NAPLAN — Year 9 Literacy
Set 4 — Sample Reading test magazine
Contents
Drooling Autotrophs?............................ 2
Nantucket ............................................. 3
Antony’s Eulogy.................................... 4
In this scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a group of knife-wielding senators have assassinated Caesar.
Their leader, Brutus, takes the body to the market place and tells the crowd that “ambitious” Caesar had to die
before he re-imposed monarchy on democratic Rome. The plotters then allow Caesar's famous ally, Mark
Antony, to give a funeral speech over the corpse, but Antony has to promise not to criticise the plotters.
5
10
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious1;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He2 hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers3 fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man. ...
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? ...
O masters, if I were disposed4 to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Extracts from the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, published in 1851.
Who, you all know, are honourable men: ...
20 What private griefs5 they have, alas, I know not,
Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it. See what a real corner of the world it occupies;
That made them do it: they are wise and honourable,
how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse. Look And
at it will,
– no doubt, with reasons answer you. ...
Nantucket
5
10
15
20
15
a mere hillock, and elbow of sand; all beach, without a background. There is more sand there
than you would use in twenty years as a substitute for blotting paper. Some gamesomeI am no orator, as Brutus is;
But,
as you know me all, a plain blunt man,
wights1 will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don’t grow naturally; that
they
25 inThat
love6 my friend; and that they know7 full well
import Canada thistles; that they have to send beyond seas for a spile2 to stop a leak
an oil
That8 gave me public leave to speak of him: ...
cask; that pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried about like bits of the true cross in Rome;
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
that people there plant toadstools near their houses, to get under the shade in summer time;
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
that one blade of grass makes an oasis, three blades in a day’s walk a prairie; that theyTo
wear
stir men’s blood: I only speak right on9;
30 I about,
tell you that which you yourselves do know;
quicksand shoes, something like Laplander snowshoes; that they are so shut up, belted
every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of by the ocean, that to theirShow
very you sweet Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb mouths,
bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,
chairs and tables small clams will sometimes be found adhering, as to the backs of seaAnd
turtles.
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony
But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois.
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue
…
35 In every wound of Caesar that should move
What wonder, then, that these Nantucketers, born on a beach, should take to the sea forThe
a stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
livelihood! They first caught crabs and quahogs3 in the sand; grown bolder, they waded out
: i.e. he wanted to become a dictator
with nets for mackerel; more experienced, they pushed off in boats and captured cod; 1.
andambitious
at
2. He: i.e. Caesar
last, launching a navy of great ships on the sea, explored this watery world; put an incessant
3. general
coffers: public treasury
belt of circumnavigations round it; peeped in at Behring’s Straits4; and in all seasons and
all
4. disposed: inclined, of a mind
oceans declared everlasting war with the mightiest animated mass that has survived the
5.
griefs
:
complaints,
grievances
flood5; most monstrous and most mountainous! That Himmalehan6, salt-sea Mastodon6.7, That love: who loves
clothed with such portentousness of unconscious power, that his very panics are more 7.to be
that they know: that is, “the plotters know I am no orator”
8. That: who
dreaded than his most fearless and malicious assaults!
9. right on: directly, plainly
DROOLING
AUTOTROPHS
Sheldon Cooper, the comically literal-minded character in the
TV series The Big Bang Theory, would probably respond to
the show’s witty theme song by pointing out some inaccuracies
in the lyrics. For example, the song refers to the beginning of life
5 on Earth as the time when “the autotrophs began to drool”. This
suggests that an autotroph is a primitive animal when, in fact,
plants are the main autotrophs.
Autotroph is derived from the Greek auto (self) and trophe
(nutrition). Plants nurture themselves in the sense that they use
10 the energy of the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into
the organic carbon compounds needed for growth and activity.
By contrast, heterotrophs (animals and fungi) simply consume
these pre-produced materials.
