Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Brian Lynn.

I'm Anna Mateo.

This program is made for English learners, so we speak a bit slower, and we use words and sentences especially written for people learning English.

Here are the stories we have for you on today's program.

First, I bring you a story about the Statue of Liberty. My co-host Brian Lynn brings us a science story.

I will return with words in their stories.

Later in the program, John Russell brings us a science story. We will end our 30

minutes together with The Lesson of the Day. Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins talk about possibilities

and guessing what might happen in the future. But first, here is a story from my

co-host, Anna Mateo. The Statue of Liberty has served as the guardian of New York Harbor for nearly

150 years.

The statue might be one of the most photographed works of art in the world.

A French sculptor, Frederick August Bartoli, designed it in the late 1800s.

Today, the monument remains a beautiful site on the New York skyline.

The materials required for building the Statue of Liberty were almost lost at sea.

In 1885, the ship carrying those materials nearly sank in stormy seas luckily the ship survived it arrived in june of that year by eighteen eighty six the statue of liberty was erected on what was then called Bedloe's Island.

The statue was officially opened that year.

Many years later, the island was given a new name, Liberty Island.

Lady Liberty, as many people call the statue, was a gift from the people of France.

Its full name is Liberty Enlightening the World. The United States and France have been friends

and allies since the American Revolution.

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