Girl Scouts celebrate birthday on the National Mall

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I'm June Simms. This week on our program we tell about a new blog we just launched...

We also play some break-up songs that you wrote to say were your favorites...

But first, we visit with some American Girl Scouts celebrating the 100th anniversary of their organization...

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Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary

JUNE SIMMS: Girl Scouts from around the United States gathered in Washington last weekend to mark the group's 100th anniversary. Organizers say over 200,000 people attended the celebration. There were Americans from every state, including actress and singer Mandy Moore. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN: Girl Scout officials say the first Girl Scout meeting was held on March 12th, 1912. That is when Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low met with 18 girls from the southern city of Savannah, Georgia. Daisy Low believed that all girls should be given a chance to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Those early Girl Scouts learned to climb mountains and play sports. They also went camping, studied first aid and learned how to tell time by the stars.

Today, many Girl Scouts continue to take part in such activities. Girls at the event last Saturday listed some of the activities they like.

GIRL SCOUT ONE: "We camp, we go to the zoo."

GIRL SCOUT TWO: "We hike sometimes."

GIRL SCOUT ONE: "We definitely sell cookies"

They also talked about why they joined the group.

GIRL SCOUT THREE: "Because I thought it was fun and I wanted to make new friends."

GIRL SCOUT FOUR: "To see the world around me and to do different things and help others."

GIRL SCOUT TWO: "Because we wanted to care for other people."

Girl Scout cookies are an American tradition. Girl Scouts have been selling cookies for over 80 years as a way to raise money for Girl Scout projects. Girl Scouts of the United States says the cookie program is the largest girl-operated business in the country. The organization says selling cookies is a way to help all girls become strong and resourceful citizens.

The girls set goals for how many boxes they plan to sell. They also choose the activities and projects that they want to support. Girl Scouts also donate cookies to American troops overseas, a program called Operation Cookie Drop. All of the money earned from cookie sales goes directly to the Girl Scout local council that organized the sale. Local councils use some of the money to provide services for Girl Scout programs and events. However, usually ten or 20 percent of the profits goes back to the individual group that sold the cookies. This money is used for troop projects which differ as much as the Girl Scouts themselves. One Girl Scout group might provide financial support to a needy family. Another group could use the money to buy food for a local animal shelter.

A Girl Scout troop in Arlington, Virginia, used some of their cookie sales to support the celebration on the mall. "We hosted some troops from Kansas, Pennsylvania and Florida," says 13-year-old Annaliese Taylor. The money helped pay for their housing, food and registration costs. The fun they shared with other Girl Scouts was free.

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New English Learners' Blog

JUNE SIMMS: We started something new this week at voaspecialenglish.com. We call it "Confessions of an English Learner." It's a place for you to share funny or not-so-funny stories about language misunderstandings.

For example, Octave from Kigali, Rwanda, tells about a meeting where somebody was talking about a bridge between two districts. Instead of saying the bridge that those two districts are sharing, he said "the bridge that those two districts are shelling." That person was the chairman of the meeting!

J.C. Morales from Houston, Texas, remembers an experience after coming to the United States 25 years ago. J.C. writes, I was working at a McDonald's restaurant as a manager trainee. We were getting ready to celebrate a birthday for a customer's child. We ran out of balloons for the party, so the store manager asked me to go to a nearby store to buy some "globes" for that purpose. I followed her instructions, and I requested some gloves. When I got back to the restaurant, everybody was laughing at me. I felt ashamed for the misunderstanding. That is very common for non-native English speakers.

Alex from Ukraine also found himself in a misunderstanding, only he was not the one who misunderstood. Alex says, Last summer I visited Los Angeles. When I asked a policeman, "Help me, please, where is the nearest subway station?" he thought that I meant a fast-food Subway restaurant. But I was searching for an underground station.

You can find more stories about misunderstandings and share your own. Go to voaspecialenglish.com and click on "Confessions of an English Learner." Or write to mosaic@voanews.com and type "confessions" in the subject line, and please tell us where you are from.

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Your Favorite Break-Up Songs

JUNE SIMMS: Last week we played break-up songs from today and yesterday. We chose recent hits by Gotye, Kelly Clarkson and Drake. We also played older songs by Gloria Gaynor, Human League and Neil Young.

Many people commented on our story about break-up songs. And several of you told us about your own favorite break-up song. Christopher Cruise plays some of them.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Edgar from Venezuela wanted to hear "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees. This 1971 song is especially touching following the recent death of Robin Gibb.

I can think of younger days / when living for my life / was everything a man could want to do / I could never see tomorrow / but I was never told about the sorrow And how can you mend a broken heart / How can you stop the rain from falling down / How can you stop the sun from shining / What makes the world go round / And how can you mend this broken man / How can a loser ever win / Please help me mend my broken heart / and let me live again

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Ben from Thailand wrote that such songs are always beautiful to listen to when two lovers break-up. He added, it's bittersweet, isn't it?

Well, the Hoodoo Gurus sure thought so. Here is the group's 1985 hit, "Bittersweet." The song says: God knows. I tried / Tried to hold you with all my might /But time has won / And I could never be that strong.

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Kika from Spain wrote to say we must listen to this break-up song from 1993: "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams.

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And, finally, we heard from Joruji in Tokyo, whose favorite break-up song is Abba's "The Winner Takes It All." Joruji says its words are memorable. We leave you with the "The Winner Takes It All" and its lyrics.

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I don't wanna talk

About the things we've gone through

Though it's hurting me

Now it's history

I've played all my cards

And that's what you've done too

Nothing more to say

No more ace to play

The winner takes it all

The loser's standing small

Beside the victory

That's a destiny

I was in your arms

Thinking I belonged there

I figured it made sense

Building me a fence

Building me a home

Thinking I'd be strong there

But I was a fool

Playing by the rules

JUNE SIMMS: I'm June Simms. This program was written by Kim Varzi and Caty Weaver, who was also our producer.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

Related stories:

Girl Guides 女童子軍

傷不起的褲子：爆笑美式英語(yǔ)VS英式英語(yǔ)

Break-up songs: the sound of a broken heart

憂郁一月成英國(guó)情侶“分手月”

（來(lái)源：VOA 編輯：旭燕）