National English Skills 9 Teacher Book Sample

National
English
Skills
second edition
Teacher
Book
Rex Sadler
Viv Winter
Tom Hayllar

National
English
Skills
second edition
Teacher Student
Book Workbook
Rex Sadler
Viv Winter
Tom Hayllar

National English Skills 9
second edition
Rex Sadler
Viv Winter
Tom Hayllar
This edition was published in 2023 by
Matilda Education Australia,
an imprint of Meanwhile Education Pty Ltd
Melbourne, Australia
T: 1300 277 235
E: customersupport@matildaed.com.au
www.matildaeducation.com.au
First edition published in 2012 by Macmillan Science and
Education Australia Pty Ltd
Second edition published in 2023 by Matilda
Education Australia
Copyright © Rex Sadler, Viv Winter, Tom Hayllar 2012, 2023
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Publication data
Author: Rex Sadler, Viv Winter, Tom Hayllar
Title: National English Skills 9 2e Student Teacher Book Workbook
ISBN: 978-0-6550-9214-8
978-0-6550-9218-6
Warning: It is recommended that Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples exercise caution when
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Printed in Malaysia Australia by Vivar Printing
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Sep-2022

Contents
Prefacevii
1
2
3
4
Acknowledgmentsvii
Intertextuality 1
What is intertextuality? 1
The Titanic 1
Information text
Eyewitness account
Film poster
Frankenstein7
Novel
Film still
Comic strip
Language Nouns 11
Context 14
What is context? 14
Personal context 14
The Diary of a Young Girl
Social context 18
Poor Man’s Orange
Cultural context 21
‘Behold my brothers’
Historical context 23
'Futility'
‘Son of mine’
Language Clauses 27
Words and images 31
What connects words and images? 31
Symbols and icons 31
Book cover 34
Twilight
Graphic novel 36
Jane Eyre
News story 38
‘Three frogs cost developers $100,000’
Language Verbs 41
Conflict 43
What is conflict? 43
Individual vs individual 43
Treasure Island
Individual vs nature 45
‘Girl against the jungle’
The Old Man and the Sea
Contents
iii

5
6
7
8
Individual vs self 49
Touching the Void
Individual vs society 49
'Riviona Speech'
Success with words 53
Word meanings 53
Synonyms and antonyms 55
Homonyms57
Overused words 58
Word practice 59
Persuasion and argument 61
What is persuasion and argument? 61
Constructing an argument 61
Persuasive strategies 62
Speech63
‘Apology to the Stolen Generations’
Editorial66
‘Ads not helping gambling problem’
Print advertisement 68
‘Stop smoking, start repairing’
Language Shades of meaning 70
A new country for a new life 74
What is cultural understanding? 74
Getting to Australia 74
The Happiest Refugee
Fitting in 77
Red Dog
A search for identity 80
Unpolished Gem
Language Informal language - idioms 82
So you want to be a writer? 84
How to improve your writing 84
1 Hooking the reader 84
Openings from various texts
2 Using details to describe a character 86
Matilda; Of Mice and Men
3 Describing the setting 87
Storm Boy; Boys by the Sea
4 Positioning characters 89
The Hobbit
5 Using the five senses 91
The Windmill at Magpie Creek; My Father’s Fortune
6 Using verbs to create action 93
Lockie Leonard – Legend; The Grapes of Wrath
7 Using dialogue 94
Underground to Canada
iv
Contents

9
10
11
12
13
14
Saving the planet 96
Climate change 96
‘What is climate change?’
Endangered animals 98
‘An uncertain future’
The world’s forests 100
‘The importance of forests’
Pollution102
‘Coketown’, ‘Mummy, Oh, Mummy’
A problem for the planet 104
‘The motor car’
Issues and perspectives 106
What are issues and perspectives? 106
Issue 1: Youth violence 106
‘Police officer injured at rowdy party‘
Issue 2: Wildlife trafficking 109
‘The crime of wildlife trafficking’
‘Break the chain’ poster
Issue 3: Animal welfare 112
‘A pound of flesh’
‘The battery hen’
Media texts 117
What are media texts? 117
Cartoon117
‘Seeking the perfect selfie’
Film118
10 Things I Hate About You
Magazine cover 122
Great Walks
Up close and personal 124
What can we learn about others? 124
Autobiography124
The Wind in My Hair
Biography127
Invictus
Language Adjectives and adverbs 131
Appreciating short stories 134
What is a short story? 134
Analysing short stories 134
Crime fiction 135
‘Shatterproof’
Exploring poetry 140
What do we look for in poetry? 140
Purpose and subject matter 140
Contents
v

