"The Trial"
Passage from "The Mysterious Affair of Styles"
With a satisfied and expressive
countenance, Sir Ernest observed:
"I have nothing more to ask
you, Mr. Cavendish."
This bit of cross-examination had
caused great excitement in court. The heads of the many fashionably attired
women present were busily laid together, and their whispers became so loud that
the judge angrily threatened to have the court cleared if there was not
immediate silence.
There was little more evidence.
The hand-writing experts were called upon for their opinion of the signature of
"Alfred Inglethorp" in the chemist's poison
register. They all declared unanimously that it was certainly not his
hand-writing, and gave it as their view that it might be that of the prisoner
disguised. Cross-examined, they admitted that it might be the prisoner's
hand-writing cleverly counterfeited.
Sir Ernest Heavywether's
speech in opening the case for the defense was not a long one, but it was
backed by the full force of his emphatic manner. Never, he said, in the course
of his long experience, had he known a charge of murder rest on slighter
evidence. Not only was it entirely circumstantial, but the greater part of it
was practically unproved. Let them take the testimony they had heard and sift
it impartially. The strychnine had been found in a drawer in the prisoner's
room. That drawer was an unlocked one, as he had pointed out, and he submitted
that there was no evidence to prove that it was the prisoner who had concealed
the poison there. It was, in fact, a wicked and malicious attempt on the part
of some third person to fix the crime on the prisoner…
Reading
Comprehension Questions
1) Which of the following is the setting for the above
passage?
a.
a crime scene
b.
a chemist’s lab
c.
a judge’s chamber
d.
a court room
2) In the opening sentence, the word “countenance” means which
of the following?
a.
facial expression
b.
pile of money
c.
jury box
d.
judge’s robe
3) Using clues from the above passage, it appears that which of
the following was the “murder weapon”?
a.
a letter opener
b.
a deadly poison
c.
a heavy drawer
d.
an ink pen
4) In the fourth paragraph of the above passage, who is “Alfred
Inglethorpe”?
a.
the criminal who forged a chemist’s signature
b.
the handwriting expert who analyzed the signature
c.
the witness who found the forged signature
d.
the chemist whose signature was forged
5) Based on the opening sentence, which of the following took
place just before the scene in the above passage?
a.
Sir Ernest questioned Mr. Cavendish on the witness stand
b.
Mr. Cavendish questioned Sir Ernest on the witness stand
c.
Sir Ernest questioned the handwriting experts on the witness
stand
d.
Mr. Cavendish questioned the handwriting experts on the
witness stand
6) The above passage is from a detective novel about a murder
mystery. The above scene would most
logically take place at what point in the book?
a.
as the opening scene of the novel
b.
as a foreshadowing scene
c.
as a flashback
d.
near the end of the novel
Answer Key
1)
Which of the
following is the setting for the above passage?
a.
a crime scene
b.
a chemist’s lab
c.
a judge’s chamber
d.
a court room
2)
In the
opening sentence, the word “countenance” means which of the following?
a.
facial expression
b.
pile of money
c.
jury box
d.
judge’s robe
3)
Using clues
from the above passage, it appears that which of the following was the “murder
weapon”?
a.
a letter opener
b.
a deadly poison
c.
a heavy drawer
d.
an ink pen
4)
In the fourth
paragraph of the above passage, who is “Alfred Inglethorpe”?
a.
the criminal who forged a chemist’s signature
b.
the handwriting expert who analyzed the
signature
c.
the witness who found the forged signature
d.
the chemist whose
signature was forged
5)
Based on the
opening sentence, which of the following took place just before the
scene in the above passage?
a.
Sir Ernest questioned
Mr. Cavendish on the witness stand
b.
Mr. Cavendish questioned Sir Ernest on the
witness stand
c.
Sir Ernest questioned the handwriting experts
on the witness stand
d.
Mr. Cavendish questions the handwriting
experts on the witness stand
6)
The above
passage is from a detective novel about a murder mystery. The above scene would most logically take
place at what point in the book?
a.
as the opening scene of the novel
b.
as a foreshadowing scene
c.
as a flashback
d.
near the end of
the novel