Author: Philip Luo

Today, we present the first of two programmes about the history of the English language. English is the language that more people are trying to learn than any other in the world. It is the language of political negotiations and international business. It has also become the international language of science and medicine. International treaties state that pilots of passenger aeroplanes must speak English. It is the main foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe. Schoolchildren in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age. It is the official language of more than…

Today, we are visiting a small museum in Maryland, USA. It is called the National Cryptologic Museum. There, you will find information that was once classified. The museum is located on Fort George G. Meade, a military base near Washington, D.C. The museum tells the story of cryptology and the men and women who have worked in this unusual profession. The word ‘cryptology’ comes from the Greek ‘kryptos logos’. It means ‘hidden word’. Cryptology involves writing or communicating in ways designed to hide the meaning of your words. The museum has many examples of equipment that was once used to…

Today, we follow plastic bottles and other plastic items as they are taken to one of the largest recycling centres in the United States. We also report on the impact of the tax on plastic bags in the nation’s capital. Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle. Recycling has become part of American life. It is also an important part of the waste processing industry. In fact, many cities and towns in the United States now have recycling programmes.To find out how such a programme works, we will visit a recycling centre in Maryland, in the east of the country. The recycling bin…

We explore one of the most iconic objects in science fiction: the laser. It is a prime example of how technology can evolve from the science of the future to become part of our everyday lives in a relatively short period of time. Faith Lapidus and Steve Ember will tell us about its history and its many uses. The word ‘laser’ is short for ‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation’. The concept behind lasers is complex. Just how complex is it? It took the mind of Albert Einstein to discover the physics behind the laser. Theodore Maiman succeeded in…

Today, we are visiting one of the most unusual national parks in the United States. It is called Dry Tortugas National Park. It comprises seven tiny islands located around two hundred kilometres southwest of southern Florida. One of these islands was once used as a prison. Let’s begin our visit by imagining we’re travelling back in time almost 150 years. It is the last few days of July in 1865. The United States Navy steamship ‘Florida’ moves slowly towards a small island. The crew tie the ship to the dock. Passengers begin to disembark. They move slowly in the extreme…

Today, we will be talking about a large national park that was established to protect the culture of the ancient Native Americans. It is called Mesa Verde. It was a cold day in southwestern Colorado in 1888. Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law were trying to find some missing cattle. They were up on Mesa Verde. The area had been named by Spanish explorers. The high, flat mountaintop is covered in green junipers and pine trees. It looks like a huge green table, which is ‘mesa verde’ in Spanish. The two men came to the edge of a deep canyon. Despite…

Today, we will talk about how people discovered an important piece of information that was necessary for sailing safely on the oceans. It is called longitude. One foggy night in October 1707, four English navy ships hit rocks in the Atlantic Ocean and sank. Two thousand men drowned. The ships had been sailing in thick fog for twelve days. There was no reliable way of knowing where they were. The commander of the ships was worried that they might hit rocks if they were not careful. He asked his navigators for their opinion on their location. The navigators were not…

Today, we are visiting the Indiana Dunes. These sand dunes are located near Chicago, Illinois. They rise from the shores of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes of America. More than two million people visit the dunes in the Midwestern state of Indiana each year. The winds along Lake Michigan created some of these dunes in ancient times. Others may be forming right now. Winds create dunes when they deposit loose sand on land. Some dunes are partly round. Others take the form of long, narrow hills. Visitors from all over the world come to explore the area…

Today, we will be talking about the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the unusual creatures that inhabit them. The nineteen islands that make up the archipelago lie along the equator, one thousand kilometres west of Ecuador. They are named after the giant tortoises that inhabit them. The Galapagos Islands have been called “a living museum and showcase of evolution”. The animals on the islands inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.In 1978, the islands became the first place to be added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO. In 2007, UNESCO added the islands…

When work started on the Hoover Dam in 1931, it was the largest and most difficult structure of its kind ever built. A new bypass bridge near the dam, which opened this month, is also an engineering marvel. However, our report on the Hoover Dam must begin with the Colorado River. It was the river that made the dam necessary. The Colorado River originates high in the Rocky Mountains. Its journey begins slowly during the dark winter months. Heavy snow falls on the mountains. In some areas, the snow is so deep that it remains on the ground well into…