YEAR 9 Set 4
DROOLING
AUTOTROPHS
Sheldon Cooper, the comically literal-minded character in the
TV series The Big Bang Theory, would probably respond to
the show’s witty theme song by pointing out some inaccuracies
in the lyrics. For example, the song refers to the beginning of life
5 on Earth as the time when “the autotrophs began to drool”. This
suggests that an autotroph is a primitive animal when, in fact,
plants are the main autotrophs.
Autotroph is derived from the Greek auto (self) and trophe
(nutrition). Plants nurture themselves in the sense that they use
10 the energy of the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into
the organic carbon compounds needed for growth and activity.
By contrast, heterotrophs (animals and fungi) simply consume
these pre-produced materials.
Biologists refer to trophic levels to analyse ecological systems and
15 how energy flows through their food chains. For the purposes of
the theme song of The Big Bang Theory, however, the main
advantage of the term autotroph is that it sounds scientific!
Wait for your teacher.
Read Drooling autotrophs? and answer questions 1–7.
1
In the first sentence, what sort of literal-minded thinking does the writer refer to?
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2
In line 5, the writer uses inverted commas ( “ ” ) to show
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an idea that is in doubt.
the title of a composition.
a character’s direct speech.
a quotation from a composition.
In line 6, the word when means
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distrust of figurative language
misjudgment of context
dedication to accuracy
lack of imagination
but.
nevertheless.
despite which.
at the time that.
In line 9, the words, in the sense that, are used to show that there are limits to the
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ability of plants to convert carbon.
types of compounds that get produced.
truth of the author’s definition of autotroph.
meanings of the word nurture that apply here.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
5
In line 13, the word these refers to
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This text could best be used in
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materials used for production.
carbon compounds.
animal producers.
plant producers.
an advertisement for The Big Bang Theory.
a review of The Big Bang Theory.
an encyclopedia for biologists.
a popular science magazine.
Some unusual organisms belong to subgroups of autotrophs and heterotrophs. For
example, chemoautotrophs are organisms living on chemicals from volcanic vents in the
total darkness of the deep sea.
Choose the name for the subgroup of organisms which
(i) use power from the sun, BUT
(ii) get carbon materials for growth from eating other organisms.
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photoautotroph
chemoautotroph
photoheterotroph
chemoheterotroph
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YEAR 9 Set 4
Nantucket
Extracts from the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, published in 1851.
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20
Read Nantucket and answer questions 8–18.
8
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
gamesome wights: humorous people
spile: wooden plug
quahogs: edible North American shellfish
Behring's Straits: between Alaska and Russia; nearly impossible to sail to
the flood: a reference to the Bible story of Noah’s Ark
Himmalehan: Himalayan; i.e. like the mountains
Mastodon: woolly mammoth; i.e. an example of a large animal
The humour in the first paragraph is based on
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Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it. See what a real corner of the world it occupies;
how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse. Look at it –
a mere hillock, and elbow of sand; all beach, without a background. There is more sand there
than you would use in twenty years as a substitute for blotting paper. Some gamesome
wights1 will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don’t grow naturally; that they
import Canada thistles; that they have to send beyond seas for a spile2 to stop a leak in an oil
cask; that pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried about like bits of the true cross in Rome;
that people there plant toadstools near their houses, to get under the shade in summer time;
that one blade of grass makes an oasis, three blades in a day’s walk a prairie; that they wear
quicksand shoes, something like Laplander snowshoes; that they are so shut up, belted about,
every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of by the ocean, that to their very
chairs and tables small clams will sometimes be found adhering, as to the backs of sea turtles.
But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois.
…
What wonder, then, that these Nantucketers, born on a beach, should take to the sea for a
livelihood! They first caught crabs and quahogs3 in the sand; grown bolder, they waded out
with nets for mackerel; more experienced, they pushed off in boats and captured cod; and at
last, launching a navy of great ships on the sea, explored this watery world; put an incessant
belt of circumnavigations round it; peeped in at Behring’s Straits4; and in all seasons and all
oceans declared everlasting war with the mightiest animated mass that has survived the
flood5; most monstrous and most mountainous! That Himmalehan6, salt-sea Mastodon7,
clothed with such portentousness of unconscious power, that his very panics are more to be
dreaded than his most fearless and malicious assaults!
exaggeration.
sarcasm.
ridicule.
satire.
all beach without a background (line 3)
In this image, Melville imagines Nantucket as if it were a
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report lacking details.
nation lacking history.
character lacking depth.
picture lacking features.
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What does the story about toadstools (line 8) suggest about Nantucket?
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shut up, belted about, every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of
(lines 10 to 11)
These words form an example of
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unintentionally and unnecessarily repeating information.
unintentionally using too many words to express an idea.
deliberately listing words with similar meaning for effect.
deliberately using familiar terms to explain unfamiliar ones.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
12
The words, these extravaganzas (line 13), refer to the
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“gamesome wights”.
