The Sound of Music- Part 1 Reading Comprehension

AP/ NCERT Board-Based Reading Comprehension Passages Grade 9 Beehive 

Chapter 2 The Sound of Music Part 1

Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It

Reading Comprehension 1

RUSH hour crowds jostle for position on the underground train platform. A slight girl, looking younger than her seventeen years, was nervous yet excited as she felt the vibrations of the approaching train. It was her first day at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London and daunting enough for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm. But this aspiring musician faced a bigger challenge than most: she was profoundly deaf.

1. Where is the setting of the scene described in the passage?

    a) A crowded street in London

    b) An underground train platform

    c) The Royal Academy of Music

    d) A Scottish farm

2. How does the girl feel about her first day at the Royal Academy of Music?

    a) Nervous and excited

    b) Confident and relaxed

    c) Anxious and worried

    d) Indifferent and uninterested

3. What makes the girl's situation at the Royal Academy of Music more challenging than most teenagers?

    a) She is from a Scottish farm.

    b) She is younger than seventeen.

    c) She is nervous in crowded places.

    d) She is profoundly deaf.

4. Match the Words with their Meanings:

    1.Daunting              a) Completely or severely

    2.Vibrations             b) Highly respected or esteemed

    3.Prestigious           c) push

    4.Profoundly       d) Rapid movements back and forth

    5.Jostle                  e) Intimidating or challenging

       a) 1-c, 2-d, 3-b, 4-a, 5-e

       b) 1-e, 2-d, 3-b, 4-a, 5-c

       c) 1-e, 2-b, 3-d, 4-a, 5-c

       d) 1-e, 2-a, 3-b, 4-d, 5-c

5. What is the main theme or focus of the passage?

    a) Overcoming challenges and pursuing dreams

    b) London's busy underground transportation system

    c) The Scottish farm life of the protagonist

    d)The history and reputation of the Royal Academy of Music

Reading Comprehension 2

Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual. Her mother remembers noticing something was wrong when the eight-year-old Evelyn was waiting to play the piano. “They called her name and she didn’t move. I suddenly realised she hadn’t heard,” says Isabel Glennie. For quite a while Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers. But by the time she was eleven her marks had deteriorated and her headmistress urged her parents to take her to a specialist. It was then discovered that her hearing was severely impaired as a result of gradual nerve damage. They were advised that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf. “Everything suddenly looked black,” says Evelyn.

1. When did Evelyn Glennie's loss of hearing become noticeable?

    a) When she was eight years old

    b) When she was eleven years old

    c) When she started playing the piano

    d) When she went to a specialist

 2. Why did Evelyn's headmistress advise her parents to take her to a specialist?

    a) She was not interested in playing the piano anymore.

    b) She was concealing her deafness from others.

    c) She needed hearing aids.

    d) Her marks had deteriorated.

3. What can be inferred about Evelyn's initial reaction to her hearing loss?

   a) She felt relieved and accepted her condition

   b) She was in denial and tried to hide it from others

   c) She immediately sought help from a specialist

   d) She was unaffected and continued with her normal routine

  

4. What can be understood  about Evelyn's emotional state after the discovery of her hearing impairment?

   a) She felt hopeful and optimistic about her future

   b) She felt devastated and pessimistic about her situation

   c) She accepted the situation and adapted to her new reality

   d) She didn't care and continued pursuing her musical interests

   

5. Match the words with their meanings.

1.Impaired                a. Hid

2. Concealed            b. Damaged

3. Deteriorated         c. Advised

4. Urged                    d. Reduced

     a)  1- b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-c

     b)  1- d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c

     c)  1- b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c

     d)  1- b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c

Reading Comprehension 3

But Evelyn was not going to give up. She was determined to lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music. One day she noticed a girl playing a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it too. Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential. He began by tuning two large drums to different notes. “Don’t listen through your ears,” he would say, “try to sense it some other way.” Says Evelyn, “Suddenly I realised I could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist down.” Forbes repeated the exercise, and soon Evelyn discovered that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body. “I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations.” The rest was sheer determination and hard work.

1. What motivated Evelyn to pursue playing the xylophone?

   a) Her love for percussion instruments

   b) Her desire to lead a normal life

   c) Her observation of another girl playing it

   d) Her teachers' encouragement

2. How did percussionist Ron Forbes initially help Evelyn in her musical journey?

   a) He taught her how to play the drums

   b) He encouraged her to listen through her ears

   c) He discouraged her from pursuing percussion instruments

   d) He tuned two large drums for her to sense the vibrations

3. What did Evelyn discover while working with Ron Forbes?

   a) She could play the xylophone with her ears closed

   b) She could feel different notes in different body parts

   c) She could sense vibrations only in her waist

   d) She could hear the drums more clearly than before

   

4. What did Evelyn learn through the process of opening her mind and body to sounds and vibrations?

   a) She became a percussionist of extraordinary talent

   b) She developed a unique way of playing the xylophone

   c) She could hear sounds better with her ears closed

   d) She lost her interest in pursuing music

5. What qualities have been essential for Evelyn to succeed in her musical journey?

   a) Talent and opportunity

   b) Determination and hard work

   c) Support from teachers and peers

   d) Luck and natural ability

6. Match the words with their meanings.

1.Pursue         a. Ability

2.Potential      b. Found

3.Spotted        c. Absolute 

4.Sheer           d. Follow

    a) 1- b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c

    b) 1- d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a

    c) 1- d, 2-b, 3-a, 4-c

    d) 1- d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c

Reading Comprehension 4

She never looked back from that point onwards. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she had decided to make music her life. She auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had captured most of the top awards.

 And for all this, Evelyn won’t accept any hint of heroic achievement. “If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there.” And she got right to the top, the world’s most sought-after multi-percussionist with a mastery of some thousand instruments, and hectic international schedule.

