Prospective Immigrants Please Note

Read the following poem carefully, making sure you understand the complexity of the metaphor it presents.

Then use the COMMENTS function to write persuasively to an immigrant either FOR or AGAINST going through the 'door'.

Prospective Immigrants Please Note
by Adrienne Rich

Either you will
go through this door
or you will not go through.

If you go through
there is always the risk
of remembering your name.

Things look at you doubly
and you must look back
and let them happen.

If you do not go through
it is possible
to live worthily

to maintain your attitudes
to hold your position
to die bravely

but much will blind you,
much will evade you,
at what cost who knows?

The door itself makes no promises.
It is only a door.

Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

Why is this such an important piece of film?

And, more importantly, why is it important as an exploration of the major themes of the World Scholar's Cup?

In a Sunburned Country

Read these extracts from Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/56947287/In-a-Sunburned-Country-by-Bill-Bryson-Excerpt#.UW84Ir89_dk

You can download the extracts to your own device as a .pdf if that is easier for you.

Bill Bryson is a prolific Australian travel writer who, now living in the UK, has used his sarcastic wit to pick apart the more ridiculous and comical side of several nations in the world, often commenting on the less usual aspects.

As you will read, he is adept providing a balanced perspective on the true nature of the country about which he is writing: I've always felt he is almost saying, "Well it's a bit rubbish, obviously, but you've got to love it!"

Once you have read the article, I would like you to:

1. Note the FIVE most surprising, interesting or profound facts you found out about Australia. If possible, your five choices together should, in themselves, give a good, balanced, holistic picture of what Australia is and what it means to him.
2. Now do the same for your own home country (or another country you know well): five, unusual,  unique, striking, light-hearted facts about that country which could enable us to compare it neatly to Australia. Basically, your two lists should offer us a distilled, concise comparison of the two places - witty, original and insightful.

Good luck!

Oh, the Places You'll Go

Have a read through this children's narrative poem by the American author, Dr Seuss. (You can also hear it read by clicking here.)

Then I would like you to adopt a position either endorsing or decrying the argument in the poem, and write a few paragraphs supporting your position. To challenge yourself, I suggest you decide what you actually feel about it, and then argue the opposite.

For example, if you are won over by the optimism of the poem and you love the positive message it gives to inspire young people, write a few paragraphs arguing (rhetorically - remember those devices) why the argument is useless nonsense. Whereas, if you think it is useless nonsense, write a few paragraphs persuading us that it should be essential reading for any growing child.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry.  Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame!  You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Excerpt 1 - An American journey

This is a poem by writer, Vladamir Nabokov. He fled from Europe to America during the 2nd World War, and, in 1953, spent several months writing in the hills of Oregon, on the west coast. This poem is celebrating the natural environment in which he lived for those few months.

Read the poem carefully several times. I have provided an explanation of the most difficult words and phrases after the poem, to help you.

Once you have read and understood the poem, use the COMMENTS function to share your ideas in response to some of the following questions:

1. What does Nabokov like most about the hills of Oregon?
2. Why does he use the '2nd person' when writing? To whom is he speaking and what effect does it have?
3. Comment on his use of contrast and/or juxtaposition in the poem.
4. Select some of the words which you find the most powerful or important, and explain why he chose them and what effect they have.
5. What do you think he means by the final line?
6. How does this poem develop and enhance the main WSC theme, 'A World in Motion'?

Esmeralda*! now we rest
Here, in the bewitched and blest
Mountain forests of the West.
Here the very air is stranger.
Damzel, anchoret*, and ranger
Share the woodland’s dream and danger.
And to think I deemed you dead!
(In a dungeon, it was said;
Tortured, strangled); but instead –
Blue birds from the bluest fable,
Bear and hare in coats of sable*,
Peacock moth on picnic table.
Huddled roadsigns softly speak
Of Lake Merlin, Castle Creek,
And (obliterated) Peak*.
Do you recognize that clover?
Dandelions, l’or du pauvre*?
(Europe, nonetheless, is over).
Up the turf, along the burn
Latin* lilies climb and turn
Into Gothic* fir and fern.
Cornfields have befouled* the prairies
But these canyons laugh! And there is
Still the forest with its fairies.
And I rest where I awoke
In the sea shade – l’ombre glauque* –
Of a legendary oak;
Where the woods get ever dimmer,
Where the Phantom Orchids glimmer –
Esmeralda, immer, immer*.

by Vladimir Nabokov

*Esmeralda - a name associated with nature, especially a beetle, and orchid, and a mythical fairy. Above all, however, the word is associated with GREEN.
*Anchoret - someone who has chosen to live life in isolation, sometimes for religious reasons
*Sable - black; darkness
*Lake Merlin, Castle Creek, Peak - natural landmarks in Oregon
*L'or du pauvre - a French phrase meaning 'poor person's gold'
*Latin/Gothic - two different styles; light and romantic/dark and brooding
*Befouled - spoiled or dirtied
*L'ombre glauque - a French phrase meaning 'sea-coloured shadow' (or 'sea shade')
*immer - a German word meaning 'always'