In the future, which object will be historically significant as a representation of the 2000s?
Read the paragraph. Each year between April and October, millions of baseball fans head out to fields across America to watch their favorite teams compete against each other. But how and when did baseball become recognized as the national sport of the United States? To engage the reader, the author
Which techniques are used to engage a reader? Choose three correct answers.
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. This object has on it the image of a king, but this particular example has been appropriated by women – disfigured by a slogan as an act of female protest against the laws of the state. It is a British penny with King Edward VII in elegant profile, but his image has been defaced in what was then a criminal act. Stamped all over the king’s head in crude capitals are the words VOTES FOR WOMEN. This suffragette coin stands for all those who fought for the right to vote. What does the suffragette-defaced penny reveal about life in England during that time period?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. The process of redefining the British political nation was a slow one. It began in the 1820s, and by the 1880s roughly 60 per cent of the male population had the right to vote – but no women. The campaign for women's suffrage had begun shortly after the Great Reform Act of 1832, but the battle only really got going at the start of the twentieth century, when the suffragette movement was born and with it a new level of female assertiveness, indeed violence. Here are the words of Dame Ethel Smyth, who composed the song ‘March of the Women’, which was a battle hymn of the suffragettes. What could be added to an audio version of this text that would best enhance the listening experience?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. This object has on it the image of a king, but this particular example has been appropriated by women – disfigured by a slogan as an act of female protest against the laws of the state. It is a British penny with King Edward VII in elegant profile, but his image has been defaced in what was then a criminal act. Stamped all over the king’s head in crude capitals are the words VOTES FOR WOMEN. Why does the author include this description of the penny in the beginning of the chapter?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. This thinning would materially change the sound of the drum, evidence that although it might continue to be used for its original purpose of music-making or calling people to arms, it would now do so with a different voice. A musical instrument had become a trophy, and the new carvings were in fact branding, a statement of the north’s political dominance over Central Africa and of allegiance to Islam.The drum had come to Khartoum at a critical moment in Sudanese history. In an audio version, stressing the word "branding" would do what for the listener?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, was one of the media stars of the First World War. The famous recruitment poster has him pointing straight at us in full uniform, finger in the foreground, handlebar moustache not far behind, with the words 'Your country needs YOU'. Which technique does the author use to engage the reader?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. The drum was found by Kitchener’s army near Khartoum after the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of the city. Once again it was re-carved – or re-branded – to make a political statement: near the tail of the bush calf Kitchener added the emblem of the British Crown. It was then presented to Queen Victoria. Which conclusion about historical significance can be drawn from this information?
Read the excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects. Power is usually not willingly given, but forcefully taken; and in both Europe and America the nineteenth century was punctuated by political protest, with periodic revolutions on the continent, the Civil War in America and, in Britain, a steady struggle to widen the suffrage. What would be a benefit of reading this text rather than listening to an audio version of it?
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