環(huán)球英語 — 268：Ways to Use a Kite

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Voice 1

Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Joshua Leo.

Voice 2

And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

A young boy is in an open field. It is a perfect day. The sun is shining. The wind is blowing, but it is not too strong. He takes the thin paper kite into his hand. He unrolls a length of the thin rope. It is attached to the kite. He stands with his back to the wind. He holds the kite up to the wind. And he begins to run.

The kite begins to catch the wind. The boy pulls the thin rope until it is straight. The kite floats in the wind. It seems to be dancing in the sky with joy.

Have you ever had an experience like this?

Voice 1

Today’s Spotlight is on kites. Many people think of kites as toys - something only children play with. Or they believe that kites are just something beautiful to look at. But this is not true! Many different kinds of people have used kites for their work - including scientists, explorers, soldiers, photographers, and many more! On today’s Spotlight we will look at the many uses of a kite.

Voice 2

Kites come in many different shapes, sizes and colors. A person makes them out of paper or light-weight cloth, thin pieces of wood and thin rope. This thin rope is called string. The thin wood forms the frame of the kite. It is like the kite’s skeleton. A person attaches the cloth to the frame. The string attaches to the kite. The person holds the end of the string to control the movement of the kite. This is only the simplest version of a kite. Other kite designs can be much more complex! Kites may be flat or box-like. Some kites are even shaped like animals or insects!

Voice 1

No one knows exactly when the first kite was invented. But experts do know that the kite is an ancient idea. Some history experts believe that the Chinese people invented the first kite. However, other cultures may have also independently invented kites. Chinese people may have flown the first kites more than three thousand five hundred [3,500] years ago!

Voice 2

The first written evidence of kites comes from about two thousand [2,000] years ago in China. There, a famous Chinese thinker named Mao-tse built a kite out of wood. The kite was shaped like an eagle - a large strong bird. The story says that Mao-tse spent three years making this beautiful kite.

Voice 1

Today, children in many different countries enjoy the pleasure and excitement of flying a kite. Flying a kite is a fun experience. But that is not how people used kites when they were first invented.

Voice 2

People often used kites for military purposes. A flying kite could be a signal to another part of an army. Soldiers in training could practice their aim by shooting flying kites. Or, by flying a kite, armies could measure distances.

Voice 1

One ancient story tells of a Chinese General - General Han Hsin. The General wanted to invade an enemy castle. He believed he could dig a tunnel under the ground to invade it. But he needed to know how long to make the tunnel. The General flew a kite over the castle. He measured how long the kite’s string was. Based on this length, he used mathematics to estimate the distance his tunnel would have to be.

Voice 2

Later, kites became stronger and better built. Military kites could lift up a man to see over a wall or over a long distance.

Voice 1

Another way people used kites was for scientific purposes. Kites helped scientists understand how birds can fly, and how wind works. Many inventors used kites to give them ideas about how to build airplanes. Some scientists have also used kites to study the weather. Kites can help measure differences in temperature at different heights.

Voice 2

Benjamin Franklin used a kite in a very dangerous, and very famous, scientific experiment. He lived in the eighteenth [18th] century in the United States. Experts disagree on the exact facts of this story, but most agree that it must have happened something like this. Franklin attached a piece of metal to a kite. He flew the kite in a large storm. Electricity from the storm hit the kite. It travelled down the metal piece and through the wet string. Franklin proved that electricity could pass through metal.

Voice 1

People can also use kites in common useful ways. Kites can perform particular jobs for people. Ancient people in Malaysia, Indonesia and the South Pacific Islands may have invented kites to help them fish. They could attach a long string with a hook to the kite. Then, they could fly the kite over the water. In this way, fishermen could fish much farther away from where they were standing!

Voice 2

Finally, people can use kites for cultural purposes. Many cultures use kites in national celebrations. People can use the kites with beautiful pictures on them to represent parts of a country. Or, the kites may be part of a competition.

Voice 1

One popular way to use kites in India is kite fighting. Kite fights are very popular in many other countries too! These are kite competitions where kite flyers compete against each other for fun or prizes. Fighter kites are light and quick. The person flying one of these kites can move it easily.

Voice 2

People competing try to cut the string of another person’s kite. The last kite flying in the sky is the winner! In India, people cover the string of the kite in a mixture of substances, including very small pieces of glass. This makes it easier to cut another person’s string!

Voice 1

Kites are very popular in Indian culture. People in India have participated in kite celebrations for hundreds of years. One kite celebration is called Makar Sankranti. On this holiday, the people celebrate by eating sweets. People all around the city gather on the tops of houses. There, they all fly kites.

Voice 2

Kites can do many things. They are useful for science, beauty, work and more. But can people use kites to praise the Lord? Christians say yes! In the Bible, there are many songs. One of the songs encourages people to praise the Lord any time. It says:

Voice 3

“Praise the Lord!

... Praise him for his powerful acts.

Praise him because he is greater than anything else.”

Psalm 150

Voice 1

The song says that people can praise the Lord by playing instruments and with dancing. It says that people can praise God at any time and in any place.

Voice 2

God has given people a wonderful beautiful earth. He created the wind that the beautiful kites dance on. God has also given people ways to enjoy his earth. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!