(from http://www.freeeslmaterials.com)

Travellers at two US airports will soon be searched by new high-tech scanners. International airports in Los Angeles and New York have installed digital body scanners that can ‘see through’ clothing. The new machines will mainly search for weapons and explosives. They use the very latest technology, called millimeter wave imaging. Radio waves create a 3-D image of someone’s body to see if they are concealing anything dangerous. Government officials say the new equipment will make air travel safer. A spokesperson said: “Imaging devices are not a brand new security tool, but they are a brand new security tool for airports.” There are plans to install the devices in another 30 airports across the country. An official promised that passengers will prefer the scanner to a security guard patting their body.

The new technology has raised questions by privacy groups, who believe the scanning process is too detailed. They say the device can see too much of the naked body. A civil liberties spokesman said it was the same as a virtual strip search. He warned: “We need to make sure there are good safeguards. The temptation is great not to follow procedures when a celebrity or someone well-known is involved.” One female passenger at LA airport suggested that only female operators should be allowed to scan female passengers. She said she was highly embarrassed to see a male official looking at the digital image of her body. She was also worried the scanned images could end up on the Internet. It seems it’s only a matter of time, however, before the machines replace metal detectors.

TASKS FOR THE ARTICLE

Ex.1. AIRPORT SECURITY DISCUSSION: Which of the security checks below would you like to see introduced at airports? Talk about this with your partner(s). Rate each item from 10 (This is essential) to 1 (How ridiculous). Change partners and share your ideas.

Ex.2. WRITING ON 3-D PHENOMENON: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘3-D’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

Ex.3. TRUE / FALSE: Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F):

Ex.4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

Ex.5. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

Ex. 6. READ AND FILL IN THE SPACES:

Travellers at two US airports ____ new high-tech scanners. International airports in Los Angeles and New York ____ scanners that can ‘see through’ clothing. The new machines will mainly search ____. They use the very latest technology, called millimeter wave imaging. Radio waves create a 3-D image of someone’s body to see if they ______ dangerous. Government officials say the new equipment will make air travel safer. A spokesperson said: “Imaging devices ____ security tool, but they are a brand new security tool for airports.” There are plans to install the devices in another 30 airports across the country. An official promised that passengers will prefer the scanner ____ their body. The new technology _____ privacy groups, who believe the scanning process is too detailed. They say the device can see too much of the naked body. A civil liberties spokesman said _____ virtual strip search. He warned: “We need to make sure there are good safeguards. The temptation _____ procedures when a celebrity or someone well-known is involved.” One female passenger at LA airport suggested that only female operators ______ female passengers. She said she was highly embarrassed to see a male official looking at the digital image of her body. She was also worried the scanned images _____ Internet. It seems it’s ______, however, before the machines replace metal detectors.

Ex.7. LANGUAGE: Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

Travellers at two US airports will soon be (1) ____ by new high-tech scanners. International airports in Los Angeles and New York have (2) ____ digital body scanners that can ‘see through’ clothing. The new machines will (3) ____ search for weapons and explosives. They use the (4) ____ latest technology, called millimeter wave imaging. Radio waves create a 3-D image of someone’s body to see if they are concealing anything dangerous. Government officials say the new equipment will make air travel safer. A spokesperson said: “Imaging devices are not a brand new security tool, but they are a brand new security tool (5) ____ airports.” There are plans to install the devices in another 30 airports across the country. An official promised that passengers will prefer the scanner (6) ____ a security guard patting their body. The new technology has (7) ____ questions by privacy groups, who believe the scanning process is too detailed. They say the device can see too much of the naked (8) ____. A civil liberties spokesman said it was the same as a virtual strip search. He warned: “We need to make sure there are good safeguards. The temptation is (9) ____ not to follow procedures when a celebrity or someone well-known is (10) ____.” One female passenger at LA airport suggested that only female operators should be allowed to scan female passengers. She said she was (11) ____ embarrassed to see a male official looking at the digital image of her body. She was also worried the scanned images could end up on the Internet. It seems it’s only a matter of time, however, (12) ____ the machines replace metal detectors.

Ex.8.AIRPORT SECURITY DISCUSSION:

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS

Ex.9.WRITING: Write about airport. Correct your partner’s paper.

Ex.10. SPEAKING: Speak on the airport security.

ADDITIONAL TASKS

Ex.1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations with each word.

Ex.2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out about airport security and body scanners. Share what you discover with your partner(s) at the next lesson.

Ex.3. MAKING A POSTER ON HIGH-TECH: Make a poster about the latest high-tech gadgets and devices. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

Ex.4. WRITING AN ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the dangers of 3-D body scanners at airports. Include imaginary interviews with an airport security chief and a passenger whose body image ended up on the Internet.

Read what you wrote to your classmates at the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

Ex.5. TRANSLATION: Translate the Russian language article from the “Russian language articles” ADDENDUM.

Unit VIII