 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. On today's program, John Russell reports on some news that will please cat lovers in Singapore. Later, Brian Lin presents this week's Science Report. Finally, Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins bring us today's lesson of the day. But first, here is John Russell. Sonny is a proud Singaporean citizen who follows the laws of her country. Mostly, anyway. For the last three years, she has been illegally sheltering a cat called Mooncake. A 34-year-old Singaporean law bars cats from government-built housing. Such housing is where most of the city-state's population lives, and Mooncake too, although secretly. Luckily for Sonny and her cat, Singapore plans to end the feline ban later this year. The legal change will free Sonny from the threat of a $3,007 fine or her pet's possible removal. The 30-year-old works in marketing and asked to be identified only by her first name for the security of her cat. She did not want to risk officials removing Sonny from her care. She wonders about the reasoning behind the ban. Cats are so much quieter than dogs. If they allow dogs, I don't understand why not cats? Officials rarely enforce the ban, and the law is only for the High Rise Housing and Development Board, HDB, Buildings. 80% of Singapore's 3.6 million people live in the Buildings. The ban does, however, make life difficult for cat owners. One problem they face is healthcare for their animals. Medical insurance cannot be provided for illegal pets. Lawmaker Louis Ong campaigned to end the ban. He said the law sometimes becomes part of disputes between neighbors. A lot of times the cats are collateral when there's neighborly disputes, he said. The neighbor will threaten to tell police about another neighbor's cat. Established in 1960, the HDB plan sells government-built housing directly to citizens for 99-year special agreements. The policy has led to one of the world's highest home ownership rates. Still, people who live in the Buildings are subject to many restrictions and laws. Cats were permitted in HDB apartments until 1989 when lawmakers changed the housing law. On its website, the HDB says cats are difficult to keep contained in individual homes. It also says that cats drop hairs and other body waste in public areas and can be loud. It is not clear what made the Singapore government decide to end the cat ban. But a 2022 government public opinion study may have been the turning point. The study results showed nine out of ten Singaporeans believed that cats were fit to keep as pets, including in HDB buildings. Officials are requesting public input on a proposed cat management policy. Dogs have not been subject to a similar ban, but they are limited to one per household. And only some kinds of dogs are permitted. Market research company EuroMonitor International has predicted a big increase in cat ownership. It estimated Singapore's current pet population at around 94,000 cats and 113,000 dogs. Lawmaker Ng, who ran an animal aid group before joining parliament in 2015, also hopes the change will lead more people to adopt rescued cats. Under the new rules, HDB homeowners would be limited to two pet cats. The rules also require owners to register their pets with the government. The owners must also get special identifying electronic devices for the animals. And owners must install protective devices on windows so cats do not get out. Some cat lovers say the new laws do not go far enough. Tenuga Vijakumar from the Cat Welfare Society wants the law to require sterilization. Another cat rescuer, Chancha Wah, urges officials to punish irresponsible owners. He said he had to take care of a cat that fell from a high window in one home. The owners refused to pay its medical bills. Wah also took care of another cat that was abandoned because he had heart disease. I end up taking over these cases. Basically, I look after them until they pass away, said Chan, estimating he spent $45,100 on cat medical expenses in 2022. But for many cat owners the law will bring peace of mind, including mooncakes. I think it is a good thing and it's a step forward after 30 years, Sonny said. I'm John Russell. A series of new space missions are planned for the coming year. Here is a look ahead at some of the ones to watch out for in 2024. The American Space Agency NASA launched its first flight in the Artemis program in 2022. That mission, called Artemis-1, sent the Orion spacecraft on a trip to fly around the moon. Artemis aims to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Artemis-1 was a test of the Orion spacecraft or capsule as well as NASA's huge space launch system, the SLS rocket that carried it into space. That mission sent Orion more than 400,000 kilometers away from Earth and completed a close fly-by of the moon. NASA officials declared Artemis-1 a huge success. NASA plans to launch Artemis-2 in late 2024. It is expected to take the same path that Artemis-1 took around the moon, but this time it will be carrying four NASA astronauts aboard Orion. NASA says Artemis-2 aims to confirm all of the spacecraft's systems and operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. While Artemis-2 will not complete a landing, several other lunar landers are expected to touch down on the moon's surface in 2024. The first of these launches is planned for January 8th. It involves a lander named Peregrine. The 1.9 meter tall spacecraft is made by the private American space company Astrobotic Technology. It