101 Unfamiliar Text

Read the following text, then answer the questions.

TEXT A: The Twilight Tales of Oamaru (written text – prose)

Read Text A, then answer Questions One and Two.

from The Twilight Tales of Oamaru (travel writing website, Four Corners)

NB The line numbering matches that of the original text.

1 In the concrete darkness of Smith’s Grain Store three candles flicker. The shadow of Annette Knowler’s tiny frame morphs* into a wavering monster as she passes them. Outside, wind crashes against the limestone walls and rain scratches on the ancient windows.

5 The weather is perfect for setting an eerie scene, but not so for the Oamaru Twilight Tales Tour my friend and I have booked in for. “I can’t promise you a walking tour, because of the weather,” says our host and professional storyteller, Annette, dressed in a black woollen hat, scarf and gloves with sprightly rainbow trim. “But I can promise you some great stories.” She bundles us up in blankets and we perch on the room’s 10 only chairs in baited anticipation.

Annette starts with the tale of Eloise. A tale that, like her others, is set in Victorian-era Oamaru and is based - “to some degree” - on fact. Through Annette’s vivid vocal imagery we learn of the exploits of Eloise - a mischievous young woman who attended a ball on the top floor of this very building and fell to her death on the staircase behind us. “She’s 15 still here,” says Annette, matter-of-factly. Dancing orange shadows illuminate one side of her petite face. We grip our blankets tighter.

In the vast shadowy emptiness of this century-old building, Annette continually morphs before our eyes: one moment she’s ‘Word Weaver’, master storyteller, whose intensely dark eyes dart between our fright-stricken 20 faces as she resurrects history with her unique recipe of fact and fiction. Then, she becomes Annette Knowler, chatty, gentle, practical retiree, and fount of local knowledge.
Sometimes the two merge: “Where are you staying tonight?” asks Annette, between tales.
“The Criterion Hotel,” I reply.
25 Her eyes widen enthusiastically: “There are a lot of good stories about that place!”
We beg her not to tell us. She agrees but wants to know which room we’re in.
“16,” we peep in unison, expecting the worst.
“Ah, good. As long as you’re not in room 22. There’s a cold patch in there... But I won’t tell you about that.”

Glossed word
*morphs: changes

QUESTION ONE: WRITTEN TEXT – PROSE

Refer to Text A, The Twilight Tales of Oamaru, in the resource booklet to answer Question One.

Read lines 1-10 (“In the concrete darkness … in baited anticipation.”).

(a) In your own words, describe ONE aspect of setting that the writer uses to suggest that the Oamaru Twilight Tales Tour will be exciting and give an example.

(i) Aspect of setting:

(ii) Example:

(b) Explain how the aspect of setting that you described in (a) helps the writer show that the tour will be exciting. Support your answer with examples from the text.

(c) Explain how this aspect of setting links with other aspects, such as character or style,
in lines 1-10 to show that the tour will be exciting. Support your answer with examples from the text.

(d) Look at Text A as a whole.

Explain how the writer shows you that the Oamaru Twilight Tales Tour is an exciting tourist attraction. Support your answer with examples from the text. In your answer, you could cover some of the following aspects:
• ideas
• imagery / style
• structure
• narrative point-of-view
• text conventions of travel writing.

QUESTION TWO: WRITTEN TEXT – PROSE

Refer to Text A, The Twilight Tales of Oamaru, in the resource booklet to answer Question Two.

Read lines 1-10 (“In the concrete darkness … in baited anticipation.”).

(a) In your own words, describe ONE interesting aspect of the character of Annette, the tour guide, and give an example.

(i) Aspect of character:

(ii) Example:

(b) Explain why the aspect that you described in (a) helps you understand what Annette is like. Support your answer with examples from the text.

Read lines 11-29 (“Annette starts with … tell you about that.”).

(c) Explain how the writer develops this aspect of Annette’s character in the rest of the text. Support your answer with examples from the text.

(d) Look at Text A as a whole.

Explain how the writer shows you that Annette has an important role in the Oamaru Twilight Tales Tour. Support your answer with examples from the text. In your answer, you could cover some of the following aspects:
• ideas
• style / imagery
• structure
• narrative point-of-view
• text conventions of travel writing.