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Current issues:
sample reading and responding task answers
Task 1
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of who makes the best use of the internet in Ben’s family with detailed, supporting evidence | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of who makes the best use of the internet in Ben’s family with supporting examples | 3 marks |
| Attempts to justify who makes the best use of the internet in Ben’s family | 2 marks |
| Lists some uses of the internet in Ben’s family | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Ben thinks that the internet is good for everyone but I believe that Ben’s mother makes the best use of it. She is very busy at work and doesn’t have time to go shopping or go to the bank, so she uses the internet to order vegetables and groceries, as well as uses online banking to pay bills. Ben’s father can buy shares online and do business with people from overseas companies but this is probably not used as often as Ben’s mother. Ben uses it every day for kanji practice; chat rooms talking to friends; looking up baseball results; listening to bands that he likes. However, none of this seems very essential. His older sister complains that you can’t use the internet and the phone at the same time but we don’t find out how she uses the internet.
Thus, I think for the most essential and time efficient usage, Ben’s mother makes the best use of the Internet.
Task 2
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of how the writer promotes his point of view with detailed, supporting evidence | 5 marks |
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of how the writer promotes his point of view with detailed evidence | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of how the writer promotes his point of view with supporting examples | 3 marks |
| Attempts to demonstrate how the writer promotes his point of view with some examples | 2 marks |
| States the writer’s point of view | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Firstly, it is important to remember that this is a speech, and that delivery plays an integral role in promoting one’s point of view.The speaker begins with a simple statement of fact that has huge emotional overtones: 6 months ago, a friend died in a car accident. The audience is immediately forced out of their complacency and identifies with the speaker. He goes on to outline the accident in one or two simple sentences and then describes the effect that it had on him: he was in shock – couldn’t sleep, eat or talk for one week. The personal implications for him are brought home to the listeners. He explains that the police say that the driver was drunk and was driving at 100 km per hour. He then uses a rhetorical question to show his own confusion and to draw the audience onwards in his speech: “Why would he have done such a stupid thing?”
The next part of the speech gives the reasons why the driver could have acted as he did: worry about the HSC; stress from bad test results and a desire to forget his troubles through drink. The speaker then uses statistics to underline his point: 700 young males between 17 and 25 years old die from injuries in traffic accidents in NSW every year. This is 4 times the number of young females who die from similar causes. These figures shock the audience and emphasise that this is not an isolated incident. The speaker moves from the general back to the personal and speaks about how this has made him far more careful when driving.
He ends with a plea to take care when driving and to value life. The entire speech is effective and manages to combine fact and personal experience.
Task 3.1
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the writer’s priorities | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of the writer’s priorities | 2 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of the writer’s priorities | 1 mark |
Sample Answer:
-
Human rights
- People from many countries live here and get along well
- Reduce the number of poor
- Get rid of unfair politics and unfair trade
- World Peace - co-operate with other countries to end wars
- Protect the environment
Task 3.2
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a good understanding of the writer’s personality | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of the writer’s personality | 2 marks |
| Attempts to explain the personality of the writer | 1 mark |
Sample Answer:
- She is very idealistic – her ideas are on a grand scale (Human Rights, World Peace and Protecting the Environment)
- She has tried to see what she can do personally (read the paper more, in order to be better informed)
- She admits that she hasn’t really been very interested in politics up until now - demonstrating honesty/ self evaluation
Task 4.1
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a good understanding of Hanako’s attitude | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of Hanako’s attitude | 2 marks |
| Demonstrates a basic understanding of Hanako’s attitude | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Hanako is extremely frustrated that, when thinking about her future, the situation in Japan is so biased against women. She actually says that she wants to cry when she thinks about it, particularly when she compares Australia and Japan. Logically, of course, there are intelligent women in both countries but the basic problem in Japan is that challenging and responsible work is not available to women, even if they have studied at a good uni and gone into a good company. Women’s wages are low and she feels that this sort of thing is extremely unfair.
Task 4.2
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of how Carlie would reply with relevant, detailed supporting evidence | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of how Carlie would reply with solid supporting evidence | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of how Carlie would reply with examples from the letter to support her | 2 marks |
| Attempts to project how Carlie would reply | 1 mark |
Sample Answer:
Dear Hanako,
I had heard that the situation for working women in Japan was worse than in Australia but I hadn’t realised it was so unfair! I can’t believe that, even though you go to a good uni, you can’t get a job with responsibility and that your wages are lower than men’s! In Australia, equal pay for equal work is part of the law….. I’m not surprised that you feel like crying. The good thing is that, as you wrote, things are changing. Of course, even in Australia things are different now to what they were, say, 30 years ago. I agree that attitudes are changing towards women everywhere. Isn’t it great that you have female politicians and TV role models who are leading the way for women? But it’s not changing fast enough, is it? I don’t think that wanting to find the “ideal” job is unreasonable… Couldn’t you get a job with a foreign company in Japan? Then they would have different values and would respect you for your work and brain! Or what about moving overseas? I guess, you want to stay in Japan, though, with your family. As for finding the “ideal” husband – don’t we all? But we’re a bit young to be thinking about marrying now. Just worry about finding a good job first and maybe, if you’re in a decent company with forward-thinking ideas, you’ll just naturally meet the right kind of people. I haven’t decided yet what I want to do after leaving uni, so I’m thinking of taking a year off to travel. Maybe you should come with me and see the world? Or maybe I could come to Japan to visit you.
