VOICE ONE:
More than twenty-million people visited the capital of the UnitedStates last year. Many people who live in Washington, D.C., taketheir visitors around the city, especially during spring and summer.I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. A visit to Washington, D.C. is ourstory today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
It is August. An education advisor in the Washington area, SuzyKarpel, (car-PELL) gets a phone call. Friends from the Middle Westare coming to visit.
There are four members in the family. They say they want to seethe city. They want to see everything. But they can stay only a dayor two.
Mizz Karpel knows they cannot possibly see everything in such ashort time. She knows that the weather may be very hot. She knowstheir feet will get tired. But she wants her visitors to havewonderful memories of their visit.
VOICE TWO:
Mizz Karpel decides they will do most of their travelling byusing the city public transportation system, the Metro, instead ofher car. This will save time in traffic. It also will avoid theproblem of finding a place to leave the car.
The group plans to see museums during the day, and visit outdoormemorials at night. That way, they will be inside buildings duringthe hottest part of the day. But which of the many Washingtonmuseums should they see? And what will they choose to see in eachone?
VOICE ONE:
The visitors have two children. So Mizz Karpel decides theyshould begin their visit at the National Museum of Natural History.The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is along thegreen area called the Mall in the center of Washington.
The Natural History Museum contains objects about human culturesand mineral sciences. It also explains the biological sciences. And,it presents research about plants and animals.
The children are excited at seeing the dinosaurs, like the fiercelooking Triceratops that disappeared from Earth long ago. Some hugecreatures in the museum are copies. Others are bones of realcreatures that scientists have put together.
VOICE TWO:
One of the areas the visitors like best in the Natural HistoryMuseum is the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. Here, the famoushuge, blue Hope Diamond shines brightly from a container that keepsturning so the jewel can be seen from all sides. Many people crowdinto the geology hall, trying to see all the beautiful jewels. Thevisitors enjoy the nearby area showing uncut minerals of brightbeautiful colors.
VOICE ONE:
The group now walks along the Mall to the nearby National Museumof American History. This museum has millions of objects importantto the development of the United States.
Some of them are well known: dresses of the wives of Americanpresidents or the walking stick given to George Washington byBenjamin Franklin. The visitors also enjoy objects that are not aswell known. One of these is the table on which Thomas Jeffersonwrote the Declaration of Independence in Seventeen-Seventy-Six.
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VOICE TWO:
Next, the group visits the National Air and Space Museum. It isthe most popular museum in the world. Here, the family looks at thecommand vehicle of the Apollo Eleven spacecraft that first landed onthe moon in Nineteen-Sixty-Nine. And they all have a chance to toucha rock from the moon.
By now, everyone is hungry and a little tired. To save time, theybuy some food at an eating place in the museum.
VOICE ONE:
After eating lunch, the visitors decide they do not have the timeor energy to see the National Gallery of Art. Instead they visit asmaller art museum, the Freer Gallery of Art. It contains art fromAsia and the United States.
At the Freer, they inspect an unusual room. It is called thePeacock Room. James McNeill Whistler painted it. Large golden birdswith shining tail feathers are painted on the walls. Blue and whitecontainers line walls covered with leather material.
VOICE TWO:
The last stop for Mizz Karpel and her visitors is the Bureau ofEngraving and Printing. American paper money is produced in thisbuilding. Bureau workers also print treasury notes, militarydocuments and postage stamps. The children are able to buy sheets ofuncut money.
By now, everyone is ready for some quiet time and dinner. Theyreturn to Mizz Karpel’s home by Metro. After resting and eating,they start out again. They will ride in Mizz Karpel’s car to see thecity’s famous memorials.
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VOICE ONE:
Now it is getting dark. The visitors will do some of theirsightseeing by moonlight, when the temperature is cooler.
They start at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Thismemorial honors the American president who served longest in office– from Nineteen-Thirty-Three until his death inNineteen-Forty-Five. His memorial opened in Nineteen-Ninety-Seven.It contains four large areas. Each area represents one of his termsin office.
VOICE TWO:
The group then goes to the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial. Ithonors those who served in the Korean conflict, from Nineteen-Fiftyto Nineteen-Fifty-Three.
Statues of soldiers wearing battle clothing stand in the centerof this memorial. Lights shine on their faces. They look very real.They look as though they might move at any moment.
From there, the visitors walk to the Lincoln Memorial. AbrahamLincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. He led thenation through the Civil War. His memorial is a huge, whitebuilding. It is partly open so you can see from a distance thelarger-than-life size statue of the president. He is seated. Helooks toward a body of water called the Reflecting Pool.
Next the group walks by the black wall of the Vietnam Veterans’Memorial. On the wall are the names of the more thanfifty-eight-thousand Americans who died in the Vietnam War. Manypeople leave flowers and notes at this memorial.
VOICE ONE:
After all the walking, Mizz Karpel’s group is glad to return toher car. Now they will drive around the Jefferson Memorial. Thismonument honors the third president of the United States, ThomasJefferson.
A statue of him stands in the middle of a circular building. Onthis moonlit night, our visitors can see the image of the memorialin the water of the Tidal Basin.
Mizz Karpel then drives by the Washington Monument. It honorsGeorge Washington, the first president of the United States. TheWashington Monument is made of white stone. Its narrow form reachesmore than one-hundred-sixty-nine meters toward the sky. It is latenow, and the visitors decide to end their day.
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VOICE TWO:
The next morning, Mizz Karpel’s group is up early to get in linefor free tickets to visit the White House. This building has beenhome to every American President except George Washington. Afterwaiting in line, the visitors walk through five main public rooms,including the red room, the blue room and the east room. In thatroom, the wife of President John Adams once hung the family’sclothes after they were washed. Today it is used for parties andother events requiring a large space.
Before they leave Washington, the visitors want to see theCapitol. They enter the famous building where American laws aremade. They visit the large rooms where members of the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate meet to discuss and vote on laws. Andthey see the paintings and statues that fill the long halls of theCapitol.
VOICE ONE:
Later that day, Mizz Karpel’s visitors will end their visit andfly home. They saw many interesting things in Washington. Yet thereare many more places they would like to see. Among them are theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Library of Congress,the Supreme Court of the United States and the National Zoo. So thevisitors begin a list of places to see on a future trip toWashington. And Mizz Karpel tries to get some rest before her nextvisitors arrive ready to see the nation’s capital.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byGeorge Grow. Our studio engineer was Keith Holmes. I’m ShirleyGriffith.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,This is America.