The Hidden Staircase, Chapter XIX. A Chance Discovery quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why can't Nancy escape through the bird-room window?

   • The servant is standing in the yard below it
   • Rain has flooded the ground right under it
   • It is nailed shut and covered with heavy boards
   • Correct answer: There is no ledge, and the drop is far too high

   There is no ledge outside, and the narrator says the drop to the ground would be suicide.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Where does Nancy hide when the servant comes into the bird room?

   • Correct answer: In a closet behind the parrot's cage
   • Behind the open door, pressed against the wall
   • Under a table covered with a long cloth
   • Behind a tall stuffed eagle on its pedestal

   She notices a closet door directly behind the parrot's cage for the first time and slips inside.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the servant do to quiet the parrot?

   • She carries the cage down to the kitchen
   • Correct answer: She throws a piece of heavy canvas over the cage
   • She opens the window to let in fresh air
   • She gives it a cracker so it will stop squawking

   She picks up a piece of heavy canvas from the floor and flings it over the cage.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What was the grating sound Nancy heard as the servant left?

   • A chair being dragged across the hall floor
   • The parrot scraping its beak on the bars
   • Correct answer: A key being turned in the lock of the door
   • A window being shut downstairs in the wind

   When the door will not open, Nancy understands the sound was a key turning in the lock.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. Why does Nancy know she could not really use the revolver on anyone?

   • She dropped it on the stairs on her way up
   • It is not loaded, and she has no bullets with her
   • Her father made her promise never to fire it
   • Correct answer: She could never deliberately hurt another person

   She has only ever shot at a target and could never deliberately injure anyone, so it can only be a bluff.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Nancy notice about the knob in the closet?

   • Correct answer: It is far too tiny to hang any clothes on
   • It is warm, as if someone had just touched it
   • It is made of gold and set with a small jewel
   • It is shaped like the head of a little bird

   It is a tiny thing, certainly not the right size for hanging clothing, and seems to have no purpose.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What happens when Nancy pushes hard on the knob?

   • A bell rings somewhere far below in the house
   • Correct answer: The closet wall drops and she falls down stone steps
   • A drawer slides out with a bundle of old letters
   • The bird-room door swings open into the hall

   A spring clicks, the side of the closet drops down, and she topples headlong down a steep flight of stone steps.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'commotion' mean in: 'unable to understand what had caused the commotion of the birds'?

   • A sudden hunger
   • A peaceful song
   • Correct answer: A noisy disturbance
   • A long, deep sleep

   The birds have been fluttering and squawking, making a noisy fuss.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'predicament' mean in: 'tried to think of a way out of the predicament'?

   • A friendly visit
   • A locked box of secrets
   • Correct answer: A hard or dangerous situation
   • A clever plan to try at a later time

   Nancy is locked in the bird room and cannot see a way out.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events happen in Chapter 19?

    • The servant covers the parrot's cage.

      Happened

    • Nancy fires her revolver to frighten the servant away.

      Didn't happen

    • Nancy finds that the bird-room door has been locked.

      Happened

    • Nancy climbs out of the bird-room window onto the roof.

      Didn't happen

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