PRACTICE TEST 40

SECTION ONE: LISTENING

Part 1: For question 1-5, listen to the recording and decide whether the following statements are true
(T) or false (F). Write your answers in the corresponding boxes provided.
1. Although diversity is being dealt with, it is still an important concern for employers.T
2. A growing number of people are suing employers because they feel discriminated against because of their
age. T
3. Insurance to cover discrimination claims is an enormous cost for companies.F
4. Security firms sometimes discriminate against people because of their age. F
5. Employers cannot discriminate against job applicants who have been convicted of any crime.T

Part 2: For question 6-10, you will hear a student called Mara Barnes giving a presentation about the
language of the Piraha people who live in the Amazon basin. Answer the following questions with NO
MORE THAN FIVE WORDS.
6.According to Mara, why isn’t the language of the Piraha under imminent threat?
…………………most speakers are monolingual………………………………
7. According to Professor Everrett, what idea does the Piraha language have no words for?
……………………colors and counting…………………………………………………
8. What part of speech of the Piraha language is thought to have originated in another local language?
………………………pronouns……………………
9. According to Mara, what does the Piraha language sound like?
………………………humming…………………………………………………
10. What expression does Mara use to describe her attitude towards Professor Everett’s theory of language?
…………………………keeping an open mind……………………

Part 3: For questions 11–15, you will hear two sports commentators called Heidi Stokes and Rob
Aslett taking part in a discussion on the subject of gyms. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits
best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding boxes provided. (10 points)
11. What do Rob and Heidi think about government proposals regarding the problem of obesity?
A. They over-emphasise the role of dietary factors.
B.They represent a radical solution that must be worth trying.
C.They over-estimate the extent to which the fitness industry can help.
D.They are attempting to accommodate too many varied perspectives.
12. Heidi agrees with the suggestion that regular gym attendance
A. can discourage people from keeping fit in other ways.
B. may lead to obsessive behaviour in some cases.
C. generally forms the basis of a healthy lifestyle.
D. could be harder to keep up in rural areas.
13. When asked about motivation, Rob suggests that many gym clients lose interest
A. if they don’t get good value for money.
B. if they don’t find it enjoyable on a social level.
C. if they don’t make it part of a wider fitness regime.
D. if they don’t perceive real gains in personal fitness.
14. What does Heidi suggest about membership levels in gyms?
A. The best ones restrict access at peak times.
B. Most recruit more people than they can cope with.
C. It is impossible to predict demand with any accuracy.
D. Over-recruitment can be counter-productive in the long run.
15. Rob thinks the key to successful gym marketing lies in
A. remaining true to the core values of fitness and strength.
B. appealing to a wide cross-section of the population.
C. joining forces with providers of related activities.
D. specialising in the needs of certain key groups.
 SECTION TWO: LEXICO – GRAMMAR
Part 1: Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.
1. The _____ of the Syrian boy drowned off Turkey has aroused the world’s pity.
A. event B. situation C. case D. plight
2. At long last the building is nearing______.
A. finish B. termination C. completion D. finale
3. There is a(n)______ of difference between our two lifestyles.
A. land B. way C. world D. arm
4. People can make themselves walk on nails or through fire. It’s a question of mind over______.
A. body B. material C. matter D. facts
5. Many people were wounded after the terrorists started ______ with machine guns.
A. blazing away B. whipping up C. shouting out D. blazing up
6. At the moment, the ruling party is on the ______ of a dilemma.
A. hooves B. points C. feet D. horns
7. By attacking the old lady, the youth committed a _____ crime.
A. naughty B. heinous C. bad D. evil
8. Twelve European countries ____ over to the euro on January 1st 2002.
A. shifted B. switched C. transformed D. altered
9. Some of the chocolate bars were found to contain glass and the whole batch had to be____.
A. overthrown B. overdrawn C. recalled D. retracted
10. His voice has been_____ to that of Elton John.
A. equated B. equaled C. likened D. associated
11. The match was _____ and will be played next Wednesday.
A. pelted down B. poured out C. rained off D. seen through
12. He didn’t have a ______ of evidence to support his claims.
A. scrap B. sign C. sense D. state
13. I bought the chocolates on______: I saw them while I was queuing up to pay.
A. desire B. urge C. spontaneity D. impulse
14. Members of the rock group were asked to ____ their behavior or else leave the hotel.
A. modify B. amend C. transfer D. convert
15. We have all passed our final exams. We are going to ______ the town red to celebrate.
A. color B. decorate C. paint D. make
16. The organizing committee should be quite small. Too many cooks spoil the _____.
A. soup B. porridge C. cake D. broth
17. I have a _____ in my throat. I think I am getting a cold.
A. fly B. bee C. toad D. frog
18. Some supporters were _____ at the entrance because the ground was full.
A. sent off B. turned away C. booked up D. shut down
19. Suddenly a car ______ and an important-looking official got out.
A. stopped over B. drew up C. stopped out D. called by
20. It’s a good idea to divide a task up into ______ chunks.
A. portable B. pliable C. manageable D. thinkable

