The Music Lesson

1 “Guess what?” said Sofia as she opened her lunchbox. “I finally convinced my parents to let me take guitar lessons!”
2 “That’s awesome,” replied Jamal. “But what about piano? We’ve always taken lessons together.”
3 Sofia hesitated. “I still like piano, but I want to try something new. Guitar sounds exciting, and I want to write my own songs.”
4 Jamal frowned. “But if you switch, I’ll be in piano by myself. We’ve always practiced duets for the recital.”
5 “I know,” Sofia said quietly. “That’s why I feel nervous. I don’t want you to think I’m quitting on us.”
6 Jamal sighed. “I just don’t want things to change.”
7 That evening, Sofia sat with her guitar across her lap. She loved strumming the strings, but she dreaded telling Jamal that she wasn’t going back to piano class.
8 The next day at school, she finally spoke up. “Jamal, I’m going to take guitar. I hope that doesn’t make you upset.”
9 Jamal looked thoughtful. “I’ll miss playing duets with you, but I get it. You’ve always wanted to write songs. I’ll cheer for you at your first guitar concert.”
10 Sofia smiled with relief. “Thanks, Jamal. And I’ll still come to your piano recitals. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll perform a song together—piano and guitar.”
11 Jamal grinned. “Yeah, we’ll make our own band. Best friends make the best music.”

---

Questions

1. The word dreaded in paragraph 7 shows that Sofia felt —
A. nervous
B. happy
C. confused
D. confident

---

2. The details in paragraphs 9–11 support the idea that Sofia and Jamal —
A. stop being friends after Sofia switches instruments
B. remain supportive even though their lessons are different
C. both decide to quit music lessons
D. argue about which instrument is better

---

3. What is the most likely reason the author includes paragraph 3?
A. To explain why Sofia wants to learn guitar
B. To describe Jamal’s favorite piano songs
C. To show how hard piano lessons can be
D. To explain why Jamal dislikes guitar

---

4. Read this sentence from paragraph 9.
“I’ll miss playing duets with you, but I get it.”
This supports the theme of the story by showing that —
A. friends should never change their hobbies
B. true friends respect each other’s choices
C. piano is more important than guitar
D. duets are the only way to stay friends

---

5. Why does the author use the phrase “Sofia sat with her guitar across her lap” in paragraph 7?
A. To show that Sofia was already enjoying her new instrument
B. To suggest that Sofia was angry at Jamal
C. To explain that Sofia no longer liked piano
D. To show that Sofia didn’t want to practice

---

6. The use of third-person point of view helps the reader understand —
A. how Jamal feels about playing piano
B. how Sofia struggles with her decision
C. what Sofia’s parents think about music lessons
D. what will happen at the recital

---

7. Why did Sofia and Jamal always take piano lessons together in the past?
(Short Answer)

---

8. How does Sofia and Jamal’s friendship change by the end of the story?
A. They realize they can support each other even with different instruments
B. They agree to stop playing music
C. They decide to both take guitar instead of piano
D. They find out that only duets keep friends close

---

Answer Key

1. A (nervous)
2. B (remain supportive even though their lessons are different)
3. A (to explain why Sofia wants to learn guitar)
4. B (true friends respect each other’s choices)
5. A (to show that Sofia was already enjoying her new instrument)
6. B (how Sofia struggles with her decision)
7. Because they both took lessons together and enjoyed playing duets at recitals.
8. A (They realize they can support each other even with different instruments)