by Kevin Lustig

The University of Chicago publishes the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a magazine about topics related to nuclear technology. On the cover of every issue of the magazine, there is a picture of a clock. Since it first appeared, the time on the clock has ranged between 11:43 and 11:58. The time it shows does not indicate the time of day, though. Instead, the time displayed represents how close we are to midnight, a time symbolizing the destruction of mankind.

The idea for the clock came about in 1947, shortly after atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan. Scientists had seen the destructive power of these weapons, and they concluded that nuclear war would be a catastrophe for the entire planet. They created the doomsday clock to show how close humans had come to destroying themselves. The first time it showed was 11:53. After that, the clock has been turned ahead or back based on world events. In 1949, when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, for example, the clock was turned ahead four minutes, to 11:57. In 1953, with the US and USSR both testing more destructive nuclear weapons within months of each other, it was turned ahead another minute. The clock has never been that close to midnight before or since.

These days, the threat of global nuclear war is much lower. However, scientists have added global warming and other factors like nanotechnology to their calculations of the time for the doomsday clock. As a result, the clock is currently at 11:55, five minutes to midnight. Of the nineteen times the doomsday clock has displayed over the years, this one is the fifth-closest to 12:00. It is a silent warning that global affairs are currently heading towards destruction, and it reminds us to be careful in order to keep time from running out.
单字小铺

1. bulletin n.（学会的）会刊；公报
2. atomic a. 原子的
atomic bomb　　原子弹
3. nuclear a. 核子的
nuclear weapon　　核子武器
4. instead adv. 反而；却
5. destruction n. 毁灭
6. destructive a. 破坏的，毁灭性的
7. catastrophe n. 大灾难
8. doomsday n. 最后审判日；世界末日
9. threat n. 威胁
10. factor n. 因素，要素
11. nanotechnology n. 奈米科技
12. calculation n. 计算
13. affair n. 事件
14. peace treaty n. 和平条约
15. invasion n. 入侵，侵略
16. crash vi. 下跌
17. extinction n. 灭绝
18. fix vt. 使固定

词组小铺

1. be close to N　　接近……
2. based on/upon...　　根据∕基于……
3. for example/instance　　例如，举例来说

中文翻译＆标准答案

芝加哥大学出版的《原子科学家公报》是一本刊登有关核子科技的杂志。每一期的杂志封面都有一张时钟的图片。从它第一次登上杂志封面起，时间便一直在 11:43 到 11:58 之间摆荡。然而，钟上的时间并非标示一天中的任何时刻，而是象征人类距离毁灭的午夜时分还有多久。

世界末日钟始于 1947 年，也就是日本被投下两颗原子弹后不久。科学家看到这种武器毁灭性的威力，断定核战对这整个星球会是一场浩劫。于是便创造了世界末日钟，向世人显示人类离自我毁灭有多近。第一次显示的时刻为 11:53，之后，钟上的时间便依照世界上发生的事件调快或调慢。例如，当时的苏联在 1949 年第一次测试原子弹时，末日钟的时间便调快 4 分钟至 11:57。1953 年，美国和苏联在几个月内相继测试更具毁灭性的核子武器，末日钟又往前调了 1 分钟，是空前绝后最接近午夜的一次。

近来全球的核战威胁已减低许多。但科学家新增了全球暖化和奈米科技等其它变量，来计算末日钟的时间。结果，现在时钟走到 11:55，差 5 分钟就到午夜时分。末日钟的时间在这几年来共调过 19 次，最近这一次是第五个最接近 12:00 的时刻。这是一个无言的警告，告诉我们全世界的所作所为正一步步走向毁灭，提醒我们必须谨慎行事，以免世界走向尽头。