Ejercicio Text 1 - Part I. Reading · Inglés PAU Castilla-La Mancha Ordinaria 2023

TEXT 1: The Cellist Of Sarajevo

During the terrible civil war in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the city of Sarajevo was besieged and the population was continually under attack. There were many civilian victims. To make matters worse, people had to live without water, electricity or food. Few shops were open.

On May 27, 1992, a bakery opened in the afternoon and many people queued to buy bread. Unfortunately, a mortar shell exploded near the shop at four o'clock and twenty-two people were killed while waiting for their turn to buy fresh bread.

Vedran Smailovic, a city resident musician from Bosnia and Herzegovina, lived near the shop. When he heard the news, he was so sad that he decided to do something about it. He was a musician and he didn't find a better answer to this tragedy than playing his cello, most notably performing Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor, one of the saddest pieces of music. For twenty-two days, he put on his concert clothes, took his plastic chair to the ruined square of the downtown Sarajevo marketplace, and started playing music at exactly four o'clock in the afternoon. He was often under the threat of snipers and shells, but fortunately, he was never hurt.

His bravery inspired musical numbers and a novel. The Canadian author, Steven Galloway, based a character on Smailovic in his bestselling 2008 novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo.

Vedran Smailovic escaped the city in late 1993 and has since been working in numerous music projects as a performer, composer, and conductor. He now lives in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.

Adapted from myenglishpages.com

TEXT 1. QUESTIONS

READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer). Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. No marks are given for T or F.

1.

During the siege of Sarajevo, people had to face a precarious life.

TRUE

FALSE

2.

By the time the shell exploded, twenty-two people had already bought some bread.

TRUE

FALSE

3.

Smailovic never risked his life while playing at the square of Sarajevo.

TRUE

FALSE

4.

Vedran Smailovic quitted his job after leaving the city.

TRUE

FALSE