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| Words in the News
Monday 29 July 2002
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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Anti-gravity device could change air travel
Summary: The aircraft manufacturer Boeing has said that it's working on an experimental anti-gravity device. If it comes to fruition, the technology will revolutionise air and space travel. This report from Andrew Gilligan:
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| | The News | |
| | | The idea of anti-gravity is doubted by many scientists. But the involvement of the world's largest aerospace company lends it new credibility. Documents obtained by the magazine, Janes Defence Weekly, and seen by the BBC, show that Boeing is using the research of a Russian scientist, Doctor Evgeny Podkletnov, in a programme code-named Project Grasp.
The project is run by the top-secret Phantom Works in Seattle, the part of the company which handles Boeing's most sensitive programmes. Doctor Podkletnov claims to have built a device which can shield objects from gravity, making them, in effect, lighter and easier to lift.
Doctor Podkletnov's work is viewed with suspicion by some, but the head of the Phantom Works, George Mullner, told Janes that the science appeared to be valid and plausible. We shouldn't however expect anti-gravity aircraft in the near future. The idea is still highly experimental and it's not yet clear whether it can be engineered into something that works.
Andrew Gilligan, BBC
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| | The Words
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| | | anti
a prefix used to form words that describe something that prevents or destroys something else - here, prevention of gravity
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| | | gravity
the force that makes things fall when you drop them
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| | | credibility
if someone or something has credibility, people believe in them or trust them
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| | | research
work that involves studying something and trying to discover facts about it
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| | | code-named
a code-name given to something that is secret
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| | | sensitive
here, secret
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| | | device
machine
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| | | suspicion
if something is viewed with suspicion it is not trusted
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| | | valid
based on sound reasoning - true
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| | | plausible
believable
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