BBC EARTH Education Programme. Drawn from the variety of articles under the heading The Power Of Laziness pg 68

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1 BBC EARTH Education Programme October 2018: Student s Copy / Lower Secondary Total: 40 marks (A) Comprehension / Reading Questions (12 marks) Drawn from the variety of articles under the heading The Power Of Laziness pg 68 As far as possible, answer in your own words. From The Lazy Ape pg Inference/ Language Question What does the writer mean by If this is laziness, then laziness is the hallmark of our species? (2m) 2. Rephrasing / Language Question Give three comparisons between humans and apes that suggest that humans are perhaps better described as efficient rather than truly lazy? (3m) From Don t Worry Be Lazy pg Language / Inferential Question Why do you think the writer says The bigger the city, the faster our pace of life? (2m) 1

2 4. Language/Inferential Question Why does the writer say I hope it s going to become embarrassing to have your phone out while eating dinner? (2m) 5. Language / Rephrasing Question Explain (in your own words) the phrase lengthy spells in the land of nod. (1m) 6. Evaluative Question How well do you think the writer justifies the claim that daydreaming is important because it allows you to make connections? Give reasons to support your answer. (2m) 2

3 (B) Editing (12 marks) Adapted from Hunting for Life s Cosmic Origin pg 46 Carefully read the text below, the first and last lines are correct. For each paragraph, there is at least one spelling or grammatical error. Some lines do not contain any errors. If there is NO error in a line, put a tick ( ) in the space provided. If the line is incorrect, circle the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided. The correct word you provide must not change the original meaning of the sentence. As well as telling us about our place in the Solar System, asteroids could also offer enourmous commercial value. Several companies are already talking seriously about mining asteroids. The organic compounds and water in carbonaceous objects like Bennu and Ryugu could provide the raw materials needed from life-support systems in human exploration of the Solar System, and could even help to support long-term space colonials. Other asteroids are thought to be rich source of precious metals. Incredibly, a metalic asteroid a kilometre or two across could contain enough gold, platinum, tungsten and nickel to make it worth hundreds or even thousands of billions of dollars. So even considering the high costs of space exploration, a company that can successfully extract these resources would still tune an astronomical profit. The trick for future space mine will lie in identifying which near-earth asteroids are economically viable to exploit, as well as how to reliably operate such deep-space missions. There were also huge uncertainties of how to mine rock in the vaccum and low-gravity of an asteroid surface. And those are just the technological challenges. There are concerns over the legal consequences in the commercial exploitation of space: the lack of adequate laws and regulation could led to a new Wild West, with disputes over who has the right to mine which asteroids. 3

4 (C) Comprehension / Reading (16 marks) Adapted from Better The Devil You Know pg 34 Read the article below. As you read, answer the questions in the column on the right. Use your own words as far as possible. SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL Devils are especially vulnerable to vehicle collisions, because they are attracted to all the other roadkill. We ve had one that had to have its leg amputated, another with a very bad head injury. Neither of them could have survived in the wild, so we keep them here. It s like a big retirement village for devils, but if they are capable of breeding, we let them. I still vividly remember the first time I saw a Tasmanian devil in the flesh some two decades ago. I was sitting in a makeshift hide in the remote north-west of the island. Having been inside for two hours in the company of expert Simon Plowright who today runs a devil breeding centre near Bicheno on Tasmania s east coast, and still organises trips to see wild devils I was seriously beginning to doubt that tonight would be the night. The pegged-out wallaby carcass the tried and tested method of running a devil restaurant had been visited by a beautiful tiger, or spotted-tailed, quoll, which is a smaller relative of the devil. But when the first devil turned up there was a tangible change of mood in the tent. This is it, I was thinking this is what I ve come to the other side of the world for! The young female devil didn t tear into the offering like a hungry hyena on steroids, or snarl as if possessed by the Prince of Darkness (which is where the species get its common name). Instead, she sniffed the cold night air and looked around nervously, and only when she was completely happy that there was no one else about did she tuck in. Some time later, another devil showed up and there was a brief confrontation. But on that showing, they might just as well have been called angels as devils. Their reputation is not what they are, confirms Wade Anthony, who owns Devils@Cradle, a breeding centre for native Tasmanian carnivorous marsupials in the north of Tasmania. That comes from the cartoon character Taz, which has got a lot to answer for. Taz was created by Warner Bros in the 1960s, though later found fame in the 1990s. In your own words, explain why devils are particularly susceptible to vehicle accidents? (1m) What does the writer mean when he says I was seriously beginning to doubt that tonight would be the night? (2m) What does the writer mean by the tried and tested method of running a devil restaurant? (2m) Which part of the species common name references the Prince of Darkness? (1m) Why does the writer say that they might just as well have been called angels as devils? (2m) 4

