Comprehenion exercise held yesterday

Yesterday, I was given my first comprehension exercise of the year. The format of comprehension exercises in secondary is quite different from the format of those in primary school. I would also like to talk about the topic of the two passages as I find how both passages relate to that topic interesting.

Now, instead of having one passage and a set of questions to answer about it, I have to read two passages and answer some questions based on each individual passage, and also one about both the passages. I find this quite interesting as not only does it require me to have a good understanding of each of the passages, I also have to link both passages together, which requires even more thinking ! I can also read two ways of looking at the same topic, which I find quite interesting.

The topic was an ordinary topic, both passages were about warfare. However, i found the first passage a very interesting way of looking at warfare - ant warfare. The writer describes in great detail a war between a colony of aggressive, warring red ants and a colony of more passive black ants. The red ants had already enslaved some black ants from when they were eggs. The writer describes how the red ants sent scouts to examine the ground they would stage their attack on the black ants on, and how the red ants used intelligent tactics to invade the black ant nest, kill the black ants and capture their eggs. The writer also comments on how human the behaviour of the ants were. I also find this short anecdote quite interesting and I was quite surprised to find that the ants in the passage were so intelligent and had such good skills in warfare. I also agree with the writer that the ants' behaviour was very human. The many emotions the ants appeared to display, such as hysteria and desperation when waging war, to anxiety before the war occured, and even to happiness and victory that the red ants felt when they returned to their nest victorious, are very complex emotions that humans display too.

I feel the relation between the ants and humans even more when I read the second passage, which is a short history of the Punic wars, a series of three wars between the Romans and Carthaginians, two great civilisations. They too, like the ants, used complex techniques and waged bloody and violent wars.

The similarities really show very clearly that many animals are intelligent too, and have feelings and intelligent thought , a fact that really astounded me.

Haiti

Until a few weeks ago, I'm sure most people haven't even heard of Haiti before. Those who have probably thought of it as a remote island somewhere that completely does not factor in our daily lives. Personally, I did not even know Haiti existed until the earthquake struck. Now, Haiti is all over the news. Pictures of sadness and destruction have emerged showing Haiti as a completely devastated island nation.

But, why does the Haiti earthquake seem to be so destructive and the consequences so severe? It certainly isn't because it was the most powerful. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, more powerful compared to Haiti's 7.0 one. Neither is it the one with the biggest death toll. The 2004 Sumatra earthquake claimed more than 50 000 more lives. The reason is, Haiti is not just any country. It is exceptionally impoverished and has been in a state of instability in during its history. It is considered the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. It has a GDP per capita of $790. In comparison, Singapore's GDP per capita is $38,972. Haiti is also a disaster prone area and has had floods often in its recent history.

Consequently, Haiti is unable to rebuild itself on its own and has to rely on international aid. Also, with the people lacking in daily amenities even before the earthquake, more people will die more quickly. Fact is, the government has no resources to help rebuild Haiti.It is only with help from the international community that Haiti can slowly rebuild itself and get back on its feet. Everyone must play their part in helping the Haitian people. They may be from a different country, very far from our own, but we are all part of the global community and must lend a helping hand to people in need.

Here is a song written recently dedicated to the victims of the Haiti earthquake