The Sound Of Music (Part1) (9th)

The Sound of Music by Deborah Cowley

Part 1

Answer these questions-

1.      How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?

She was seventeen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music.

2.      When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?

Her deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old. It was noticed by her mother. Her name was called for her turn to play piano but she did not move from her place.

It was confirmed when her headmistress urged her parents to take her to a specialist. Her performance at school was going from bad to worse.

3.      Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?

Ron Forbes, was a great percussionist. He helped Evelyn to continue with music. He saw the girls great potential. He turned two large drums to different notes. He said to Evelyn, “Don’t listen through your ears. Try to sense it some other way.” Suddenly she found that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up. She could feel the lower drum from the waist down.

4.      Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.

Evelyn gives regular performances as her profession. Apart from this, she gives free performances in prisons and hospitals. She gives great iumportanc3 to classes for young musicians. She tries to inspire deaf children with her example.

5.      How does Evelyn hear music?

Evelyn is deaf. She does not hear music. She feels music. She feels it through different parts of her body. She can sense the sound of drum flowing into her body on a wooden platform. She performs barefeet to feel the vibrations.

Extracts-

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.

a)      Name the chapter and the writer.

Name of the chapter is ‘The Sound of Music’ and the writer is Deborah Cowley.

b)      What do the crowds jostle for?

They jostle for position on the underground train platform.

c)      How did the girl look?

She was slight (thin) girl, looked younger than her seventeen years.

d)      What made her excited?

The vibrations of the approaching train made her excited.

e)      Why was she nervous?

She was nervous because it was going to be her first day at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

f)       What did the girl aspire to be?

The girl aspired to be a musician.

2.      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.’

a)      What was wrong with Evelyn?

She was getting deaf gradually.

b)      Who noticed something was wrong with Evelyn?

Her mother noticed that something was wrong with Evelyn.

3.      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.

a)      Who is being referred to in there lines.

Evelyn is being referred to in these lines.

b)      Why had her marks deteriorated?

Her marks deteriorated because of her growing deafness.

c)      What was discovered about the girl?

It was discovered that her hearing was suddenly was severely impaired.

d)      How had the girl’s hearing been impaired?

It was the result of gradual nerve damage.