VOA · Arts & Culture
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:212025-03-14public domain
The Arts & Culture beat covers music, film, museums, food, and traditions from the United States and around the world. The reports are short, vivid, and full of everyday descriptive language — great for learners who want vocabulary beyond textbooks.
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01Mount Vernon is the home of George Washington, America's first president.
02The property is in the state of Virginia, about 24 kilometers south of the U.S.
03capital city, named in his honor, Washington, D.C.
04Washington helped design Mount Vernon.
05He lived there for more than 45 years and died there in 1799.
06Visitors can see a lot at Mount Vernon, including the family home, museum, smaller original buildings, four gardens, farming fields, and nature paths.
07They can sit in chairs next to the main house and watch the sunset on a green hillside overlooking the Potomac River.
08A library contains his papers and letters.
09A museum has exhibits showing Washington's possessions and telling about life at Mount Vernon.
10An education center, which will have additional exhibits about Washington's life, is being updated and will reopen in 2026.
11Visitors might feel like they have traveled back in time as they tour where George Washington practiced gardening and where his wife Martha grew food.
12Guides wear clothing worn in Washington's time.
13At a collection of buildings, visitors watch actors perform traditional skills, like blacksmithing and wool spinning.
14Nearby, a distillery sells the alcoholic drink whiskey, using Washington's own recipe.
15The Mount Vernon Inn restaurant serves his favorite foods.
16Washington was elected president two times, without opposition, and was offered a third term.
17But he refused and returned to Mount Vernon.
18During his last years, Washington led the life of a rich farmer.
19He and his wife Martha often invited friends to visit.
20They also hosted guests and many travelers.
21On December 14, 1799, the former president died.
22He was 67 years old.
23People across the young nation mourned the loss of the Revolutionary War hero and first president.
24Today at Mount Vernon, visitors can attend a daily memorial service at his burial site.
25About 300 enslaved people lived and worked at Mount Vernon.
26Visitors can see a memorial to honor them, too.
27Washington came to disapprove of slavery as he grew older.
28He requested that after he and his wife died, his slaves should be set free.
29By the 1850s, Mount Vernon fell into disrepair.
30But in 1853, a woman's group decided to rescue the home.
31They collected money from people across the country and bought the property.
32The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association is a non-profit group that has made many changes to Mount Vernon over the years.
33It still supervises the property today.
34I'm Anna Mateo.
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