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

I'm Anna Mateo.

And I'm Brian Lynn.

This program is aimed at English learners, so we speak slowly, and we use words and phrases,

especially written for people learning English.

Today on the show, Anna Mateo brings us words and their stories.

We also have the weekly science report and John Russell takes a look ahead to some major sky events we can expect in 2025.

But first...

Researchers in Russia's Siberia area are showing the public what they say are the 50,000-year-old

remains of a baby mammoth.

Melting permafrost led to the animal's discovery.

They are calling it the best preserved mammoth body ever found.

Named Yana by the scientists, the female mammoth weighs more than 100 kilograms and is 120 centimeters tall.

Scientists believe that Yana was one year old when she died.

Her remains are among several mammoth carcasses that have been recovered.

Yana was found among the melting permafrost at Badagika Crater in the far eastern Russian area

of Yakutia. Known as the gateway to the underworld, scientists have found remains of other ancient

animals there, including bison, horses, and dogs.

Permafrost is soil that remains frozen for a period of years or more.

As the permafrost in Siberia melts, discoveries of prehistoric animals are becoming more common.

Scientists at Russia's Northeastern Federal University will study Yan' remains.

The university has a research center and museum, specifically for mammoths.

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