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2019 ‫מועד חורף‬ - 39 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫אנגלית‬

Reading Comprehension

This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related questions. For each
question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text.

Text I (Questions 13-17)

(1) In order for singers to succeed, they need to have precision and interpretive ability.
And, of course, they need to be able to sing. Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) had
none of these attributes. In fact, she has been described as the world's worst opera
singer. Nevertheless, she became something of a musical legend in her day.

(5) Foster Jenkins' story is about following your dreams no matter what others may
think. When her father refused to bankroll her vocal training, the 17-year-old eloped.
Her husband was no more enthusiastic about her musical aspirations than her father had
been and would not pay for singing lessons. After her divorce in 1902, Foster Jenkins
tried to support herself as a piano teacher. When her father died a few years later, she

(10) inherited enough money to take voice lessons. Undaunted by her teachers' criticism of
her inability to carry a tune, her lack of rhythm, and her complete failure to reach the
upper registers in pitch, she vigorously undertook a professional career. She staged a
series of recitals and charity benefit concerts starring herself.

With total faith in her talent, Foster Jenkins threw herself wholeheartedly into her
(15) musical career and quickly developed a following. Upon her mother's death in 1928,

Foster Jenkins gained control of a considerable family fortune and was able to expand
her range of performance venues, holding concerts all along the northeastern coast of
the United States. Her career blossomed, not despite her woeful performances but
because of them. Audience members willingly paid to hear Foster Jenkins screech her
(20) way through classic works by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, and Strauss, clapping loudly to
drown out their delighted laughter. Her elaborate costumes and theatrics on stage –
such as tossing flowers to the audience, retrieving them, and tossing them again – made
her performances oddly entertaining.

In 1944, Foster Jenkins fulfilled the ultimate ambition of any singer, appearing at
(25) Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tickets sold out weeks before the event and many fans

had to be turned away. A month later Foster Jenkins died, having realized her life's
ambition. An obituary by Robert Bagar in the New York World-Telegram paid tribute to
her spirit: "She was exceedingly happy in her work. It is a pity so few artists are. And
her happiness was communicated as if by magic to her listeners who were stimulated to
(30) the point of audible cheering, even joyous laughter and ecstasy, by the inimitable
singing."

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬
.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