Zadanie 6. (0-5)
Przeczytaj dwa teksty związane ze skrzypcami. Z podanych odpowiedzi wybierz
właściwą, zgodną z treścią tekstu. Zakreśl jedną z liter: A, B, C albo D.
Tekst 1.
On the morning of the most earth-shattering day of his life, Rayquan McMillian ordered
breakfast. In the shower he’d lost track of time, caught up in playing the violin concerto in his
mind, while water ran down his back for ten minutes. When he walked out of the bathroom,
he saw the breakfast tray waiting on the table. “I didn’t even hear room service come in,”
he said. Nicole was curled up in one of the armchairs, watching the news. “You never hear
anything,” she said, not looking away from the TV. “We need to be out of here within an hour,
and you still haven’t finished packing.”
After a hurried breakfast, he mindlessly packed his suitcase and pulled up the handle of his
roller bag. He picked up the violin case and gestured for Nicole to go first with her two roller
bags. The door clicked shut behind them, sealing the suite - and what remained - inside.
Checking out, he tipped the doorman, who called a taxi for each of them. Nicole was going
to the train station, so he lifted her suitcases into the open trunk, leaving his own bag on
the sidewalk, the violin case hanging on his shoulder. Nicole turned to him. “I meant to tell
you,” she said, “when you’re playing the Mozart, just try taking it maybe a tiny bit slower,
all right? And remember that you’ve got this. Rayquan McMillian, future violin competition
gold medalist. Visualize it. It’s going to happen. I’m sure of it. And call me when you get in.”
She jumped onto the back seat, the door closed and he stood there as the taxi moved off into
the traffic.
Then his taxi rolled up and, as he was spilling into the back seat with the violin case, he grew
more and more uneasy. He wanted to be back home. That morning he hadn’t practised, so
he couldn’t wait to pick up his violin and assure himself that he could really make Mozart’s
voice his own. Only one month left until the competition: the world’s most prestigious, most
difficult classical music competition - judged by the top musicians in the world. Even if he
practised every day, fourteen hours a day, he didn’t think he’d be ready. He wished he didn’t
have to waste time flying home.
At the airport, he decided to use the fast check-in. If only he had gone through regular
security! Why had he been in such a hurry? He should have waited in the long queue. If he’d
waited, the officer might have randomly pulled his suitcase aside or asked him to open
the violin case. Someone would have noticed or asked. It was security, after all. Instead, he
placed the roller bag on the conveyor belt, violin case behind it, and they sailed through
the X-ray while he sailed through the body scan. When he returned home, he lay down
on his bed for half an hour, violin case on the floor next to him, where he always set it.
Getting focused, ready to play.
It was just after 2 p.m. when he kicked himself off the bed. He stood up, picked up the violin
case, and set it on his desk. He flicked open the left clasp, then the right, and lifted the lid.
Instead of his violin, inside sat a white tennis shoe.
Na podstawie: Brendan Slocumb, The Violin Conspiracy, London 2022.
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6.1. What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Nicole switched off the TV the moment Rayquan appeared.
B. Nicole made a remark about something that had to be done.
C. Rayquan was accustomed to playing his violin after breakfast.
D. Breakfast was brought to the room after Rayquan had left the bathroom.
6.2. Before Rayquan left for the airport in a taxi,
A. Nicole suggested he should play another piece by Mozart.
B. he needed some help with loading the luggage.
C. Nicole made an effort to boost his confidence.
D. he placed his violin case in the trunk.
6.3. Which is the best title for the text?
A. A SHOCKING DISCOVERY AFTER A FLIGHT HOME
B. A FORTUNATE COINCIDENCE AT THE AIRPORT
C. THE WRONG VIOLIN DELIVERED
D. RAYQUAN’S UNEVENTFUL DAY
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Tekst 2.
THE VIOLIN EXPERIMENT
The instruments made by Antonio Stradivari are considered some of the finest ever made,
and they have become extremely valuable collector’s items. It is estimated that Stradivari
produced 1,116 instruments, of which 960 were violins. Around 650 instruments have
survived, including around 500 violins, which makes them rare and valuable.
Claudia Fritz from Sorbonne University decided to investigate whether Stradivari violins
are superior to modern ones, as is widely believed. “Stradivari violins are amazing
instruments which have survived over 300 years and are beautifully made,” says Fritz.
“However, I wanted to show that their amazing properties aren’t unique. You can find similar
properties in new violins as well. Modern-day makers are doing a great job creating amazing
violins. They should be able to sell them with pride and recognition.”
In her study, Fritz recruited 21 professional violinists, invited them into a dimly lit hotel room,
and asked each of them to play six violins. Three were new, and the others had been crafted
by Stradivari. Participants played them in random order and were not told which violins were
new and which ones had been made by Stradivari. Participants’ comments on
the experience of playing each instrument were recorded, and at the end of the experiment
they were asked to choose which instrument they would most like to take home if they could.
62 percent would have taken a new violin over the ones made by Stradivari, the oldest of
these being the most frequently rejected.
“Many people are convinced that as soon as you play an old violin, you can feel that it’s been
played a lot, and has a special sound quality,” Fritz said. “The violinists who took part in
the experiment said it was the experience of a lifetime when we told them the results.”
John Soloninka was one of them. “I expected to be able to tell the difference, but couldn’t,”
he said. “Claudia later sent me a recording of my comments about the instruments, and it
was hilarious how wrong my impressions were at the time! I actually laughed out loud
because it was so funny to hear how sure I was.”
After the results of the study had been published, the reactions ranged from delight to anger.
Critics were quick to question the experiment’s reliability. The violinists tested
the instruments for just 20 minutes in an air-conditioned hotel room. That wouldn’t do. To get
the most out of the violins, they should have tested the instruments for many hours and
played them in a concert hall. One distinguished violinist reportedly said, “You don’t test
a Ferrari in a parking lot.”
Na podstawie: www.nationalgeographic.com
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6.4. Which sentence is TRUE?
A. During the experiment, the oldest violin proved to be the most desirable.
B. The majority of participants could identify which violins were made by Stradivari.
C. John Soloninka’s impressions about the violins he played proved to be right.
D. The violinists were expected to give their opinion about each violin they played.
6.5. In the last paragraph, the author focuses on
A. the problems the violinists experienced.
B. the limitations of the experiment.
C. the biggest challenge faced by the researcher.
D. the incidents reported during the research process.
PRZENIEŚ ROZWIĄZANIA NA KARTĘ ODPOWIEDZI!
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w rozprawce „za i przeciw”, jeśli zdający wskazuje w tezie na zalety i wady danego
zjawiska.
korzysta z kolei podczas podróży zagranicznych / zwiedza Europę koleją, nie jest tezą,
np. Nowadays people are more and more interested in travelling around Europe by train.