VOASE0909_This Is America

09 September 2007

The Secret to Avoiding Summer Crowds in Washington: Wait for Fall
Some things to see on an autumn visit to the nation's capital and beyond.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Visitors to Washington, D.C., in the summer often want to stay inside air-conditioned museums. The cooler days of fall are a good time to explore the outdoors in and around the nation's capital.

VOICE ONE:

Autumn in Washington is our subject this week.

The US Capitol and the fall leaves of a Yoshino cherry tree

(MUSIC)

Imagine that the calendar says it is fall and you have just arrived on a visit to Washington. The leaves on many of the trees have already begun to change color as they prepare to drop to the ground. Soon they will be gold and orange and red.

The summer crowds of visitors have thinned. Children are back in school, parents are back at work. Points of interest will be easier to photograph. There are fewer people to walk in front of your camera.

The weather should be more cooperative, too. Washington can get very hot and sticky in summertime. July and August are usually the warmest months. By October, you may need to wear a light jacket, especially after sunset.

VOICE TWO:

There are tour companies that will take you around the city. Or you can ride public transportation, or rent a car or take taxis. There is plenty you can see just by walking around.

One place that might interest world travelers is the area of the city called Embassy Row. Washington has more than one hundred seventy diplomatic and consular offices. About one-third of them occupy Embassy Row. This area is between two streets named for states in New England: Massachusetts Avenue and Connecticut Avenue.

VOICE ONE:

An embassy usually has two parts. The ambassador lives in the residence while embassy business takes place in the chancery.

Some of the finest embassies are along the part of Embassy Row near Dupont Circle. Six roads come together at the circle. A number of hotels and restaurants are also in this area.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many diplomatic buildings in the capital once were the houses of wealthy Americans. A building that houses the Embassy of Indonesia, for example, was known for many years as the Walsh mansion.

Thomas Walsh had it built more than one hundred years ago as a home for his family. The architect designed the mansion similar to a style popular at the time in Paris.

Thomas Walsh was born in Ireland. He came to the United States at the age of nineteen. He made a lot of money in the state of Colorado. There, he developed and owned one of the richest gold mines in the world.

VOICE ONE:

Walsh’s daughter, Evalyn Walsh McLean, owned the Hope Diamond. She wore the huge jewel even though she had received warnings that it caused terrible things to happen. Some people saw proof of that in the fact that two of her children and her husband died before her.

Many big parties took place among the costly furnishings of the Walsh mansion. Wealthy and famous people visited the beautifully lighted house.

VOICE TWO:

It was a center of Washington society until the nineteen thirties. The house stood unoccupied for a while, then government agencies used it for offices.

During World War Two, the Red Cross made bandages in the house and also used the space to treat soldiers wounded overseas.

In the nineteen fifties, Ali Sastroamidjojo bought the building for Indonesia. He served as the country’s first ambassador to the United States. About thirty years later, the old mansion was connected to a modern building that was added.

Today, some people attend Friday prayers at the Indonesian embassy. The embassy also offers educational courses.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Traveling along Embassy Row, we pass a number of other embassies. One of the largest is the British Embassy. The grounds include two chancery buildings and a residence. The ambassador's home looks like an English country house.

On the embassy grounds a bronze statue of Winston Churchill welcomes visitors and people passing by on the street.

VOICE TWO:

Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister during World War Two. His statue shows him making a V-for-victory sign with one hand. The other hand holds a cane and a cigar.

Churchill stands with one foot on British land at the embassy and the other foot in Washington. This placement calls attention to the fact that his father was British and his mother was American. It also calls attention to the honorary United States citizenship that he was given.

VOICE ONE:

Close to the British Embassy is the United States Naval Observatory. Astronomers use the observatory to study the positions and movements of the Earth, sun, moon and other objects in space.

The people who work at the Naval Observatory must also find time for another responsibility. They keep the Master Clock for the United States.

We see an electronic sign with red numbers near Massachusetts Avenue. The numbers change by the second. What time is it? Time to continue our tour.

VOICE TWO:

Public tours of the Naval Observatory are available but they are limited.

There are several main buildings on the grounds on the Naval Observatory. One of these is a big white house. No, not the house where the president lives. This is the official home of the vice president.

VOICE ONE:

Next, we leave Embassy Row and head for Washington's historic Georgetown neighborhood along the Potomac River. In Georgetown we stop at a mansion that holds the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Dumbarton Oaks is another fine place for an outdoor visit.

