HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in SpecialEnglish.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today …
We play some music by India Arie …
answer a question about people paying to take trips in space …
and, tell about a recent international mathematics competition.
International Mathematics Olympiad
HOST:
Earlier this month, almost five-hundred young people fromeighty-three countries took part in a special contest nearWashington, D-C. They were competing in the forty-second yearlyInternational Mathematical Olympiad. Shep O’Neal has more.
ANNCR:
The International Mathematical Olympiad is the top mathematicscompetition in the world. This was the first year sinceNineteen-Eighty-One that the competition was held in the UnitedStates. It was held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.Last year the contest was held in South Korea.
Each country sent a team of teen-age students. During thecompetition, the students worked alone for nine hours over two daysto solve six mathematics problems. They presented their solutions inwriting, like reports written by research mathematics experts.
Those experts judged the papers during the next several days.During the judging, the young people visited Washington, D.C. andits museums. They also experienced American life and culture.
The six mathematics problems include algebra, calculus andgeometry. They are too difficult to describe here. They are toodifficult for many people to understand.
The students taking part in the competition understood them,however. The team from China won the competition. The United Statesand Russia tied for second place. South Korea was fourth. No thirdplace award was given.
The students were also judged individually and received medalsfor their performances. One of the members of the United States teambecame the first four-time gold medalist at the Math Olympiad.Eighteen-year-old Reid Barton answered every question correctly eachyear for the past four years.
Reid lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. He does not attend a highschool. Instead he is taught at home. He will attend college at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Reid will not be able to attend another InternationalMathematical Olympiad. But many other young people who lovemathematics are already preparing for the contest next year. It willbe held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Space Tourism
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Russia. DenisVladimirovich Efimov asks if people will pay to take trips to spacein the future.
It has already happened. In April, American businessman DennisTito travelled to the International Space Station. He paid theRussian space agency twenty-million dollars for eight days in space.
However, the American space agency did not support Mister Tito’strip. NASA officials said a non-professional space traveller shouldnot visit the space station while it is being built. But Russianofficials said the money Mister Tito was paying for the trip wouldhelp their space program.
The two space agencies finally agreed on terms for thebusinessman’s visit. NASA barred Mister Tito from entering theAmerican part of the space station alone. And Russia made himpromise to pay if he damaged anything. Mister Tito flew with twoRussian cosmonauts on the Soyuz spacecraft. The cosmonauts weretransporting equipment to the space station. Mister Tito’s duties onthe flight were minor. His trip was for pleasure.
Mister Tito returned to Earth safely on May sixth. He describedhis trip as the deepest experience of his life — a dream come true.And he says he plans to support the idea of space travel forpleasure.
He will not be alone. The head of Russia’s space agency hasexpressed his support for the idea. He says Mister Tito’s trip hasopened up a new period of space exploration that includes pleasureflights. Another Russian space official described the internationalspace station as “open for business.”
Reports say Russian officials are considering offers from otherprivate individuals looking for a ride into space. Film directorJames Cameron is among those interested. The director of the film”Titanic” is among a small group of people who are able to pay thehigh price for a flight in space.
When will the average person be able to take such a trip? Maybesooner than you think. The German television production companyBrainpool is creating a show in which people compete to win a spaceflight. Brainpool says it has an agreement to use Soyuz spacecraftsfor flights that could begin as early as next year.
India Arie
HOST:
India Arie (ar-EE) has been writing songs for five years. Herfirst album was released in March. It is called “Acoustic Soul.”Shirley Griffith tells us more.
ANNCR:
The songs on “Acoustic Soul” include messages about lovingyourself. The song “Video” is about being happy with what you looklike.
((CUT 1 – “Video”))
India Arie (ar-EE) is twenty-five years old. She began playingguitar while in college. In Nineteen-Ninety-Eight, she performedwith other female singers on the Lilith Fair tour. Major recordcompanies became interested in her music.
Critics praise her singing. They say the songs on “Acoustic Soul”show how non-electric instruments can add feeling to a song. Listenfor guitar, cello and piano on this song, “Ready for Love.”
((Cut 2 – “Ready for Love”))
India Arie calls her music soul music because it comes from theheart. She says the message of music has the power to heal. We leaveyou now with another song from her new album. This one is called”Brown Skin.”
((CUT 3 – “Brown Skin”))
HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. 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.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Lawan Davis, NancySteinbach and Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Tom Verba. Andour producer was Paul Thompson.Related Articles