A quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii — and the attack that pulled America into a world war.
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These are the new words for Pearl Harbor. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a navy) · 2 = A (a fleet) · 3 = B (a harbour) · 4 = F (a warship)
5 = H (a bomb) · 6 = G (a warning) · 7 = E (a surprise attack) · 8 = C (to declare war)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
In 1941, much of the world was already at war. But the United States had stayed out of it. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, two countries were angry with each other: the United States and Japan.
Japan wanted to grow bigger and take more land in Asia. To stop this, the United States stopped selling oil to Japan. Japan needed that oil. So Japan's leaders made a secret plan. They decided to attack the American navy first, before America was ready.
Their target was Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. This was the home of America's big fleet of warships. Six Japanese aircraft carriers sailed quietly across the empty ocean, far from other ships. No one saw them. Some warnings reached America, but the warnings were not clear, and most leaders did not believe Japan would attack so far away. So on Sunday morning, 7 December 1941, the great ships sat quietly in the harbour. No one was ready.
1. Why did Japan decide to attack the United States?
2. Why was Pearl Harbor not ready, even though there were warnings?
1. America stopped selling oil to Japan because Japan wanted to take more land. So Japan decided to attack first, before America was ready.
2. The warnings were not clear, and most leaders did not believe Japan would attack so far away. So the ships sat quietly in the harbour.
At about 7:48 in the morning, the first Japanese planes came out of the sky. There were more than 350 of them. At first, the American sailors did not understand. Then the bombs started to fall, and the harbour became a wall of fire and smoke.
A big warship called the USS Arizona was hit by a bomb and exploded. More than 1,100 of its sailors died in a few seconds. Ship after ship was hit. In less than two hours, it was over. About 2,400 Americans were dead, and many ships were sunk or burning.
But the attack was not as complete as it looked. That morning, America's three aircraft carriers were out at sea, so they were not hit. In the war that came next, it was these carriers — not the old warships — that would be the most important. The next day, President Roosevelt spoke to the country and called 7 December "a date which will live in infamy" — a day people would never forget. Within an hour, the United States declared war on Japan. America was now in the war.
1. What happened to the USS Arizona, and about how many Americans died that day?
2. Why was the attack less complete than it looked?
1. A bomb hit it and it exploded. More than 1,100 of its sailors died. About 2,400 Americans died in all that day.
2. The three aircraft carriers were out at sea, so they were not hit — and these carriers were the most important ships in the war that came next.
Japan hoped the attack would frighten America and keep it out of the war. But the opposite happened. The shock of Pearl Harbor brought the whole country together. Men stood in long lines to join the army, factories started making weapons, and the whole nation got ready for war.
The Japanese admiral who planned the attack, Isoroku Yamamoto, is said to have feared this. People say he warned that the attack would only "wake a sleeping giant" — that it would make America strong and angry.
He was right. America joined the Second World War, and in the end America and its friends won. The war went on for nearly four more years, all the way to the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Today, the USS Arizona still lies under the water where it sank, with many of its sailors inside. A white memorial floats above it. After more than eighty years, small drops of oil still rise up from the ship. "Remember Pearl Harbor" became a very famous phrase. It is remembered as the morning that pulled America into the biggest war the world has ever seen.
1. How did the attack do the opposite of what Japan wanted?
2. What can you still see today where the USS Arizona sank?
1. Japan wanted to keep America out of the war, but the attack brought America together and into the war. America became strong and angry — a "sleeping giant" that woke up.
2. A white memorial floats above the sunken ship, which still holds many of its sailors. Drops of oil still rise from it after more than eighty years.
A. President Roosevelt calls it "a date which will live in infamy."
B. Six Japanese aircraft carriers sail quietly across the ocean.
C. The USS Arizona explodes and sinks.
D. The United States declares war on Japan.
E. The first Japanese planes attack at 7:48 a.m.
Order: B → E → C → A → D
In this story, people give orders and ask questions. When we tell someone about it later, we do not say the exact words. We report them. The words change a little.
Use told / ordered + someone + (not) to. Read your answer out loud.
1. "Attack at dawn!" (Tokyo → the pilots) → Tokyo ordered .
2. "Don't make any noise." (the admiral → the crews) → The admiral told .
3. "Go to your stations." (the officer → the sailors) → The officer told .
1. Tokyo ordered the pilots to attack at dawn.
2. The admiral told the crews not to make any noise.
3. The officer told the sailors to go to their stations.
Use asked if or asked where / why. Remember: no question mark, and change the verb.
1. "Are the ships ready?" → They asked if .
2. "Where are the planes?" → The captain asked where .
3. "Why is the radio quiet?" → The officer asked why .
1. They asked if the ships were ready. (are → were)
2. The captain asked where the planes were. (normal word order; are → were)
3. The officer asked why the radio was quiet. (is → was)
Fill each gap so the reported sentence is correct. Then read it out loud.
When the planes appeared, a young sailor asked if (they / be) American. His captain did not know. Then the radio told every ship (open) fire, and ordered the men (not / leave) their posts.
asked if they were American · told every ship to open fire · ordered the men not to leave their posts
Questions lose the question mark and the verb steps back (are → were). Commands become "told/ordered + someone + (not) to + verb".
Keep these patterns — you will use them in the Speak tab.
There is a real podcast about Pearl Harbor. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. This is part 1 of 3. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Pearl Harbor" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Pearl Harbor in your own words. Use these steps to help you: Japan and America become angry → America stops selling oil → Japan makes a secret plan → the carriers cross the ocean → the surprise attack on 7 December → the Arizona explodes → America declares war → the long echo.
Try to report what people said ("the captain told the pilots to attack", "they asked if the ships were ready"), and use some of the key words (navy, fleet, harbour, warship, bomb, warning, surprise attack, declare war).
There were warnings before the attack, but no one believed them. Talk about a time when someone gave a warning and people did not listen — in history, in the news, or in your own life. What happened? Try to report it: "they asked if it was safe", "she told us not to go".
Tell a story of your own. It can be about a surprise, a warning, or a day that changed something. Report what people asked, told you, or ordered you to do.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: