News December 11, 2018 (For English learners)

Dan. Cat, opened. His beer company, good, city brewing, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin, in. 2016. At, the. Time it was, a presidential, election year. He. Did not think about the possibility. Of a, trade dispute, between, President. Donald Trump's, administration. And China. I don't. Think we even contemplated. That that. Administration. Would, exist. He told VOA. He. Also did, not consider. That, his decision, to put the alcoholic. Drink in cans, instead. Of bottles, would. Make his business success, more. Difficult. We. Always, planned, to can, our products, I don't. Think we necessarily. Expected. To, have probably. Our single. Biggest, expense. Packaging. Materials. Be. Directly, impacted. By tariffs. Cats. Cans. Are made of. The metal aluminum. He. Says much. Of his supply, comes. From China, which. Faces, a ten percent, tariff, on aluminum. Products. Cat. Said, his, company. Usually. Buys two. Hundred fifteen. Thousand. Cans, at a, time. He. Said he, expects, to pay higher prices, for cans, the, next time he, has to order them. The. Trump administration, placed. Tariffs. On, imported. Steel, and aluminum, to, help US, producers. Of those, metals, and to, protect, jobs, in those, industries. The. Tariffs, are starting, to affect many, parts, of the US economy. That. Includes, the growing, craft, beer, industry. Because. It uses, a. For, its cans. President. Trump says, the tariffs, are working, he. Has called China's. Trade actions. Abusive. However. He, told a large group, of supporters recently. That, China, wants. To make a deal a. US. Treasury, Department, report. Supports, the, president's, claims. It. Shows, that, government. Income. From tariffs, this year, has, increased, 30, percent, over, last year. Brian. Cool, is the executive. Director, of farmers. For free trade a group. That opposes tariffs. He. Disagrees. With the president. Tariffs. Are taxes. On American. Citizens when. We put tariffs, on steel and. Aluminum, it drives, up the cost of, steel and aluminum, in the United, States, he, said. Farmers. For free trade has its, eyes on the future of trade, and is, not concerned. With, who the president, is, kyoool. Said. The. Group has launched, a nationwide. Tariffs. Hurt, the Heartland campaign. It. Includes. An. $800,000. Advertising. Campaign. The. Group is holding public, events, across the country to. Talk about the economic. Problems, caused, by tariffs. At. An event in Wisconsin. Dan, cat, represented. One of several, businesses hurt. By the tariffs, on Chinese products. We. Don't think that the current trade, war with China is, going. In the right direction. Kuehl, said. We. Think it's increasing. Costs. For, US, manufacturers. It's. Increasing. Costs. For, us farmers, and it's, decreasing. Exports. We're, causing, long-term, damage. To, American. Agriculture. And our. Ability, to compete. In foreign. Markets. He, added. Good. City brewing, is one, of about, 75. Beer. Making companies. Now, in Wisconsin. A, state. With a long, history, of beer, production. Cat. Said his company will, continue, to grow with. Or without the. Tariffs. He. Hopes the US and China can, reach an agreement on trade, before. He must pass on the increased. Costs. To, the buyers of his. Product. I'm, Susan. Shand a new. 2,400. Square meter museum, is set, to open on New York State's Liberty, Island next. Year. The. Museum celebrates. The, world-famous, Statue, of Liberty. The. Statue was, a gift from the people of France to. The United States. It. Officially, opened, to the public in, October. 1886. From. 1892. To. 1954. More, than twelve million immigrants. Passed by the Statue of Liberty as their, ships sailed, to, nearby Ellis. Island. Many. Immigrants. Later traveled to Liberty Island and saw, the Statue up, close. At. The bottom are the words, of poet, Emma, Lazarus, give. Me your tired your poor, your huddled, masses, yearning.

