VOA Special English. News. Issue 1

Author: Chen Youxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: VOA Special English program is specifically designed for English learners. The news reports are simple and easy to understand, with a vocabulary of no more than 1,500 common words, and the broadcast speed is slow, at 90 words per minute. It is an invaluable audio resource for learning English. It is particularly suitable for college students and English enthusiasts. This book collects VOA New Hot News, with clear recordings, accompanied by annotations, exercises, answers, and news transcripts. At the end of the book, there is a VOA Special English vocabulary list. The annotations also provide concise background information on some international hot events, allowing readers to expand their knowledge while understanding the content. VOA (Voice of America) is one of the world's largest news broadcasting organizations. Its English programs are a "living textbook" and an invaluable audio resource for us. VOA English broadcasts use General American. The listening sections of the annual College English Test Band 4 and Band 6 in our country mostly use American English. TOEFL, which Chinese students must pass to study in the United States, and WSK, which must be passed for professional promotion, also use this accent. According to our understanding, most students who achieve ideal scores in these exams persist in listening to VOA English broadcasts. Therefore, listening to VOA English broadcasts is one of the important ways to improve English listening skills. VOA Special English (or Slow English) program is designed for non-native English speakers with a certain foundation in English. The program features simple, easy-to-understand, flexible, and vivid language. Its characteristics include slow speed, simple vocabulary, short and clear sentences, and a vocabulary control of the 1,500 most commonly used words by Americans, with a playback speed of 90 words per minute. It is suitable for gradual learning but does not reduce the amount of information. Through listening practice with VOA Special English news, listeners can not only stay informed about some of the new hot news in the world today but also become familiar with the pronunciation and intonation of American English, master its language features, develop accurate and continuous English listening skills, learn authentic English, expand their knowledge, increase their vocabulary, and lay a solid foundation for further understanding VOA Standard English news. To help college students, graduate students, and English enthusiasts better listen to the VOA Special English news program, we have compiled the VOA Special English News series. This book comes with two tapes directly recorded from VOA broadcasts, with clear audio quality. The book collects 116 new hot news, accompanied by exercises in various formats such as question-and-answer (questionsandanswers), fill-in-the-blanks (fillintheblanks), and true-or-false. During the writing process, Professor Zhang Bigui from the College of Foreign Languages at Xiamen University and Ms. Karen provided valuable suggestions, and Ms. Bonnie recorded the title audio. We sincerely thank them. Due to limited expertise and time constraints, there may be inaccuracies and errors in the book. We welcome readers' criticism and corrections.