This is a song millions of Americans will hear this New Year's Eve. It is called Auld Lang Syne(《友谊地久天长》). It is the traditional music played during the New Year's celebration. Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.

      The words “Auld Lang Syne” mean “old long since”. No one knows who wrote the poem first. However, a version by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published(出版)in 1796. The words and music we know today first appeared in a song book three years later.

      The song is played in theUnited States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version(译文) you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. As we end our program with Auld Lang Syne, I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very Happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas.

    Many people go to different countries and live in different places in their lifetime. In different countries, they may meet with different manners. Sometimes they are puzzled by the different manners, and perhaps they may make a joke about those manners. So when we go to a strange country, we should pay attention to something new or dissimilar. For example, most Westerners are not concerned about protocol(礼仪) in social matters. But there are a few table manners the Easterners should try to observe(遵守)at all times.

    To start with, put the napkin on your lap. It protects your clothes from food or is used to wipe your hands or mouth when necessary.

    Hold the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand, and cut the meat or fish into pieces as you eat. Always use your fork to put food into your mouth. Use your spoon only for soup or other liquids.

    Do not put your own utensils (fork, knife, spoon) into the serving bowl. Use the utensil in the bowl to put some of the food on your own plate. And then return the serving utensil to the bowl.

    Do not spit food anywhere. If you have hones in your mouth, take them out with your fingers and place them on the edge of your plate, never on the table or floor.

    Do not reach across the table or in front of another person. Ask someone to pass whatever you want.

    Do not sneeze, cough or blow your nose anywhere except into a handkerchief or Kleenex (纸巾). Then you throw it into a waste paper basket or garbage can. If you cough, try to cover your mouth with your hand.

    More than forty years ago, a group of artists gathered to develop a television program. They planned to make a television show that would teach young children about subjects like reading and math in a fun way.

    Sesame Street was first shown on TV on November 10th, 1969. It was produced by a group called The Children's Television Workshop, and today it was called The Sesame Workshop. The show used cartoon characters and human actors to create funny and creative lessons for children. Some of the most famous characters on the show are Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie. Puppet maker Jim Henson created these lovely characters.

    Research is an important part of what made Sesame Street special. The show's creators studied children very carefully to understand how to best keep them having fun and learning. When the show was first introduced to children, some of its creators were not sure whether it would last one season. But forty years later, Sesame Street is the longest running children's television program in the United States.

    As part of its fortieth anniversary (周年), Sesame Street had a special guest on its show. First Lady Michelle Obama showed a group of children and Big Bird how to plant. She explained that the seeds would grow into vegetables, which are healthy and good to eat. She also had a message to the parents who watch the show with their children. She said parents can help their children do things to have healthy lives, like getting enough exercise.

    A four-year-old girl is lying in the arms of a doctor. She has just become mother-less. A bomb destroyed her home and killed her mother.

    Every day we see pictures like this on TV or in newspapers. We see young Iraqi children begging for food and water from American and British soldiers. They move through towns and cities towards the capital, Baghdad. We see these children following grown-ups, carrying bags of things almost the same size as their small bodies as they run away from their homes.

    "Dad, why are the Americans attacking us? Are we going to be killed? "asks the son of Abu Sinar, an lraqi engineer. Abu finds it hard to explain this war to his eight-year-old son.

    He tries to comfort him by saying, "The bombs are far away from us. The Ameri cans are fighting the soldiers. We are going to be all right. "Abu knows this isn't al-ways the truth, but what else can he do? In Baghdad, parents give their children sleeping pills to make them sleep so that they won't hear the sound of bombing. And all the schools are closed.

    "All we can do is to listen to and hear the war, "said Abu." People in Baghdad, men and women, young and old, have to live in fear. We don't know where the next bornbs are going. We can do nothing but wait to be killed. "