1. What decision did Evelyn make when she was sixteen?

   a) She decided to tour the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra.

   b) She decided to audition for the Royal Academy of Music.

   c) She decided to pursue a career in orchestral work.

   d) She decided to learn to play a thousand instruments.

  

2. What achievement did Evelyn attain during her audition for the Royal Academy of Music?

   a) She scored the highest marks in the academy's history.

   b) She received one of the top awards at the academy.

   c) She became a sought-after multi-percussionist.

   d) She graduated at the top of her class.

  

3. How did Evelyn's career progress after completing her three-year course at the academy?

   a) She continued with orchestral work.

   b) She toured internationally as a solo performer.

   c) She became a sought-after conductor.

   d) She focused on teaching percussion instruments.

   

4. How does Evelyn perceive her own achievements?

   a) She considers herself a heroic figure.

   b) She believes luck played a significant role in her success.

   c) She credits hard work and a clear sense of direction.

   d) She attributes her achievements to natural talent alone.

 

5. What is one notable aspect of Evelyn's career?

   a) Her mastery of a thousand different instruments.

   b) Her participation in a hectic international schedule.

   c) Her role as a sought-after conductor.

   d) Her solo performances with renowned orchestras.

Reading Comprehension 5

 It is intriguing to watch Evelyn function so effortlessly without hearing. In our two-hour discussion she never missed a word. “Men with bushy beards give me trouble,” she laughed. “It is not just watching the lips, it’s the whole face, especially the eyes.” She speaks flawlessly with a Scottish lilt. “My speech is clear because I could hear till I was eleven,” she says. But that doesn’t explain how she managed to learn French and master basic Japanese.

1. What is intriguing about watching Evelyn?

   a) Her effortless functioning without hearing

   b) Her ability to speak flawlessly with a Scottish lilt

   c) Her mastery of multiple languages

   d) Her ability to understand men with bushy beards

   

2. According to the passage, what gives Evelyn trouble when communicating?

   a) Men with bushy beards

   b) People who speak too quickly

   c) People who don't make eye contact

   d) Those who have strong accents

  

3. How does Evelyn manage to understand conversations without hearing?

   a) By focusing on lip movements alone

   b) By paying attention to the entire face, especially the eyes

   c) By relying on written communication only

   d) By using sign language as a form of communication

   

4. What does Evelyn attribute her clear speech to?

   a) Her ability to read lips accurately

   b) Her natural talent for languages

   c) Her exposure to multiple languages

   d) Her ability to hear until the age of eleven

   

5. What is remarkable about Evelyn's language skills?

   a) Her fluency in French and Japanese

   b) Her mastery of sign language

   c) Her proficiency in Scottish dialects

   d) Her ability to communicate with people of different cultures  

Reading Comprehension 6

As for music, she explains, “It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair.” When she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform she removes her shoes so that the vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs.

Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year Award. Says master percussionist James Blades, “God may have taken her hearing but he has given her back something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels — far more deeply than any of us. That is why she expresses music so beautifully.”

1. How does music affect Evelyn's body?

   a) It tingles in her hair and cheeks.

   b) It flows through her fingertips.

   c) It resonates within her body.

   d) All of the above.

   

2. What happens when Evelyn plays the xylophone?

   a) She can feel the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips.

   b) She experiences tingling sensations in her hair.

   c) She removes her shoes to feel vibrations through her bare feet.

   d) She leans against the drums to sense resonances flowing into her body.

   

3. How does Evelyn enhance her perception of vibrations during performances?

   a) By wearing special gloves

   b) By using advanced technology

   c) By leaning against the drums

   d) By listening attentively with her remaining hearing

   

4. How do audiences respond to Evelyn's performances?

   a) They find her music too overwhelming.

   b) They are surprised by her extraordinary talent.

   c) They admire her for playing the xylophone.

   d) They don't understand her unique approach to music.

   

5. According to master percussionist James Blades, what makes Evelyn's expression of music beautiful?

   a) Her ability to hear music deeply

   b) Her extensive musical training

   c) Her mastery of various percussion instruments

   d) Her ability to feel music more deeply than others  

Reading Comprehension 7

Evelyn confesses that she is something of a workaholic. “I’ve just got to work . . . often harder than classical musicians. But the rewards are enormous.” Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also gives high priority to classes for young musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund for Deaf Children says, “She is a shining inspiration for deaf children. They see that there is nowhere that they cannot go.”

Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age. She has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra, and demonstrated that it can be very moving. She has given inspiration to those who are handicapped, people who look to her and say, ‘If she can do it, I can.’ And, not the least, she has given enormous pleasure to millions.

1. Apart from regular concerts, where else does Evelyn perform?

   a) Schools and universities

   b) Prisons and hospitals

   c) Music festivals and competitions

   d) Recording studios and theaters

   

2. What is one of Evelyn's priorities when it comes to her work?

   a) Giving free concerts in prisons and hospitals

   b) Collaborating with classical musicians

   c) Taking regular breaks to relax and unwind

   d) Attending workshops and masterclasses

   

3. How does Evelyn contribute to the development of young musicians?

   a) By teaching percussion classes to young musicians

   b) By organizing music competitions for young musicians

   c) By providing financial support to young musicians

   d) By performing alongside young musicians in concerts

  

4. According to Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund for Deaf Children, what impact does Evelyn have on deaf children?

   a) She provides financial support for their musical education.

   b) She serves as a role model and inspiration.

   c) She organizes specialized music programs for them.

   d) She helps them overcome their hearing loss completely.

   

5. What are some of Evelyn's accomplishments mentioned in the passage?

   a) Bringing percussion to the forefront of the orchestra

   b) Inspiring people with disabilities

   c) Providing pleasure to millions through her performances

   d) All of the above