YEAR 5/6 ENGLISH — ADVANCED. MODULE 1 rN OT STEP 1 | A RECOUNT tells about an event that has happened in the past such as a school excursion or a holiday. It can recount an experience someone has had. | The following is a FACTUAL RECOUNT of an experience faced by British pilot Robert Alexander Little during WWI. Eleven to one. The odds were impossible. There was no way the lone Allied Sopwith Triplane could escape the swarm of Albatros fighters. The Germans were virtually queuing up to let fly with their twin Spandau machine guns. What's more, the hapless airman was not only hopelessly ‘outnumbered, but he had taken on the airmen of Jagdstaffel 11 — Richthofen’s infamous “Flying Circus’. It would be only a matter of minutes. Or so it seemed to the group of off-duty “Flying Circus’ pilots who watched from their airfield below. Among them was the Red Baron himself. They ‘openly admired the lone airman’s audacity. They praised his courage. ‘What a pity he should die in such uneven combat ...!” But as the minutes ticked by, it seemed that none of the German pilots was able to manoeuvre into a position on the Sopwith’s tail, from which to fire a lethal burst. Time after time as one (and oficn two) of the gaudily-painted Albatroses closed aster and prepared to fire, the “Triplane” out- tumed the hunters and itself moved into an attacking position. Not only was the pilot eluding them —he was fighting back! Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes went by, and still no sign of a tell-tale puff of smoke from the Sopwith’s Clerget engine, flash of flame from the fuel tank, or any of the other signs announcing the “kill”. The pilots flying the deadly new Albatros D Vs were being given a humiliating lesson in the art of dogfighting. For nearly thirty minutes the daring pilot outtumned, outclimbed, and outdived his frustrated ‘opponents. Time after time he flew right through circling groups of the enemy aircraft, forcing them to scatter and not allowing them to organise a set offensive pattern. His tactics were as brilliant as they were unconventional. The watchers on the ground were awestruck. Not only at the airman’s skill but at the fantastic manoeuvrability of his olive-drab, three-winged fighter. The display of one-man one-machine superiority finally cnded when the Sopwith pilot, low on fuel, decided it was time ( head back over the trenches for home. He flew west, hotly pursued by the straggling formation of German fighters. As they crossed the trenches, he lured them over a battery of British anti-aircraft guns. The pilots of Jagdstaffel 11 finally gave up the chase. 1 Who flew the ‘Albatros’ planes? The ‘Elying Circus’ refers to J What surprised the people watching on the ground below? D Comrigh Pre-Uni New Collese Fz SLaac aieYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH 12. MODULE 1 Describe the tactics used by the Sopwith pilot which prevented the Germans from an organised attack, ‘Who were the ‘watchers on the ground:? What had they expected to see? What did they think about the pilot of the Sopsvith? ‘What was Baron von Richthofen’s nickname? In your own words explain what you think the word ‘manoeuvrability’ means. Why did the pilot of the Sopwith plane decide to head back home? ‘Why did the Jagdstaffel 11 finally give up the chase? Using clues from the sentences write what the following mean in this text. a)swarm_ f) lethal_. by hapless. ______ 8) gaudily-painted ) infamous h) astern, 4d) audacity. i) eluding, e) combat. j) unconventional, DCoprigh Pre-Uni New College 4 ‘English -AdvancedYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH —- ADVANCED MODULE 1 STEP 2 When a person writes an account of someone else’s life it is called a BIOGRAPHY. When a person writes an account of their own life it is called an AUTOBIOGRAPHY, | These can be regarded as special types of RECOUNTS because they tell of factual past experiences of people who have achieved something noteworthy or led exceptional lives. | | The following text is taken from the AUTOBIOGRAPHY of Alan Marshall called ‘I Can Jump | Puddles.” Alan became disabled after suffering from poliomyelitis when he was a young child. | This book recounts his experience in learning to cope. My crutches were gradually becoming a part of me. I had developed arms out of proportion to the rest of my body and my armpits were now tough and hard. The crutches did not chafe me any more and I could walk without discomfort. I practised different walking styles, calling them by the names applied to the gaits of horses. I could trot, pace, canter and gallop. I fell frequently and heavily but learned to throw myself into Positions that saved my bad leg from injury. I typed the falls I had and when beginning to fall always knew whether it would be a ‘bad’ or “good’ fall. If both crutches slipped when I was well advanced on my