To Breathe free. Now. A new, museum, to, honor Lady, Liberty is on, the way. Nicholas, garrison, is a partner, with FX. Collaborative. A new. York-based, company that. Plans and, designs. Buildings. He. Designed, the museum. When. We first came on the island we were moved we saw people on their. Knees crying. Because. What this place meant and, it, kind of sunk into us that this is a really special sacred. Place. About. 4.5. Million, tourists. Visit, Liberty, Island every year. But. Only about, 20%, are able, to go inside the, Statue of Liberty because. Of, limited space. The. New museum, will, permit every visitor, to know what the inside is, like. The. Museum, is expected. To open in, May. 2019. Entering. The building, visitors. Will experience, a virtual, look inside, the head of Lady, Liberty. They. Also have, a chance to, see a recreation. Of the workplace, of frederique. Auguste, Bartholdi, who. Created, the, statue. Museum. Visitors, also. Will see the. 1600. Kilogram, torch that lit up New York Harbor for, nearly 100. Years it. Was. Replaced. In. 1985. On. Top. Of the Statue of Liberty museum visitors. Can have a good look at New, York's lower Manhattan. Area. Nicholas, garrison, says the, museum, tries, to be inspirational, unto. Itself, as its own object, while. Being respectful. To, the buildings, that, are here. I'm. Jonathan. Evans the Senate, is one, of the two parts, of the United, States Congress. The, legislature. That makes, the country's laws. The. Congress, has two parts, because, the men who wrote the US Constitution. Could, not agree, on details. Of the new form of government. Men. From states with large, populations, thought. They should be able to send. Or lawmakers, to Congress, after. All their, states had more people, but. Men from states with smaller, populations. Thought. Each state, should, have the same, number of lawmakers. After. All people. In small states did. Not want, their voices to. Be lost. So. The Constitution, writers, agreed, that, part, of Congress, should be based on states populations. And the. Other part, of Congress, should, have equal representation. The. Senate, is the part with equal, representation. Each. State, has two, senators. No. Matter how big or small its. Population. The. Constitution. Writers expected. Members, of the Senate called. Senators. To. Help set limits, on the office, of the President. They. Gave senators, the power to decide whether. To try and remove, the president and other. Government, officials, accused. Of wrongdoing. Senators. Also, approve, or reject, the president's. Choices, for, top government, positions. Including. Supreme, Court justices. And. Senators. Have powers, to approve treaties, with, other countries. At. The same time, the, Constitution. Writers wanted. The Senate to, limit, what they feared, would be the strong emotions. Of voters. James. Madison, called, it a fence against. The passion, of the people.

George. Washington. Reportedly. Said, the. Senate, would cool, laws, proposed. By, House members, who. Were more closely connected with, everyday. Americans. Because. Senators. Have, so much responsibility. The. Constitution. Writers required. Them, to be a little older than House members, at least. 30, years old compared. To 25. And they. Decided, that each senator, would, serve six, years, compared. To two four members of the house a, longer. Time in office would make the Senate stronger, and reduce. Political, pressures, they, reasoned. However. Not. All senators, finished. Their terms at once, every. Two years, one third of senators, must, leave, their office, or seek, re-election. The. Other two-thirds, remain. In place. Finally. The, Constitution. Writers decided. That, state, lawmakers. Would, elect the state's senators. This. Situation. Would permit states, some, additional. Power