‘The last of his tribe’
‘The General’
Poetic techniques 142
Appreciating poems 144
‘The surfer’
‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’
‘Shantytown’
‘My family (the dream one)’
‘My family (the real one)’
'Then and now'
15
16
17
18
English rules 152
Subject and verb rules 152
Irregular verbs 154
Pronoun rules 154
Preposition rules 156
Adjective rules 157
Punctuation rules 158
Genre 163
What is genre? 163
Science fiction 163
The War of the Worlds
Jurassic Park
Z for Zachariah
Fantasy168
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Neverending Story
Eragon
Horror171
New Moon
Drama 174
What is drama? 174
Elements of drama 174
Conflict176
The Outsiders
Characters and dialogue 179
Lord of the Flies
Theme182
Romeo and Juliet
Reviewing 183
What is a review? 183
Features of a review 183
Film review 184
Bran Nue Dae
Language Literary devices 187
Back-of-the-book dictionary 191
vi
Contents

Preface
National English Skills 9, second edition, has been fully revised to reflect the content descriptions of
the Australian Curriculum: English, Version 9.0. It offers a practical, skills-based approach to the
Language, Literature and Literacy strands, with a strong focus on developing the reading, viewing,
writing, speaking and listening skills that are at the heart of the curriculum.
The workbook seeks, through a diversity of high-interest texts, to engage the interest of students
and to enrich their English experience. In addition to literary and non-literary texts, it draws
on a variety of multimodal resources from newspapers, films, advertising, the internet and more.
Texts have been carefully chosen to represent a wide range of cultural perspectives, including
First Nations.
The sections within each unit are self-contained, allowing them to be incorporated easily
into existing teaching programs. Comprehension and language exercises are suitable for both
classroom and homework tasks. Opportunities are provided throughout the workbook for
students to create their own written, spoken and multimodal texts.
●
●
National English Skills 9, second edition, includes two completely new units:
Unit 4: Conflict
Unit 9: Saving the planet.
Acknowledgments
The author and publisher are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:
PHOTOGRAPHS
Alamy Stock Photo/A.F. ARCHIVE, 79, /All Star Picture Library, 49,
/Ben McRae, 99, /blickwinkel/D. u. M. Sheldon, 114, /blickwinkel/
McPHOTO/BAS, 98, /CBW, 14, /Cliff Hide News, 116, /Cosmo
Condina, 92, /Courtesy Everett Collection, 9, /dave willman, 135,
/Everett Collection Inc, 182, /Goddard Automotive, 105, /Hans
Wretling, 102, /IFA Film, 46, /marka, 7, /Mathias Rhode, 30, /
MehmetO, 25, /Mouseion Archives , 188, /Moviestore Collection
Ltd, 171, /New Line Productions/Photo 12, 89, /Penny Tweedie, 26,
/Pictorial Press Ltd, 5, /PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive, 86, /
RGR Collection, 163, /Roberto Moiola, 169, /Roland Weihrauch/
dpa/Alamy Live News, 73, /Ronald D. Vogel/mauritius images
GmbH, 136, /Stills photographer Nigel Gaunt, Robyn Kershaw
Productions/AF archive, 184, /Taras Vyshnya, 100, /Touchstone
Pictures/AF archive, 119, 121, /Two Arts Ltd/AA Film Archive,
181, /©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection, 165, /Wolfgang
Moucha, 50, /Zoetrope Studios, 177; Alamy Vector Stock/yod67,
187; Australian War Memorial/EKN/67/0130/VN © Australian War
Memorial, 24; Fairfax Syndication/SMH Picture by Rick Stevens,
112; Getty Images/Bettmann, 2, /Chris van Lennep, 93, /George
Diebold, 138, /Media24/Gallo Images, 128, /Ralph White/CORBIS,
3, /Torsten Blackwood/AFP, 64; iStockphoto/AGAMI stock, 109, /
archives, 21, /Ayvan, 32 (image 15), /BlackJack3D, 32 (image 2), /
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84, /davidjmorgan, 32 (image 11), /DavorLovincic, 66, /Dixi_, 158,
/enot-poloskun, 32 (image 1), /fcafotodigital, 32 (image 6), 103, /
Geckly, 32 (image 18), /GlobalP, 32 (image 17), 40 (right), /gremlin,
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johnaudrey, 32 (image 19), /Kseniia Lukianсhikova, 32 (image 8), /
LightFieldStudios, 90, /loops7, 132, /MandarineTree, 32 (image
4), /Marje, 142, /Materio, 32 (image 3), /monkeybusinessimages,
51, /mtnmichelle, 141, /Nikolay_Donetsk, 155, /noeemi, 87, /
onurdongel, 32 (image 13), /pearleye, 32 (image 16), /PomInOz, 110,
/rbv, 60, /Reniw-Imagery, 145, /Renphoto, 94, /ridvan_celik, 91, /
russwitherington1, 83, /rustamank, 146, /sarayut, 96, /seraficus, 32
(image 12), /simonkr, 88, /smodj, 32 (image 14), /terrasprite, 150,
/Voren1, 113, /WLDavies, 153, /zingraphic, 12; National Library of
Australia/Duguid, Charles, 1884-1986, 63; Newspix/Alex Coppel, 38,
/Ben Swinnerton, 106; Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash, 58.
OTHER MATERIAL
Article, ‘A pound of flesh’ by Stathi Paxinos, The Age, 16 June, 2011.
The use of this work has been licensed by Copyright Agency except
as permitted by the Copyright Act, you must not re-use this work
without the permission of the copyright owner or Copyright
Agency, 112; Article, ‘Bran Nue Dae’ by Jake Wilson, The Age, 14
January 2010. The use of this work has been licensed by Copyright
Agency except as permitted by the Copyright Act, you must not
re-use this work without the permission of the copyright owner or
Copyright Agency, 184–5; Extract and cover from The Happiest
Refugee by Anh Do, Allen & Unwin, NSW, 2010, www.
allenandunwin.com.au, 74–5;Extract and cover from Invictus:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin,
Atlantic Books, 2008 © John Carlin 2008. Reproduced with
permission of the Licensor through PLSclear, 127–8; Extract and
cover from Unpolished Gem, by Alice Pung (Black Inc. 2006), 80;
Extract from The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. First
published in Germany by Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag GmbH
Preface
vii