In nineteen forty-four, delegates from the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China met at Dumbarton Oaks. World War Two was nearing its end. The purpose of the Dumbarton Oaks Conference was to talk about ways to secure a just and lasting peace in the world.

VOICE TWO:

Meetings took place between August and October of nineteen forty-four. The delegates talked about proposals for an international organization. Those talks led to the United Nations, which was established in nineteen forty-five.

Today, however, it is not the history but the beauty of the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks that captures our attention.

VOICE ONE:

The gardens offer peace in the middle of a busy city. There are flowers and trees along with pools and fountains of water. Something always seems to be in bloom here. Visitors have even seen roses in full flower in December at the start of winter.

Almost all of the sculptures in the garden were made from limestone from the state of Indiana in the Midwest.

Greenery and flowering bushes surround the Ornamental Pool in the gardens. A visitor has to resist the urge to jump in for a swim.

(MUSIC)

The Washinton Monument, near the White House

VOICE TWO:

Washington has many outdoor memorials and monuments around the National Mall area and throughout the city. But if a road trip out into the country interests you, then here is an idea.

One place to enjoy the beauty of nature in autumn is along Skyline Drive in Virginia. The road is about one hundred forty kilometers from Washington, on the other side of the Potomac River. You can rent a car to get there, or go on a tour bus.

The trees are pretty even if they have not yet reached their full colors in the fall. Visitors may see deer walking in the road. Drivers have to be careful not to hit them. There is another reason not to drive too fast. The road is not very wide.

VOICE ONE:

Skyline Drive is in Shenandoah National Park. The park is in the Virginia part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In turn, the Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains. The drive is along the top of the mountains.

Skyline Drive is the only road through Shenandoah. It passes through about one hundred seven kilometers of the park.

The park has about eighty overlooks where you can pull your car off the road and enjoy a view of nature in all its autumn beauty.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. For more programs about American life, go to voaspecialenglish.com, where you can download transcripts and MP3 files. We will also have links if you would like to take a picture tour of the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks or see what the Indonesian embassy looks like. And we hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0908_People In America

08 September 2007

Beverly Sills, 1929-2007: A Beautiful Voice for Opera and the Arts
She was the “Queen of American Opera.”

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Beverly Sills. Her clear soprano voice and lively spirit made her one of the most famous performers in the world of opera. Sills worked hard to make opera an art form that the general public could enjoy. She spent the later part of her career as a strong cultural leader for three major performing arts centers in New York City.

(MUSIC: “Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille”)

VOICE ONE:

That was Beverly Sills performing a song from the opera “The Tales of

Beverly Sills

Hoffman” by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sills is singing the role of Olympia, a female robot who keeps breaking down while singing a series of high notes. This difficult aria gives a good example of the sweet and expressive voice that made Beverly Sills famous.

VOICE TWO:

Beverly Sills was born Belle Silverman in nineteen twenty-nine. Her family lived in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Morris, came from Romania and her mother, Shirley, was Russian. Sills said that her father believed that a person could live the real American dream only with an educated mind. Part of her early education came in the form of listening.

Beverly’s mother played old opera records. The young child learned to sing by repeating the words of the songs. Shirley Silverman pushed Beverly at a young age to become a performer. By the age of four Beverly was singing on a weekly children’s radio program and also making radio advertisements.

(SOUND)

Beverly also had roles in several short movies. By the age of nine, she had a voice teacher, Estelle Liebling, who taught her the art of coloratura. Coloratura is a method of singing in which notes are added to make a part of a song more complex. Most coloratura sopranos can sing very high notes.

VOICE ONE:

Beverly graduated from professional school in nineteen forty-five. She then started singing with traveling opera companies performing the works of such composers as Gilbert and Sullivan. During these ten years she also made guest appearances at opera companies throughout America. She tried seven times to audition and be accepted into the New York City Opera. Finally, in nineteen fifty-five she succeeded. Also that year, Beverly Sills met Peter Greenough while she was performing in Cleveland, Ohio. She married him the next year and moved to Cleveland.

VOICE TWO:

Sills continued singing for the New York City Opera and traveled back and forth to Cleveland. In nineteen fifty-nine she had a daughter named Meredith. Two years later, she had a son, Peter. Beverly Sills and her husband soon learned that their daughter was deaf.

