Read the following passage.
A. In April 1962, before Glenn Gould played Brahms's D minor Concerto with the New York Philharmonic, the conductor Leonard Bernstein gave a speech to the audience about his disagreement with Gould's interpretation. Those concerts became some of the most notorious of Gould's career. His readings of familiar works often used extreme tempos and odd phrasing, and critics both praised him for originality and condemned him for eccentricity. Gould himself noticed a split: European critics wrote about his interpretations, while North American critics wrote more about his eccentricities.
B. Gould was born in Toronto on September 25, 1932, and his mother, Florence, gave him his first piano lessons. At the age of 12 he passed the associateship examination in solo piano at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. In January 1955 he gave debut recitals in Washington and New York, and the day after the New York recital he signed a recording contract with Columbia. His first Columbia album, Bach's Goldberg Variations, was released in January 1956 and brought him international attention. In May 1957 he toured Moscow and Leningrad, the first North American pianist to perform in the Soviet Union since the Second World War.
C. In 1953 his father cut down the legs of a folding chair and made each leg adjustable, and Gould used that low chair for every concert and recording from then on. His habit of humming while he played also provoked much comment. He had musical and moral objections to live concerts, which he saw as an anachronistic practice, and he gave only about 300 of them, fewer than 40 overseas, a small number for a professional concert pianist. On April 10, 1964, at the height of his fame, he gave his last live concert, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. He was 31, and his retirement from the stage caused great controversy.
D. After leaving the stage, Gould put his energy into recording and broadcasting, including radio documentaries for the CBC. His Solitude Trilogy, which began with The Idea of North in 1967 and went on to programs about Newfoundland and the Mennonites of Manitoba, explored the effects of isolation on individuals and communities. In the summer of 1982 he made his only official recording as a conductor. About a week after a second recording of the Goldberg Variations was released, he suffered a stroke, and he died in Toronto on October 4, 1982. The new album won two Grammy awards, and since 1987 the Glenn Gould Prize has been awarded in his name.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
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Correct Answer: E
Why this is correct: The fourth paragraph says a second recording of the Goldberg Variations was released in 1982, and Paragraph B describes the first one. Neither paragraph says why he recorded the work again or what he thought of his first version.
Passage Reference: About a week after a second recording of the Goldberg Variations was released, he suffered a stroke, and he died in Toronto on October 4, 1982.
Tips: Look for a reason word near the second recording. The passage gives the event only.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The speech by Bernstein and the views of critics fill paragraph A. No Goldberg recording is mentioned there.
- B: Paragraph B tells us the first Goldberg album won him attention abroad. It gives no opinion of his own on it.
- C: Notice that paragraph C describes his chair, his humming and his last concert, with no recordings compared.
- D: The fourth paragraph dates the second Goldberg recording, but the reason behind it is missing.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: His Solitude Trilogy, which began with The Idea of North in 1967 and went on to programs about Newfoundland and the Mennonites of Manitoba, explored the effects of isolation on individuals and communities.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says his Solitude Trilogy of radio programs explored the effects of isolation on individuals and communities. Being cut off from others means isolation, and individuals and communities are people and places.
Tips: Find his radio programs. Then check what they were about, and whether it is life apart from other people.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it concerns a concert in New York and his reviews, not radio work.
- B: Notice that paragraph B follows his training, his first album and his Soviet tour.
- C: Paragraph C explains why he disliked live concerts. It does not describe any programs he made.
- E: The Solitude Trilogy and its subject are described in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: In 1953 his father cut down the legs of a folding chair and made each leg adjustable, and Gould used that low chair for every concert and recording from then on.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says that in 1953 his father cut down the legs of a folding chair and made them adjustable. Gould used that chair for every concert and recording, so it was a seat altered by a parent.
Tips: His mother appears in Paragraph B, but look for the parent who changed a piece of furniture.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it describes how he played the music, not what he sat on.
- B: Paragraph B mentions his mother as his first teacher, but no chair.
- D: Paragraph D turns to his radio work, his last recordings and prizes.
