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| Words in the News
Wednesday 05 September 2001
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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Space Tourism
Summary: The Russian-owned company, MirCorp wants to launch the world's first private space station for tourists by 2004. This report from Robert Parsons.
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| | The News | |
| | | It's to be called Mini Station 1 and the idea is to create a money-spinner to finance Russia's floundering space programme. MirCorp vice president Gert Weyers says the station will cost a hundred million dollars and that it will be manufactured by Russia's RKK Energiya, the same company that designed and built the Mir space station. He says customers are already queuing up. Mini Station 1 will be able to take three people at a time and for a maximum of twenty days. The Russians broke into space tourism in April this year, when California millionaire Dennis Tito paid them twenty million dollars for a rocket ride to fame and the International Space Station. But in doing so they angered the Americans, who argued the trip could have endangered the crew on board the station. But this, say the Russians, is different. The Mini Station will be a separate, entirely commerical project which will not interfere with the scientific exploration of space.
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| | The Words
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| | | money-spinner
idea that will make a lot of money
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| | | floundering
has many problems and may fail soon
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| | | manufactured
made, usually in a factory
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| | | space station
spacecraft which goes around the earth and is used as a base for people travelling in space or doing research
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| | | broke into
entered the space tourism market
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| | | endangered
put into a dangerous situation
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| | | crew
the people who work on a spacecraft, ship, plane or train
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| | | on board
on a spacecraft, ship, plane or train
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| | | entirely commercial project
project completely for business
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| | | interfere with
have a bad effect on
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