1 2011 Year 7 — Literacy preparation material Reading and Viewing Wait for your teacher. Read page 2 of the magazine and then answer questions 1–13. 1 In the introduction, raise eyebrows suggests the reader should find the vehicles practical. delightful. surprising. frightening. 2 Edd China is described as eccentric because he has an usual name. is passionate about cars. sets lots of world records. makes odd forms of transport. 3 The Casual Lofa was originally built to set a Guinness World Record. participate in a charity event. make money for its creator. be a challenging project. 4 The Trolleysaurus Rex is most likely a shopping trolley that is remote controlled. a model kit dinosaur. used in big supermarkets. enormous and dominating. Casual Lofa Casual Lofa GEN H 4 - GEN H4 - Wind Up Wind Up Casual Lofa Casual Lofa GEN H 4 - GEN H4 - Wind Up Wind Up Awesome Automotives Awesome Automotives Awesome Automotives Awesome Automotives Awesome Automotives Check out these original vehicles. From the almost practical, to the downright weird and wacky, these forms of transport are sure to raise eyebrows. Edd China is an English eccentric, with a passion for cars. He is the creator of a number of extraordinary and wacky vehicles. Originally built to raise money for a Raleigh International charity expedition, the Casual Lofa was Edd’s first major project of note. In 1998, it set the Guinness World Record for “fastest furniture” at an amazing 140 km/h. Edd has also invented the Hot Desk, the Robomow and the Trolleysaurus Rex. It looks like a circus trick, but this tiny set of wheels could be the world's smallest roadworthy car. Roadworthy means it can be registered as legal to be driven on the road. The Wind Up, only 99.1 cm high and 66 cm wide, started life as a Postman Pat stationary children's ride. Car fanatic Perry Watkins has transformed it into the most compact, if not the most comfortable, car in the world. Perry reinforced the fibreglass shell with a steel frame and mounted it on a mini quad bike. James Bond using a Jet Pack to escape from the bad guys in the 007 movie "Thunderball" was cool. After seeing something like that, everyone must have thought “if only ...”. Now there is a more practical and comfortable alternative, the GEN H-4 from Gene Corporation in Japan. This is your personal helicopter! The GEN H-4 can fly to a maximum height of 1000 metres at a top speed of 90 km/h for up to 30 minutes. You don’t need a licence to fly the GEN H-4 in Japan and the inventors claim it is as easy as riding a bicycle. Casual Lofa GEN H 4 - Wind Up before before before after after Shade one bubble.
Transcript
2011 Year 7 — Literacy preparation material
Reading and Viewing
Wait for your teacher.Read page 2 of the magazine and thenanswer questions 1–13.
1 In the introduction, raise eyebrows suggests the reader should find the vehicles
practical.
delightful.
surprising.
frightening.
2 Edd China is described as eccentric because he
has an usual name.
is passionate about cars.
sets lots of world records.
makes odd forms of transport.
3 The Casual Lofa was originally built to
set a Guinness World Record.
participate in a charity event.
make money for its creator.
be a challenging project.
4 The Trolleysaurus Rex is most likely a shopping trolley that is
remote controlled.
a model kit dinosaur.
used in big supermarkets.
enormous and dominating.
Casual LofaCasual Lofa
GEN H 4-GEN H 4-
Wind UpWind Up
Casual LofaCasual Lofa
GEN H 4-GEN H 4-
Wind UpWind Up
Awesome AutomotivesAwesome AutomotivesAwesome AutomotivesAwesome AutomotivesAwesome AutomotivesCheck out these original vehicles. From the almost practical,
to the downright weird and wacky, these forms of transport
are sure to raise eyebrows.
Edd China is an English eccentric, with a passion forcars. He is the creator of a number of extraordinary andwacky vehicles.
Originally built to raise money for a Raleigh Internationalcharity expedition, the Casual Lofa was Edd’s first majorproject of note. In 1998, it set the Guinness WorldRecord for “fastest furniture” at an amazing 140 km/h.
Edd has also invented the Hot Desk, the Robomow andthe Trolleysaurus Rex.
It looks like a circus trick, but this tiny set of wheels couldbe the world's smallest roadworthy car. Roadworthy means
it can be registered as legal to be driven on the road.
The Wind Up, only 99.1 cm high and 66 cm wide,started life as a Postman Pat stationary
children's ride. Car fanatic Perry Watkins hastransformed it into the most compact, if notthe most comfortable, car in the world.
