The Devastating Aftermath of Nuclear Bombings: A Reflection

1. Unit4 A View of Mountains Jonathan Schell

2. Pre-reading Activities • Watch the movie clip and answer the following questions. • Why did Sally Regenhard say that 9/11 was “a shattering of faith”? • Why did Carol Ashley think that there must be an investigation? • What do you know about the 9/11 attacks and what influences have the events exert?

3. From On Native Soil

4. Policeman: Policeman: Eunice Hanson: Sally Regenhard: Carol Ashley: Max Cleland: Move back! Move back! Move it! Go back! I knew we had enemies, naturally, but I always felt pretty safe here. I never, never, in a million years dreamed that anything like this could happen to us. We believed in the system and you know, 9/11 was a shattering of faith. 3000 people were killed. It was a mass murder. And there needed to be an investigation. The surviving family members, nobody can deny that they had the ultimate claim to the truth about 9/11.

5. Warm-up Questions • What do you think is the greatest threat to the existence of mankind? What can we do with it? • What do you know about nuclear weapons? What’s your attitude towards nuclear weapons?

6. Atomic Bomb Atomic bomb or A-bomb is a weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei. The first atomic bomb was produced at a laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and successfully tested on July 16, 1945. This was the culmination of a large U.S. army program that was part of the Manhattan Project. It began in 1940, two years after the German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman discovered nuclear fission.

7. On Aug. 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima with an estimated equivalent explosive force of 12,500 tons of TNT, followed three days later by a second, more powerful, bomb on Nagasaki. Both bombs caused widespread death, injury, and destruction, and there is still considerable debate about the need to have used them.

8. Nuclear Weapon Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction powered by atomic, rather than chemical, processes. Nuclear weapons produce large explosions and hazardous radioactive byproducts by means of either nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. After World War II, the proliferation of nuclear weapons became an increasing cause of concern throughout the world. At the end of the 20th century, the vast majority of such weapons were held by the United States and the former Soviet Union; other countries that possess known nuclear capabilities are the Great Britain, France, China, Pakistan, and India. Israel also has

9. nuclear weapons but has not confirmed that fact publicly; North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion but probably does not have a readily deliverable nuclear weapon; and South Africa formerly had a small arsenal. Over a dozen other countries can, or soon could, make nuclear weapons.

10. Effects of Nuclear Weapons • both immediate and delayed destructive effects • blast, thermal radiation, and prompt ionizing radiation (电离辐射) • radioactive fallout (辐射微尘/放射性尘降) and other environmental effects

11. Background Information • 1.About the author—Jonathan Schell: • He was a writerfor the New Yorker from 1967 to 1987 and a columnist for Newsday from 1900 to 1996. He teaches at Wesleyan University and the New School. His works involves The Village of Ben Sue and The Fate of the Earth. His latest book The unconquerable world :power, nonviolence, and The will of The people《不可征服的世界：力量，非暴力和人民的意志》 • This text is the epilogue (last part) from his book TheGift of Time: The Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons Now《时代礼物：废止核武案例》in 1998.

12. 2.The two A-bomb cities • The Nagasaki(长崎) is a city which is the seaport in southwest Japan and is one of the two cities that got nuclear bombing in the War II. • The Hiroshima(广岛) is a city which is the seaport in southwest Japan and is the first city that got nuclear bombing in the War II.

13. Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki • The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and 9,1945.

15. Hiroshima bombing Nagasaki bombing

16. 3.About the Photographer: Yosuke Yamahata

17. Special Mission • In 1945, Yosuke Yamahata was a 28-year-old-photographer on assignment with the Western Army Corps near Nagasaki. On August 9, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, news of a second "New-Style Bombing" was received by the Corps and Yamahata was sent immediately to photograph its aftereffects.

18. His photos

19. His photos

20. His photos

21. His photos

22. His photos

23. Nagasaki two days before the atomic bombing

24. Nagasaki three days after the atomic bombing

25. The atomic bomb mushroom cloud over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945Photograph by Hiromichi Matsuda

26. Human injuries caused by the atomic bomb • Deaths: about 74000 Injuries: about 75000(estimates up to the end of December 1945)Heat rays, blast and radiation of the atomic bomb caused damage to the human body. Heat rays was tremendous and caused severe burns which couldn’t be imagined by the ordinary burn. When the symptom became serious, the patients skin turned into a running sore脓疮 and subcutaneous （皮下的）tissues and bones were exposed.

27. Plutonium 239 was used in the Nagasaki atomic bomb. It was 3.2m in length and 1.5m in diameter and 4.5ton in weight. It was nicknamed “Fat man” because of its shape, which is more roundish than the Hiroshima-type bomb( “a little boy”). (a full-size model of the bomb is displayed at Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum). The shape of the atomic bomb

28. A post-war "Fat Man" model

29. A postwar "Little Boy" model

30. Let’s remember this…

31. Present Nagasaki

32. A view of mountains

33. A view of mountains

34. First Reading • Read through the passage and find out the author’s purpose of writing. • A. To reveal how Yamahata’s pictures effectively show the catastrophic consequences of the nuclear bombing. • B. To highlight the nuclear threat and call on people to rid the Earth of nuclear weaponry for a safer world. • C To argue that the bombing of Nagasaki is the fitter symbol of the nuclear threat than that of Hiroshima. B

35. Second Reading • Para 1 Detailed description of the scene • Para 2 Nagasaki, fitter symbol of the nuclear danger • Para 3 Actions more important • Para 4 Performing the act -- the greatest responsibility of the generation

36. Text Structure This argumentative essay comprises three parts. In the first part, i.e. Paragraph1, the writer puts forward his thesis: a view of mountains in the background suggests the real extent to which the city was destroyed by the atomic bombing In the second part, Paragraphs 2-3 the author argues that the bombing of Nagasaki is more representative of the nuclear peril threatening the world than that of Hiroshima and that we need to take actions to dispel nuclear threat from the Earth. In the last part, i.e. Paragraph 4, he restates his main idea, i.e. we should not just worry about the nuclear peril but take the actions to eliminate it to create a safer world.

