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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What can a reader infer is one of the devil's conditions in the bargain he makes with Tom?
(a) Tom will bring the devil other people to make bargains with.
(b) Tom will not get the money until he makes a sacrifice to the devil.
(c) Tom will give his soul to the devil.
(d) Tom will not tell anyone where he got the money.

2. What word does the narrator use twice to describe the situation of Tom's clients?
(a) Fortunate.
(b) Desperate.
(c) Unexpected.
(d) Dubious.

3. What part of the fort remains standing?
(a) An alter to the devil.
(b) A cellar.
(c) Some mounded up earth.
(d) Some partial walls.

4. Why is Tom's business immediately successful?
(a) There is a rush to buy land in the West.
(b) There has been a series of large fires and people need to rebuild.
(c) There has been a recent wave of immigration.
(d) There has been a recent financial crisis.

5. To what does the narrator compare the sound of Tom's carriage wheels?
(a) The laughter of the devil.
(b) The creaking of the trees in the swamp.
(c) The clinking of coins.
(d) The souls of his clients.

6. What does the narrator compare Tom's clients to?
(a) Children.
(b) Sponges.
(c) Crops.
(d) Sheep.

7. What is one unusual physical feature of the devil?
(a) He has horns.
(b) His voice is like a snake's hiss.
(c) He smells of sulfur.
(d) He has red eyes.

8. What is Tom doing at the office on his last day?
(a) Foreclosing a mortgage.
(b) Selling his business.
(c) Accepting an offer to run for governor.
(d) Buying the land the swamp sits on.

9. What significant event happened in Massachusetts in 1727?
(a) A hurricane.
(b) An earthquake.
(c) A fire.
(d) A flood.

10. What is the third thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain?
(a) Changes his name.
(b) Converts to an anabaptist sect.
(c) Burns his house to the ground.
(d) Has his horse buried upside down.

11. Why does Tom Walker originally go into the swamp?
(a) He is lost.
(b) He is looking for his wife.
(c) He is trying to take a shortcut home.
(d) He has heard a rumor about the pirate treasure.

12. What is the second thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain?
(a) He asks a preacher to bless him.
(b) He starts carrying a Bible in his pocket.
(c) He sells his house and donates the money to charity.
(d) He begins giving refunds to old clients.

13. Why does the narrator say that Tom starts criticizing his neighbors?
(a) They try to point out to him that he is selfish.
(b) Tom thinks that it makes him seem like a better person.
(c) They begin asking him for money.
(d) His panic is making him more and more angry.

14. What is true of the tree Tom is sitting on?
(a) The devil has lit it on fire.
(b) It bears Tom's own name.
(c) It bears the name of Absalom Crowninshield.
(d) The devil claims that it fell down on its own.

15. Why does the pirate not retrieve his treasure?
(a) Someone moves it.
(b) He is executed.
(c) He converts and does not want ill-gotten treasure.
(d) Tom Walker finds it first.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator says that the timing for Tom's business is propitious. What kind of timing would this be?

2. What does Tom see at the base of the tree where the apron hangs?

3. What is financial speculation?

4. What is Tom's reaction to the idea of being a usurer?

5. When the narrator refers to Tom's parsimony, what characteristic is being discussed?

(see the answer keys)

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