Sound of music part 1
Evelyn Glennie
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 ......... 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?
Answers :
(i) Her deafness was first sighted at
the age of eight years.
(ii) Her name was called to play the piano.
(iii) She did not move and inch at the call of her name.
(iv) Her deafness was confirmed when she was eleven years old.
(v) From her teachers and friends.
PASSAGE 2
Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist .......... 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?
Answers :
(i) Her audiences feel delighted.
(ii) ‘Soloist of the Year Award’ by Philharmonic Society.
(iii) He was a master percussionist.
(iv) She feels them.
(v) She expresses her music beautifully.
PASSAGE 3
Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age....... 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.
Answers :
(i) Evelyn Glennie has achieved more than most people twice her age.
(ii) She has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra.
(iii) She has given inspiration to disabled,
(iv) She has given pleasure to millions.
(v) The name of the chapter is ‘The Sound of Music’ and its author is ‘Deborah Cowley’
Evelyn Glennie
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.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS(30 – 40 words each)
Q1. Which train was Evelyn waiting for on the underground train platform? How did she feel when she sensed the train approaching?
Ans. On the underground train platform, Evelyn was waiting for a train to London where she was to join the prestigious Royal Academy for Music. As she sensed the train approaching, she felt both nervous and excited.
Q2. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music? Why was she nervous on her way to the academy?
Ans. Evelyn was only seventeen years of age when she went to the Royal Academy of Music, London. Her nervousness was the result of her young age and lack of exposure. Coming from a farmland in Scotland, she had not experienced much of the world. In addition, going to a big institute like The Royal Academy of Music with her hearing disability made her uneasy.
Q3. While leaving for the Royal Academy of Music, why was Evelyn excited despite her nervousness?
Ans. For Evelyn, going to the Royal Academy of Music, London was a dream come true. She was going to join a three-year course in an institute she had cherished to join. It excited her to think that despite her impaired hearing she had made her way to such a prestigious institute.
Q4.How did Evelyn’s parents come to discover her deafness?
Ans.Evelyn’s deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old. In fact, her mother had noticed it when Evelyn had not responded to a call for a performance on the piano. Her deafness was confirmed at the age of eleven when her poor academic performance forced her parents to consult a specialist, who discovered that her hearing was badly impaired because of gradual nerve damage.
Q5. Why had Evelyn’s headmistress advised her parents to take her to a specialist? Evelyn managed to hide her growing deafness from students and teachers for some time. However, by the time she was eleven years old, her performance in school deteriorated and her marks decreased. It was then that the headmistress advised her parents to consult a specialist.
Q6. What advice were the parents of Evelyn given once her deafness was confirmed?
Ans. When the deafness of Evelyn was confirmed by a specialist, Evelyn’s parents were advised to get hearing aids for their daughter. They were also advised to send her to a special school where only deaf children were taught.
Q7. “Everything suddenly looked black”. Why does Evelyn say so?
Ans. When Evelyn was advised to use hearing aids and join the school for the deaf, she felt that her future was bleak and dark. She was depressed, as all hope for great achievements seemed to have vanished. She had now become a disabled child who could not have easy access to normal life.
Q8. How did Evelyn Glennie respond to the discovery of her deafness?
Ans. On learning about her deafness due to gradual nerve damage, Evelyn Glennie, instead of giving up, decided to lead a normal life like other children, and pursue her dream of learning music.
Q9. How did Evelyn’s teachers respond when she expressed her desire to play the xylophone?
Ans. Evelyn always loved music and despite her deafness, she expressed a desire to play the xylophone when she saw another girl playing it. But her teachers felt that she would not be able to play Q1 it because of her impaired hearing and they discouraged her.
Q10. Who wiped Evelyn to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Ans. It was Ron Forbes, the percussionist, who encouraged and helped. Evelyn to continue with music. While her teachers discouraged her, he noticed her potential and decided to develop it. He told Evelyn to train different parts of her body to sense musical notes. He turned two drums with different notes to make her sense the higher ones through the upper part of her body and the lower ones through down her waist.
Q11. How did Evelyn open her mind and body to musical sounds and vibration s?
Ans. As the guide I by Ron Forbes, Evelyn learnt to listen through different parts of the body other than her ears. Her mind and body were sensitized to notice and differentiate various sounds and vibrations of music. She compensated for the loss of hearing with this awakened and sharpened sense in other parts of her body.
Q12. Why does Evelyn say that men with bushy beards give her trouble?
Ans. Evelyn says that men with bushy beards give her trouble because she has to watch their whole face, especially their eyes, d in order to grasp what they say. just watching their lips did not help as the lips remained partially hidden in the beards.
