Naked scanner

www.anglophonie.fr
page 1/1
‘Naked’ Scanner in Airport Trial
(BBC News 2009)
http://news.bbc.co.uk:80/2/hi/uk_news/8304000.stm
Fumbling through your pockets, taking off your clothes, airport security can be a hassle. And so, is
this the future? On the x-ray image, what you’re wearing disappears to reveal potential security threats.
But the scanner also picks out the contours of every part of the body. It doesn’t leave much to the
imagination.
‘Security, it’s first and foremost, isn’t it? And that’s what we’ve to consider. Frisking, x-ray, whichever is
right for the company, for the passengers, for the individuals.’
‘Maybe if I was, you know, eighteen and slim and lovely, I’d take it, but... it’s a bit too personal!’
‘Not too impressed…’
‘No, I’m no too impressed at all, no… no. That’s an invasion of your privacy, if anything.’
The airport wants to reassure passengers. Privacy, it says, is protected by built-in safeguards. Among
them, staff looking at the pictures are in a separate room and can’t see passengers’ faces. The images
can’t be stored and no one can take mobiles or cameras into the viewing room.
During this one-year trial, passengers can still opt instead for the old-fashioned method: a metal detector
and a pat down.
‘and hands up!’
The authorities have carried out similar trials before but, at that stage, the technology couldn’t cope with
passenger volumes. This latest pilot hopes to prove that’s no longer a problem. These images may be
anonymous, they may bring security and convenience but some may be a little reluctant to bare all.
Tom Simons,
BBC News
Vocabulary
00. naked (pronounced “nékid”)
01. to fumble (through)
02. a hassle
03. threats
04. to pick out
05. it doesn’t leave much to the imagination
06. first and foremost
07. to frisk
08. slim
nu
fouiller
embêtement
menaces
(ici) distinguer
ça laisse peu de place à l’imagination
avant toute chose / d’abord et surtout
fouiller
mince
09. if anything
10. built-in safeguards
11. to store
12. one-year trial
13. to opt for
14. a pat down
15. to carry out
16. to cope with
17. to bare all
surtout
des garanties “incorporées” contre des abus
(ici) mémoriser
période d’essai d’un an
opter pour / choisir
une fouille
mettre en oeuvre
faire face à
se mettre à nu / tout montrer