Questions 1-5 are based on the following
passage.
This passage is excerpted from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, given in 1961.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his
mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human
poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same
revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still
5 at issue around the globe. Let the word go forth from this
time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been
passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this
century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter
peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness
10 or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which
this nation has always been committed, and to which we are
committed today at home and around the world.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the
free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control
15 shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far
more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them
supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them
strongly supporting their own freedom-and to remember that,
in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the
20 back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe
struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our
best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever
period is required—not because we seek their votes, but
25 because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who
are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our
adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides
begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of
30 destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in
planned or accidental self-destruction.
So let us begin anew-remembering on both sides that
civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always
subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us
35 never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and
precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and
bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the
absolute control of all nations.
40 Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science
instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars,
conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths,
and encourage the arts and commerce.
And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the
45 jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new
endeavor-not a new balance of power, but a new world of
law-where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the
peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days.
50 Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in
the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our
lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.