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The Sound of Music

WORD-MEANINGS
[PAGE 12]: Jostle = push roughly; slight = small and thin; vibrations = emanations;
prestigious=reputated; daunting = frightening; teenager = between the age group of
thirteen to nineteen years; aspiring = desiring; profoundly = seriously; gradual =taking
place by degree; conceal = hide; deteriorated = got worse; severely = very much;
impaired = weakened; damage = harm
[PAGE 13]: Give up = loose heart; pursue = to continue; percussionist = a drummer;
potential = ability; sheer = pure; toured = visited; auditioned = testing performance;
solo = single; hectic = busy; schedule = time-table;
intriguing = fascinating; flawlessly = without any mistake; lilt =accent of speaking
[PAGE 14]: Tingles = stinging sensation; leaning = stooping; resonances =sounds;
delights = pleases = confesses = accepts; workaholic = a very laborious person;
enormous = huge; concerts = music competition
[PAGE 15]:
Priority = preference; inspiration = courage; accomplished = completed; percussion = ta
bla (music instrument), handicapped = the persons those who have some sort of
physical or mental deficiency

Vocabulary
Rush hour—A time when people usually travel; Crowd—a large number of people
gathered together; Jostle—push roughly;Underground—below the earth; Vibration—
slight shaking movement; Approach—reach close; Prestigious—having high
status;Daunting—tough; Aspiring—having strong desire; Challenge—difficult
job; Profoundly—extreme; Realise—come to know; Conceal—hide; Deafness—inability
to hear; Deteriorate—become worse;Specialist—a highly skilled person in a specific
field; Impair—hinder;Aid—support; Determine—to be certain to do something; Pursue—
follow; Discouraged—made somebody less confident; Percussionist—a player of a
musical instrument; Potential—capacity; Solo—a piece of music for only one
person; Hectic—very busy; Intrigue—secret plan; Function—work; Effortlessly—
easily; Especially—used to point out one person, thing, or situation, Flawlessly—without
stopping;Tingle—itching; Fingertip—the tip of a finger; Surprisingly—with
surprise; Delight-great pleasure; Audience—a group of people gathered to watch/listen
to a play; Prestigious—honoured; Soloist—a person who plays an
instrument; Extraordinary—uncommon; Confess—accept; Workaholic—too much
devoted to work; Classical—relating to ancient art; Enormous—too much, very
big; Concert—musical performance; Priority—a thing regarded as more important than
another; Accomplish—to achieve; Handicapped—physically or mentally
disabled; Pleasure—happiness.

The Sound of Music Part I Page 1

Value Points
 Evelyn Glennie was a seventeen-year-old girl, she had decided to make music her
life. But she was completely deaf.
 This aspiring musician, feels the vibration of an approaching train, has been selected
for training at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London.
 Glennie started losing her hearing power gradually from the age of eight due to nerve
damage.
 She was advised to be sent to school for the deaf. But Evelyn was determined to
lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music.
 Most of the people discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes noticed her
potential and motivated her to feel music in different parts of her body.
 Evelyn immediately realized higher drum from the waist up and lower drum from the
waist down.
 During her 3 years course in Royal Academy of Music, Evelyn scored highest marks
in the history of Academy, she got most of the top awards and started giving solo-
performances.
 According to her, “If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there”.
 It is fascinating to watch Evelyn working without much effort. She speaks clearly as
she could listen till the age of eleven. During the conversation, she watches lip
movement, face and especially eyes.
 She had learnt French and basic Japanese.
 While playing instruments, she remained barefoot on a wooden platform, so that the
vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs. She could feel music through
every part of her body.
 She has been a workaholic and has been rewarded enormously.
Besides regular concerts, she has given free concerts in prisons and hospitals.
Teaching young musicians is her top priority. Her life is an inspiration for all differently
abled people.

Read the following passages and answer the questions given at the end of each :
PASSAGE 1
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.
Questions :
(i) At what age was her deafness sighted first?
(ii) For what her name was called?
(iii): What was Evelyn’s response when her name was called?
(iv) When was her deafness confirmed?
(v) From whom did she try to conceal her deafness?

The Sound of Music Part I Page 2

PASSAGE 2
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 the 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. had learnt
to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations.’ The rest was sheer determination
and hard work.
Questions :
(i) What had happened to Evelyn?
(ii) What was she determined to?
(iii) Who was Ron Forbes?
(iv) What did he inspire Evelyn for?
(v) How did he ask Evelyn to hear music?

PASSAGE 3
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.
Questions :
(1) Why did she tour the United Kingdom?
(ii) What did she decide to make her life?
(iii) What was her performance in the audition for the Royal Academy of Music?
(iv) From orchestra what did she decide to move?
(v) What was her performance during the course in the Royal Academy of Music

PASSAGE 4
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.’
Questions :
(i) How do Evelyn’s audiences feel?
(ii) What award did she win in 1991?
(iii) Who was James Blades?
(iv) The things what we hear, what does Evelyn do with them?
(v) How does she express her music?

PASSAGE 5

The Sound of Music Part I Page 3

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 least, she has given enormous pleasure
to millions.
Questions :
(i) What has Evelyn Clennie achieved?
(ii) What has he done for percussion?
(iii) To whom has she given inspiration?
(iv) What has she done for millions?
(v) Name the chapter and the author.

EXTRACTS FOR COMPREHENSION

(b) What was likely to daunt teenager?

(c) What do you understand by the expression: “fresh from a Scottish farm”? “

(d)What bigger challenge did she have to face?

(II)
They called her name and she didn’t move. I suddenly realised she hadn’t heard.”
(a) Who is ‘she’ in these lines?

(b) Who is the speaker in these lines?

(c) Who were ‘they’? Why had they called her name and what was her response?

(d) What did the speaker realize?

(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?

(b) Who is ‘she’ and what recommendation was made for her?

(c) What other proposal was made for her?

The Sound of Music Part I Page 4

(d) Why was this proposal considered appropriate?

(IV)
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her
potential.
(a) Who is ‘her’ in the above extract?

(b) What did she want to do?

(c) Why did her teachers discourage her?

(d) What was the difference between the attitude of the teachers and that of Ron
Forbes?

(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?

(b)How was she able to hear sounds and vibrations?

(c)What does ‘the rest’ stand for? How could she achieve it?

(VI)

(a) Who is ‘she’ in these lines? How did she advance in her career?

(b) Where did she pursue her three-year course?

(c) What were her achievements at the end of her course?

(d) What 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?

(b) What does ‘it’ stand for?

(c) Why does she have to sense it through different parts of her body?

(d) How did the different parts of her body sense ‘it’?

(e) What does this statement show the speaker’s character?

The Sound of Music Part I Page 5