I reported on the Iraq invasion as a “unilateral” journalist, which meant I rented an SUV from Hertz in Kuwait and sneaked across the border with the first US tanks. I wound up in Baghdad on April 9, 2003, and watched the Marines tear down the iconic statue of Saddam Hussein at Firdos Square. I returned to Iraq on several occasions to work on lengthy stories about the dismal turn of events as the occupation turned into a war of Americans against Iraqis, and Iraqis against Iraqis. The carnage, though heartbreaking, was almost the least shocking experience of my journeys between war in the Mideast and my home in New York City.
While Americans killed and got killed in Iraq, Americans back home shopped at Walmart and watched reality television. I had covered a lot of wars and thought I had grown accustomed to peaceful countries being unconcerned by other people’s quarrels. My unsentimental education had begun in the 1990s in Bosnia where I often had a Matrix-like experience. In the morning, I would wake up in Sarajevo or another cursed town that was blasted by bombs, frozen by winter and deprived of food. I would then begin my effort to get the hell out of hell. I would hope for a seat on what was known as Maybe Airlines. These were the UN relief flights that brought food into besieged Sarajevo. Maybe the shelling would be light enough for flights to land and take off, maybe not. If the flights were grounded, I could try to escape by driving along Sniper Alley and through a creepy no man’s land that constituted the only border that mattered in a nation cut and quartered by war. Distances are small in Europe. By the afternoon, I could be in Vienna or Budapest or London, enjoying the comfortable life that Europe offered many of its citizens: hot showers, good food, clean sheets, the certainty that I would not be killed by a mortar as I slept. I had a hard time believing these altered states existed in such close proximity. The contented Europeans eating apple strudel or shopping at Harrods on those 1990s afternoons– didn’t they realize war was being fought in their backyard? The answer was that they knew and didn’t care. Proximity isn’t destiny. Bosnia though close, wasn’t their home. Other people were killing and dying, not their people.
I had understood only half of it and learned the other half a decade later, on my return to America after sojourns in Iraq. Outside the tight-knit community of military families who cared deeply about the wars, nearly everyone in America went about his or her life as though Iraq and Afghanistan didn’t matter much. Nor had Americans been asked to change their way of life. It had become possible, I realized, for a nation to be at war without suffering the inconveniences associated with war– including the inconvenience of thinking about it.
World War II was a classic war in the sense of rationing, of drives for war bonds, of a draft the elite could not avoid with college deferments and of a ceaseless drumbeat in almost every sector of society that a great conflict was being fought that required great sacrifices of everyone. Even for families spared the loss of a loved one overseas, World War II was a visible– intentionally visible– aspect of life in the homeland; the nation’s leaders made it so. Life as it was before the war had to be suspended
Which of the following best states the author’s main point?
Show Hint
- War is an existential issue.
- War is not an exception to normal peacetime, but an enduring condition.
- Wars do not bother people any more, even when waged on their behalf.
- Wartime is the unpleasant and unwelcome partner of peacetime.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
To determine which statement best reflects the author's main point, we need to analyze the comprehension passage. The author discusses their experiences as a journalist during wars, notably in Iraq, and contrasts these experiences with life in peacetime areas such as New York and Europe. The key observation made by the author is the indifference shown by people in peaceful regions despite ongoing wars elsewhere. They note how individuals continue their everyday lives, unaffected and uninterested in the wars being fought.
The author reflects on this indifference through several personal experiences and illustrates the contrast between the devastation witnessed in war zones and the normalcy in non-warring countries. Historical context is provided with the example of World War II, where the entire society was engaged and aware due to the visible impacts and sacrifices required.
Given this context, the statement that best captures the author's main point is: Wars do not bother people any more, even when waged on their behalf. This choice aligns with the author's observations and reflections on modern society's detachment and lack of impact from wars, even when their country is involved.
The phrase‘unsentimental education’ is used to:
Show Hint
- imply that there is no escape from the clutches of war.
- disclose the shockingly indifferent attitude of people towards war.
- point out that wars are no longer situated in historical context.
- argue that the end of war is imminent.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The author states “Proximity isn’t destiny” to suggest that:
The author states “Proximity isn’t destiny” to suggest that:
Show Hint
- pushing the boundaries during military conflict is not a new experience for Europeans.
- political discourse can be more important to public opinion than war itself.
- Europeans would not give up their comforts because the neighbours are at war.
- geographical boundaries are not predestined but wars are.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The statement “Proximity isn’t destiny” implies that physical closeness to a conflict does not necessarily impact one's lifestyle or concerns. In the context provided, the author observed that while war was occurring in nearby Bosnia, Europeans continued their daily routines without much change or concern. Similarly, the author noted that people in America went about their lives during the Iraq invasion, unaffected directly by the war. Thus, the correct interpretation is: Europeans would not give up their comforts because the neighbours are at war.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
As of 2009, there are 890 World Heritage Sites that are located in 148 countries (map). 689 of these sites are cultural and include places like the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Historic Center of Vienna in Austria. 176 are natural and feature such locations as the U.S.’s Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks. 25 of the World Heritage Sites are considered mixed i.e. natural and cultural Peru’s Machu Picchu is one of these. Italy has the highest number of World Heritage Sites with 44. India has 36 (28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed) World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Committee has divided the world’s countries into five geographic zones which include (1) Africa, (2) Arab States, (3) Asia Pacific (including Australia and Oceania), (4) Europe and North America and (5) Latin America and the Caribbean.
WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN DANGER
Like many natural, historic and cultural sites around the world, many World Heritage Sites are in danger of being destroyed or lost due to war, poaching, natural disasters like earthquakes, uncontrolled urbanization, heavy tourist traffic and environmental factors like air pollution and acid rain.- Maharashtra Class X Board - 2025
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- Reading Comprehension
- I give the biggest credit of this honour to my movement’s Kaalu Kumar, Dhoom Das and Adarsh Kishore from India and Iqbal Masih from Pakistan who made the supreme sacrifice for protect ing the freedom and dignity of children. I humbly accept this award on behalf of all such martyrs, my fellow activists across the world and my countrymen. My journey from the great land of Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak and Mahatma Gandhi; India to Norway is a connect between the two centres of global peace and brotherhood, ancient and modern. Friends, the Nobel Committee has generously invited me to present a “lecture.” Respectfully, I am unable to do that. Because, I am representing here — the sound of silence. The cry of innocence. And, the face of invisibility. I represent millions of those children who are left behind and that’s why I have kept an empty chair here as a reminder. I have come here only to share the voices and dreams of our children– because they are all our children– (gesture to everyone in the audience). I have looked into their frightened and exhausted eyes. I have held their injured bodies and felt their broken spirits.
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