VOA标准英语2009年-Korean Victims Mark Atomic Bomb Anniversar

Sixty-four years ago, the United States dropped the first nuclear weapon used in war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A few days later, another was exploded over Nagasaki. More than 200,000 people died in the bombings and many of them were Korean.
　
S. Koreans pray in font of the cenotaph for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan, 05 Aug 2009

At a ceremony in Seoul, the Koreans who survived the blasts marked the 64th anniversary of the Hiroshima attack on Thursday. Speakers bowed before a small alter, surrounded by bouquets¹ of white flowers, honoring the spirits of the deceased.

Thousands of Koreans lived in Japan

In 1945, 70,000 Koreans lived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many were conscripted laborers², forced from their homes in Korea by the Japanese colonial government to work in factories supporting Tokyo's defense³ industries.

Byun Yeon-ok was a 10-year-old elementary school student in Hiroshima then. Now 74, she still vividly⁴ remembers what happened on the morning of August 6.

"The bomb dropped when I was at school playing with my friends in the playground. Suddenly, I saw a yellow flash in the sky and I thought somebody was taking a picture of us. But there was a huge storm after that and I hid under a tree. I thought it was the end of the world," she said.
　
A file photo shows 2 people walking through Hiroshima destruction resulting from the 06 Aug 1945 detonation⁵ of the 1st atomic bomb

On August 9, the United States military dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, causing equal devastation⁶. A few days later, Japan surrendered, ending a war that had engulfed⁷ most of Asia for years.

Radiation triggered health problems

Forty thousand Koreans lost their lives in the atomic attacks. And many of the survivors⁹ suffered years of health problems because of their exposure to radiation in the blasts.

"My family and I decided¹⁰ to go back to Korea in October, because my family thought that we didn't get hurt from the bombing. So, we took a smuggling¹¹ vessel¹² back to Korea and it took over a week to travel, because we couldn't move during night," said Byun. "There were still hundreds of torpedoes¹³ in the sea. However, I felt something weird¹⁴ about my body after my family arrived in Busan. I didn't even know what nuclear meant. And I didn't know about its aftermath. Suddenly, I had bruises¹⁵ all over my body and my skin color turned purple."

No help from Japan

Although the Japanese government has given financial aid to A-bomb survivors in that country, for decades the Korean A-bomb victims had almost no help for health problems linked to radiation, such as cancer and infertility¹⁶.

Kim Yong-gil, a Hiroshima survivor⁸ and representative of an A-bomb victims' advocacy group in Seoul, explains why.

Kim says in 1974, the Japanese government issued a directive to not give any medical or financial assistance to victims living in other countries. But after a lawsuit¹⁷ in 2003, Tokyo was forced to provide some compensation.

Now, Japan gives Korean survivors around $400 a month.

Some victims are suing

But with the help of the advocacy group, Korean victims are suing for the three decades of missed benefits.

Jeff Kingston, who lectures in Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo, says the Koreans are likely to win. He points to rulings, like one in 2007, in which the Japanese government has repeatedly lost to A Bomb survivors, known as hibakusha.

"Well I think they have a good legal basis, because the Supreme¹⁸ Court decision found the 74 ministry¹⁹ instructions illegal. So it would mean that instructions having been declared by the Supreme Court as illegal should have no standing²⁰, meaning that the ministry actually deprived these Hibakusha of their just benefits," he said.

Kim with the A Bomb victim's group, hopes the money does not come too late.

Kim says the average age of the victims is now 75. In another 20 to 20 years, they will all be gone. His organization has started an anti-nuclear weapons and peace campaign because they feel it is more effective when actual victims of a nuclear weapon call for the end of nuclear weapons around the world.

Call for responsibility

But Kim also wants the United States to show more responsibility for using the atomic bombs.

The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, which formally ended the Pacific portion of the Second World War, did not require the United States to compensate²¹ any war victims.

Kim says even a small gesture to the Korean victims would be better than nothing.

He says the group hopes to build a Peace Park in South Korea, like one in Hiroshima. He hopes that the United States will at least give some money to help them build the park.

Kim and other A bomb survivors plan to make their case at a conference on reducing nuclear arms, which will be held next year in New York.

1 bouquets   

n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香

参考例句：

• The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时，已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

5 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

12 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

13 torpedoes   

鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮

参考例句：

• We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完，装上给养和鱼雷就出发。
• The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹，引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。

14 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

15 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

17 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

18 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

19 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。