Q13. Which qualities of character enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life?
Ans. Unfaltering determination and hard work enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life without looking back. Instead of yielding .r before her handicap, she decided to overcome it and lead the life of a normal person. Being a workaholic, she put in her earnest efforts and kept advancing further and further.
Q14. How did Evelyn get admission to the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Ans. Evelyn gave audition for admission to Royal Academy of Music, London. Her score in the audition was one of the highest in the history of the academy. Therefore, she got selected for a three-year course.
Q15. What were Evelyn’s achievements after she joined the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Ans. At the Royal Academy of Music, London, Evelyn began as one of the performers in an orchestra. But gradually she moved on to give solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had bagged the biggest awards in the Academy.
Q16. What is Evelyn’s view of her achievements?
Ans. Evelyn is so modest that she does not consider her achievements to be heroic deeds. She feels that if one has the clarity of the goat and puts in hard work, one is sure to achieve the aim. She believes that it is through hard work only that she has been able to achieve success.
Q17. What reveals that Evelyn has succeeded immensely in her career?
Ans.Evelyn’s success in her career is revealed by the fact that she has command over about a thousand musical instruments. As a percussionist, she is the most admired one at the international level. In 1991, the Royal Philharmonic Society conferred on her the most prestigious “Soloist of the Year Award”.
Q18. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Ans. Evelyn performs in regular concerts on the global level. But she also gives concerts free of charge in prisons and hospitals. In addition, she holds classes for young musicians.
Q19. Who is James Blades? What is his opinion about Evelyn’s talent?
Ans. James Blades is a master percussionist. He believes that God might have taken Evelyn’s hearing but has given her back something extraordinary. The audience hears what she feels, which is far deeper than what any of the other percussionists feel. It is due to this talent that she expresses music so beautifully.
Q20. How is Evelyn an inspiration for the handicapped people?
Ans.Evelyn’s achievements, gained through determination and hard work, set an example before other handicapped people. They gain confidence from her example and believe that they too can achieve their goals in life by overcoming their handicaps with firm determination.
Q21. What is Evelyn’s contribution to percussion?
Ans. Evelyn has contributed to percussion by securing for it a front place in the orchestra. She has shown how the music of the percussion instruments is deeply moving and touches the hearts and emotions of people.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1.Evelyn Glennie’s deafness was more than compensated by other parts of her body so far as music was concerned. Discuss.
Evelyn Glennie had a deep passion for music but unfortunately, she lost her hearing completely at the age of eleven years. She wanted to lead a normal life and play the xylophone, but her teachers discouraged her considering her deafness to be an obstruction. However, Ron Forbes, a great percussionist, trained her to listen to the musical sounds and vibrations not through ears, but through other parts of her body. He created two drums with different sounds to make her hear the higher beats from the upper part of her body and the lower beats from the parts lower than her waist. The experiment was so effective that Evelyn opened her mind and body to the fine sounds of music.
Evelyn now believes that music penetrates into her through every part – through her skin, cheekbones and even her hair. When she plays the xylophone, she feels that the sounds move from the stick into the tips of her fingers. When the drums are played, she can feel the resonant sounds pouring into her body. She takes off her footwear on a wooden stage and the vibrations of the instruments pass from her bare feet into her legs. Thus, Evelyn has sensitized the different parts of her body to the different sounds of music.
Q2. Which values of life strengthened Evelyn against the handicap of her deafness? What does her career teach to the handicapped people?
Evelyn’s firm determination, her industrious nature and her clarity of aim are well revealed in her statement. These values of her character have enabled her to overcome her handicap of deafness very bravely. Although she developed hearing impairment at a young age of eight only, she has never let it become a stumbling block in her way to success.
Firmly determined to lead the life of a normal person, Evelyn never gave up her passion for music. The encouragement and training provided by Ron Forbes paved the way for her advancement and she stuck to the path with unstaggering confidence. It was this confidence and faith in herself that made her dare to audition for the Royal Academy of Music, London where she received the topmost awards.
Evelyn is a workaholic. This helped her to toil hard, in fact much harder than the classical musicians to bring percussion to the front stage in the orchestra. She believes that no goal is unachievable for those who work hard and are focused on the goal. With her earnest efforts, she moved from orchestra to solo performances and eventually became an internationally renowned percussionist owing to her command over a large number of instruments. She had the courage and confidence to trample down her disability and move on without looking back.
Her firm decisions, her sincere efforts, her passionate labour, and her untiring devotion to music are a source of inspiration for the people with challenges.
