Evans Tries an O-Level

Main Characters in the story:(Brief introduction of the characters)

1. James Evans:- He is a congenital kleptomaniac(a person who has a tendency to steal). He has been arrested many a time for stealing. Three times he had managed to escape from prison. The prison officers called him 'Evans the Break'
2. Reverend Stuart McLeery:- He was a parson. He had been put on duty to invigilate during Evans' examination. But he was tied in his room by Evans' helpers and someone else impersonated in his place.
3 Mr. Jackson:- He is a prison officer.
4. Stephens: Another prison officer, junior to Jackson.
5. The Governor of the Oxford Prison
6. The Secretary of Examination Board.

Places:-
1. Oxford Prison: Name of prison
2  Elsfield Way: The Examination Board was here.
3  Golden Lion: a hotel where Evans went impersonating McLeery.
4. Radcliffe:- Name of a hospital.
5  Newbury: Historic market town in England.
6. Chipping Norton: a market town in Oxfordshire district of England
7. Oxford Road

IMPORTANT EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1.What sort of a person was Evans? Why was he called as 'Evans the Break'?
Ans. Evans was a pleasant sort of person. But he was a congenital kleptomaniac. He had been arrested many a time for stealing. Three times he had managed to escape from prison. That is why he was called Evans the Break by the prison officers. He was very clever and intelligent also. He had many friends who helped him escape the prison.

Q2.What were the precautions taken for smooth conduct of examination?
Ans. The Governor of the Oxford Prison knew that Evans would try to escape the prison again. So precautions were taken for smooth conduct of the examination. The examination was arranged in the prison cell and the cell was locked from inside. Two police officers were put to keep eye on Evans. Evans' nail-scissors, nail-file and razor were taken away from him so that he might not harm himself.
His invigilator was also thoroughly searched by senior police officer himself. A device was put above the door of the cell so that the Governor could hear all the conversation going on in the cell during the examination. In spite of all these precautions, Evans managed to escape from the prison.

Q3.Do you think Evans was really keen to get some sort of qualification?        OR
     Why did people doubt Evans' sincerity towards taking the O-level exam?
Ans.  Evans was really not keen to get some sort of qualification He was a congenital kleptomaniac. He had been arrested many a time for stealing. Every time he managed to escape from the prison. Taking O' Level seemed a part of his plan to escape again. So people doubted his taking O'Level exam.

Q4. Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans' having the last laugh?
Ans. 'Having the last laugh' means gaining victory over one's rival in the end. We know that Evans was a congenital kleptomaniac. He had been arrested many a time for stealing. Three times he had managed to escape from prison. He was called 'Evans the Break' by the prison officers. He had many friends who helped him escape the prison. This time he was again in the prison cell. The governor of the prison knew that Evans would try to escape the prison again. So precautions were taken for smooth conduct of the examination. The examination was arranged in the prison cell and the cell was locked from inside. Two police officers were put to keep eye on Evans. Evans' nail-scissors, nail-file and razor were taken away from him so that he might not harm himself.
His invigilator was also thoroughly searched by senior police officer himself. A device was put above the door of the cell so that the Governor could hear all the conversation going on in the cell during the examination. In spite of all these precautions, Evans managed to escape from the prison.

Q5. Will the clues left behind on the question paper put Evans back in prison again?
Ans. In fact, the clues left behind on the question paper were all a part of Evans' plan. They meant to mislead the police officers. It was from the clues that they knew that Evans had hit MacLeery. But, in fact, Evans himself had left in the prison impersonating MacLeery. Then Evans impersonating MacLeery kept police busy in Newbury while he himself had gone to the hotel Golden Lion in Chipping Norton.

Q6. What did the injured MacLeery hand over to the Governor?
Ans. He handed over a German question paper to the Governor. On its last blank page,  Evans had pasted a photocopied sheet of paper written in German. It had all the details of  Evans' plan to escape from the prison. The injured MacLeery said that he knew where Evans could be found. But these clues only misled the police officers.

Q7. How did Evans reach Chipping Norton safely?
Ans. Evans was a clever person. He impersonated MacLeery and stayed back in the prison cell. Prison officers thought that Evans had injured MacLeery and escaped from the prison. When they came in the cell, MacLeery showed them a slip of paper pasted on the last page of the question paper. It was written in German. It had all the details of Evans' plan to escape from the prison. Near the Radcliffe hospital, he requested the police to follow Evans to Newbury and then he escaped to the hotel, Golden Lion in Chipping Norton.

Q8. How did the Governor come to know that Evans had gone to the Golden Lion hotel?
      OR
What clues helped the governor to follow Evans to the Golden Lion hotel?

Ans. During the examination, Evans was asked to write Index number 313 and Centre number 271 on his answer sheet. He was also asked to make a correction 'goldenen Lowen' in place of 'goldene  Lowen'. Fortunately, the Governor could remember these words. These clues indicated that Evans had gone to the Golden Lion hotel.

Q9. The Governor caught Evans at the Golden Lion. Did he bring him back to prison or not? What does his final act of foolishness prove? Was he really a gullible Governor?
Ans.It was by chance that the Governor could remember the contents of the correction slip. We must praise him for his intelligence. But he was again fooled by Evans' men. He handed Evans to fake police officers who were Evans' men. He did not verify their identity. Thus he was a gullible governor. He knew that Evans had been pulling the wool from their eyes, still, he commits another mistake and hands over him to unknown police officers. He could have intensified the security because Evans was not an ordinary criminal. He could have accompanied him to the prison. Thus, because of his foolishness, Evans was able to leave the prison once again.

THANKS. HAVE A NICE TIME!
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