金融時(shí)報(bào):日本人如何為核戰(zhàn)爭做準(zhǔn)備？

日本人如何為核戰(zhàn)爭做準(zhǔn)備？

朝鮮一次又一次的核試驗(yàn)不斷挑動(dòng)著各國的神經(jīng)，與朝鮮隔海相望的日本自然無法放松警惕。一些謹(jǐn)慎的日本民眾已經(jīng)開始為可能降臨的核爆做了準(zhǔn)備。日本官方也給出了具體的建議。日本人是如何為核戰(zhàn)爭做準(zhǔn)備的？他們能給我們什么啟發(fā)？

測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí)：

secretive['si?kr?t?v] adj.秘密的

cupboard['k?b?d] n.碗櫥

fallout ['f??la?t] n.輻射性微塵，原子塵

duly['dju?li] adv.當(dāng)然地，適當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

ricochet['r?k??e?] vi. 跳

fuss [f?s] n. 大驚小怪，小題大作

peculiar[p?'kju?li?(r)] adj. 奇怪的，古怪的

How Japan is preparing for a nuclear attack(670 words)

By Gillian Tett

Earlier this month, I travelled to Tokyo, where I caught up with some Japanese friends. As we chatted about global affairs, one of them, Michiyo, revealed that her doctor husband had recently given her anti-radiation pills to carry in her handbag.

The reason? Not the leak of radioactive material that occurred at the Fukushima nuclear plant after it was hit by a tsunami six years ago. Instead, what worries Michiyo’s husband is North Korea.

In recent months, the secretive country has conducted an escalating series of missile tests, including one just last week. This has sparked fears among western intelligence services that Pyongyang could be close to acquiring an inter-continental ballistic missile with the ability to deliver nuclear warheads to places such as Japan, Guam, Hawaii or even California.

There are reports that North Korea has mastered several of the crucial stages for creating an ICBM: the ability to launch and guide a missile, create a nuclear warhead and then miniaturise it. Meanwhile tensions have risen between the unpredictable regime of Kim Jong-un and the (sometimes equally unpredictable) US president Donald Trump, prompting speculation that North Korea might try to direct a missile at a US base in Japan.

The Japanese government has responded by issuing guidelines for what to do in the event of a missile strike. Suggestions include sheltering in an underground shopping arcade, basement, concrete building or, if all else fails, under a table or in a cupboard in the centre of the house, for at least two days, presumably to let any fallout from an attack settle down.

Many Japanese households have duly been stocking up on food, water, batteries, nappies (which might be needed to stand in for toilets, my friends solemnly told me) and those anti-radiation tablets. Company executives have prepared backup offices, financial institutions have spread money in different locations and utility services and schools have conducted drills. Indeed, while I was in Tokyo the trains briefly shut down following one of North Korea’s missile tests.

Nobody has a clue whether Pyongyang could or would ever dare fire a missile, or whether the Americans possess the ability to intercept it. Foreign policy observers still think an attack is very unlikely. But what is striking about all these preparations in Japan is not that they are occurring but that so few people in the US or Europe know about them.

One of the US’s biggest business groups, for example, polls its members each quarter about how company executives perceive geopolitical risks. Until very recently, a minute proportion of companies considered North Korea to be the most serious threat; instead, the dominant focus for concern was so-called Islamic State.

Yet the pattern is changing. In the most recent survey, compiled this month, North Korea is ranked as the number one threat, above Isis. But most voters still know little about the country, and few realise that American troops in Japan or California might be a target.

A second reason why the preparations are not better known is that the Japanese public are themselves notably stoic. If the White House had told voters to buy supplies for a possible missile attack, the news would have ricocheted around the world. But most Japanese have simply acquired supplies as suggested and got on with their lives with a minimum of fuss.

That might seem peculiar to Americans. But Japanese people have lived with the knowledge that North Korea could fire a missile towards them for many years. And, of course, they have also weathered earthquakes. Confronting a possible missile threat looks scary but it’s not necessarily any more frightening than the knowledge that more than 33,000 people are killed by gunfire each year in the US. Cultural perceptions of danger vary.

But the next time I see Trump talk or tweet about North Korea, I will think about my friend’s anti-radiation pills. The fact that she is now carrying them in her wallet is a tragic sign of how peculiar the world has become. I just hope that she will never even have to think about using them.

請(qǐng)根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測(cè)題目：

1.Why does the author's friend Michiyo carrying anti-radiation pills in her handbag?

A. To protect her from radioactive material that occurred at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

B. To protect her from radioactive material that occurred during North Korean missile tests.

C. To protect her from radioactive material that could possibly occur in a missile strike.

D. To protect her from radioactive material that could possibly occur in a deadly earthquake.

答案(1)

2.What is the attitude of the Americans towards North Korean threat?

A. Optimistic.

B. Worried.

C. Unconcerned.

D. Ignorant.

答案(2)

3.Japanese are utterly stoic under the threat of missile strike because ____.

A. they have rich experience in grappling with missile strikes and nuclear disasters.

B. they have already acquired supplies as suggested and got ready for a nuclear explosion.

C. they have got accustomed to North Korea's threat and had experience in tackling disaster.

D. they are well informed about what to do in the event of a missile strike.

答案(3)

4.Which of the following statements about North Korea is true?

A. Pyongyang could be close to possess the ability to direct a missile at California.

B. Japan's missile defences are not able to intercept missile from North Korea.

C. It is predicted that North Korea will conduct its first ICBN test in a few months.

D. US military bases in Japan is believed to be the main target of North Korea.

答案(4)

* * *

(1) 答案：C.To protect her from radioactive material that could possibly occur in a missile strike.

解釋：我的一位日本朋友Michiyo從她的醫(yī)生丈夫那里防輻射藥片并隨身攜帶在包里。準(zhǔn)備這些藥片是出于對(duì)朝鮮的擔(dān)憂。

(2) 答案：B.Worried.

解釋：不久前，只有一小部分美國公司將朝鮮視作頭等威脅，但本月的調(diào)查顯示，朝鮮超過了ISIS成為最令人擔(dān)憂的威脅。

(3) 答案：C.they have got accustomed to North Korea's threat and had experience in tackling disaster.

解釋：日本人在很多年前就已經(jīng)知道朝鮮可能會(huì)向他們發(fā)射核彈，另外，他們也已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷過了多次大地震。

(4) 答案：A.Pyongyang could be close to possess the ability to direct a missile at California.

解釋：朝鮮的一些列核試驗(yàn)引起了西方情報(bào)部門的擔(dān)憂，他們擔(dān)心平壤方面已經(jīng)接近具備通過洲際彈道導(dǎo)彈對(duì)日本、關(guān)島、夏威夷甚至加利福尼亞等地進(jìn)行核打擊的能力。