The Speckled Band Chapter 1 Preview questions
1. I think a ?speckled band? is a strip of dots on a person?s skin.
2. I think Holmes likes to solve all types of mysteries, but he likes the interesting and difficult mysteries
best.
3. I think Dr. Watson will help Mr. Holmes solve the mystery. Review questions
1. Sherlock Holmes thought that the case was serious because the young woman visited so early. 2. Holmes surprised the young woman when he knew she had had a long drive in a dog-cart along
muddy roads before she got to the station to catch an early train.
3. The young woman found out about Sherlock Holmes when she read about him in the newspaper.
Chapter 2 Preview questions
1. I think the woman is so afraid because she thinks someone wants to kill her. 2. I think this will be a murder mystery.
3. I think Holmes will help her by traveling with her to her home and finding out who wants to kill her. Review questions
1. I think Dr. Grimesby Roylott is a violent man. I know this because he had to go to jail for beating a
man to death.
2. When Helen Stoner?s twin sister told her stepfather that she was getting married, nothing happened at
first, but a fortnight before the wedding something strange happened.
3. Helen Stoner didn?t hear the whistle because she slept more deeply than her sister.
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Chapter 3 Preview questions
1. I think Julia Stoner was murdered by Dr. Roylott.
2. I think the sisters always locked their doors at night because they were scared of Dr. Roylott?s animals. 3. I think Dr. Roylott will act very violently and kill Julia Stoner. Review questions
1. A burnt match and a matchbox were found in the hands of the dead woman. 2. We know that Helen?s sister died alone because her bedroom door was locked.
3. Dr. Watson knew that Holmes did not think the gypsies were involved in Julia?s death because he saw
Sherlock Holmes shake his head. Chapter 4 Preview questions
1. I do not think Miss Stoner is protecting her stepfather because he was a violent man who was not kind
to Helen Stoner or her sister. 2. I think Helen Stoner will get married.
3. I think Holmes will say that Miss Stoner?s story is very interesting and agree to take the case. Review questions
1. Miss Stoner had to sleep in her dead sister?s bedroom because building work was started next to her
own room, and there was a hole in her bedroom wall.
2. It would be safe for Holmes and Watson to visit Dr. Roylott?s house because Dr. Roylott was away for
the day.
3. Holmes thinks the ?clang? sound was made by an iron lock being opened.
Chapter 5
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Preview questions
1. I think Dr. Roylott visits Sherlock Holmes because he wanted to warn Sherlock Holmes to stay away
from him and his stepdaughter.
2. I think Dr. Roylott will punch Sherlock Holmes in order to prove he is a very strong man. 3. I think Holmes asks Watson to take a gun with him when they visit Miss Stoner. Review questions
1. Dr. Roylott accuses Holmes of changing the subject because Holmes refused to tell him what Helen
Stoner had said.
2. Holmes proves that he is as strong as Dr. Roylott by picking up the poker and bending it straight again. 3. Dr. Roylott said he wanted to do some repairs to her room in order to get Helen Stoner to change
rooms.
Chapter 6 Preview questions
1. I think Holmes and Watson will find animal hairs in the rooms. 2. I think the fake bell rope is for Dr. Roylott?s animals to play on.
3. I think Dr. Roylott will return to the house when Holmes and Watson are looking around at the
bedrooms.
Review questions
1. The ventilator was put in at the same time as the fake bell rope, about two years earlier.
2. Holmes thinks that Dr. Roylott may have a cat as a pet because there was a saucer of milk on top of
the safe.
3. When she hears Dr. Roylott go to bed, Helen Stoner must open her windows and unlock the shutters,
leave a lamp on in the window, and go and sleep in another room.
Chapter 7
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Preview questions
1. I think the title refers to an animal or insect biting a person a killing them.
2. I think the bell rope and ventilator would be used for Dr. Roylott to spy on Helen Stoner and kill her. 3. Holmes and Watson will catch Dr. Roylott trying to kill Helen Stoner. Review questions
1. The sound the two men heard that made Holmes use his cane was a hissing sound. 2. The leash had a loop at the end because it was used for holding a snake.
3. Sherlock Holmes is not sorry he caused the death of Dr. Roylott because he thinks Dr. Roylott was a
very evil man.
The Engineer’s Thumb Chapter 1 Preview questions
1. An engineer is a person who knows how to design, build, or operate machinery. 2. I think Watson no longer lived with Holmes because Watson had got married. 3. I think this story will be about an engineer getting his thumb cut off by a big machine. Review questions
1. Dr. Watson quickly washed and got dressed when he learned that his patient had come from
Paddington Station because he knew from experience that cases to do with railway workers were often serious.
2. Dr. Watson gave Mr. Hatherly some brandy and water to make him feel better.
3. Mr. Hatherly wanted to go to the police because he thought the men who cut off his thumb meant to
murder him.
Chapter 2
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