They also found out their son had major developmental problems. He was mentally handicapped and autistic. In nineteen sixty-one, Sills stopped singing to take care of her children during this difficult time. Her daughter slowly learned to go to school and lead a normal life. But her son later had to live in a care center with medical professionals.

VOICE ONE:

In time, Beverly Sills returned to work. Here she talks about how her family’s situation changed her professionally. The recording is part of a two thousand six documentary movie about her life:

BEVERLY SILLS:

“My whole attitude about life is different and naturally it affected my singing. It affected my whole attitude about my career. How can I be affected by a trivial thing that someone will say to me backstage, that perhaps that they did not like my singing? How can I be affected by that? That’s something that’s a million miles from me! I felt that as far as my singing was concerned that the only person I really had to please was me.”

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills’ big break into fame took place in nineteen sixty-six when she performed Cleopatra in Handel’s “Julius Cesar.” Her performances received some of the greatest critical praise of her career. Here is a song from that opera.

(MUSIC: “Se Pieta Di Me Non Senti”)

VOICE TWO:

Two years later Sills received more praise for her role in the French opera “Manon.” One critic wrote that if he had made a list of the wonders of New York City to give a traveler, he would put Beverly Sills as “Manon” at the top of the list. She would even be ahead of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building! Here is Beverly Sills singing the part of Manon.

(MUSIC: “Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins”)

VOICE ONE:

Over the next twenty years Beverly Sills became known as "the queen of American opera." In addition to singing, she often appeared on popular television shows. Audiences liked her because of her laughter and funny jokes. Most American opera singers at the time went to Europe for training and jobs. But Sills learned her art in America and that is where she performed. She limited her visits to foreign countries so she could always be near her children.

VOICE TWO:

Beverly Sills as Lucia in "Lucia Di Lammermoor"

When she did perform internationally, critics highly praised her performances. In nineteen seventy-three she performed Donizetti’s “Lucia de Lammermoor” at Covent Garden in London. Here is the famous mad scene where Lucia becomes wild with sadness over a lost love. It is one of the more difficult songs in opera to sing, but Sills performs the aria beautifully.

(MUSIC: “Il dolce suono ”)

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills retired from singing in nineteen eighty. But she did not leave the opera world. She became director of the New York City Opera. For eight years she worked hard to modernize the City Opera. She also raised millions of dollars to keep it operating. She later held other important positions, including chairwoman of the board of supervisors for New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In two thousand two, she became chairwoman of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House before retiring for good three years later.

Beverly Sills died in two thousand seven of lung cancer. She was seventy-eight. She once said that she had never been a happy woman. But she said she had always been able to feel cheerful because her work kept her going.

We leave you with Beverly Sills singing the role of Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “La Traviata.” In this magical performance you can hear the joyous celebration she found in music.

(MUSIC: “Sempre Libera”)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. You can learn more about famous Americans and download scripts and audio of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

VOASE0909_Development Report

09 September 2007

UNICEF to Work With a Private Group to Fight AIDS
Partnership with Family Health International will provide services to women and children in Guyana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Baby girl infected with HIV in India

UNICEF is joining with a nonprofit group to bring H.I.V./AIDS programs to more women and children in five countries. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, will work with Family Health International. The new partnership will be established at first in Guyana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia.

One of the goals is to improve care for babies infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Another is to prevent the spread of H.I.V. from mother to child.

Activities will depend on the needs of each country. In some cases, anti-retroviral drugs will be provided to infected parents of children. Women and children living in rural communities will receive most of the services.

Steve Taravella is the head of communications for Family Health International. He says the partnership is separate from UNICEF's international campaign against AIDS but will support the goals of the U.N. agency.

Both UNICEF and Family Health International say they hope to expand their partnership into more countries in the future.

Family Health International has been working on public health issues since nineteen seventy-one. The organization is based in North Carolina and has programs in seventy countries.

It does research on infections diseases and reproductive health, and also provides services. More than half of its yearly budget of about two hundred forty million dollars comes from the United States government.

Experts say an important part of fighting AIDS is political will. One example they point to is Cambodia. That country has been getting attention for its progress in reducing some of the highest infection rates in Asia.

Experts praise the government for supporting public education efforts and programs to give condoms to sex workers. Prostitutes are taught to enforce a policy of "one hundred percent condom use" at sex businesses.

