501 Critical Reading Questions

a. specific : general
b. argument : support
c. fiction : nonfiction
d. first : second
e. cause : effect
501
Critical Reading Questions
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332.
Which of the following sentences from Passage 2 could most
effectively be added to Passage 1?
a. In fact, the two most popular American musical forms—rock and roll
and jazz—owe their genesis in large part (some would argue
entirely) to the blues. (lines 7–9)
b. A fundamental principle of the blues, however, is that the music be
cathartic. (line 15–16)
c. Thus “the blues” is something of a misnomer, for the music is moving
but not melancholy; it is, in fact, music born of hope, not despair.
(lines 17–19)
d. It was at this time that Son House, Willie Brown, and Robert John-
son played, while the next decade saw the emergence of the blues
greats Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Johnny Lee Hooker. (lines
33–36)
e. After rock and roll exploded on the music scene in the 1950s, many
rock artists began covering blues songs, thus bringing the blues to a
young white audience and giving it true national and international
exposure. (lines 37–40)
Questions 333–342 are based on the following passage.
This passage describes the formative experiences of the composer Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart.
The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s remarkable musical tal-
ent was apparent even before most children can sing a simple nursery
rhyme. Wolfgang’s older sister Maria Anna, who the family called
Nannerl, was learning the clavier, an early keyboard instrument, when
her three-year-old brother took an interest in playing. As Nannerl
later recalled, Wolfgang “often spent much time at the clavier, pick-
ing out thirds, which he was always striking, and his pleasure showed
that it sounded good.” Their father Leopold, an assistant concert-
master at the Salzburg Court, recognized his children’s unique gifts
and soon devoted himself to their musical education.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, Wolfgang was five
when he learned his first musical composition—in less than half an
hour. He quickly learned other pieces, and by age five composed his
first original work. Leopold settled on a plan to take Nannerl and
Wolfgang on tour to play before the European courts. Their first ven-
ture was to nearby Munich where the children played for Maximillian
III Joseph, elector of Bavaria. Leopold soon set his sights on the cap-
ital of the Hapsburg Empire, Vienna. On their way to Vienna, the
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501