Ted: Hey! Welcome back to Babbel News – English Only. I’m Ted, language expert here at Babbel. Today, we’ve got two more news stories in English, sourced from Reuters.

I’ll introduce the topics of the stories before we dive in so you have an idea of what you’re going to hear, but we’re also going to try something a little different today. Instead of explaining the key words and phrases before you listen, I’ll go through them after each story. As usual, try to focus on understanding the main idea of the news, and don’t worry too much if you miss something here and there on your first listen. And, of course, you can read along with the transcript if that makes things easier for you.

So, with that, here are the topics for today. We’ll begin with a story from Benin in Africa, where an entrepreneur has found a more environmentally friendly way of making charcoal. Then, we’ll go to Miami, Florida, where community members are hoping to delay construction plans so that archeologists can save treasures found on the building site.

Now, sit back, relax, and get ready to listen, because we’re off to Benin!

Reuters: These charcoal briquettes are made from unusual raw materials: plant waste. Benin entrepreneur Roland Adjovi is using maize husks, cassava peelings, and coconut shells to create a more environmentally friendly charcoal. He hopes it will help slow the destruction of Benin's trees for cooking fuel.
 
Adjovi's business, called Eco Sika, employs a small team to make briquettes of charcoal from agricultural waste. They collect, sort, and dry the organic waste before burning it into a carbonized powder that is processed into briquettes.

"It is three times more ecological than normal charcoal, because it has a very, very high calorific value and allows your food to be cooked very quickly. And one thing special about this coal is that we can use the ash to fertilize the soil."

Over 60% of the world's charcoal is produced in Africa, where it is sourced mainly from forests and woodlands, driving forest degradation. In Benin, wood charcoal is the second main source of cooking fuel and demand is rising. Scientists say innovative projects like Eco Sika are needed to prevent further forest degradation and loss of biodiversity.

Here is environmental scientist Pamphile Houndji: "It has the same shape as charcoal, but here the process does not contribute to deforestation. We don't need to cut trees in the forest. We don't need to destroy all the vegetation to reap the rewards. It is the agricultural debris that have already become useless that allow you to make this coal. Also, this coal does not give off much in terms of pollution. It's weak, totally weak. By contrast, you know that the other option upsets the environment. This does not really pollute the environment, it does not destroy."

Ted: Alright, now let’s take a look at some of the key words and phrases from this story. The word “waste” popped up a few times, and it means unwanted or unusable material that is left over after the useful parts have been removed. But in this case, the “waste” is useful, and is used to make charcoal. Next, we have the adjective “carbonized”, which describes something that has been burned to produce carbon, the element that charcoal is made of. And what about “calorific value”? That’s the amount of calories, or energy, in food or fuel. Our next word is “degradation”, the action of damaging or destroying something. Did you manage to hear what is being damaged or destroyed in this story? Take another listen if you missed it! And here’s our last phrase from this piece: “to reap the rewards”. This means to enjoy the good parts that happen as the result of an activity. For example, I’m sure you’ll “reap the rewards” if you go back and listen to this story one more time!

Now, let’s move on to our next story about archeology in Miami!

Reuters: As developers continue to build up Miami’s glittering skyline – particularly in Brickell, the city’s financial district – some community members are digging in – literally. They are pushing developers to postpone plans so that archeologists can preserve prehistoric artifacts found at building sites.

As unlikely as it might seem for Miami, on Brickell Avenue, teams are digging up bones, pottery, and tools that potentially stretch back thousands of years.
 
“On the south side of the Miami River, at this larger parcel called 444 Brickell Avenue, archeologists have discovered an incredible set of artifacts, an incredible site that dates back not just a couple hundred or a couple thousand years, but that stretches back five, six, seven thousand years into the past.”
 
This is William Pestle, an archeology professor at the University of Miami: "You can build for the future while also respecting the past. And that's, that's what we're, you know, hoping to have happen at this site."

In fact, modern-day Brickell, which sits at the mouth of the Miami River, was once the site of a vibrant settlement called Tequesta that the Spanish encountered in the 16th century. To preserve that history, community members called for building work at 444 Brickell Avenue to be postponed in early February.
 
“Billionaires come here and intimidate us with their money. They have to work with us.”
 
Longtime resident Ishmael Bermudez – who knows the value of excavation – is one of them. The artist and amateur archeologist lives in a brightly-colored single-family home – the last one in Brickell – under which he began excavating decades ago.

He has discovered fossils and even human remains – which were given to local authorities – and is passionate about preserving Miami’s history. “When you discover special sites, you've got to work around them and also save it for the eyes of the world.”
 
Residents like Burmudez are hoping Miami’s future is one that will also embrace the past. “But it's up to us, the people, to make sure that this don't get destroyed, whether it gets sold or not. It's got to stay here the way it is, because it's a cultural center for the city of Miami, [and] state of Florida.”

Ted: Let’s take a look at some of the words and phrases from this clip. We’ll start off with the verb “to stretch back”, or to originate in a particular time in the past. Maybe you recognized the word “parcel” while listening. Normally, this refers to a package that comes in the mail, but in the context of this story, it means a piece of land with a particular purpose. After that, there’s “settlement”, another word for a small village. Up next is “to excavate”, or to carefully remove earth from an area in order to find things buried underground. Archeologists are “excavating” the old “settlement” that once stood where Miami is now. Your last word for today is “to embrace”, or to accept something with great interest. Did you catch what Miami’s residents hope is “embraced” in the future?

That brings us to the end of today’s episode. How did you like listening to the stories before hearing the explanations? If it was a bit of a challenge for you, I recommend going back and listening again, reading along with the transcript, and of course, looking up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary. If you want more practice, then come back next week for another episode of Babbel News – English Only. Thanks for listening, and see you then!