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.
1. What first caused scientists to create the doomsday clock?
(A) Russia's first atomic test.
(B) The atomic bomb attack on Japan.
(C) The publication of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
(D) A worldwide natural disaster.
2. Which event would be most likely to cause the clock's time to be turned ahead?
(A) A major peace treaty being signed by two countries.
(B) The invasion of one powerful nation by another.
(C) One of the important stock markets crashing.
(D) The extinction of an important species of animal.
3. How is the current doomsday clock different from the original clock?
(A) It is based on more than just the problem of nuclear war.
(B) Its time is the closest to 12:00.
(C) Nuclear war is no longer part of its calculations.
(D) Its time is fixed at 11:55 since the threat of nuclear war is gone.
4. The current time on the doomsday clock indicates that the world
is _____.
(A) unlikely to experience anything bad any time soon
(B) already certain to be destroyed by mankind
(C)
in more
danger now than ever before
(D) getting dangerously close to the destruction of human beings
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