Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came down to the sitting‑room. I found him seated in his dressing‑gown, reading the morning paper with an expression of keen interest upon his sharp features. His long, thin fingers tapped restlessly upon the arm of his chair, as though his thoughts were racing far ahead of the printed words.

‘You observe, Watson,’ said he, without looking up, ‘that the events of the night have taken a most curious turn.’

I glanced at the newspaper he held, but could see nothing that might explain his excitement. Holmes, however, folded the paper deliberately and fixed me with that penetrating gaze of his which always made me feel as though he were reading my very thoughts.

1. What was Holmes doing when Watson entered the room?
2. What was Holmes wearing?
3. What was he reading?
4. What expression was on Holmes’s face?
5. Which part of his body is described as “long” and “thin”?
6. What action showed Holmes’s restlessness?
7. What did this restlessness suggest about his thoughts?
8. What item of furniture was Holmes seated in?
9. What did Holmes say had taken “a most curious turn”?
10. Who did Holmes address when he spoke?
11. What did Holmes not do when speaking?
12. What did Watson look at to try to understand Holmes’s excitement?
13. What was Watson unable to find there?
14. What adverb describes how this was done?
15. What did Holmes do before looking directly at Watson?
16. How is Holmes’s gaze described?
17. What effect did Holmes’s gaze have on Watson?
18. What time of day is implied by the scene?
19. What is Holmes’s forename?
20. What is Watson’s forename?

Creative Fiction Writing: Write an imaginative piece that starts with the line: ‘When I opened the newspaper, I couldn’t believe what I saw.’