“backs of sea turtles”.
things the “wights” will tell you.
furniture with “clams … adhering”.
Nantucket is no Illinois (line 13)
Which of these statements highlights how Illinois differs from Nantucket?
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Illinois is situated in the middle of the USA.
The population of Illinois has always been diverse.
The slogan of Illinois is, Land of Abraham Lincoln.
Which of the following jokes are similar to Melville’s?
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Illinois has a few mountainous regions.
Get your facts first, then you can distort them.
It’s so hot here that our hens lay hard-boiled eggs.
Except for sinking into the lagoon, Venice has no problems.
Egotists are people more interested in themselves than in me.
What wonder (line 15)
What does this phrase mean?
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What is well known
It is hard to believe
A wonderful thing
It is not surprising
The reference to visiting Behring’s Straits (line 19) helps to show that the Nantucketers
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made dangerous trips with ease.
had a special interest in Alaska.
navigated by trial and error.
sailed at great speeds.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
17
Nantucket had the world’s most successful whaling industry from 1740 to 1840.
Melville describes Nantucket whaling in lines 19 to 23 as being
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environmentally destructive.
like an adventure holiday.
unlikely and astonishing.
cruel and inhumane.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
18
Having spotted a whale from their ship, whalers launched a small boat to chase it. A
harpooner in the boat embedded a spearhead attached to a rope in the whale’s body. When
the whale became exhausted from dragging the boat, it could then be killed.
(i)
What is illustrated by this painting?
(ii)
Why was it called a “Nantucket sleigh ride”?
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YEAR 9 Set 4
In this scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a group of knife-wielding senators have assassinated Caesar.
Their leader, Brutus, takes the body to the market place and tells the crowd that “ambitious” Caesar had to die
before he re-imposed monarchy on democratic Rome. The plotters then allow Caesar's famous ally, Mark
Antony, to give a funeral speech over the corpse, but Antony has to promise not to criticise the plotters.
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30
35
Read Antony’s eulogy and then answer questions 19–29.
19
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
ambitious: i.e. he wanted to become a dictator
He: i.e. Caesar
general coffers: public treasury
disposed: inclined, of a mind
griefs: complaints, grievances
That love: who loves
that they know: that is, “the plotters know I am no orator”
That: who
right on: directly, plainly
sense of economic responsibility.
greed for the wealth won in war.
sympathy for foreign captives.
willingness to fight for Rome.
rigid.
angry.
hard hearted.
serious minded.
In lines 12 and 13, Antony means that the crowd should
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I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man,
That love6 my friend; and that they know7 full well
That8 gave me public leave to speak of him: ...
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men’s blood: I only speak right on9;
I tell you that which you yourselves do know;
Show you sweet Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb mouths,
And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue
In every wound of Caesar that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
By sterner (line 9), Antony means more
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I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? ...
O masters, if I were disposed4 to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know, are honourable men: ...
What private griefs5 they have, alas, I know not,
That made them do it: they are wise and honourable,
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. ...
In lines 5 and 6, Antony appeals to the crowd’s
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Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious1;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He2 hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers3 fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man. ...
realise he has limited knowledge.
see Brutus’ point of view.
believe him, not Brutus.
ignore political issues.
In lines 16 to 18, Antony
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draws a comparison to make his point clearer.
rejects an idea to make the crowd accept it.
expresses an idea to make it seem stupid.
commands the crowd to rise up in revolt.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
23
What private griefs they have, alas, I know not (line 20)
Antony says this to suggest that the plotters
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secretly regret their assassination of Caesar.
mistakenly believed they had good reasons.
allowed grief to cloud their judgment.
were motivated by personal grudges.
In lines 23 to 29, Antony expands on the idea that I am no orator as Brutus is.
Antony does this because he wants the crowd to think that
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Brutus is a better public speaker.
Brutus has tried to trick them.
fame hasn’t gone to his head.
he is just being modest.
In line 31 and again in lines 34 to 35, Antony compares Caesar’s stab wounds to mouths
that should speak.
Why does he say that the wounds should speak instead of him?
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He is finding it hard to speak because of his grief.
He knows the crowd does not need to be convinced.
He thinks people can make up their minds in silence.
He wants the crowd to act on emotion without thinking.
... there were an Antony ... (line 33)
In this sentence, the word were means
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would be.
will be.
was.
is.
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YEAR 9 Set 4
27
In lines 34 to 36, Antony suggests that the crowd should
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In his speech, Antony
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stop being so low-spirited.
see the danger of over-reaction.
realise how angry they should be.
move the paving stones and bricks.
implies meanings that are the opposite of his actual words.
reveals things that the conspirators in the play do not know.
shows that actual results are the opposite of what was intended.
pretends ignorance to make his opponents show their ignorance.
From the plotters’ perspective, as explained in the introduction, Antony’s speech is
best described as
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a conspiracy.
hypocritical.
unpatriotic.
a betrayal.
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