 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, John Russell has a story on the U.S. economy being strengthened by an increase in productivity. Ana Mateo has the health reports on the approval of an asthma drug to treat food allergies. Later, Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins present the lesson of the day. But first... Worker shortages in the United States have led some companies to invest in machines to do some of the work they cannot find people to do. The companies have also been training workers to use new technology so they can produce more with less. The result has been an unexpected increase in productivity, a measure of economic performance. Productivity compares two sets of data, outputs and inputs. Outputs are the goods and services produced while the inputs are what is needed to create those goods and services. The productivity increase represents a change from the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Yearly productivity growth averaged around 1.5%, business advisory company RSM estimates. Things changed when the economy moved out of the 2020 recession. Businesses had difficulties bringing back the many workers they had lost. The resulting worker shortage sent pay higher. Inflation increased for a number of reasons. One was that factories and ports had problems meeting rising product orders while shipping slowed. Shortages of parts were also reported. Many companies turned to automation. Investment in equipment and in research and development and other forms of intellectual property grew. The Associated Press reports that the efficiency effects began to arrive almost a year ago. The U.S. Government's Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, reports on productivity. The BLS released its most recent productivity numbers on February 1. The Bureau said, non-farm business sector labor productivity increased 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Batesville Tool & Die is a company based in the Midwestern state of Indiana. Trying to keep up with customer demand, Batesville Tool & Die began looking for 70 people to hire last year. It was not easy. Getting factory workers to move to a small community of 7,300 people in the Indiana countryside was difficult. Job seekers were rare there. You could count on one hand how many people in the town were unemployed, said Jody Flederman, the company chief. Batesville Tool & Die filled just 40 of its job openings. But then the company invested in machines that could work like human workers and in vision systems which helped its robots see what they were doing. Austin Gulsby is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He has compared increasing productivity to magic for the economy. You can have faster income increases, faster wage growth, faster GDP without generating inflation. Joe Bruce Whales is chief economist at RSM. He said, the last time we saw anything like this was the late 1990s. At that time, Bruce Whales said, a productivity increase and early result from the sudden use of laptops, cell phones and the internet helped keep borrowing rates low. Inflation remained under control even as the economy and the job market were strong. This time the US Central Bank has increased the interest rates it controls eleven times starting in March 2022. That has played a part in easing inflation from a 40-year high of 9.1% to around 3.1%. I would have said it's not possible, said Sal Guattieri, who is an economist at BMO Capital Markets. But that's exactly what happened. A year ago many economists warned that a recession was very likely. Jerome Powell leads the US Federal Reserve Bank. Powell warned in 2022 that beating inflation would result in some pain in the form of widespread job losses and unemployment. Last month Powell said something different. With unemployment near a 50-year low, Powell told reporters, we've had a very strong labor market and we've had inflation coming down. He did warn that the Central Bank wants to see further progress in slowing inflation but the Fed is so optimistic that inflation is heading toward its 2% goal that it has not raised rates since July. Some experts expect the Central Bank to cut its interest rates several times this year. At a news conference this month, Powell was asked whether he believed higher productivity helps explain why the economy has kept growing even while inflation has fallen. That's one way to look at it, yeah, Powell replied. I'm John Russell. From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report. The US Food and Drug Agency has approved a medication already used to treat the breathing condition asthma to treat people for food allergies. On February 16th, the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved Zolaire for a new use. Zolaire has become the first medication approved by the FDA to reduce allergic reactions caused by food allergies. Zolaire is the brand name, or commercial name, for the drug omalizumab. Many people who suffer from allergies and their families worry about exposure to things that cause allergic reactions. They might avoid eating at restaurants. They also might avoid social situations in which they might come into contact with something that causes their allergy. Dr. Robert Wood is director of the Pediatric Allergy Division at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The FDA based its decision on research that Wood led, and the National Institutes of Health supported the allergy study. 