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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. What does Grandma Dowdel tell Mary Alice that Shotgun Cheatham smelled like in "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground"?
(a) A polecat.
(b) An oil tanker.
(c) A flower-bed.
(d) A horse stall.

2. Who is described by Grandma Dowdel as the "best home-baker in the state of Illinois" in "The Day of Judgment"?
(a) Leota Shrewsbury.
(b) Barnie Buchanan.
(c) Earl T. Askew.
(d) Rupert Pennypacker.

3. What other events are judged on the day of the cooking competition at the fair in "The Day of Judgment"?
(a) Lambs and pigs.
(b) Cattle and quilts.
(c) Chickens and frog-racing.
(d) Turtle-races and sack races.

4. How old is Joey Dowdel during his trip to Grandma's house in "A One-Woman Crime Wave"?
(a) 12.
(b) 9.
(c) 11.
(d) 13.

5. Who is described in "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground" as "A real old, humped-over lady with buck teeth" and crossed eyes that had been the telling the reporter tales at the cafe in town?
(a) Effie Wilcox.
(b) Gertrude Smith.
(c) Mrs. Weidenbach.
(d) Alice Thompson.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of car does the narrator describe Al Capone owning in "The Day of Judgment"?

2. What city do Joey and Mary Alice live in growing up?

3. What grade in school has Mary Alice just completed in "A One-Woman Crime Wave"?

4. What explodes outside of Grandma Dowdel's house in the beginning of "The Mouse in the Milk"?

5. What does Grandma Dowdel send Joey to get at the store in town after Mrs. Weidenbach leaves in "The Day of Judgment"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Grandma Dowdel overcome her adversaries at the end of “A One Woman Crime Wave"?

2. Who is Grandma Dowdel's biggest opposition in the cooking contest at the fair in "The Day of Judgment"? How is this character described?

3. Why does Shotgun Cheatham's death raise interest in out-of-towners in "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground"?

4. What happens just before the tasting at the cooking contest in "The Day of Judgment"?

5. How do Joey and Mary Alice feel about their trip to Grandma Dowdel's in the beginning of "The Day of Judgment"?

6. What is Grandma Dowdel doing when the children arrive in "The Day of Judgment"? What does this foreshadow?

7. Describe the narrative style in A Long Way from Chicago. Who relates the stories?

8. How is the setting of “A One Woman Crime Wave" described? How have things changed since Mary Alice and Joey's last visit to Grandma Dowdel?

9. Where does Grandma Dowdel take Joey and Mary Alice to go fishing in “A One Woman Crime Wave"? How do they fish?

10. What purpose does the novel's Prologue serve? What information is related in the Prologue?

(see the answer keys)

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