The Audition — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 7 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 7 · English · Reading ComprehensionThe Audition — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Part A: Right there in the text
The answers to these questions are stated directly in the story.
- Apiano
- Bflute
- Cviolin
- Dcello
Answer: violin
The story mentions her 'violin case' and later that she 'packed up her violin'.
Answer: Every night for three weeks.
Answer: Jonah.
- Athe G string
- Bthe D string
- Cthe A string
- Dthe E string
Answer: the E string
'The E string had snapped.'
Answer: Bar eleven, just before the shift.
Answer: She moved the melody down onto the A string and played higher up the fingerboard.
Part B: Reading between the lines
Use clues in the story to work out what is not stated directly.
Answer: It suggests she feels nervous and exposed, as if she needs protection. A shield is used in battle, so the audition feels like something frightening she has to face.
Answer: Maya feels small, alone and watched. With so few people, all the attention is on her, which makes the space feel empty and intimidating.
Answer: They show she is brave and determined: she is afraid, but she does not let her fear stop her. The short sentences make the moment feel quick and decisive.
Answer: It slows the story down and makes the reader pause, just as everyone in the room has stopped. It emphasises the shock and awkwardness of the moment after the string breaks.
Answer: At first Maya is too nervous to trust anyone's kindness and assumes the smiles are just polite. By the end she has earned genuine respect, and she is calm enough to recognise it.
- AMaya is cold
- BMaya has become calmer and more confident
- CMaya is angry about the broken string
- DMaya has decided to give up the violin
Answer: Maya has become calmer and more confident
Shaking hands are a sign of nerves. Their stopping shows that facing the problem has left her calmer and more confident.
Part C: Thinking about the whole story
- AMaya, speaking as 'I'
- Ba narrator who follows Maya closely, using 'she'
- CMs Adeyemi
- DMaya's little brother
Answer: a narrator who follows Maya closely, using 'she'
It is a third-person narrator ('she'), but we see only Maya's thoughts and feelings.
- AAlways buy spare strings.
- BTalented people never make mistakes.
- CHow you respond to a setback can matter more than a perfect performance.
- DAuditions are unfair.
Answer: How you respond to a setback can matter more than a perfect performance.
Maya's performance is imperfect, but her decision to keep going earns respect and changes how she feels about herself.
Answer: Yes. She had worked hard for three weeks and stopping would have wasted that effort; by continuing she showed the teachers she could solve a problem under pressure, and Ms Adeyemi's comment that 'most people would have walked out' suggests they were impressed. (A well-argued 'no' is also acceptable if it is supported by evidence.)
Part D: Extended response
Model answer: At the start of the story Maya is anxious and unsure of herself, but by the end she has become calmer and more confident. Holding her violin case 'like a shield' shows that she sees the audition as a battle she needs protection from, and the room seeming 'too big' shows she feels small and exposed. When her string snaps, her 'face burned' and she expects to be sent away, which shows how quickly she assumes the worst. The turning point comes when she says, 'I'll keep going.' Even though some notes are out of tune, she remembers to breathe and holds the final note, showing determination. Finally, the detail that 'her hands had stopped shaking' shows that facing the problem has given her a new confidence. The story suggests that courage is not the absence of fear but acting in spite of it.
Success criteria:
- Clearly describes how Maya is at the beginning and at the end
- Refers to at least three specific details or quotations
- Explains what each detail reveals about her feelings or character
- Identifies the turning point in the story
- Written in organised, accurate sentences
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
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