Q3. Suppose you are Ron Forbes. You have come to know that Evelyn Glennie has been awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year Award’. Write a letter to Evelyn in about150 words.
157/A,Maddox square lane,
Bomville,
California -29
3rd May 2019
Dear Evelyn
Please accept my heartiest congratulations and blessings on being awarded the ‘Soloist of the Year Award’, the most prestigious award given by the Royal Philharmonic Society. It is really a proud moment and I am overwhelmed with pleasure at your enviable achievement. It is really gratifying to see you scaling new heights day after day.
Evelyn, your sincerest efforts and unfaltering passion for music have resulted in your grand achievements. I remember the day you responded so well to the drums I made for you and since then you have never looked back. You have proved to the world that no dream is too big if one has the mental courage and firm determination to overcome the obstructions. You have trampled down your handicap and moved on ceaselessly with your unfaltering faith in yourself. You are really ideal for handicapped people.
I wish you good luck and pray that you may achieve the highest glory in life. I send you blessings from the core of my heart. May the almighty keep in you the flame of energy and enthusiasm burning bright!
With deep affection
Ron Forbes
Q4. Suppose you are Evelyn Glennie. The doctor has diagnosed that your hearing is completely lost. Write a diary entry in about 150 words about how you feel and what you plan to do.
(Day and Date) (Time and place)
Dear Diary,
Today it's the worst day of my life...! The doctor has told me that I can no longer hear because my hearing is completely impaired owing to some nerve damage. The headmistress and teachers at my school have advised me to use hearing aids and join a school for the deaf. It is a real agony to think that I am not among the normal, able children.
I understand that I’ll have to depend on hearing aids, but I have decided not to give in to my handicap. I know a number of people who have risen to great heights despite their disabilities. I have never forgotten about the life and achievements of Helen Keller. I will continue to pursue my passion for music and put in my best efforts to find a way to overcome the handicap. I know that all obstructions can be conquered by firm determination. Therefore, I’ll never ever accept defeat. I’ll prove that one can find ways to come out of problems if one adheres firmly to one’s aims and objectives.
I pray to the Almighty to strengthen my mind and give me moral courage so that I may make it to the Royal Academy of Music. The dream is much too lofty but not impossible to achieve. Amen!
Evelyn
Evelyn Glennie
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 ......... 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?
Answers :
(i) Her deafness was first sighted at
the age of eight years.
(ii) Her name was called to play the piano.
(iii) She did not move and inch at the call of her name.
(iv) Her deafness was confirmed when she was eleven years old.
(v) From her teachers and friends.
PASSAGE 2
Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist .......... 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?
Answers :
(i) Her audiences feel delighted.
(ii) ‘Soloist of the Year Award’ by Philharmonic Society.
(iii) He was a master percussionist.
(iv) She feels them.
(v) She expresses her music beautifully.
PASSAGE 3
Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age....... 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.
Answers :
(i) Evelyn Glennie has achieved more than most people twice her age.
(ii) She has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra.
(iii) She has given inspiration to disabled,
(iv) She has given pleasure to millions.
(v) The name of the chapter is ‘The Sound of Music’ and its author is ‘Deborah Cowley’
Evelyn Glennie
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.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS(30 – 40 words each)
Q1. Which train was Evelyn waiting for on the underground train platform? How did she feel when she sensed the train approaching?
Ans. On the underground train platform, Evelyn was waiting for a train to London where she was to join the prestigious Royal Academy for Music. As she sensed the train approaching, she felt both nervous and excited.
Q2. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music? Why was she nervous on her way to the academy?
Ans. Evelyn was only seventeen years of age when she went to the Royal Academy of Music, London. Her nervousness was the result of her young age and lack of exposure. Coming from a farmland in Scotland, she had not experienced much of the world. In addition, going to a big institute like The Royal Academy of Music with her hearing disability made her uneasy.
Q3. While leaving for the Royal Academy of Music, why was Evelyn excited despite her nervousness?
Ans. For Evelyn, going to the Royal Academy of Music, London was a dream come true. She was going to join a three-year course in an institute she had cherished to join. It excited her to think that despite her impaired hearing she had made her way to such a prestigious institute.
Q4.How did Evelyn’s parents come to discover her deafness?
Ans.Evelyn’s deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old. In fact, her mother had noticed it when Evelyn had not responded to a call for a performance on the piano. Her deafness was confirmed at the age of eleven when her poor academic performance forced her parents to consult a specialist, who discovered that her hearing was badly impaired because of gradual nerve damage.
