The Hound of Baskervilles- Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension  1 

Holmes sat with his back to me. He had not seen me pick up the stick.

“Well, Watson, what do you make of it?” he asked.

“How did you know I was looking at it?” I said. “Do you have eyes in the back of your head?”

“I have,” he answered, “a good coffee-pot in front of me.” He smiled. “Now tell me what you think of our visitor from that stick.”

I tried to do what Holmes taught me. “He is a medical man,” I said. “He is liked by people who gave him this stick. He walks a great deal, so he is probably a country doctor.”

Holmes nodded. “Good. But there is more.”

He pointed out things I had not seen. The letters “C.C.H.” on the band, he said, fit “Charing Cross

Hospital.” That suggested the man had worked in London before going to the country.

Holmes said the marks on the stick showed a dog had carried it sometimes. From the bite marks he guessed the dog was a curly-haired spaniel.

Then I checked the Medical Directory on my shelf. There was a James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., living in Grimpen, Dartmoor.

 

Questions

1. Why did Holmes know that Watson was examining the stick?

2. What conclusion did Watson first make about the owner of the stick?

3. What did Holmes say the letters “C.C.H.” on the stick referred to?

4. True or False: Holmes believed the stick had sometimes been carried by a dog.

5. Vocabulary: Write the synonym of suggested.

Answers

1. Holmes knew because he saw Watson’s reflection in the coffee-pot in front of him.

2. Watson concluded that the owner was a medical man, liked by people, and probably a country doctor.

3. Holmes said “C.C.H.” referred to Charing Cross Hospital.

4. True

5. Suggested – implied

Reading Comprehension 2

The paper was written long ago by a Baskerville ancestor. It told a fearful story from the time of the Civil War. The tale was about Hugo Baskerville, a wild and cruel man. Hugo fell in love with a young farmer’s daughter, but she would not go with him. One night he and some friends took the girl to Baskerville Hall and kept her there. She escaped by climbing down the ivy and ran across the moor toward home.

Hugo was mad with rage. He put a scarf of the girl on his hounds and sent them after her. He rode across the moonlit moor, shouting for the dogs to catch her. Others followed him.

They rode until they found the girl. She lay dead from fear and exhaustion. Near her lay Hugo, also dead.

Over Hugo stood a terrible beast — a hound larger and darker than any hound a man had seen. Its eyes shone like fire.

The paper said the Baskerville family believed the hound had come as a curse on their house. The writer urged his sons to be careful and to avoid the moor at night.

 

Questions

1. The story in the paper belonged to the time of the Civil War. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Hugo Baskerville is described as a

a) kind and gentle man

b) wild and cruel man

c) quiet and shy man

d) wise and thoughtful man

3. The farmer’s daughter escaped from Baskerville Hall by climbing down the ______.

4. Arrange the events in the correct order:

a) Hugo sent the hounds after the girl

b) The girl escaped from Baskerville Hall

c) The men found Hugo and the girl dead

5. Vocabulary: Write the antonym of cruel

Answers

1. True

2. b) wild and cruel man

3. ivy

4. Correct order:

   b) The girl escaped from Baskerville Hall

   a) Hugo sent the hounds after the girl

   c) The men found Hugo and the girl dead

5. Cruel – kind

Reading Comprehension 3

Holmes was angry that he had not been called earlier.

“If I had been there,” he said, “I might have read that gravel. Now the rain and the feet of curious people will have spoiled it.”

Mortimer replied that he had good reasons for not calling a detective. He feared causing a public fuss and making the house seem haunted. But he also had to decide what to do about Sir Charles’s heir, who would arrive soon.

“You mean Sir Henry?” Holmes asked.

“Yes. He arrives at Waterloo in one hour and fifteen minutes.”

Holmes liked facts and did not fear stories. But Mortimer told him that people on the moor had reported seeing a strange, shining creature — a large hound that looked ghostly.

Mortimer asked Holmes if the thing might be supernatural.

Holmes shook his head. “I work in this world,” he said. “I must try all natural explanations first.”

 Questions

1. Holmes was angry because he had been informed about the case too late. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Mortimer did not call a detective earlier because he

a) feared causing a public fuss

b) disliked Holmes

c) had already solved the case

d) did not know about the death

3. Sir Charles’s heir was expected to arrive at Waterloo in about ______.

4. Complete the sentence: People on the moor reported seeing a strange ______ that looked ghostly.

5. Vocabulary: Write the synonym of feared.

Answers

1. True

2. a) feared causing a public fuss

3. one hour and fifteen minutes

4. creature (or hound)

5. Feared – afraid

Reading Comprehension 4

We met Sir Henry on the stair. He was angry and held a dusty boot.

“They’re playing me for a fool,” he cried. “If that boot is not found, I’ll see the manager.”

Holmes was serious. “You had a new brown boot yesterday and an old black one today?”

“Yes. One new brown boot was taken last night. Today an old black one has gone. I had only three pairs.”

After lunch Holmes asked Sir Henry about his plans.

“To go to Baskerville Hall,” he said.

