2007年VOA标准英语-Former US Nuclear Missile Site Open to Public

By Greg Flakus
Cactus¹ Flat, South Dakota
21 June 2007

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet² Union targeted each other with thousands of missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Both countries took measures to prevent human or mechanical errors that could have led to a disastrous³ conflict in which the world as we know it  likely would have ended.  There are still nuclear missiles in place, but relations between the United States and what is now Russia are much improved. Today, visitors to a remote area of South Dakota can see firsthand a missile silo and launching station that are no longer in use and experience what it must have been like for the military men and women who held the fate of the world in their hands. VOA's Greg Flakus has the story from Cactus Flat, South Dakota.

Minuteman missile

On the windswept prairie of western South Dakota, National Park ranger⁴ Chris Wilkinson is showing visitors a Minuteman II Missile in its silo, visible through a glass roof.

"If you look on the left side of the missile, you see an umbilical cord attached to it," Wilkinson said. "That is where the underground communications cables which connect with the launch control center bring a positive launch command into the missile's computer."

This missile no longer has a nuclear warhead and is no longer capable of flight. It is here only as a display for visitors to what is now called the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  It was authorized⁵ by Congress in 1999 and has been operated by the National Park Service since 2004.

This is the only site in the national park system devoted⁶ to the Cold War. It came into existence under a provision of the 1991 START treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. Under the treaty, all Minuteman II missiles were deactivated⁷ and the sites destroyed, with the exception of one site that could be used for educational purposes. This site near the South Dakota Badlands, a scenic⁸ landscape of eroded⁹ hills, was chosen for development of the park.

Delta10 1 launch facility" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070629/0950171.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Delta 1 launch facility

The site actually consists of two sites, one is the missile silo and the other is the Delta 1 launch control center, from which teams of U.S. Air Force personnel controlled 10 missile silos. Security was tight during the Cold War, but as Chris Wilkinson explains, there was no attempt to hide the center or the missiles.

"America's military policy during the Cold war as far as nuclear weapons go was one of deterrence¹¹," Wilkinson said. "Thus, we had them out there, right in the open, where even Soviet satellites could see them, so, hopefully, they would not attack us. One of the main ideas behind deterrence is that your enemy knows you have a credible¹² system that works."

Wilkinson says two-person teams came into the launch center every day to work day-long shifts in an underground bunker, using top secret codes to gain access.

"Once they had deemed those codes authentic¹³, this door, which was always kept closed and secured, would be buzzed open by the on duty crew down below," Wilkinson said. "Then a new missile crew could open this door on up. They would step into this elevator and head down for a 24-hour shift."

At the bottom of the elevator shaft¹⁴ there is a short walkway to a massive, eight-ton door that would close the launch team into a small room filled with control panels and technical equipment. Each team consisted of a commander and a deputy commander, neither of whom could carry out a launch without the other. If a launch order had ever come,  each man had exact duties. 

"The commander would meet the deputy at this red locked safe box," Chris Wilkinson explains.  "They each have their own separate locks on it," Wilkinson said. "They take those off as fast as they can. They open that box up. Inside of it, they find a set of keys."

Both keys and both people were needed to initiate¹⁵ launch.

"The deputy would insert their key right here, the commander does the same and inserts their key right here," Wilkinson said. "They are 12 feet apart and they must be turned simultaneously¹⁶. So if somebody goes bonkers in the middle of the night and shoots their partner, it is going to be impossible for one person to turn both keys at the same time."

On the other side of the world, the Soviets¹⁷ had a similar system, but in September 1983, according to documents that became available after the collapse¹⁸ of the Soviet Union, the unthinkable almost happened.

Lieutenant¹⁹ Colonel Stanislav Petrov received information indicating the United States had fired missiles that were on their way over the North Pole. He doubted the information and held off sending it to higher authorities who might have ordered a counterattack. It turned out to be a computer error.

Petrov, now retired²⁰, came to visit the South Dakota missile site in May, and Chris Wilkinson had a chance to meet the man who many believe saved the world.

"It really brought home to me how, even though we live in this world of technology and all, it all comes down to human decision making and it is just ordinary people like myself or like Petrov or like yourself who make decisions every day that really decide the fate of the world," Wilkinson said.

There were once 150 Minuteman II missiles in South Dakota and over a thousand scattered²¹ around other parts of the northern plains. There are no more active missile sites in South Dakota now, but there are still other types of nuclear missiles in nearby states.

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site serves to remind visitors of the frightful²² technology available to humans and the need to be ever vigilant²³ and careful so that it is never used.

1 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

4 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 deactivated   

v.解除动员( deactivate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；复员；使不活动

参考例句：

• \"The brain can be deactivated. It can be yours to command.\" “大脑计算机可以被停止。如果你下达命令的话。” 来自互联网
• He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. 他成功停用一个核反应堆在实验室之前崩溃。 来自互联网

8 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

9 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

10 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

11 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

12 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

13 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

14 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

15 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

16 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

17 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

18 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

19 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

20 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

21 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

22 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

23 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。