You Don't Have to Be a Rocket Scientist to Read This

Hello.

I'm Phil Murray with Words and Their Stories, a program in Special English.

"You do not need to be a rocket scientist." Americans hear these words often. People say them in schools, offices and factories. Broadcasters on radio and television use them.

This is how you might hear the words used.

Workers in an office are afraid to try to use their new computer system. Their employer tells them not to be foolish: "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to learn this," he says.


A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Dec. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/John Raoux)























The scientists had planned that part of the rocket would fall into the ocean after the launch. All ships and boats within many kilometers of the danger area had been warned. But in the last few seconds a small boat entered the area. Once again, the launch was postponed.

When the work goes well, most rocket scientists enjoy their jobs. One scientist said, "As a child I loved to build rockets. Now I am grown. I still love to build rockets. And now I get paid for it."

This program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Jeri Watson.

I'm Phil Murray.