新視野大學英語讀寫教程第二冊unit10-b Forty-Three Seconds over Hiroshima

Section B

Forty-Three Seconds over Hiroshima

On a brilliant summer's morning in 1945, Kaz Tanaka looked up into the sky over Hiroshima and saw the beginning of the end of her world. She was eighteen.
A white dot appeared in the sky, as small and innocent-looking as a slip of paper. It was falling away from the plane, drifting down toward them. The journey took a mere 43 seconds.
The air exploded in blinding lightning and colour, the rays shooting outward as in a child's drawing of the sun, and Kaz was flung to the ground so violently that her two front teeth broke off; she had sunk into unconsciousness. Kaz's father had been out back weeding the vegetables in his underclothes. When he came staggering out of the garden, blood was running from his nose and mouth. By the next day the exposed parts of his body had turned a chocolate brown. What had been a luxury home in that sector of the city came thundering down.
That life had been a comfortable one, wanting in nothing — at least, not until the war. Kaz's father had been born to a family of some wealth and social position in Hiroshima, and had emigrated to America in the early 1920s in the spirit of adventure, not of need or flight; he never intended to stay. He moved back to Hiroshima at 40; it was expected of him as the sole male heir to their name. But he brought his American baby girl with him, and a life-style flavoured with American ways.
The house he built was a roomy one. There was a courtyard in front of the place and two gardens in back, one to provide vegetables, one to delight the eye in the formal Japanese layout. One of the two living rooms was American, with easy chairs instead of mats or tatami, and so were the kitchen and bathroom. Dinner was Japanese, with the family sitting on the floor in the traditional way. Breakfast was American, pancakes or bacon or ham and eggs, taken at the kitchen table.
What remained of the life he had made was blown to bits though his home was more than a mile from ground zero. He was working on the side facing zero, and had the front of his body and limbs burnt. His flesh, when Kaz touched him, had the soft feel of a boiled tomato.
Kaz was anxiously waiting for the return of another member of her family when a tall chap appeared where the gate had been. "He's back!" she shouted; her brother, at six feet tall, towered over most Japanese men, and she knew at a glimpse that it was him. But when she drew closer, she could barely recognize him through his wounds. His school had fallen down around him. He had struggled to a medical station. They had splashed some medicine on the wounds, tied them with a bandage and sent him on his way. For a moment, he stood swaying at the ruins of the gate. Kaz stared at him.
Later, when night fell, Kaz and her brother made for the mountains; a friend from Kaz's factory lived in a village on the slope of a hill behind the city and had offered to take them in. It was midnight by the time they found her place. Kaz looked back. The city was on fire. She felt uneasy, seized with fear, not for herself but for her parents. She left her brother behind, and dashed down the slope of the hill toward the flames. The streets were filled with the dead and barely living. She kept on running, knowing only that she had to be home.
Kaz's family had been luckier than most. Her father with his burns had to lie outdoors on a tatami, but her brother's wounds refused to heal. As the others were recovering, Kaz fell ill with all the symptoms of radiation sickness. The disease was a frightening result of the atomic bomb. Scientists in Los Alamos were surprised by its extent; they thought the blast would do most of the killing. Kaz felt as if she were dying. She ran a fever. She felt sick and dizzy, almost drunk. Her gums and her bowels were bleeding. She looked like a ghost. "I'm next," she thought realistically; she was an eighteen-year-old girl waiting her turn to die. No medicine worked, since the only known treatment for radiation sickness was rest. As winter gave way to spring and spring to summer, Kaz began to heal.
The illness had not really left her; it had gone into hiding, instead, and the physical and mental after-effects of that historical August 6,1945, would trouble Kaz all the rest of her life.
Words: 794

NEW WORDS

dot
n. [C] a small round mark 點，小圓點
vt. 1. mark (sth.) with a dot 加小點于
2. place (things or people) here and there 把……分散在各處，分散

innocent
a. 1. harmless 無害的，無惡意的
2. not guilty 無罪的，無辜的
3. suffering harm although not involved 無辜受害的

innocent-looking
a. looking harmless 看上去無害的，看上去無惡意的

drift
vi. move slowly, esp. as a result of outside forces, with no control over direction 漂流，飄動
n. 1. [C] things, esp. snow or sand, piled up by the wind （被風吹積的）一堆
2. [U] general meaning without the details 要旨，大意

mere
a. nothing more than; no better or more important than 僅僅，只不過，只

explode
vi. 1. burst violently 爆炸
2. (of feelings) burst out suddenly（指感情）爆發(fā)，突發(fā)
3. increase very quickly 激增，迅速擴大

lightning
n. [U] flash of bright light in the sky which is produced by electricity moving between clouds or from clouds to the ground 閃電

outward
ad. towards the outside 向外
a. relating to how people, situations or things seem to be, rather than how they are inside 外表的，外面的，表面的

weed
v. take out wild plants from (the ground) 除去（地上的）雜草
n. [C] a wild plant growing where it is not wanted, esp. among crops or garden plants 雜草，野草