But there are warnings that H.I.V. rates could still rise among men who have sex with men and among users of injection drugs. Rates could also rise among so-called indirect sex workers -- women who work in bars and clubs.

Today about eighty percent of all people infected with H.I.V. in Cambodia receive life-saving drugs for free.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. You can learn more about H.I.V. and AIDS at voaspecialenglish.com.

VOASE0907_In the News

07 September 2007

Fred Thompson: Actor, Senator, and Now a Late Entry in the '08 Presidential Race
The former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" star joins a group of Republicans with no clear favorite among them.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, former United States senator Fred Thompson announced his candidacy for

Fred Thompson

president. He joins eight others competing for the Republican Party nomination next year.

Fred Thompson arrived in Washington more than thirty years ago as a Senate committee lawyer for the Watergate investigation. He represented Tennessee in the Senate from nineteen ninety-four to two thousand three. He decided to return to a job where he was already well known: acting.

He has appeared in movies including "The Hunt for Red October." He played a New York City prosecutor for the past five seasons of the television show "Law and Order."

In fact, he has even played a president on TV. So it came as no surprise when he announced his candidacy as a guest on a late-night show. He made an official announcement in a Web video.

People thought Fred Thompson would enter the race months ago. He supports President Bush on the Iraq war and hopes to appeal to social conservatives. But he has had problems raising money and organizing a campaign.

So he is entering late -- too late, some say. Yet, in most public opinion studies, he was the second or third most popular choice for a Republican nominee. And that was before he declared his candidacy.

He joins a group without a clear favorite. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been leading the Republican candidates nationally for months. But former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is leading in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Republicans and Democrats are getting ready for the nominating process to begin in January. Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally hold the first votes for delegates, so these two states are important early tests.

The election is not until November. But many states are moving their primary and caucus votes to early in the year. February fifth is going to be a big day. A shorter primary season will increase pressure on candidates, especially any late arrivals.

Now, a listener in China, Simon Yuan from Jiangsu province, asks about the requirements for an American president.

Presidents must be at least thirty-five years old and natural-born citizens of the United States. They must also have lived in the country for at least fourteen years. These requirements are in the Constitution.

Simon Yuan also asks how many presidents have been members of the Democratic Party. Of the forty-three presidents, fourteen have been Democrats. Eighteen have been Republicans. In the past, the Republicans were the more liberal party and the Democrats were the more conservative.

Presidents have also belonged to parties that no longer exist: The Federalists. The Whigs. The Democratic-Republican Party, and the Democratic/National Union. The first president, George Washington, belonged to no political party at all.

And that's IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. If you have a question about the American political process, we might be able to answer it on the air. Write to special@voanews.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0906_Economics Report

06 September 2007

Starting a Business Means Getting Organized
Companies are structured different ways for different reasons.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.

The simplest form of business is called an individual proprietorship. The proprietor owns all of the property of the business and is responsible for everything.

This means that the proprietor gets to keep all of the profits of the business, but also must pay any debts. The law recognizes no difference between the owner and the business.

Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to decide how much of the partnership each person controls.

There are limited liability partnerships. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits, but they also do not have as many responsibilities.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships to share the profits and risks of doing business. A husband and wife can form a business partnership.

Partnerships can end at any time. But partnerships and individual proprietorships exist only as long as the owners are alive.

The most complex kind of business organization is the corporation. Corporations are designed to have an unlimited lifetime.

Corporations can sell stock as a way to raise money. Stock represents shares of ownership in a company. Investors who buy stock can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business. A company might use some of its earnings to pay dividends as a reward to shareholders. Or it might reinvest the money into the business.

If shares lose value, investors can lose all of the money they paid for their stock. But shareholders are not responsible for the debts of the corporation. A corporation is recognized as an entity -- its own legal being, separate from its owners.

A board of directors controls corporate policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold shares in the corporation.

Corporations can have a few major shareholders. Or ownership can be spread among the general public.

But not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. There are nonprofit groups that are also organized as corporations.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about business and economics by downloading transcripts and MP3 files of our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0906_American Mosaic

06 September 2007

Little League World Series Brings a World of Fun Each Year to Williamsport
A question from Vietnam about how young people buy cars in the US. And Disney prepares for ''High School Musical 3'' to be released in movie theaters next year.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We listen to music from the television movie "High School Musical Two" …

Answer a question about buying a car in the United States …

And report about the worldwide baseball program called Little League.

