Listen&Learn: The nuclear arms race

Learn about the tense military competition between the US and the USSR.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• superpower: a country with a lot of military strength and global influence
• atomic bomb: a weapon that gets its energy from the fission of atoms
• ally: a country that is on the same side as another in a military conflict
• deploy: to position and activate a weapon
• mutual assured destruction: the idea that if one superpower launches a nuclear attack, the other will fire back, and both countries will be destroyed
• arsenal: a country’s supply of weapons

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The nuclear arms race was a period of between the United States and the Soviet Union as both superpowers developed and nuclear weaponry. It began in 1945, when the American military dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The Americans and the Soviets had been allies in World War II, but this event escalated growing between the two countries. Both knew that deploying a nuclear missile would result in what was termed mutual assured destruction, but they continued to develop nuclear out of fear that the other country would strike first. In 1972, both countries signed an agreement that limited the collection and testing of nuclear weapons. However, there is still concern about the nuclear arsenals of powerful countries.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. In 1945,
   a. the Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb
   b. the US dropped their first atomic bomb
   c. both countries signed agreements about atomic bombs
   
2. Both countries knew that deploying a nuclear weapon would result in
   a. winning the Cold War
   b. losing global support
   c. mutual assured destruction
   
3. The 1972 agreement
   a. dismantled all nuclear weapons
   b. limited the collection and testing of nuclear weapons
   c. limited which countries could have nuclear weapons

Discussion/essay questions

1. Even though full nuclear warfare has never taken place, access to nuclear weapons has changed the way countries conduct war. Why is this? How do current conflicts demonstrate this?

Transcript

The nuclear arms race was a period of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union as both superpowers developed and tested nuclear weaponry. It began in 1945, when the American military dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The Americans and the Soviets had been allies in World War II, but this event escalated growing distrust between the two countries. Both knew that deploying a nuclear missile would result in what was termed mutual assured destruction, but they continued to develop nuclear technology out of fear that the other country would strike first. In 1972, both countries signed an agreement that limited the collection and testing of nuclear weapons. However, there is still global concern about the nuclear arsenals of powerful countries.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3b