in the federal government. However. In. 1913. The, Constitution. Was changed to. Permit, voters, to, elect senators. Directly. The. Senate, does its lawmaking, work through, 16. Regular, committees. They. Study and make decisions, on the federal budget Foreign. Relations. National. Laws and other. Issues. Senators. Also, gather together to talk a lot, about why. They plan to vote a certain way and, why. Other senators, should, support them. Unlike. In the House of Representatives, the. Senate permits. Senators, to, debate at length. Because. Of all their talk the. Senate has been called, the, world's greatest, deliberative. Body. But. Others, have pointed out that the Senate is a group of very, different independent. Individuals. Getting. A majority to agree, can, be extremely. Difficult. One. Former, Senate leader said, trying. To get them to move together was, like herding. Cats. Another. Described, it as loading. Frogs into, a wheelbarrow. I'm. Kelly Jane Kelly a. Microscopic. Organism. Is causing, a huge clam, of the Mediterranean. Sea, to disappear. And, ocean. Scientists. Are. Worried. The. Pen shell clam, is the, largest, shellfish. In the Mediterranean. The. Clam can, grow to 1 metre in length. Its. Shell, looks, something like a huge, feather. For. Hundreds, of years the, clam has provided, food, and an. Unusual. Material. Called. Sea, silk which. Can be used to, make a kind of cloth. The. Clam also, cleans, water by. Filtering, out organic. Material. From it. The. European. Union, named, the, pen shell, clam, a protected. Species, many. Years, ago. The. Clam has been overfished. And has. Suffered from, pollution, and destruction, of. Its waters, a. Ban. On hunting the, clam, also. Has, been poorly, enforced. They. Are harvested. For food and for. Their unusual. Large, shells. The. Pen shells, can. Live for many years. But. They take years, to reach, reproductive. Age. Now. They. Are disappearing, faster. Than, they can be replaced, a. New. Parasite. Which. First appeared, in, 2016. Has. Alarmed, experts. It. Is unclear, exactly, how. The parasite, kills. The clams. Scientists. Say it appears. To attack, the, pen shells, digestive. System, the. Clam. Becomes, unable, to close, its shell and can. Be attacked, by. Its enemies. Maria. Del, Mar Otero. Is with. The International. Union, for Conservation, of. Nature. She. Said in less. Than a year it, wiped, out the pen, shell, population. Of the. Spanish, coast. Then. Waters. Of France. Malta. Tunisia. And, Italy. Were, affected. The. Suspected. Parasite. Is known, only by its. Scientific. Name. Hapless. / idiom pin eye. Researchers. Say it. Also may, be responsible. For killing, pen, shell clams, in some Greek. Waters, and those. Of Turkey, and Cyprus. Scientists. Are now, racing to. Understand. How, the parasite, spreads. This. Information. Is needed. To protect the, clam. Pantelis. Kath arias, is, a researcher. At the, Hellenic, center for, marine research or. Hcmr. In Greece. He. Said, scientists. Are not sure of anything. Yet. Except. That, the parasite, is spreading. Quickly. Yanis, S aureus is with. HCM. Ours, Institute. Of Oceanography. He. Said tests. Show that the, organism. Which, appears, to be killing the clams in Greece, could. Be the same as the one affecting. Clams, in Spain. This. Is very, fresh, for, the scientific. Community he. Said. We. Are still at the stage of recording. Where. It has, spread to. Scientists. Are carrying. Out tests. In Mediterranean. Countries. Where. The clams are dying. Some. Areas, of Greece have. Healthy. Populations. Of the clams, but. In other areas, they. Have disappeared. They. Have found that only, the pen shell clams, are, affected. A. Similar. Species. Penna. Rudess has. Been unharmed. And. They. Still do not know why. The parasite. Is so deadly to the pen shell clams.

The. Parasites. Might. Have come from another species. And for. Some reason jumped. To, the pen shell clam. It. Also is possible that. Other conditions. Including. Pollution. Climate. Change or water, temperature. Changes, could. Be causing the, problem. Kothari. Os-- said. Normally. Parasites. In nature, do, not have any benefit. From harming, the host because. They depend on the, host. He. Added it is, not clear, what, will happen, to the pen shell clams, or, the. Microorganism. Affecting. Them. The. Big clams, could, completely. Disappear. Taking. The parasites. With. Them. I'm. Mario. Ritter jr.. The. Month of December. Usually. Marks the beginning of, tourism. Season in Srilanka. Visitors. Come to the Indian, Ocean, island, nation, to, enjoy its beaches. Historic. Places. Interesting. Nature and tasty. Food. Tourism. Represents. About 5%, of, the country's. 87. Billion, dollar economy. But sri lanka's current, political, environment, is. Keeping. Visitors, away. Observers. Are worried, about the possible, economic, effects. In, late. October, Sri, Lankan President, Maithripala. Sirisena. Dismissed. The country's, prime minister, and appointed. A new government. The. Move came as a surprise. Mahinda. Rajapaksa. Who, replaced, Ranil. Wickremesinghe a--. As prime. Minister lacks. A parliamentary. Majority a. Sri. Lankan Court, has prevented. Rajapaksa. From taking power. Violence. Has broken out in Parliament. And the. 2019. National, budget, has been delayed. High. Season for travelers, to Sri Lanka usually. Runs from, December to March. Most. Visitors come from Europe India. And China. But. Many trips, are being canceled, especially. Among Europeans. The. Reuters news agency, received. That information. From, someone, working at the national Sri Lankan Airlines, the. Person, asked, not to be identified. The. Person, told Reuters, the crisis. Started, just when tourists. Take a decision where to go it has. Discouraged, many of them. Chandra, mahooty is manager. Of the high-end, gal, face hotel, in the, sri lankan capital. Of colombo. He. Said that 20% of, planned visits, to the area have, been cancelled, he. Said that normally, the, 200, room hotel would, be filled, at this time of year but. Instead the. Hotel has been forced to offer low. Cost rates to appeal, to tourists. The. Crisis, has also affected business. Travel. Sanath. Yuquot, a president. Of the hotel's, Association. Of Sri Lanka, said. Some companies, have, chosen to, move, our planned events, to, Singapore, Indonesia. And, other, places, in Southeast, Asia. Herethe. Pereira, is president. Of the, Sri Lanka Association. Of inbound, tour, operators. He. Said if the current situation, continues. The. Economic, effects, will be, significant. More. Than 2.1 million people, visited. Sri lanka in, 2017. Tourism. Officials say, I'm. Ashley Thompson farmer. Jamie Butler, is testing. A new worker, on his. Farm in England's. Hampshire. Countryside. Butler. Hopes the new worker will, help the, 180. Hectare. Farm produce. More wheat and not. Harm the environment. The. Labourer does, not say a thing, while inspecting. Butler's. Winter, wheat crop for, other plants, and insects. Why. All the silence. Because. It is a four, wheeled, robot. Named. Tom. It. Uses. Signals, from satellites, orbiting. The Earth. Artificial. Intelligence. And. Communications. Technology. To. Map the. Field. Tom's. Creator, is the small robot. Company, of Portsmouth. England, it. Is one of several startup. Businesses. Working. To change the. Way crops, are produced. Farmers. Are facing, economic. Pressures, because. Of the need to keep down food, prices, a rising. World, population. And climate. Change. Most. Robots, are still, being tested. But, they show ways that, automated. Machines, can. Move from, manufacturing. Businesses. To, farm communities. Holding. Costs. Down, by, being on the leading edge, of technologies. As one. Method, of doing that then. That's a really, really good, thing, said, Jamie Butler, he. Is one of 20, British, farmers, taking, part, in a year-long. Experiment. Next. Year the British company plans, to start testing, to more robots.