Part 2: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in the numbered space below.
The (1. come)................. of (2. deceive).................. and the proof of (3. gullible)..................., fakes are
among the least loved and most elusive products of the market in relics of the past. Makers and buyers are
generally united in a (4. conspire)................. of silence, the one to escape the penalties of wrong doing, the
other to preserve his own reputation, and that of the market as a whole. Occasionally fakes are caught in a
brief blaze of (5. famous).................., but even then they generally disappear, hastily disposed of by the
collector, dealer or curator caught in possession. For this reason it tends to be the museums and galleries that
do not practise (6.dispose)...................... which have the best collections of fakes.
The general (7. visible).................. of fakes is regrettable, for, if (8. moral).................... and
embarrassing, fakes are also entertaining and (9. inform)................ As the products of endlessly varied
(10.genuine)................., they reach the heights of imagination and technical virtuosity.

SECTION THREE: READING

Part 1: Read the text and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to fill in each blank.
Gerard Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the Planet
When Gerard Mercatorwas was born in 1512, the geography of the globe still remained a mystery. It
was unclear whether America was part of Asia, if there was a vast (1) __________ of sea at the top of
the world or if Australia was (2) __________ to Antarctica.
Mercator's childhood was spent chiefly in Rupelmonde, a Flemish trading town on the river, and it
was here that his geographical imagination was (3) __________ by the ships which passed to and from
the rest of the world. Alongside imagination, he developed two very different skills. The first was the
ability to gather, (4) __________ and co-ordinate the geographical information (5)
__________explorers and sailors who frequented the margins of the known. He also had to be able to
imagine himself (6)__________from the heavens, to achieve the visionary (7) ____________of gods
in the skies, (8) ____________down on the world. The main reason why Mercator's name is (9)
___________ to us is because of the Mercator Projection: the solution he (10) ___________ to
represent the spheroidal surface of the globe on a two-dimensional plane. It is less well known that
Mercator was the first man to conceive of mapping the (11)___________ surface of the planet or that
he (12) ___________the idea of multiple maps being presented in bound books, to which he gave the
name 'Atlas'.
It is difficult for us now to be surprised by maps, so many are there, and of such detail and coverage,
but we should (13) ___________ in mind that Mercator lived at a time when such knowledge was far
from (14) ____________ He was the man who (15)____________ our worldview forever.
1. A. territory B. distance C. range D. expanse
2. A. connected B. coupled C. united D. integrated
3. A. raise B. reared C. supplied D. nourished
4. A. congregate B. amass C. assimilate D. construct
5. A. granted B. conferred C. contributed D. provided
6. A. suspended B. located C. situated D. attached
7. A. inspection B. observation C. perspective D. assessment
8. A. glimpsing B. scrutinizing C. watching D. gazing
9. A. familiar B. famous C. memorable D. recognizable
10. A. invented B. contrived C. devised D. schemed
11. A. sheer B. full C. entire D. utter
12. A. pioneered B. initiated C. lead D. prepared
13. A. carry B. hold C. take D. bear
14. A. typical B. common C. routine D. normal
15. A. converted B. substituted C. distorted D. altered

