Class – IX Prose – 1 Sub – English

The Sound of Music

Revision Work & Extract Question

1. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

i) Rush hour crowds jostle for position on the underground train platform. A slight girl, looking younger than her 17

yrs, 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 : Se was profoundly deaf.

a) Why was there a jostling on the platform?

b) Why was the girl nervous?

c) In what context „profoundly‟ has been used?

d) What was exciting fact about the young girl?

ii) 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

discourages her but percussionist Ron Forbes Spotted her potential. He began by turning two large drums to

different notes. “ Don‟t listen through your ears,” He would say, “ try to sense it some other way”.

a) Evelyn was not going to give up. Why was she not going to give up?

b) Why did her teachers not encourage her?

c) How did Ron Forbes spot her potential?

d) With reference to this extract, shed light on Evelyn‟s character.

2. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

i) Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called Pungi in the royal residence for it had a

shrill unpleasant sound, Pungi became the generic name for dreaded noisemakers. Few had thought that it would

one day be revived. A barber of a family of professional musicians, who had access to the royal palace, decided to

improve the tonal quality of the Pungi.

 a) Why did the emperor ban Pungi?

b) Who tried to improve the tonal quality of Pungi?

c) Interpret „Pungi‟ as a generic name for noisemakers.

d) Why was the Pungi played in the royal residence?

ii) As a five years old, Bismillah Khan played gili – danda near a pond in the ancient estate of Dumraon in Bihar. He

would regularly go to the nearby Bihariji temple to sing the Bhojpuri „Chaita‟, at the end of which he would earn

a big laddu weighing 1.25 kg, a prize given by the local maharaja.

a) According to the passage, how did Bismillah Khan spend his childhood?

b) Why did he use to visit the temple daily?

c) How does Bihariji temple attract Bismillah Khan at the age of five?

d) Why did the local Maharaja give a big laddu to Bismillah Khan?