Question

for those who love musicby axel munthe (adapted)for those who love music is one of the short memoirs and essays from axel munthes book vagaries. in this story, the author recounts his memories of his interactions with an organ player and his monkey who performed in the streets to make money.(1) i had engaged him by the year. twice a week he came and went through his whole repertoire, and lately, out of sympathy for me, he would play the miserere of the trovatore¹, which was his show piece, twice over. he stood there in the middle of the street looking steadfastly up at my windows while he played, and when he had finished he would take off his hat with an \addio, signori!\²(2) it is well known that the barrel-organ, like the violin, gets a fuller and more sympathetic tone the older it is. the old artist had an excellent instrument, not of the modern noisy type which imitates a whole orchestra with flutes and bells and beats of drums, but a melancholy old-fashioned barrel-organ which knew how to lend a dreamy mystery to the gayest allegretto³, and in whose proudest tempo di marcia⁴ there sounded an unmistakable undertone of resignation. and in the tenderer pieces of the repertoire, where the melody, muffied and staggering like a cracked old human voice, groped its way amongst the rusty pipes of the treble, then there was a trembling in the bass like suppressed sobs. now and then the voice of the tired organ failed it completely, and then the old man would regretfully turn the handle during some bars of rest more touching in their eloquent silence than any music.(3) true, the instrument was itself very expressive, but the old man had surely his share in the sensation of melancholy which came over me whenever i heard his music. he had his beat in the poor quarter behind the jardin des plantes⁵, and many times during my solitary rambles up there had i stopped and taken my place among the scanty audience of ragged23select the correct answer.which statement best reflects the central idea of the passage?a. being too focused on oneself can lead to missing the important things in life.b. it is more important to focus on peoples similarities than their differences.c. it is sometimes difficult to see past someones role to see who they truly are.d. music can bring joy to everyones life if one takes time to appreciate it.

Explanation:

The passage focuses on the author's experience with an organ player, initially seeing him as just a street performer, but then coming to recognize the depth of his emotion and humanity through his music. This aligns with the idea that it can be hard to look past someone's surface role to their true self. Option A is not supported, as the author is not focused on himself. Option B is irrelevant, as the text does not discuss similarities vs differences between people. Option D is too broad; the passage is more about the person behind the music than universal joy from music.

Answer:

C. It is sometimes difficult to see past someone's role to see who they truly are.