The Case of the Fifth Word

Complete Questions and Answers

These answers are based on the attached chapter PDF. For discussion activities, the responses are model answers; other answers with the same meaning are also acceptable.

 

Before We Read

I. Anagram crossword

The crossword clues are anagrams of words connected with the story.

 

Clue	Answer
Across 3. Declare	Note: this clue appears to contain a printing error; “declare” does not form a common story-related word by rearrangement.
Across 6. Tucks	Stuck
Across 7. Heart	Earth
Across 9. Felt	Left
Across 10. Sown	Owns
Across 12. Sword	Words
Across 13. Evil	Live
Down 1. Aces	Case
Down 2. Read	Dear
Down 4. Tool	Loot
Down 5. Alps	Pals
Down 6. Hooks	Shook
Down 8. Mane	Name
Down 11. Loves	Solve

II. Meanings of “case”

Sentence	Meaning of “case”
1. Lalit said that he could not sing, but that was not the case.	(iii) Situation
2. The lawyer was waiting for the case to be taken up in court.	(iv) Matter
3. My pencil case is a gift from my grandmother.	(ii) Container
4. The subject of a formal letter is written in title case.	(i) Writing format

The title “The Case of the Fifth Word” refers to the mystery or matter involving the missing fifth word in Nolan’s coded message.

 

Let Us Discuss

I. Complete the statements

1. Leroy’s nickname was Encyclopedia and everyone called him by that name because he had read more books than anyone in Idaville, never forgot a fact, and had a mind full of information from A to Z.

 

2. At the dinner table on Tuesday night, Chief Brown stared at his cream-of-mushroom soup as he had a mystery that he could not solve and was thinking deeply about it.

 

3. Encyclopedia sat quietly at the dinner table because he knew that his parents were discussing the case for his benefit.

 

4. Nolan put the will on the kitchen table because he realised that he was dying and wanted to leave instructions about his property for Davenport.

 

II. Would Chief Brown need Leroy’s help?

Yes, Chief Brown would need Leroy’s help because Leroy was an exceptionally knowledgeable and observant boy who could notice connections that adults missed. He understood that “Nom Utes Sweden Hurts” represented Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after the letters of “day” had been removed. He then inferred that the missing fifth word was “Fir”, representing Friday, and located the jewellery under the fir tree.

 

Let Us Discuss: Facts and Opinions

No.	Statement type	Answer and explanation
1	Fact	Encyclopedia’s father was the Chief of Police; this is stated directly in the story.
2	Opinion	The belief that Chief Brown was the smartest police chief is a judgement.
3	Fact	An encyclopedia is a book or set of books containing information arranged from A to Z.
4	Opinion	The comparison of Leroy with a library and computer expresses his friends’ judgement.
5	Fact	The story states that two masked men robbed the Diamond Mart.
6	Fact	The story states that Nolan and Davenport met in prison in South Carolina.
7	Opinion	Chief Brown’s “hunch” was a strong belief, not proven evidence.
8	Fact	Nolan wrote a four-word code to communicate the hiding place of the jewellery.

Character Traits of Leroy

Textual evidence	Character trait
He read more books than anyone in Idaville and never forgot a fact.	Knowledgeable
He never spoke of the help he gave his father because he did not want to seem different.	Humble
He sat quietly while his parents discussed the case for his benefit.	Keen listener
He usually needed only one question to solve a case.	Clever

The extra word is gentle.

 

Let Us Think and Reflect

I. Extract-based questions

1. Extract about Chief Brown and Encyclopedia

(i) Complete the sentence.

 

Chief Brown’s dilemma can be called unique because his son, an eighth grader, was the best detective alive, but people would not believe that a child could be so brilliant.

 

(ii) Choose the correct option.

 

C. Encyclopedia desired to blend with the other boys to prevent seeming different.

 

(iii) Select the false reason.

 

C. The parents did not want him to be remembered as different from the others around him.

 

(iv) What does “stuck with” the name Encyclopedia mean?

 

It means that Leroy could not get rid of the nickname. Although only his parents and teachers used his real name, everyone else continued to call him Encyclopedia.

 

2. Extract about the four words

(i) Choose the correct option.

 

B. Chief Brown was confused and unable to make sense of the words.

 

(ii) State whether the statement is true or false.

 

The statement is true. Mrs. Brown explained the dictionary meanings of the individual words instead of looking for the hidden pattern behind them.