1979. Reproduced with permission from Bonnier Media
Deutschland GmbH, 169; Extract and cover from The Wind in My
Hair by Brigitte Muir, Reproduced with permission from Brigitte
Muir, 124–5; Extract from Jane Eyre - The Graphic Novel, original text
version by Charlotte Bronte, script adaptation by Amy Corzine,
artwork by John M Burns, Classical Comics Ltd., United Kingdom,
2008. Reproduced with permission from Classical Comics Ltd,
www.classicalcomics.com, 36; Poster, Copyright Commonwealth of
Australia. Reproduced by permission of Department of Health.
Permission to reproduce the Commonwealth Coat of Arms granted
by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 68; Extract,
Conservation Regulator, Agriculture Victoria, Crime Stoppers
Victoria, 109; Poster, Conservation Regulator, Agriculture Victoria,
Crime Stoppers Victoria, 110; Extract from The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader by CS Lewis © copyright CS Lewis Pte Ltd 1952. Extract
used with permission, 168; Article, ‘Australians Love to Gamble...
Ads not helping the problem’, The Daily Telegraph, 06 April, 2011.
The use of this work has been licensed by Copyright Agency except
as permitted by the Copyright Act, you must not re-use this work
without the permission of the copyright owner or Copyright
Agency, 66; Extract from Matilda by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape Ltd
& Penguin Books Ltd), © The Roald Dahl Story Company Limited,
reproduced by permission of David Higham Associates, 86; Poem,
‘The General’, copyright Siegfried Sassoon. Reproduced by kind
permission of the Estate of George Sassoon, 141; Extract from
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies – adapted for the stage by Nigel
Williams, Faber and Faber Ltd, Great Britain, 1996, 179–80; Article,
‘Three frogs cost Pakenham Racing Club property developers
$100,000’ by Evonne Barry, The Herald Sun, 07 April, 2010. The use
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permitted by the Copyright Act, you must not re-use this work
without the permission of the copyright owner or Copyright
Agency, 38; Article, ‘Police officer punched, kicked at rowdy teen
party’, by Joel Cresswell (AAP), The Herald Sun, 09 July 2011.
Licensed by Copyright Agency, 106–7; Poems ‘Son of Mine’ and
‘Then and Now’ by Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Republished with
permission of Jacaranda Press, from My People, Oodgeroo
Noonuccal, 1990; permission conveyed through Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc., 26, 150; Extract, Copyright © 1990 by
Christopher Sergei. Based up on the novel THE OUTSIDERS by S.E.
Hinton. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd and The
Dramatic Publishing Company, 176–7; Extract from The Hobbit by J.
R. R. Tolkien. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers
Ltd © 1937 J. R. R. Tolkien, 89; Poem, ‘The Surfer’ by Judith Wright,
Collected Poems. Reproduced with permission from HarperCollins
Publishers Australia Pty Limited, 144; Extract from speech,
‘Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples’ by Hon. Kevin Rudd,
reproduced with permission from Office of the Hon. Kevin Rudd
AC, 26th Prime Minister of Australia, 63; Front cover and back
cover from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Little, Brown and
Company, 2005. Copyright © Stephenie Meyer 2005. Reproduced
with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear, 34; Extract from
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, Little, Brown and Company, 2006.
Copyright © Stephanie Meyer 2006. Reproduced with permission
of the Licensor through PLSclear, 172; Cartoon, Mark Lynch, 117;
Extract from Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers, HarperCollins, New
York, 2003. Reproduced with permission from Mary Rodgers
Estate, 84; Extract from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest
Hemingway published by Vintage. Copyright © Hemingway Foreign
Rights Trust 1952. Reproduced by Permission of The Random
House Group Limited , 48; Extract from Children of the Dust by
Louise Lawrence. Copyright © Louise Lawrence, 1985. First
published in Great Britain by The Bodley Head 1985, Red Fox, 1995,
2002. Reproduced by Permission of The Random House Group
Limited, 84; Extract from Z For Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien,
published by Puffin Books. Copyright © Sally M. Conly 1975.
Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Limited, 166; Cover
from Poor Man’s Orange by Ruth Park, Text copyright © Ruth Park
1983. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House Australia
Pty Ltd, 18; Extract from Red Dog by Louis de Bernières. Text
copyright © Louis de Bernières 2001. Reprinted by permission of
Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 77–8; Extract from
Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne. Text copyright © Phillip Gwynne
1998. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House Australia
Pty Ltd, 85; Excerpt(s) from UNDERGROUND TO CANADA 25TH
ANNIVERSARY EDITION by Barbara Smucker, Copyright © Barbara
Smucker. Reprinted by permission of Puffin Canada, a division of
Penguin Random House Canada Limited. All rights reserved. Any
third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is
prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Penguin
Random House Canada Limited for permission, 95; Extract and
Front Cover from The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank published
by Penguin Books. Copyright © The Anne Frank-Fonds, Basle,
Switzerland, 1991, 2002. English translation © Doubleday, a
division of Random House Inc., 1995, 2002. Reprinted by
permission of Penguin Books Limited, 15–6; Extract from Touching
the Void by Joe Simpson. Copyright © Joe Simpson 1988, first
published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape 1988, Vintage
1997. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group
Limited, 49; Front Cover from Red Dog by Louis De Bernieres,
published by Vintage. Cover Illustrations © Rob Ryan. Reprinted by
permission of The Random House Group Limited, 77; Poem
‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’, from THE COLLECTED
POEMS by Robert Frost © 1969 Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,
published by Vintage Books. Extract reproduced by permission of
The Random House Group Ltd, 146; Cover and Extract from Eragon
by Christopher Paolini. Text and Illustrations Copyright ©
Christopher Paolini 2002. Published in Great Britain by Doubleday,
2004, Corgi Books, 2005. Reprinted by permission of The Random
House Group Limited, 170; Extract reproduced with permission
from R.K Sadler, 1–2; Extract reproduced with permission from
Sandra Sadler, 46–7; Extract The Battery Hen from The Works By
Pam Ayres, published by Ebury Press. © Pam Ayres 2008.
Reproduced by permission of Sheil Land Associates Ltd., 113–4;
Extract from ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes, reproduced with
permission from The Society of Authors as the Literary
Representative of The Estate of Alfred Noyes, 142; Extract from
‘Shatter Proof’ by Jack Ritchie, originally appeared in “Manhunt”
October, 1960; reprinted by permission of the Jack Ritchie Estate
and the Sternig & Byrne Literary Agency, 136–8; Cartoons, Kindly
reprinted with permission of Tony Lopes,
http://www.tonylopes.com.au, 10, 152; Permission to reproduce
extracts from Poor Man’s Orange by Ruth Park courtesy of Kemalde
Pty Ltd, c/- of Tim Curnow Literary Agent, Sydney, 18–9; Poems,
‘My family (the dream one)’ and ‘My family (the real one)’ from
Love, Ghosts and Nose Hair - A Verse Novel for Young Adults by Steven
Herrick, University of Queensland Press, Queensland, 1996, 148;
Magazine cover, Great Walks, October-November 2021. Permission
courtesy of Yaffa Media, 112.
The author and publisher would like to acknowledge the following:
Poem ‘Mummy, Oh, Mummy’, by Anonymous, 103; Poem
‘Shantytown’ by Anonymous, 147; Extract from Of Mice and Men by
John Steinbeck, Penguin UK, 2000 © John Steinbeck, 1937, 1965, 86;
Extract from ‘Frequently asked questions’, The Official Website of
Stephenie Meyer, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com, 34 (bottom).
Every effort has been made to identify copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyright material.
We actively solicit copyright holders or anyone with knowledge of copyright holders to come forward.
viii
Acknowledgments

