Test your understanding of the text.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 610.

Check whether you were attentive while reading the story.

Reading Comprehension Section

a) What part of the country did the Waverlys live in?

b) According to Mr. Waverly, what sum of money was mentioned in the first letter?

c) When was Johnnie kidnapped?

d) What was Mrs. Waverly's first name?

e) How long did Tredwell work for Mr.Waverly?

f) What was in the parcel carried by the tramp who was seized in the garden?

g) Was the clock in the council chamber gaining or losing on the day of the crime?

h) How did Tredwell's last brother die?

i) Did Mrs. Waverly know about the existence of the priest's hole?

j) How old was Jessie Withers?

k) What was the occupation of the man Jessie Withers was engaged to?

l) Did Hercule Poirot tell Mrs. Waverly the truth about the case?

m) Where did Mr.Waverly hide Johnnie?

a) What does the author mean when she writes that Mrs. Waverly's emotion strangely agreed with the shrewd, rather hard features of her face?

- Mrs. Waverly's emotional outbursts were reflected on her face

- Mrs. Waverly's emotions were in harmony with the features of her face

- Mrs. Waverly's emotions somehow contrasted with the features of her face

b) What did Mr. Waverly mean by saying that his wife gave him no peace?

- his wife never stopped accusing him

- his wife wanted to divorce him

- his wife kept telling him to go to the police

c) What did Johnnie's nurse do when she slipped down the drive?

- she lost her balance and fell down on the drive

- she quickly went along the drive trying not to be noticed

- she drove away

d) What did Mr. Waverly do when he sacked all his servants?

- he fired them

- he scolded them severely

- he refused to pay their wages

e) Mr. Waverly said that the nurse had come to him with excellent references. What does it mean?

- the nurse had good letters of recommendation from her previous employers

- the nurse was well-educated

- he had heard a lot of good things about the nurse before he hired her

f) What did Hercule Poirot want to say when he compared Johnnie to a goose that laid golden eggs?

- the criminals would do the boy no harm because his life meant money for them

- the criminals were going to use the boy to blackmail his father

- the boy was from a rich family

g) What was the motorist doing when he was giving a boy from Edenswell a ride?

- he was travelling with the child on a horse

- they were riding a bicycle together

- they were driving in a car

h) What did Hercule Poirot mean by calling the tramp's explanations to the police a thin story?

- the tramp's words were not convincing

- the tramp's story was too short

- the tramp's story did not sound true

i) How should the reader understand Hercule Poirot's words when he said that he was not yet clear as to the grounds of Waverly Court?

- he was not sure whether he should visit Waverly Court

- he was not sure where Waverly Court was situated

- he was not sure about the exact layout of the buildings and the territory of Waverly Court

j) The author writes that Mrs. Waverly's mother love was gaining the upper hand over her love of money. How should the reader understand this?

- Mrs. Waverly's motherly feelings were becoming stronger than her love of money

- Mrs. Waverly's motherly feelings were losing to her love of money

- Mrs. Waverly balanced between her motherly feelings and her love of money

k) The author characterizes Miss Jessie Withers as a superior woman. What does it mean?

- she used to be a boss

- she thought herself better than other people

- she was a woman of high rank

l) Miss Collins said that after tasting the same dishes Mrs. Waverly had eaten she felt no ill effects. What does it mean?

- she did not feel any symptoms of a disease or poisoning

- she did not feel any bad attitude to her

- she remained calm

m) What did Hercule Poirot mean by calling the poisoning of Mrs. Waverly, pinning letters to the pillow and putting on of the clock inside jobs?

- all those actions were done secretly

- all those actions were done by someone who lived in the house

- all those actions were mean and cruel