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Question
Answer the following question as briefly as possible and with close reference to the relevant text.
Referring closely to the short story, The Sound Machine, describe the encounter between Klausner and Mrs. Saunders. How did it affirm his belief in his own invention?
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Solution
Klausner, the eccentric inventor of Sound Machine, wants to test his theory of ultrasonic sounds. For this, he takes his machine to the front yard. He casually glances at Mrs Saunders, his neighbour, who is cutting roses for her floral arrangement. To his surprise, he hears a scream and looks around for its source. He sees only Saunders. Then when she cuts another flower, he hears a similar sound which convinces him that his machine is picking up vibrations above human hearing. Just to confirm his discovery, he calls out to the lady and asks her to cut one more flower. As she sceptically obliges him, he distinctly hears the sad piercing sound. Then he agitatedly tells the lady that she is causing infinite pain to the flowering plants. The lady is convinced that this funny man is mad and hastily disappears into the safety of her house. However, Klausner is nearer to the culmination of his experiment.
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