will launch aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket made by United Launch Alliance, ULA. Peregrine is expected to carry 20 research experiments to the moon for seven countries. It will aim to land in an area known as Sinus viscositatus. NASA says the area sits next to the Great Hoisin domes, the largest dark spot on the near side of the moon. Another Astrobotic lander called Gryphon is set to launch to the moon's south pole in late 2024. It will be carrying an exploring robot or rover called Viper. Viper is designed to search for water sources on the moon. In addition to those, American space company Intuitive Machines is providing two landers to NASA expected for launches next year. Japan will also attempt to become the fifth nation to reach the surface of the moon in mid-January. The country's space agency launched the spacecraft called SLIM in September. SLIM's mission goal is to test the possibility that spacecraft can land on very specific targets. The European Space Agency, ASA, plans to launch its HERA spacecraft in October on a mission to return to an asteroid system visited by NASA's Dart spacecraft in 2022. HERA is designed to collect data on the targeted system called DITAMOS. The spacecraft is expected to closely examine the physical properties of DITAMOS and measure detailed effects of Dart's crash. NASA hopes to launch its Europa Clipper mission in October. This orbiter is designed to carry out close examinations of Jupiter's moon Europa. Specifically, the mission will look for signs that the icy moon might hold the right conditions to support life. NASA says the orbiter will fly in orbit around Jupiter and perform repeated close flybys of the ice moon. NASA and Boeing have said they plan to launch the first crewed test flight of the company's Starliner spacecraft. NASA said it is targeting March 2024 to have Starliner ready for flight. The launch date is to be set later. The spacecraft completed its first uncrewed flight test to the ISS last May, but Boeing has experienced several technical difficulties with Starliner during the mission and has worked with NASA to fix the problems as it prepares for the planned crewed flight. SpaceX, another NASA partner, has been successfully using its rockets and spacecraft to transport astronauts and materials to the ISS since 2020. But the company will be seeking a successful test flight in 2024 for its super-heavy Starship spacecraft. SpaceX experienced two failed Starship tests in 2023, one in April and the other in November, which resulted in explosions. The April blast caused major damage to the launch structure in the state of Texas. SpaceX has said it has been examining the issues related to the explosions and plans to carry out another test of Starship as soon as possible. But it will have to wait until the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, completes its investigation of the launch site damage and approves a new test. I'm Brian Lin. Brian Lin joins me now to talk more about his science report. Thanks for being here, Brian. Sure, Ashley. Thanks for having me. This week you looked ahead to some big planned space missions. And one thing that stood out in the report is the increasing numbers of missions involving private companies. Why are we seeing so many of these right now? Yes, this is one thing I noticed too, preparing the report. The main reason I think we're seeing so many of these right now is that these private partnerships with NASA have finally developed to the point where flights can actually be launched. NASA began its commercial crew program in 2011, and this is how these private space missions were established. But, of course, it takes years to develop the program, award private contracts, and receive NASA approvals for specific missions. So I think this is really the beginning of many more to come. Perhaps one of the most important missions to watch will be Artemis II, scheduled for late 2024, because it can mark a big step forward in bringing the US closer to its goal of finally returning astronauts to the Moon. Yes, and I think it will be particularly exciting because this flight will be traveling to very distant areas around the Moon, and this time carrying astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft. Of course, it won't land on the Moon, but will transport the astronauts to areas nearly 400,000 kilometers away from Earth, and this is, of course, way farther than current flights to the International Space Station, which travel distances closer to just 400 kilometers. Okay, well, thanks again for being here, Brian. You're welcome. Thank you, Ashley. My name is Anna Matteo. My name is Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. You're listening to The Lesson of the Day on the Learning English podcast. Today's lesson helps you do more with Level 2 of our video series, Let's Learn English. This series shows Anna Matteo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. At the beginning of Lesson 5 of Level 2, Anna feels like she needs a break from work. At that moment, she sees an advertisement near the street. The advertisement, or ad, has a question in large letters and a picture of a beach. The question says, Do you need a vacation? The name of a travel agency is written at the bottom of the ad. It says, World's Best Travel Agency. Agency is a word for a kind of business that helps people with some plans or that provides a service for another business. In addition to travel agency, some examples are insurance