Solved Exercise for Precis writing “Is Science a Curse?” for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Some of the things which science has given us have certainly helped make our lives happier. Science has helped us to get rid of many sicknesses of the body. That is a great thing. It is difficult to be happy our body is full of pain. Scientists have made many discoveries which have helped to make painless, and to remove the causes of pain and sickness. By making it possible to cure terrible diseases-such as malaria, smallpox, plague, pneumonia and tuberculosis-science has made longer the life of the average man.

Science is helping man to produce much more food from the earth. By this, it is helping to get rid of famine and to prevent sickness caused by not having enough food to eat. It has also made possible the sending of quick relief to places where there is shortage of food and medicines with the help of motor lorries, railway trains, ships and airplanes. That is also very good, and many lives are saved in such way.

There are also many discoveries of science which have definitely brought unhappiness into the world. But that is not because the discoveries are bad, but because men are using them badly. For example consider the discovery of gun powder and of other explosives each more powerful than the previous one discovered. In ancient times men could wound and kill each other only if they were near enough to strike each other with stones, arrows, spears or swords. Even in battles the arms on both sides usually consisted of a few thousand men so the number wounded and killed was not very large. In most wars the peasants went on cultivating their fields peacefully even when the armies were fighting a few kilometers away. But the invention of firearms and high explosives caused a great change. A modem machine-gun or quick firing gun, worked by a single man, can wound and kill hundreds of people in a few minutes. One modern bomb can kill hundreds of thousands of people immediately if it is dropped on a big city.

The scientists who invented these terrible weapons are not wicked men who enjoy killing. They are people with kind hearts, but they are cleverer, and they earn their living by discovering new things. It is the leaders of the various nations who employ them to make discoveries which can be used to kill the people of other nations. The same discoveries could be used for useful purposes, if the leaders did not allow them to be used for killing. Explosives are not harmful they are used for such purposes as helping to get coal, metals and other materials out of the earth. The same motors and airplanes which are used to carry guns and drop bombs, can be very useful for good purposes. So we see that it is not the discoveries and inventions than are bad but the ways in which men use them.

(495 words)

Precis

Title:- Is Science a Curse?

Science has made our lives happier by reducing sickness and pain, and increasing the longevity of man by curing terrible diseases. With the increase in food production we can now send quick relief of food and medicines in the case of flood or famine with the help of modern scientific transport facilities, and save the suffering humanity.

On the other hand, some scientific discoveries cause misery. In fact the discoveries are not bad. It is their misuse by the politicians which brings us unhappiness. The ancient battles caused very little death and destruction but the discovery of gun powder has given us such barbaric powers that a machine gun worked by a single man can kill hundreds of people in a few minutes. One modern bomb can kill lakhs of people.

For this, the scientists are not to blame because these discoveries can be used for peaceful purposes. It is the leaders of the various governments who are to blame.

(165 words)