Задание

Read and choose the correct answer.

A violinist in the Metro

A man sitting at a metro station in Washington, D.C. started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen to him, but then the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly, he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, she hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected 32 $. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, there was no recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most complicated pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell had performed at a theatre in Boston. The house was full and the seats were 100 $ at average.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell’s playing incognito at the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, tastes and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an unusual hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we don’t have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

When a violinist started playing at a station,

When a middle-aged man saw a violinist playing, he

Each time the children stopped to listen to the violinist, their parents

After the musician stopped playing

Before Joshua Bell played in the subway,

Joshua Bell’s playing was organized by the Washington Post

The possible conclusion of the story is that