agency, advertising agency, and employment agency. The word agency can also mean a government administration or office, such as a security agency. Anna decides to visit the travel agency she saw in the advertisement. And it's not just any travel agency. It should be very special because it is called the World's Best Travel Agency. The word best is the superlative form of the adjective good. And Lesson 5 of Level 2 reviews the comparative and superlative forms. The words better and best and the words worse and worst are special examples of these comparative and superlative forms. Let's listen to the first part of Anna's visit to the agency and be sure to listen for the superlative form. No, you can't get your money back. I don't care that it was your worst vacation ever. Hello. Have a seat. Welcome to the world's best travel agency. Thank you and congratulations. For what? For being the world's best travel agency. Right. Thanks. Trudy, hold my calls. I'm going to sell our most expensive vacation. The travel agent played by our colleague Dan thinks Anna will buy the most expensive vacation he offers because Anna believes his agency really is the best one. In other words, he thinks Anna is naive and gullible. That means he thinks she will believe whatever he says and that she can be easily tricked. Naive is spelled N-A-I-V-E and we put two little dots above the letter I to show that we pronounce that vowel separately. And gullible is spelled G-U-L-L-I-B-L-E. Dan tells his assistant Trudy to hold his calls. When we call a business, we often get put on hold on the phone. That means we have to wait to speak to someone. Dan says hold my calls to show he does not want to be interrupted. Let's listen to the first kind of vacation the agent tries to sell Anna. The mountain getaway is good for you. It's a little pricey but think of it, you on top of a mountain for seven days. I'm afraid of high places. The adjective pricey means expensive and the comparative form is pricier and the superlative form is priciest. Now let's listen to more vacations Dan tries to sell Anna. I'm afraid of high places. Of course you are. That's why our deep sea adventure is better for you. It is pricier than the mountain getaway. Just you and the animals of the sea. Shark! Shark! Shark! No, there are no sharks in your dream vacation. You need the safari camp out. It is our priciest vacation but I think it's the best one for you. During the day you'll see elephants, giraffes and lions. At night you'll sleep out under the stars. Look I think this was a bad idea. Sure you can leave but then you won't see the latest vacation technology. When Dan says the latest he isn't referring to being on time or not being on time. Instead we say the latest to describe something that is the newest or most modern. For example we can say the latest technology, the latest news, the latest styles, the latest ideas and so on. And in casual speech we might ask someone, so what's the latest? This just means what is the news or most recent information about a particular topic. Now let's listen to Professor Botte explain a bit more. If you find all of those adjectives Dan started with good then he moved to better and finally he said the safari camp out was the best vacation for Anna. You can repeat the forms to help you remember them like this. Good, better, best. Good, better, best. Good, better, best. You can do the same for the negative forms. Bad, worse, worst. Bad, worse, worst. Bad, worse, worst. Now let's see if Dan can get Anna to stay and see the latest in vacation technology. Sure you can leave but then you won't see the latest vacation technology. Exactly what is the latest vacation technology exactly. I'm happy you asked. Meet the Travelmax 2000. Wow. So tell me how you like to travel. I like travel that is cozy and romantic but still exciting. Great, tell me more. I like traveling in a plane but not in a helicopter. Planes are a little scary but helicopters are scarier. My favorite way of traveling is by train. Ships can be the scariest. Have you seen the movie Titanic? Oh and no horses. I will ride a camel. Oh and no bike tours. Biking is the slowest and least romantic way to travel. Excuse me but I think the Travelmax 2000 is on fire. Yes, we're both on fire. We really want to sell you the best vacation ever. No, I mean it's really on fire. You killed it. You killed the Travelmax 2000. I am so sorry. Can I help you fix this? No, no. Don't cry. I know what you need. Oh. A vacation. Oh no. The safari camp out looks fun. It is the priciest but I think you deserve it. No, no. This is the smokiest lesson yet. I can't breathe. Just go to the website. It's true. You can learn more from our website. Remember that each lesson of Let's Learn English has a lesson plan you can download for free. It explains more about the lesson and has helpful information for both students and teachers. And listeners, here are some questions for you. You can email us your answers. What have been some of your best and worst travel experiences? What would be the best kind of vacation for you? And what is scary for you? What is the scariest situation you have ever been in? You can email your answers to learningenglishatvoanews.com and we might mention your answers in a future podcast. Thanks for listening and be sure to write to us. Remember that you can also find us on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. 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 Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.