2009 Year 9 — Literacy preparation material
Reading and Viewing
Wait for your teacher.
Read page 2 of the magazine and then answer the questions.
Usefully useless
Should architects try to make their buildings
good-looking? Or should they just make them useful and
let good looks follow?
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In the 20th century, many architects became critical of
traditional ideas about what makes buildings beautiful.
The buildings of the 19th century were often decorated
with useless ornaments. Their facades (fronts) were
imitations of those from ancient Greece, but with columns
and other features that were just for show.
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20
Reacting against this ornamentation, modern
architects obeyed the principle that “form should
follow function”. A building looks good, they
thought, when it is shaped to suit its purpose.
This principle was applied, spectacularly, to the
design of the art gallery in Paris, the Pompidou
Centre. The factory-like tubes that contain the
building’s utilities — its lifts, pipes and wires —
are mounted on its exterior. No attempt is made
to cover them up. The Centre’s architects
thought that hiding something is a dishonest
way to make it beautiful.
Nevertheless, useless architectural features will never disappear
because, in a strange way, they can be useful.
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Take, for example, the granite pylons that seem to support each end of the Sydney
Harbour Bridge. In fact, they do not hold up anything but themselves! Instead, they
work hard to make the function of the bridge clearly visible. These pylons obey a
different design principle, one that says “form should reveal function”.
The function of a bridge is to support a weight
across a wide span. The shapes of natural
30 objects lead us to expect this to be done
by a structure with a bulky anchoring
point. Just think how a long tree branch
is thicker where it attaches to the
trunk. The balanced look of the pylons
35 of the Sydney Harbour Bridge,
therefore, reveals the truth about how
stable the bridge is, even though it
tells a fib about the source of that
stability.
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Modern architects criticised 19th century buildings (lines 4–13).
They thought the ornaments on the buildings had
failed to beautify.
lost their function.
become outdated.
changed their form.
2
Reacting against this …
In this sentence (lines 10–12), who or what reacts?
20th century clients
ornamental designs
functional principles
20th century architects
3
“... form should follow function.” (lines 11–12) The word follow is used here to mean
trail.
copy.
serve.
replace.
4
The word form is used in this text (lines 11 and 27) to mean
a make or model.
to make or model.
a shape or structure.
to shape or structure.
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The text says modern architects wanted to design buildings that were
accidentally useful.
suitably useless.
truly beautiful.
honestly ugly.
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Which of these restates the author’s opinion of the Pompidou Centre (lines 14–21)?
It makes unmistakable use of a design principle.
Its lazy design makes the centre look like a factory.
It applies the principle, “form should reveal function”.
Its tubes present an ugly but eye-catching spectacle.
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Read the second speech balloon (lines 22–23).
What does the word strange mean in this sentence?
quite inexplicable
unusual and foreign
absurd and unheard of
seemingly contradictory
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In the phrase, form should reveal function (line 27), what does the word reveal mean?
be replaced by
be exposed by
have power over
show the nature of
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In the phrase, expect this (line 30),
what does the word this refer to?
The main purpose of this text is to
predict from a general theory.
narrate a sequence of events.
explain reasons and opinions.
debunk popular misconceptions.
supporting
anchoring
a weight
a bridge
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Read page 3 of the magazine and then answer the questions.
TARONGA
Ben and his friend Ellie live in
a post-disaster future. People in
Taronga Zoo want Ben to use his
special mental powers to control the animals.
From Taronga
by Victor Kelleher
There was a stir of movement somewhere in the building behind them.
“What was that?” Ben asked.
A soft hiss of warning escaped from Ellie’s lips, one hand beckoning for him to follow as she
glided across the room. Just as she reached the door there was another faint sound, much
5 closer this time. With a cry of astonishment, she leaped through the opening, making rapidly
for the head of the stairs. “Ben quick!” she called out.
But Ben, still only half way towards the door, was arrested by a familiar, rank odour. He knew
the cause of it even before the massive head and forepaws slid into view blocking the doorway.
