services involving audio and video production. The company's website says users can choose a free plan that includes up to 1000 words of voice cloning. For $24, users can get unlimited voice generation, Descript said. OpenAI listed several possible uses for the technology tool. These include providing reading assistance to non-readers or children supporting individuals who cannot speak and helping patients recover their voice. The company said its voice engine system can work in several languages. One example of such use is taking an English voice recording and producing a new audio version in another language. In an example released online, OpenAI demonstrated a person's voice and style of speaking can remain the same in other targeted languages. I'm Brian Lin. Brian Lin is here now to talk more about this week's technology report. Hi Brian, thanks for joining me. Sure Ashley, glad to be here. This week you examined a new technology tool from OpenAI that aims to reproduce human voices with a high level of quality. The company released some samples of its tool online, but it is holding off on a public release as it considers safety concerns. What possible risks with the system has OpenAI identified? So the main risk the company identified in its statement is that people could use such a tool to produce fake audio of politicians during this year's American presidential election. We have already seen a couple of examples of that happening in the U.S. and other countries. The other main concern OpenAI has is that people will use the tool to produce voices of other individuals without those individuals giving their permission to do so. And how does this tool compare with other voice cloning systems that are currently available to the public? So yes, there are other systems out there that people can try and it seems like all the voice cloning tools work very similarly. Some of the other systems do seem to target individuals or groups doing their own audio production and a big market seems to be podcasters. OpenAI on the other hand has identified other specific areas where the technology can be used such as in educational settings or to support people with speech difficulties. Alright, thanks so much for joining me, Brian, and thank you for your report. You're welcome. Thank you, Ashley. VOA Learning English has launched a new program for children. It is called Let's Learn English with Anna. The new course aims to teach children American English through asking and answering questions and experiencing fun situations. For more information, visit our website learningenglish.voanews.com. Have you ever heard of Fejuada, Korma Sabzi, and she? If you have not, you must make sure to listen to tomorrow's everyday grammar. John Russell will review more messages from listeners describing their country's national dishes. You will also find the lesson on our website learningenglish.voanews.com. 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. In Lesson 22 of the series, Anna talks about her new show for children with her producer Amelia. Together they start to plan for the new show. So Anna, what's the plan for the show? First, we're going to introduce the subject. Then we can show pictures and video. We can show tons of video. Right. We can interview children and have guests too. Kids can ask us questions. Great idea. Finally, we can read the questions and tell them where to learn more. Okay, let's try it. Let's do it. Hi there, and welcome to... Amelia, we don't have a name for the show. We'll think of a name later. For now, we'll call it the show. Next, they start talking about fun things you can do in the summer. Anna and Amelia think they can include these in the children's show. Hi there, and welcome to the show. Today, we are going to take you on a summer vacation. You will see popular things to do on vacation. One is camping. When you go camping, you cook, sleep, and play outdoors. When I go camping, Anna, I like to go hiking and fishing. Me too. Those are fun things to do when you go camping. These people are hiking. Okay, let's talk about the next vacation. Another popular summer vacation is going to an amusement park. You go on rides and eat lots of fun food. I love cotton candy. And roller coasters. This show is going to be a lot of fun. I know. This is riding a roller coaster. What is the last vacation? One of the most popular summer vacations is going to the beach. I love the beach. When I see that blue ocean, I want to leave Washington, DC immediately and go to the beach. That is a lot of fun activities. And it's fun to talk about. Well, having fun. So, Andrew, I'd like to ask you, what do you like to do for summer vacation? I really like summer. And I like to do some of the same things Anna and Amelia talked about. I really like to go hiking in the mountains. And we should explain that British English uses the word trekking to mean the same thing as hiking. Hiking basically means walking in natural areas such as forests, mountains, and fields, or beside rivers and lakes. It's kind of interesting that on the one hand, we say go for a walk on the beach. And on the other hand, go for a hike in the mountains. We don't usually say hike on the