168 people with allergies to peanuts and at least two other foods took part in the study. It found that 68% of the people injected with Zolaire were able to have about 600 milligrams of peanut protein without serious problems. That number compares to only 6% of those who received an inactive substance instead of the drug. The results of the study were similar for other allergens, or things that commonly cause allergies, such as tree nuts, milk, eggs, and wheat. Full results from the study are expected to be presented at a meeting and released in a peer-reviewed publication in the near future. Wood said to have this protection is going to be life-changing. Wood estimated that 25 to 50% of people with food allergies, especially children and young adults, would choose to use Zolaire. Patients as young as one year of age with food allergies can take the drug by injection every two to four weeks. This depends on their weight and their body's response to allergens. People who use Zolaire must continue to avoid the foods that cause allergic reactions. These foods are often peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, milk products, and eggs. However, the medication appears to permit exposure to higher amounts of allergy-causing foods without causing major reactions. Until now, doctors have used the drug to treat food allergies, although that has not been its officially approved use, said Dr. Ruchi Gupta. Such a second use for a drug is called off-label. Gupta is director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research at Northwestern University in Chicago. She welcomed full approval of the product. Zolaire works by blocking the body's natural response to allergens. It is known as a monoclonal antibody. The FDA first approved the drug in 2003. It is used to treat asthma, growths in the nose, and long-term skin problems known as chronic hives. Swiss drug companies Novartis and Roche produce Zolaire, and it is distributed by a part of Roche called Genentech. The most common side effects of Zolaire are injection site reactions and high body temperatures. However, the FDA noted that the drug has also caused joint pain, rash, infections, malignancies, and abnormal laboratory tests. Zolaire also comes with a warning. The treatment itself can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that causes breathing and blood pressure problems. For that reason, the treatment must be started in a health care center with equipment that can deal with such emergencies. In addition, the drug is not approved as an emergency treatment for allergic reactions. Genentech says Zolaire is expected to cost about $2,900 a month for children and $5,000 a month for adults. The company said patients usually pay less because their health insurance often pays most of the cost of many drugs. And that's the Health and Lifestyle Report. I'm Anna Mateo. That was Anna Mateo with this week's Health and Lifestyle Report. Welcome, Anna. Hello, Dan. Thanks for having me. So the FDA has approved the use of the medication Zolaire for food allergies. Why is this important? Zolaire is a drug used for asthma. The FDA has approved its use for people with food allergies. So this makes Zolaire the first medication to reduce allergic reactions caused by food allergies. What does the term off-label mean? Great question, Dan. Off-label means a drug has been approved to treat one condition, but doctors are also using the same drug to treat another condition. Zolaire does come with a pretty significant warning, anaphylaxis. This could be a surprising side effect. Severe food allergies can cause anaphylaxis. Can you speak to that? From my understanding, Zolaire can cause anaphylaxis. That is a life-threatening reaction that causes breathing and blood pressure problems. So treatment with Zolaire must be started in a healthcare center with proper resources to handle that side effect. According to the AP article, that is the reason Zolaire is not approved as an emergency treatment for allergic reactions. Got it. Thanks again for coming on the show, Anna. Thanks for having me, Dan. Goodbye. 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. Now it's time for the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. My name is Jill Robbins and I'm joined by Andrew Smith. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Jill. Our lesson is based on our video series Let's Learn English. The series shows Anna Matteo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. Here's Anna introducing herself. Hello, my name is Anna Matteo. In lesson 28 of Level 2 of the series, Anna and her friend Kelly are helping with a research project about birds. They are trying to count the number of birds they see and hear in an area near their office. Unfortunately, Anna does not find many birds. Instead, she finds something else. Listen to find out what that is. And we're going to listen for the expressions supposed to and ought to. And we'll explain different ways native speakers use those expressions. But now let's listen to the first part of lesson 28. I am so glad we joined the great city bird count. Aren't you? No. Today has been a bust, a flop, a bummer. I'm sensing a little disappointment. A little? Well, my official bird watching form is almost full. I've only seen pigeons. Lots and lots of pigeons. But I did write down some other valuable information. Did you find a bird's nest? No. I found ten ice cream trucks in this five block area. Their music seems to follow me everywhere. We're supposed to be counting birds, not ice cream trucks. This is important scientific work. So, when you want ice cream, my data will be pretty important. Anna only saw one kind of bird, a pigeon. And the music from the trucks selling ice cream got Anna's attention more than the sound of birds did. That's why she says... Today has been a bust, a flop, a bummer. A bust, a flop, and a bummer are all informal ways