Intertextuality
1
What is intertextuality?
Intertextuality is the connection that some texts share with other texts. Texts may
make connections through their storylines, settings, themes, contexts, characters
and language. A text may be transformed into another text, referred to or borrowed
from. For example, the teenage romance film 10 Things I Hate About You is based on
Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew.
The Titanic
The story of a famous event may exist in various forms such as a film, photo, poem, novel,
information report or newspaper article. The texts that follow are all derived from actual
happenings related to the sinking of the Titanic in 2012.
INFORMATION TEXT
What happened to the Titanic?
When the Titanic was launched it was the
largest and most luxurious passenger ship
afloat. It had shops, lounges, a gymnasium
and even a squash court. Added to this,
the Titanic was believed to be unsinkable.
It had a double bottom and 16 watertight
compartments. Yet, on its maiden voyage in
the early hours of Monday morning, 15 April
1912, the Titanic was to slip quietly to the
depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
Shortly after 1.30 am on Monday morning,
the Titanic collided with an iceberg which
ripped a great gash about 90 metres long
in its hull. Captain Smith realised that it
would undoubtedly sink because most of
the watertight compartments would have
been flooded. SOS messages were sent out
to ships in the area. Captain Smith ordered
the ship to be stopped in mid-ocean and for
lifeboats to be lowered. Even at this stage
many passengers could not be convinced
that the Titanic was sinking. Moreover, the
Titanic carried only enough lifeboats for 1178
people, even though there was nearly twice
that number of people aboard. Some of the
lifeboats were not fully loaded when they
were launched.
1: Intertextuality
1