beach. That's true. I guess that's because walking on the beach is usually done in a relaxing manner. But hiking makes people think of longer or harder walks that take more energy. There's more we could say about hiking, but let's go back to what you like to do for summer vacation. Well, I also like to go to the beach. And I like to go swimming. And I like to play tennis. And when I have enough time and money, I like to visit friends in other parts of the U.S. or travel to other countries. How about you, Jill? I love swimming at an outdoor pool. I also enjoy traveling to visit my family. Sometimes my brothers and sisters and I all get together in the summer. And I love going to beautiful places and painting them. I paint with acrylics and I'm learning to use watercolors. That sounds like an interesting thing to do in the summer. I think I would like to try that. We can use the verb like in three ways to talk about things we enjoy doing. First, we can say like to plus the base form of the action verb. For example, we can say, I like to read. Second, we can say like plus the ing form of the action verb. For example, we can say, I like reading. The ing form of the verb here is called the gerund. And third, we can say like to plus the verb go plus the gerund. We can hear this third form when Amelia and Anna talk about camping. When I go camping, Anna, I like to go hiking and fishing. Me too. Those are fun things to do when you go camping. Here are some activities where you can use the verb go plus the gerund. Go camping, go swimming, go hiking, go fishing, go dancing, go shopping, go sightseeing, go biking, go running, go jogging, go skiing, go ice skating, go roller skating, go sailing and go surfing. That was a big list. And I noticed that most of those activities involve some kind of movement or motion. And that makes sense because the verb go makes us think of moving from place to place. But for almost any activity, we can say like to plus the base form of the action verb. For example, we can say either I like to go swimming or I like to swim. And the phrase I like to is something that's easy to say quickly, like this. I like to swim. When we say it quickly, the word to is pronounced ta. I like to. I like to swim. I like to bike. That's how it sounds faster. Ba da da dum, ba da da dum. That's the rhythm or beat of the phrase. Now listen to this chant where we use that beat. The phrases go by very quickly. But don't worry if you can't understand every word. Ready? Listen. There's so many things that I like to do. I like to run. I like to walk. I like to read. I like to talk. I like to teach. I like to learn. I like to dance. I like to sing. I like to sing and dance. There's so many things that I like to do. I like to cook. I like to eat. I like to cook. I like to eat. I like to eat. I like to eat. I like to eat. I like to eat. I like to eat. You really like to eat. Yes, I really like to eat. I like to watch TV. I like to read a magazine. I like to listen to the birds. I like to look at the moon. I like to walk in the hills. I like to swim in the sea. I like to lie in bed and rest my head. There are so many things that I like to do. I like to run. I like to walk. I like to read. I like to talk. I like to teach. I like to learn. I like to dance. I like to sing. I like to sing and dance. There are so many things that I like to do. I like to watch TV. I like to read a magazine. I like to listen to the birds. I like to look at the moon. I like to walk in the hills. I like to swim in the sea. I like to lie in bed and rest my head. There are so many things that I like to do. There are so many things that we all like to do. There are so many things that we all like to do. There are so many things that we all like to do. So write to us and tell us what you like too. We know that was fast, but we want you to hear the rhythm of English and also just to have some fun with the language. Having fun helps you learn. So you can play with the English language. For example, you can try to make up your own chance. And in the Let's Learn English series, Amelia and Anna know that it is helpful to have fun. Let's listen to them one more time. Okay, let's talk about the next vacation. Another popular summer vacation is going to an amusement park. At an amusement park, you go on rides and eat lots of fun food. I love cotton candy and roller coasters. This show is going to be a lot of fun. I know. Jill, before we go, maybe we should mention the difference between the words fun and funny. Something that is funny is something that makes you laugh, like a good joke or a special situation. Something that is fun is like an activity that feels enjoyable like you are playing a game. Jill, I have to say doing this podcast with you is a lot of fun. Thanks, Andrew. It's a blast. It's a blast is a nice expression. That means it's really fun. And we hope you've had fun listening to the lesson of the day. You can learn more on our website learningenglish.voanews.com. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. And thank you for listening to the Learning English podcast. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. Our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.