WAR AND CONFLICT

Exercise 1: LISTENING GAP FILL

War is 1.________________ the world. I've never experienced it. I've never seen it. I never want to. Just
2.________________ television is enough. What is war? It's when leaders think they have to be strong so they attack
another country and 3.________________ than soldiers. That's war today. Generals and presidents always
4.________________ loss of innocent lives, but 5.________________ strong man (or woman) is more important than the
suffering and misery their 6.________________. There are many examples of wars ending or being 7.________________
talking. But then talking doesn't feed the war machine. Lots of people get rich when their country 8.________________.
And we learn in our history books that we are "good" at war, so it's OK.

Exercise 2: UNJUMBLE THE WORDS

Verb Noun Adjective
1 Defend
2 Invasion -------
3 Negotiation -------
4 Violent
5 Conqueror -------
6 Destroy
7 Devastate
8 Combative

Exercise 3: Types of War

Match the types of war with definition:
Interstate wars, Intrastate wars, Total war, Limited war
A. Wars involving multiple great powers. -----include significant destruction and loss of life. Since the end of World
War II, ----have become less frequent; the number of countries participating in ------has fallen, and they tend to last
for shorter lengths of time This has led some to argue that this type of war is obsolete.
B. wars between two or more states. In the past these were the focus of most research. They are the easiest to study and
have caused the most damage.
C. the objective is not surrender and occupation of enemy territory, but rather to attain limited goals. The Korean War,
the Gulf War, and conflicts in Sudan and Sierra Leone are examples of limited war.
D. wars between groups within a state, with or without international participation. While the number of ongoing ------
has declined, the decline has been less precipitous than the decline in -------.

Exercise 4: What do these words mean?

1. Ammunition 4. Civilian 7. Conscription
2. Guerilla 5. Hostile 8. Surrender
3. Truce 6. Warfare 9. Siege

Exercise 5: Match the words on the left to their opposites on the right
1. attack a. civilian 5. capture e. release
2. advance b. dead 6. rebel f. retreat
3. alive c. defend 7. wound g. heal
4. soldier d. loyalist
Exercise 6: Put the words in correct place
advance, capture, alive, attack, civilians, loyalists, retreat
Government: The town is safe. There are civilians everywhere.
Rebel: That’s not true. There are mostly soldiers .
Government: The rebels are losing the war.
Rebel: That is a lie. The 2___________ are losing.
Government: The rebel leader is dead.
Rebel: That is not true. He is still 3_____________.
Government: Our soldiers are advancing into areas controlled by the rebels.
Rebel: That’s not correct. The government soldiers 4_____________ from their positions.
Government: The rebels are going to release 100 prisoners.
Rebel: That’s another lie. We intend to 5______________ more loyalists.
Government: The rebels are trying to defend their base, but our soldiers are going to enter soon.
Rebel: No! We are preparing to 6______________ the areas controlled by the government.

Exercise 7: Match the words with definitions

1. invade a. an agreement to stop fighting for a certain period of
2. allies time
3. wound b. a strong disagreement or war
4. troops c. countries that are friends
5. truce d. enter a country by force
6. conflict e. groups of soldiers
7. outbreak f. injured
8. casualties g. people who are injured or killed
9. weapon h. something that is designed to cause harm or damage
i. the start of a war, disease, etc.
Exercise 8: Put the words in correct place
troops, allies, wounded, casualties, weapon, truce, invade, conflict, outbreak
1) In 1939, Nazi Germany decided to __________ Poland.
2) Britain and France were __________ in World War II.
3) Approximately 300,000 Iraqi soldiers were __________ during the first Gulf War in 1991.
4) US president Kennedy sent __________ to Vietnam in 1962.
5) North and South Korea agreed to a __________ in 1953.
6) The __________ between Greece and Persia lasted about 50 years.
7) In 1914, an international crisis resulted in the __________ of World War I.
8) The total number of __________ in World War I was around 40 million.
9) In Roman times, the sword was considered to be an effective __________.

Exercise 9: Match the words with definition

1. trench (n) a. put in jail
2. sign up (v) b. legal process to decide if someone is innocent or
3. injured (adj) guilty of a crime
4. trial (n) c. physically hurt
5. tribunal (n) d. to protect someone or something from being
6. recruiting office (n) attacked
7. volunteer (v) e. a narrow excavation in the ground for defense
8. imprison (v) purposes
9. defend (v) f. to offer to do something, without being forced to
g. a group of people who are chosen to solve legal
problems
h. a place where people go to volunteer to fight
i. to offer to fight in a war

Exercise 10: Put the words in correct place

trench, sign up, trial, injured, tribunal, recruiting office, volunteer, imprison, defend
1. He was ________so seriously that he was allowed to go home.
2. He heard that war broke out, so went to________.
3. There were a lot of ________, they all wanted to help to wounded people.
4. Making a ________was really tiring and discouraged work for some soldiers.
5. A lot of people were dead, a lot of lives lost, the ________ has to decide who is guilty.
6. The court decided that leaders of the country must be ________ as they committed severe crimes.
7. In the first weekend of the war, 100 men an hour (3,000 a day) appeared in ___________ to join the armed forces.

