AMERICAN MOSAIC - Up, Up and Away ... to a Balloon Museum in

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Up, Up and Away ... to a Balloon Museum in Albuquerque
By Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, October 07, 2005

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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We hear some music from Bow Wow…

Answer a question about Spanish speakers in the United States…

And report about a new museum in the American Southwest.

Balloon Museum

 
 
Every October for more than thirty years, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico welcomes visitors to a colorful celebration. The visitors spend much of their time looking up at the sky. That is because they are attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. More than seven hundred colorful hot air balloons fill the sky. This year, there is also a new ballooning museum. Pat Bodner has more.

PAT BODNER: The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum opened October first. It celebrates the art and science of ballooning. The name honors two men from Albuquerque who were important in the history of balloon flight. They are Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson. Along with Larry Newman, they completed the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by gas balloon in nineteen seventy-eight.

The new museum building looks like a balloon lying on its side ready to launch. Outside is a real balloon ready to take visitors for a ride.

The museum has a library about ballooning and air flight, films and pictures of ballooning throughout history and educational classrooms.

The museum aims to answer questions many people ask about balloons and those who fly them: How are balloons built? How do they get up into the air? Why do people fly them at all? The museum also shows how balloons have been used for fun, for war and for scientific purposes.

Visitors can see objects important in the history of ballooning. One is a handwritten letter by Frenchman LeSuer Phillipe. He watched what is believed to be the first balloon flight in the world in seventeen eighty-three. Visitors also can see the first two balloons flown in Albuquerque in eighteen eighty-two and nineteen oh-seven.

One exciting part of the museum is called the New Mexico Adventure. It is a virtual² reality balloon ride through the state of New Mexico. The experience shows the beautiful areas of the state that visitors can only see from the air.

Officials say they hope foreign visitors as well as Americans will visit the museum. That is because it also includes objects about ballooning in other countries. These include parts of a bomb-dropping device used by Germany during World War Two. And the clothing worn by a Japanese balloonist in nineteen ninety-four.

 
 
HOST: Our question this week comes from China. A student at Nankai University wants to know why Spanish is the most popular foreign language spoken in the United States.

Spanish has been spoken in the United States since eighteen-oh-three. That is the year the United States bought a huge area of land called the Louisiana Purchase. Spanish settlers in the area became part of the new nation.

Today, Spanish is the second most common language used in the United States, after English. Experts say the reason is because many Spanish-speaking people have moved to the United States to live.

Americans describe people of Spanish ancestry³ as Hispanic. Latino is another word used to describe people with roots in Spanish-speaking countries.

In two thousand three, the government officially estimated Hispanics to be the largest minority group in the United States. The number of Hispanics in the United States increased by almost six million since the last official government count in two thousand. The government now says the Hispanic population reached more than forty-one million people as of July of two thousand four. That is fourteen percent of the population.

One important issue is how to improve education for the children of Latino immigrants. A national debate continues about how best to teach English and other subjects to Spanish-speaking children. Studies show that Hispanics in the United States complete high school and college at lower rates than other ethnic⁴ groups.

The popularity⁵ of Spanish is having a lasting⁶ influence on English speakers in the United States. Many non-Hispanic children and adults are learning and speaking Spanish. It is one of the most popular foreign languages that students study in school. It is being used increasingly in business, and in both national and international politics.

And business leaders are recognizing the growing importance of selling to what is now America's largest minority group. The number of Spanish-language programs are increasing on radio and television. And, Latinos are gaining influence in cultural and political life in the United States.

Bow Wow

 
 
Shad Moss⁷ began performing rap⁸ music when he was six years old. Shad appeared with popular rapper Snoop Dogg on a television show. The public liked Shad immediately. Snoop began calling him "Lil' Bow Wow." Bob Doughty⁹ has more.

BOB DOUGHTY: At age thirteen, Lil' Bow Wow became the world's youngest rapper to have a number one hit song. That earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The song was "Bounce With Me." It is from his first album "Beware¹⁰ of Dog." The album was released in two thousand.

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Lil' Bow Wow has gained much success as a rapper. He also has performed as an actor in movies. He was in "Like Mike" and "The Johnson Family Vacation". His most recent movie, "Roll Bounce," was released last month.

In two thousand two, Lil' Bow Wow dropped the "little" from his name. He became known as "Bow Wow." He was fifteen years old. He wanted to be recognized as a young adult instead of a child performer. He had just recorded his third album, "Unleashed¹¹." In this song, he tells about the things he wants to do when he becomes eighteen. It is called "Eighteen".

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Now Bow Wow is eighteen. This year he released his fourth album, "Wanted." We leave you with a song from that album. Bow Wow performs "Like You" with hip-hop singer Ciara (see-AIR-a).

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HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program.

This show was written by Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹² was the producer.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in 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 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

3 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

8 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。

9 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

10 beware   

vt./vi.谨防，当心

参考例句：

• Beware of the fire.留心火烛。
• Beware of being too impatient with others.注意不要对他人太没有耐心。

11 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。