An understatement is the downplay of something.
<span>To ask how much longer the professor will live is to ask how much longer we must wait for the blessings of another world war.
"blessings" being the key word, because a world war would not bring blessings, but devastation. </span>
The answer is a, prediction
The cliffhanger ends a story or segment of a story with a situation of great excitement or danger.
Which could lead to high amounts of tension