Controlled. By an artificial. Intelligence. System, that, will work alongside, Tom. It. Will, be doing seeding. Feeding. And weeding. Without. Human, involvement. The. Aim is to cut down on, fertilizer. And, pesticide. Used. To lower costs. And increase, profits. For, struggling farmers. This. Not only helps them economically. But. It also lowers, the effects, of farming. On the, environment. What. We're doing, is stuff that people can't, do said. Ben Scott, Robinson. Who, helped to set up the small robot, company. He. Noted, that his company's, robot, can inspect, each plant, and treat. Its condition. As needed. Something. A farmer, cannot. Do. Sales. Of the autonomous. Robot, system, are still years, away with. More testing, planned for. 2021. The. Tests. Represent. The next step in the, growth of automation. For. Farms. Self-driving. Farm, equipment, and, robotic. Milking machines. Have. Been in use for years. Recently. Unmanned. Drone, aircraft, began. Watching, crops, from, the sky. Soon. Farms. Will be able to automate. Everything. Said Tim Chambers, a fruit. Farmer, who is not involved, in the tests. Some. Jobs are harder, to automate. Such, as collecting. Fruit by hand, but, even that is coming said. Chambers a member. Of Britain's, National. Farmers, Union. The. United, States Spain. Britain. And Belgium all, have, companies, that are developing robots. For, harvesting, fruits such. As strawberries. But. There are problems. The. Main issue will, be the cost of building, those robots, and the, research, that has to go into making them, chambers. Said, the. Low cost of air shipping, could, still make it less costly to fly, in fruit, from, other countries. Where. Labor is also, less, costly, he. Said. To. Ease financial pressure. On farmers, who, are afraid, to make a big investment, in equipment, the, small robot, company, plans to sell its services. At a monthly, cost. Charging. About seven. Hundred sixty, five dollars, per, hectare, a year. On. Butler's. Farm tom takes, hundreds. Of thousands. Of pictures of crops. During the growing season. The. Images, are fed to Wilma, the, artificial, intelligence. Platform. Which. Is being trained, to, tell the difference, between wheat, and weeds.

In. 2019. The company, will start trials, for two more robots, Dick. And Harry. Dick. Will provide, fertilizer. Directly. To plants. Harry. Will, put seeds into the earth and there. Will be no need for tractors. I'm, Susan. Shand, artificial. Intelligence. Technology, may. Soon be a useful tool for doctors. It. May help better understand. And treat. Diseases, like. Breast cancer in, ways, that, were never before possible. Rishi. Rawat, teaches. AI, at the university of southern california's, clinical, science center in los angeles. He. Is part of a team of scientists. Who are researching, how a AI and, machine learning, can. More easily recognize. Cancerous. Growths, in the breast. Robot. Provides, information, about, cancer. Cells to, a computer. He. Says this, data helps. The Machine learn. You. Can put the data into, them and they will learn the patterns, and the pattern recognition that's important, for making decisions. David. Agus is, another, USC. Researcher. He. Believes that, machines, are, not going, to take the place of doctors. Computers. Will not treat patients, but they will help make certain decisions and look, for things that the human brain can't recognize, these patterns, by itself. Once. A confirmed, cancerous. Growth, is removed, doctors. Still have to treat the patient to reduce the risk of cancer, returning. The. Form of treatment, depends. On the kind of cancer. Currently. Researchers. Take a thin piece of tissue, put. It on a small, piece of glass and, add, color to better see the cells. That. Process, could, take days or, even longer. Scientists. Say artificial, intelligence. Can do something, better than just count cells. Through. Machine learning, it can, recognize, complex. Patterns, or structures. And learn, how the cells, are, organized. The. Hope is that machines, will soon be able to make a quick, identification, of cancer, that, is free of human, mistakes, all. Of a sudden we have the computing, power to really do with in real time we couldn't have done this we'd have the computing, power to do this several years ago but, now it's all changed. Aigis. Adds that, the process, could be done for, almost no, cost in the developing, world. He. Says that having, a large amount of information, about patients is important. For a machine to effectively. Do its job in medicine. The. University, of Southern California. Researchers, are now, only, studying, breast, cancer. But. Doctors, predict, artificial. Intelligence. Will, one day make a difference, in all forms, of cancer. I'm. Jonathan, Evans Iraq. Has, celebrated. The anniversary of. Its costly, victory, over. The Islamic state, group. The. Government, declared, victory last, December. After. A three-year, war that. Killed tens, of thousands. Of Iraqis and, forced. Hundreds. Of thousands. From, their homes. The. Islamic, state has lost, nearly, all the territory, it. Once held. But. Its forces, continue. To carry, out attacks on, Iraqi. Targets. The. Government, declared, Monday, a national, holiday. Security. Stations, in Baghdad. Were, covered, with Iraqi, flags, and balloons, as. Security. Forces, walked, the streets playing. Patriotic. Music as. Part. Of the celebrations. The. Government, plans, to reopen parts. Of Baghdad's. Well-guarded. Green zone to. The public.

