TEXT B Is it possible to persuade
mankind to live without war War is an ancient institution which has existed for
at least six thousand years. It was always bad and usually foolish, but in the
past the human race managed to hive with it. Modern ingenuity has changed this.
Either Man will abolish war, or war will abolish Man. For the present, it is
nuclear weapons that cause the most serious danger, but bacteriological or
chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat. If we succeed
in abolishing nuclear weapons, our work will not be done. It will never be done
until we have succeeded in abolishing war. To do this, we need to
persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not as
contests of force, in which the victory goes to side which is most skillful in
killing people, but by arbitration in accordance with agreed principles of law.
It is not easy to change very old mental habits, but this is what must be
attempted. There are those who say that the adoption of this or
that ideology would prevent war. I believe this to be a big error. All
ideologies are based upon dogmatic statements which are, at best, doubtful, and
at worst, totally false. Their adherents believe in them so fanatically that
they are willing to go to war in support of them. The movement
of world opinion during the past few years has been vary largely such as we can
welcome. It has become a commonplace that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course
very difficult problems remain in the world, but the spirit in which they are
being approached is a better one than it was some years ago. It has begun to be
thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that
negotiations should reach agreements even if both sides do not find these
agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to be understood that the important
conflict nowadays is not between different countries, but between Man and the
atom bomb. The last paragraph suggests that ______.
A.international agreements can be reached more easily now B.man begins to realize the danger of nuclear war C.nuclear war will definitely not take place D.world opinion welcomes nuclear war