5 TERRIBLE TABLE MANNERS Having said that, devil feedings can be famously noisy, especially if you get more than two or three trying to feed on a single carcass. Geoff King, who used to run a Michelin-starred devil restaurant on his coastal property near Marrawah, also in Tasmania s north-west, until his untimely death in 2013, once told me he d seen 13 on a single carcass. His feedings were enlivened by a live audio feed to the hide that relayed not just their edgy vocalisations, but the sound of bones crunching and sinews tearing as they chowed down dinner. The quiet side of devils is very interesting, says Wade. They re all individuals, you can t pigeon-hole them. Some are very confident, some aggressive, some can be curious, some can be shy. The problem is their gruff voice, which makes them all sound antagonistic, but they don t have any other way to talk. He s also noticed that sibling devils at his centre maintain a close relationship throughout their lives, so they may not be purely solitary as usually depicted. Since opening for business in 2006, Devils@Cradle has become one of the 30 or so centres involved in breeding devils as an insurance population to safeguard against extinction. It has about 50 devils, including nine pairs when I speak to Wade in mid-february, it s the middle of the breeding season, and once the females are pregnant, they give birth to their tiny babies just three weeks later. In your own words, explain what the true nature of the devil is and why they might be misunderstood? (2m) According to the article, why does Devils@Cradle breed devils? (2m) ISLAND REFUGE Though devils were once widespread across mainland Australia (there s even fossil evidence for them in New Guinea), they disappeared from everywhere but Tasmania long before European settlers arrived. This was probably down to increasing aridity on the mainland and competition from nonnative dingos, scientists say. On the island off the island, however, they thrived, at least until the first half of the 20th century when conflict with livestock and poultry farmers turned them into pests. But, of course, most persecution was concentrated on the larger Tasmanian tiger, which was hunted to extinction. Nevertheless, the Tasmanian devil was a largely unknown quantity until 1996, when a contagious cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) was first discovered. Where it came from nobody knows, but it spread through the population like a bushfire numbers dropped from an estimated 250,000 According to the article, what are the various causes for the decline in the devil population? (2m) 5

6 to fewer than 50,000 in The most recent research, published in February, shows populations have declined by an average of 77 percent in areas affected by DFTD. But as Greg Irons points out, you can take a positive out of any situation thanks to the disease, Tasmanian devils are now known all over the world. Indeed, as well as more than 30 captive-breeding centres throughout Australia there s at least one in every state except for Northern Territory there are three in New Zealand and two in the USA. Why do you think Irons attributes the increased awareness about Tasmanian devils to the disease? (2m) (D) Research & Writing Research Are there any other traits that we commonly think of as negative that could be considered virtues in some instances? For example, you may wish to consider if anger or envy has benefits. What are some of the arguments that might support the view that there are advantages to possessing these traits? Reading & Comprehension Read the article The Power Of Laziness pg in full. Using a graphic organiser, collate the reasons why laziness might be constructive. Do you find these reasons convincing? Why, or why not? Classroom Discussion/ Essay Question Imagine you are going to enter a writing competition run by your school newspaper. Your schoolmates as well as a panel of teachers will judge it. Your task is to explain your point of view on this statement: Negative character traits can never be a positive thing. Use some of the findings of your research and try to employ the P.E.E.D formula (see below) to help your build your argument. (E) Useful Tips When writing argumentative or persuasive pieces, good writers often use the P.E.E.D formula. Make a point. Following which, give an example to support the point. After that, explain how the example relates to or reinforces the point. Lastly, develop your point. This could involve saying what effect you think this point has on the wider argument of your piece, what consequences it creates and so on. Some of you may have been taught other versions of this such as, P.E.E.R (Point, Example, Explain, Relate) or P.E.E.C.E (Point, Example, Explain, Compare, Explore). Most of these versions are intended to achieve the same purpose act as reminders for how best to explain and develop your arguments. 6