37. Language Analysis dispatch: vt. (1)send off to a destination e.g. A messenger was dispatched to take the news to the soldiers at the front. 一名通讯员被派去给前线士兵送消息。 e.g. The government was preparing to dispatch 2000 soldiers to search the island. (2) infml to finish (esp. food) quickly e.g. we soon dispatched the chocolate cake. 我们很快就吃完了巧克力蛋糕。 n. a message carried by a government official, or sent to a newspaper by one of its writers. e.g. To send / carry a dispatch from Rome to London 从罗马向伦敦发电讯稿；把急件从罗马送到伦敦

38. Dispatch / despatch • dispatch a messenger 派遣使者 • dispatch a telegram拍电报 • dispatch a business 速办公务 • dispatch a criminal 处决罪犯 • with dispatch: (formal) if you do something with dispatch, you do it well and quickly.

39. constitute :compose, form e.g. Fifty states constitute the USA. Compare: compose:组成部分+整体 England, Scotland, and Wales compose the island of Great Britain. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. constitute:组成部分+整体（有时构成一种同等关系） England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern constitute the Unites Kingdom. This constitutes a real problem. (=This is a real problem.)comprise:整体+组成部分 或 组成部分+整体 The committee comprises ten persons. Eighteen departments comprise the famous university. consist (vi.):整体+组成部分 Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

40. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • “it was therefore left to Yamahata to record, methodically--- and, as it happens, with a great and simple artistry– the effects…” • The responsibility was therefore placed on Yamahata’s shoulders to record the effects systematically and timely with a great and simple artistry. • methodically：adv.systematically 有系统地，有方法地 • artistry: the creative skill of an artist, writer, actor or musician 艺术之性质

41. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • char: v. make or become black by burning 烧焦 • e.g. Halve the peppers and char the skins under a hot grill. • 将甜椒剖成两半，在滚热的烤架上烤至外壳微焦。

42. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • They have been burned by light – technically speaking, by the “thermal pulse”- and their bodies are often branded with the patterns of their clothes, whose colors absorb light in different degrees. • technically speaking:从技术角度来说 • thermal means relating to or caused by heat or by changes in temperature. adj. 热的, 热量的 • thermal pulse: 热脉 • brand: v. label or mark with or as if with a brand 打火印 烙印 • e.g. They branded the cattle one by one. • e.g. The US administration recently branded him as a war criminal.

43. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • Whole Sentence: • Technically speaking, they have been burned by thermal pulse – a kind of light. Therefore, on their bodies, you can often see the patterns of their clothes, because different colors of the patterns absorb different amount of light.

44. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • twist v. • e.g. She twisted her hair into a bun and pinned it at the back of her head. • 扭;拧;搓;捻 • e.g. She twisted her head sideways and looked towards the door. • 扭动，转动(身体部位) • e.g. He fell and twisted his ankle. • 扭伤(脚踝、手腕等) • e.g. She twisted the handle and opened the door. • (用手)旋动，拧转 • e.g. It's a shame the way that the media can twist your words and misrepresent you. • 歪曲;曲解

45. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • twist n. • e.g. A thin twist of smoke curled from the cottage's single chimney. • 螺旋形;卷曲;盘曲 • e.g. thetwists and turnsof economic policy • 意外转折;重大转机 • e.g. Byacurioustwist of fate, cricket was also my favourite sport. • 机缘巧合;造物弄人

46. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • 1. A heap of things is a pile of them, especially a pile arranged in a rather untidy way. 堆 • e.g.a heap of bricks • 2. Heaps of something or a heap of something is a large quantity of it. (INFORMAL)大量 • e.g.You have heaps of time... • e.g.I got in a heap of trouble. • be struck/ knocked all of a heap to be very surprised or confused. 被惊呆，慌作一团

47. a heap/pile/mass of (books) a heap of books a pile of books a heap of books a mass of books

48. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • hang over v. 挂在...上 • e.g. A constant threat of unemployment hangs over thousands of university researchers. • 逼近; 威胁; 使忧心忡忡 • ledge: a narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall etc. 壁架：一种水平的凸出物，在墙上形成一个狭窄的搁板 • ditch n. 沟, 沟渠, 壕沟

49. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • “ A third shows a girl who has somehow survived unwounded standing in the open mouth of a bomb shelter and smiling an unearthly smile, shocking us with the sight of ordinary life, which otherwise seems to have been left behind for good in the scenes we are witnessing.”

50. Part Ⅰ (Para 1) • somehow: adv. In a way not specified, understood, or known 以某种方式；以某种不特定，不理解或不知道的方式 • bomb shelter:防空洞 • unearthly: adj. frightening, ghostly, mysterious, supernatural, 非尘世的，神秘的,怪异的 • e.g. The unearthly screams from the building woke up the people. • for good: permanently, finally 永久地 • e.g. He says that he’s leaving the country for good. • witness: see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception