THIS IS AMERICA - Summer Camps

THIS IS AMERICA - Summer Camps
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, June 21, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

Millions of American children attend summer camp. Some play sports. Others make music, learn to use a computer or take part in other activities. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Come along with us this week to summer camp, on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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VOICE ONE:

 
Graphic¹ Image
Traditional American summer camps offer young people a chance to play many sports. These camps may be in the mountains. Or they may be in the woods, or at a lake. Other camps teach activities like painting or music. Or they teach computer programming or foreign languages. Children at all kinds of camps meet new friends. They learn new skills and develop independence.

Some children go to camp during the day and return home at night. These places are called day camps. Children as young as four years old attend day camps. Others stay at camp all day and all night. Most children who attend overnight² camp are between the ages of about six and sixteen.

Children stay at an overnight camp for between one and eight weeks. Parents can pay less than one-hundred dollars a week for an overnight camp. Or they can pay more than seven-hundred dollars a week.

VOICE TWO:

Children from poor families might not have a chance to attend summer camp. The Fresh Air Fund³ is a well-known organization that gives children in New York City that chance. People around the country give money to support the Fresh Air Fund. Each summer, it serves about ten-thousand poor children from the city. It sends them to stay with families in the country or to five camps in New York State.

VOICE ONE:

Since eighteen-seventy-seven, the Fresh Air Fund has helped almost two-million of New York City's most needy⁴ children. These children do what they cannot do in the city. They breathe fresh air. They play on green grass. They swim in a lake. Some children begin to stay with the same family when they are very young and continue for a number of summers.

Shaquille is an eight-year-old boy from the Bronx, a part of New York City. He has visited the same family in the state of Vermont for several summers. He especially enjoys playing and going to open-air activities with the family's two children.

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VOICE TWO:

Summer camps have become very important to millions of families. Many American women now work outside the home. Working parents need a place where their children can be cared for during the summer when they are not in school.

Camps also help children develop independence. For most children, overnight camp is the only time during the year they are away from their parents. Camp lets them enjoy being with many other children. Campers live together in cloth tents or in wooden cabins⁵. They eat meals together in a large dining room.

VOICE ONE:

But the first time at summer camp can sometimes be difficult. Children might not like the food. Or, they might not like to swim in a cold lake. They may not want to climb a hill on a hot day. Some new campers miss their parents very much.

Also, some camps ban the use of electronic equipment and toys. Children who play electronic games and use wireless⁶ telephones may miss them. These children might enjoy a camp that permits these devices⁷. But many families say their children need to learn more about nature. They say their children need a holiday from technology.

VOICE TWO:

The American Camping Association⁸ suggests that parents prepare children before sending them to camp. It advises parents to discuss what the camp will be like and what campers will need to know. For example, parents can show their children how to use a flashlight to find a bathroom at night.

The American tradition of sending children to summer camp began more than one-hundred years ago. Frederick and Abigail Gunn started what was probably the first organized American camp. They operated a school for boys in the state of Connecticut. In eighteen-sixty-one, Mister⁹ and Missus Gunn took their students on a two-week trip. They walked to an area where they set up camp. The students fished, hunted and traveled by boat.

VOICE ONE:

Today, summer camps may be outdoor ones similar to those of Abigail and Frederick Gunn. For example, a camp in Forest Lake, Minnesota, centers its activities on nature. Campers at the Wildlife Science Center study the structure of groups, or packs, of wolves.

But camps today may also be very different from those early fresh-air camps. For example, Pali Adventures summer camp in southern California offers several special interest camps in addition to more traditional ones. In one of these special camps, children twelve to sixteen years of age study food preparation with a professional chef.

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VOICE TWO:

There are more than twelve-thousand camps in the United States. Some offer just one main activity. Children can play a single sport, like tennis, soccer, baseball or basketball.

 
Dance Student at Summer Camp
Young people who like the arts can learn about music, dance, art, acting¹⁰ or writing.

Perhaps the best known camp for young artists is the Interlochen Arts Camp. It is part of the Interlochen Center for the Arts in the state of Michigan. Its music program is especially well known. More than two-thousand young people are attending the arts camp this year.

VOICE ONE:

Camps that offer programs in science and environmental studies are popular, too. For example, the United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, welcomes adults as well as children. Whole families can live together in a place like a real space station. They take part in activities similar to those carried out during space shuttle flights.

There are also camps for older children who like wilderness¹¹ adventure. Campers take long trips by bicycle or canoe¹². Or, they go rock climbing or ride horses. For example, since nineteen-forty-eight, boys and girls have explored the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at Sanborn Western Camps. These are built more than two-thousand-six-hundred meters above sea level.

Other summer camps in America help children learn about religion, help them lose weight, or help them develop their knowledge of technology. Thousands of young people attend computer camps in the United States.

VOICE TWO:

The nation also has many camps for sick or disabled children. At these camps, many children take part in traditional activities, but they also receive special medical care.

Handi Kids in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, offers camp for children and young adults with physical or mental disorders¹³. The campers enjoy water sports, arts, dance, music and other activities.

A camp in the state of Connecticut offers fun for children with cancer and serious blood diseases¹⁴. It is called the Hole in the Wall Gang¹⁵ Camp. Actor Paul Newman started the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in nineteen-eighty-eight. Since then others have been established in the United States and overseas.

VOICE ONE:

For many children in overnight camps across the United States, the day ends in a traditional way. They gather around the campfire to cook and eat a sweet dessert food called "s'mores."

The campers cook marshmallows over the fire. They put the marshmallows and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers¹⁶.

This food got its name because after campers eat one, they ask for "some more." As the fire dies down, the campers join in traditional songs like this one.

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Chances are, the children will always remember the times they spent in the firelight at summer camp.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁷. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 overnight   

ad.前一天晚上，一夜间 a.前一天晚上的

参考例句：

• She stayed overnight in the hotel. 她在旅馆过了一夜。
• Our success is not won overnight. 我们的成功不是一夜之间得来的。

3 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

4 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

5 cabins   

n.小木屋( cabin的名词复数 )；（飞机上的）驾驶舱；客舱；（轮船上工作或生活的）隔间

参考例句：

• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hsin-mei and Hung-chien formally thanked Ku and Li for the cabins. 辛楣和鸿渐为舱位的事，向郑重道谢。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

7 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

8 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

9 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 canoe   

n.独木舟；vi.乘独木舟，划独木舟

参考例句：

• They slid the canoe down to the water.他们使小舟滑到水中。
• It is only the second time he has been in a canoe.这仅是他第二次乘小游艇。

13 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

15 gang   

n.一伙，一帮；结伴的朋友

参考例句：

• The gang live abroad,beyond reach of the British police.这帮匪徒住在国外，英国警方鞭长莫及。
• Some gang came in and shot the place up.有股匪帮进来对这个地方开枪扫射。

16 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。