- E: His father's work on the folding chair opens Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: In April 1962, before Glenn Gould played Brahms's D minor Concerto with the New York Philharmonic, the conductor Leonard Bernstein gave a speech to the audience about his disagreement with Gould's interpretation.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says Leonard Bernstein gave a speech to the audience before the concert. It was about his disagreement with Gould's interpretation of the Brahms concerto. Bernstein was the conductor, so they were about to perform together.
Tips: Ask who disagrees with whom. In one place Gould is the one objecting, but you need someone objecting to Gould.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: The second paragraph names places where he gave recitals, but no one speaks against him there.
- C: Look at paragraph C: it gives Gould's own objections to concerts, not another musician's objections to him.
- D: Paragraph D does mention that he later worked as a conductor himself. But no conductor criticizes him there.
- E: Bernstein's speech before the concert opens Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: His first Columbia album, Bach's Goldberg Variations, was released in January 1956 and brought him international attention.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says his first Columbia album, Bach's Goldberg Variations, came out in January 1956 and brought him international attention. International attention means he became known outside Canada.
Tips: Albums come up more than once. Find the 'early' one of 'Bach' music, then check it made him known in other countries.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph has critics in Europe and North America, but they are writing about his playing in general, not one album.
- C: The third paragraph mentions recording only as a place where he used his chair.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it has the second Goldberg recording from 1982, which came at the end of his life, not early.
- E: The 1956 album and the international attention it brought him are in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Gould himself noticed a split: European critics wrote about his interpretations, while North American critics wrote more about his eccentricities.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph A says European critics wrote about his interpretations, while North American critics wrote more about his eccentricities. So reviewers in different regions focused on different sides of him.
Tips: Look for two groups of reviewers from different places. Check that each group focused on a different side of him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Notice that paragraph B sends him to Europe and the Soviet Union, but says nothing about reviews there.
- C: The third paragraph says his humming provoked much comment, but it does not compare critics from different places.
- D: His broadcasts, final recordings and the prize are the subjects of paragraph D. It does not mention critics.
- E: The split between European and North American critics ends Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: He had musical and moral objections to live concerts, which he saw as an anachronistic practice, and he gave only about 300 of them, fewer than 40 overseas, a small number for a professional concert pianist.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says he objected to live concerts and gave only about 300 of them. It calls this a small number for a professional concert pianist. That is a comparison with others in his profession.
Tips: Find how many concerts he gave in total. Then check whether the writer calls that many or few for someone in his job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it describes one set of concerts with Bernstein but does not count his concerts.
- B: Notice that paragraph B lists early recitals and a tour, which shows activity, not a small total.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it starts after he stopped performing in public.
- E: The third paragraph gives the total of about 300 concerts and judges it small for a concert pianist.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In May 1957 he toured Moscow and Leningrad, the first North American pianist to perform in the Soviet Union since the Second World War.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph says he toured Moscow and Leningrad in May 1957. He was the first North American pianist to perform there since the war. It says nothing about how many people came or how they reacted.
Tips: Separate what the tour was (a first) from how the audiences behaved, which is missing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it has an audience in New York hearing Bernstein, not audiences in the Soviet Union.
- B: Paragraph B gives the tour and its date, while the crowds themselves are never described.
- C: Notice that paragraph C counts fewer than 40 concerts overseas, but it describes no audience.
- D: The fourth paragraph covers his radio programs and the end of his life.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: At the age of 12 he passed the associateship examination in solo piano at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph says he passed the associateship examination at the Toronto Conservatory of Music at the age of 12. Twelve is before the teenage years, which start at 13.
Tips: The passage tells you how old he was at two different moments. Find the moment tied to an exam, and check whether he was a teenager yet.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: By 1962, the year of paragraph A, he was already a famous adult pianist.
- C: Notice that paragraph C gives his age when he left the stage, which was 31, not his age at an exam.
- D: Paragraph D gives the date he died, not any exam.
- E: His exam at the Toronto Conservatory is the second sentence of Paragraph B.
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