Speed Reading — Nuclear Weapons - Level 6 — 500 wpm

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.


This is the text (if you need help).

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo – a grassroots group established in 1956 by survivors of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The group has spent decades lobbying governments worldwide for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The Nobel committee said Nihon Hidankyo won the award, "for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons". Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only places on Earth where such weapons have been used on civilian populations. Wikipedia says: "The effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day."

The news agency Reuters praised the ongoing legacy of Nihon Hidankyo. It wrote: "For decades - thanks in large part to the work of Nihon Hidankyo – the destruction unleashed on the two Japanese cities was widely seen as a lesson from history that using nuclear weapons again was too appalling to contemplate." However, rising tensions in the world today mean we are closer to the brink of nuclear war than ever before. Russia has warned that the USA's support of Ukraine increases the risks of nuclear conflict. There are fears that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, North Korea has declared it is accelerating efforts to become "a military superpower and a nuclear power".

Comprehension questions
  1. When was Nihon Hidankyo started?
  2. Who started Nihon Hidankyo?
  3. What did Nihon Hidankyo lobby governments for?
  4. How many cities have experienced the horrors of atomic bombs?
  5. How many of the deceased perished on the first day?
  6. What did Reuters praise Nihon Hidankyo for?
  7. What did Reuters say was "too appalling to contemplate"?
  8. What does the article say we are closer to?
  9. Who does the article say might be developing nuclear weapons?
  10. What kind of superpower does North Korea want to become?

Back to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki lesson.

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