Famous Cookies Delivered by Unusual Method
2021-05-08
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1The Girl Scouts organization, founded in 1912, is well known for teaching important life and survival skills to girls.
2Part of their goal, as stated on their website, is "to improve their corner of the world." One way they do that has become a beloved tradition.
3They sell Girl Scout cookies!
4Many people look forward to Girl Scout cookie season and have a favorite cookie.
5Girl Scouts usually sell their cookies in person: door-to-door, in offices and businesses, on busy street corners and sidewalks.
6But the coronavirus pandemic has made selling the cookies harder.
7There are simply less people out in public.
8Well, this year in one U.S. state some Girl Scouts will get around that face-to-face problem.
9Their cookies will be delivered by drones.
10Google is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people's homes in a Virginia community.
11The town of Christiansburg has been a testing ground for delivery drones.
12The tests are operated by Wing, a division of Google's corporate parent Alphabet.
13Representatives from Wing told the Associated Press (AP) that the company began talking to local Girl Scout troops because of the pandemic.
14The troops have been having a harder time selling cookies during the pandemic because of restrictions.
15Gracie Walker is an 11-year-old with Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Troop 224.
16Gracie told the AP that she is "excited" to be "part of history."
17She says the drones "look like a helicopter but also a plane."
18Wing drones fly without a human pilot controlling them remotely.
19When a drone reaches the home, it drops the delivery on the front lawn.
20Wing is also using the beloved Girl Scout cookies to build public support for drone delivery.
21The company is currently competing against Walmart, Amazon and others business.
22However, there is not much evidence that people really want drone delivery services.
23Amazon has also been working on drone delivery for years.
24In 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said in a TV interview that drones would be flying to customers' homes within five years.
25However, that date has long since passed.
26A small study of people in Christiansburg appears to show that they are happy with the drones.
27But that study was done by researchers at nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).
28Also Wing helped to pay for the study.
29Lee Vinsel is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and did the study.
30He said that neighborhoods in the area are "easiest for drone delivery."
31That might not be the case for more crowded places, he added.
32Federal officials started announcing new rules in early April.
33These new rules will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night.
34Most drones will need to be equipped so they can be identified remotely by law enforcement officials.
35But all these problems have not lessened Gracie's drone delivery excitement.
36The Virginia Girl Scout said she hopes that people are going to realize drones are better for the environment.
37And she adds, people can also just walk outside in their pajamas and get cookies.
38I'm Anna Matteo.
1The Girl Scouts organization, founded in 1912, is well known for teaching important life and survival skills to girls. 2Part of their goal, as stated on their website, is "to improve their corner of the world." One way they do that has become a beloved tradition. They sell Girl Scout cookies! 3Many people look forward to Girl Scout cookie season and have a favorite cookie. 4Girl Scouts usually sell their cookies in person: door-to-door, in offices and businesses, on busy street corners and sidewalks. But the coronavirus pandemic has made selling the cookies harder. There are simply less people out in public. 5Well, this year in one U.S. state some Girl Scouts will get around that face-to-face problem. Their cookies will be delivered by drones. 6Google is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people's homes in a Virginia community. The town of Christiansburg has been a testing ground for delivery drones. The tests are operated by Wing, a division of Google's corporate parent Alphabet. 7Representatives from Wing told the Associated Press (AP) that the company began talking to local Girl Scout troops because of the pandemic. The troops have been having a harder time selling cookies during the pandemic because of restrictions. 8Gracie Walker is an 11-year-old with Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Troop 224. Gracie told the AP that she is "excited" to be "part of history." She says the drones "look like a helicopter but also a plane." 9Wing drones fly without a human pilot controlling them remotely. When a drone reaches the home, it drops the delivery on the front lawn. 10Wing is also using the beloved Girl Scout cookies to build public support for drone delivery. The company is currently competing against Walmart, Amazon and others business. 11However, there is not much evidence that people really want drone delivery services. 12Amazon has also been working on drone delivery for years. In 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said in a TV interview that drones would be flying to customers' homes within five years. However, that date has long since passed. 13A small study of people in Christiansburg appears to show that they are happy with the drones. But that study was done by researchers at nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Also Wing helped to pay for the study. 14Lee Vinsel is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and did the study. He said that neighborhoods in the area are "easiest for drone delivery." That might not be the case for more crowded places, he added. 15Federal officials started announcing new rules in early April. These new rules will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night. Most drones will need to be equipped so they can be identified remotely by law enforcement officials. 16But all these problems have not lessened Gracie's drone delivery excitement. The Virginia Girl Scout said she hopes that people are going to realize drones are better for the environment. 17And she adds, people can also just walk outside in their pajamas and get cookies. 18I'm Anna Matteo. 19Matt O'Brien wrote this story for the Associated Press. AP Retail Writer Joseph Pisani in New York contributed to this story. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 20___________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22cookie - n. a sweet baked food that is usually small, flat, and round and is made from flour and sugar 23corner - n. the place where two streets or roads meet 24drone - n. an uncrewed aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers 25delivery - n. the transfer of something from one place or person to another 26troops - n. the basic organizational unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts under an adult leader 27remotely - adj. technical : from a distance 28front lawn - n. an area in front of a house 29pajamas - n. a loose usually two-piece lightweight suit designed especially for sleeping or lounging 30customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business