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 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.
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.
1. Evelyn Glennie’s potential as a musician was spotted by:
(a) Isabel Glennie
(b) Harrison Ford
(c) Ron Forbes
(d) Her headmistress
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2. Evelyn Glennie’s hearing loss was first noticed by her
(a) Headmistress
(b) Ron Forbes
(c) Friend and teachers
(d) Mother
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3. “Everything suddenly looked black” means
(a) The lights went off due to power outage.
(b) Evelyn felt very sad because most of her teachers discouraged her from pursuing music.
(c) Evelyn felt she would no longer be able to pursue music because of her severe hearing
(d) Evelyn could not conceal her deafness from her friends and teachers.
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4. The headmistress of her school urged Evelyn’s parents to take her to a specialist because:
(a) She did not move when her name was called out to play the piano.
(b) Her marks had deteriorated.
(c) She had great potential as a musician.
(d) Her friends and teachers complained about her behaviour.
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5. Evelyn’s hearing was severely impaired because:
(a) of gradual nerve damage
(b) she had been fitted with hearing aids.
(c) she attended a school for the deaf.
(d) she had had an accident.
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6. Evelyn Glennie’s teachers discouraged her from playing the xylophone because
(a) she did not have the capacity for hardwork and determination.
(b) her marks in school had deteriorated
(c) her hearing had become severely impaired.
(d) they wanted her to concentrate on her studies.
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7. The three musical instruments mentioned in the passage are
(a) piano, drum, bongo
(b) piano, xylophone, drum
(c) drum, piano, saxophone
(d) drum, xylophone, piano
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8. The word in the given passage, which is opposite in meaning to ‘rapid’ is:
(a) severe
(b) gradual
(c) normal
(d) potential
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9. If we add the prefix ‘dis’ before the word ‘cover’, we get a new word, discover. Which word, given below, does not have a prefix:
(a) discourage
(b) remember
(c) enable
(d) bicycle
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10. Tick the false statement(s).
(a) Ron Forbes was a percussionist
(b) Ron Forbes spotted Evelyn’s potential as a musician.
(c) Ron Forbes discouraged Evelyn from playing drums.
(d) Ron Forbes decided to tune two large drums to different notes to help Evelyn.
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