Missing for 35 years, the stunning discovery of a stolen Stradivarius

PRUEBAS ESTANDARIZADAS (A2)

 
http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/stradivarius-ex-nachez.jpg   

A 281-year-old Stradivarius violin stolen from a beloved musician and teacher has been found.  RomanTotenberg, a Polish-American violinist who played with major orchestras and became a leading teacher in the Boston area, died in 2012 at the age of 101. Later today, in New York City, the instrument will be returned to his three daughters.

The violin disappeared on a Thursday in 1980 in Cambridge, Mass. That night, Totenberg had performed in a concert at the Longy School of Music. The instrument was stolen from his office during a post-show reception. Totenberg’s suspected a young musician, Philip Johnson.  But Totenberg never had enough evidence to convince legal authorities to search the musician’s home.

It took 35 years, but in the end, he was right. Johnson, who moved to California in the 1980s, died 2011 at the age of 58. He left his ex-wife an instrument in a locked case. It wasn’t until earlier this year, that she finally cracked the combination lock and found the Stradivarius and took it to an expert, who examined the violin and contacted the FBI Art Theft team.

“His one regret is that he didn’t see it and play it again,” said his daughter Nina Totenberg. “He was practicing two weeks before he died.

The Totenberg sisters will sell the Strad, but not to just anybody. “We’re not selling to a collector unless it’s played.”

1  Underline the wrong information in each sentence and correct it.  Don’t make the sentence negative: correct the mistakes using the information from the text, like in the example.  One mark each (6 marks)

Example

0              A 281-year-old Stradivarius violin was broken    stolen from  

         by a musician.

1              Roman Totenberg was a Polish-American pianist.                                      

2              The missing violin will be taken from Totenberg’s 

         three daughters later today.                                                                    

3              Totenberg taught a class in Cambridge Mass.                                       

         on the night the violin was stolen.

4              Philip Johnson was an old musician.                                                      

5              Totenberg had a lot of evidence to show that Philip                               

         Johnson was guilty.

6              The expert was the person who opened the violin                                  

         case.

2  Vocabulary

Find words or phrases in the text that match the following definitions.  ONE MARK EACH (4 marks)

1      popular, liked  (para 1)

2      party  (para 2)

3      to look somewhere carefully to find something (para 2)

4      a container or box (para 3)

3 Match the dates, people and events

1911                                        Roman                        died

1980                                        Totenberg                    was born

2011                                        Philip John                   was unlocked

2012                                        the Stradivarius            was stolen

2015                                        violin                            was recovered

                                               

Source:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/missing-for-35-years-the-stunning-discovery-of-stolen-stradivarius/2015/08/06/c458be58-3bf4-11e5-b3ac-8a79bc44e5e2_story.html

Key

1   pianist       violinist      2  taken from     returned to    3  taught a class  performed in a concert     4   old    young     5  had a lot of    didn’t have enough    6   expert     exwife

2   1  beloved    2   reception  3  search     4  case

3   1911 Roman Totenberg was born.

     1980      The Stradivarius violin was stolen.

     2011       Philip Johnson died.

     2012      Roman Totenberg died.

     2015      The Stradivarius violin was recovered