Part 2: Fill in each numbered blank with a suitable word to complete the following text. Write your
answers in the box below.
Pompeii had been a Roman commercial centre situated some ten kilometres from Mount Vesuvius. It was a
beautiful and prosperous town. None of its (1) ____ were worried about the volcano because it was
considered to be extinct. There were no records of an (2) ____ in existence. Meanwhile, beautiful grapevines
grew up on the sides of the mountain in abundance. There were warnings of impending volcanic activity, but
the inhabitants did not seem to (3) ____ heed of them. Previously, there had been a violent local earthquake
with minor earthquakes following for the next several years. We know that earth tremors are predictive of
(4) ____ volcanic eruption. The Romans in Pompeii, however, did not seem to sense the danger that was
approaching them. Probably the first written eye witness account in history of a (5) ____ eruption was noted
in a letter. It described how a great cloud rose from Mount Vesuvius at about noon on the 24 th of August 79
A.D. Pompeii was covered by falling ash. We know (6) ____ what people were doing when they were
caught by this disaster. This is because they were mummified by the hot lava that flowed down the
mountainside and (7) ____ the surrounding land. Most of the people were running away, trying to escape,
when the lava caught them, but others were caught as they went about their (8) ____ work. A dog was
mummified in the lava. It was curled up asleep on that day so long ago.
In one short afternoon, the (9) ____ town of Pompeii was reduced to ruins. The (10) ____ would not
have been so enormous if the Romans of the district had only known how to interpret the signs.

Part 3: Read the following passages and choose the best answer for each for the questions below. (10
points)
For questions 26–35, read the text below and choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D). Write your answers
in corresponding numbered boxes. (15 pts)

Forgetful Brains
Humans have always had trouble remembering certain details. One person has the unique experience of
recalling in almost exact detail a memory from his childhood, but he cannot remember what he ate for lunch
yesterday. Another cannot recall names of people she met five minutes ago, but she remembers the names of
people she met from an hour before. Psychologists have searched for answers to the memory phenomenon to
better understand how the brain functions and what triggers memory or causes forgetfulness. After
extensive research over the past century, they have come up with some basic theories to help explain
memory loss.
There are times when an individual loses all recollection of an event. This is referred to as the decay
theory, which states that if memories are not recalled from time to time, they fade and then gradually drop
from a person’s memory. Decay is proven to occur with sensory memories, or short-term memories, if they
are not recalled or rehearsed. Decay of long-term memory is harder to explain because these memories last
through the passage of time. In fact, some knowledge can be accessed many years after it was first learned.
Research on students who took Spanish courses in high school revealed that they still remembered a great
deal of Spanish fifty years later, even though they had hardly used the language. While some memories tend
to decay, others remain burned into the recesses of the brain, causing psychologists to further ponder the
workings of memory.
Another explanation made by researchers concerning memory loss is known as interference. Under this
theory, an individual forgets a memory when similar information enters the mind and interferes with the
original memory in either the storage or retrieval area of the brain. The information is somewhere in the
person’s memory, but it gets confused with other details. This occurs in both short-term and long-term
memory and is most common when a person tries to recall isolated facts. For instance, a woman goes to a
party and meets a man named Joe at the front door. Half an hour later, she is introduced to Jason. When she
sees Joe again, she accidentally calls him Jason. This is retroactive interference. The newest information
input replaces the old information, causing the woman to mistakenly call the first man by the wrong name.