Officials. Hope, the move will, calm, protests. Against. Corruption. And poor. Public, services. The. Green zone is home to major government. Offices. And, foreign. Embassies, the. Celebrations. Come, as political. Disputes, have affected, efforts, to. Form, a new, Iraqi, government. Prime. Minister, Adel. Abdul. Mahdi, spoke. To a group of military, officers, about. The anniversary. He. Described, Monday, as a great, day for all of us when. Our brave country. Defeated. The enemies, of life. Dignity. Freedom. And, peace. Abdul. Mahdi. Congratulated. The security, forces, as well. As the country's, top, Shiite, clergyman. Grand. Ayatollah, Ali. Al-sistani. The. Clergyman, approved, a fatwa, or. Religious. Order, that. Brought in volunteers. After. The Iraqi, army, seemingly. Collapsed. In June 2014. Tens. Of thousands. Of volunteers, joined. State supported, militias, many. Of them financed. By Iran. That. Fatwa. Laid. The foundations. Of the victory, abdul, mahdi, said. He. Called on iraqis. To leave, behind their. Differences. And to. Come together for. A better future. The. Time has come to, leave behind all, the, past mistakes. To. Open the doors of hope for. Our children. For, a better future, he. Said. He. Promised, to rebuild the. Destroyed areas. And help. Displaced, people. Return. To their homes. All. Iraqis, took, part in this fight, those. Who couldn't take up arms fought. With words and. Donations. Said. Qasim. Al Fateh. Louie. Who lives in Baghdad. He. Helped raise money for. The militias. Songs. Praising. The militias, also. Known as the popular, mobilization, forces. Could. Be heard coming, from his small business in the, city's karada. Neighborhood. On. Monday. The, area was filled with Iraqi. Flags. That. Victory, is a golden, opportunity, for the government to, rebuild the country and to, meet the needs of its people said. Samir. Al-obeidi. He. Led a group of people who presented, flowers. To security. Forces, in Baghdad. Zaza, mia, neighborhood. It. Is important, to treat all Iraqis, equally. So. That they feel that their, sacrifices. Are, appreciated. I'll obey. He added. The. Islamic, state or is. Group grew. From, the violent, opposition that. Followed, the United, States led invasion. Of Iraq, in, 2003. Based. In Syria, is. Forces. Crossed, into, Iraq in the summer of 2014. The. Iraqi army, collapsed. Leaving, the group to govern with a crushing, form, of Islamic. Rule. Thousands. Of people were killed. The. Group also kidnapped, thousands. Of women and girls from. The Yazidi, religious. Minority. And forced. Them into sexual. Slavery. Iraqi. Forces, aided by, the us-led. Coalition, fought. To remove the group from, all the territory, it once held, in, Iraq. They. Fought to free Iraq's. Second-largest city, Mosul. Today. Islamic. State controls a small, piece of territory, in Syria, near. The Iraqi. Iraq. Is still badly. Affected, by the violent, rule of Islamic. State. More. Than 1.8. Million, Iraqis. Remain, displaced, across. The country. More. Than 8 million require, some, form of, humanitarian. Aid. That. Number, comes from the Norwegian, Refugee Council. Those. With suspected, links to, is, have, been rejected. By their communities. Thousands. Of children, fathered, by is, militants, are still. Unrecognized. By, the state. Nearly. Two-thirds, of displaced, people say. They are unwilling, or unable to, return. Home in the next year and more. Than half say. Their homes were, damaged, or destroyed. Said. The aid group if. This. Is what victory, looks like, then. There is little to celebrate, said. Norwegian. Refugee Council. Secretary. General Yan Eggland's. They. Have largely been forgotten by. Their own government, and the.

