In The Army. Michael from Singapore talks a little about serving in his county's army.

Transcription

1 In The Army Michael from Singapore talks a little about serving in his county's army. 1 Clare: Hello this is Clare from the United States and I am talking with Mike from Singapore about serving in the army. Ah.. Mike I've heard that in Singapore it is required that all men serve in the army. Is that true? Mike: Yes that's true. We have to serve in the army for two and a half years if you're a university graduate. And if you...your highest qualification is high school then you have to do just two years. Clare: So it's better to volunteer right out of high school if you want to serve a very short time in the military. Mike: That's right. But, however if you are just out of high school the kind of job you're gonna (going to) get in the army is not going to be very...good actually because um... for officers or for sergeants you have to have, like, at least college education. Clare: Oh ok, so you went to the army out of high school or college? Mike: College. Clare: Ah, so you were an officer? Mike: No, I was artillery sergeant... an' um, I was actually posted to the artillery branch for about one year and then after that when they found out I was a college graduate I had to do um... Human Resource work for my camp and that took me another one year. Clare: Oh, so when you say "artillery" do you mean you were ah... doing stuff with canons and big guns... Mike: That's right, actually what we do it's, a lot of the training is based on how we get the guns ready for the actual um...test firing And then we have to study how to repair the guns on site um... for about three months or so, and in order to drive the guns you have to have a license which, and that will take about one month. Clare: And is it a common sight to see these trucks driving around Singapore I mean it's a very small island isn't it? Mike: That's right. So we do most of our practices in Australia actually or New Zealand. Clare: So you have a military partnership with Australia... Mike: Right.. Clare:..and New Zealand... Mike: Actually with many other countries in the world. Um...for example, the air force the partnership is with the United States... Clare: Oooh... Mike:..because all the equipment's actually purchased from the United States Clare: Yeah, F16's right... Mike:.. and then for artillery's training is held in Australia and New Zealand and then for the rest of the other infantry exercises it can be United States or Sweden or actually all over Asia, because as you have mentioned Singapore is such a small place so there is not a much space for us to do it.

2 Comprehension Page 2 A) Main Points: Answer the following questions about the interview. 1) What does Michael think is best? 3) What did he study for one month? a) Enlisting in high school b) Enlisting after college a) How to repair the guns b) How to fire the guns c) How to transport the guns 2) What did Michael do? 4) Where did he do most of his training? a) Artillery b) Human Resources a) Australia b) The United States c) Singapore B) Phrase Match: Match the phrases on the left with the example on the right. 1) serve tanks and large guns 2) sergeants to perform duties or services 3) artillery an agreement to work together 4) partnership to talk about something 5) mention A rank in the military above corporal C) Unscramble: Put the mixed up sentences in the correct order. 1) true serve in the that all men army is it in Singapore? 2) better high school to serve after is it right? 3) does artillery what mean? 4) isn t it really a Singapore small island is? How would Michael respond to the questions? And You?

3 3 Bits and Pieces Put the PHRASES in the spaces Clare: Hello this is Clare from the United States and I am talking with Mike from Singapore about serving in the army. Ah.. Mike I've heard that in Singapore it is required that all men army. Is that true? Mike: Yes that's true. We have to serve in the army for two and a half years if you're a university graduate. And if you...your is high school then you have to do just two years. Clare: So it's better to volunteer right out of high school if you want to serve a very short time in the military. Mike: That's right. But, however if you are just out of high school the kind of job you're gonna (going to) get in the army is not going to be very...good actually because um... for officers or for sergeants you have to have, like, at least college education. Clare: Oh ok, so you went to the army out of high school or college? Mike: College. purchased from a college graduate is based on how highest qualification serve in the common sight is held in Clare: Ah, so you were an officer? Mike: No, I was artillery sergeant... an' um, I was actually posted to the artillery branch for about one year and then after that when they found out I was I had to do um... Human Resource work for my camp and that took me another one year. Clare: Oh, so when you say "artillery" do you mean you were ah... doing stuff with canons and big guns... Mike: That's right, actually what we do it's, a lot of the training we get the guns ready for the actual um...test firing And then we have to study how to repair the guns on site um... for about three months or so, and in order to drive the guns you have to have a license which, and that will take about one month. Clare: And is it a to see these trucks driving around Singapore I mean it's a very small island isn't it? Mike: That's right. So we do most of our practices in Australia actually or New Zealand. Clare: So you have a military partnership with Australia... Mike: Right.. Clare:..and New Zealand... Mike: Actually with many other countries in the world. Um...for example, the air force the partnership is with the United States... Clare: Oooh... Mike:..because all the equipment's actually the United States Clare: Yeah, F16's right... Mike:.. and then for artillery's training Australia and New Zealand and then for the rest of the other infantry exercises it can be United States or Sweden or actually all over Asia, because as you have mentioned Singapore is such a small place so there is not much space for us to do it.

