VOA · As It Is
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed5:122025-02-19public domain
As It Is is VOA Learning English's daily news magazine. Each report covers a current story in clear, learner-speed English with a controlled vocabulary — the closest thing to real news broadcasts that intermediate learners can fully digest, and ideal raw material for dictation.
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01The Goodyear Blimp is an airship that is also a traveling advertisement for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
02The airships are immediately recognizable to most Americans.
03For the past 100 years, Goodyear has flown blimps over major sporting events, including the Daytona 500 car race.
04The blimp has been at every Daytona 500 race since 1962.
05In 2025, to celebrate the anniversary of the Goodyear blimp, the airships are taking a special tour of big events around the country.
06Goodyear operates three 75-meter-long airships, called Wingfoot 1, 2, and 3.
07Wingfoot 1 is based near Akron, Ohio, which is also home to the company's headquarters.
08Wingfoot 2 is based near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
09The third airship is based near Los Angeles, California.
10Today, there are many camera technologies, such as drones, that have changed aerial photography.
11However, the blimp continues to provide pictures from the air that are unusual.
12At the Daytona 500, for example, the airship provides a bird's-eye view of the speedway that cannot be equaled.
13Fox Sports Director Artie Kempner spoke to the Associated Press about television coverage of the race.
14Kempner said, It's great to show the pack racing.
15He added that he expected to use aerial pictures from the blimp about 50 times during his coverage.
16The Goodyear blimp has been a regular sight at major sporting events since flying above the 1955 Rose Bowl American football game.
17It became a service vehicle for television coverage, providing shots from high above events.
18At the same time, it has been a recognizable advertising vehicle for the Goodyear company.
19Over the years, blimps have undergone many changes.
20They have been equipped with improvements to steering, camera, and safety technology.
21The airship is quieter to ride because the engines and propellers have been repositioned.
22Riding on the blimp is not too different from traveling on a small airplane.
23Each can carry 12 passengers and has reclining seats, tables, seatbelts, and a bathroom.
24The blimp offers a smooth ride, even at its top speed of 117 kilometers per hour.
25It's an iconic symbol for our nation.
26A floating piece of Americana, said blimp pilot Jensen Kervern.
27She added, Despite changes in technology and our environment, people still get so excited to see the blimp.
28Goodyear representatives say the blimps have covered more than 2,500 events and taken more than 500,000 passengers for rides.
29President Ronald Reagan might be the most famous passenger.
30Already in 2025, the Goodyear fleet has flown over college football games at the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl, professional sports games and golf competitions at Pebble Beach, California.
31One of the blimps is also expected to appear at the music festival Coachella, at WrestleMania, and at the Academy Awards.
32Some people, however, might wonder whether the blimp will survive another 100 years.
33They point to improving drone technology, and note that the Goodyear blimp crew at Daytona required 20 people.
34But blimp pilot Kervern is not too worried.
35She said, There's nothing like it in the world.
36I'm Ana Mateo.
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