Perry reinforced the fibreglass shell with asteel frame and mounted it on a mini quadbike.
James Bond using a Jet Pack to escape from the badguys in the 007 movie "Thunderball" was cool. Afterseeing something like that, everyone must have thought“if only ...”. Now there is a more practical and comfortablealternative, the GEN H-4 from Gene Corporation inJapan. This is your personal helicopter!
The GEN H-4 can fly to a maximum height of 1000metres at a top speed of 90 km/h for up to 30 minutes.You don’t need a licence to fly the GEN H-4 in Japan andthe inventors claim it is as easy as riding a bicycle.
Casual Lofa
GEN H 4-
Wind Upbeforebeforebefore
afterafter
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1
5 A Postman Pat ride was converted into a
quad bike.
children’s toy.
roadworthy car.
comfortable vehicle.
6 this tiny set of wheels refers to
parts of a small car.
a children’s ride.
a circus vehicle.
the Wind Up.
7 Which of these is evidence that the Wind Up can legally be driven on the road?
8 Why did Watkins reinforce the shell?
to strengthen it
to make it larger
to make it comfortable
to make it fit on the quad
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2
9 Everyone must have thought “if only …”
How does the writer expect the reader to complete his sentence?
if only … I had a GEN H-4.
if only … I had a Jet Pack.
if only … I was a bad guy.
if only … I was cool.
10 Now there is a more practical and comfortable alternative.
What does this reveal about the Jet Pack used in Thunderball?
It was practical and comfortable.
It was just a prop and not real.
It was an efficient vehicle.
It was awkward to use.
11 The phrase the inventors claim is used to
cast doubt about how easy the GEN H-4 is to fly.
prove that the flight speed and height are accurate.
make it clear that a licence isn’t needed to fly the GEN H-4.
show that the inventors of the personal helicopter are clever.
12 This text would most likely be found in
a popular magazine.
an adventure comic.
a science fiction book.
an engineering manual.
13 Why has the writer chosen to feature these three vehicles?
They prove that weird and wacky can also be practical.
They provide a timeline of transport developments.
They are incredible forms of transport.
They show the future of transport.
3
Read page 3 of the magazine and thenanswer questions 14–25.
14 The stone pillars described in line 2 are used to
describe the size of the Sirens.
show that the bay is very large.
emphasise the size of the boat.
dwarf the size of the ocean waves.
15 Col cuts the engine because he and Dr Brock are
finishing their tea.
gathering their courage.
deciding if they are safe.
setting their plan in motion.
16 Why does Col put on his ear protectors?
to prepare for a confrontation
to block out the engine noise
to protect his ears from the cold
to listen to Dr Brock’s instructions
17 The phrase followed his example (line 5) means that the old man
balanced a flask.
covered his ears.
turned off the boat.
practised his next move.
Greek myths tell of winged creatures known as Sirens, whose enchanting
singing and music lured sailors to crash their ships onto seaside cliffs.
The song of the Sirens was said to be so irresistible that it caused the deaths
of many people who attempted to sail past their island home. Julia Golding
has brought these creatures to life by writing a story that uses the idea that
the Sirens might exist today.
A small blue boat chugged out to the rocks guarding the entrance to the bay.The stone pillars, towering like giants cloaked against the elements, dwarfed thevessel. Col cut the engine some twenty metres short and put on his ear protectors.His passenger, an elderly man with ginger-streaked white hair, sitting with a flaskbalanced on his lap, followed his example. They had rehearsed the next few movesback on shore in the safety of the Anchor Tavern. All they had to do now was waitfor the other two boats to catch up — then they would be ready to face the worst,maybe even death.
Col watched Dr Brock calmly pouring himself some tea. It was a beautiful if breezyevening: the sky was still light, though it was almost nine; a sign that summer wasnot yet forgotten. He wished he could enjoy it as serenely as his passenger, provehis readiness for the test by keeping his nerve under pressure, but he could notstop his heart galloping like a runaway horse as he contemplated the dangersahead. Their mission was vital: they suspected that people had already lost theirlives, lured to their deaths by the irresistible power of the creatures hiding in therocks. There was a distinct possibility that neither he nor Dr Brock would return.In a few minutes, they might be driven out of their senses and drowned in themerciless waters that surrounded them. With this prospect before him, Col gave upon any attempt at tranquillity and allowed himself to shiver as he gripped the wheel.
Read page 4 of the magazine and thenanswer questions 26–38.
