Welcome to Voice of America’s News Words.
Space junk threatened the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station recently.
Interrupt
More than 1,000 large pieces from a broken satellite forced the astronauts to seek shelther in their capsules. It happened after Russia shot down an old space satellite. NASA said the threat could continue to interrupt the astronauts’ science research.
To interrupt is to cause something to stop happening for a time. In a social situation, it is to do or say something to cause someone to stop talking.
*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.