Additionally, people may suffer from proactive interference. A new student meets his first professor, Dr.
Mack, in his English class. When he has history, he meets Dr. Miller. However, he frequently calls both
teachers Dr. Mack, since that is the first name he had learned. Remembering the first set of information and
not remembering the next is proactive interference. The old information interfered with the student’s ability
to recall the newer information.
When a person needs to remember something, he frequently relies on cues, or reminders, to help him
retrieve a specific memory. When he lacks the cue to recall the memory, the person suffers from cue-
dependent forgetting. This may be the most common type of forgetfulness. Psychologist Willem Wagenaar
did a year-long study during which he recorded events from his life daily. After a year’s time, he could not
remember twenty percent of the critical details, and after five years, he had forgotten sixty percent.
However, he compiled cues from ten witnesses to some events in his past that he believed he had forgotten,
and he was able to recall pieces of information about all ten. Thus, when he had cues to help him retrieve his
memories, he could remember his experiences, illustrating that he was somewhat cue-dependent. Cognitive
psychologists believe that these specific cues help direct a person to the area of the brain where the
 memory is stored or they match up with information linked to the actual memory the person is
seeking.
26. The word ‘triggers’ in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) closes (B) cues (C) review (D) erases
27. According to paragraph 2, decay of short-term memories can be avoided by
(A) remembering associations
(B) removing immediate distractions
(C) recollecting information often
(D) taking time to acquire input
28. What can be inferred about the decay theory from paragraph 2?
(A) Memories from big events always remain in the mind.
(B) Memory decay arises from specific circumstances.
(C) Recalling old memories prevent their decay.
(D) Most people suffer from some degree of memory decay.
29. Where can the following sentence be most possibly added to the passage?
However, the age of the memory does not enable psychologists to predict which memories will
disappear and which will remain.
(A) Right before the sentence “This is referred to as…a person’s memory”
(B) Right before the sentence “In fact, some knowledge…first learned”
(C) Right before the sentence “Research on students…the language”
(D) Right after the sentence “while some memories…of memory”
30. The word ‘ponder’ in the paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) consider (B) explain (C) forget (D) understand
31. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 as interference EXCEPT:
(A) Confusing newly learned facts with other details
(B) Confusing old memories with current situations
(C) Remembering the first information but forgetting the second set
(D) Recalling the last information acquired but losing the first
32. In paragraph 3, the author discusses remembering and forgetting names in order to
(A) demonstrate memory interference
(B) refute proactive and retroactive interference
(C) advocate acquiring new memories
(D) reveal the workings of forgetfulness
33. The word ‘isolated’ in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) complex (B) angry (C) remote (D) ignored
34. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that a cue-dependent person
(A) can remember details or events when clues are present
(B) relies on clues too much when retrieving his memories
(C) cannot remember details or events without assistance from other people
(D) can only remember details or events unless clues are present
35. Which of the sentences below best express the essential information in the bold sentence “Cognitive
psychologists…..the person is seeking.” in the passage4? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Cues about an event lead a person back to the part of the brain storing the memory.
(B) Psychologists are able to link cues to areas of a person’s brain when he or she is forgetful.
(C) Information stored within the brain cannot be linked to specific memories after time.
(D) A person can find specific memories by using context cues about an experience.

