The Sound of Silence

What did Yoshio tell the koto player?

• • A. His grandfather had made a koto for him.

• • B. He wanted to learn how to play the koto.

• • C. He was taking violin lessons but wasn't good at it.

• • D. He'd never heard a sound like the notes of the koto.

Yoshio went to the quietest place he knew. What was it?

• • A. the healing garden at the temple

• • B. his secret treehouse in the woods

• • C. the bamboo grove near the playground

• • D. his grandmother's house

Yoshio could not find silence anywhere, even when he ​ ________.

• was in the bath

• swam underwater

• wore earplugs

• sat in his closet

Yoshio forgot where he was as he ​_________.

• watched a butterfly emerge from its cocoon

• gazed up at the snow-covered mountains

• read a story he loved in the empty classroom

• listened to koto music on his headphones

What did Yoshio discover about silence?

• It was between and underneath every sound.

• It sneaked in at night when everyone was sound asleep.

• It whispered, "takeh-takeh," like the sounds of bamboo stalks.

• It sounded like his own breathing.

According to Simu Liu who read the book on Storyline Online, he said that silence is the perfect environment through which we can ​ _______.

• learn

• play video games

• destress

• meditate

Where does Yoshio live?

• China

• America

• Japan

• Africa

What city does Yoshio journey through the hustle and bustle to find the most beautiful sound of all.

• Fresno

• Los Angeles

• Kyoto

• Tokyo

How do you think Yoshio felt when he finally found the silence?

• aggravated

• peaceful

• melancholy

• ecstatic

Ma is the Japanese word for ​________.

• happiness

• peaceful

• mother

• silence