Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Could brain chips, let us control our phones with our minds? That's what Elon Musk hopes. This is News Review from BBC Learning English, where we help you understand news headlines in English. I'm Beth. And I'm Phil. Make sure you watch to the end to learn the vocabulary that you need to talk about this story. And remember to subscribe to our channel to learn more English from the headlines. Now today's story. A wireless chip has been successfully placed in a human brain by Elon Musk's Neuralink company. The device is able to read brain signals linked to movement and send them to a computer. Musk said that future innovations may allow us to control our phone or computer just by thinking. You've been looking at the headlines, Phil, what's the vocabulary that people need to understand this new story? We have 'implant,' 'interface,' and 'cyborg.' This is News Review from BBC Learning English. Let's have a look at our first headline. This is from the BBC: Elon Musk announced his first Neuralink wireless brain implant. Now this headline is about the announcement from Elon Musk that his company have successfully put an implant into someone's brain. "Implant" is the word we're looking at. Phil, what can you tell us about it? Ok. So the word implant, it's a verb and a noun. And in this headline, it's a noun referring to the device that was physically put inside someone's brain. That machine is the implant. Now, implants aren't particularly new, although this one is, but there are lots of different kinds of implants, aren't there? Yes, you could have implants that keep your heart beating, implants can help people hear again. And you can use implants to replace joints, things like knees or hips. OK. That's the noun. What about the verb? Does it just mean to put an implant into someone's body or can it mean anything else? Well, literally, that's what it means here. You can see the prefix "im" which means to put in or to go in. But as well as being able to physically implant something into someone's brain, we can also implant things into their minds. Ok, so you could put an idea or a feeling into someone's mind. You could implant it. Yes. And if an idea or thought becomes implanted in your mind, then you accept it or you believe it very strongly. Ok. So we should try and implant this word into your vocabulary. Let's look at that again. Let's have our next headline. This is from The Register: Elon Musk's brain-computer interface outfit Neuralink tests its tech on a human. Now, this is about Elon Musk's company Neuralink and then new technology. We're looking at the word interface which can be a noun and a verb. It's a noun in the headline. Now, interface, I know that it means two systems coming together. But what does it mean in this headline? OK. Well, the implant in this story is a brain computer interface and it's the device that lets someone's brain communicate with and work with a computer. But an interface can be a lot simpler than that. The interface on the software on your computer is just what you can see and what you can click on. OK. But it's not just computer systems, it can be much more than that. So here in the story, the interface is between technology and biology and how they link together. Yeah, it's not just gadgets, ideas and concepts can have an interface between them. OK. Let's look at that again. Next headline, please. This is from Mail Online. Rage against the machine: Americans warn Elon Musk to 'stop creating cyborgs' after he revealed the first human has had Neuralink's brain chip. This headline is about people being worried by these brain implants. We're looking at the word 'cyborg.' This sounds like something from science fiction. That is where it comes from. But like the word robot, it's also used to describe things that actually exist. Now originally, a cyborg was something that is part human and part machine. OK. I know about robots. They actually exist. I have a robot hoover, but cyborgs, do they actually exist? They sound quite futuristic. Ok. Well, in news articles and headlines, the word cyborg is more likely to be used as a comparison to describe things that are similar to cyborgs from science fiction. So you might read about so-called cyborg insects or bacteria. Ok. Let's look at that again. We've had implants -- something placed inside the body. Interface -- a connection between two systems. And cyborg -- part human, part machine. Now, if you want to know more about brain implants, click here to watch this episode of lingo hack. And don't forget to click here to subscribe to our channel, so you never miss another video. Thanks for joining us. Bye. -Bye.
B2 implant interface brain musk headline cyborg Elon Musk's brain chip: BBC News Review 24164 158 林宜悉 posted on 2024/02/11 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary