2005-1-20
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HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA. Special English.
I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:
Music from Los Lonely Boys ...
A question about Helen Keller ...
And a new place for cereal lovers.
Cereal Bars
HOST:
Students at the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have a new place to go to eat. It
serves many different kinds of ... cereal. Bob Doughty explains.
BOB DOUGHTY: The Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe is supposed to
feel more like a home than a business. Servers are dressed in sleep
clothes. Some students sit at a big table as they eat their cereal.
They watch cartoons on a television, probably just like they did as
children. Tired students lie on a couch. Still others read their
computer mail.
Cereal is what millions of people eat for breakfast. But at this
place, it is eaten not just for the first meal of the day, but for
any meal.
Most of the popular cereals that Americans buy contain oats,
corn, wheat or rice. Some contain lots of added sugars. This may
help explain why many college kids are big cereal eaters.
More than thirty kinds of cold cereal are served at the Cereality
Cereal Bar and Cafe. Students can choose from kinds like Cheerios,
Corn Chex and Cap'n Crunch to Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs and Lucky
Charms.
Also on the menu are more than thirty kinds of toppings to put on
the cereal, from nuts and fruit to candies. And there are several
kinds of milk, including soy milk. People can also order hot cereals
and, true to the name of the place, cereal bars. These you hold in
your hand.
The two businessmen who opened the cafe at the University of
Pennsylvania tested the idea first at the University of Arizona in
Tempe. Now they are looking at other cities and other kinds of
places to offer people their favorite breakfast cereal any time of
day.
Helen Keller
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from
Kharkov, Ukraine. Sergey D. asks about the life of Helen Keller.
Helen Keller was born in eighteen
eighty in a small town in Alabama, in the American South. She
developed an infection at the age of nineteen months. She lost her
ability to see and hear.
When Helen was seven years old, her parents hired a special
teacher. The teacher was Anne Sullivan. She herself had once been
almost completely blind, but regained her sight.
Anne Sullivan began teaching Helen the names of things. Miss
Sullivan formed letters with her finger in Helen's hand to spell out
words. Helen learned more and more words. She learned how to use her
hands to speak for her. In addition to sign language, Helen also
learned to use her voice.
Later, she learned to read Latin, Greek, French and German. She
read with her fingers using the braille system of raised dots. She
also learned to use a typewriter.
Anne Sullivan stayed with Helen Keller for many years. She helped
her get ready for school and college. Helen Keller was sixteen years
old when she started at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts. She
completed her studies with honors in nineteen oh four.
Helen Keller worked for many years for the American Foundation
for the Blind. She met with presidents and traveled to many
countries. She wrote books and articles. She showed other disabled
people that they, too, could succeed.
Helen Keller died in nineteen sixty-eight. Her life story has
been told in books, plays and movies. "Life," she said, "is either a
daring adventure or it is nothing."
Los Lonely Boys
HOST:
A group called Los Lonely Boys is enjoying much success these
days. Their first album has sold more than one million copies. And
the band has four nominations at the Grammy Awards next month,
including Best New Artist. Barbara Klein has our story.
BARBARA KLEIN: Los Lonely Boys are
three brothers. Henry Garza plays the guitar. JoJo Garza plays the
bass. And Ringo Garza Junior plays the drums. They grew up in a
small town in Texas. They performed with their father, a successful
musician.
Another Texas musician, Willie Nelson, calls Los Lonely Boys his
favorite new band. The brothers performed with him on the album
"Outlaws and Angels." One of the songs is "Cisco Kid."
(MUSIC
Los Lonely Boys recorded their first album at Willie Nelson's
studio in Austin, Texas. The title song is nominated for Record of
the Year and Best Pop Performance Grammys. Here is "Heaven."
(MUSIC
Los Lonely Boys are not so lonely. They have been called one of
the most exciting acts performing today. They mix the sounds of
Mexican music with American rock and blues.
We leave you with another song nominated for a Grammy, this one
for best rock instrumental performance. Here are Los Lonely Boys
with "Onda."
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our
program. The writers were Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Our
producer was Caty Weaver.
Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Be
sure to include your full name and mailing address. Or write to
American Mosaic, V.O.A. Special English, Washington, D.C.,
two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.
Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, V.O.A.'s radio
magazine in Special English.