Comprehension: “War” Against Cultism

• Title: “War” Against Cultism
• Text: New Oxford Secondary English Course for SS2 pages 70-71

     “Gentlemen” the Chairman called the meeting to order. “I welcome you all to this important emergency meeting of the Provisional Council of this university …” He touched on some of the major setbacks which the university had encountered in recent times, mentioning particularly the students and the lecturers’ strike and the dastardly acts of the cultists in which lethal weapons were freely used. The Administration did not sit back and watch these unfortunate developments with folded arms. Although the Council had not met, the able Vice-Chancellor had been in intermittent consultation with him in an attempt to diagnose the problems and prescribe the most effective remedies. The Administration had now come up with a series of proposals which would come before an ordinary meeting of the Council at a later date. The present emergency meeting was to consider one proposal only – the most crucial. Because of its highly delicate and confidential nature, the proposal had not been circulated in writing to members before the meeting, as was the usual practice. He called on the Vice-Chancellor to table his proposal. The Vice-Chancellor then cleared his