Adapted from "A time called Wanaka"
It's summer 1969, and Wanaka is the place to be if you are a Christchurch teenager. it's a time for
bumbling first kisses and inept attempts at looking cool. It's summer 2001, and Wanaka is the
place to be if you are a Christchurch teenager...
The scene is straight from a western movie. High rocky outcrops dwarf the matagouri*, briar, and
(5) tussock gullies below. The Lindis river that winds through the pass, linking the Mackenzie
Country to Central Otago, is an oasis in a terrain parched after weeks of cloudless days and no
rain.
In all the thirty years that our family has traveled the narrow pass road on our annual holidays to
Wanaka, we never once stop to admire the spectacular South Island high country that captivates
(10) overseas tourists. When dad heads our mustard-coloured car out of our Christchurch gate he is on
a mission.
Wanaka in the late 1960s and early '70s is definitely on the 'in' list for teenagers such as myself.
Groups loiter in the main street. I am lucky - friends are coming to stay, while others are
holidaying with their families nearly.
(15) The summer of 1969 is a time for bumbling first kisses, inept attempts at looking worldly with a
menthos cigarette, and furtive forays as underage drinkers at the notorious Wanaka hotel - wire
mesh on its windows is protection from bottle-throwing New Year revelers. Our holiday fun is
more innocent. The pull of sporty family fun times is stronger than that of our fledgling but
awkward social lives.
(20) The long twilights are a blissful feature of Wanaka summer holidays. Properties have no
boundaries. Mobs of children play backyard cricked, spotlight, tag, and bulrush. Lasting
friendships are cemented.
It is great being a teenager. You are on a pedestal. Our parents are protective. They worry about
the hoons in the village for the festive season. We argue against their logic. A walk to the
(25) downtown tearooms for a milkshake is allowed. Going near the hotel or the camping ground
is not.
We break the rules. When we finally go to bed, we titter and giggle for hours about our hatching
holiday romances.
Wanaka holidays are timeless. Since those carefree teenage years I have holidayed through the
(30) stages of my life. History has repeated itself with my children. Wanaka is our second home. It is
in my children's soul in the same way it will always be in mine.
*matagouri = a small, thorny tree.
Questions:
1. The writer describes the setting as hot. identify a word in line 4 - 7 that emphasizes this (A)
2. Explain what is dad's 'mission' (line 11). (A)
3. Identify ONE sentence int he last paragraph that summarizes the ideas in the first paragraph (A)
4. Explain, in your own words, what is meant by 'furtive forays' (line 16). (A/M/E)
5. Explain the meaning of the image 'lasting friendships are cemented' in lines 21 and 22 (A/M/E)
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2006 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 44)
bumbling first kisses and inept attempts at looking cool. It's summer 2001, and Wanaka is the
place to be if you are a Christchurch teenager...
The scene is straight from a western movie. High rocky outcrops dwarf the matagouri*, briar, and
(5) tussock gullies below. The Lindis river that winds through the pass, linking the Mackenzie
Country to Central Otago, is an oasis in a terrain parched after weeks of cloudless days and no
rain.
In all the thirty years that our family has traveled the narrow pass road on our annual holidays to
Wanaka, we never once stop to admire the spectacular South Island high country that captivates
(10) overseas tourists. When dad heads our mustard-coloured car out of our Christchurch gate he is on
a mission.
Wanaka in the late 1960s and early '70s is definitely on the 'in' list for teenagers such as myself.
Groups loiter in the main street. I am lucky - friends are coming to stay, while others are
holidaying with their families nearly.
(15) The summer of 1969 is a time for bumbling first kisses, inept attempts at looking worldly with a
menthos cigarette, and furtive forays as underage drinkers at the notorious Wanaka hotel - wire
mesh on its windows is protection from bottle-throwing New Year revelers. Our holiday fun is
more innocent. The pull of sporty family fun times is stronger than that of our fledgling but
awkward social lives.
(20) The long twilights are a blissful feature of Wanaka summer holidays. Properties have no
boundaries. Mobs of children play backyard cricked, spotlight, tag, and bulrush. Lasting
friendships are cemented.
It is great being a teenager. You are on a pedestal. Our parents are protective. They worry about
the hoons in the village for the festive season. We argue against their logic. A walk to the
(25) downtown tearooms for a milkshake is allowed. Going near the hotel or the camping ground
is not.
We break the rules. When we finally go to bed, we titter and giggle for hours about our hatching
holiday romances.
Wanaka holidays are timeless. Since those carefree teenage years I have holidayed through the
(30) stages of my life. History has repeated itself with my children. Wanaka is our second home. It is
in my children's soul in the same way it will always be in mine.
*matagouri = a small, thorny tree.
Questions:
1. The writer describes the setting as hot. identify a word in line 4 - 7 that emphasizes this (A)
2. Explain what is dad's 'mission' (line 11). (A)
3. Identify ONE sentence int he last paragraph that summarizes the ideas in the first paragraph (A)
4. Explain, in your own words, what is meant by 'furtive forays' (line 16). (A/M/E)
5. Explain the meaning of the image 'lasting friendships are cemented' in lines 21 and 22 (A/M/E)
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2006 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 44)