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Topic: Advice about growing one of the world's most popular vegetables. Transcript of radio broadcast. Source: VOA
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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Carrots are grown on and in family gardens throughout the world. Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of carotene, which the body makes into vitamin A.
When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange in color. But carrots come in many different and shapes. And not all carrots are orange.
For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Imperator carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White carrots are, as their suggests, white.
For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks.
To prepare your carrot garden, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or fertilizer.
Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say warm days, cool and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great.
Carrots need to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their taste. If they are harvested too early, they will not have enough sugar. But carrots loose their sweetness if you wait too long to pull them from the ground.
The best way to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its color. Usually, the the color, the better the taste.
Most people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months. If the winter is not cold enough to freeze the ground, you can grow and harvest carrots the same way as during the months.
If the ground does freeze in your part of the world, simply cover your carrot garden with a layer of leaves or straw. This will prevent the ground from freezing. You can remove the ground cover and harvest the carrots as they are needed.
Carrots are prepared and eaten many different ways. They are cut in thin pieces and added to other vegetables. They are cooked by themselves or added to . Or, once they are washed, they are eaten just as they come out of the .
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. For more agricultural advice, along with transcripts and archives of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And our e-mail address is special@voanews.com. I'm Steve Ember.
McDonald's Targets Starbucks
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
McDonald's, the fast-food company, is heating up competition with the Starbucks Coffee Company. McDonald's plans to put bars in its fourteen thousand restaurants in the United States. Fewer than a thousand now offer specialty coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.
Just like Starbucks, each coffee bar would have its own barista, the person who makes and serves the . Company documents reported by the Wall Street Journal said the plan would add one billion dollars a year in sales.
McDonald's has enjoyed several years of strong growth. The company had almost twenty-two billion dollars in sales in two thousand six.
Still, the move to compete against Starbucks carries some risk. Some experts say it could slow down at McDonald's restaurants. And some people who are happy with McDonald's the way it is now may not like the changes.
As early as two thousand one the company tested McCafes in the United States to sell specialty coffee at McDonald's restaurants. But the drinks were not available at the drive-through windows that provide two-thirds of its business. McDonald's thinks its new plan has a greater chance of success. Starbucks, on the other , has faced slower growth and increasing competition. Its stock has lost about half its value since last January.
Starbucks has about ten thousand stores in the United States. Its high-priced coffee drinks have names like Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha and Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. Lately Starbucks has added more foods, including breakfast foods, and put drive-through in some stores.
This week, the company replaced its chief executive officer, bringing back former C.E.O. Howard Schultz. He remains chairman of the board. He joined Starbucks in nineteen eighty-two, when it had just four stores. He is credited with building the Seattle company into an international success .
But a year ago he warned that its fast growth had led to what he called the watering down of the Starbucks experience. Some neighborhoods have a Starbucks on every block or two. Now, Starbucks will speed up its international growth while slowing its expansion in the United States.
Millions of people have a taste for Starbucks. But last , McDonald's Premium coffee got some good press. Testers from Consumer Reports thought it tasted better than Starbucks, and it cost less.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
Coyotes Eyeing the Sheep? Employ a Guard Llama
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
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When Americans think of where coyotes live, they probably think of states in the Southwest like Arizona. But over time, these wild dogs have spread all the way to the East Coast.
Some farmers have to protect their sheep from coyotes. These guards are llamas. Llamas are South American animals usually raised in the United States for their fiber or for show or as . But farmers and ranchers noticed that llamas get along well with sheep. They also noticed that over , coyotes were killing fewer sheep. So they chose llamas for guard duty.
Llamas do not need any . Farmers usually place only one with a group of sheep. Llamas are animals. Two llamas together will not pay attention to the sheep. A lone llama has no choice.
In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, farmer Leo Tammi has several hundred sheep. His dogs help him control and protect the of sheep. But the dogs are not always available. So he uses llamas.
Whenever anything enters the , they know about it. He says their natural interest, and willingness to face almost anything that comes , is enough to scare away a animal like a coyote.
Their size also helps. Llamas can weigh as much as one hundred thirty-six kilograms. And they look something like a small horse -- a funny looking with a lot of fine, soft fur. Llamas are not vicious animals. However, if they are not around people at a very young age, they will not like to be touched. In many ways a llama is just as as a sheep. But llamas have a secret . They spit.
When they get angry, they spit out the contents of their stomachs. The result looks and smells .
Llamas really know how to make a statement. In fact, you can find examples of llama sounds on the Internet -- just remember that llama is spelled with two Ls, L-L-A-M-A. If they sense a threat, they make an sound. This is what a male sounds like:
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And this is a female alarm call.
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Llamas are New World camelids along with alpacas, vicunas and guanacos. Camelids are a of animals that also include the camels and dromedaries of Africa and Asia.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. To see a video report about llamas, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.