Q5. Why had Evelyn’s headmistress advised her parents to take her to a specialist? Evelyn managed to hide her growing deafness from students and teachers for some time. However, by the time she was eleven years old, her performance in school deteriorated and her marks decreased. It was then that the headmistress advised her parents to consult a specialist.
Q6. What advice were the parents of Evelyn given once her deafness was confirmed?
Ans. When the deafness of Evelyn was confirmed by a specialist, Evelyn’s parents were advised to get hearing aids for their daughter. They were also advised to send her to a special school where only deaf children were taught.
Q7. “Everything suddenly looked black”. Why does Evelyn say so?
Ans. When Evelyn was advised to use hearing aids and join the school for the deaf, she felt that her future was bleak and dark. She was depressed, as all hope for great achievements seemed to have vanished. She had now become a disabled child who could not have easy access to normal life.
Q8. How did Evelyn Glennie respond to the discovery of her deafness?
Ans. On learning about her deafness due to gradual nerve damage, Evelyn Glennie, instead of giving up, decided to lead a normal life like other children, and pursue her dream of learning music.
Q9. How did Evelyn’s teachers respond when she expressed her desire to play the xylophone?
Ans. Evelyn always loved music and despite her deafness, she expressed a desire to play the xylophone when she saw another girl playing it. But her teachers felt that she would not be able to play Q1 it because of her impaired hearing and they discouraged her.
Q10. Who wiped Evelyn to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Ans. It was Ron Forbes, the percussionist, who encouraged and helped. Evelyn to continue with music. While her teachers discouraged her, he noticed her potential and decided to develop it. He told Evelyn to train different parts of her body to sense musical notes. He turned two drums with different notes to make her sense the higher ones through the upper part of her body and the lower ones through down her waist.
Q11. How did Evelyn open her mind and body to musical sounds and vibration s?
Ans. As the guide I by Ron Forbes, Evelyn learnt to listen through different parts of the body other than her ears. Her mind and body were sensitized to notice and differentiate various sounds and vibrations of music. She compensated for the loss of hearing with this awakened and sharpened sense in other parts of her body.
Q12. Why does Evelyn say that men with bushy beards give her trouble?
Ans. Evelyn says that men with bushy beards give her trouble because she has to watch their whole face, especially their eyes, d in order to grasp what they say. just watching their lips did not help as the lips remained partially hidden in the beards.
Q13. Which qualities of character enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life?
Ans. Unfaltering determination and hard work enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life without looking back. Instead of yielding .r before her handicap, she decided to overcome it and lead the life of a normal person. Being a workaholic, she put in her earnest efforts and kept advancing further and further.
Q14. How did Evelyn get admission to the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Ans. Evelyn gave audition for admission to Royal Academy of Music, London. Her score in the audition was one of the highest in the history of the academy. Therefore, she got selected for a three-year course.
Q15. What were Evelyn’s achievements after she joined the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Ans. At the Royal Academy of Music, London, Evelyn began as one of the performers in an orchestra. But gradually she moved on to give solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had bagged the biggest awards in the Academy.
Q16. What is Evelyn’s view of her achievements?
Ans. Evelyn is so modest that she does not consider her achievements to be heroic deeds. She feels that if one has the clarity of the goat and puts in hard work, one is sure to achieve the aim. She believes that it is through hard work only that she has been able to achieve success.
Q17. What reveals that Evelyn has succeeded immensely in her career?
Ans.Evelyn’s success in her career is revealed by the fact that she has command over about a thousand musical instruments. As a percussionist, she is the most admired one at the international level. In 1991, the Royal Philharmonic Society conferred on her the most prestigious “Soloist of the Year Award”.
Q18. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Ans. Evelyn performs in regular concerts on the global level. But she also gives concerts free of charge in prisons and hospitals. In addition, she holds classes for young musicians.
Q19. Who is James Blades? What is his opinion about Evelyn’s talent?
Ans. James Blades is a master percussionist. He believes that God might have taken Evelyn’s hearing but has given her back something extraordinary. The audience hears what she feels, which is far deeper than what any of the other percussionists feel. It is due to this talent that she expresses music so beautifully.
Q20. How is Evelyn an inspiration for the handicapped people?
Ans.Evelyn’s achievements, gained through determination and hard work, set an example before other handicapped people. They gain confidence from her example and believe that they too can achieve their goals in life by overcoming their handicaps with firm determination.
Q21. What is Evelyn’s contribution to percussion?