Part 4. For questions 36–40, choose the correct heading for each paragraph A–F from the list of headings
below (i-ix). There are more headings than paragraphs. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
boxes. There is an example at the beginning.
List of Headings 36 Paragraph A
i. How fragile X syndrome was discovered 37 Paragraph B
ii ii. The genetic basis of the fragile X syndrome 38 Paragraph C
iii Fragile X syndrome and developmental delays in the brain
iv Iii. New treatments for fragile X syndrome 39 Paragraph D
v Iv. The comparative frequency of fragile X syndrome Paragraph F
vi V. Research into understanding fragile X syndrome
vii Vi. Reason for the increase of fragile X syndrome
vii.Other conditions related to cognitive development
viii.Examples of the symptoms of fragile X syndrome

Example Answer
Paragraph E v

A. A condition that causes children to dislike being hugged and sometimes reject all physical affection is closer
to being understood following research into the part of the brain responsible for our senses. Scientists at
Northwestern University, Illinois, and the University of Edinburgh explored fragile X syndrome, a condition
associated with hypersensitivity to sounds, touch, smells and visual stimuli that can result in social
withdrawal or anxiety. Hypersensitivity is a condition in which the person affected responds in an excessive
way to contact with the world around them. Some sufferers are even hypersensitive to material on their skin.
B. The scientists found that critical phases in the brain’s development may be wrongly timed in people with the
condition. This may result in delayed communication between certain neurons in the brain. By recording
electrical signals in the brains of mice, bred to exactly copy the effect of the condition, the researchers found
that connections in the brain’s sensory cortex were late to develop fully. The study, published in the journal
Neuron, found that normal neural connections in the sensory cortex occur much earlier than previously
thought: in the first week of pregnancy in mice, which is equivalent to the middle of the second trimester
(or fifth month) of pregnancy in humans. In fragile X syndrome, the mistiming also has a domino effect,
causing further problems with the correct wiring of the brain. The hope is that by understanding how and
when the functions of the brain are affected in fragile X syndrome, a therapy may become possible.
C. ‘There is a “critical period” during development, when the brain is very plastic and is changing rapidly,’ said
Anis Contractor, from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. ‘All the elements of this
rapid development have to be coordinated so that the brain becomes wired correctly and therefore functions
properly.’ People with the syndrome have cognitive problems as well as sensory problems that make them
physically weaker. ‘They have tactile defensiveness,’ Dr Contractor said. ‘They don’t look in people’s eyes,
they won’t hug their parents, and they are hypersensitive to touch and sound. All of this causes anxiety for
family and friends as well as for the fragile X patients themselves.’ Peter Kind, who led the study at the
University of Edinburgh, said: ‘We know there are key windows during which the brain develops, both in
the womb and afterwards. The general principle is that if these time windows have shifted, then that could
explain the cognitive problems.’
D. Professor Kind said that this could be demonstrated by the fact that a child with a cataract (a medical
condition in which the lens of the eye becomes less and less transparent) that was not corrected would
become permanently blind in the affected eye, whereas an adult would be able to regain their sight after an
operation. ‘We’ve learnt that these changes happen much earlier than previously thought, which gives
valuable insight into when we should begin therapeutic intervention for people with these conditions,’ he
said. ‘It’s also has implications for the treatment of autism since the changes in the brains of people with
fragile X syndrome and autistic people are thought to significantly overlap.’ Autism, as many people know,
is a disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they make
sense of the world.
E. Fragile X syndrome is as common as cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that commonly affects the lungs and
causes breathing difficulties, and that affects about 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females worldwide. The
Fragile X Society believes that there are many people who have fragile X syndrome but have never been
diagnosed. It shows up in early infancy and progressively worsens throughout childhood, causing
intellectual disability as well as social, language and behavioral problems.
F. Fragile X syndrome is caused by a gene mutation on the X chromosome – one of the two chromosomes that
determine the gender or sex of a person. The mutation interferes in the production of a protein called fragile
X mental retardation protein. Fragile X is so-named because the X chromosome appears broken or kinked.
Tim Potter, of the Fragile X Society, said: ‘We welcome any research that helps us understand fragile X and
which may open the way to reversing the effect of preventing them ever happening’.
Question 41-45
Complete the summary of paragraphs A and B below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in spaces 41-45
People with fragile X syndrome are extremely sensitive to sensory (41)_________. Some sufferers are even
(42)_______ to clothing. The condition is the result of the connections within the (43 _______ of the brain
not being made at the right time. Instead, the neurons of people with the condition establish connections
later than should happen, which is normally in the second (44)_______ of pregnancy in humans. By
understanding how the brain’s (45)_______ are affected, scientists hope to develop a treatment.

Part 5: You are going to read an extract from a newspaper article. Seven paragraphs have been removed
from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (27-33). There is one
extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Joanna's Lessons
Joanna MacGregor has a hectic schedule as a concert pianist. So why has she added the task of writing
books for young children learning the piano?