of saying that something you were trying or hoping to do did not work and was really very disappointing. Anna was disappointed, but there is a good reason she could not count the birds. Her office in Washington, DC, which to tell a secret is the same as our offices here at VOA Learning English, is in an area with many tourists. And tourists get hungry. So, there are a lot of food trucks in the area and they play music all day long. And they play the same song all day long, over and over. I used to get so sick of turkey in the straw. Yes, they do play the same song over and over. Anna hears this music and sees that many of the trucks are selling ice cream. It's hard for her to focus on birds instead of ice cream. But she's supposed to focus on birds. We're supposed to be counting birds, not ice cream trucks. This is important scientific work. The modal verb supposed to can be used in two ways. In this example, Kelly is saying that the expected behavior is for Anna to find birds. So, we can use supposed to when we want to talk about behavior we expect other people to do. For example, for rules that we generally expect people to follow, we can say something like, you're supposed to come to class on time. Native speakers also use supposed to as a way of saying what is predicted or expected to happen in the future. For example, we might say it's supposed to rain tomorrow. That means it is likely to rain. And when you hear someone talking quickly or a child speaking, you might hear supposed to, as in you're supposed to eat all your vegetables. That's right. That's another example of how our pronunciation changes when we're speaking quickly. Now, let's listen to the next part of lesson 28. Keep in mind that Anna is also very interested in spies. Spies are people who try to steal secret information from other countries or from other organizations. And listen for when Anna uses the modal verb ought to. Hey, I can't see the price. I wonder what flavor he's getting. Strawberry. He doesn't seem like a strawberry kind of guy. In fact, he doesn't seem like an ice cream truck kind of guy. That suit looks expensive. Maybe he's a spy. You know what that means. The ice cream truck driver is a spy too. Genius. It's a perfect disguise. What? The man in the suit left his briefcase at the ice cream truck. I was right. He is a spy. And he just dropped off top secret information. I ought to do something. Something needs to be done. I need to do something. I took the spy's briefcase. What's that? The ice cream truck. It's following me. It wants the case back. I have to hide. This is my life now. Running. Scared. Alone. Music. It's following me. Hey, you found my briefcase. You caught me. I mean I caught you. Well, I just want my briefcase. All my poems are in there. Poems? You're a poet? Well, I'm a lawyer but I write poems too. So you're not a spy. You look disappointed. No, that's okay. It's not your fault. Poems are nice too, I guess. Once again, Anna's imagination makes her do something unusual. In this case, she steals a man's briefcase. He uses it to carry his papers. Anna's lucky she did not get in trouble. And Anna really ought to think more carefully before she acts. Yes, and I think that's good advice for most of us. Now let's hear that part again where Anna uses the modal ought to. I was right. He is a spy and he just dropped off top secret information. I ought to do something. Something needs to be done. I need to do something. The modal ought to can be used in more than one way. As Anna uses it here, she is making a strong suggestion. In this case, it is a suggestion to take action to stop someone from spying. But native speakers also use ought to as a way to make suggestions that are not so strong. They often use it to just give advice in an informal way. For example, if I see a really good movie, I can suggest that Jill see it. So I can simply say, hey Jill, you ought to see this movie. Did you notice Andrew said ought to because he was speaking quickly? So you can use it to make a strong suggestion and express disapproval at the same time. For example, if students misbehave and don't listen to their teacher, the teacher might say to them, you ought to start listening, otherwise you're going to fail this class. In this case, the teacher uses ought to as a way of scolding the students. To scold is to strongly tell someone that their behavior is bad. At the end of lesson 28, Anna guesses that the man's favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry. And then she makes a little joke using an expression about birds. What's your favorite flavor? Banana. Well, my favorite flavor is strawberry. How'd you know that? A little bird told me. When we say a little bird told me, that is an expression that means we have a special or secret way of knowing something about someone. And in this case, Anna's joke has sort of a double meaning because Anna was spying on the man when he bought the ice cream, but at the same time she could not find any birds for the research project. There is always a lot of humor and funny situations in the Let's Learn English series. And remember that each lesson comes with a lesson plan you can download for free from our website. Andrew, you know, this episode reminds me, we made friends with one of the ice cream truck drivers. And he was so nice. Anyway, a little bird is telling me we ought to finish this lesson of the day. What do you say? I say okay. And listeners, remember that you can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Thanks for listening. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. And that's our program for today. See you again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.