Ans. Evelyn has contributed to percussion by securing for it a front place in the orchestra. She has shown how the music of the percussion instruments is deeply moving and touches the hearts and emotions of people.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1.Evelyn Glennie’s deafness was more than compensated by other parts of her body so far as music was concerned. Discuss.
Evelyn Glennie had a deep passion for music but unfortunately, she lost her hearing completely at the age of eleven years. She wanted to lead a normal life and play the xylophone, but her teachers discouraged her considering her deafness to be an obstruction. However, Ron Forbes, a great percussionist, trained her to listen to the musical sounds and vibrations not through ears, but through other parts of her body. He created two drums with different sounds to make her hear the higher beats from the upper part of her body and the lower beats from the parts lower than her waist. The experiment was so effective that Evelyn opened her mind and body to the fine sounds of music.
Evelyn now believes that music penetrates into her through every part – through her skin, cheekbones and even her hair. When she plays the xylophone, she feels that the sounds move from the stick into the tips of her fingers. When the drums are played, she can feel the resonant sounds pouring into her body. She takes off her footwear on a wooden stage and the vibrations of the instruments pass from her bare feet into her legs. Thus, Evelyn has sensitized the different parts of her body to the different sounds of music.
Q2. Which values of life strengthened Evelyn against the handicap of her deafness? What does her career teach to the handicapped people?
Evelyn’s firm determination, her industrious nature and her clarity of aim are well revealed in her statement. These values of her character have enabled her to overcome her handicap of deafness very bravely. Although she developed hearing impairment at a young age of eight only, she has never let it become a stumbling block in her way to success.
Firmly determined to lead the life of a normal person, Evelyn never gave up her passion for music. The encouragement and training provided by Ron Forbes paved the way for her advancement and she stuck to the path with unstaggering confidence. It was this confidence and faith in herself that made her dare to audition for the Royal Academy of Music, London where she received the topmost awards.
Evelyn is a workaholic. This helped her to toil hard, in fact much harder than the classical musicians to bring percussion to the front stage in the orchestra. She believes that no goal is unachievable for those who work hard and are focused on the goal. With her earnest efforts, she moved from orchestra to solo performances and eventually became an internationally renowned percussionist owing to her command over a large number of instruments. She had the courage and confidence to trample down her disability and move on without looking back.
Her firm decisions, her sincere efforts, her passionate labour, and her untiring devotion to music are a source of inspiration for the people with challenges.
Q3. Suppose you are Ron Forbes. You have come to know that Evelyn Glennie has been awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year Award’. Write a letter to Evelyn in about150 words.
157/A,Maddox square lane,
Bomville,
California -29
3rd May 2019
Dear Evelyn
Please accept my heartiest congratulations and blessings on being awarded the ‘Soloist of the Year Award’, the most prestigious award given by the Royal Philharmonic Society. It is really a proud moment and I am overwhelmed with pleasure at your enviable achievement. It is really gratifying to see you scaling new heights day after day.
Evelyn, your sincerest efforts and unfaltering passion for music have resulted in your grand achievements. I remember the day you responded so well to the drums I made for you and since then you have never looked back. You have proved to the world that no dream is too big if one has the mental courage and firm determination to overcome the obstructions. You have trampled down your handicap and moved on ceaselessly with your unfaltering faith in yourself. You are really ideal for handicapped people.
I wish you good luck and pray that you may achieve the highest glory in life. I send you blessings from the core of my heart. May the almighty keep in you the flame of energy and enthusiasm burning bright!
With deep affection
Ron Forbes
Q4. Suppose you are Evelyn Glennie. The doctor has diagnosed that your hearing is completely lost. Write a diary entry in about 150 words about how you feel and what you plan to do.
(Day and Date) (Time and place)
Dear Diary,
Today it's the worst day of my life...! The doctor has told me that I can no longer hear because my hearing is completely impaired owing to some nerve damage. The headmistress and teachers at my school have advised me to use hearing aids and join a school for the deaf. It is a real agony to think that I am not among the normal, able children.
I understand that I’ll have to depend on hearing aids, but I have decided not to give in to my handicap. I know a number of people who have risen to great heights despite their disabilities. I have never forgotten about the life and achievements of Helen Keller. I will continue to pursue my passion for music and put in my best efforts to find a way to overcome the handicap. I know that all obstructions can be conquered by firm determination. Therefore, I’ll never ever accept defeat. I’ll prove that one can find ways to come out of problems if one adheres firmly to one’s aims and objectives.
I pray to the Almighty to strengthen my mind and give me moral courage so that I may make it to the Royal Academy of Music. The dream is much too lofty but not impossible to achieve. Amen!
Evelyn
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