The Midnight Visitor (1 st part)

VSA Questions with Answers 

1. What language accents could Ausable speak passably?
   Answer: French and German.

2. How did Ausable describe Fowler’s evening with him?
   Answer: Dull and boring.

3. What did Ausable say several men and women had risked their lives for?
   Answer: A quite important paper.

4. What was the first ‘authentic thrill’ Fowler experienced?
   Answer: Seeing a man with a pistol in the room.

5. Who was standing in Ausable’s room when the lights came on?
   Answer: Max.

6. Where was Ausable’s room located?
   Answer: On the sixth and top floor of the hotel.

7. From where had Ausable brought his American accent?
   Answer: From Boston.

8. How long had Ausable been living in Paris?
   Answer: Twenty years.

9. What did Fowler imagine about a spy’s life?
   Answer: Mystery, danger, pistol shots, and secret meetings.

10. What did Ausable actually receive instead of secret messages from beauties?
    Answer: A prosaic telephone call.

11. What was the condition of the hotel corridor?
    Answer: Musty and gloomy.

12. Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable?
    Answer: He was a writer, young and romantic, eager to meet a spy.

13. What type of adventure did Fowler expect?
    Answer: Romantic adventure with excitement and danger.

14. How did Ausable speak to Fowler about his disappointment?
    Answer: Wheezily, over his shoulder.

15. What was Ausable’s physical build?
    Answer: Very fat.

16. Where did Fowler and Ausable spend the evening before returning to the hotel?
    Answer: In a French music hall.

17. Where did Ausable think Max was before seeing him in the room?
    Answer: In Berlin.

18. What floor of the hotel was the room on?
    Answer: Sixth floor.

19. What did Ausable say the paper might affect some day?
    Answer: The course of history.

20. What did Ausable do immediately after closing the door?
    Answer: Switched on the light.

MCQ Set from the Passage

1. Where was Ausable’s room located?
   a) Fifth floor
   b) Ground floor
   c) Sixth and top floor
   d) Seventh floor
   Answer: c) Sixth and top floor

2. What was Fowler’s first impression of Ausable?
   a) Smart and handsome
   b) Disappointing and unlike a secret agent
   c) Mysterious and dangerous
   d) Quick and energetic
   Answer: b) Disappointing and unlike a secret agent

3. Which best describes the corridor to Ausable’s room?
   a) Bright and cheerful
   b) Musty and gloomy
   c) Modern and stylish
   d) Large and spacious
   Answer: b) Musty and gloomy

4. Where had Ausable brought his American accent from?
   a) New York
   b) Boston
   c) Berlin
   d) London
   Answer: b) Boston

5. How long had Ausable been living in Paris?
   a) Ten years
   b) Fifteen years
   c) Twenty years
   d) Twenty-five years
   Answer: c) Twenty years

6. Why had Fowler wished to meet Ausable?
   a) He was a hotel owner
   b) He was a spy dealing in danger
   c) He was a famous singer
   d) He was a French writer
   Answer: b) He was a spy dealing in danger

7. What did Fowler imagine about a spy’s life?
   a) Luxury and leisure
   b) Mystery, danger, pistol shots, and secret meetings
   c) Simple and quiet life
   d) Writing and travelling
   Answer: b) Mystery, danger, pistol shots, and secret meetings

8. Where had Fowler actually spent the evening with Ausable?
   a) In a theatre
   b) In a French music hall
   c) In a café
   d) In a library
   Answer: b) In a French music hall

9. What did Ausable receive instead of secret messages from beautiful women?
   a) A coded letter
   b) A prosaic telephone call
   c) A mysterious package
   d) A pistol shot
   Answer: b) A prosaic telephone call

10. What important item did Ausable mention?
    a) A diamond
    b) A secret codebook
    c) A quite important paper
    d) A gold coin
    Answer: c) A quite important paper

11. What did Ausable say the important paper might affect one day?
    a) World peace
    b) The course of history
    c) His personal life
    d) The French government
    Answer: b) The course of history

12. What was Ausable’s physical build?
    a) Slim
    b) Fat
    c) Short and thin
    d) Tall and muscular
    Answer: b) Fat

13. How did Ausable speak to Fowler about his disappointment?
    a) Angrily
    b) Wheezily over his shoulder
    c) Politely with a bow
    d) Softly and shyly
    Answer: b) Wheezily over his shoulder

14. What was the first authentic thrill Fowler experienced?
    a) Hearing a knock on the door
    b) Seeing a man with a pistol in the room
    c) Reading the secret paper
    d) Walking through the hotel corridor
    Answer: b) Seeing a man with a pistol in the room

15. Who was standing in Ausable’s room when the lights came on?
    a) Fowler
    b) Max
    c) The hotel manager
    d) A police officer
    Answer: b) Max

16. What was Max holding in his hand?
    a) A knife
    b) A letter
    c) A pistol
    d) A glass of wine
    Answer: c) A pistol

17. Where did Ausable think Max was before seeing him?
    a) In London
    b) In Paris
    c) In Berlin
    d) In Boston
    Answer: c) In Berlin

18. What did Ausable do immediately after closing the door?
    a) Looked through the window
    b) Switched on the light
    c) Opened the window
    d) Sat on the bed
    Answer: b) Switched on the light

Short Answer Questions with Answers (Complete)

1. Why did Fowler feel disappointed when he met Ausable?
   Answer: Fowler expected an adventurous and glamorous spy, but Ausable was fat, slow-moving, and spoke with an American accent, living in a small, dull hotel room.

2. How did Ausable contrast Fowler’s expectations of a spy with reality?
   Answer: Ausable told Fowler he expected danger, gunshots, and romance, but in reality, he only got a dull evening and a routine phone call.

3. What important object did Ausable mention to Fowler, and why was it significant?
   Answer: He mentioned a paper for which several people had risked their lives, saying it might affect the course of history.

4. Describe Ausable’s appearance and manner of speaking.
   Answer: Ausable was very fat.

5. What was unusual about the person Fowler saw in the room?
   Answer: It was Max, holding a pistol. Ausable was surprised because he thought Max was in Berlin.

6. Where had Fowler spent the evening with Ausable before going to the hotel?
   Answer: They had spent it in a French music hall, which Fowler found boring.

7. How did Ausable react upon seeing Max in his room?
   Answer: He blinked a few times and calmly asked why Max was there, mentioning he thought Max was in Berlin.

8. How long had Ausable been living in Paris, and where was he from originally?
   Answer: He had been living in Paris for twenty years and was originally from Boston, USA.

9. What kind of corridor led to Ausable’s room?
   Answer: It was a musty, gloomy corridor.

10. What romantic adventure had Fowler imagined before meeting Ausable?
    Answer: He imagined mysterious figures, pistol shots, and messages from beautiful women.

11. What did Ausable actually receive instead of a secret message from a dark-eyed beauty?
    Answer: A simple, prosaic telephone call making an appointment.

12. What did Ausable do after closing the door of his room?
    Answer: He switched on the light.