Holmes thought it a wise move. London was full of people and places where a watcher could hide. On the moor there were few people and fewer ways for a man to hide for long.

Holmes then sent a telegram to Grimpen. He asked the postmaster to deliver it into Barrymore’s own hand.

Sir Charles had left money to many people. Barrymore and his wife had received five hundred pounds each. The rest of the estate went to Sir Henry.

Sir Henry later found his missing brown boot under a cabinet. Another small mystery joined the others.

 

Questions

1. Sir Henry was angry because one of his boots had gone missing. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Holmes thought Sir Henry should go to Baskerville Hall because

a) London was completely safe

b) the moor had many hiding places

c) London had many places where someone could watch him secretly

d) Sir Henry disliked London

3. Fill in the blank: Holmes sent a telegram to the postmaster at ______.

4. Barrymore and his wife received ______ pounds each from Sir Charles’s will.

5. Vocabulary: Write the antonym of dangerous.

Answers

1. True

2. c) London had many places where someone could watch him secretly

3. Grimpen

4. five hundred

5. Dangerous – safe

Reading Comprehension 5

The next morning was bright. Sunlight fell through the tall windows. The dark wood of the hall looked warm and friendly. Sir Henry said that perhaps it was we who had been gloomy the night before, not the house.

But I remembered a sound from that night. I had clearly heard a woman sobbing. We asked Barrymore about it. He said there were only two women in the house: his wife and a scullery-maid. He swore the crying could not have been his wife.

Later I met Mrs. Barrymore in the corridor. The sun shone full upon her face. Her eyes were red, and she wiped them quickly when she saw me. Yet she had clearly been weeping.

After breakfast I walked to the small grey hamlet. The postmaster said his boy had delivered the telegram.

The boy said he had given it to Mrs. Barrymore because Mr. Barrymore was in the loft at the time. So Barrymore had not received it in his own hand. Holmes’s test had failed.

 

Questions

1. The hall looked dark and frightening in the morning sunlight. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Barrymore said the crying in the night could not have been

a) the scullery-maid

b) his wife

c) Sir Henry

d) the postmaster

3. Complete the sentence: The narrator remembered hearing a woman ______ during the night.

4. The telegram meant for Barrymore was actually received by ______.

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means village.

Answers 

1. False

2. b) his wife

3. sobbing

4. Mrs. Barrymore

5. hamlet

 Reading Comprehension  6

A few days passed. I wrote to Holmes with news from the moor. I told him the place seemed older than our time. Stone circles and ancient huts lay scattered over the land. The moor made the mind feel small and old. I also told Holmes that the escaped convict from Princetown was probably gone, since no one had seen him for some weeks.

I described the Stapletons in my letters. Stapleton had once been a schoolmaster and loved natural history.

His sister also shared his interest. She had a strange, almost foreign look. Sir Henry liked her very much and was often with them. I thought a match might come of it, though Stapleton did not seem to encourage it.

Another neighbour, Mr. Frankland of Lafter Hall, was a red-faced old man who loved the law and quarrels.

He spent money on lawsuits and used a telescope to watch the moor for the escaped convict.

The most worrying matter concerned the Barrymores. The telegram meant to test Barrymore had been given to Mrs. Barrymore by the postmaster’s boy. She said she would pass it to her husband. Barrymore later claimed he had been in the box-room when it arrived and that his wife had written the reply for him.

His explanation did not seem convincing.

 

Questions

1. The narrator wrote to Holmes saying that the moor seemed very ancient and full of old remains. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Stapleton had worked earlier as a

a) doctor

b) schoolmaster

c) lawyer

d) farmer

3. Complete the sentence: Mr. Frankland used a ______ to watch the moor.

4. Sir Henry seemed to like Miss Stapleton very much. (Agree / Disagree based on the passage)

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means old or belonging to a very early time.

Answers

1. True

2. b) schoolmaster

3. telescope

4. Agree

5. ancient

 Reading Comprehension 7

I checked the western window where Barrymore had been. From that spot one can look straight down on the moor. No other window gives that view. So Barrymore had been watching the moor that night.

Sir Henry and I decided to find out the truth. The second night we sat very quietly. At last we heard a creak in the passage. Barrymore passed. We followed him softly until he reached the empty rooms at the far end.

There he crouched at the western window holding a candle against the glass. He looked out into the black moor as if he expected an answer.

Sir Henry burst in and caught him. Barrymore was white and shaking. After a while his wife burst into the room and confessed.

Her brother-in-law was Selden, the escaped convict from Princetown. He had come to the Hall at night, worn out and starving. The Barrymores had hidden him. They left a light in the window when food was ready. Selden answered with his own light on the moor.

 

Questions

1. Barrymore stood at the western window because it gave a clear view of the moor. (State True or False)

2. Choose the correct answer: Barrymore held a candle at the window in order to

a) read a letter

b) signal someone on the moor

c) light the room

d) look for Sir Henry

3. Complete the sentence: Selden was the escaped convict from ______.

4. Arrange the events in the correct order:

a) Mrs. Barrymore confessed the truth

b) Sir Henry and the narrator followed Barrymore

c) Barrymore stood at the window with a candle

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means admitted the truth.

