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    Chapter 7 - Evans Tries An O-Level PDF

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    sharique alam
    This document provides answers to comprehension questions about a chapter from the NCERT English textbook. The chapter tells the story of Evans, a clever prisoner who had escaped from prison three times previously. It describes the many precautions taken by the prison governor to administer an exam to Evans securely, but how Evans is still able to outwit the staff through his cunning plans and manipulation of their assumptions. He fakes an injury to trick the officers and escapes again at the end. The answers analyze Evans' intelligence in predicting the prison staff's weaknesses and having the last laugh through his successful escapes.

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    Chapter 7 - Evans Tries An O-Level PDF

    Uploaded by

    sharique alam
    238 views5 pages
    This document provides answers to comprehension questions about a chapter from the NCERT English textbook. The chapter tells the story of Evans, a clever prisoner who had escaped from prison three times previously. It describes the many precautions taken by the prison governor to administer an exam to Evans securely, but how Evans is still able to outwit the staff through his cunning plans and manipulation of their assumptions. He fakes an injury to trick the officers and escapes again at the end. The answers analyze Evans' intelligence in predicting the prison staff's weaknesses and having the last laugh through his successful escapes.

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    Chapter 7 - Evans Tries an O-level.pdf

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    This document provides answers to comprehension questions about a chapter from the NCERT English textbook. The chapter tells the story of Evans, a clever prisoner who had escaped from prison three times previously. It describes the many precautions taken by the prison governor to administer an exam to Evans securely, but how Evans is still able to outwit the staff through his cunning plans and manipulation of their assumptions. He fakes an injury to trick the officers and escapes again at the end. The answers analyze Evans' intelligence in predicting the prison staff's weaknesses and having the last laugh through his successful escapes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    238 views5 pages

    Chapter 7 - Evans Tries An O-Level PDF

    Uploaded by

    sharique alam
    This document provides answers to comprehension questions about a chapter from the NCERT English textbook. The chapter tells the story of Evans, a clever prisoner who had escaped from prison three times previously. It describes the many precautions taken by the prison governor to administer an exam to Evans securely, but how Evans is still able to outwit the staff through his cunning plans and manipulation of their assumptions. He fakes an injury to trick the officers and escapes again at the end. The answers analyze Evans' intelligence in predicting the prison staff's weaknesses and having the last laugh through his successful escapes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    Class XII – NCERT – English

    Chapter 7
    Evans Tries an O-Level

    Page No: 70 Read and Find Out

    1. What kind of a person was Evans?


    Answer: Evans was a young and clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for
    which he was known ‘Evans the Break’. He had never involved himself in violence. He
    had quite a pleasant personality and was a star at the Christmas concert.A kleptomaniac by
    birth ,he was a law- breaker and was not a seasoned criminal.He was good at mimicry like
    MikeYarwood and had an analytical mind to foresee the loopholes of the prison.He
    perplexed the prison staff with his crafty strategies.His charismatic personality had charmed
    even the senior prison officer.His presence in the prison caused a lot of tension.With his
    cheerful demeanour that was a sharp contrast to his cunning nature ,he succeeded to make
    the fourth jail-break.

    2. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
    Answer: For smooth conduct of the examination, various precautionary measures were
    taken. All sharp instruments like razor and nail -scissors were removed. The Governor,
    senior prison officer Jackson and officer Stephen were put on duty. A special invigilator was
    arranged. A microphone was fitted in the prison cell where the examination was to be
    conducted.

    Page No: 77

    1. Will the exam now go as scheduled?


    Answer:No, the exam will not go as scheduled.It had to be started at 9.15,but it started at
    9.25. Everything had been in order for the exam to start on its scheduled time, but the
    Governor, still apprehensive, ordered a last minute change in plan. As another precautionary
    measure, he ordered frisking the invigilator as well, before allowing him to carry out his
    assigned job. This wasted some time and the exam started at 9:25am, ten minutes later than
    the scheduled time.
    Page No: 81

    1. Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?
    Answer: Evans was a shrewd man who allowed only a momentary sigh of relief to the
    Governor and his staff. The exam was supposed to have ended peacefully, but when
    Stephens rechecked Evans’s cell, he was stunned to see the profusely bleeding McLeery still
    in the cell. He concluded that the man he had escorted to the gate was actually Evans.
    Measures were taken to recapture Evans with the help of the bleeding McLeery, who was
    later sent off to a hospital for treatment. However, soon it was exposed that this ‘bleeding
    McLeery’ was the real Evans. Finally, when the Governor traced Evans and ordered him to
    be taken back to the prison with a prison officer in the official van, another conspiracy
    unfolded. Evans fled again, as the prison officer and the van were part of his back-up plan.
    His flawless plans left everyone perplexed and troubled.

    Page No: 84

    1. Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?
    Answer:Yes the Injured McLeery will be able to help the prison officers track Evans.Mc
    Leery showcasing his knowledge of German, reveals the supposed plan of Evans through the
    superimposed question paper. He proposes to guide the officials to the whereabouts of
    Evans. However, this is later revealed to be a part of Evans' plan to flee to safety, as it was
    Evans himself who was disguised as the injured McLeery. It can be, thus, noticed that the
    disguised McLeery’s help to the officials was fake as it was just a part of Evans’s escape plan.