Love Carlie
Task 5.1
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Gives an appropriate title with justification | 2 marks |
| Gives an appropriate title | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Australia – A Country of Many Peoples. This article gives a multitude of examples of multiculturalism in Australia from a historical perspective through to modern day eating trends, language options and culture.
Task 5.2
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of how a Japanese person would feel with detailed reference to the text | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of how a Japanese person would feel with reference to the text | 2 marks |
| Indicates how a Japanese person would feel | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: I think that they would be quite surprised at the variety of cultures, languages etc in Australia. The stereotypical Australian is blond-haired, blue-eyed and tanned but, as this article indicates, immigrants come from all over the world. In fact, one quarter of all Australians are born overseas. This variety of nationalities also leads to a variety of restaurants and food. Most Japanese would think that only English is spoken in Australia. Although English is obviously the national language, there are lots of opportunities to learn foreign languages in schools, community centres etc and to hear them through TV programs and foreign movies. Perhaps they would be surprised that Australian school children might approach them and speak to them in Japanese!
Because there are lots of immigrants, this, in turn, means that there is not just one culture, but many. This is, according to the author, a great advantage.
Task 6
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the devices used with relevant, detailed examples | 5 marks |
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the devices used with relevant, detailed examples | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of the devices used with relevant examples | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of the devices used with examples | 2 marks |
| Lists some of the problems from the passage | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: In the opening paragraph, the writer states the problem simply and succinctly: rubbish disposal (particularly vinyl & plastic bags) is a world-wide problem. He then proceeds to go into detail about the situation in Japan. Japanese society tends to wrap things in paper when they are bought and then put them in a plastic/vinyl bag but these bags are immediately thrown out by consumers. By using the word mottainai (wasteful), it is clear that he disapproves of this practice.
The next paragraph sets out schemes that have been established to try to change people’s habits, such as if customers bring their own bags, they get a stamp on a card. When they have collected a lot of stamps, they receive a shopping voucher. It also shows how even a small change in consumer usage could radically affect rubbish disposal e.g. If once a month, people said “I don’t need a bag”, in one year many millions of bags would be saved. Similarly, 80 recycled milk cartons can be made into one roll of toilet paper. The use of statistics demonstrates how easy it would be to turn the rubbish situation around. The Japanese have already established rubbish disposal areas where their rubbish is separated into empty cans, empty bottles and burnable rubbish. Perhaps this will gradually change people’s attitudes.
This section and the preceding one have a more optimistic tone, emphasising that it is possible to improve the situation. However, the last paragraph returns to the seriousness of the problem - namely, that we are ruining our environment. The warning is clear: in the near future, living things will not be able to survive on earth. By issuing such a dire prediction, the writer wishes to emphasise that we do not have alternatives left any more and that we must be careful from now on.
The passage ends with a plea to one and all: Let’s protect the earth’s environment together!
Through the clever use of contrast, the writer effectively communicates his message that we must change our way of disposing of rubbish or the consequences will be disastrous. He juxtaposes what could happen if people did the right thing with what will happen if we continue to treat the world the way that we have in the past. He warns; he persuades; he entreats.
Task 7
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a good understanding of the effectiveness of the way Japanese people protect their environment | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of the effectiveness of the way Japanese people protect their environment | 2 marks |
| Demonstrates a basic understanding of the effectiveness of the way Japanese people protect their environment | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Generally speaking, Japanese people are well aware of the problems of rubbish and air pollution in order to protect the environment. The majority of people try to dispose of rubbish in bins and separate rubbish into recyclable and non-recyclable rubbish. Using recycled paper is common too. Many people also try to use public transport rather than their own cars to reduce air pollution. However, more effort is needed for water and energy conservation, as well as reducing the use of plastic bags.
The basic message is that we must be careful of our environment or our earth will no longer be a place where we can live.
Task 8
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of how the examples are linked to the psychiatrist’s comments using relevant, detailed information | 5 marks |
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of how the examples are linked to the psychiatrist’s comments using relevant, detailed information | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of how the examples are linked to the psychiatrist’s comments, using relevant information | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of how the examples are linked to the psychiatrist’s information | 2 marks |
| Lists some of the examples from the passage | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: According to the psychiatrist, Japanese children are so busy with cram school, club activities etc that they don’t play much. Therefore, they don’t develop good relationships with one another or think of others. Furthermore, children play on computers a lot by themselves. They don’t seem to need friends much. Fathers are seldom at home and the mother’s only concern is the children’s education.
The first example given is a 12 year old boy who kills a boy one year his junior with a knife because he “wanted to try to kill someone”. This obviously demonstrates a lack of compassion towards other people – an alienation from fellow children. The next example is of a 17 year old boy who kidnapped a woman and killed her, in order to get people to notice that he existed. If family relationships and friendships are breaking down due to the hectic pace of modern society, young people feel that they have to do something drastic to be noticed. Again, lack of compassion for the victim is a major part of the alienation process. The last example is of 3 primary school boys who bullied female classmates, taking 5,000,000 yen, so that they could buy new computer games. They do not think about their fellow students’ reactions or anguish – a common effect of dehumanisation.
The psychiatrist’s evaluation of their actions is based on the young people’s alienation from society and the downturn in normal relationships.
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