BBC Learning English
Words in the News
9th November 2011
Mind reading crash course
Transcript:
Stopped in the nick of time!
This road safety system uses lasers to detect potential hazards. If the driver doesn't brake,
the car does.
Now a new Swiss project is looking to take things further by reading drivers' minds.
Researchers are testing its viability by monitoring brainwaves to see if they can predict the
driver's next move.
The hope is technology could intervene to prevent accidents.
Vocabulary:
in the nick of time
just in time
road safety
driving without accidents
hazards
dangers
viability
workability
intervene
act on behalf of someone else
Watch this video online: Mind reading crash course http://bbc.in/tQLvuO
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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Exercise:
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC
news report.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
in the nick of time / road safety / hazards / viability / intervene
1.
An iceberg of the size expected will need to be monitored carefully, and not just because it
could eventually become a __________ to shipping. The biggest icebergs can have a major
impact on their surroundings.
2.
During the debate Mr Cameron said a no-fly zone had "effectively been put in place over
Libya". He added: "It is also clear that coalition forces have helped to avert what could have
been a bloody massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just _______________."
3.
Twenty soldiers also died in fighting in the central city of Homs. Syria's president, Bashar al-
Assad, has warned western powers not to _________ - saying that could cause what he
called an "earthquake" that would burn the whole of the Middle East.
4.
Plans have been announced to improve ___________ in a Staffordshire town. The scheme
includes installing a pedestrian crossing and improving a footpath close to where a person
was knocked down and killed, in 2009.
5.
Even the __________________ of the euro has always been in question, with its creation
having been seen by many to have been driven by political rather than economic reasoning.
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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Answers:
1.
An iceberg of the size expected will need to be monitored carefully, and not just because it
could eventually become a hazard to shipping. The biggest icebergs can have a major impact
on their surroundings.
Source: Huge iceberg forms in Antarctica http://bbc.in/uCTAoR
2.
During the debate Mr Cameron said a no-fly zone had "effectively been put in place over
Libya". He added: "It is also clear that coalition forces have helped to avert what could have
been a bloody massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just in the nick of time."
Source: MPs back United Nations action against Col Gaddafi http://bbc.in/fP6ykA
3.
Twenty soldiers also died in fighting in the central city of Homs. Syria's president, Bashar al-
Assad, has warned western powers not to intervene - saying that could cause what he
called an "earthquake" that would burn the whole of the Middle East.
Source: Syria's Assad warns of 'earthquake' if West intervenes http://bbc.in/sjZAYU
4.
Plans have been announced to improve road safety in a Staffordshire town. The scheme
includes installing a pedestrian crossing and improving a footpath close to where a person
was knocked down and killed, in 2009.
Source: Tamworth roadworks scheduled to improve safety http://bbc.in/mULqT6
5.
Even the viability of the euro has always been in question, with its creation having been
seen by many to have been driven by political rather than economic reasoning.
Source: Is the world facing fundamental changes? http://bbc.in/ozjxvw
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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