forward swing, I fell backwards, and this was the worst fall of all since it often resulted in me being winded or twisting my bad leg beneath me. It was a painful fall and I used to thump the earth with my hands to keep from crying out when I fell in this manner. When only one crutch slipped or struck a stone or root, I fell forward onto my hands and was never hurt. I was never free of bruises or lumps or gravel rashes and each evening found me attending to some injury I had received that day. But they did not distress me. I accepted these annoying inconveniences as being part of normal living and I never for a moment regarded them as a result of being crippled, a state which, at this period, I never applied to myself. T began walking to school and became acquainted with exhaustion ~ the state so familiar to cripples and their constant concern. | always cut comers, always made in as straight a line as I could to where I wanted to go. I would walk through clumps of thistles rather than go round them, climb through fences rather than deviate a few yards to go through a gate. A normal child capends its surplus energy by cavorting, skipping, spinning in circles or kicking stones along the ground as it walks up the street. I, too, felt the need to do this and I indulged in foolish caperings and leaps as I walked up the road just because of a need to express how well I felt. People seeing me expressing my joy in living regarded it as pathetic and stared at me with pity so that | immediately stopped till they were out of sight and then threw myself into my happy world again, free from their sadness and their pain. © Copright Pre-Uni New Collese —YEAR 5/6 ENGLISH - ADVANCED Indicate True or False for the following. 4. Alan did not stop trying out adventurous walking styles even though falls were painful. 2 Disabled people are constantly concerned about tiring easily. 3. Alan was born with unusually proportioned arms ‘Alan often fell over because he was a clumsy person. 5 In Alan’s experience, people showed themselves to be uncaring towards people with disabilities. Alan regarded himself as a cripple. ot Alan’s body became adapted to crutches. * Alan acknowledged that he could never lead a normal life. ~ Alan’s falls were often painful. True MODULE 1 False eT ST Te $ English - AdvancedYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH — ADVANCED MODULE 1 NS eee MODULE 1 VOCABULARY 10. The word ‘gait’ means ‘the manner or pattern of walking or running.’ There are many words to describe how people walk. Here are some examples. Check their EXACT meaning in the dictionary. | strat, swagger, stroH, stomp, meander, stride, tip-tee, | shuffle, stagger, march, saunter, creep, sneak, hurry Choose a word (or a form of that word) fiom the bux tu fill the gaps in the sentences. (More than ‘one choice can be correct in some sentences, but don’t use the same word twice.) Y We took a leisurely by the river. %) The group through the park. ©) Bill proudly across the stage to collect his trophy. ®) Purposefully he into the police station. @ The aunties into the nursery where the baby slept. Iwatemper, James out of the room, i The injured man to the phone to call the police. W The children downstairs because they hoped to see Santa Claus. 4 We to the bus-stop, but were too late. J The sad, old man _ back to his lonely flat. STEP3 A RECOUNT tells about an event that has happened in the past such as a school excursion or a holiday. It can recount an experience someone has had. | The CAUSE of something is what makes it happen. The EFFECT is what happens as a result or consequence. Example; Mum was chatting on the telephone while she was cooking and the dinner burned. ‘Cause: Mum was chatting on the telephone Effect: The dinner bumed. ‘© Copyright Pre-Uni New College 7 “English -AdvancedYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH — ADVANCED. MODULE 1 Read the text carefully, then answer the questions. ‘On August 20, 1860, a policeman named Robert O'Hara Burke led a grand expedition of ‘exploration out of Melboume to cross the continent from south to north and reach the Gulf of Carpentaria. ‘The expedition started with many camels, horses and wagons carrying supplies, enough for twenty men for twelve months. But, due to problems within the expedition, they abandoned the wagons and some supplies at Menindee in order to save time. Afier reaching Coopers Creek, Burke decided to split the expedition. A party with William Brahe in command would stay there for at least three months and wait for additional supplies to arrive from Menindee and for Burke and his small party to arrive back from the Gulf. Burke, with surveyor William Wills, soldier John King, sailor Charles Gray, six camels, one horse and three months’ rations then sprinted for the Gulf. They crossed the desert, many creeks, rivers and a rugged