Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC – VOA’s radio magazine in SpecialEnglish.
(THEME)
This is Steve Ember. On our program today we:
play songs by Aaliyah …
answer a question about the American naval base in Cuba …
and report about the Olympic Flame.
Olympic Flame
HOST:
The Two-Thousand-Two Winter Olympic Games will begin in Salt LakeCity, Utah, on February eighth. The games will open with thelighting of the Olympic Flame from fire that has been carried fromGreece. Shep O’Neal explains.
ANNCR:
The Olympic Flame links the oldand new Olympic Games. In ancient Olympia, a fire burned for the godZeus during the Olympic sports competition. Now, runners bring atorch carrying the flame from Olympia, Greece to every new Olympics.
The torch was lit on November nineteenth in Olympia. It firsttraveled to Atlanta, Georgia, where the last Olympic Games in theUnited States were held. Then it began a twenty-two-thousandkilometer trip across forty-six states to Salt Lake City.
Many kinds of vehicles are carrying the Olympic torch. Theyinclude cars, airplanes, trains, ships, dogsleds, sleighs, and evena snow mobile. Runners in many cities across the country are alsocarrying the torch.
The flame lights a torch each morning to start the run that day.Each runner then lights the next runner’s torch. Officials say theflame travels about three-hundred-thirty kilometers each day.
The Salt Lake City Olympic Committee chose the runners who arecarrying the torch. People in their towns and cities nominated therunners for the honor. Some of the runners are famous. Others arenot. Last week in Los Angeles, for example, one-hundred peoplecarried the torch. They included Olympic figure skater MichelleKwan, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a teenaged girl who helpsyoung students.
Olympic officials say more than eleven-thousand runners will havecarried the flame by the time it reaches Salt Lake City on Februaryeighth. The name of the last person to carry the flame is kept asecret. He or she will enter the sports center to light the torchthat will officially start the Winter Olympic Games.
Guantanamo
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Alistener in Ho Chi Minh City asks about the United States Naval Baseat Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Guantanamo Bay is aone-hundred-sixteen square kilometer area on the eastern edge ofCuba. It includes the island’s only deep water bay, and iscontrolled by the United States. The American base is surrounded bya wire fence, Cuban land mines and Cuban guards armed with machineguns.
United States Marines took control of Guantanamo Bay during theSpanish-American War in Eighteen-Ninety-Eight. In Nineteen-Oh-Three,an independent Cuba agreed to permit the United States to use thebase in exchange for a yearly payment of two-thousand dollars ingold. A treaty confirmed the agreement in Nineteen-Thirty-Four. Itsaid the United States could stay as long as it wanted.
Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine. Heimmediately demanded the return of the base. The United Statesrefused. The Defense Department continues to send payment to theCuban government each year.
In the Nineteen-Sixties, tensions increased at Guantanamofollowing the American-supported Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba andthe Cuban missile crisis. These incidents led American forces toincrease security at the base. In Nineteen-Sixty-Four, PresidentCastro cut off its water supply. The United States had to senddrinking water to the area until it built its own equipment toremove salt from the water in the bay.
In recent times, the United States has used the base atGuantanamo to hold Cuban and Haitian refugees. Now, it is holdingmore than one-hundred-fifty Taleban and al-Qaida prisoners. Thefighters were captured during the war against terrorism inAfghanistan. Officials say they are the most dangerous people everheld at Guantanamo. The United States is now building a permanentbuilding to hold two-thousand prisoners at the naval base. It willbe completed in several months.
American officials had expected President Castro to protest useof the base, as he has so many times in the past. They weresurprised that the Cuban leader did not criticize the United Statesaction. In fact, he ordered his troops to cooperate in theanti-terror operation.
Aaliyah
HOST:
The American music industry presented the yearly American MusicAwards earlier this month in Los Angeles, California. One of thewinners was the singer, songwriter and actress Aaliyah. She wasnamed favorite rhythm and blues artist. Her last album was namedfavorite rhythm and blues album. Aaliyah died in a plane crash lastyear. Sarah Long tells us about her.
ANNCR:
Aaliyah Haughton was born inBrooklyn, New York in Nineteen-Seventy-Nine. She began performing atthe age of eleven when she sang on stage with her aunt, GladysKnight. She released her first album in Nineteen-Ninety-Four. It wascalled “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” One of its big hits wasthis song, “At Your Best (You Are Love).”
((CUT 1: AT YOUR BEST [YOU ARE LOVE]))
Aaliyah was also a successful actress. Her first movie was “RomeoMust Die.” She sang two songs that are included in the film. One wasthe hit “Try Again.”
((CUT 2: TRY AGAIN))
Aaliyah and eight other people were killed in a plane crash inthe Bahamas last August. She was in the islands making a music videofilm for her album, “Aaliyah.”
That album has been nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Rhythmand Blues Album of the Year. We leave you now with the song fromthat album that is nominated for a Grammy Award as Best FemaleRhythm and Blues Performance. It is called “Rock the Boat.”
((CUT 3: ROCK THE BOAT))
HOST:
This is Steve Ember . I hope you enjoyed our program today. And Ihope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC – VOA’sradio magazine in Special English.
Remember to write us with your questions about American life. Wewill try to answer them on future programs. Listeners whosequestions are chosen will receive a Random House Webster’s CollegeDictionary.
Send your questions to American Mosaic, Special English, Voice ofAmerica, Washington, D.C. two-zero-two-three-seven, USA. Or use acomputer to e-mail your question to mosaic@voanews.com. Pleaseinclude your name and postal address.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Nancy Steinbach. Ourstudio engineer was Tom Verba. And our producer was Paul Thompson.