英语听力精选进阶版 14450（在线收听）

BBC Learning English 

Video Words in the News  

18 June 2014 

Camera glasses

Transcript:

They might not win any awards for style, but these prototype glasses are helping partially sighted people to see.

They project enhanced images onto lenses, giving wearers a clearer sense of surroundings.

Users say they feel more independent. Some see their guide dogs for the first time.

They were developed by researchers from Oxford University, who say the bulky headsets will eventually be the same size as a pair of specs.

Vocabulary:

prototype

first example of something new, from which later developments are made

partially sighted

not completely blind, but able to see very little

enhanced

improved, especially by artificial methods

bulky

too big to be carried or used easily

specs

glasses (short form of the word spectacles)

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports. 

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

prototype / partially sighted / enhanced / bulky / specs

1. "We are trying to find a solution where the club gets a new ground and _________ facilities, and Truro gets a development that satisfies everybody's needs."

2. "I woke up one morning to find I was famous. I bought a white Rolls-Royce and drove down Sunset Boulevard, wearing dark _________ and a white suit, waving like the Queen Mum."

3. Tests with an early _________  - a refashioned bicycle helmet - found it could accurately distinguish between bleeds (haemorrhagic stroke) and clots (ischaemic stroke), although not 100% of the time.

4. Refreshable Braille displays do exist, but they are expensive, __________and typically designed for use at a desk.

5. Increasing numbers of British children are being registered as blind or _________.

Answers:

1. "We are trying to find a solution where the club gets a new ground and enhanced facilities, and Truro gets a development that satisfies everybody's needs."

2. "I woke up one morning to find I was famous. I bought a white Rolls-Royce and drove down Sunset Boulevard, wearing dark specs and a white suit, waving like the Queen Mum."

3. Tests with an early prototype - a refashioned bicycle helmet - found it could accurately distinguish between bleeds (haemorrhagic stroke) and clots (ischaemic stroke), although not 100% of the time.

4. Refreshable Braille displays do exist, but they are expensive, bulky and typically designed for use at a desk.

5. Increasing numbers of British children are being registered as blind or partially sighted.