"Meet Jeeves"
Passage from "My Man Jeeves"
Jeeves—my
man, you know—is really a most extraordinary chap. So
capable. Honestly, I shouldn't know what to do without him.
On broader
lines he's like those chappies who sit peering sadly
over the marble battlements at the Pennsylvania Station in the place marked
"Inquiries." ...You go up to
them and say: "When's the next train for
As an instance of what I mean, I remember meeting
Monty Byng in
"Jeeves," I said
that evening. "I'm getting a check suit like that one of Mr. Byng's."
"Injudicious, sir," he said firmly. "It
will not become you."
"What absolute rot! It's the soundest thing I've
struck for years."
"Unsuitable for you, sir."
Well, the long and the short of it was that the
confounded thing came home, and I put it on, and when I caught sight of myself
in the glass I nearly swooned. Jeeves was perfectly
right. I looked a cross between a music-hall comedian and a cheap bookie. Yet
Monty had looked fine in absolutely the same stuff. These things are just Life's mysteries, and
that's all there is to it.
Reading Comprehension Questions
1) Which of the following best describes the narrator of
the above passage?
a.
the narrator is a man named Jeeves
b.
the narrator is a character who is friends with Jeeves
c.
the narrator is not a character who appears in the story
d.
the narrator is in the story, but the main characters do not
know him
2) In the 2nd paragraph of the above passage, the
narrator uses an extended simile to describe Jeeves. What does the simile say about him?
a.
he seems to know everything about everything
b.
he is always giving his opinion when they are not wanted
c.
he is shy and has no thoughts about anything
d.
he always seems to be wrong with all of his ideas
3) In the above passage, the main character and Jeeves disagree about which of the following?
a.
how the main character will look in a suit
b.
where their friend purchased a suit
c.
how their friend looked in a suit
d.
whether the main character can get a suit
4) In the above passage, the narrator says that Monty Bing was "looking the last word in a grey
checked suit." In this context,
what does he mean by the term "last word"?
a.
silly
b.
pitiful
c.
shifty
d.
great
5) In the last paragraph of the above passage, the narrator
says, "I looked like a cross between
a music-hall comedian and a cheap bookie." In this sentence, the author strengthens his
description by using which of these?
a.
a comparison
b.
personification
c.
an allegory
d.
alliteration
6) The above passage is from the beginning of a novel. The author most likely included this scene in
the novel for which of these purposes?
a.
to describe the grey suit to the readers
b.
to show the
personalities of the characters
c.
to introduce
Pennsylvania Station as the setting
d.
to explain what Jeeves does for a living
Answer Key
1)
Which of the
following best describes the narrator of the above passage?
a.
the narrator is a man named Jeeves
b.
the narrator is a
character who is friends with Jeeves
c.
the narrator is not a character who appears in
the story
d.
the narrator is in the story, but the main
characters do not know him
2)
In the 2nd
paragraph of the above passage, the narrator uses an extended simile to
describe Jeeves.
What does the simile say about him?
a.
he seems to know
everything about everything
b.
he is always giving his opinion when they are
not wanted
c.
he is shy and has no thoughts about anything
d.
he always seems to be wrong with all of his
ideas
3)
In the above passage,
the main character and Jeeves disagree about which of
the following?
a.
how the main
character will look in a suit
b.
where their friend purchased a suit
c.
how their friend looked in a suit
d.
whether the main character can get a suit
4)
In the above
passage, the narrator says that Monty Bing was "looking the last word in a grey checked suit." In this context, what does he mean by the
term "last word"?
a.
silly
b.
pitiful
c.
shifty
d.
great
5)
In the last
paragraph of the above passage, the narrator says, "I looked like a cross between a music-hall comedian and a cheap
bookie." In this sentence, the
author strengthens his description by using which of these?
a.
a comparison
b.
personification
c.
an
allegory
d.
alliteration
6)
The above
passage is from the beginning of a novel.
The author most likely included this scene in the novel for which of
these purposes?
a.
to describe the grey suit to the readers
b.
to show the personalities of the characters
c.
to
introduce Pennsylvania Station as the setting
d.
to
explain what Jeeves does for a living