 

(iii) What does Mrs. Brown’s inability to decode the words suggest?

 

It suggests that the four words did not have their ordinary meanings. They formed a simple code, and they had to be understood in relation to the crime and the missing jewellery.

 

(iv) Complete the sentence.

 

The purpose of Encyclopedia’s reminder was to refocus the discussion on the context of the crime and suggest that the message was a clue about the location of the stolen jewellery.

 

II. Answer the following questions

1. Nolan and Davenport were very close. Support this statement with evidence from the text.

 

Nolan and Davenport had met in prison in South Carolina and had become friendly because of shared interests. Davenport later came to live with Nolan a week before the jewellery-store robbery. Chief Brown believed that they had planned the robbery together and hidden the stolen jewellery.

 

2. Why did Davenport disappear after the jewellery hold-up? What might his plans have been if Nolan had not died?

 

Davenport disappeared because he and Nolan had probably hidden the stolen jewellery and wanted to avoid being caught. If Nolan had not died, Davenport might have returned to receive the palm-tree nursery, which Nolan had left to him in his will, and then used the coded message to recover the jewellery.

 

3. What does Mrs. Brown’s interest in the case tell us about her?

 

It shows that she was observant, curious, intelligent, and interested in solving mysteries. She remembered important details about Nolan and Davenport and asked questions that helped the discussion move forward.

 

4. Explain why Chief Brown was proud of his son.

 

Chief Brown was proud because Leroy was highly intelligent, well-read, humble, and able to solve difficult cases. Leroy helped him without demanding praise and made deductions that even experienced police officers could not make.

 

5. Why were Chief Brown’s suspicions about Nolan and Davenport justified even without concrete proof?

 

The two men had met in prison, shared interests, and were together around the time of the robbery. Davenport disappeared immediately after the hold-up, the jewellery was never found, and the clerk partly recognised Nolan. These circumstances strongly supported Chief Brown’s suspicion, even though there was no direct evidence.

 

6. Analyse the role of the four-word coded message in the story.

 

The coded message is the central clue in the mystery. Nolan wrote “Nom Utes Sweden Hurts”, which seemed meaningless at first. Encyclopedia noticed that the words could represent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after the letters “day” were removed. He inferred the missing fifth word, “Fir”, which represented Friday. The jewellery was hidden beneath the fir tree, so the code solved the case.

 

7. Write a character sketch of Leroy.

 

Encyclopedia, whose real name is Leroy, is a knowledgeable eighth grader who never forgets a fact that he reads. He is exceptionally intelligent and has a sharp, analytical mind. He listens carefully, observes details, and makes logical connections. He is also humble because he does not boast about helping his father solve cases. Leroy is considerate and wants to live like an ordinary boy rather than appear different from his classmates. His ability to solve the coded message shows his critical thinking, creativity, and excellent understanding of language.

 

Let Us Learn

I. Phrasal verbs

Matching

Phrasal verb	Meaning
1. Put on	(iv) Wear clothes, a hat, etc.
2. Cooled down	(iii) Became normal or calmed
3. Turned up	(i) Appeared or was discovered
4. Make of	(vi) Have an idea or understanding of something
5. Figure out	(ii) Solve a problem
6. Got away with	(v) Escaped without being punished

Fill in the blanks

A. Finally, some important evidence about the case has turned up.

 

B. After I cooled down, I understood that I had made a big mistake.

 

C. I couldn’t figure out why he was angry with me.

 

D. He put on his special coat and went to his friend’s birthday party.

 

E. Ravi forgets to do his homework but he gets away with it as the teacher didn’t ask for it that day.

 

F. I do not know what to make of his behaviour.

 

II. Choose the correct homophones

1       After running for 50 kilometres last week, I felt weak for two days.

2       When the committee met yesterday, they brought four local cases to the fore.

3       While learning to drive, Rina used too much force on the brake, causing the car to break down.

4       He has composed a beautiful piece of music in order to bring peace to thousands of people.

5       She was busy dyeing her hair, not caring about the dying flowers in her garden.

 

III. Visual rebus puzzles

The visual puzzles can have slightly different interpretations. The most suitable answers are as follows.

