Unit XII

Key words and expressions: to drop an atomic bomb, to test, to explode, to survive, to cause destruction, serious damage, to kill and injure, casualties, unnecessary attack, remembrance.

Pre-reading tasks

1. Look through the key words and guess what the text is about.

Towards the end of World War II, the United States decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan to force Japan to surrender as quickly as possible. The first atomic bomb was completed and tested in New Mexico on July l6th 1945, and on July 25th the order to drop the atomic bomb was issued by the U.S. President at that time, Harry S. Truman. On August 6th 1945, history was changed forever when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. For the first time, an atomic bomb had been fired on a military target. Three days later, a second bomb was released on Nagasaki.

On August 6th 1945, at 8:15 A.M., Japanese time, the Enola Gay, a B-29 heavy bomber jet, dropped 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima. 'Little Boy', the nickname given to this atomic bomb, exploded one minute after it was released at an altitude of 2000 feet above ground level. The bomb exploded with a blinding flash in the sky and produced a ferocious heat wave and blast that caused indiscriminate destruction. The bomb generated a strong wind that caused the most serious damage to the city and people. 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 injured. It is estimated that more than 140,000 people died due to the bomb by the end of the year. Hiroshima was selected as the primary target for the atomic bomb because of the existence of a concentration of military installations, troops, and factories in the city. Its size and topography also made it an ideal place for testing the atomic bomb's destructive capabilities.

Three days later, on August 9th, at exactly 11:02 A.M., a second bomb, nicknamed 'Fat Man', was dropped in the industrial section of the city of Nagasaki. 'Fat Man' killed 39,000 people and injured 25,000 more. Even though there were more casualties in Hiroshima, 'Fat Man' proved to be more powerful, because the destruction radius was greater in Nagasaki (14,000 feet) than in Hiroshima (12,000 feet).

The injuries inflicted on the people resulting from the atomic explosions were: burns from flash radiation of heat and from fires ignited by the explosion; direct physical effects of the blast pressure; mechanical injuries from flying debris or the collapse of buildings, and radiation effects. Most of the casualties resulted from mechanical injuries.

In the years since the bombings, some people have said that dropping the atomic bombs ended World War Two, while others have said that it was an unnecessary attack because it did not yield the result desired. Every year on August 6th in Hiroshima people float lanterns filled with prayers and messages of peace in remembrance of the tens of thousands who died in those terrible events.

Post-reading tasks