Nuclear nations.

On July 16, 1945, the U.S. conducted the world's first successful test of an atomic bomb, in the New Mexico desert. A few weeks later, it dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force an end to World War II. In the decades that followed, the U.S. and the Soviet Union (which included modern-day Russia) became locked in a nuclear arms race, and other nations rushed to build their own arsenals. Today, nine nations possess nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). North Korea is a member of that "nuclear club," but very little is known about its arsenal. The nation has conducted five nuclear tests since 2006, but experts are unsure just how many nuclear bombs it has or whether it has made warheads small enough to fit on a missile for deployment.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

This graph shows the estimated arsenals of eight nations believed to have nuclear weapons. Of this group, only Israel has not confirmed that it has such weapons. North Korea is not shown because very little is known about its nuclear program.

1. The FAS believes that China has about--nuclear warheads.

   a 200

   b 240

   c 260

   d 300

2. You can infer that the wavy lines on the graph signal that--.

   a the numbers are rounded

   b there's a jump in numbers on the axis

   c the totals are unreliable

   d the totals are decreasing over time

3. Which country has almost as many nuclear warheads as Pakistan?

   a India

   b Israel

   c China

   d United Kingdom

4. Today, the U.S. has about -- fewer nuclear warheads than Russia does.

   a 800

   b 600

   c 400

   d 200

5. Based on this graph, Russia and the U.S. together have about--percent of the world's nuclear warheads (excluding North Korea).

   a 99

   b 93

   c 82

   d 75

   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

6. Nuclear nations have been pressured by non-nuclear nations to reduce their nuclear stockpiles. Do you think they have an obligation to do so? Explain your answer.

7. Most of the countries on the graph developed their nuclear weapons many decades ago. Why do you think arms programs leveled off? Why are many people alarmed that North Korea is testing nukes in the 21st century?

   GRAPH EXERCISE > PAGE T11

1. [c] 260

2. [b] there's a jump in numbers on the axis

3. [a] India

4. [d] 200

5. [b] 93

   Sum It Up

   Writing an objective summary of an informational text can show that you understand what you've read. It's a paragraph in which you focus on the main points or ideas from the text, put the ideas in your own words, and avoid sharing your own opinions or...