    Page No: 85

    1. Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?
    Answer: Yes they will. Evans escaped from the prison with the help of a clever, infallible
    plan. Certain clues were left behind by the shrewd fugitive which was a “careless” act
    according to the Governor. There was a superimposed question paper with directions to the
    supposed plan. However, it was soon seen that all of it was fake and part of the plan to
    misguide the officials.
    But the little German the Governor knew and the 'correction slip' did help them to track him
    down.
    Page No: 86

    1. Where did Evans go?


    Answer: After deceiving the police intelligently, Evans went to the hotel Golden Lion located
    in Chipping Norton.From there, finally he left for Newbury with his friends in the police van.

    Page No: 92 Reading with Insight

    1. Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?
    Answer: Evans smartly devised and executed the plan of his escape. He managed to fool
    everyone till the end of the story. He left fake clues to misguide the officials chasing him.
    Even as the Governor heaved a sigh of relief after nabbing him in the Golden Lion hotel,
    Evans was secretly cooking and executing another path of escape. The prison officer and the
    van used by the Governor for transferring Evans back to the prison were forged. The
    Governor was happy that ultimately he was able to track him down using his intelligence
    and knowledge of German. However, Evans had planned a step ahead. With his successful
    escape, Evans definitely had a well earned last laugh.

    2. When Stephens comes back to the cell he jumps to a conclusion and the whole
    machinery blindly goes by his assumption without even checking the identity of the
    injured ‘McLeery’. Does this show how hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing
    the obvious? How is the criminal able to predict such negligence?
    Answer: Evans was a smart and perceptive criminal. He had assessed the weaknesses of the
    jail officers successfully. Stephen was new recruit to the prison set up. When he saw the
    injured Mcleery in the cell he was so overwhelmed that he did not even check who he really
    was and neither did anyone else. It did not occur to anyone to question how there could be
    two persons there– one in the cell and the other who had been escorted out by Stephens. It
    was for this very reason that the friend of Evans, who, posing as the Governor on the phone,
    had directed Stephens that he himself should escort the parson out, when the exam was
    finished. The Governor and his officers, in effect actually led Evans out of the prison. The
    question paper was left behind to mislead the Governor. This shows that Evans the criminal
    had enough time to study the behavioral patterns of the jail officers and to plan his strategy
    well.
    3. What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to the prison when
    he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does that final act of foolishness really prove that
    “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”?
    Answer: The Governor took all the precautions to make sure that Evans should not have any
    chance to escape from the prison. He even tracked and arrested him at the Golden Lion after
    his sensational escape from the prison. But his overconfidence once again proved that he
    was no match for the clever and crafty Evans.
    The Governor after finding the clues from the question paper tracked Evans at the Golden
    Lion. When Evans entered the room he was shocked to see the Governor. Evans offered no
    resistance and was arrested. The gullible Governor gloated over his success and said goodbye
    to him. Evans was handcuffed and made to sit in the police van. The Governor did not take
    care to check the identity of the driver, the van and the officer. A little more vigilance could
    have averted the escape of the criminal. If the Governor had accompanied Evans to the
    prison cell with full police arrangements the criminal would not have escaped. This act of
    negligence proved that he was “just another good-for-a-giggle gullible governor that was all”.

    4. While we condemn the crime, we are sympathetic to the criminal. Is this the reason
    why prison staff often develop a soft corner for those in custody?
    Answer: ‘Crime’ and ‘criminals’ are usually considered synonymous. However, our
    perception changes when we see a criminal suffering or taking his punishment. This is what
    happens with the prison staff. Noticing a criminal suffer in the prison, they unwillingly
    develop a soft corner for him in their hearts. They look at him as a human being and not as a
    mere criminal. They start noticing and appreciating their mental capabilities rather than just
    recalling their crime.
    In the story, Jackson lets Evans keep his hat after knowing that he considered it to be his
    lucky charm. Evans knew of the emotional side of Jackson and so hit it directly through his
    talk about “lucky charm”, and managed to fool the stern and practical officer. Even the
    Governor could not help noticing his intelligence when he caught him in the hotel. Thus, he
    was not cruel or stern with Evans, and regrettably, took him leniently.

    5. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits?
    Answer: In every battle the stronger side wins; and this strength could be physical or mental.
    However, after reading the story we can conclude that between crime and punishment, it is
    mainly a battle of wits. The side which outsmarts the other wins. It is not always that a
    criminal gets punished. In the given story, the police officials,though well-trained, were
    easily fooled by the clever Evans who managed to escape from right under their nose.The
    Governor and Evans,both tried to outwit each other.The Governor took all the precautions
    like bugging the cell during the examination.He sent Stephen to escort McLerry and found
    the hotel precisely.Evans was also taken aback when he came to know that the receptionist
    in the hotel was an informer.There are several examples of the battle of wits between crime
    and punishment.

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