Question

The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. Her shopping had tired her

and her basket had grown heavier with every step on the way home. In life, her thoughts were on

lunch and a good rest, but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden

discovery that her front door was open. She was thinking that she must reprimand her daily maid

the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when she remembered that she had

gone shopping after her maid had left and she had turned both the keys in their locks. She walked

slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her

regular practice, she had shut them before going out.

Looking into the drawing room she saw a scene of confusion by her writing desk. It was as clear

as daylight that burglars had forced an entry in her absence. Her first impulse was to go round all

the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent

to have someone with her , so she went to fetch the porter from the basement. By this time her

legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he

telephoned the police.After her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter’s assistance to search for

any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.

They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they didn’t want to hinder the

police in their search for fingerprints. The chaos was inconceivable. She had lived in the flat for

thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding and it seemed as though everything she

possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over. At least sorting out the things she

should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her.Then a police inspector

arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat. The inspector

began to look for fingerprints , while the constable sed skeleton keys or entered over the

balcony.

There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained

jewellery which the old lady said was not hers. So their entry into this flat was apparently not the

burglars’ first job that day and they must have been disturbed. The inspector then asked the lady

to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for

a new night. The old lady thought
(a) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: [3]

One word answers or short phrases will be accepted.

(i) Reprimand (Line 4)

(ii) Prudent (Line 11)

(iii) Fussy (Line 29)

(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.

(i) What took the lady’s mind off food and rest? [2]

(ii) Why did she decide not to reprimand the maid? [1]

(iii) How did the porter help the old lady? [2]

(iv) What was in the lady’s flat that didn’t belong to her?
(v) Why did the lady call her daughter
(c) In not more than describe what the police did at the old lady’s flat.​

Answer 1

Answer:

1 Reprimand - A formal expression of disapproval

2 Prudent - Acting with or showing care and thought for the future

3 Fussy - Full of unnecessary detail or decoration