And the only result, almost the only practical result, which I have seen to this characteristic of our country, is this, that we have loaded ourselves with an amount of debt greater than that of all the nations of the world besides, and that we are mistrusted, and not liked, by almost every nation in Christendom. Nor do I see that the spirit of late times has been very much changed for the better; for, if we cannot be persuaded to go and attack somebody else, then it seems to be equally easy to persuade us that somebody is coming to attack us.
Now, I beg it most emphatically to be understood that, when I attend these peace meetings, it is not that I wish to bow down our necks and invite invaders to come amongst us; nobody intends to invade you, nobody wants to invade you; the quarrels which you have had, the wars which you have been engaged in, and the debts which you have contracted, have been all of your own seeking.
Précis
Cobden went on to say that far from ending religious discrimination or boosting free trade, Britain’s military interventions had done little more than amass a huge national debt and alienate international partners. Yet no lessons had been learnt. With no credible threat to excuse it, the national debt kept growing and politicians kept crying ‘war!’ and ‘invasion!’ in succeeding breaths. (60 / 60 words)
Cobden went on to say that far from ending religious discrimination or boosting free trade, Britain’s military interventions had done little more than amass a huge national debt and alienate international partners. Yet no lessons had been learnt. With no credible threat to excuse it, the national debt kept growing and politicians kept crying ‘war!’ and ‘invasion!’ in succeeding breaths.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, if, just, may, must, until, whether, who.
About the Author
Richard Cobden (1804-1865) was the son of a bankrupt Sussex farmer. By a mixture of talent and audacity, Richard rose from sweeping his uncle’s warehouse floor to become a Manchester mill-owner and then Liberal Party MP for Rochdale in Lancashire. He came to prominence in the late 1830s as a vocal critic of London’s panicky and greedy policies towards Russia and later China. Soon afterwards, he emerged as the leader of the Parliamentary rebellion against economic protectionism, i.e. the policy of using sanctions and trade tariffs to ring-fence the profits of domestic corporations and cripple the economies of foreign countries. The Corn Laws, the flagship protectionist policy that had brought thousands close to starvation, were repealed in 1846. The campaign almost ruined him financially, but he recovered and his final triumph was the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty of 1860, a landmark free-trade agreement between Britain and France which put centuries of mistrust behind us. Richard married Catherine Anne Williams, from Wales, in 1840 and they brought up five daughters together.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Every. If. Nor.
2 Believe. Even. Our.
3 I. Civil. Than.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Country. 2. Ground. 3. Mine. 4. See. 5. Own. 6. Even. 7. Change. 8. Down. 9. Object.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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