UNIVERSIDAD ARCIS // DEPARTAMENTO DE INGLÉS

Words are weapons

1. Match the words with the definitions:
a. crusade
b. independence
c. liberation
d. hero
e. martyr
f. autocratic
g. rouge state
h. resistance
i. occupation
j. propaganda

1. A ____________ is someone who dies for a religious or political reason.

2. A ____________ is someone who does something very brave.
3. A ____________ is a country that does not behave in the same way as other countries.
4. A ____________ is a holy war against another religion.
5. An ____________ government is one which is not democratic.
6. If a country has ____________, it has freedom from control by another country.
7. _____ is false information which governments and media use to change people’s opinions.
8. If a country is under ____________ it is under the control of another country’s army.
9. ____________ is when you fight against the army of another country that is in your country.
10. ____________ is when you are finally free from the control of another country.

2. What do you know?

1. When was the attack on the World Trade Center in New York? 2001
2. Who organized the attack?
3. Where does the US government keep al-Qaida prisoners?
4. What are WMD?
5. Who was Donald Rumsfeld?

3. Vocabulary: Prepositions Complete these sentences using prepositions

1. The meaning of the word ‘terror’ depends _________ your point of view.
2. Everyone has heard ____________________ WMD.
3. President Bush declared a war ______________ terror.
4. Politicians don’t listen _________________ public opinion.
5. Bush wants to defend the world ___ ______ "dark forces".
6. The real terrorists always belong _____________ the other side.
7. Politicians do many things ____________ the name of security.
8. _____________ the other hand, ….

4. Comprehension check Choose the best answer to each question:

1. Why is ‘crusade’ a dangerous word?
a. Because it has many meanings.
b. Because it means ‘careless.
c. Because it has a negative meaning for Muslims.

2. What is the problem with the word ‘terrorism’?

a. People cannot agree on what it means.
b. Everybody hates it.
c. It is a good example of the way people write history.

3. What is the difference between WMD in "rogue states" and WMD in rich countries?
a. They are the reason why military spending is rising.
b. They are the reason why politicians don’t listen to public opinion.
c. In the first they are "not OK" and in the second they are "OK".

4. Why don’t Western leaders use the word "occupation"?

a. Because it is like resistance.
b. Because it sounds illegal.
c. Because it is propaganda.

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 UNIVERSIDAD ARCIS // DEPARTAMENTO DE INGLÉS

5. Vocabulary: Word Building

Verb Noun
1. mean ___________________________
2. defend ___________________________
3. liberate ___________________________
4. agree ___________________________
5. destroy ___________________________
6. develop ___________________________
7. resist ___________________________
8. occupy ___________________________

Words are weapons

Sometimes politicians use words that could be dangerous. Soon after September 11 th, President
Bush spoke about a "crusade" against al-Qaida. This word has a very negative meaning for
Muslims. It made them think that the Christian world wanted to attack them. So, Bush’s use of
language was very careless. Now Bush does not use the word "crusade". But he still talks about
the need to defend "civilization" and "the civilized world" against "dark forces". He never
explains which part of the world is the "uncivilized" or "dark" bit. Perhaps he means Kandahar in
Afghanistan. Or Eastbourne in the south of England. It is not clear. Words are important in how
a people sees itself: the US declaration of independence is one example. Modern - day
Palestinians also see themselves in a battle for "independence" and "freedom". Words like
"imperialism" and "liberation" influence the way people write history. The word "terrorism" is a
good example. In general, "terrorism" is a terrible thing; everybody hates it; nobody likes it. Why
then is there so much "terrorism"? Because people cannot agree on what the word means. It
depends on their point of view. Terrorism is a word that people often use incorrectly. For the US
Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, for example, the recent helicopter attack at Falluja in
Iraq was the work of "terrorists". To the people on the other side, however, the men who
attacked the helicopter are freedom-fighters, heroes or martyrs. The real terrorists always
belong to the "other side".
When Bush declared his world "war on terror", autocratic rulers all over the world began to do
terrible things in the name of "security". From Chechnya to Colombia, Pakistan to the
Philippines, the anti-terror "war" grows every day. It is difficult to believe that there are so many
terrorists.
With this careless use of language, prisoners locked up in places like Guantánamo Bay are, of
course, "evil ". The latest word in this political language is WMD, or weapons of mass
destruction. Everyone has heard of WMD and they are now the reason why there is an attack
on civil liberties everywhere. They are the reason why military spending is rising, why the
developing world is not developing, and why politicians don’t listen to public opinion. Rich
countries have their own WMD, of course, but their weapons are somehow "OK".
WMD in developing countries or "rogue states" on the other hand, are not OK. These WMD are
dangerous. There are some words, on the other hand, that Western leaders do not use. These
include "resistance" and " occupation ". Resistance is a positive word and they do not use it to
talk about the people in Iraq who attack American forces. Also, they do not use the word
"occupation" when they talk about Iraq; they prefer the word "liberation ". "Occupation" sounds
illegal. It makes Iraq sound like Palestine, Tibet, Afghanistan or even Vietnam. That is really
careless talk.
Politicians and the media need to be more careful in their use of language. They should not use
words that have a strong political or cultural meaning or words which have unclear meanings.
Sometimes it is difficult to know what is truth and what is propaganda.
From ‘civilization’ to ‘WMD’, words are weapons by Simon Tisdall

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 UNIVERSIDAD ARCIS // DEPARTAMENTO DE INGLÉS

1 Key Vocabulary
1. martyr 2. hero 3. rogue state 4.
crusade 5. autocratic 6. independence
7. propaganda 8. occupation
9. resistance 10. liberation
2 What do you know?
1. September 11 (2001)
2.Al-Qaida
3. Guantanamo Bay - Cuba
4.Weapons of mass destruction
5. The US Secretary of Defence
3 Comprehension Check
1 c; 2 a; 3 c; 4 b:
4 Vocabulary 1: Prepositions
1. on 2. of 3. on 4. to
5. against/ from 6. to 7. in 8. on
5 Vocabulary 2: Word Building
1. meaning
2. defence
3. liberation
4. agreement
5. destruction
6.development
7. resistance
8.occupation
6 Pronunciation: Mark the stress
Put these words into the correct box
according to their stress pattern
1. resistance; destruction; important;
September
2. occupy; terrorist; prisoner; difficult
3. attack; depend; crusade; Iraq
4. recent; careless; martyr; reason