Page 42 - UKCAT 2017

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
VR3-8 A holiday company organizing tours across Asia by train
guarantees not to increase its prices once the holiday has been booked. An initial payment of 10% is required with booking, and the other 90% is to be paid in Russian roubles a week before the holiday commences.
This means there is no possibility that the holiday will cost the traveller more than he or she expects to pay.
A. True
B. False
C. Can’t Tell
Verbal Reasoning
VR4 – Rule of War
Humans have fought each other since the dawn of civilisation. They have done so over food, territory, resources and slaves. Many developments in technology have been spurred along by the competition over weapons. While aggression may be
a part of human nature, there are many ethical issues over war, and most would regard it as a wholly undesirable activity. Unspeakable things happen during wars, but fighting has usually been subject to implicit rules and codes of conduct. Although warfare has changed dramatically since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, they are still considered the cornerstone of contemporary International Humanitarian Law. They protect combatants who find themselves hors de combat, and they protect civilians caught up in the zone of war. These treaties came into play for all recent international armed con icts, including Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, the invasion of Chechnya and the war in Georgia. The Geneva Conventions also protect those affected by non-international armed con icts such as the Syrian civil war.
While conventions lay down rules to which the leaders of countries or armies must adhere and answer to in international courts, the notional separation of combatants and civilians has become increasingly difficult
to make. The mass bombings undertaken
by both Britain and Germany in the Second World War were as much about intimidating the population as destroying weapons and military personnel. The rise of terrorism as
a mode of warfare has further muddied
the water. The use of drones in difficult warzones, presented as a safe and reliable method of attacking soldiers or terrorists who travel or live in civilian areas, has raised ethical questions for their operators.
VR4-1 The Geneva Conventions are designed to:
A B C D
establish the human rights of military personnel in battle. protect civilians against all actions of their government. protect civilians caught up in battle areas.
prevent civilians taking up arms in wartime.
42 UKCAT Of cial Guide 2017