Even a member of that mythical species, the
completely tone deaf, could not fail to be stirred by
a Joanna MacGregor performance. Simply to see
her zipping around a keyboard grabbing fistfuls of
notes at the behest of some unfeasible
contemporary score is or to watch a pianist pushing
the human frame to its limits.
61.
How many veterans of the concert hall platform
would be floored by such a request? For Joanna
MaCGregor, though, it was simply a hoot. “In his
eyes, until I played
that, I hadn't passed the test. I wasn't a proper
pianist.” Needless to say, she sailed through and
doubtless logged the experience for her next
children's recital.
62.
There hardly seems to be a festival this summer she
is not gracing. Tomorrow she is in the thick of an
all-day collaboration between nine young
composers and artists. She runs her own recording
label, Sound Circus. And by her own admission,
she cannot meet an artist of any sort without being
tempted to suggest a joint project. So why on earth
take on the extra are burden of writing a book?
63.
In producing the first three books, MacGregor is
drawing on vivid experience. Between the ages of
18 and 25, before she was getting concert
engagements as a pianist, she taught a stream of
beginners the piano. But most important in her
learning the piano. Some kids have a flair and
make rapid progress. She is fascinated by the
others: those who chug along at varying rates of
progress, enjoying it for a while, but all too otten
giving up. This falling off happens at any stage.
Some kids find the beginning too frustrating.
Others rebel further down the line when the stakes
get higher and parental pressure is driving them “to
be like those children on the telly”.
65.
The production of her own training manual begs an
obvious question. Does she have a poor opinion of
the existing corpus of tutor books, or indeed of the
general quality of piano teaching? “I'm very
reluctant to criticlse other people's teaching or
others'tutor books,” she says. What she does do is
readily accept that her books, colourful and eye-
catching though they are, by no means the only
books on the market designed to make the first
steps enjoyable.
66.
“You have to allow them to improvise and give
them a reason to play at either end of the keyboard
and on the black notes and use the pedals.' As
progress is made, bigger obstacles loom, Children
need to be coaxed quite hard to read the music
rather than rely on ear. Having relied for so much
of her own childhood on her very keen ear,
MacGregor has considerable sympathy on this
score.
67.
“I have enormous sympathy with people who find
 make-up now as a musician who is unsurpassed in
the breadth of her eclectic repertoire was the
endless procession of small boys and girlS traipsing
into her childhood home, where her mother taught
the piano.
64.
Just as everyone should be able to learn how to
swim to speak a smattering of French, so, in her
view, should everybody be able to make a stab at
A
A. MacGregor is rare among top-flight concert
pianists for the interest she takes in how young
children learn the instrument. She has just
published her own elementary piano tutor for
children: Joanna MacGregor's Piano World. And
she has managed it despite a crippling work
schedule.
B. But she believes the single most important
factor is practice. How can children be persuaded to
playa passage even once again, let alone many
times over? She admits to not having practised
rigorously until she went to the Royal Academy of
Music, where she began building up a
contemporary repertoire whose formidable
difficulties demanded practice. Now she loves it.
The eight hours a day that she gets through are
the core of her musical life, she says, more
important than performances.
C. “Not only was I fiddling around at the keyboard,
but there were all these other children of all
backgrounds wanting to play every sort of music -
bits of classical, jazz, pop, improvisation. I wasn't
part of that hothouse thing of forcing exceptional G.
talent. I grew up with the idea of trying to make
music available to people of all abilities.”
D. Her own special wheeze for luring these
neophytes, the fives, sixes and sevens, through
those bewildering times is to weave a storyline into
the books and their accompanying CDs. The
challenge at this fragile stage is to make the work
interesting. And so, from lesson one, there are
accompaniments in a variety of styles for teacher -
or parent - to play beneath a child's line. For kids
whose parents aren't pianists the accompaniments
it difficult. I don't think people talk about it
enough.” The secret, whether you do it for twenty
minutes or five hours, is to work out beforehand
what it is you are aiming to do, she says. Other
tips: treat yourself - play the whole piece through,
however many wrong notes. And mix hard with
easy.
are recorded on the CDs. Learning should be
unadulterated fun, MacGregor insists.
E. But even her dazzling virtuosity was not
enough to wow one small boy at a recent concert
she gave for kids. Like the rest of the audience, he
had been cascaded with bits and bobs of pieces in
every style from her vast repertoire of classical,
jazz, ragtime, blues, techno, African, etc. He'd
coolly watched her dive under the lid of the
concert grand to pluck the wires - normally a
surefire knockout for kids. Then as she drew
breath and invited questions, he piped up: “Can
you play Match of the Day?”
F. And so the odyssey begins. It's a long journey
but the first task for the young enthusiasts is easy,
find the Cs - they're always to the left of the two
black keys. In Book 2, the characters fall inside
the piano and open up opportunities for making a
whole lot of weird noises. Something parents,
unlike MacGregor and the youngsters, may find a
strain on the eardrums. .
G. “I worry that some people use music, like
sport, as a way of making their children achieve
things, rather than just saying: it's music, it's there
to enjoy. The reason children fall by the wayside
is because they feel they are not going to match
up to their parents' expectations.”
H. “People who know me are clearly surprised.
But I think the very first lessons are absolutely
crucial. It says a lot about the music profession
that we tend to concentrate on the top end, on this
idea of the child as nascent virtuoso. Most
people's interest in music is much more ordinary
and everyday. I find that far more interesting.”