Important Questions: Evans Tries an O-level | English Class 12 PDF Download

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: Why did Evans not take off his hat when Jackson ordered him to do so?
Ans: Evans was determined to make his escape-plan a success and so he had clipped his hair short to pass off as McLeery later. Jackson dis¬approved of his dirty “bobble hat” and asked him to remove it. Evans immediately thought of a ploy to avoid recognition by telling Jackson that the hat had always brought him good luck. So the police officer agreed to his request.

Q2: What clues did the answer sheet of Evans provide to the Governor?
Ans: The answer-sheet had been cleverly attached to the last page of the question paper by Evans to outwit his opponents and mislead the police. It was from his answer-sheet that the police got the clue that Evans had hit McLeery whom Evans was himself impersonating. The six figure reference landed him in the middle of Chipping Norton.

Q3: What were the contents of the small brown suitcase that McLeery carried?
Ans: The small brown suitcase that McLeery carried contained all that he would need for his ‘morning duties’ meaning his invigilation work. It contained the sealed question paper, envelope, a yellow invigilation form, special authentication card etc.

Q4: How did the Governor find out where Evans was?
Ans: When the Governor finally realised that it was Evans who had gone out with Carter and that he was impersonating McLeery, he thought about the six digit reference number and after putting the two numbers, the index and the centre number together and with the help of the ‘Ordinance Survey Map for Oxfordshire’ the Governor reached the hotel to find Evans.

Q5: How do we know that Evans had no chance of getting through the O-level German examination? Why did he take the test?
Ans: Evans did not have any chance of getting through the O-level German examination as he was not capable of understanding even a simple German expression of “Guten Gluck” (Good Luck). He was taking the test in an attempt to plan his escape from prison.

Q6: On the day of the examination, with what excuse did Evans keep Stephens out of his cell? What was the actual reason?
Ans: Evans says he was unable to concentrate on his exam with Stephens literally breathing down his neck. So he wanted Stephens to be out of his cell. But the actual reason was that Evans wanted to execute his escape plan and Stephens’ presence there would be a big hindrance for him.

Q7: What kind of person was Evans? Why did he want to sit for O-level German examination?
Ans: Evans is a rather quiet and non-violent person. He has a great presence of mind and is admired for his quick-witted intelligence. He wanted to sit for the O-Level German examination because he was very keen to improve his academic qualification.

Q8: What precautions were taken for the smooth conduct of Evan’s O-Level examination?
Ans: The prison staff and the Governor took all the necessary precautions to ensure a smooth conduct of Evan’s examination. The Governor personally supervised all the security arrangements. Evan’s cell was thoroughly .checked by Jackson to ward off the possibility of any incriminating material. Evans’ nail- scissors, nail file and razor where taken away. A police officer Stephens was posted to keep a constant vigil on his activities. Mr. McLeery, a parson, was to invigilate. The invigilator too was frisked to make sure that he carried no objectionable material with him.

Q9: Which important call did the governor receive when the examination was going on?
Ans: The first call the Governor received was from the University regarding a correction slip which was not sent with the question paper. The second call was supposedly from the Magistrate’s office requesting for a van and two prison officers.

Q10: What was his German teacher’s opinion of Evans’ proficiency in German?
Ans: Evans’ German teacher had a very low opinion of his (Evans’) proficiency in German. Evans could not even understand basic pleasantries in German. He was very sure that Evans did not have ‘a cat in a hell’s chance’ of getting through the O-level German examination.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q11: How did the question paper and the correction slip help the prisoner and the Governor?
Ans: McLeery showed a photocopied sheet to the Governor which had been cleverly superimposed on the last page of the German question paper. The Governor decoded it for Newsbury and by putting together the six figure reference, the index and centre number 313/271 and with the help of the ‘Ordinance Survey Map of Oxfordshire’ he was able to locate Evans in the middle of Chipping Norton. The correction slip provided him with the name of the hotel, ‘The Golden Lion’ where Evans was staying. So Evans was beaten in his own game as he left clues which aided in his arrest. He made things easier as he left the question paper behind in the cell. The clues the Governor got from it were sufficient to help him locate Evans.

