Lesson 34 Text A Stage Fright
Tom was sick with disappointment. The piano recital ha.d turned out well, all
except for his solo. He couldn't understand how it could have happened.
He had practised for weeks that seemed like months. He had given up sports
until after the recital because he wanted to make his parents proud of him. He
spent all his time with the pi
His teacher had said he was gifted. It was true that he accepted music as
another language, another way to talk to people.
His grandparents, aunt, and uncle all came to hear him play, and he was anxious
to show them that he was the best in the whole class.
But, when he stood up to go to the piano, his knees felt weak. He looked into
the audience and saw his family smiling back at him.
His mouth went dry. His fingers began to tremble. The trembling became
uncontrollable shaking as though he had caught a bad cold.
He sat down at the piano. He took a deep breath. He played the first five bars
of his music , then realized with horror that he had forgotten thc rest. He
started over. thinking that would help. It didnt.
He stood up as if in slow motion and walked offf the st age. He was a failure.
The demon stage fright had left a brilliant musical career in ruins.
Text B I Shall Never Fly Again
Tom Jackson and Charles Brown are talking about ttheir summer holidays. TOM:
Where are you going for your holidays , Charles
CHARLES: To Australia. I'm going to visit my uncle in Brisbane for three weeks.
TOM: Good gracious! You certainly are lucky. How are you going there
CHARLES: By air, of course. It takes over two weeks to go by sea.
TOM: I once went to Singa pore by air. It was very exciting-but never agaim.
CHARLES: Why Did you feel frightcned
TOM: For a short time. One of the engines caught fire.
CHARLES: What did thc pilot do
TOM: He put it out and flew back to the airport. Then he asked the pcople at
the
airport where the emergency runway was.
CHARLES: Did you land safely
TOM: Yes, we did. But I shall never fly again.
7. Read the following passage once. Underline the key words while reading and
retell the story to your partner. It was a dark day when we got our report
cards Thesky was full of gray clouds and it was sprinkling rain. I was over to
Clydes house and Gloria and Kitty were there. Sam probably would hade been
there, too, only he had got a two-week job in the afternoons helping out at
Freddies. actually he only did it so that his mother would let him be on the
track team again. Sam and his mother had this little system going He would do
something
good-doing and shed let him do something that he wanted to.
Clydes report card was on the kitchen table and we all sat around it like it
was some kind of a big important document. I had got a pretty good report card
and had wanted to show it off but I knew it wasn't the time. Clyde pushed the
card toward me and I read it. He had all satisfactory remarks on the side
labeled Personal Traits and Behavior. He had also received Bs in . music and
art appreciation. But everything else was either a C or a D except mathematics.
His mathematics mark was a big red F that had been circled. I don't know why
they had to circle the F when it was the only red mark on the card. In the
Teachers Comments section someone had written that Clyde had little ability to
handle an academic program.
A little ability is better than none, I said. No one said anything so I figured
it probably wasn't the right. time to try to cheer Clyde up.
I knew all about his switching from a commercial program to an academic
program, but I really hadnt thought hed have any trouble.
I saw the grade adviser today. He said I should switch back to the commercial
program. Clyde looked like hed start crying any minute. His eyes were red and
his voice was shaky. He said that I had to take mathematics over and if I
failed again or failed another required subject 1 couldn't graduate. The way it
is now I'm going to have to finish up in the summer because I switched over.
I think you can pass it if you really want to, Kitty said. Clydes sister was
so pretty I couldn't even look at her. If I did, I started feeling funny and
couldn't talk right. Sometimes I daydreamed about marrying her.
Just then Clydes mother came in and he gave a quick look at Kitty.
Hi, young ladies and young gentlemen. Mrs. Jones was a kind of heavy woman but
she was pretty, too. You could tell she was Kittys mother if you looked close.
She put her packagege down and started taking things out. I heard you pcople
talking whcas I first came in. By the way you hushed up I guess you don't want
me to hear what you were talking about. I'll be out of your way in a minute,
soon as I put the frozen foods in the refrigerator.
I got my report card today, Clyde said. His mother stopped taking
the food out and turned toward us. Clyde pushed the report card about two
inches toward her. She really didn't even have to look at the card to know that
it was bad. She could have told that just by looking at Clyde. But she picked
it up and looked at it a long time. First she looked at one side and then the
other and then back at t.he first side again.
What they say around the school she asked, still looking at the card. They
said I should drop the academic course and go back to the other one. I could
hardly hear Clyde , he spoke so low.
Well, what are you going to do, young man She looked u at Clyde and Clyde
looked up at her and there were tears in his eyes and I almost started crying.
I can't stand to see my friends cry. What are you going to do, Mr. Jones
I'm -I'm going to keep the academic course, Clyde said.
You think it's going to be any easier this time Mrs.Jones asked.
No.
Things aint always easy. Lord knows that things aint always easy. For a
minute there was a faraway look in her eyes, but then her face turned into a
big smile. You'rejust like your father, boy. That man never would give up on
anything he really wanted. Did I ever tell you the time he was trying to learn
to play the trombone
No. Clyde still had tears in his eyes but he was smiling, too. Suddenly
everybody was happy. It was like seeing a rainbow when it was still raining.
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