 

Visual clue	Answer
Three occurrences of “AGED”	Three aged / three ages
“Try” over “stand”, with 2 below	Try to understand
An upward arrow between two “U”s	U-turn upward / rise above; the intended idea is likely up between you.
“GO” beside several “It”s	Go before it / go with it; the intended phrase is likely go before it is too late.
Six “sense” words, with one highlighted	Sixth sense
“M1LLION”	One in a million
“ONCE” above a clock	Once in a while
“ROADS” arranged as a crossing	Crossroads

IV. Spoonerisms

A spoonerism is formed by exchanging the initial sounds of words.

 

Given phrase	Correct phrase
1. Knowing sits	Sno wing kits; the intended phrase is likely snowing kits.
2. It’s roaring with pain	It’s pouring with rain
3. Plaster man	Master plan
4. Blarm wanket	Warm blanket
5. Tars and crucks	Cars and trucks
6. Shake a tower	Take a shower
7. Bead a rook	Read a book
8. Mardon me padam	Pardon me, madam

V. Fill in the blanks with relative words

6       Detective stories are exciting, keeping readers guessing who the real culprit is.

7       They take place in settings where clues are hidden carefully.

8       Though the mystery seems tricky, a clever detective always finds answers.

9       Readers often wonder why criminals leave small but important clues.

10    The challenge is to decide which suspect is guilty.

11    When the truth is revealed, everything makes sense.

12    But one may wonder if they could have solved it themselves.

13    These stories are fun because they make readers think till the very end.

 

The extra words are whose and how.

 

VI. Combine the sentences

14    We gave him the signal that he was waiting for.

15    We went to a place where the incident occurred.

16    The teacher, who is now nearly sixty, said she would retire soon.

17    It was the day when half the class was absent.

 

VII. Change the direct questions into reported speech

18    Mrs. Brown asked what was suspicious about that.

19    Mrs. Brown asked Leroy what he made of the four words.

20    Mrs. Brown inquired whether he had been involved in a jewellery robbery a few years earlier.

21    Mrs. Brown asked Chief Brown whether he had searched Nolan’s house.

22    Mrs. Brown inquired whether there was a young fir tree in Mr. Nolan’s palm-tree nursery.

 

VIII. Rewrite in reported speech

23    Rohan questioned me why I had stopped talking to him.

24    My aunt asked whether I had enjoyed the family gathering the day before.

25    My grandmother inquired when I would visit them again.

26    Madavi asked Ravi whether he would go with her to meet their old teacher the following day.

27    My friend inquired what gift I was planning to give my brother.

28    Veenu asked her teacher whether she should carry those notebooks to the staffroom.

 

IX. Change the dialogue into indirect speech

Aditi asked Rahul whether he had seen anyone leave a package near the lift.

 

Rahul replied that he had noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off.

 

Aditi asked Rahul what time he had seen that happen.

 

Rahul replied that it had been around 6:45 p.m.

 

Aditi further inquired whether he had been able to see the man’s face.

 

Rahul said that the man had worn a hood, so he could not see his face.

 

Let Us Listen

The attached chapter gives the listening questions but does not include the teacher’s podcast transcript. The following answers follow the information stated or implied in the exercise.

 

I. True or false

Statement	Answer
1. Observation skills help improve your common sense.	True
2. Rushing through tasks helps you focus better and observe more.	False
3. Taking notes or making sketches helps with what you observe.	True
4. Incorporating tips on observation skills will soon lead to success.	False; observation improves through regular practice and patience.

II. Complete the sentences

29    It is important to slow down and pay attention to notice several aspects around you more clearly.

30    The more senses like hearing and smelling you use, the more information you absorb.

31    People who are curious tend to be better observers because they seek to understand what they notice.

32    When you make a note of things, it helps reinforce the details in your memory.

33    Practising mindfulness helps a person stay present with their surroundings.

 

Summary of the Story

“The Case of the Fifth Word” is about Leroy, also known as Encyclopedia Brown, an exceptionally intelligent eighth grader who helps his father, Chief Brown, solve mysteries. Chief Brown suspects that Nolan and Davenport were involved in a jewellery robbery, but he lacks proof. After Nolan dies, a coded message containing four strange words is found beside his will. Leroy recognises that the words represent the days Monday through Thursday after the letters “day” have been removed. He supplies the missing fifth word, “Fir”, representing Friday, and correctly concludes that the jewellery is hidden beneath the fir tree in Nolan’s nursery.

 

Reference