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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does Irene put the tract she receives from the homeless man?
(a) Inside "anything drawer" at the house.
(b) Inside a beautiful glass jewelry box.
(c) Inside her jacket pocket, where it stays for months.
(d) At the bottom of her sock drawer.

2. When Peter inquires about Irene attending a new church, what does Irene tell him?
(a) Irene tells Peter that the church is a very different sort of church.
(b) Irene tells Peter that they feed the homeless, and she likes that.
(c) Irene tells Peter that the preacher is inspiring.
(d) Irene tells Peter that the other parishioners are kind and compassionate.

3. What does the tract, piece of paper, that the homeless man gives to Irene contain?
(a) Poetry.
(b) A drawing of scenery.
(c) His diary entries.
(d) Bible verses.

4. How far away was Ezra's car accident from Lisa's house?
(a) Two miles.
(b) One mile.
(c) One mile and three quarters.
(d) One mile and a half.

5. Why is Irene surprised when she attends a church in Council Bluffs?
(a) Irene is surprised, because the church is very beautiful and ornate.
(b) Irene is surprised, because Michael Christopher, the homeless man she met earlier, is the pastor.
(c) Irene is puzzled about the large size of the congregation.
(d) Irene is baffled, because she meets Michael Christopher, the homeless man, outside the church.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year does Peter propose to Irene?

2. Where did Irene go to college according to Part Two, Chapter 3?

3. What lie does Sarah Jane tell Jeremy after they leave the scene of the car accident in Part Three, Chapter 1?

4. In reality, what happens after Irene's disappearance?

5. Whose life's background is the focus of Part Two, Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part Three, Chapter 1, what are the two versions of where Irene may be according to the narrator? How do the different stories leave out any definite information?

2. What are some of the first signs that Irene is taking her new church very seriously, and that it may be beginning to take over her life?

3. Why are Jeremy and Stephanie surprised to meet Lisa on her porch when they travel there in the middle of the night?

4. The story shifts to the future as Jeremy works his new job and demolishes a shed. It ends by saying, "The shock of the impact, the satisfying crunch of boards cracking under hard steel, the muffled sounds of everything inside being quickly crumpled into unrecognizable pulp" (160). What does Jeremy's illustration say about his past experience in Lisa's shed? In what ways does the account provide further insight into Jeremy's development as a character?

5. How does Irene view Peter Sample's courtship? What brings her to marry Peter, even though internally she has reservations?

6. Using the quote, "...when she'd [Irene] gave no indication that anything unusual had happened or was about to happen or would continue happening without interruption in the days to follow" (127), what might the reader assume about Irene's disappearance?

7. How does Jeremy's lack of knowledge about Stephanie's apartment help him discover something critical about himself?

8. Why does Jeremy relate a weekend in Vegas to what happens to him at Lisa house in Part Three, Chapter 4?

9. In what ways is Irene's new married life in Crescent different from when she lived in Tama? How does the move emotionally affect her?

10. Irene places the tract given to her by pastor Michael Christopher in her pocket and then in the "anything drawer" at the house. Why does Irene's placement of the tract give it more meaning?

(see the answer keys)

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