Comparing Two Stories
Read both stories carefully, then describe how the situations are similar.
Demo mode
Story A
The General
00:00 Select text to highlight
A small country was ruled from a strong fortress by a dictator. The fortress was situated in the middle of the country, surrounded by farms and villages. Many roads led to the fortress through the countryside. A rebel general vowed to capture the fortress. The general knew that an attack by his entire army would capture the fortress. He gathered his army at the head of one of the roads, ready to launch a full-scale direct attack.
However, the general then learned that the dictator had planted mines on each of the roads. The mines were set so that small bodies of men could pass over them safely, since the dictator needed to move his troops and workers about; however, any large force would detonate the mines. Not only would this blow up the road, but it would also destroy many neighboring villages.
It therefore seemed impossible to capture the fortress. However, the general devised a simple plan. He divided his army into small groups and dispatched each group to the head of a different road. When all was ready he gave the signal and each group marched down a different road. Each group continued down its road to the fortress so that the entire army arrived together at the fortress at the same time. In this way, the general captured the fortress and overthrew the dictator.
Story B
The Fire Chief
00:00 Select text to highlight
One night a fire broke out in a wood shed full of timber on a farm. As soon as he saw flames, the farmer raised the alarm and all his neighbors came rushing. There was no shortage of buckets, but the men had to draw the water from a single well, and although they worked hard the fire was getting worse.
The fire chief arrived and immediately took command. He saw that his men were throwing buckets of water on the fire from all sides, but each bucket struck only a small part of the fire. The heat was so intense that the water evaporated before it could put out a section. A single bucket was useless against the wall of flame.
The chief called his men together. He arranged them in a circle around the burning shed and gave each man a full bucket of water. On his command they all threw their water at the same time, from every direction. The many small amounts of water struck the fire simultaneously and combined to extinguish it at once. The shed was saved.
Describe, as clearly as you can, the ways in which the situations in the two stories are similar.
0 words
0 trace events captured this session. View them on the Live Trace tab.