Probably no other musical instrument is as popular as the guitar around the world. Musicians use the guitar for almost all kinds of music. Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible without this instrument.

Music experts do not agree about where the guitar was first played. Most agree it is ancient. Some experts say an instrument very much like a guitar was played in Egypt more than 1,000 years ago. Most experts say that the ancestor of the modern guitar was brought to Spain from Persia sometime in the 12thcentury. The guitar continued to develop in Spain. In the 1700s it became similar to the instrument we know today.

Many famous musicians played the instrument. The famous Italian violins Niccole Paganism played and wrote music for the guitar in the early 1800s. Franz Schubert used the guitar to write some of his famous works. In modern times Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia helped make the instrument extremely popular.

In the 1930s, Les Paul began experimenting to make an electric guitar. He invented the solid-bodied electric guitar in 1946. The Gibson Guitar Company began producing its famous Les Paul Guitar in 1952. It became a powerful influence on popular music. The instrument has the same shape and the same six strings as the traditional guitar, but it sounds very different. Les Paul produced a series of extremely popular recordings that introduced the public to this music. Listen to this Les Paul recording. It was the fifth most popular song in the United States in 1952. It is called "Meet Mister Callaghan." What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What instrument is the most popular?
Answer: 1. guitar

CHAPTER XI.

Mr. Barbecue-Smith was gone. The motor had whirled him away to the station; a faint smell of burning oil commemorated his recent departure. A considerable detachment had come into the courtyard to speed him on his way; and now they were walking back, round the side of the house, towards the terrace and the garden. They walked in silence; nobody had yet ventured to comment on the departed guest.

"Well?" said Anne at last, turning with raised inquiring eyebrows to Denis.

"Well?" It was time for someone to begin.

Denis declined the invitation; he passed it on to Mr Scogan. "Well?" he said.

Mr. Scogan did not respond; he only repeated the question, "Well?"

It was left for Henry Wimbush to make a pronouncement. "A very agreeable adjunct to the week-end," he said. His tone was obituary.

They had descended, without paying much attention where they were going, the steep yew-walk that went down, under the flank of the terrace, to the pool. The house towered above them, immensely tall, with the whole height of the built-up terrace added to its own seventy feet of brick facade. The perpendicular lines of the three towers soared up, uninterrupted, enhancing the impression of height until it became overwhelming. They paused at the edge of the pool to look back.

"The man who built this house knew his business," said Denis. "He was an architect."

"Was he?" said Henry Wimbush reflectively. "I doubt it. The builder of this house was Sir Ferdinando Lapith, who flourished during the reign of Elizabeth. He inherited the estate from his father, to whom it had been granted at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries; for Crome was originally a cloister of monks and this swimming-pool their fish-pond. Sir Ferdinando was not content merely to adapt the old monastic buildings to his own purposes; but using them as a stone quarry for his barns and byres and outhouses, he built for himself a grand new house of brick--the house you see now." What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who left?
2. Was everyone happy he left?
3. Where did they go?
4. How tall is the house?
5. Was it made of wood?
6. What was it made of?
7. What was they standing by?
8. what did it use to be?
9. For who?
10. Who built the house?
11. When was he alive?
12. Did they talk about the departed guest?
Answer: 1. Mr. Barbecue-Smith
2. Yes
3. Round the side of the house
4. Seventy feet
5. No
6. Brick
7. By the pool
8. A fish-pond
9. Monks
10. Sir Ferdinando Lapith
11. during the reign of Elizabeth.
12. No

Once there was a granddaddy named Tom who hadn't seen his daughter Rachel in many years. Rachel had a daughter of her own named Melissa, but she and Tom had had a fight before Melissa was born. Because of that, Tom had never met Melissa. Tom's wife Marge had died many years before, so he lived alone. He liked living alone, but he missed Rachel. Tom spent most of his time working in his garden. He liked to plant pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes. He hated peas and broccoli, so he never planted them. He liked zucchini and spinach, but he didn't have any of those plants to plant. One day Tom got a call on his phone. He picked it up and asked who it was. The voice on the other end of the line said, "It's me, Rachel." Tom was so surprised he almost dropped the phone. He said, "Rachel, is it really you? I can't believe it." Rachel said that she had been thinking about Tom and she wanted to make up for their fight. Tom was so happy. They were going to meet the next weekend. Even before he hung up, Tom could imagine himself hugging his daughter. He sat down and thought about everything he wanted to say to her. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. who lived alone?
2. did he have family?
3. who were they?
4. were they on speaking terms?
5. why?
6. what about Marge?
7. and Melissa?
8. what does he do most of the time?
9. what does he plant?
10. does he dislike any?
11. what were they?
12. did he and his family ever reunite?
13. how?
14. are they meeting?
15. when?
16. what was his reaction?
17. did he think about doing anything?
18. what?
Answer:
1. Tom
2. yes
3. his daughter Rachel, granddaughter Melissa, and wife Marge
4. no
5. Rachel and Tom had had a fight
6. Marge had died many years before
7. had never seen her granddad
8. working in his garden
9. pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes.
10. yes
11. peas and broccoli
12. yes
13. Rachel called him
14. yes
15. They were going to meet the next weekend.
16. he was surprised
17. yes
18. what he wanted to say, and hugging her