经济学人精读 The Economist [61]
选自| January 20 2018 | United States | 美国板块
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夏威夷误报导弹来袭事件，让本文作者带领大家了解，如果在核导弹爆炸中幸存后，应该采取哪些措施提高生存几率。1. 不要去看爆炸后产生的火球，那可能会让你失明；2.掩护和躲避是最重要的，防止被热浪烫伤，防止爆炸产生的玻璃碴和碎片带来的伤害，也可以遮挡随爆炸产生的飓风，和伤害性最大的核辐射。理想遮蔽处具备几个特点：最好是地下；若在地上建筑中，避开底层和顶层；最好有水、食物、消毒卫生用品、和无线电通信。当然，最好的措施是，不要让核导弹出现在你面前。
#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论
#有输出才有进步
Nuclear fears[核恐惧]
Thinking the unthinkable[思考着难以想象的局面]
【the unthinkable】
an unthinkable event or situation
难以想象的事件（或局面）
The unthinkable had happened -his secret activities had been discovered by the press.
难以想象的事发生了——新闻界发现了他的秘密活动。
How to increase your chances of surviving an atomic blast[如何在一次原子爆炸中增加你的存活几率]
THEalerts mistakenly sent to residents of Hawaii, warning them that a missile was on the way, were a reminder of an era when terror was measured in kilotons[一个警报被误发给了夏威夷居民，警告他们有一个导弹正在路上，而这一警报也是一个时代的提示，一个用千吨来衡量恐惧的时代]. In the 1950s and 1960s public-service broadcasts informed Americans about what to do in case of a nuclear attack[在20世纪五六十年代期间，公共服务广播会让美国人了解在遇到核袭击时应该做什么]. Since then, with nuclear conflict seeming less likely, such knowledge has seemed esoteric[/ˌes.əˈter.ɪk/极不寻常的], like taking an interest in Brutalism[野兽派艺术]or taxidermy[动物标本制作术][从那时开始，核冲突的可能性似乎更少了，这样的知识是极为罕见的，就像对野兽派艺术或是动物标本制作感兴趣一样]. Here is a reminder of something we hope you will never need to know[这里是一些我们希望你永远不需要知道的提示].
If a nuclear bomb exploded in an airburst, around 90% of people would die instantly near the centre of the blast: a roughly 1.9km (1.2-mile) radius for a 300- kiloton (KT) device—the estimated force of the weapon North Korea tested in September[如果一个核炸弹在空中爆炸，在爆炸中心附近大约90%的人都会立即丧生：1.9公里（1.2迈）的半径30万吨装置——去年9月朝鲜在测试中对武器力量的估计]. Within a 15-square-kilometre area, at least half the population would die more slowly, from radiation and burns[在15平方公里范围内的区域，至少一半的人口会因为辐射和烧伤更加缓慢的离开]. Those who make it through the blast or are farther away can take steps to increase their chance of survival[那些在爆炸中度过难关，或者离着很远的人，可以采取行动增加他们存活的几率].
An explosion would generate a fireball of light many times brighter than the sun[爆炸产生的火球的光比太阳要明亮好多倍]. Do not look at it or you may go partially blind[不要去看它，否则你可能会部分失明]. Instead, do as the cold-war safety film featuring Bert the Turtle advised: duck and cover[相反的，按照冷战安全电影中乌龟主演的Bert所建议去做：卧倒并掩护].
相关知识：
《卧倒并掩护》（英文：Duck and Cover）是一部1951年由美国联邦政府民防管理局制作，用以教导民众应对原子弹攻击的民防社会指导影片，片长约9分钟。这一影片制作于苏联开始核试验后。这一影片告诉公众，核战争随时可能在毫无告知的情况下发生，每个美国公民应牢记这一点并随时做好准备。该影片中的主角是一只叫Bert的乌龟。（资料来源：维基百科）
Lie down, ideally underneath something[躺到，理想情况下躺在一些东西下面]. This is to prevent serious burns from a thermal pulse, or heatwave, lasting several seconds that will sear[烧焦]through the area, setting off fires[这可以防止来自热脉冲或是热浪造成的严重烧伤，热浪会持续几秒，将经过的地方烧焦并引发火灾].It is also to avoid shattered[破碎的] glass and flying debris as a blast wave, with hurricane-strength winds, follows[这样也可以避免随之而来夹杂着玻璃碴和碎片，并伴随着飓风强度大风的爆炸冲击波].
The energy from the fireball would draw a column of dust and debris three miles into the atmosphere for over ten minutes; its top will flatten into the cap of the mushroom cloud[这个火球的能量可以在十分钟形成一个伸向大气中3英里的由尘土和碎片构成的圆柱体]. During that time, blast survivors need to find shelter[在那时，爆炸的幸存者需要找到一个遮蔽处]. Radioactive fallout[（核爆炸后产生的）放射性坠尘]—highly contaminated debris that settles onsurfaces—follows[紧接着是放射性坠尘——落在表面的高度污染的碎片]. It is most lethal[致命的]just after the blast[这是在紧随爆炸后最致命的].
The ideal shelter is below ground and well-sealed [最理想的遮蔽处是在地下且密封性良好]. If you are in a building above ground, go to its centre, preferably avoiding the ground or top floors[如果你在地上的建筑中，去它的中心，最好避开地面和顶层]. With luck your shelter has bottled water and non-perishable food; a radio and batteries for emergency information; wet-wipes and plastic bags for personal sanitation; and your identification documents[幸运的话，你的避难地有瓶装水和不易腐烂的食物；有用于紧急信息的收音机和电池；有用于个人卫生的湿纸巾和塑料袋；也有个人身份证件]. Assume mobile phones do not work[假设移动电话无法工作]. Distance from the blast is a matter of luck[到爆炸地点的距离其实是运气]. Surviving thereafter is mostly a matter of finding shelter, says Alex Wellerstein of the Stevens Institute of Technology in NewJersey[新泽西史蒂芬理工学院的AlexWellerstein认为，之后的生存最主要的就是找到避难之地]. After about two days the worst of the radiation will have decayed[衰弱][大概两天之后，最严重的辐射将会衰弱]. It may be safe to go outside[到室外就是安全的了].
The best step, though, is not to have a nuclear missile come your way at all[但是，最好的措施是，根本不要让核导弹出现在你面前]. Which is why some in the Trump administration argue for a strike on North Korea soon; and why most other people think that would be insane[这就是为什么特朗普政府中的一些人支持立即对朝鲜进行打击；这也就是为什么其他的大多数人认为这是荒唐的].
Jan 27 | 477 words
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