▲stagger
vi. walk or move unsteadily as if about to fall (from carrying sth. heavy, being weak, drunk or injured, etc.) （因負重、虛弱、醉酒等）蹣跚，搖晃
vt. cause (sb.) to feel shocked or surprised because of sth. unexpected or very unusual happening 使吃驚

expose
vt. 1. uncover or leave sb./sth. uncovered or unprotected 使暴露，使遭受
2. make known (sth. secret) 揭露

luxury
n. 1. [U] (regular use and enjoyment of) the best and most expensive food and drink, clothes, surroundings, etc. 奢侈，豪華，奢華
2. [C] a thing that is expensive and enjoyable, but not necessary 奢侈品，昂貴的東西

sector
n. 1. [C] an area that is separate from others 區(qū)域
2. [C] one of the areas into which the economic activity of a country is divided （經濟）部門，行業(yè)

thunder
vi. make a loud noise like thunder 打雷，發(fā)出雷鳴般的響聲
n. [U] the sudden noise which comes after a flash of lightning esp. during a storm 雷，雷聲

▲heir
n. [C] a person with the legal right to receive money, title, property, etc. when the owner dies 繼承人

roomy
a. having plenty of space to contain things or people 寬敞的

layout
n. [C] a way in which the parts of sth. are arranged according to a plan 布局，安排，設計

mat
n. [C] a piece of rough material for covering part of a floor 席，小地毯

■tatami
（日語）榻榻米（指日本人鋪在房內地板上的稻草墊）

■pancake
n. [C] a thin flat usu. round cake made from flour, milk and eggs and fried on both sides 薄煎餅

bacon
n. [U] meat from the back or sides of a pig that has been salted, and sometimes also smoked, which is often eaten fried 熏咸肉

ham
n. [U, C] pig's meat from the leg or shoulder, kept with salt or smoke 火腿

limb
n. 1. [C] an arm or leg of a person or animal 肢，翼
2. [C] a large branch of a tree 大樹枝

flesh
n. 1. [U] the soft part of the body of a person or animal which is between the skin and the bones, or the soft inner part of a fruit or vegetable （人體或動物的）肉，果肉
2. (the～) (sing.) the (human) body contrasted with the mind or soul 肉體（與精神或靈魂相對而言）

chap
n. [C] a man or older boy 家伙，小伙子

glimpse
n. [C] a short look 一瞥，一看

▲bandage
n. [C] a long narrow piece of cloth which is tied around an injury or a part of sb.'s body that has been hurt 繃帶
vt. wind a bandage round (a part of) sb. 用繃帶包扎

sway
vi. move slowly from side to side 搖擺，搖動
vt. 1. cause (sth./sb.) to move slowly from side to side 使搖動，使搖晃
2. persuade (sb.) to believe or do one thing rather than another 使動搖，使改變主意

slope
n. 1. [C] (part of) the side of a hill or mountain 山坡
2. [C] a measure of an angle from a level direction 傾斜，坡度

uneasy
a. (of people) slightly anxious or uncomfortable about a particular situation; (of situations) causing slight anxiety 心神不安的，擔心的；令人不安的

dash
v. 1. move suddenly and quickly 急奔，猛沖
2. hit with great force, esp. causing damage （使）猛撞，猛擊
n. 1. [C] (usu. sing.) a sudden forward movement 猛沖，急奔
2. [C] a short horizontal line used to separate parts of sentences 破折號

heal
v. 1. (cause a person or part of the body to) become healthy again 治愈，治好，使康復
2. cause (sth.) to end; make easier to bear 使中止，調停；減輕

radiation
n. [U] (the sending out of) heat, light, or elementary parts of matter produced by an object 發(fā)熱，發(fā)光；輻射，放射

atomic
a. 原子的

▲dizzy
a. 1. (of a person) feeling as if everything is spinning around; unable to balance; confused 頭暈目眩的，迷惑的
2. of or causing this feeling 使人頭暈的，使人迷惑的

gum
n. 1. (usu. pl.) firm pink flesh at the base of the teeth 牙齦，牙床
2. [U] soft sweet that people crush and grind with the teeth but do not swallow 口香糖

▲bowel
n. 1. (usu. pl.) （除用于醫(yī)學術語和作定語外通常用復數(shù)）腸（尤指人腸）
2. (usu. pl.) the deepest inner part (of a place) 內部，深處

ghost
n. [C] (the spirit of) a dead person who appears again 鬼，幽靈

realistically
ad. based on facts; practically 現(xiàn)實地，實際地

historical
a. connected with the study or things from the past 歷史的，歷史上的

PHRASES ADN EXPRESSIONS

break (sth.) off
(cause sth. to) become separated from sth. as a result of force （使）折斷

sink into
go into (a less active or happy state) 陷入（不活躍或不愉快的狀態(tài)）

wanting in sth.
lacking in sth. 不夠，不足

expect of
hope or think it likely that (sb. or sth.) will be or do (sth.) 對（某人）有……期望，指望（某人做）

remain of
be left or still present after other parts have been removed or used or dealt with 從……留下，剩下

to bits
into small pieces 成為碎片

make for
move in some direction; head for 向……前進

take sb. in
allow sb. to stay in one's home 收留

be seized with
be affected by a strong feeling, desire, etc. suddenly and intensely 被（強烈的感情、愿望等）影響

keep on doing (sth.)
continue doing (sth.) 繼續(xù)做

go into
begin to act or perform in the way specified 開始以某種方式行動或表現(xiàn)

PROPER NAMES

Hiroshima
廣島（日本本州島西南岸港市，1945年8月6日美國在此投下第一顆原子彈，殺傷慘重）

Peter Goldman
彼特·戈德曼

Kaz Tanaka
田中和子

Japanese
日本的，日本式的

Los Alamos
洛斯阿拉莫斯（美國新墨西哥州中北部城鎮(zhèn)，著名的原子能研究中心）