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Words
in the News
Wednesday 12 March 2003
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find
explanations of difficult words below.
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Dirty bombs
Summary: At a United Nations conference in Vienna about the threat from terrorists of the so-called dirty bomb, the United States has promised more aid to help countries find lost or stolen radioactive material. This report from Bethany Bell:
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The
News 
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The US Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, said countries around the world had to work together to make sure that radioactive material is properly secured. He said radioactive substances used in medicine, industry and agriculture existed throughout the planet. Up to now, he said, the fight against nuclear proliferation has focused mainly on nuclear weapons. He said it was now time to highlight the danger of the possibility of smaller radioactive sources falling into the hands of terrorists who could create dirty bombs. Those might not be as lethal as nuclear weapons, he said, but they could still create a major impact. He said the US was giving three million dollars next year to help poorer countries secure potentially dangerous radioactive sources. The Russian minister for Atomic Energy, Alexander Rumyantsev, said the need to address the threat formed part of the larger fight against global terrorism. Bethany Bell, BBC, Vienna.
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The
Words
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properly secured
stored safely; if you secure something, you make it safe from harm or attack
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existed throughout the planet
were in many parts of the world
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nuclear proliferation
the spread of nuclear substances; if things proliferate, they quickly increase in number
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falling into the hands of
coming into the possession or control of
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dirty bombs
bombs which use conventional explosives to spread radioactive material
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lethal
dangerous, deadly
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create a major impact
cause a lot of damage
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potentially dangerous
that might be dangerous
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address
deal with
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formed part of
was part of
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Read
more about this story |
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Other Words in the News archives
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