Question

the piano shop on the left bank
by thad carhart
i sat on the bench and smiled at luc. i was nervous,
almost spellbound; suddenly this great impractical hulk
was the gateway to a territory from which i had been
absent for too long. something said \yes!\ before i even
touched the keyboard. i trusted luc but i realized, too,
that i wanted to love this piano, i wanted to invite music
back into my life. i tried a few scales, then some
harmonic progressions, and finally, with more certainty,
some arpeggios.¹ a thrill that i had not expected ran
through me as the notes resounded. the stingl had a
good, clean action, but it took some work to move the
keys. none of the vaunted silkiness of the steinway or the
velvet touch of other famous makes; no, this was a
profoundly physical undertaking, almost athletic in its
requirements. and yet the tone it produced was very
sweet and full, a strange and wonderful combination of
the robust and the delicate.
2 \its a nice one, no?\ luc was beaming at my very
apparent pleasure.
3 \its a nice one, yes! it takes some work, but what a
beautiful sound.\
28
use \those old piano blues\ to answer the following question.
which word from the excerpt from the article \those old piano blues\ means \an
approximate amount\?
a peak (paragraph 1)
b substantial (paragraph 3)
c roughly (paragraph 4)
d treacherous (paragraph 5)

Explanation:

• Peak: Refers to the highest point, not an approximate amount.
• Substantial: Means large in amount or degree, not an approximate amount.
• Roughly: Means approximately or about, which matches the meaning of "an approximate amount".
• Treacherous: Means dangerous or unreliable, not related to an approximate amount.

Answer:

C. roughly (paragraph 4)