Greenland, Mercury visit, AI from CES, Tons of

On today’s program, Caty Weaver and Mario Ritter, Jr. host the show. Caty tells listeners what they are going to hear. (1:06) First, Andrew Smith has a story about one of the world’s largest islands. The island of Greenland could become important in the competition for resources in coming years, experts say. Some reports say Greenland holds large supplies of oil and rare earth minerals. Greenland’s ice reportedly has been melting at faster rates in recent years. That could open the way for mineral exploration. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a... (6:35) Next, John Russell has a story about recent developments in the exploration of the planet Mercury. The BepiColombo spacecraft with orbiters from the European Space Agency and Japan’s space agency flew close to the north pole of the Solar System’s innermost planet. Mercury is closest to the sun, but its poles are extremely cold. Scientists theorize that deep craters in the planet’s polar areas could hold water ice. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a... (10:03) After that, Bryan Lynn tells listeners about some interesting products from a big, yearly electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada. At this year’s CES show, AI-equipped products aimed to capture the attention of attendees. More than 4,000 companies presented their latest products this year at CES 2025. Among the top products shown were new TVs with AI features, and a robotic skateboard. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a... (18:40) Finally, Andrew and Jill Robbins use Lesson 19 of Level 1 of Let’s Learn English to talk about “tons” of things. “Tons of” is a common way to say “a lot” in American English. Andrew and Jill explain other informal expressions. They also do a “chant” that will help listeners say things like native speakers. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a... Then Caty and Mario sign off. --------- Learning English is Voice of America’s multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide. We help you build vocabulary, strengthen your speaking skills and improve your ability to communicate for work, school and everyday life. We are not accepting comments here. You are welcome to comment on the stories at our website. EXPLORE OUR PLAYLISTS: » Learning English Podcast:    • Learning English Podcast   » Let's Learn English with Anna! (For children 8-12)    • Let's Learn English with Anna   » Let's Learn English Level 1    • Let's Learn English   » Let's Learn English Level 2    • Let's Learn English Level 2   » VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://learningenglish.voanews.com » LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE:   / voalearningenglish   » FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:   / voalearningenglish   » FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:   / voalearnenglish   » SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST ON ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/v... Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 326 million people.