What is suggested by 'as if it had been waiting years to be heard'?
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: C. The violin seemed eager to be played after a long silence.
- Step 1: The sentence gives the old violin a wish, which is personification. Step 2. It has not been played since the husband died, so it is eager to be heard. Answer: The violin seemed eager to be played after a long silence. Why not the others: Kofi had been waiting years for the chance to perform.: He had practised for six weeks, not years. The audience had waited a long time for the concert to begin.: The sentence is about the instrument, not the audience. The old woman had practised the piece for many years.: The old woman is not said to have played the piece.
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More Reading comprehension questions
- Why could Kofi not play his own violin at the concert?
- 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?