Special English 又叫“慢速英语”，是VOA 专为全世界非英语国家初学英语的听众安排的一种简易、规范的英语广播节目。该节目创始于50年代末期，是VOA 的专家们研究如何与世界各地的英语学习者进行交际的产物。它正式开播于1959年10月。当时只面向欧洲和中东，但由于这个节目适合许多国家英语学习者的需要，所以它的广播对象不久就扩大到世界其他地区，并很快在全世界范围内产生了广泛的影响。现在这个节目对欧洲、非洲和拉丁美洲每晚广播一次，对加勒比地区每晚广播一次（星期天除外），对东南亚广播次数最多，每天上午两次，晚上三次。
　　30多年来，VOA 为了办好Special English节目，进行了大量的调查研究工作，对播音速度、内容及用词范围都作了具体规定，基本上达到了既能为英语学习者提供信息，又不损害英语本身风格的目的，使之成为VOA 独具特色，拥有最大量听众的节目。
　

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2008.06.12

Teens Compete, Improve Their Financial Literacy

By / Broadcast date: Thursday, June 12, 2008

　　This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Business competitions can
help young people learn
about money　　Business competitions for young people can be a good way to learn about economics and finance.

　　In Northern California, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship recently held a business plan competition. Seventeen-year-old Huong Cheng won first place and now goes on to the national level.

　　Her idea is for a business where high school students volunteer to do small tasks for old people. The families of the retirees would pay her company. Then the company would share the profits with school clubs that the students belong to.

　　Another competition, the National Economics Challenge, reached the finals last month in New York City. Sixteen students competed from four high schools in Alabama, California, Hawaii and Indiana.

　　They raced to answer questions on different subjects —— from personal finance to economic theory to current events. Teachers said the current problems in the economy offered a lot of examples to use in the classroom.

　　The nonprofit National Council on Economic Education has held the challenge for eight years with the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The winners and their teachers each received three thousand dollars in United States Savings Bonds.

　　Carmel High School from Indiana won the beginners division. Vestavia Hills High School in Alabama won the advanced division. Team member John Reinhardt says economics is a good way for young people to learn to make their own decisions.

　　Back in Northern California, a middle school in South San Francisco started a school bookstore this year. Students help operate the store. But mostly the goal is to help them improve their English skills and learn to love reading and literature.

　　Test scores at Parkway Heights Middle School have been very low for the last seven years. The students come largely from poor, Spanish-speaking families.

　　Two language arts teachers opened the bookstore in April with a choice of interesting books at good prices. Trish Issac and Swaicha Chanduri received money from Schoolwide, a group that helps schools set up bookstores.

　　Teachers hope the bookstore will be open more than one day a week, especially during summer vacation. The store may be competition for the school library. As one eighth grader noted, the bookstore has new books, and if you want to buy them, you can. Also, the library is very quiet, she says, while the bookstore "seems like a more social area."

　　And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Jim Tedder.