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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 Mary Alice claim she found a puppy in "The Phantom Brakeman"?
(a) At the junkyard.
(b) Behind the church.
(c) In the cobhouse.
(d) At the cemetery.

2. Outside of what town does Joe Dowdel wait for his train to take off in "The Troop Train"?
(a) Joliet.
(b) Little Rock.
(c) Memphis.
(d) Cleveland.

3. How much money does the Blue Plate Special cost at the Coffee Pot Cafe in "The Phantom Brakeman"?
(a) 50 cents.
(b) 10 cents.
(c) 75 cents.
(d) 25 cents.

4. How old is Joey Dowdel when he visits his Grandmother in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) 16.
(b) 15.
(c) 14.
(d) 17.

5. Who is the movie star that Joey describes as "sweeping the country" in "The Phantom Brakeman"?
(a) Katharine Hepburn.
(b) Carolyn Keene.
(c) Shirley Temple.
(d) Betty Grable.

Short Answer Questions

1. How much are Vandalia's daily wages that she hands over to her mother at the Coffee Cup Cafe in "The Phantom Brakeman"?

2. Who from the Ladies' Hospitality Committee for the Centennial Celebration has fallen ill with "female troubles" in "Centennial Summer"?

3. What is Uncle Grady Griswold's response when Grandma Dowdel arrives and asks him how he's been in "Centennial Summer"?

4. The narrator says that on the day of the Centennial Celebration, "People came in farm wagons and Fords from as far away as" where, in "Centennial Summer"?

5. What are the instructions for gentlemen on the new banner at the train station in "Centennial Summer"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What image of Grandma Dowdel is described by Joey when he sees her in “The Troop Train"?

2. How is Uncle Grady Griswold described in “Centennial Summer"?

3. How does Joey contact Grandma Dowdel in “The Troop Train"? What information does he relay to her?

4. What exchange do Mary Alice and Joey witness between Vandalia Eubanks and her mother at the Coffee Pot Cafe in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

5. What exchange takes place the first time Miz Eubanks comes to Grandma Dowdel's house in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

6. What does Mrs. Weidenbach comes to ask of Grandma Dowdel in “Centennial Summer"? What is Grandma's reply?

7. When is “The Troop Train" set? Where is the story set?

8. How is the winning performance at the talent show described in “Centennial Summer"?

9. Why does Grandma Dowdel send Mary Alice and Joey to the attic in “Centennial Summer"? What do they find?

10. How does Grandma Dowdel succeed in getting Effie Wilcox her house back in “Things with Wings"?

(see the answer keys)

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