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During the war, the United States dropped the first atom bomb on a city in Japan, Hiroshima.
二战期间，美国在日本广岛投下了第一颗原子弹。
The bomb killed many people.
这颗原子弹炸死了许多人。
The atom bomb changed the world.
这颗原子弹改变了世界。
Soon other countries began to test their own atom bombs.
很快，其他国家也开始试验自己的原子弹。
The threat of nuclear war began to rise.
核战争的威胁开始上升。
Also in 1947 the United States and the Soviet Union were in the middle of the “Cold War.”
同样是在1947年，美苏两国正处于“冷战”之中。
This was a time of great conflict between the two nations.
这是这两个国家之间发生巨大冲突的时期。
Part of the Cold War included an arms race.
冷战的一部分包括军备竞赛。
Each nation was trying to build more nuclear weapons.
每个国家当时都在努力制造更多的核武器。
The threat of nuclear war was very high.
核战争的威胁非常大。
The world knew this.
全世界都知道这一点。
And the scientists knew this.
科学家也知道这一点。
And that was the beginning of the Doomsday Clock.
这就是末日时钟的开始。
The scientists believed people needed a symbol, or something to represent the state of the world.
科学家认为，人们需要一个符号或某种东西来代表世界的状态。
They used the term “minutes to midnight.”
他们用了“午夜前几分钟”这个词。
This term explained how close they thought the world was to nuclear war.
这个词解释了他们认为世界离核战争有多近。
The closer the clock’s hands were to midnight, the closer the world was to war.
末日时钟的指针离午夜越近，世界离战争就越近。
The scientists could not know for sure how close the world was to war.
科学家无法确切地知道世界离战争有多近。
But, they could look closely at world events.
但是，他们会密切关注世界事件。
They could look to see which countries had bombs or were making bombs.
他们可能会查看哪些国家拥有或正在制造原子弹。
And they could look at the decisions world leaders were making.
他们还可能会研究世界各国领导人所做的决定。
Then they could make an informed theory.
然后他们就可以做出有依据的理论。
Based on their theories, they moved the hands on the clock forward or backward.
根据他们的理论，他们将末日时钟上的指针向前或向后移动。
The clock started at seven minutes to midnight.
末日时钟从晚上11点53分开始计时。
When scientists made the clock, they believed the world was close to nuclear war.
当科学家拨动末日时钟时，他们认为世界即将爆发核战争。
Since then, the hands of the clock have moved 18 times.
从那时起，末日时钟的指针已经移动了18次。
