Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow. Extract 2: Chief Brown studied the four words: Nom Utes Sweden Hurts. He shook his head and passed the notebook to Mrs. Brown again. 'Can you figure it out?' 'Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,' stated Mrs. Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school. 'Utes is an American Indian tribe. Sweden is a country in northern Europe. Hurts is hurts.' She lifted her gaze to Encyclopedia and shook her head. 'I can't figure it out,' she confessed. 'Davenport disappeared right after the hold-up,' Encyclopedia reminded her.
What does Chief Brown's reaction of shaking his head suggest about his understanding of the four words? A. He is confident that the words are a clue. B. He is confused, unable to make sense of the words. C. He believes the words are random and meaningless. D. He thinks the words are unrelated to the case.
B
Identify whether the given statement is true or false. Mrs. Brown explained the actual meanings of the individual words rather than decoding the hidden message behind them.
True
What does Mrs. Brown's inability to decode the words suggest about the message?
Mrs. Brown's inability to decode the words suggests that the message was intentionally cryptic and designed to be understood only by someone who knew the key—in this case, that the words were written on a calendar sheet and were anagrams of days of the week.
Complete the following sentence suitably. The purpose of Encyclopedia's reminder in the last line of the extract was to _____.
The purpose of Encyclopedia's reminder in the last line of the extract was to refocus the discussion on the context of the crime and suggest that the coded message was meant for Davenport, implying that the message contained a clue about the location of the stolen jewellery.
Explanation
((i)) Chief Brown's shaking of his head indicates confusion and inability to decode the meaning of the words. He passes the notebook to Mrs. Brown, showing he cannot figure it out himself. ((ii)) Mrs. Brown interpreted each word literally—'Nom' as nominative, 'Utes' as an American Indian tribe, 'Sweden' as a country, and 'Hurts' as the word hurts. She missed the hidden code that the words were anagrams of days of the week. ((iii)) The coded message required lateral thinking and the context of being written on a calendar sheet. Even Mrs. Brown, who was a teacher, could not decode it because she was looking at literal meanings rather than the pattern. ((iv)) Encyclopedia reminded Mrs. Brown that 'Davenport disappeared right after the hold-up' to redirect attention to the fact that the message was meant for Davenport, not for random interpretation. This context was essential to understanding why the code existed and what it meant.