Exercise 11: Complete the table with the missing words

noun (thing) c noun (person) verb adjective adverb

hazard --------

adventure --------

patriotism --------

recruit -------- --------

-------- volunteer

Exercise 12: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words
1) For the more ………………….. tourists, there are some trips to the jungle with local guides.
a) adventure b) adventurer c) adventurous
2) Working in the mines can cause serious …………………… to health.
a) hazarded b) hazards c) hazardous
3) The army marched into the battle singing ……………………. songs.
a) patriotic b) patriot c) patriotism
4) The company is ……………………. new qualified staff.
a) recruited b) recruitment c) recruiting
5) Many groups have already …………………… to take part in the charity fund-raising campaign.
a) volunteered b) volunteer c) voluntarily

Exercise 13: Change the form of the words:

Amid growing 1. __________(tense) on the Russia-Ukraine border, a top US general has warned of "horrific"
2._____________(consequence) of any 3.__________(army) conflict. General Mark Milley warned that any Russian
action would result in a 4.__________(signify) number of deaths. He said: "An 5.__________(invade) will not be cost-free
in terms of casualties." General Milley told 6.__________(report) that Russia's 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border was
very 7.__________(worry). He said: "This is larger in scale and scope in the massing of forces than anything we have seen
in recent memory, and I think you'd have to go back quite a while into the Cold War days to see something of this
magnitude." Russia says it has no plans to invade and says US support for Ukraine is the 8.__________(big) threat.
Russia has 9.__________(accusation) the USA and NATO of being the 10.__________(aggressive) in the latest tensions. It
says it is 11._____________(accept) for US and NATO forces to be so close to Russia's borders. Moscow also called for
Ukraine to be banned from joining NATO. The US said this request was 12.__________(tenable). NATO said Ukraine had
the right to choose its own 13.__________(ally). Russia said NATO should end any military activity in Eastern Europe,
and pull troops out of Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 14.__________(add), it called for
NATO not to deploy missiles in countries near or 15.__________(border) Russia. Ukraine's President Zelensky has
accused the West of 16.__________(create) "panic" over a possible invasion.
Exercise 14:
SYNONYM MATCH
1. tentative a) deal
2. hostilities b) tense
3. agreement c) chance
4. initiative d) cautious
5. rain down e) carried out
6. responded f) fighting
7. strained g) response
8. opportunity h) fall
9. conducted i) reacted
10. reaction j) plan

Exercise 15:
True or False
1. People are totally convinced the new ceasefire will work.
2. The ceasefire started at the weekend.
3. The ceasefire is just for 10 days.
4. The fighting killed at least 55 people in Aleppo at the weekend.
5. Most countries involved in the conflict were negative about the truce.
6. An American official called the conflict a terrible situation.
7. Russia's foreign minister agreed on more strikes against ISIS.
8. Iran has not yet commented on the ceasefire.

Exercise 16:
GAP FILL
effect, tentative, strike, truce, collectively, reportedly, latest, rain

There is a fresh but (1) ____________ hope for a cessation of hostilities in Syria. The United States, Russia and Syria have
signed an agreement to (2) ____________ target the group known as ISIS. Their joint declaration will come into (3)
____________ on Monday. There is mixed reaction around the world to the (4) ____________ initiative due to the
failures of previous attempts at halting the fighting over the past few years. Even with the new 10-day (5) ____________
being literally hours away, the bombs continued to (6) ____________ down in areas around the capital Damascus. Syrian
government air (7) ____________ on ISIS-held areas (8) ____________ killed at least 82 people over the weekend. At
least 45 people died in strikes on Aleppo.

GAP FILL
opportunity, strained, welcomed, joint, reaction, reality, major, promising

Most of the (9) ____________ players in the Syrian conflict responded positively to the new ceasefire, despite the (10)
____________ relations between Russia and the USA. An American official said: "This remains…the most (11)
____________ way that we see in front of us to try to get this terrible situation to a better place." US Secretary of State
John Kerry said: "It is an (12) ____________ and not more than that until it becomes a (13) ___________." Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US and Russia had agreed on zones in which (14) ____________ "strikes against
terrorists" would be conducted. Turkey and the European Union (15) ____________ it but warned that further action was
needed. There has been no official (16) ____________ from Iran.
Exercise 17: Match the words with definition
1. withdrawal a. A temporary suspension of fighting, typically one
2. buffer zone during which peace talks take place; a truce.
3. ceasefire b. A neutral area serving to separate hostile forces or
4. vowed nations.
5. offensive c. The action of ceasing to participate in an activity;
6. declare moving personnel out of an area.
7. entire d. All of something; whole.
8. maelstrom e. Promised.
f. A situation or state of confused movement or violent
turmoil.
g. An attacking military campaign.
h. Formally announce the beginning of something.