“Raja!” he breathed.
10 The animal was looking straight at him, the amber eyes flashing gold as they caught and held
the setting sun. The same golden light bathed the whole face, making the barred pattern of
cheeks and snout shimmer and glow as if on fire. There was a low snarl, as familiar to Ben as
the rank feline smell, and the long body, sinking into a half crouch, began creeping towards him.
All Ben’s deepest instincts urged him to halt the advance with a silent command. Only one part
15 of himself, a tiny background voice, resisted the temptation, reminding him of a vow he had
made and must keep. It was that voice which prevailed, blocking all his attempts to force the
tiger into submission.
“Raja,” he said again, the murmured name neither a plea nor a protest: merely the final
statement of a fact which could no longer be avoided.
20 Steeling himself for what must follow, he backed away as far as the window and waited;
passive, unresisting; watching as the golden, sun-filled eyes closed in on him.
11
The descriptions of Ellie’s movements make her seem
trained.
nimble.
nervous.
reckless.
12
Ben knows why Ellie runs away when he
hears her command.
sees the tiger’s head.
recognises a bad smell.
realises the door is blocked.
13
The author uses the simile “as if on fire” (line 12) because of the
contrast between tigers and fire.
similarity between fire and gold.
fire-like camouflage of tiger fur.
burning anger that tigers feel.
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Lines 10 to 13 support the story by
building suspense.
describing the setting.
developing characters.
speeding up the action.
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Ben decides he will not use his mental powers to stop Raja. (lines 14 to 17)
His decision is shown as a victory of
courage over common sense.
principle over self-interest.
compassion over cruelty.
humanity over savagery.
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Ben is “steeling himself”. (line 20) This means he is
bracing himself on the window.
searching his mind for options.
preparing himself mentally.
straining his muscles.
17
To describe the tiger approaching Ben, the author writes that the “sun-filled eyes closed in on
him”. (line 21)
These words are chosen to suggest that
Ben’s eyes are blinded by the sun’s glare.
the tiger’s eyes send a friendly message.
the tiger is looking directly into the sun.
Ben can only focus on the tiger’s eyes.
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Read page 4 of the magazine and then answer the questions.
Blake’s tiger
These are the first verses of the poem, “The Tyger [Tiger]”, by 18th century
English writer, William Blake. Blake wonders what kind of creator could make
a creature so impressive as a tiger.
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry *?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
*Note: “fearful symmetry” : frightening beauty
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One reason Blake compares a tiger to fire is that they both have
a hot temperature.
a destructive power.
an ecological function.
an association with forests.
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To find out who made tigers, the poet imagines
speaking to the tiger.
searching in the forest.
appealing to the reader.
asking the tiger’s creator.
20
Which of these fits the meaning of the word “frame” in line 4?
to incriminate
to enclose
to fashion
to brace
21
What meaning does Blake give the word “deeps” (line 5)?
massive furnaces
volcanic caverns
ocean depths
deep forests
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New information
Consider line 7 of the poem: “On what wings dare he aspire?”
This line could be rewritten in plain English as:
What kind of wings help him to strive?
In the context of the poem, the line means:
The tiger’s creator must have amazing wings to strive to reach those distant places.
Questions
Consider line 8 of the poem: “What the hand dare seize the fire?”
Part A
Rewrite line 8 in plain English.
Part B
In the context of the poem, what does line 8 mean?
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In line 8, what does the word “What” mean
that is what
it is whatever
of what kind is
on what basis is
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Consider this description of a tiger from a novel by Victor Kelleher:
“The animal was looking straight at him, the amber eyes flashing gold
as they caught and held the setting sun.”
Which of these is true of the tiger eyes both in Blake’s poem and in Kelleher’s description?
They are coloured like precious stones.
They are focused straight at the viewer.
They seem to contain material from a star.
They make the writer think about a creator.
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