(A)
After several futile attempts to teach the role of theme, or the prominent repeated melody, in classical music, the teacher was at wit’s end. Having reminded her students many times that composers like Wagner depended on the listeners’ remembering the earlier theme to recognize its later use, (a) she was determined to make her students understand that themes recur throughout a piece.

(B)
She knew that her class had little trouble with simple variations and could easily identify themes that were repeated in a similar way. But when the theme showed much variation, the students’ attention focused on the new detail to such an extent that they no longer ‘heard’ the basic theme. For a week or two, the teacher worried about the problem. Other teachers advised (b) her to go on with something else, but she continued to search for a solution.

(C)
The following day in class, (c) she asked how many students had tape recorders. A dozen or so students said, “I do.” The teacher said excitedly, “I have an idea. Let’s play Beethoven’s Eroica again. One of you can record the theme when it’s first introduced. Then later, someone else can record it the second time it appears. Finally, we’ll have another person record when it appears next. Then we can start all three tape recorders at exactly the same time to see if the recordings fit!” Her students looked at (d) her in surprise. Suddenly, however, delight appeared on their faces. And so it was done. When they played the recordings simultaneously, the sounds blended sufficiently for the students to recognize their commonality.

(D)
With this problem in mind, one afternoon during the lunch hour, she noticed a group of students gathered in a corner of the school yard. Several girls were moving their bodies rhythmically. Curious, she drew closer and found that the students were listening to a new rock hit. A girl in the center of the group held a tape recorder in (e) her hand. At that moment, a sudden inspiration took hold.

① (a)

② (b)

③ (c)

④ (d)

⑤ (e)