Unlocking
Word Meanings
Read
the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. screening (n.) [skree-ning] – an investigation or examination of something to identify those with a particular feature or problem
Example:
Jenny was very happy after passing the screening
for cheer dancers who are going to join the competition.
2. suspicious (adj.) [suh-spish-uhs] – questionable;
likely to create doubts or beliefs that something is wrong
Example:
The police authorities asked a suspicious
man to remove his sunglasses and bring his luggage to the counter.
3. initiative (n.) [ih-nish-ee-uh-tiv] – a plan or strategy
created to deal and solve a particular problem
Example:
The new garbage disposal system is an initiative
of the city officials to solve waste problems.
4. detection (n.) [dih-tek-shuhn] – an act of
discovering
Example:
The detection program in airports is
one way of keeping passengers safe.
5. consensus (n.) [kuhn-sen-suhs] – general agreement
among members of a group; absence of conflict
Example:
After several hours of discussion, the Justices of the Supreme Court reached a consensus on their final decision on the
case.
Article
Read
the text below.
Passengers
in US airports may soon go through a new security screening that involves a casual conversation with specially-trained
officers at a checkpoint.
In this new
system, security officers spot suspicious
travellers by looking at their behavior and facial expressions
during the conversation. This initiative
is being tested in Boston Logan International Airport for 60 days.
The US
Government came up with this initiative in order to expand
the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) detection program.
Under this
program, more than 3,000 officers were assigned to observe travellers’ behavior
at airports in the country as part of the Screening Passengers by Observation
Technique (SPOT). At Boston Logan, however, officers talk and ask questions to
passengers and not just observe them.
The new
screening system has been compared to Israel’s security measures, which
involves officers strictly questioning passengers while checking their
passports. Isaac Yeffet, a security consultant in New York and the former security
head of Israel’s El Al Airport, said that the system has prevented terrorism by
making sure that officers carefully interview travellers before they check-in.
However, the
policy in Israel has been criticized by privacy rights advocates. They say that
some officers ask unpleasant questions and cause a lot of inconvenience to
passengers. In addition, a report from the U.S. Government Accountability
Office claims that there is no consensus
if these behavior detection standards can really solve terrorism
problems.
Viewpoint
Discussion
Enjoy
a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do airport
security officers in your country apply strict rules?
·
What are some
security procedures that they do?
Discussion B
·
What are the kinds
of questions that airport securities must ask?
·
Should suspicion
be based on the person’s appearance alone? Are there other factors affecting
suspicion?