Exercise 18: Read the text and answer the questions.

US President Donald Trump has asked Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end his country's military actions in
northern Syria. Turkey started attacking towns in northern Syria last week following the USA pulling out a group of its
troops in the area. Soon after the US withdrawal, Turkey launched attacks on Kurdish fighters. It wants to create a buffer
zone on its border that is free of Kurds. President Trump called for an immediate ceasefire in the region and for talks with
the Kurds. US Vice-President Mike Pence told President Erdogan: "The USA wants Turkey to stop the invasion,
implement an immediate ceasefire and to begin to negotiate with Kurdish forces in Syria to bring an end to the violence".
President Erdogan has vowed that Turkey would press ahead with its offensive in northern Syria despite calls from
around the world to stop its incursion. He said: "We will never declare a ceasefire. The USA is pressuring us to stop the
operation. It is announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions." He wrote in the Wall
Street Journal that: "The international community missed its opportunity to prevent the Syrian crisis from pulling an
entire region into a maelstrom of instability. The European Union and the world should support what Turkey is trying to
do." President Trump said yesterday: "It is not our problem. It is time for us to go home."
1. In what part of Syria is fighting taking place?
2. What did the article say the USA pulled out?
3. What does Turkey want to create on its border?
4. Who was sent to Turkey to talk to President Erdogan?
5. What does the USA want Turkey to do?
6. Who vowed to press ahead with an offensive?
7. What did Turkey's president say he would never declare?
8. What did the USA impose on Turkey?
9. What did President Erdogan say the international community missed?
10. What did President Trump say it was time to do?

Exercise 19: Match words with definitions

1. Siege a. Kill
2. Descend b. Baby
3. Slaughter c. Surround a building
4. Adopt d. Become a parent of someone’s child
5. Take for granted e. Begin, occur
6. Infant f. Appreciate not properly

Ted video questions

 1. What does she do?
2. How did her friend learn about the war?
3. How did her friend survive her child?
4. What did she study during the war?
5. Why don’t people leave places before the war?
6. Why was she advised to go back home?

Exercise 20: What’s wrong with the letter?

Dear Mr. President:
Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be
responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will. I’ve already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor
Brunson.
I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don’t let the world down. You can make a great deal. General
Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have make in the
past. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of his letter to me, just received.
History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the
devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!
I will call you later.

Tips for writing a good advice letter

• Polite • Adjustment of a letter to its audience
• Clear, not very simple language • Be persuasive
• Effective words - “please, thank you” • Positive
• Tone – “we suggest” • Care for culture.
• Be direct as possible

Opening remarks • It’s generally best/a good idea to …

• Thank you for your letter requesting ...
• I am writing in reply to your letter asking for advice about
...
• I hope the following advice will be of some help to you ...
• I just got your letter and I think I can help you…
Expressions to advise
• I strongly recommend that ...
• I believe the best course of an action is ...
• If I were you I would ...
• I would suggest that ...
• It would be a good idea to ...
• The best advice I can give you is ...
• What you should do is ...
• I really think you need to/must/should ...
• It is usually a good idea to ...
• My suggestion/advice is (to) ...
• You could try … / In that case ...
• You probably/definitely/really should …
• I would (strongly) suggest/advise that …
• If I were you, I’d …If I was/were in your place, I’d …
• One thing you could/should/have to do is …
• The best/most important thing (to do) is to … /… might
work / … would probably work /… (always) works for me
...
• My (main/personal) recommendation is/would be …
• I (would) always recommend/advise …
• If I were in that (that kind of) situation, I’d …
• Have you thought about …?
• Whatever you do, … / Your only option is to …
• You have no choice but to … / … is worth a try/trying ...
• A piece of advice from … that I’d like to pass on is to …
• A wise man once said …
• As the proverb says, …
• I can’t recommend … strongly enough.
• You should …, no doubt about it.
Closing remarks
• I trust you will accept this advice...
• I hope this will be of help to you...
• I would very much like to know if this was helpful...
• I would very much like to know if this was helpful

Homework
1. There will never be an end to war because humans love fighting. Agree or Disagree? (Write an essay 180-250 words)
2. An advice letter to: Bashar al-Assad / Vladimir Putin (write 180-250 words)