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Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the
20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them.
But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.
The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to
Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October
30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called
for Japan to take a larger role in alliance military moves.
It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in
World War ? at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by
a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are
based.
"A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause
billions of dollars in damage, " said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group
has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.
The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since
1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned in 2008. The new carrier, yet to be unveiled,_
will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern
technology.
Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to
keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't
believe that the two countries are threats to the region.
"There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense, " said Tetsuo Maeda, an
international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship
indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.
1. With such a formidable weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.
A. are aware of its benefits to the country
B. are anxious about its potential danger
C. are curious about the advanced technology
D. are against where the carrier will be based
2. The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.
A. set up a kind of base in Japan
B. strengthen the USJapan military alliance
C. show Japan's greater military capability
D. get rid of the dated marine weapon
3. From the story, we learn that________.
A. no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers
B. Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons
C. Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier
D. Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier
4. The underlined word "unveiled" in the fifth paragraph probably means________.
A. perfected
B. discussed about
C. produced
D. brought to view
5. By his remark in the last paragraph, the professor means that________.
A. he is quite confident of their military defense
B. he is completely opposed to a new nuclear carrier
C. what is needed is far more than a nuclear carrier
D. it is unnecessary to guard against the two countries
