Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1 and 2 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1　Where did Hannay live before he came to London?

2　What nationality was Scudder?

3　How was Scudder killed?

4　How did Hannay disguise himself when he left his flat?

5　Where did Hannay take the train to?

Chapters 3 and 4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1　Scudder's code used numbers.

2　The hotel-owner had written a lot of books.

3　Hannay decided to write a letter to the British Prime Minister.

4　Hannay crashed the car into a river.

5　Hannay told Sir Harry that he had killed Scudder.

Chapters 5 and 6 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1　Why did the roadman feel ill?

2　What did Hannay do to disguise himself as the roadman?

3　Why was the bald man not sure if his prisoner was Hannay or Ainslie?

4　How did Hannay escape from the bald man's house?

5　Where did he hide after escaping?

Chapters 7 and 8 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1　Hannay stayed with the roadman for ten days.

2　Hannay met Sir Walter Bullivant on a train.

3　Karolides was killed in London.

4　MacGillivray arrested Hannay.

5　Hannay spoke to Lord Alloa on the phone.

Chapters 9 and 10 Who in the story...

1　... drove to Bradgate with Hannay?

2　... watched Trafalgar House through a telescope?

3　... opened the door of Trafalgar House?

4　... said he wasn't in England when Scudder was murdered?

5　... escaped across the garden to the Ariadne?

B Working with language

1　Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences. Check your answers in Chapter 6.

1　The old man's friends were coming for lunch,

2　I tried the windows

3　I felt the boxes and bottles,

4　It was a cupboard door.

5　I had nothing else to do

6　and it was locked.

7　but they would not move.

8　and then found a door in the wall.

9　so I pulled on it until it opened.

10　so I had only two hours.

2　Put these sentences into the right order. Then use these linking words to make a summary.

while　　although　　as soon as　　when

1　... he heard the whistle, the thin man ran away.

2　... he told them he was arresting them, they were very surprised.

3　Hannay went to Trafalgar House

4　... they were waiting for Hannay to decide, they played cards.

5　... he wasn't sure that the men who lived there were the spies.

6　At ten o'clock, Hannay decided that the men were the spies, and blew his whistle.

C Activities

1　You are the milkman. What questions did the police ask you and what were your answers?

2　Write the letter that Sir Harry wrote to Sir Walter Bullivant.

3　Write the police report that MacGillivray wrote after he had arrested the spies.

Glossary

ally a person or country that has an agreement with another or gives help

biscuit a kind of thin, dry cake, usually small and round

candidate a person who is trying to win an election

carriage one part of a train

clue a thing, or a piece of information, that helps to find the answer to a problem or a crime

code secret writing, using letters or numbers

crawl to move slowly, with your body on or close to the ground

direction the line along which a person looks or moves

disguise to make yourself look different so that people don't recognize you

election when people vote to choose a person to be in the government

evidence things which show that something is true or not

evil very bad

explosive (n.) something which can blow up

fuse a long string which is used to light an explosive

government the group of people who control a country

harbour a place where ships can stop safely next to the land

hawk a bird which kills and eats small animals and birds

heap a lot of things, one on top of the other

heather a short plant with purple flowers which grows on moors

hedge a thick line of low trees and bushes

hood (v.) (in this story) to half-close your eyes

lisp (v. and n.) to speak in a way that makes an 's' sound like 'th'

malaria a disease carried by an insect, which gives a high fever

milkman a man who takes milk to houses every morning

moor open, rough land on hills with no trees

navy all the warships of one country

nervous rather frightened

officer an important person in an army

path a small road for people to walk on

point (v.) to show with your hand where something is

politics the life, work, business of government

Prime Minister the most important person in a government

relaxed feeling calm and peaceful, not excited or angry or worried

risk (n.) a chance that could bring danger

rude not polite

Scotland Yard the headquarters of the police in London

servant a person who is paid to cook and clean for another person

shave to cut the hair off a man's face

shutter a wooden or metal door outside a window

stream a small river

submarine a ship that can travel under the water

telescope a long tube for seeing things which are a long way away

tide the rise and fall of the sea every twelve hours

timetable a list which gives the times of trains

tobacco jar a special box for the tobacco smoked in a pipe

tower a tall, narrow building

trust to believe that somebody is honest

whistle (v.) to make a high clear sound by blowing through a small hole between partly closed lips

wine an alcoholic drink made from grapes

wire a long thin piece of metal, like a string

yacht a sailing boat