VOA标准英语2013--Seismologists Monitor North Korea Nuclear Blast

 

Seismologists Monitor North Korea Nuclear Blast

It’s been almost 70 years since the atomic age was unleashed¹. The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to the end of World War II. While the memories of the devastation² still linger, the events also opened up an international race for nuclear superiority.

Eight countries today consider themselves nuclear-weapon states. A ninth, Israel, neither confirms nor denies it possesses the bomb. The most recent entry is North Korea. It conducted its third nuclear underground test on February 12th.

Seismologists around the world had their monitors almost literally³ light up when the latest North Korean nuclear test took place. Won-Young Kim and Paul Richards have monitored all three. 

“The first one was magnitude 4.3, the second one was 4.7, and this one was 5.1. When it becomes greater than five there is a good chance a lot of seismographic stations throughout the world will be able to record it," said Kim.

North Korea is the only country to test nuclear weapons in the 21st Century. These scenes show North Korean engineers working in a nuclear lab. According to seismologists, the latest test is still smaller than the weapons dropped on Japan in 1945.

A Chinese monitoring station, approximately 350 kilometers north of the test site, was the first to record the explosion. In seconds, its reverberations reached seismologists worldwide.

At this unassuming campus in Palisades, New York, Richards and Kim analyzed⁴ the data.

“The seismograph is a recording⁵ of how the ground moves at different times," said Richards. "The preliminary waves, or the primary waves, the first arriving waves, are very strong and impulsive⁶. There are very weak waves in this part of the seismograph. You hardly see them at all here.”

“We know exactly where they carried out nuclear test, and the signals are very simple, just “boom,” compared with earthquakes cracking long fault," said Kim.

The seismologists point out that nuclear devices are usually tested in shallow caves, approximately 1,500 meters-deep. Earthquakes come many kilometers below the earth’s surface. The difference is easy to detect. In North Korea, according to Kim, they used the same area, but not the same site for their tests. 

“In this case what we know that they had two tunnels drilled, two tunnels, one they call East, and the other West. And we believe this one is from the west side."

While the North Koreans celebrate their feat⁷, Kim and Richards say that this latest test, even though small when compared to most American nuclear weapons, is very serious and that the device can do incredible damage if used as a weapon. 

1 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

7 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。