|
Most of us have only experienced war through books or
the media. However, war is a lot more than that, especially for the
people who had experienced war personally. The memories of the hardship and
difficulty they experienced are firmly imprinted
in their minds for the rest of their lives. It is indeed sad that leaders of
certain countries quickly declare war whenever there is conflict between two
countries. In the past, leaders of countries were seldom concerned with
maintaining good relationships with their neighbors but were more interested in
gaining more power by conquering other cities. This is why there have been two
world wars in the first fifty years of the twentieth century.
War may occur because of various reasons, but more often than not,
the reason of war is quickly forgotten
amidst the tragedy of it. The amount of destruction that takes place during war
is massive and once started, war spreads like a disease
and rarely achieves anything.
Many have questioned the necessity of war,
especially because of the huge number of towns and cities that are destroyed and
people who are killed. The people who call for war are usually the leaders of
the country. Ironically, they are also the ones who are safely and comfortably
protected in their homes when war happens. The people who come forward and are
prepared to sacrifice their lives are the common people, who are also the ones
to suffer from the shortage of food and water that is
inevitable in any war.
During the Japanese Occupation that occurred in Singapore during the Second
World War, many Singaporeans experienced great hardship and countless others
lost their lives. It was only until atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki did the Japanese surrender. Where previous methods had
failed, the bombs were successful in ending the war. What was sad, however, was
the fact that so many Japanese people had to die because their leaders had been
so thirsty for power. It could have been
avoided if they had chosen to surrender earlier. |
| |
|
|
Answer the following questions using complete
sentences |
| |
1. |
What does the writer mean by 'Most of us have only experienced war
through books or the media' (paragraph 1)? |
| |
2. |
What does the phrase 'firmly imprinted' (paragraph 1) suggest about the
memories of those who have experienced war ? |
| |
3. |
Why were there two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century ? |
| |
4. |
What does the writer mean by 'the reason of war is quickly forgotten'
(paragraph 3) ? |
| |
5. |
Explain why the writer compares war to a 'disease' (paragraph 3). |
| |
6. |
Why have people 'questioned the necessity of war' (paragraph 4)? |
| |
7. |
Why do you think people went forward to fight despite the obvious risks
of war ? |
| |
8. |
Explain clearly the irony the writer talks about in paragraph 4. |
| |
9. |
What does the writer mean by using the word 'inevitable' (paragraph 4)? |
| |
10. |
What does 'it' in paragraph 5 refer to ? |
|
Sponsored Links
|
| Answers |
| |
1. |
He means that most people have only read about war or seen films about
war but have not personally experienced war. |
| |
2. |
They will not be able to forget the events that happened during the war. |
| |
3. |
Leaders of countries attacked one another as they wanted to increase
their power. |
| |
4. |
He means that once war begins, people will be too caught up with its
effects to remember why they were fighting in the first place. |
| |
5. |
War spreads quickly and its effects are usually fatal. |
| |
6. |
War leads to the mass destruction of cities and a loss of lives, as well
as a shortage of resources, which seem too big a sacrifice for the
objective of starting a war. |
| |
7. |
They do so because of their loyalty to their leaders/country. |
| |
8. |
He means that it is contradictory that those who called for war are safe
from the effects while those who suffer are those who had no say in the
decision. |
| |
9. |
He means that shortage of food and water cannot be avoided during a war. |
| |
10. |
It refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. |
