The Sound of Music Extract Based Question Answer English
BY: Deborah Cowley I
EXTRACTS FOR COMPREHENSION
Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines each.
(I)
 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:
(a) Who is referred to as the ‘aspiring musician’?
Evelyn Glennie is referred to as the aspiring musician.
(b) What was likely to daunt teenager?
The first day in a great and renowned institute like The Royal Academy of Music, London was likely to daunt any teenager.
(c) What do you understand by the expression: “fresh from a Scottish farm”? “
Fresh from a Scottish farm” implies that the girl belonged to the family of farmers in Scotland and had not yet attained much experience or exposure in the world.
(d)What bigger challenge did she have to face?
The ‘bigger challenge’ that she had to face was to rise in spite of her total hearing impairment.
(II)
They called her name and she didn’t move. I suddenly realised she hadn’t heard.”
(a) Who is ‘she’ in these lines?
In these lines, ‘she’ refers to Evelyn Glennie when she was a young girl of eight years.
(b) Who is the speaker in these lines?
The speaker in these lines is Evelyn’s mother, Isabel Glennie.
(c) Who were ‘they’? Why had they called her name and what was her response?
They’ were the announcers. They had called Evelyn’s name to invite her to the stage to give her performance on the piano. However, Evelyn did not respond to their call because she didn’t hear it.
(d) What did the speaker realize?
The speaker, Isabel Glennie, realized that Evelyn had a serious hearing problem.
(III)
They were advised that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.
(a) Who are ‘they’? By whom were they advised?
‘They’ are the parents of Evelyn Glennie. They were advised by the headmistress of the school.
(b) Who is ‘she’ and what recommendation was made for her?
‘She’ is Evelyn Glennie and it was recommended that she should be provided with hearing aids in order to be able to hear.
(c) What other proposal was made for her?
The headmistress made another proposal that Evelyn should be sent to a school for the deaf.
(d) Why was this proposal considered appropriate?
 Evelyn suffered from hearing impairment. Therefore, the proposal to send her to a school for the deaf was considered appropriate as she would be taught by specialist teachers in a special environment.
(IV)
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential.
(a) Who is ‘her’ in the above extract?
‘Her’ here refers to Evelyn Glennie.
(b) What did she want to do?
She wanted to learn to play the xylophone.
(c) Why did her teachers discourage her?
Her teachers discouraged her because they felt that being deaf she would not be able to learn to play the xylophone.
(d) What was the difference between the attitude of the teachers and that of Ron Forbes?
The teachers, with their negative attitude, saw only the handicap of Evelyn whereas Ron Forbes, with his optimistic and positive attitude, could see her potential and capabilities.
(V)
“I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations.” The rest was sheer determination and hard work.
(a) Who is the speaker in the first line?
In the first line, the speaker is Evelyn Glennie, the famous multi-percussionist.
(b)How was she able to hear sounds and vibrations?
She was able to hear sounds and vibrations by sensing them through her body and her mind. Being deaf, she could not hear with her ears so she had trained and sensitized her body and mind.
(c)What does ‘the rest’ stand for? How could she achieve it?
The rest’ stands for the greatest heights that Evelyn scaled in the sphere of percussion music. Her firm determination and dedicated work enabled her to achieve those heights.
(VI)
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.
(a) Who is ‘she’ in these lines? How did she advance in her career?
‘She’ refers to Evelyn Glennie, an eminent percussionist. Initially, she performed in a group of the orchestra. Gradually, she started giving solo performances.
(b) Where did she pursue her three-year course?
She pursued her three-year course in the most prestigious institute of music in England, The Royal Academy for Music, London.
(c) What were her achievements at the end of her course?
At the end of her course, she had bagged the biggest awards in her field.
(d) What made her achievements so great?
The fact that she had won the awards despite her hearing disability made her achievements so great.
(VII)
“It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair.”
(a) Who is the speaker of these words?
Evelyn Glennie is the speaker of these words.
(b) What does ‘it’ stand for?
It stands for music or musical sounds and vibrations.
(c) Why does she have to sense it through different parts of her body?
Evelyn Glennie had to sense music through different parts of her body because her hearing ability was totally lost.
(d) How did the different parts of her body sense ‘it’?
The sound waves and vibrations of music tingled her skin, cheekbones, hair, torso and legs. From these sensations, she picked up the music.
(e) What does this statement show the speaker’s character?
This statement shows that Evelyn was very sensitive to even the smallest of the sensations. She was determined to achieve her goal in spite of her handicap.
