Synopsis of The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl
About The Author Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter and a fighter pilot. He is one of the bestselling authors and a great storyteller of children's stories of the 20th century. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. His stories are known for unexpected endings. The Tales of the Unexpected. Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are some of his delightful creations."The Sound Machine combines science with conservation and explores illusion and reality.
Summary of The Sound Machine
"The Sound Machine is a thought-provoking story that invites us to ponder over all things in nature. Klausner is a man obsessed with sounds. It makes him invent the machine that can detect sounds of all frequencies that humans cannot normally hear. He reveals the secret only to his doctor. One day, he takes the machine to his yard. There he could hear the sound of flower stems cut by his neighbour. When he tells her about this, she suspects him to have gone mad. The next day, he experiments further. He makes a cut on a tree and to his horror, he hears a terrible groan as the axe, makes the incision. He calls the doctor to hear it. But before the doctor could hear it, a huge branch of the tree tumbled on them. The men escaped the impact, but the machine was crushed. The agony of the tree made Klausner feel that if it can feel the pain like a human, it can also be treated like a human. So he asks the doctor to apply for medicine on the gashes. Seeing the mad expression of Klausner, the doctor applies for medicine and also promises to keep doing it, till the wounds heal. After this, they walk away hand in hand.Word-Meanings
peered - looked with concentration;
tugging - pulling hard;
twiddle - fiddle with something in a nervous way:
deftly - in a way that is neatly skilful and quick in movement;
innards – the internal workings of a device or machine:
intrigued - perplexed:
inquisitive - curious;
animated – full of vigour:
frail - weak:
twitch - sudden jerky movement;
squeaking - a high-pitched sound or cry;
consumptive - affected with a wasting disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis:
bespectacled - wearing glasses;
cocked - tilted in a particular direction:
spasmodic - irregular:
ultrasonic - sound waves having a frequency higher than what humans can hear;
dash - run or travel somewhere in a great hurry:
inanimate - showing no sign of life;
stony - cold or unfriendly;
toin or spur or plinuckment - the writer's invitation to create your own word to describe something:
gash - deep cut or slash:
frantic - desperate;
hysterical - agitated;
spellbound - entranced, totally captivated;
subtle - delicate;
humour him - to go along with something which seems silly just for the sake of the other person ; instinctively - impulsively;
suffused - spread over.