Little League

HOST:

Georgia's Dalton Carriker after hitting a home run for the Warner Robins Little League's 3-2 victory over Tokyo Kitasuna

Last month, an American baseball team from the state of Georgia defeated a team from Tokyo, Japan, to win the Little League World Series. Children of all ages in more than one hundred countries around the world play in more than seven thousand Little League programs. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Little League began in the state of Pennsylvania in nineteen thirty-nine. It was the result of efforts by a man named Carl Stotz who lived in the small city of Williamsport. He developed the first rules for a summer boys' baseball program.

The teams were all from Williamsport. The first Little League game was played on June sixth, nineteen thirty-nine. The program began to expand to nearby areas, then to other parts of the country. A team from Williamsport, the Maynard Midgets, won the first Little League World Series in nineteen forty-seven. Then the organization became international. Canadian children began playing Little League baseball in nineteen fifty-one.

In nineteen fifty-seven, a team from Monterrey, Mexico became the first team from outside the United States to win the Little League World Series. Since then, teams from Japan, South Korea and Venezuela have also won the World Series.

All the Little League World Series games have been played in Williamsport. The games are no longer for boys only. Girls can also take part in Little League. And the organization has added softball to its programs.

The organization notes that many famous professional athletes played Little League Baseball when they were young. One is Cal Ripken, who recently became a member of the American Baseball Hall of Fame. Others grew up to play American football, like Troy Aikman, an award-winning former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

Actor Danny DeVito played in Little League. So did writer John Grisham, United States Senator Joseph Lieberman and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. And we cannot leave out the only former Little League player to become president of the United States. As a boy, George W. Bush played catcher on a Little League team in Midland, Texas.

Buying A Car

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Misan Ho wants to know if it is possible for a recent college graduate to own a house and a car.

Many American college graduates are able to find a job and begin to earn money quickly. However, houses and apartments in the United States are usually too costly to buy right away. Instead of buying a house, most recent college graduates rent an apartment with roommates.

However, many college graduates are able to buy their own cars. They may need a car to travel to their jobs.

Their first car will probably be a used car because they cost much less than new ones. The prices of used cars can be very different, depending on the kind of car, how old it is and how well it works. A small, older car costs much less than a large, newer one. For example, the average price for a used nineteen ninety-nine Honda Civic is about eight thousand dollars. However, the average price for a used two thousand seven Ford Explorer is about twenty-five thousand dollars.

There are several ways to find used cars. Places that sell new cars usually have used cars for sale as well. The car dealerships get these used cars from people who trade them in for new cars. These cars might cost more than other used cars, but they are more likely to work well. Also, many dealers can promise that the car will work for a period of time or they will fix it for free.

Some people buy a used car directly from the owner. Car owners advertise these cars for sale over the Internet or in the newspaper. It may cost less to buy a car from the owner, but it can also be a bigger risk.

Before you decide to buy any used car, it is a good idea to make sure it works well. You should take the car for a test drive. Also, you should get a professional car mechanic to inspect the car. And you should make sure that the car has all of the required legal documents. There are many good used cars available for sale. You just might have to shop around.

High School Musical 2, 3 ...

HOST:

The top selling record album in the United States last year was from the television

Cast of "High School Musical 2"

movie “High School Musical.” Reports say the movie has earned one hundred million dollars. People in one hundred other countries have seen it. That success led the Disney Company to plan more "High School Musical" movies.

The second movie was shown for the first time on American television last month. Reports say seventeen million people watched. That makes "High School Musical Two" the most watched show ever on an American cable television network. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

“High School Musical” is about two American teenagers who try to get parts in the school play and learn about themselves in the process. “High School Musical Two” is about those students and their friends during summer vacation. At the start of the show, they sing about what they expect.

(MUSIC: "What Time Is It?")

The story centers around a high school basketball player named Troy. He is attracted to a rich girl named Sharpay and forgets about his other friends, including his girlfriend Gabriella. But events force him to reconsider and decide what values are important to him. Zac Efron plays Troy. He sings about the problem in the song "Bet On It":

(MUSIC)

The movies are especially popular with girls from ages nine to fourteen. Their parents approve of the movies as well. They say the films are fun and send good messages to kids.

The Disney Company is already preparing for "High School Musical Three" to be released in movie theaters next year. But now, we leave you with another song from “High School Musical Two.” It is called “All For One.”

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Erin Braswell and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.