mountain range in order to reach the Gulf. Foolishly they had driven off curious Aborigines who might have been of help to them. ‘They had taken eight weeks to cover the thousand kilometers from Coopers Creek to the Gulf, so there were only five weeks’ rations for the return trip. They were in touble. Heavy rain had tumed their track into mud and the air was steaming. They moved into the central Australian desert, making slow progress as well as becoming more and more exhausted from the conditions and lack of food, and one of their party, Gray, became very ill. They were forced to kill the horse and camel for food and finally, just 100 kilometres from Coopers Creek, Gray died. They spent a whole precious day burying Gray with their bare hands. This was to seal their fate. A few days later, on April 21, Burke, Wills and King stood at Coopers Creek and, instead of finding Brahe waiting with food, they found a carving on a tree: DIG 3FT NW In other words, Brahe and his party had gone. In another tree nearby there was another carving of two dates: Dec 6, 1860, the date Burke and his party had left; and Apr 21, 1861, the day that Brahe had given up waiting. It was the very same day Burke, Wills and King had finally returned to Coopers Creek. Brahe had left a small cache of food, and after a few days Burke decided to go west instead of following Brahe’s track east. Wills left a message in a bottle in the same spot where the cache of food had been left. Finally the additional supplies from Menindee were on their way to Coopers Creek. Five months late! They picked up Brahe on the way and on arriving back at the tree in Coopers Creek they did not see any signs of Burke’s arrival and turned to go back home. DCannisin Proll New Collene 3 Busteh _ddvanoallYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH — ADVANCED. MODULE 1 Aborigines gave food to Burke’s party until he shot at them. Both Burke and Wills died of starvation. King was looked after by the Aborigines and survived. He was found three months later. 1. Match the CAUSE with the EFFECT. CAUSE A Before reaching Menindee certain problems caused the expedition to be slower than expected. B The additional supplies were taking too long to arnive ‘at Coopers Creek. C They had taken longer than expected (cight weeks) to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria. 2. What caused the following to happen? a b) | °) EFFECT a) They were left with only five weeks supply of food. b) They abandoned the wagons and supplies at Menindee. ¢ Burke decided to go ahead with Wills, King and Gray and leave Brahe behind at Coopers Creek. Gray became very ill. They were forced to kill the horse and camel. Brahe and his party left Coopers Creek. ‘© Copyright Pre-Uni New College 9 Wt dieedYEAR 5/6. ENGLISH - ADVANCED MODULE 1 3. Complete these statements. a) If they had not spent a whole day burying Gray _ b) If Burke had not shot at the Aborigines c) If Burke, Wills and King had followed in Brahe’s tracks after reaching Coopers Creek 4. Explain what you think the carving D IG means? 3FT NW 5. What two important things coincidentally happened on the 21st April 1861? 6. Which words used in the text have the following meanings? a) journey, exploration b) left behind 7 eyeraced,wentquiddy 0) we 4) provisions, allowance of supplies ©) store, reserve = Enclch AdvancedYEAR 5/6 ENGLISH — ADVANCED MODULE 1 STEP 4 Read the following poem and then answer the questions. A SNAKE YARN “You talk of snakes,’ said Jack the Rat, “But blow me, one hot summer, I scen a thing that knocked me flat — Fourteen foot long or more than that, It was a reg’lar hummer*! Lay right along a sort of bog, Just like a log! ‘The ugly thing was lyin’ there And nota sign o’ movin’, Give any mana nasty scare; Seen nothin’ like it anywhere Since I first started drovin’. And yet it didn’t scare my dog. Looked like a log! ‘Thad to cross that bog, yer seen, And bluey I was humpin’; But wonderin’ what that thing could be A-lyin’ there in front o’me I didn’t feel like jumpin’. Yet, though I shivered like a frog, It seemed a log! ‘T takes a leap and lands right on The back of that there whopper!” He stopped. We waited. Then Big Mac Remarked: ‘Well, then, what happened, Jack?’ “Not much,’ said Jack, and drained his grog. ‘It was a log!” W. T. GOODGE * Australian slang for a ‘humdinger’ ‘© Coppright Pre-Uni New College Tr ‘haul adelENGLISH — ADVANCED MODULE 1 In verse 1, which words show that Jack was very surprised? ‘What do you think the writer means by the thing being ‘a reg lar hummer"? What is Jack’s occupation? ‘What do you think Jack was carrying? Why didn’t he want to jump to cross the bog? This poem is humorous because 8) of its colloquial language. b) itis about a snake. ©) Jack was scared. 4) ofits ending. Grand Total = 62 I mark each DCopright Pre-Uni New College 2 “English - Advances