對年輕人來說，目前低迷的信貸市場、股市和樓市，可能蘊藏著大好機會。看看美國人給年輕人的10條建議吧：

　　1．自動投資。如果你所在的公司有養老保險制度，那就盡量能繳多少繳多少。如果公司沒有，那就自己制訂一個"養老金計劃"，把錢存入個人退休賬戶，設定每月扣除的金額。

　　2．把錢放入股市。陽光總在風雨後，股市的形勢一旦好轉，通常會回升得非常迅速。2008年股市低迷，你有機會以極低的價格買入。你用不著學習要投資哪只股票：找一家低手續費的共同基金公司，從他們那裡買一隻費用低、分散投資的指數基金。

　　3．設立儲蓄賬戶。每有一筆收入就存點兒錢進去。可以利用它支付購房首付款、研究生教育、購買新車或者是結婚的費用。把它存入你的支票賬戶所在的銀行，這樣轉賬更容易。

　　4．自我增值。即使你現在的工作不怎麼樣，也得開始建立自己的事業了。在你的領域建立人脈，加入職業協會，參加會議和培訓班，自學技能，增強競爭力。

　　5．建立良好的信用記錄。如果你沒有信用卡，就去辦一張。如果有，要保證每個月按時還款。只用這張卡買你能支付得起或者急需的東西，並在每個月的還款期限內全部還清欠款。

 誰說補血一定要靠豬肝！？許多人都有種錯誤的觀念，認為只吃菜不吃肉才會貧血，其實，不少植物性食物，不但含有鐵質、β胡蘿蔔素和其他養分，而且多半易於消化，很適合作為補血的食材喔！素食朋友只要加以適當搭配，其實不用太擔心貧血的問題。以下，將介紹幾種常見的補血食物：

南瓜──補血之妙品　　

被清代名醫陳修園讚譽為「補血之妙品」的南瓜，富含植物性蛋白質、胡蘿蔔素、維生素、必需氨基酸、鈣、鋅、鐵、鈷、磷等等，其中，鈷是構成維生素B12的重要成分之一，可以幫助血液中的紅血球正常運作；鋅則會直接影響成熟紅血球的功能；鐵質則是製造血紅蛋白的基本微量元素，全都是補血的優良營養素。

Getting a US visa

 Download

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week, in part nine of our Foreign Student Series, we talk about getting a student visa to come to the United States.

Just getting accepted to an American college or university does not guarantee that you will get a visa. And getting a visa just lets you arrive in the United States. It does not guarantee that an immigration officer will permit you to enter the country.

Travel documents come from the Department of State. But immigration is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security.

The State Department has a Web site with all the rules for getting a visa. The address is unitedstatesvisas.gov. Unitedstatesvisas is all one word.

Bringing color to life with natural dyes

Download

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Dye can bring a little color to life. Most clothing is colored with dyes. Modern, manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. So this week, we describe a natural way to dye wool.

The advice comes from information written by Jenny Dean of the Intermediate Technology Development Group in Britain. This anti-poverty group is now called Practical Action.

Election 2008: "Change has come to America"

Download

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. Our subject this week is the election of 2008.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shep O’Neal. On January 20, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the forty-fourth president of the United States.

He won fifty-three percent of the popular vote and far more of the electoral votes than he needed to become president. His decisive victory over John McCain brought down the last racial barrier in American politics. It also followed two presidential elections that were narrowly decided.

Starting a fish farm

Download

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A listener in Abuja, Nigeria, named Okorie wants to know more about fish pond farming.

Raising fish in ponds of standing water can work well on a traditional farm. Animal and crop waste can be used to fertilize the pond and feed the fish. And mud from the bottom of the pond can be used to fertilize the crops. Also, water for the farm can be stored in the pond with the fish.

Experts say ponds with a surface area smaller than one hundred square meters may not be profitable. But those larger than one hectare may cost too much and be difficult to manage.