Most of the passengers and crew
acted calmly.
The band played on deck. Women and
children went into the lifeboats first. When
it was discovered that there was not enough
room for everybody, those left on board
prepared for death in their own way. By
1.45 am, the sea was washing onto the
Titanic’s forward deck. At 2.05 am, Captain
Smith gave his final instructions to the crew.
‘You’ve done your duty, boys. Now it’s every
man for himself.’ At 2.20 am the Titanic
slipped beneath the surface.
The icy waters soon choked the cries of
those who had been unable to board the lifeboats. Unfortunately, a rescue ship, the Carpathia,
did not reach the tragic scene till 4 am and was too late to save most of those swimming in the
water. Only 705 of the passengers and crew survived.
How well did you read?
1 What is the writer’s purpose in this text?
The writer aims to give the key facts of the Titanic’s catastrophic maiden voyage.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 Why was the Titanic claimed to be ‘unsinkable’?
The Titanic had a double bottom and 16 watertight compartments.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 What caused the Titanic to sink?
It sank because an iceberg made a 90-metre gash in its side.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 What was done to bring help to those on board the sinking ship?
SOS messages were sent out to ships in the area.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 Why was the Carpathia too late to rescue those swimming in the water?
It took the Carpathia almost two hours to reach the scene of the catastrophe and by this
________________________________________________________________________________
time many of those swimming in the icy water had died from the cold.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 'Only 705 of the passengers and crew survived.' Why were the lifeboats partially
responsible for this?
The ship carried only enough lifeboats for 1178 people, but there was almost twice
________________________________________________________________________________
that number of people on board and those lifeboats were not fully loaded when they
________________________________________________________________________________
were launched from the ship.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 National English Skills 9