4 What do you think? 4 Discussion Have you ever (or would you like to) serve in the military? What you do you (or did you) want to do after finishing high school or college? If you were in the military, what would you want to do (artillery, medical, human resources, etc.)? In your country, do people volunteer for the military or is it required? Do you think there will ever be a time when there are no wars? Write the number of the question being answered in the box Alan - U.S. Everyone in the U.S. has to register for the military services but no one is required to serve. However, they definitely encourage everyone to join. When I was in high school, military recruiters came to our school and tried to convince us to join. I didn t join and none of my friends joined either. Micheal - Singapore I think that conflict is a part of human nature so it is doubtful that we will ever find world peace. In fact, I think that if we completely got rid of all disagreement and conflict, we would be bored. Having said that, I think that even though there is still a lot of violence and war in the world, we have actually improved in the last 100 years. Cyndy - U.S. Serving in the military can have a lot of benefits because not only do you get paid and fed while you are serving but you also get trained. Normally you would have to pay a lot of money for a medical education at a university but if you join the military you learn for free. Plus you get a lot of opportunities to gain experience. Name - Place Like a lot of my friends, my dream after finishing college is to travel around the world for a year. I m sure I won t have enough time or money to make it all the way around the world but that s my dream anyway. Hopefully, I ll at least have the chance to backpack around Europe for a month or two. Write about one of the discussion questions:

5 Comprehension Page 5 A) Main Points: Answer the following questions about the interview. 1) What does Michael think is best? 3) What did he study for one month? a) Enlisting in high school b) Enlisting after college a) How to repair the guns b) How to fire the guns c) How to transport the guns 2) What did Michael do? 4) Where did he do most of his training? a) Artillery b) Human Resources a) Australia b) The United States c) Singapore B) Phrase Match: Match the phrases on the left with the example on the right. 1) serve 3 tanks and large guns 2) sergeants 1 to perform duties or services 3) artillery 4 an agreement to work together 4) partnership 5 to talk about something 5) mention 2 A rank in the military above corporal C) Unscramble: Put the mixed up sentences in the correct order. 1) Is it true that all men in Singapore serve in the army? true serve in the that all men army is it in Singapore? 2) Is it better to serve right after high school? better high school to serve after is it right? 3) What does artillery mean? does artillery what mean? 4) Singapore is a really small island, isn t it? isn t it really a Singapore small island is? How would Michael respond to the questions? And You?

6 6 Bits and Pieces Put the PHRASES in the spaces Clare: Hello this is Clare from the United States and I am talking with Mike from Singapore about serving in the army. Ah.. Mike I've heard that in Singapore it is required that all men serve in the army. Is that true? Mike: Yes that's true. We have to serve in the army for two and a half years if you're a university graduate. And if you...your highest qualification is high school then you have to do just two years. Clare: So it's better to volunteer right out of high school if you want to serve a very short time in the military. Mike: That's right. But, however if you are just out of high school the kind of job you're gonna (going to) get in the army is not going to be very...good actually because um... for officers or for sergeants you have to have, like, at least college education. Clare: Oh ok, so you went to the army out of high school or college? Mike: College. purchased from a college graduate is based on how highest qualification serve in the common sight is held in Clare: Ah, so you were an officer? Mike: No, I was artillery sergeant... an' um, I was actually posted to the artillery branch for about one year and then after that when they found out I was a college graduate I had to do um... Human Resource work for my camp and that took me another one year. Clare: Oh, so when you say "artillery" do you mean you were ah... doing stuff with canons and big guns... Mike: That's right, actually what we do it's, a lot of the training is based on how we get the guns ready for the actual um...test firing And then we have to study how to repair the guns on site um... for about three months or so, and in order to drive the guns you have to have a license which, and that will take about one month. Clare: And is it a common sight to see these trucks driving around Singapore I mean it's a very small island isn't it? Mike: That's right. So we do most of our practices in Australia actually or New Zealand. Clare: So you have a military partnership with Australia... Mike: Right.. Clare:..and New Zealand... Mike: Actually with many other countries in the world. Um...for example, the air force the partnership is with the United States... Clare: Oooh... Mike:..because all the equipment's actually purchased from the United States Clare: Yeah, F16's right... Mike:.. and then for artillery's training is held in Australia and New Zealand and then for the rest of the other infantry exercises it can be United States or Sweden or actually all over Asia, because as you have mentioned Singapore is such a small place so there is not much space for us to do it.