Adapted from "Upfront: Kiwi battlers"
Fluffy and so cute. And when it goes out for a bite to eat, it runs the risk of being ripped to
pieces by a natural-born killer. No, this is not the plot of a Hollywood horror movie. It is a
normal perilous night on the forest floor for our national icon, the kiwi. An ungainly lot, the
odds against them, yet oddly resouceful. These little kiwi battleers are us.
(5) The footage for the documentary Kiwi was shot around Waikaremoana over a long period of
time. For the viewers there are the obvious parallels between Mike the kiwi male, as he sits patiently
on his nest for months on end incubating the precious eggs - and the similar patience shown
by film makers Peter and Judy Moran, as they caught the whole cycle of life, death and
survival.
(10) Very powerfully, the Moran's documentary communicates the peril in which our few
remaining kiwi now live, facing enemies for whom evolution has not prepared them. The
biggest danger?
'In one word: stoat,' says Peter. 'It is the ultimate designer predator... kiwi chicks are just a
tiny ball of fluff and until they can get over 800 grams they're extremely vulnerable. Ferrets
(15) and feral cats are less trouble,' he says, 'especially deep in the Ureweras. An estimated 95
percent of kiwi chicks are taken out by stoats,' Peter says, 'leaving too few survivors for kiwi
to remain a viable population in the wild. As a realist, I'd say the kiwi's future is in
controlled areas, and in sactuaries.' Even so, he is still struct at times by the resilience of
the bird. 'It's hung on for a long, long time. Especially in relation to the kakapo or takahe.'
(20) The Morans will now be spending a good chunk of 2001 on lonely Campbell island, filming a
huge rat-poisoning programme - the biggest ever attempted in the world. Helicopter drops,
the lot. Some peopel would not like the isolation the work entails, but the Morans welcome it.
'Once you get away from telephones and newspapers and those sort of things,' Judy says
quietly, 'you get into your little shell, focused on what you're doing. That's what makes you
(25) dedicated, because you invest so much in it. You're doing somethign that by necessity
involves shutting out a good deal of the world.' At times the Morans miss out on world
events and end up asking themselves, 'Hold on, what's happened here?'.
Questions:
1. The phrase 'natural-born killer' is used in line 2. identify what this refers to in the passage? (A)
2. Identify ONE phrase in lines 10 - 15 that means 'perfect ruthless stalker of prey'? (A)
3. In your own words, explain the contrast in the first three lines of the passage (A/M/E)
4. In the sentence, "These little kiwi battlers are us" (line 4), why is the Kiwi compared with New Zealanders? (A/M/E)
5. In your own words, explain why there are "obvious parallels between Mike the kiwi male... and... by film makers Peter and Judy Moran" (line 6-8) (A/M/E)
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2006 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 45)
pieces by a natural-born killer. No, this is not the plot of a Hollywood horror movie. It is a
normal perilous night on the forest floor for our national icon, the kiwi. An ungainly lot, the
odds against them, yet oddly resouceful. These little kiwi battleers are us.
(5) The footage for the documentary Kiwi was shot around Waikaremoana over a long period of
time. For the viewers there are the obvious parallels between Mike the kiwi male, as he sits patiently
on his nest for months on end incubating the precious eggs - and the similar patience shown
by film makers Peter and Judy Moran, as they caught the whole cycle of life, death and
survival.
(10) Very powerfully, the Moran's documentary communicates the peril in which our few
remaining kiwi now live, facing enemies for whom evolution has not prepared them. The
biggest danger?
'In one word: stoat,' says Peter. 'It is the ultimate designer predator... kiwi chicks are just a
tiny ball of fluff and until they can get over 800 grams they're extremely vulnerable. Ferrets
(15) and feral cats are less trouble,' he says, 'especially deep in the Ureweras. An estimated 95
percent of kiwi chicks are taken out by stoats,' Peter says, 'leaving too few survivors for kiwi
to remain a viable population in the wild. As a realist, I'd say the kiwi's future is in
controlled areas, and in sactuaries.' Even so, he is still struct at times by the resilience of
the bird. 'It's hung on for a long, long time. Especially in relation to the kakapo or takahe.'
(20) The Morans will now be spending a good chunk of 2001 on lonely Campbell island, filming a
huge rat-poisoning programme - the biggest ever attempted in the world. Helicopter drops,
the lot. Some peopel would not like the isolation the work entails, but the Morans welcome it.
'Once you get away from telephones and newspapers and those sort of things,' Judy says
quietly, 'you get into your little shell, focused on what you're doing. That's what makes you
(25) dedicated, because you invest so much in it. You're doing somethign that by necessity
involves shutting out a good deal of the world.' At times the Morans miss out on world
events and end up asking themselves, 'Hold on, what's happened here?'.
Questions:
1. The phrase 'natural-born killer' is used in line 2. identify what this refers to in the passage? (A)
2. Identify ONE phrase in lines 10 - 15 that means 'perfect ruthless stalker of prey'? (A)
3. In your own words, explain the contrast in the first three lines of the passage (A/M/E)
4. In the sentence, "These little kiwi battlers are us" (line 4), why is the Kiwi compared with New Zealanders? (A/M/E)
5. In your own words, explain why there are "obvious parallels between Mike the kiwi male... and... by film makers Peter and Judy Moran" (line 6-8) (A/M/E)
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2006 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 45)