【132-133文化艺术】俄勒冈州将拥有地球上最后一个Blockbuster租碟店&春分：春天的到来
ARTS & CULTURE
Oregon Will Have the Last Blockbuster on Earth
March 19, 2019
Debby Saltzman, of Bend, Ore., poses for a photo on Monday, March 11, 2019, in front of the last Blockbuster store on the planet with her twin brother, Michael Trovato. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
After a Blockbuster store in Australia closes on March 31, the American city of Bend, Oregon will have the only one left on Earth.
For years, Blockbuster was a big name in the video rental business. The company had thousands of stores in the United States and around the world.
But Blockbuster began to lose money during the 2000s. The company went to court and declared bankruptcy in 2010. By 2014, all company-owned stores had closed. Since then, locally owned Blockbusters have closed, one by one.
Operating the soon-to-be last Blockbuster Video on Earth is not easy.
The computer system uses old disks that only the store's general manager knows how to use. The video rentals are recorded on a kind of aging tape. The tape cannot be replaced because Radio Shack, another once famous store, went out of business.
Sandi Harding has worked at the Blockbuster in Bend for over 15 years and is the store's general manager. She says "stubbornness," is part of the reason the store is still open. "We did everything we could to cut costs and keep ourselves relevant," she said.
Zeke Kamm lives in Bend. He is making a documentary about the store with his friend. He notes that many people who rented videos over the years want to share memories of their experiences. "They remember who they went with and that freedom of walking the aisles," Kamm said.
Kamm explained how Blockbusters were once an important part of small town America. The Blockbuster was the only place that was open past nine at night, and a lot of them stayed open much later, he said. “So children who weren’t hoodlumswould come here and look at movies and fall in love with movies.”
On a recent weekday, Michael Trovato of Melbourne, Australia stopped by the Blockbuster store in Bend while visiting his twin sister.
"I miss being able to walk into a Blockbuster or CD store and have that social experience… It's something you don’t get from the slick presentation of a music service or, you know, from the Internet," he said.
The Bend store does not seem to be in danger of closing.
Many people stop by to take pictures. The store sells clothing with the words "Last Blockbuster on the Planet." It even gets gifts from people, including boxes of video tapes, DVDs, and Blockbuster souvenirs.
Recently, Harding has noticed that more children are coming to the store, brought in by their parents who like remembering the past.
Jerry Gilless and his wife, Elizabeth, on a trip to Oregon, recently brought their two children, ages 3 and 5, to the store in Bend. They watched with a smile as their children walked from row to row, looking at movies.
"How could we not stop? It's the last one," said Gilless. "They need to see that not everything's on the iPad."
I'm John Russell.
Gillian Flaccus reported on this story for AP. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
rental – adj. of or related to payments made in exchange for borrowing something
bankruptcy – n. a condition of financial failure caused by not having the money that you need to pay your debts
manager – n. a person responsible for directing a a store or business
relevant – adj. relating to a subject in an appropriate way
aisle – n. a passage where people walk through a store, market, etc.
hoodlum – n. a tough and violent criminal
slick – adj. smooth
souvenir – n. a keepsake or remembrance piece
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ARTS & CULTURE
Vernal Equinox: The Arrival of Spring
March 19, 2019
FILE - Photographers line up along the edge of the Tidal Basin in Washington to shoot the blossoming cherry trees at sunrise, Thursday, April 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
This year, the vernal equinox falls on Wednesday, March 20. At exactly 21:58 UTC, the sun will be exactly above the Earth’s equator.
The word vernal comes from the Latin word vernalis, meaning “of the spring.” And equinox comes from the Latin words aequus, meaning equal, and nox, meaning night. The day has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night time.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the day marks the beginning of spring.
On this day, people living in colder areas of the Northern Hemisphere hope they can put away their winter clothes. They also may soon start planting flowers and vegetables in a garden.
Here in Washington, D.C., Wednesday also marks the first day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Each year, people from around the world come to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms on the thousands of flowering cherry trees. For Washingtonians, the cherry blossoms are a welcome sign that spring has arrived.
Identifying and celebrating Spring
Ancient sites around the world were built to signal the start of spring. Around the year 1000 A.D., for example, the Maya built a pyramid in what is now Mexico’s Yucatan. It sits within an ancient city called Chichen Itza. On the spring equinox, the sunlight hits in a way that makes the structure look like a snake. The Maya called this day “the return of the Sun serpent.”
Today, cultures around the world have their own ways of identifying and celebrating the arrival of spring.
Cherry blossoms
In Japan, spring is marked with a huge cherry blossom festival, known as hanami.The tradition dates back more than a thousand years. People gather under the blooming trees to eat, drink tea, celebrate and enjoy the cherry blossoms, known as sakura in Japanese. Artists and poets celebrate the short-lived blooms as a symbol of beauty.
In 1912, Japan gave 3,000 cherry trees to the U.S. capital city of Washington, D.C. The gift was to honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan.
Nowruz
For many countries in Central Asia and the Middle East, the beginning of spring also marks the beginning of a new year. The celebration is called Nowruz. The words "now" and "ruz" means “new day” in Farsi.
Countries along the ancient Silk Road trading path, including Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian nations, celebrate Nowruz.
In the past, Iran was the only country where Nowruz was an official holiday. But after countries gained their independence following the fall of the Soviet Union, many made Nowruz a national holiday, as well.
During Nowruz, people visit family members and friends and exchange gifts. Iranian families set up a “haft seen” display of seven special items that represent spring and new beginnings.
In Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia, people watch wrestling events, horse races and a special horseback game called, in Uzbek, Kopkari. In this game, two teams of players on horseback try to get the body of a headless goat into a goal. A similar game is called buzkashi in Afghanistan and oghlak tartish in Kyrgyzstan and Uyghur-speaking areas.
Holi festival
Many in India and Nepal mark the arrival of spring with the Holi festival, known also as the festival of colors or festival of love.
People celebrate the festival by covering each other in -- you guessed it -- colors! Children especially enjoy the festival, as they get to throw colored powder and water-filled balloons at others.
Some say the festival comes from a story of the burning of the devil Holika. It represents the victory of good over evil, or the arrival of spring after a long, dark winter.
Others say the celebration was inspired by the story of two young lovers with different skin colors. Krishna, who has blue skin, was in love with Radha. So, he colored Radha with paint leading to the modern-day colorful festival of love.
Las Fallas
People in Valencia, Spain, have their spring celebration called Las Fallas. It is a wild, five-day street festival involving fire.
The festival centers on the creation – and burning – of huge colorful statues made of wood, paper and plastic. The statues are meant to look like real people. Often, they are modeled after Spanish politicians or stars.
Valencian communities and organizations work all year to create their structures. As many as 700 of them are then placed throughout the city, with fireworks inside.
Las Fallas begins March 15, with events like bullfights, parades, and cooking and beauty competitions.
Then, at midnight on March 20, the city turns off all its streetlights and the statuesare set on fire. This marks the end of the festival, and the beginning of spring.
I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver.
Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
What do people do to mark the beginning of spring where you live? Let us know! Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
serpent - n. a large snake
pyramid - n. a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top
blooming - adj. producing flowers
display - n. an arrangement of objects intended to decorate or inform people about something
powder - n. a dry substance made up of very tiny pieces of something