Q12: How was ‘injured’ McLeery able to befool the prison officers?
Ans: The prison authorities did not verify McLeery’s true identity. A fake McLeery impersonated the real McLeery, who had been bound and gagged in his study. McLeery did not go out of prison but stayed inside the cell. Jackson received a call from the Governor that Stephens was to accompany McLeery to the main prison gates. As Stephens peeped into the hole to Evan’s cell, he was horrified to see the ‘injured’ McLeery there. The ‘injured’ McLeery claimed to know where Evans was. He showed more interest in the arrival of the police than the ambulance. He drew the attention of the Governor to the German text on the photocopied sheet about ‘Elsfield way to Headington roundabout.’ When the police arrived before the Governor could say anything, he told the officer to go to Elsfield way. He pretended to guide the authorities to help them track Evans. The ‘injured’ McLeery who was actually Evans, claimed to have seen Evans driving off Elsfield way. When they reached the Examination Board, he grogged and the police called for an ambulance and left him there. In this way the actual Evans escaped. Thus, actually the police was after runaway Evans while the real Evans left the prison cell with the police as the only witness. In this way ‘real’ Evans, disguised as ‘injured’ McLeery was able to befool the prison officers.

Q13: What purpose did the question paper and the correction slip serve? How did they help both the criminals and the Governor?
Ans: Mc Leery showed a photocopied sheet to the Governor which had been cleverly superimposed on the last page of the German question paper. The Governor decoded it for Newsbury and by putting together the six figure reference, the index and centre number 313/271 and with the help of the ‘Ordinance Survey Map of Oxfordshire’ he was able to locate Evans in the middle of Chipping Norton. The correction slip provided him with the name of the hotel, ‘The Golden Lion’ where Evans was staying. So Evans was beaten in his own game as he left clues which aided in his arrest. He made things easier as he left the question paper behind in the cell. The clues the Governor got from it were sufficient to help him locate Evans.

Q14: Describe the precautions taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping.
Ans: All possible precautions are taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping. Evans’ razor and nail scissors are removed from the cell. Mc Leery, the invigilator was frisked on arrival. Police officer, Stephens, was deputed on duty inside the cell. All the prison officials were put on high alert. There were two locked doors between Evans’ cell and the yard. A microphone was installed in the cell as a precautionary measure through which the warden could listen to their talk by switching on the receiver. The senior prison officer, Jackson and officer Stephens had worked round the clock and made fool-proof arrangements and taken all necessary precautions to ensure that the exam was conducted smoothly.

Q15: What were the precautions taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping?
Ans: All possible precautions are taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping. Evans’ razor and nail scissors are removed from the cell. Mc Leery, the invigilator was frisked on arrival. Police officer, Stephens, was deputed on duty inside the cell. All the prison officials were put on high alert. There were two locked doors between Evans’ cell and the yard. A microphone was installed in the cell as a precautionary measure through which the warden could listen to their talk by switching on the receiver. The senior prison officer, Jackson and officer Stephens had worked round the clock and made fool-proof arrangements and taken all necessary precautions to ensure that the exam was conducted smoothly.

Q16: Describe the precautions taken in the prison before Evans took the examination.
Ans: All possible precautions are taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping. Evans’ razor and nail scissors are removed from the cell. Mc Leery, the invigilator was frisked on arrival. Police officer, Stephens, was deputed on duty inside the cell. All the prison officials were put on high alert. There were two locked doors between Evans’ cell and the yard. A microphone was installed in the cell as a precautionary measure through which the warden could listen to their talk by switching on the receiver. The senior prison officer, Jackson and officer Stephens had worked round the clock and made fool-proof arrangements and taken all necessary precautions to ensure that the exam was conducted smoothly.

Q17: Attempt a character sketch of the Governor in the story, ‘Evans Tries an O-Level’. What was the only flaw in his handling of Evans?
Ans: The Governor of HM Prison, Oxford, despite being an extra cautious man, is actually quite gullible and he, quite unfortunately, overestimates himself. His judgement of people is rather poor. Due to his average intelligence he j is not able to comprehend and understand Evans’ shrewdness. He ignores vital matters that require his personal attention. Searching McLeery and escorting the wounded Mc leery needed his personal supervision but he neglected these. He became rather casual at the critical times and fails to grasp the complexity of the situation. However, he does reveal a mark of intelligence when he locates the hotel where Evans is hiding on the basis of the correction slip. But then again he ignores the vital issues and finally is unable to capture Evans. The only flaw in his handling of Evans was that the Governor gets a little over-confident when he tells himself that Evans had no chance of escaping. He over-estimates himself and his intelligence and underestimates Evans’ shrewdness and cleverness.