Eyewitness account
On 19 April, the very day after the
Titanic survivors reached New York,
a United States Senate Committee
began an inquiry into the sinking of
the Titanic. The witness in this brief
excerpt from the hearing is Able
Seaman Edward John Buley.
The Titanic disaster
hearings
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Before the ship went down you did not hear any cries for help?
No cries whatever, sir. Her port bow light was under water when we were lowered.
How long after you were lowered and put in the water was it before she
went down?
I should say about 25 minutes to half an hour.
Was yours the last boat?
Mr Buley: Mine was the last lifeboat, No. 10.
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Were the collapsibles lowered after that?
The collapsibles were washed off the deck, I believe, sir. The one we picked
up that was swamped, I think they dropped her and broke her back, and
that is why they could not open her.
Were there people in that collapsible?
She was full up, sir; that is the one we rescued the first thing in the morning.
How soon after the Titanic went down was it before your boat went back
there with Lowe to help rescue people?
From an hour to an hour and a half.
And your idea is that the people were frozen.
Yes, frozen.
Frozen in the meantime?
If the water had been warm, I imagine none of them would have been drowned, sir.
Then you got some people out of the water, and some of those died after you
rescued them, did they?
Yes, sir.
Were they injured in any way?
1: Intertextuality
3

Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
Senator Fletcher:
Mr Buley:
No, sir. I think it was exposure and shock.
On account of the cold?
Yes, sir. We had no stimulants in the boat to revive them, at all.
They seemed to be very cold when you got them out of the water?
Yes, sir, and helpless.
Numb?
Yes, sir. There were several in the broken boat that could not walk. Their legs
and feet were all cramped. They had to stand up in the water in that boat.
from the Titanic Disaster Hearings,
the official transcripts of the 1912 US Senate Investigation
How well did you read?
1 Why do you think there was a senate investigation into the sinking of the Titanic?
The senate investigation was organised to find out why the Titanic had sunk and
________________________________________________________________________________
what had happened after it had hit the iceberg.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 These disaster transcripts were recorded over one hundred years ago. Why are they still
valuable today?
They are valuable because they provide many first-hand experiences of what
________________________________________________________________________________
happened during the Titanic disaster.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 What evidence does Mr Buley give that shows the Titanic was very close to sinking as his
lifeboat was lowered?
He stated that the port bow light of the Titanic was under water.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 What caused the swamping of the collapsible lifeboat?
The collapsible lifeboat had been dropped and its back had been broken during
________________________________________________________________________________
the lowering.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 What did Mr Buley feel had caused most of the deaths of the survivors?
He believed that they had died from exposure and shock in the cold water.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 What reason did Mr Buley give for not being able to keep alive those rescued from
the water?
He stated that they had no stimulants in the boat to revive survivors.
________________________________________________________________________________
7 What does Mr Buley’s testimony reveal about his character?
It shows he was an honest man, devoted to his duty in trying to save as many people
________________________________________________________________________________
as possible.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 National English Skills 9

Film poster
In the 1997 film Titanic, James Cameron, the writer and director, has recreated the voyage and
sinking of the ship. To give the film increased emotional impact, Cameron has added a fictionalised
love story between a boy and a girl from two different social backgrounds. Leonardo DiCaprio as
Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose deWitt Bukater star as the ill-fated lovers. Here is the poster
that was designed to advertise the film.
1: Intertextuality
5

How well did you read?
1 How has the designer emphasised the title of the film?
The word ‘Titanic’ stands out because it uses the largest print on the poster.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 Where does the poster suggest that the main action of the film is to take place?
It suggests that the main action is to take place on the Titanic at sea.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 What layout techniques has the designer used to show that a love story dominates
the film?
The shot of the two young lovers is above the word Titanic and takes up almost half
________________________________________________________________________________
of the poster.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 How does the image of the young people suggest they are deeply in love?
They are holding each other’s hands and their heads appear to be touching.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 Why has the designer placed the names of the actors Leonard DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in
large block letters?
These are two very famous actors and their presence in the film will encourage the
________________________________________________________________________________
public to attend screenings of the film.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 Explain the meaning of the sentence, ‘Nothing on earth could come between them’.
It suggests that not even the sinking of the ship or death could stop them loving
________________________________________________________________________________
each other.
________________________________________________________________________________
7 Why have the director’s previous movies been printed at the top of the poster?
These are the titles of famous movies and they prove that the director of Titanic is
________________________________________________________________________________
a very successful film maker.
________________________________________________________________________________
8 How does the poster create the impression that the Titanic is a gigantic, powerful ship?
The boat is in the centre of the poster and extends from one side of the poster to
________________________________________________________________________________
the other side. It seems to be powering through the waves.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 National English Skills 9

