Text 1

Increase your word power and street credBy Joel Gibson

Seven years ago, some poor soul crossed a Melbourne street while listening to aniPod and was hit by a tram. What followed remains probably the worst example ofthingamajigaphobia I have seen.

Thingamajigaphobia is the paralysing, existential fear that grips a person of advancing years when confronted with a technological phenomenon they don't know how to spell, let alone use.The tram incident was widely reported as an iPod-related death rather than the tragic result of an impact with a moving carriage and hard bitumen. Greying experts were wheeled out to warn of the dangers of this new-fangled gizmo distracting unfocused young pedestrian brains and drawing large objects to them like moths to a flame.

There was a general atmosphere of impending iPod-induced doom, as if earphones were an entirely new phenomenon, as if millions of us had not successfully crossed roads for decades prior listening to a portable radio, a Walkman or a Discman.

Today, the "Shock! iPod danger!" stories would be unthinkable. With sales exceeding 300 million, every second grandparent now has a portable music player. But every time the kids latch on to a new technology or fad - dastardly video games, dangerous social networking sites, e-readers that are killing books, smartphones made for sexting! - there is fresh panic.

While not yet ensconced in the vocabulary of psychiatry and psychology, given I just made it up, thingamajigaphobia is ubiquitous and growing fast. It's been brought on over the years by everything from the humble VCR (remember it?) to the modern modem, and accelerated by the breakneck speed of technological development. When children who have barely learnt to use their thumbs are seen manipulating new technology with relative ease, thingamajigaphobia may result in the onset of acute anxiety for baby boomers and, increasingly, for Generation X.

For many, it can be the first inward sign of ageing. It can also wreak havoc on your street cred.As the regular editor of the Herald's opinion page, I field almost daily pitches from well-meaning grown-ups in conniptions about the destructive potential of their child's latest toy or hobby. Their vigilance is admirable, but the sentiments are often patronising and the writer frequently ignorant of the subject matter.

The New York Times columnist Virginia Heffernan, who has a book about internet addiction, points out that it may not exist anymore than does addiction to opera or film or novel.

Internet addiction - like alcoholism at an AA meeting - is very loosely defined as any internet habit that takes you away from work or chores in the real world and allows you to "create new personalities", which is more or less the point of art and entertainment, to say nothing of alcohol.Heffernan argues that the purported dangers of an art form or hobby are often influenced by matters of taste or the ignorance of fusty opinion and industry leaders. "In general, if a pastime is not classy, those who love it are 'addicted'.

Text 2

Text 3

Text 4

Text 5

In your answers you will be assessed on how well you:_____________________________________________________________________■ demonstrate understanding of the way perceptions of belonging are shaped in andthrough texts■ describe, explain and analyse the relationship between language, text and context

Question 1 (continued)

Text one — Feature Article

(a) Describe how the article depicts the idea that an individual’s identity within a specific time era can influence their sense of belonging or not belonging. 2 marks

Text two — Non-fiction extract

(b) Explain the speaker’s relationship with her family and culture.2 marks

Text three — Fiction extract

(c) “ It is the washing line I remember first…”

How does this text portray the idea that place and time period has an impact on an individual’s sense of belonging?

2 marks

Text four — Poem

(d) ‘… knew it would be the special place For Annabel and me Somewhere silent ’

Explore the speaker’s attitude to the “special place” as being important to his sense of belonging.

2 marks

Text Five – Image

(e) Describe how two features of this text represent ideas about belonging and not belonging

1 mark

Texts one, two, three, four and five

(e) Analyse the ways distinctive perspectives of place, time and belonging are conveyed in at least THREE of these texts. 5 marks

End of Question 1