International, Community i. Am. Brian, lin major. Repairs, to, the Church of the Nativity are. Lifting. Spirits in the town of Bethlehem. Just. Before Christmas. Many. Christians, around the world celebrate. Christmas, on December, 25th. That. Is the day they believe Jesus was born. Many. Believe, the Church of the Nativity was. Built on the site where Jesus was born. Bethlehem. City, officials, hope. The, repairs to the church will, bring in more visitors and. Improve. The weak economy, in the West Bank. They. Also hope, the repairs, might help keep more. Christians, in the area. Bethlehem. Mayor, Anton. Salman, told, the, and press that, Christians, are leaving, the area known. As the Holy Land because. Of conflict, and economic. Difficulties. Repairs. To the Church of the Nativity, started. In 2013. That. Came, a year, after, the United, Nations. Educational. Scientific and. Cultural, Organization. Or. UNESCO. Declared. The, church a World, Heritage, Site. The. Repairs, are expected to. Be completed, by the end of next year. The. Palestinian. Authority, which, governs, the territory. Formed. A committee, of local. Christian, leaders to, leave the project. They. Also employed, an Italian, company to. Carry out the repairs. Ziad. Alban, doc is head, of the committee, he. Said the group has collected, 14. Million, dollars, out of, 70. Million dollars needed. Almost. Half of the money has, come from the Palestinian. Authority, and, local. Muslim, and Christian. Businesses. The. Rest came, from foreign donations. It. Has. Become, such, a beautiful. Church he, said, every. Christian, in the world would, love to see it now. The church is considered. One of the holiest, places, in, Christianity. It was. Built in the 4th century by. Saint, Elena, over. A cave, where, the Virgin, Mary, Jesus's. Mother is said. To have given birth. The. Church, was destroyed by, fire and. Rebuilt. In the 6th, century under, Byzantine. Emperor. Justinian. The first. Four. Years, there had been no, repairs, done, to the building the roof. Of the church was, leaking, windows. Were broken art. Was, covered, in dirt and walls. And support, structures, were damaged. After. Five years of, work it has. Been completely. Changed. EEMA. Nassar is a palestinian, engineer, with the repair project. He. Said the project started, with the roof, some. Of the roof supports, were replaced, with, wood, from, old destroyed, churches, in Italy. Windows. Were fixed, and outside. Stones, and walls were repaired. The. Biggest problem, has been repairing, the badly damaged. 2,000. Square meter wall, mosaic. So. Far, 120. Square meters have been cleaned, showing. Images of, Jesus, and other Christian, figures. Workers. Are also repairing. A floor, mosaic. Under. A 19th, century agreement. The. Roman Catholic, the, Greek Orthodox and. The Armenian. Churches, have, been responsible, for their own areas, of the church. Disagreements. Among the, three Christian, organizations. Have, left the church in, a state of disrepair, the.

