VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Girl Scouts Celebrate Birthday on the National Mall

 

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Girl Scouts³ Celebrate Birthday on the National Mall

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I’m June Simms. This week on our program we tell about a new blog we just launched...

We also play some break-up songs that you wrote to say were your favorites…

But first, we visit with some American Girl Scouts celebrating the hundredth anniversary of their organization…

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Girl Scouts’ Hundredth Anniversary

JUNE SIMMS: Girl Scouts from around the United States gathered in Washington last weekend to mark the group’s one hundredth anniversary. Organizers say over two hundred thousand people attended the celebration. There were Americans from every state, including actress and singer Mandy Moore. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN: Girl Scout² officials say the first Girl Scout meeting was held on March twelfth, nineteen twelve. That is when Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low met with eighteen girls from the southern city of Savannah, Georgia. Daisy Low believed that all girls should be given a chance to develop physically⁴, mentally, and spiritually.

Those early Girl Scouts learned to climb mountains and play sports. They also went camping, studied first aid and learned how to tell time by the stars.

Today, many Girl Scouts continue to take part in such activities. Girls at the event last Saturday listed some of the activities they like.

GIRL SCOUT ONE: “We camp, we go to the zoo.” 

GIRL SCOUT TWO: “We hike sometimes.”

GIRL SCOUT ONE: “We definitely sell cookies”

They also talked about why they joined the group.

GIRL SCOUT THREE: “Because I thought it was fun and I wanted to make new friends.”

GIRL SCOUT FOUR: “To see the world around me and to do different things and help others.”

GIRL SCOUT TWO: “Because we wanted to care for other people.”

Girl Scout cookies are an American tradition. Girl Scouts have been selling cookies for over eighty years as a way to raise money for Girl Scout projects. Girl Scouts of the United States says the cookie program is the largest girl-operated business in the country. The organization says selling cookies is a way to help all girls become strong and resourceful citizens.

The girls set goals for how many boxes they plan to sell. They also choose the activities and projects that they want to support. Girl Scouts also donate cookies to American troops overseas, a program called Operation Cookie Drop.

All of the money earned from cookie sales goes directly to the Girl Scout local council that organized the sale. Local councils use some of the money to provide services for Girl Scout programs and events.

However, usually ten or twenty percent of the profits goes back to the individual group that sold the cookies. This money is used for troop projects which differ as much as the Girl Scouts themselves. One Girl Scout group might provide financial support to a needy⁵ family. Another group could use the money to buy food for a local animal shelter.

A Girl Scout troop in Arlington, Virginia, used some of their cookie sales to support the celebration on the mall. “We hosted some troops from Kansas, Pennsylvania and Florida,” says thirteen-year-old Annaliese Taylor. The money helped pay for their housing, food and registration⁶ costs. The fun they shared with other Girl Scouts was free.

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New English Learners’ Blog

JUNE SIMMS: We started something new this week at www.voanews.cn. We call it "Confessions⁷ of an English Learner." It's a place for you to share funny or not-so-funny stories about language misunderstandings.

For example, Octave from Kigali, Rwanda, tells about a meeting where somebody was talking about a bridge between two districts. Instead of saying the bridge that those two districts are sharing, he said "the bridge that those two districts are shelling." That person was the chairman of the meeting!

J.C. Morales from Houston, Texas, remembers an experience after coming to the United States twenty-five years ago. J.C. writes, I was working at a McDonald's restaurant as a manager trainee¹⁰. We were getting ready to celebrate a birthday for a customer's child. We ran out of balloons for the party, so the store manager asked me to go to a nearby store to buy some "globes" for that purpose. I followed her instructions, and I requested some gloves. When I got back to the restaurant, everybody was laughing at me. I felt ashamed for the misunderstanding. That is very common for non-native English speakers.

Alex from Ukraine also found himself in a misunderstanding, only he was not the one who misunderstood. Alex says, Last summer I visited Los Angeles. When I asked a policeman, "Help me, please, where is the nearest subway station?" he thought that I meant a fast-food Subway restaurant. But I was searching for an underground station.

You can find more stories about misunderstandings and share your own. Go to www.voanews.cn and "Confessions of an English Learner." Or write to [email protected] and type "confessions" in the subject line, and please tell us where you are from.

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Your Favorite Break-Up Songs

JUNE SIMMS: Last week we played break-up songs from today and yesterday. We chose recent hits by Gotye, Kelly Clarkson and Drake. We also played older songs by Gloria Gaynor, Human League and Neil Young.

Many people commented on our story about break-up songs. And several of you told us about your own favorite break-up song. Christopher Cruise¹¹ plays some of them.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Edgar from Venezuela wanted to hear “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” by the Bee Gees¹². This nineteen seventy-one song is especially touching¹³ following the recent death of Robin¹⁴ Gibb.

I can think of younger days / when living for my life / was everything a man could want to do / I could never see tomorrow / but I was never told about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart / How can you stop the rain from falling down / How can you stop the sun from shining / What makes the world go round / And how can you mend this broken man / How can a loser ever win / Please help me mend my broken heart / and let me live again

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Ben from Thailand wrote that such songs are always beautiful to listen to when two lovers break-up. He added, it’s bittersweet, isn’t it? 

Well, the Hoodoo Gurus sure thought so. Here is the group’s nineteen eighty-five hit, “Bittersweet.” The song says: God knows. I tried / Tried to hold you with all my might /But time has won / And I could never be that strong.

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Kika from Spain wrote to say we must listen to this break-up song from nineteen ninety-three: “Please Forgive Me” by Bryan Adams.

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And, finally, we heard from Joruji in Tokyo, whose favorite break-up song is Abba’s “The Winner Takes It All.” Joruji says its words are memorable¹⁵. We leave you with the “The Winner Takes It All” and its lyrics¹⁶.

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I don't wanna talk

About the things we've gone through

Though it's hurting me

Now it's history

I've played all my cards

And that's what you've done too

Nothing more to say

No more ace⁸ to play

The winner takes it all

The loser's standing⁹ small

Beside the victory

That's a destiny¹⁷

I was in your arms

Thinking I belonged there

I figured it made sense

Building me a fence

Building me a home

Thinking I'd be strong there

But I was a fool

Playing by the rules

JUNE SIMMS: I’m June Simms. This program was written by Kim Varzi and Caty Weaver¹⁸, who was also the producer.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

3 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 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。

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

7 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 trainee   

n.受训练者

参考例句：

• The trainee checked out all right on his first flight.受训者第一次飞行完全合格。
• Few of the trainee footballers make it to the top.足球受训人员中没有几个能达到顶级水平。

11 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

12 gees   

n.（美俚）一千元（gee的复数形式）v.驭马快走或向右（gee的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• When the lunch bell rang, she peeled the gees and ate them. 中午吃饭铃响时她就剥开鸡蛋吃起来。 来自互联网
• How do you want you gees? 你要怎么样的蛋呢？ 来自互联网

13 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

14 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

15 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

16 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

17 destiny   

n.命运，定数，天命

参考例句：

• Nobody knows his own destiny.没有人知道自己的命运。
• It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。

18 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。