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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________

Murder on the Orient Express
Test: Multiple Choice

Directions: Read the questions carefully and then select the best possible answer.

1. When the story begins, what has Hercule Poirot just finished doing?
a. He finished helping his family pack up their things and move to a new place.
b. He completed a large project that had required him to travel to China in order to present
it.
c. He solved a case that helped save the honor of the French army.

2. M. Poirot begins to check into a hotel, in order to take a little vacation, but his ideas for
relaxation are interrupted. How?
a. He receives a telegram, urging him to return to London.
b. He happens upon an unsettling scene that disturbs him greatly.
c. He is called to the telephone. The man on the phone begs for his assistance.

3. On the Orient Express, the reader is introduced to an American Lady. Of what is she
always talking in a loud and obnoxious way?
a. She is always talking about how things are in America.
b. She is always talking about her vacation and showing photographs to anyone who will sit
next to her.
c. She is always talking about her daughter.

4. During his first night on the Orient Express, M. Poirot is awakened. What caused him to
stir from his slumber?
a. He thought he heard the train come to a halt.
b. He dreamt the conductor was outside his compartment, knocking on the door.
c. He believed he heard a loud groan.

5. Aside from the fact that a murder has taken place on the train, what else adds to the
seriousness of the occasion?
a. The train is halted and it will be quite some time before the police can get to them.
b. The train has stopped because it ran over something– no one knows what was hit.
c. There are a number of ladies claiming that they are missing jewelry. The murderer is also
a thief.

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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________
Murder on the Orient Express
Test: Multiple Choice

Directions: Read the questions carefully and then select the best possible answer.

6. Based on no evidence whatsoever, how did MacQueen feel about his employer, Ratchett?
a. He felt safe when he was traveling with him.
b. He was convinced that Ratchett was a cruel and dangerous man.
c. He was certain that he recognized Ratchett from somewhere, but even up close, he
could never make the connection.

7. The wounds that were inflicted on the murder victim’s body are quite puzzling. Which of
the following ideas do not relate to the wounds described in the story?
a. The wounds in the story appear to have been inflicted by someone using both the right
and the left hand.
b. There are some wounds that do not gape. That leads the doctor to explain that those
wounds were made after the man was already dead.
c. All of the wounds are suspiciously close to the heart.

8. It is discovered very quickly why Ratchett/ Cassetti wanted to flee American soil. What
had he done in America?
a. He had murdered one of his brothers.
b. He kidnapped and child, extorted ransom money from the family, and then murdered
the baby.
c. He was wanted for tax fraud.

9. How are MacQueen and Colonel Arbuthnot able to create alibis for one another?
a. They are lifelong friends. They swear that neither of them are capable of committing a
murder.
b. They were up until at least two a.m., speaking with one another about politics.
c. They appeal to the conductor, and he says that neither of these men ever left their
compartment during the whole evening.

10. On the night that his employer was murdered, why was Masterman, the valet, unable to
sleep well?
a. He had a toothache.
b. He suffered from indigestion.
c. He had a dream that something bad was going to happen.
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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________
Murder on the Orient Express
Test: True/ False

Directions: Read the questions carefully and then select the best possible answer.

False 1. True or False: Edward Henry Masterman, the valet for Ratchett, got his job because he had
______
proven his loyalty. He was always willing to lie in order to keep his employer safe.

True
_____True_ 2. True or False: Mrs. Hubbard claims that the murderer was in her compartment on the
night of Ratchett’s murder.

True 3. True or False: Greta Ohlsson provides an alibi for Mary Debenham because she says that
______
she is a light sleeper and if Debenham had awakened during the night, she would have noticed.

True 4. True or False: Almost the entire time, M. Bouc believes that the Italian man is the
______
murderer.

False 5. True or False: Princess Dragomiroff knew nothing about the Armstrong family. She is
______
Russian, after all, and she does not much care about the concerns of the Americans.

False 6. True or False: While examining the Countess Andrenyi’s paperwork, Poirot finds an odd
______
passport stamp. She has done a lot of traveling lately.

True 7. True or False: Colonel Arbuthnot believes in justice. He thinks that Cassetti deserved to be
______
tried and then hanged for his crimes.

False 8. True or False: Mr. Hardman puts up a fuss because he does not want to be sleeping a
______
second-class cabin.

______
False 9. True or False: Mr. Hardman said that he was disappointed not to know more about the
case because he had been hired to watch out for Ratchett and make sure that no one “got him”.

False 10. True or False: The problem with the description of the small, dark man, with a high-
______
pitched voice is that the only person on the train who fits this depiction is M. Bouc.

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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________
Murder on the Orient Express
Test: Short Answer

Directions: Read the questions carefully and then select the best possible answer.

1. What is the setting of the story?

A train

2. Name one way in which the author foreshadows something that is going to occur later in the
story. (Be sure to state both how she uses foreshadow and the event that is connected.)

3. What is a red herring and how does the author use it in the story?
A red herring is a distraction designed to throw someone off the correct path or line of thinking. The small dark
man with a womanish voice is an example.

4. What is the theme of this story?

Deception

5. What do you learn about the main character, M. Poirot, based on his style of investigation? Cite
at least two specific examples of things he did in the story to help support your answers.
He is very observant and intelligent. He noticed that the only possible way that the murder could have happened
is if everyone did it. He knew the handkerchief belonged to Dragomiroff because she's russian and "s"'s look like
an h

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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________
Murder on the Orient Express
Test: Matching: Characters

Directions: Match the characters with their actions.

f
_____ 1. M. Poirot a. Worried about the local police and press getting
ahold of the story

a
_____ 2. M. Bouc b. The only character that admits to smoking a pipe

h 3. Mary Debenham
_____ c. Continually rejects the idea of having his wife
questioned or involved in the murder investigation

b
_____ 4. Colonel Arbuthnot d. Loud and obnoxious- A shrewish person

_____
j 5. Hector MacQueen e. Talks as much as possible– Has to be cut off in
order for the investigation to proceed

c 6. Count Andrenyi
_____ f. An investigator who decides to help
determine what really happened on the train

e
_____ 7. Mrs. Hubbard g. Feels like he/she is suspected because he/she
was the last person to see Ratchett alive

_____ 8. Antonio Foscarelli h. Has a brain capable of planning out a murder

g
_____ 9. Miss Greta Ohlsson i. This character is described as being
remarkably placid

d
_____ 10. Miss Hildegarde Schmidt j. Originally shares a compartment with M.
Poirot on the Orient Express

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Student Name _____________________________________________ Date _____________
Murder on the Orient Express
Test: Essay Prompts

Directions: Read each prompt carefully. Using an essay writing format, answer the question
as thoroughly as possible.

Essay Prompt One: How was Ratchett killed? Explain what really happened and why it
happened.

Ratchett was killed by 12 people who each stabbed him once with a knife. Ratchett was also known as Cassetti, a
baby kidnapper and murderer who wasn't caught until he was long gone. The victims (the Armstrongs) had many
people in their household and people they knew who were devestated by the death and 12 of them decided to get
revenge.

Essay Prompt Two: In the end, did M. Poirot, M. Bouc, and Dr. Constantine do the right
thing? Explain your answer to the best of your ability.
I believe that Poirot, Bouc, and Constantine did do the right thing in terms of morality. There was no guarantee that
Ratchett would even be convicted because of the lack of evidence and he wouldn't suffer the consequences of the
other people he indirectly affected. Once the deed has been done and everything was laid out, it was obvious that the
evil of murdering Ratchett was easily outweighed by how much damage he had done by murdering the baby.
Therefore them letting the people go instead of causing more unnecessary harm was the right thing to do.

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