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Three listener questions about the United States
Temat: Życie codzienne
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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson. This week on our program we answer three listener questions about the United States. HOST: This week we answer three listener questions. Maggie Chen in Taiwan wants to know about fraternities in the United States. Fraternities and sororities are social organizations for undergraduate college students. The words are based on the Latin words for brother and sister. In general, fraternities are for men, while sororities are for women. These groups are known as Greek letter societies or as being part of the Greek system. This is because most fraternities and sororities are named after a series of Greek letters, such as Alpha Delta Pi or Sigma Phi. Some of these groups date back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Each group has a set of traditions about how new people become official members. Often, members of a fraternity or sorority live together in a large house on campus. But they are also part of a national network of members. Different groups have different goals. These include community service, academic excellence or -- having parties. Our second question comes from Somalia. Abdiaziz wants to know about the term "G.I." There are several answers to this question. The abbreviation is most commonly used to mean an American soldier. This began around World War Two. But before this time, G.I. was an unofficial military term for describing army supplies made out of galvanized iron. This term was soon used to describe army supplies in general that were government issue. Our last question is from Brazil. Romulo Veloso wants to know about the imaginary man known as "Uncle Sam." The name is used to represent the federal government of the United States. Uncle Sam is pictured as a serious old man with white hair who is dressed in America's colors of red, white and blue. The most common answer historians give is that the name came from Samuel Wilson. He supplied meat to the American Army during the War of Eighteen Twelve. The meat came in containers with "U.S." written on them, which was short for the United States. Mister Wilson's workers said the letters really meant their employer, "Uncle Sam." Soon, an imaginary Uncle Sam began to appear in cartoons to represent the government. Images of Uncle Sam were also used on signs during World Wars One and Two to persuade Americans to join the Army. HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Caty Weaver and Dana Demange, who was also the producer. For transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on our programs. Source: Voice of America
