VOICE ONE:
This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English programEXPLORATIONS. Today, we celebrate the anniversary of thetwo-thousandth broadcast of this program.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Time changes everything, including the names of VOA radioprograms. The program we know today as “Explorations” began as theSaturday feature. The first program of this series was broadcastthirty-nine years ago, June Eighth, Nineteen-Sixty-Three. It wascalled “Space, Food and Man.”
The announcer began the program by saying, “Space, Food and Man …a program in Special English by the Voice of America.”
That first program was part of a new series about the growingpopulation of the world and the decreasing amount of living space onour planet. It also told about the amount of food people need tosurvive.
VOICE TWO:
It seems that listeners liked that first program broadcast in theseries. However, the VOA Special English staff did change the name alittle. The took out the word “food” from the title and kept thename “Space and Man.”
The program continued under that name for many years even as itmoved to a different broadcast day. It was heard on Wednesdays,Tuesday nights in Latin America. In April, Nineteen-Ninety-Six, thename “Space and Man” was changed to “Explorations.” The staffmembers of Special English believe the name “Explorations” reallytells more about this program, which explores almost every subject.
“Space and Man” began broadcasting programs about exploringspace. It also included programs about medicine, science, cultureand other subjects. As the years passed we discovered that this wasreally a program about everything.
The name “Explorations” just seemed to fit the program because wetry to explore many different subjects and ideas.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Now, we have a secret to share with you. The staff of SpecialEnglish has not written two-thousand programs for “Explorations.” Wereally do not know how many we have written. Some of our programshave been repeated. A few of them many times.
A good example is a program about the sport of parachuting. Ittells about what it feels like to jump out of a plane with aparachute. The facts do not change. And it is still an interestingprogram. We might repeat it every few years. Other programs aresimilar in this way to the parachuting program. They are worthbroadcasting again.
Each time a program is going to be broadcast again the facts andinformation are examined to make sure everything is still correct.The program is given a new number. So… today we are celebrating thetwo-thousandth broadcast.
VOICE TWO:
Some of the programs we repeat are about subjects that havebecome important in history. For example, some programs followed theprogress of the first humans to leave Earth and travel into space.These programs included the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spaceflights.
Other programs about space flight are continually added. We havefollowed the development of the space shuttle. We have told aboutthe beginnings of the International Space Station and its progress.
We have told about the launch of important satellites and spacevehicles sent to explore the far reaches of our solar system. And wehave taken our listeners along as humans attempt to explore theuniverse.
VOICE ONE:
American Astronaut Neal Armstrong became the first person to setfoot on the Moon. That event took place on July Twentieth,Nineteen-Sixty-Nine…thirty-three years ago. Many of us can rememberthat day.
Others were not yet born. One ofthe reasons we repeat some programs is to let younger listeners feelthe excitement of hearing such moments as Neal Armstrong say thefirst words from the Moon. He said those words as his foot left themoon lander vehicle and touched the surface of the Moon for thefirst time. He said, “That’s one small step for man…one giant leapfor mankind.” Listen closely as Mister Armstrong says those words inour program about the landing on the Moon.
((“THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.”))
VOICE TWO:
One of the most popular subjects on “Explorations” has been theprogress of the Hubble Space Telescope. The space telescope orbitssix-hundred kilometers above the Earth working to provide newinformation about our universe.
Our programs followed the excitement leading up to the launch ofthe Hubble Space Telescope in Nineteen-Ninety. We also reported thatmistakes had been made in Hubble’s glass telescope. One mistakeaffected the telescope’s mirror. It would not permit the telescopeto produce clear pictures.
But the telescope was the first object in space designed so thatastronauts could make repairs. So we have told about the three tripsastronauts have made to the Hubble Space Telescope. Each time theyhave replaced older equipment with new modern equipment that permitsthe Hubble to do better work. We will report on the last of thesetrips to repair the space telescope. It is planned for July,Two-Thousand-Three.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program has closely followed the inventionof the computer. Several members of our Special English staffremember when we had to learn to use computers to do our work. Wequickly understood how important these new machines were and howvery important they would become in the future.
In this program, we told how computers were invented and theprogress being made in their development. We told how earlycomputers were helping make business easier. Our stories examinedways that computers could be used to gain information.
Every few years we added new programs about computers. We toldhow people throughout the world were becoming connected with the useof computers. We told about the invention of the communicationstechnology that became the Internet.
VOICE TWO:
Today, if you have a computer and can link to the Internet, youcan print copies of this program or most other Special Englishprograms broadcast recently. You can make a copy of the SpecialEnglish Word Book…the English words used to write Special Englishprograms. And, you can often see pictures of some of the people orplaces we discuss on our radio programs.
News about developments in computer technology has been a veryimportant part of this program. We know it will continue to be inthe future.
VOICE ONE:
The computer has helped us link with many of you who listen to”Explorations” and other Special English programs. Many listenershave become friends over the years.
A listener in China is a good example. Chun-Quan Meng works witha university’s computer center. He also collects science informationfor students who study at the center.
He has often e-mailed us asking questions about our programs. Hehas even suggested ideas for programs. One subject he suggested wasabout the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.
VOICE TWO:
Each winter thousands of people around the world are killed orseverely injured by carbon monoxide gas. Kerosene or gas heaters orstoves that do not work correctly usually cause these terribleaccidents. Our friend in China thought it would be a good idea toexplain this problem to our listeners. We did too!
Giving our listeners valuable information about a problem is thekind of program we think is important. We would like to thankChun-Quan Meng again for a very good idea. Our program about thedangers of carbon monoxide poisoning is one that will be repeated.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
What does the future hold for “Explorations”? Well, the name willnot change again. We feel it describes the program very well.
What will “Explorations” programs be like in the future? That isa good question. We hope to continue with programs that tell youabout interesting places, events, people or subjects. Futureprograms will continue to deal with new technology or ideas we thinkwill interest you. We hope you will enjoy hearing two-thousand morebroadcasts of “Explorations” during the next forty years.
((THEME))
VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson. It wasproduced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Efim Drucker. Thisis Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for anotherEXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.