Palestinian. Authority, has been credited. With settling. The dispute. But. The repairs, have not included, the altar, with. The 14-point. Silver Star, that marks, where, Jesus, was said to have been born. Bethlehem. Depends, heavily on visitors. Around. The Christmas, holiday. Local. Hotels. Restaurants. And gift, stores do, much of their business during. The short holiday. Season. The. Repaired, church has, become a popular, destination. After. Dropping in, 2015. And 2016. The. Number, of visitors, has risen in the past two years. Officials. Say, the. Mayor said, he expects. 1.2. Million, visitors. This, year, I'm Katie. River and I'm Ashley Thompson, from, VOA learning, English this is. The health and lifestyle, report. For. Some people walking, or running, outdoors. Is a great, way to exercise. What. May not be so great is seeing, trash all over the ground. Well. Some people are doing, something, about it they. Are plugging. Which. Is great. But. What, is it. Plugging. Began, in Sweden. The. Name combines, the, Swedish word plaka which. Means to pick up and the. Word jogging. Which. Means to, run slowly, a. Swedish. Man named, Eric ahlstrom, started. The movement in 2016. On, the. World Environment Day, website, ahlstrom. Says that he moved to Stockholm, from, a small community in, northern, Sweden. Each. Day he would ride his bike to work. He. Says he, became concerned, about the, amount of trash, and litter. He, saw each day on his way to work. So. He took matters into his own hands. He. Began picking, up the trash and. That. Is how plugging was, born. Plugging. By that term may, have officially. Begun in Sweden, but. Many people who exercise outdoors. Have, been doing this for years. Take. Jeff Horowitz, for example. He. Is a personal, trainer in Washington. DC. He. Says that he would often pick up trash while running outside. He. Even turned it into a game, he. Would try to pick, up the trash without, stopping. I didn't. Know it was a thing really this, was just my personal ethic where I would go for a run and if I happen to see a piece of garbage laying around and it was within reach it, was kind of a little test. Of mine to see if I can grab it and throw it in a nearby trash can without stopping, and that, way I thought it gave me a little bit of exercise Allu focus to my run and help clean up the neighborhood and then, I come to find out this has actually become an international, movement that, there are people all, around the world that doing this today. Clogging is an official, activity, and one. That is becoming more and more popular. Clogging. Is equal, parts exercise. And community. Service, as. Julie. Lawson, explains, it. Can also build, closer, social, connections, in a community. Lawson. Works at Washington. DC's office, of the clean City. When. The street looks bad and it's dirty you're gonna feel bad about the neighborhood about the community, may even feel less safe because, of that so, if we are all doing our part and picking it up it's, very easy to help beautify it help build those social connections so you get to know your neighbors you get to feel some, social responsibility. And community. Feel when, you do this. Clogging. Can be fun too. When. Dana Allen, goes plugging, around DC she. Invites, her friends, and they. Make a day of it sometimes. We get groups together on a Saturday or Sunday we. Go for Iran we'll pick up some garbage then we'll actually go for brunch after and we'll kind of make a little bit of an event of it. Although. Ellen enjoys plugging, she, says she, does not do it all the. When. She is training, for a serious, marathon, race the. Trash has, to wait when. I'm training seriously for, a marathon I probably wouldn't be as inclined to stop regularly, when I'm running because I'm focused on a certain goal but, then there's other days I'm out and just sort of more relaxed, running and just having fun and that would be a situation where I might be more inclined to do it, cities. Around the, world now hold plugging, events.

The. Goal is to spread the idea that. Littering, is not, acceptable. Allen. Hopes one day there, will not be a need for plugging. I would. Just hope people would think twice before dropping their garbage on the ground we have receptacles. Seems like every block so it's easy to put your garbage in the trash cans, I just think people should think about it a little bit more on along. With cleaning, up the environment there. May be another, reason to, choose plugging. Instead. Of just jogging, you. May get a better workout. One. Fitness, app life. Some, records. One hour of plugging, as burning. 288. Calories. Usual. Jogging, burns, about. 235. Calories. Getting. Ready to plug is similar. To getting ready to jog. Pluggers. Do some deep knee bends, or squats. As well. As some balancing, exercises. Then. Pluggers, do something, most regular, joggers, do not do they. Put on protective, gloves, your. Gloves are important you want to make sure that this is gonna be healthy for you you never know what you'll find there might be broken glass, medical. Waste, there. Are other safety, rules for plugging, the. Main one is to plug in areas, where, there are not too many other pluggers. This. Helps to prevent plugging, accidents. Pluggers. Must always pay attention to, those around them. Stopping. Quickly, in front of someone to pick up an empty bag of potato, chips for example. Could, cause a crash. And that's the health and lifestyle, report, I'm Ana, Matteo.

2018-12-20 19:39

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