Frankenstein
In her famous novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley describes how a scientist, Dr Victor Frankenstein,
discovers the means to create a living creature from the body parts of different people. In trying to
create a perfect creature, he ends up creating a monster.
Frankenstein’s monster has been the subject of many films, plays and cartoons and has become
part of our literary heritage.
Novel
Here is the scene from the novel where Frankenstein gives life to his monster.
Creating the monster
It was on a dreary night of November
that I beheld the accomplishment of
my toils. With an anxiety that almost
amounted to agony, I collected the
instruments of life around me, that
I might infuse a spark of being into
the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.
It was already one in the morning;
the rain pattered dismally against
the panes, and my candle was nearly
burnt out, when, by the glimmer of
the half-extinguished light, I saw the
dull yellow eye of the creature open;
it breathed hard, and a convulsive
motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with
such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had
selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! – Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work
of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly
whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that
seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled
complexion and straight black lips.
… I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate
body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that
far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and
breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.
… I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created. His eyes, if eyes they may
be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a
grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out,
seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed out of the room.
from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1: Intertextuality
7

How well did you read?
1 At the beginning of the passage, what is Dr Frankenstein preparing to do?
Dr Frankenstein is preparing to give the spark of life to the lifeless monster.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 What indications are there to show that the monster has come to life?
One yellow eye of the monster opens, the monster is breathing hard and a convulsive
________________________________________________________________________________
motion agitates its limbs.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 In the first paragraph, what evidence is there to suggest that the events were taking place
over a hundred years ago?
Dr Frankenstein was using candles.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 In the first paragraph, what emotion does Dr Frankenstein experience?
He experiences great anxiety.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 What is ugly about the monster’s skin?
The monster’s skin is yellow and scarcely covers his muscles and arteries.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 ‘I had worked hard for nearly two years.’ What effect has this had on Dr Frankenstein’s life?
Dr Frankenstein has deprived himself of rest and his health
________________________________________________________________________________
has suffered.
________________________________________________________________________________
7 In the third paragraph, what are Dr Frankenstein’s feelings towards the monster he
has created?
He feels horrified and disgusted towards the monster.
________________________________________________________________________________
8 ‘One hand stretched out.’ How does Dr Frankenstein react to this?
Dr Frankenstein rushes out of the room.
________________________________________________________________________________
9 Using the back-of-the-book dictionary, write down the meanings of these words:
fill; instil
a infuse: ____________________________________________________________________
describe or portray (something) precisely
b delineate: _________________________________________________________________
bright and shining
c lustrous: __________________________________________________________________
a greyish-brown colour
d dun: _____________________________________________________________________
not living
e inanimate: ________________________________________________________________
passion or enthusiasm
f ardour: ____________________________________________________________________
8 National English Skills 9

Film still
This still is from the 1931 film Frankenstein, which starred Boris Karloff as the monster.
Look carefully at the film still and answer the questions that follow.
How well did you read?
1 Where is the setting for this scene?
The setting is Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 Why would this shot be a good one to use to promote the movie?
It is a shot of one of the most suspenseful events in the story. It is where
________________________________________________________________________________
Dr Frankenstein gives life to his creation.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 How has the director made the creature’s presence important in the shot?
The creature’s body is positioned close to the viewer, in front of Dr Frankenstein and
________________________________________________________________________________
his assistant.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 Why is Dr Frankenstein’s clothing important in the photo?
His clothing shows that he is involved in a scientific experiment.
________________________________________________________________________________
1: Intertextuality
9

5 What comments would you make about the facial expressions of Dr Frankenstein and
his assistant?
Their faces show their anxiety and tension, as they wait to see whether the
________________________________________________________________________________
experiment is a success.
________________________________________________________________________________
6 In what ways is this laboratory different from the one in the extract from the novel?
This laboratory is far more scientifically advanced than the laboratory described in
________________________________________________________________________________
the novel.
________________________________________________________________________________
Comic strip
‘Insanity streak’ is a popular comic strip series that appears in newspapers around the world.
Here the joke relates to the story of Frankenstein.
How well did you read?
1 What is the cartoonist’s purpose?
The cartoonist’s purpose is to create humour for the reader.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 How does the sign on the wall help to create humour in this comic strip?
It would be impossible to discover the monster’s ancestors because he has been
________________________________________________________________________________
created by Dr Frankenstein from the parts of numerous people.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 How does the cartoonist give the Frankenstein story a modern setting?
The setting is a modern-day office.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 What techniques does the cartoonist use to make the ‘client’ resemble the monster?
The monster’s skin is green. His head is huge, his face is ugly and he has a bolt
________________________________________________________________________________
through his neck. His arms are outstretched.
________________________________________________________________________________
10 National English Skills 9