26 In which section of the Change-the-future website is thewebpage located?
Forests
Animals
Home page
Environment
27
What is the effect of using the vocabulary care deeply, passionate and fighting for?
to make the text sound controversial
to emphasise the effects of deforestation
to show recognition of the reader’s values
to describe the problems facing orangutans
28 This website is for people who
live in Indonesia.
want to support a cause.
want to learn about forests.
are worried about climate change.
The fact that you are reading this means that you care deeplyabout our planet.But where is your effort and money best spent?
can help you find a cause that you will bepassionate about and link you to people who are already fightingfor that cause.
Change-the-future
Human rights
Sumatra
I N D O N E S I A
Borneo
Education
Of all the threatened species, orangutans stand out because of the rate oftheir rush to extinction. Loss of all orangutans would be a true tragedy.Furthermore, orangutan protection programs are based on safeguardingforests and this protection may help many other threatened species at thesame time.
The name “orangutan” literally translates into English as “person of theforest”. Indonesian mythology has it that orangutans have the ability tospeak but choose not to, fearing they would be forced to work if they wereever caught. Legends aside, orangutans are extremelyintelligent creatures who clearly have the ability toreason and think. Their similarity to us is uncanny.They cry when they’re hungry, whimper whenthey’re hurt and express emotions just as we do:joy, fear, surprise. It’s all there. They even share96.4% of their DNA with humans.
In prehistoric times, orangutans lived in rainforeststhroughout Asia. Today, deforestation and the spread ofhumans have limited Asian rainforests to just a few remaining areas inBorneo and Sumatra, but even here the forest is rapidly disappearing.As orangutans are arboreal, which means that they live most of their livesin trees, deforestation could spell the end for all wild orangutans.
For both the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans the situation is now acute.In Borneo, fewer than 40 000 orangutans are believed to remain.In Sumatra, orangutan numbers have been drastically reduced from 12 000in 1993 to only 6500 today. Both species appear on the International Unionfor Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) endangered list. This shows theseriousness of this conservation emergency.
It is clear that orangutans are an invaluable part of the world we share. To avoid their extinction wemust act now. How? The key to saving the orangutan is saving their forest homes.
recommends that readers in Australia give direct assistance to the programs that are trying toprevent forest destruction and to re-forest damaged areas. Our research suggests that while rescuecentres are extremely important, orangutans are best served by saving their true home.
Change-the-future
Visit one of these recommended websites now and start today.changing the future
A truly valuable species
Rapidly heading for extinction
Saving the orangutan!
Environment |
Orangutans
http://redapes.org
www.savetheorangutan.org.uk
www.rainforestrescue.org.au
www.palmoilaction.org.au
Orangutans
Change-the-Future:Change-the-Future:
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Home
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The fact that you are reading this means that you care deeplyabout our planet.But where is your effort and money best spent?
can help you find a cause that you will bepassionate about and link you to people who are already fightingfor that cause.
Change-the-future
Change-the-Future:Change-the-Future:
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29 Orangutan protection programs may help many other threatenedspecies at the same time (paragraph 1).
The writer has included this information to
persuade people that helping orangutans has other benefits.
demonstrate to people that it is too late to save orangutans.
appeal to people who don’t believe orangutans are threatened.
convince people that other protection programs are unnecessary.
30 The section A truly valuable species supports the writer’s position by
defining the problem.
showing that orangutans are human-like.
demonstrating the cost of saving animals.
summarising the main points of the webpage.
31 According to the text, orangutans are mainly at risk because they are
confined to only two islands.
badly adapted to forest life.
losing their forest homes.
being hunted.
32 For both the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans the situation is now acute.
Which of these words is most similar in meaning to acute?
sharp
clever
urgent
irregular
33 According to the text, how many Sumatran orangutans remain?
around 1993
only 6500
approximately 12000
fewer than 40000
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34 Information from the International Union for Conservation of Naturehas been included to
show that it is the only organisation keeping records about orangutans.
support the writer’s claims about the threat of extinction.
indicate that orangutans are an international species.
show what the abbreviation IUCN stands for.
35 What is the question How? in the final paragraph asking?
How can orangutans be saved?
How can the listed websites help?
How can this possibly be happening?
How can we put a value on orangutans?
36 What does the writer of Orangutans want readers to do next?
donate money to rescue centres
tell others about the risks orangutans face
click on a weblink to visit a recommended website
agree that this is an issue to be passionate about
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37Why has this image been used on the website, instead of this one ?
