Short Answer Questions (30-40 words):

1. What made the story of the balcony so convincing?

2. How did Max go out of Ausable's room to save himself from the police?

3. How did Ausable kill Max without using a weapon?

5. Why did Max scream shrilly when he dropped to the balcony?

6. Ausable was a clever secret agent. Do you agree with the statement? Justify your answer.

7. Presence of mind is basically mental preparedness or the ability to think and act wisely in a

dangerous or surprising situation. How would you react to the situation if you see a small child

being knocked down by a speeding motorcycle or car, which speeds away after hitting the

child?

8. A calm mind can help you tackle the direst stress. Explain. Answer:

9. Fowler's day tooka one-eighty-degree turn by the end of the evening. Examine the statement

with reference to "The Midnight Visitor".

10. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?

11. "Stereotypes are often misleading." Elaborate on the given quote in the context of "The
Midnight Visitor".

12. Max was unprepared for his mission. Discuss with reference to the chapter "The Midnight
Visitor".

13. "Attack is the secret of defence." Justify the statement in the case of Ausable.

Short Answer Questions (30-40 words):

1. Ausable showed his annoyance at the nuisance created by the balcony. He said that this was
the second time that someonehad entered his room through it. He also said that the balcony

was not his but belonged to the next apartment and earlier his room used to be a part of a large

unit.

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2. Max was very nervous to find the police at the door. He went out of the window saying that

he would wait on the balcony. He warned Ausable to send them away or he would shoot him.

Max did not confirm the balcony and stepped out of the window, fell, and died.

3. Ausable was an intelligent [Link] he found Max waiting for him in his room, he made a

story of a balcony under his [Link] convinced Max about the balcony. And thus, when
someoneknocked at the door, Max, fearing it to be the police, jumped out of the window and
died.
4. Ausable created a detailed description of how his room was part ofa bigger apartment and

how the next room had a direct connection with a balcony. His statement about somebody

else's breaking into his office through that balcony made a convincing story. Ausable did

it
this to fool Max into thinking that a balcony existed just outside the window, as he knew that

soon the waiter bringing the drinks he had ordered would be knocking at the door, which may
prompt Max to jump into the imaginary balcony to hide.

5. A person screams shrilly when something unexpected happens to him. Here, Max screamed

shrilly when he dropped to the balcony because there was no balcony at all; it was only a

figment of Ausable's imagination. Ausable had described it so vividly, including its history

and use, that Max was convinced there was a balcony just outside the window and tried to jump
onto it without looking. As the room was on the sixth floor, Max would certainly have died by

falling from such a height.

6. Ausable did not look at all like the conventional image of a secret agent. He was short and

very fat. Besides, he spoke French and Germanwhich lacked fluency as well as the right accent;

the American accent was quite palpable in his speech. However, Ausable had a very sharp and

active mind because he invented two stories, one about a non-existent balcony outside his hotel

window and another about the police arriving to give extra security to some important
documents he was about to receive. He was an intelligent man and a clever secret agent to be

able to invent such stories on the spur of the moment in the face of imminent danger in the

form of Max, a rival secret agent.

7. First aid should be given to the child at once. Public help may also be asked for, if necessary.

Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the child may be shifted to the hospital.

[Link] should try to note the license, and plate number of the offending vehicle,

so that the police may be intimated to arrest the criminal. If the child is conscious and can talk

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coherently, we should try to find out the name and telephone number of any of its family

members to inform them about the door.

8. Certainly, a calm mind can help us to tackle the direst stress. If Ausable had panicked and

done something fishy, then Max probably would have killed him. But Ausable kept his cool.

Apart from this story, there can be some real-life examples also. We are always told to focus

when we are appearing for exams or not to panic in a difficult situation because such things

hamper our thinking ability. We are not able to take proper decisions at this time. If we keep

our minds cool and focus, then only can find ways to get out of crunch situations.
9. Fowler's day turned from being boring to being extremely thrilling by midnight. When
Fowler met Ausable, he was disappointed as Ausable didn't meet his expectations of being a

spy. Ausable's day was ordinary and boring with nothing thrilling happening. However, by

midnight, the scene gotextremely thrilling as Max, a rival spy, entered Ausable's room with a

gun to grab the reports that Ausable was going to receive. Luckily, Fowler was saved by

Auusable's great presence of mind.

10. Fowler is a young writer who has been spending time with Ausable, a secret agent, in the

hope ofgetting to seesome ofthe expected excitement ofan agent's routine. He is disappointed

with not only the looks but also the simple activit ies of Ausable. When he confronts a pistol

held Max in the room, it becomes the first authentic thrill for Fowler.

11. The stereotype for a spy is a fit body facing thrilling situations every moment. However.,

Ausable broke this stereotype by being fat and simple and thus, proved that Stereotypes are

often misleading. Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent. He did not seem to be

so smart, active, movable aggressive, and romantic as we read in books or see in films. He was

very casual and sloppy. The Crack of pistols, wine, and dark-eyed beauties- had nothing to do

with Ausable. Hence, stereotypes are often misleading.

12. Max had no clue about the surrounding of the hotel room that he broke into. As an

experienced and cunning spy, he should have prepared himself for the mission in a better way.

When Ausable told him about the existence of the balcony, he trusted him at once, knowing

that Ausable was his rival.

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13. Ausable was shocked to see Max in his room as Max was supposed to be in Berlin that

night. However, as a sharp witty spy, Ausable made a fake story about the existence of a

balcony to save him and Fowler from his rival Max. If Ausable wouldn't think of this plan in

his defense, Max would have either killed them or grabbed the reports that Ausable was about

to receive.