Language
Nouns
Nouns are naming words. There are four different kinds of nouns: common, proper, collective
and abstract.
Common and proper nouns
●
Common nouns are words used to name any person, animal, place or thing. For example:
nurse mechanic kangaroo goanna supermarket church car helicopter
●
Proper nouns are words used to name a special or particular person, place or thing.
Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. For example:
Jane Matthew Brisbane Darwin Wednesday July Mazda Nescafe
Missing nouns
The following passage is presented in three sections: the orientation, the complication and the
resolution. Complete each section by inserting the missing common and proper nouns from each box.
The unsinkable Titanic
Orientation
palace Southampton vessel April voyage passengers New York
On 10th _________________ 1912, the Titanic set out on its maiden _________________ from
Southampton
_________________ to _________________. The _________________ was called ‘a floating
palace
_________________’ and was believed to be unsinkable. On board were 2200 _________________.
Complication
April
New York
Vessel
voyage
passengers
icebergs Titanic knots Friday sailor
Smith hull shape messages speed
Friday
On _________________ 12th April, Captain _________________ received warning
messages
_________________ about _________________. However the _________________ did not slacken
speed
icebergs
her _________________ of 22 _________________ per hour. At 11:39 pm a _________________
shape
on duty saw a huge _________________ looming closer and closer and at 11:40 pm it severely
hull
knots
damaged the ship’s _________________.
Smith
Titanic
sailor
1: Intertextuality
11

Resolution
children Carpathia lifeboats ship lives
catastrophe scene survivors hours crew
Orders were given to abandon _________________. First of all, women and _________________
were moved into the _________________, but there were not enough to take all the passengers
crew
and _________________. The _________________, which had heard the Titanic’s distress
calls, arrived on the _________________ about two _________________ later and rescued 705
survivors
_________________. Unfortunately, as a result of the _________________, 1522 people lost
lives
their _________________.
Collective nouns
lifeboats
scene
ship
Carpathia
A collective noun is a word used for a collection or group of similar people, animals or things.
For example:
a gang of thieves a herd of cattle a bunch of bananas
Identifying collective nouns
hours
catastrophe
Insert the correct collective noun from the box for each of the phrases below.
children
flotilla anthology flock troupe library
board regiment pod colony block
library
1 A _________________ of books
flock
2 A _________________ of birds
anthology
3 An _________________ of poems
flotilla
4 A _________________ of ships
block
5 A _________________ of flats
pod
6 A _________________ of dolphins
colony
7 A _________________ of ants
regiment
8 A _________________ of soldiers
troupe
9 A _________________ of dancers
board
10 A _________________ of directors
12 National English Skills 9

Abstract nouns
Abstract nouns are nouns that name qualities, emotions, ideas and actions – things that you cannot
see or touch. For example:
love strength urgency deception inferiority freedom
The process of forming an abstract noun from a verb or an adjective is called nominalisation.
Abstract nouns are often used in reports and many other types of formal writing. Here is an
example of forming an abstract noun from a verb:
The river was contaminated by chemical spills.
abstract noun
verb
The contamination of the river was caused by chemical spills.
Forming abstract nouns
Follow the instruction for each exercise to form abstract nouns. Sometimes you will need to adjust
the spelling.
1 Form abstract nouns ending in ‘-ion’ from these words:
perfection
a perfect ______________________
promotion
b promote _____________________
precision
c precise ______________________
devotion
d devote ______________________
confusion
e confuse _____________________
exclusion
f exclude _____________________
2 Form abstract nouns ending in ‘-ance’ from these words:
arrogance
a arrogant ____________________
assurance
b assure ______________________
assistance
c assist _______________________
annoyance
d annoy _______________________
elegance
e elegant ______________________
compliance
f comply ______________________
3 Form abstract nouns ending in ‘-cy’ from these words:
efficiency
a efficient _____________________
supremacy
b supreme ____________________
privacy
c private ______________________
accuracy
d accurate _____________________
obstinacy
e obstinate ____________________
hesitancy
f hesitant _____________________
4 Form abstract nouns ending in ‘-ment’ from these words:
improvement
a improve _____________________
commitment
b commit _____________________
embarrassment
c embarrass ___________________
development
d develop _____________________
argument
e argue _______________________
encouragement
f encourage ___________________
1: Intertextuality
13