Biologists refer to trophic levels to analyse ecological systems and
15 how energy flows through their food chains. For the purposes of
the theme song of The Big Bang Theory, however, the main
advantage of the term autotroph is that it sounds scientific!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
gamesome wights: humorous people
spile: wooden plug
quahogs: edible North American shellfish
Behring's Straits: between Alaska and Russia; nearly impossible to sail to
the flood: a reference to the Bible story of Noah’s Ark
Himmalehan: Himalayan; i.e. like the mountains
Mastodon: woolly mammoth; i.e. an example of a large animal
DROOLING
AUTOTROPHS
Sheldon Cooper, the comically literal-minded character in the
TV series The Big Bang Theory, would probably respond to
the show’s witty theme song by pointing out some inaccuracies
in the lyrics. For example, the song refers to the beginning of life
5 on Earth as the time when “the autotrophs began to drool”. This
suggests that an autotroph is a primitive animal when, in fact,
plants are the main autotrophs.
Autotroph is derived from the Greek auto (self) and trophe
(nutrition). Plants nurture themselves in the sense that they use
10 the energy of the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into
the organic carbon compounds needed for growth and activity.
By contrast, heterotrophs (animals and fungi) simply consume
these pre-produced materials.
Biologists refer to trophic levels to analyse ecological systems and
15 how energy flows through their food chains. For the purposes of
the theme song of The Big Bang Theory, however, the main
advantage of the term autotroph is that it sounds scientific!
Page 2
Nantucket
Extracts from the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, published in 1851.
5
10
15
20
Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it. See what a real corner of the world it occupies;
how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse. Look at it –
a mere hillock, and elbow of sand; all beach, without a background. There is more sand there
than you would use in twenty years as a substitute for blotting paper. Some gamesome
wights1 will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don’t grow naturally; that they
import Canada thistles; that they have to send beyond seas for a spile2 to stop a leak in an oil
cask; that pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried about like bits of the true cross in Rome;
that people there plant toadstools near their houses, to get under the shade in summer time;
that one blade of grass makes an oasis, three blades in a day’s walk a prairie; that they wear
quicksand shoes, something like Laplander snowshoes; that they are so shut up, belted about,
every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of by the ocean, that to their very
chairs and tables small clams will sometimes be found adhering, as to the backs of sea turtles.
But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois.
…
What wonder, then, that these Nantucketers, born on a beach, should take to the sea for a
livelihood! They first caught crabs and quahogs3 in the sand; grown bolder, they waded out
with nets for mackerel; more experienced, they pushed off in boats and captured cod; and at
last, launching a navy of great ships on the sea, explored this watery world; put an incessant
belt of circumnavigations round it; peeped in at Behring’s Straits4; and in all seasons and all
oceans declared everlasting war with the mightiest animated mass that has survived the
flood5; most monstrous and most mountainous! That Himmalehan6, salt-sea Mastodon7,
clothed with such portentousness of unconscious power, that his very panics are more to be
dreaded than his most fearless and malicious assaults!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
gamesome wights: humorous people
spile: wooden plug
quahogs: edible North American shellfish
Behring's Straits: between Alaska and Russia; nearly impossible to sail to
the flood: a reference to the Bible story of Noah’s Ark
Himmalehan: Himalayan; i.e. like the mountains
Mastodon: woolly mammoth; i.e. an example of a large animal
Page 3
In this scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a group of knife-wielding senators have assassinated Caesar.
Their leader, Brutus, takes the body to the market place and tells the crowd that “ambitious” Caesar had to die
before he re-imposed monarchy on democratic Rome. The plotters then allow Caesar's famous ally, Mark
Antony, to give a funeral speech over the corpse, but Antony has to promise not to criticise the plotters.
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious1;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He2 hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers3 fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man. ...
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? ...
O masters, if I were disposed4 to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know, are honourable men: ...
What private griefs5 they have, alas, I know not,
That made them do it: they are wise and honourable,
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. ...
I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man,
That love6 my friend; and that they know7 full well
That8 gave me public leave to speak of him: ...
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men’s blood: I only speak right on9;
I tell you that which you yourselves do know;
Show you sweet Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb mouths,
And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue
In every wound of Caesar that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
ambitious: i.e. he wanted to become a dictator
He: i.e. Caesar
general coffers: public treasury
disposed: inclined, of a mind
griefs: complaints, grievances
That love: who loves
that they know: that is, “the plotters know I am no orator”
That: who
right on: directly, plainly
Page 4