Vanessa Mae – YouTube video part 1 – comprehension questions

Scroll down to page 3 to check your answers

Time: 03:00 +

1What influence did her mother have over her first video?

a)She chose her clothes.

b)She decided the style of music.

c)She chose the locations.

2In what way is Vanessa uncomfortable with this?

a)Her mother was too controlling.

b)The clothes she chose were inappropriate.

c)She made Vanessa work too hard.

Time: 0400 - 0430

3What examples does Vanessa give of things her mother did or said that she didn't like or agree with?

a)She made her cut her hair short.

b)She wouldn't allow Vanessa to study the subjects she wanted.

c)She said if you die on the way to a concert, you'll get a big obituary.

d)She made Vanessa give her the money from her record sales.

Time: 0430+

4What is Vanessa's stepfather's opinion?

a)He completely agrees with Vanessa's mother.

b)He thinks her mother made a big mistake.

c)He thinks Vanessa's mother had good intentions.

Time 0440:

5What does Vanessa mean when she says, 'we decided to call it a day,' on the eve of her 21st birthday in 1999

6How did her mother react to the ending of their professional relationship?

Time: 0525+

7Why does she say that nature was more important than nurture in making her career up until the age of eight?

Time: 0650+

8Why is she going to meet a neuroscientist?

Time: 0900+

9What differences does the neuroscientist describe between a musician's brain, such as Vanessa's, and a normal person's brain such as his own?

Answers

1What influence did her mother have over her first video?

She chose her clothes.

2In what way is Vanessa uncomfortable with this?

The clothes she chose were inappropriate.

Time: 0400 - 0430

3What examples does Vanessa give of things her mother did or said that she didn't like or agree with?

She made her cut her hair short.

She said if you die on the way to a concert, you'll get a big obituary.

Time: 0430+

4What is Vanessa's stepfather's opinion?

He thinks Vanessa's mother had good intentions.

Time 0440:

5What does Vanessa mean when she says, 'we decided to call it a day,' on the eve of her 21st birthday in 1999.

She ended their professional relationship; she fired her mother as her manager

6How did her mother react to the ending of their professional relationship?

They haven't met for the last 8 years

Time: 0525+

7Why does she say that nature was more important than nurture in making her career up until the age of eight?

Because her parents were too busy as full-time lawyers to track her career.'I was left to my own devices' – i.e. she was left to do things in her own way.

Time: 0650+

8Why is she going to meet a neuroscientist?

He is going to work out the relationship between her brain and motor functions.

Time: 0900+

9What differences does the neuroscientist describe between a musician's brain, such as Vanessa's, and a normal person's brain such as his own?

The interaction between different regions of the brain is better.