Why could Kofi not play his own violin at the concert?
Kofi had practised the sonata every evening for six weeks, and now, ten minutes before the school concert, he was standing in the corridor with a broken string curling out of his violin like a wisp of hair.
'It cannot be mended,' said Mr Okoro, the music teacher, turning the instrument over in his hands. 'Not in ten minutes. I am so sorry, Kofi.'
Kofi stared at the floor. His stomach felt as if he had swallowed a stone. Then a thin voice spoke from the doorway. An old woman in a green coat, somebody's grandmother, was holding out a battered case.
'Mine,' she said. 'It has not been played since my husband died, but it keeps its tune. You may borrow it, if you promise to be gentle.'
The violin inside was darker than his own, its varnish worn pale where a chin had rested for decades. Kofi tucked it under his jaw and drew the bow across a string. The note that came out was warmer and deeper than anything he had ever managed.
When his name was called, he walked on to the stage with the borrowed violin and a pounding heart. For the first few bars his fingers shook. Then the old instrument seemed to steady him, and the music poured out as if it had been waiting years to be heard.
'It cannot be mended,' said Mr Okoro, the music teacher, turning the instrument over in his hands. 'Not in ten minutes. I am so sorry, Kofi.'
Kofi stared at the floor. His stomach felt as if he had swallowed a stone. Then a thin voice spoke from the doorway. An old woman in a green coat, somebody's grandmother, was holding out a battered case.
'Mine,' she said. 'It has not been played since my husband died, but it keeps its tune. You may borrow it, if you promise to be gentle.'
The violin inside was darker than his own, its varnish worn pale where a chin had rested for decades. Kofi tucked it under his jaw and drew the bow across a string. The note that came out was warmer and deeper than anything he had ever managed.
When his name was called, he walked on to the stage with the borrowed violin and a pounding heart. For the first few bars his fingers shook. Then the old instrument seemed to steady him, and the music poured out as if it had been waiting years to be heard.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. A string had broken and could not be mended in time.
- Step 1: The first paragraph describes a broken string curling out of the violin. Step 2. Mr Okoro says it cannot be mended in ten minutes. Answer: A string had broken and could not be mended in time. Why not the others: It had been left at home on the day of the concert.: The violin is in his hands in the corridor. Its wood had cracked when he dropped it on the stairs.: Only a broken string is mentioned. Mr Okoro had asked him to lend it to another pupil.: This Mr Okoro is sorry and offers no such request.
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More Reading comprehension questions
- What does 'His stomach felt as if he had swallowed a stone' show about Kofi?
- Who offered Kofi another violin?
- What did the old woman ask of Kofi in return for the loan?
- What does the phrase 'its varnish worn pale where a chin had rested for decades' suggest?
- How did the sound of the borrowed violin compare with Kofi's own?
- What is suggested by 'as if it had been waiting years to be heard'?