Answers

1. True

2. b) signal someone on the moor

3. Princetown

4. Correct order:

   b) Sir Henry and the narrator followed Barrymore

   c) Barrymore stood at the window with a candle

   a) Mrs. Barrymore confessed the truth

5. confessed

Reading Comprehension 8

Hiding in the hut, revolver cocked, Watson expected the unknown tenant. Instead he heard a familiar voice. Holmes stepped in from outside, lean and bronzed, having come secretly to investigate.

Holmes explained that he had been living secretly on the moor and had been following the case. He confirmed what Watson had learned about Laura Lyons and revealed an important truth: the woman known as Miss Stapleton was actually Stapleton’s wife. Stapleton had hidden their marriage so that she would appear to be a free woman.

Holmes warned that Stapleton was cunning and dangerous. Before they could act on this discovery, a long, haunting cry rolled across the moor. Soon after came a nearer shriek of terror. Holmes and Watson ran toward the sound and found a body lying face-down with the skull crushed. At first they thought it was Sir Henry because of the tweed suit, but in the moonlight

Holmes saw the beard and recognised the man as Selden, the escaped convict.

 Questions 

1. Where was Watson hiding when he waited for the unknown tenant?

2. Choose the correct answer: Holmes had been secretly living on the moor with the help of

a) Sir Henry

b) Cartwright

c) Barrymore

d) Frankland

3. The woman known as Miss Stapleton was actually Stapleton’s wife. (State True or False)

4. Holmes and Watson first believed the dead body on the moor was ______.

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means clever but dangerous.

Answers

1. Watson was hiding in the hut on the moor.

2. b) Cartwright

3. True

4. Sir Henry

5. cunning

Reading Comprehension 9

Sir Henry was not surprised to see Holmes again — he had half expected it. But he looked puzzled when Holmes appeared without luggage and without any clear reason for his return. Over supper, Holmes and I told him only part of our adventure.

Then came the sad duty of telling Barrymore and his wife about Selden’s death. The butler remained calm, but his wife wept bitterly for the man who was her little brother.

Sir Henry then said, “I had a message from Stapleton asking me to come to dinner tonight. I stayed home only because I promised not to go alone.”

Holmes said, “Tomorrow you will dine with Stapleton as planned. Watson and I will be away in London — or so they will think. You will walk home alone across the moor afterward.”

Sir Henry agreed, though he looked uneasy.

Before leaving, Holmes stopped before a portrait in Baskerville Hall. It showed Hugo Baskerville. Holmes covered the old-fashioned hair and hat with his hand, and the face beneath looked very familiar. “Stapleton!”

I cried.

 Questions 

1. Why did Mrs. Barrymore weep when she heard about Selden’s death?

2. Choose the correct answer: Sir Henry did not go to Stapleton’s dinner because

a) he was ill

b) he had promised not to go alone

c) he disliked Stapleton

d) he was busy at the Hall

3. Holmes asked Sir Henry to walk home ______ across the moor after dinner.

4. Holmes believed that the portrait of Hugo Baskerville closely resembled Stapleton. (State True or False)

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means confused or uncertain.

Answers 

1. Mrs. Barrymore wept because Selden was her little brother.

2. b) he had promised not to go alone

3. alone

4. True

5. puzzled

Reading Comprehension 10

When the fog lifted the next morning, Mrs. Stapleton led us to the path through the bog. We followed the thin wands that marked the safe way. The ground trembled beneath us, and foul water sucked at our boots. At one place Holmes suddenly sank to his waist as he reached for something dark sticking out of the mud — Sir Henry’s missing boot. “He used it to set the hound on the scent,” said Holmes.

We never found Stapleton’s body. The bog had swallowed him. But in the ruins of the tin mine we found the hound’s chain and the bones of another dog — Dr. Mortimer’s missing spaniel. In a small tin box we also discovered the paste that had made the hound glow with that strange light.

“It was a cunning plan,” said Holmes. “The legend of the hound was his weapon. He used fear to kill Sir Charles and nearly killed Sir Henry.”

Sir Henry slowly recovered under Dr. Mortimer’s care. Later he left England for a long voyage around the world to restore his health. The moor was quiet again. The hound was dead, and the Baskerville curse was finally ended.

 

Questions 

1. Who showed Holmes and Watson the safe path across the bog?

2. Choose the correct answer: Holmes sank into the bog while trying to take

a) a lantern

b) Sir Henry’s boot

c) a chain

d) a stick

3. Complete the sentence: In the ruins of the tin mine they found the hound’s chain and the bones of Dr.Mortimer’s ______.

4. Stapleton used the old legend of the hound to frighten people and carry out his plan. (State True or False)

5. Vocabulary: Pick a word from the passage that means restored to health.

Answers 

1. Mrs. Stapleton

2. b) Sir Henry’s boot

3. spaniel

4. True

5. recovered