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| |  Welcome to Weekender! This week we go back in time and far out to sea on a huge, iron, passenger ship - the SS Great Britain. Well, almost! We go to Bristol, in the west of England, to visit this historic ship. When she was launched in 1843, she was the world's first iron-hulled, steam-powered, ocean-going ship! The SS Great Britain is one of four 'museums' competing for this year's Gulbenkian Prize. The Gulbenkian Prize is the UK's biggest single arts prize - the winner receives £100,000 - and it's awarded annually to a museum for the best new developments. We look at the language to do with this remarkable boat. You can download the programme script at the bottom of this page.
Vocabulary from the programme dry dock An enclosed area of water which can be emptied and used for repairing ships. Example sentence The great iron passenger ship, the SS Great Britain, was built in a dry dock in 1843. salvaged Saved from damage or destruction. Example sentence The ship was raised from the bottom of the sea to be salvaged. the hull The body or frame of a ship, most of which goes under water. Example sentence The ship's hull was enormous, it went extremely deep into the water. corroding If metal corrodes, or if something corrodes it, it is slowly damaged by something such as water. Example sentence Steel tends to corrode faster in a salty atmosphere, such as by the sea. dehumidifying devices Machines which reduce the humidity, the amount of water, in the air. Example sentence To prevent the antique art objects from damage, dehumidifying devices were installed at the museum. initial estimates The first guesses of what the size, value, amount, cost etc. of something might be. Example sentence Our initial estimates put the cost of the building repairs at hundreds of pounds. preserved If you preserve something, you keep it as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed. Example sentence Putting varnish or polish on wood is a good way of preserving it. the keel The long piece of wood or steel along the bottom of a boat that forms part of its structure and helps to keep the boat balanced in the water. Example sentence The keel of the boat was placed on a stand so that the underneath of the boat could be painted. rippling Ripples are little waves of water. Example sentence As we walked along the beach, the sea was rippling gently at our feet. the bowels The bowels of something are the parts that are furthest away from the outside. Example sentence The fire started deep down in the bowels of the ship. virtually almost Example sentence We had looked virtually everywhere and still we could not find the missing book. descended Related to or developed from. Example sentence Humans are descended from ape-like creatures. Extras  Programme script (pdf - 21k) | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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