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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 has Mrs. Effie Wilcox gone to stay with her sister in "Things with Wings"?
(a) Palmyra.
(b) Peoria.
(c) St. Louis.
(d) Jackson.

2. How much are Vandalia's daily wages that she hands over to her mother at the Coffee Cup Cafe in "The Phantom Brakeman"?
(a) 95 cents.
(b) 75 cents.
(c) 10 cents.
(d) 15 cents.

3. In what year is "Things with Wings" set?
(a) 1934.
(b) 1929.
(c) 1935.
(d) 1936.

4. Who does Grandma Dowdel tell Mary Alice and Joey that the stovepipe hat in the attic once belonged to in the beginning of "Things with Wings"?
(a) A banker.
(b) Abraham Lincoln.
(c) Charlie Chaplin.
(d) A preacher.

5. When did the Great Fire of Chicago occur?
(a) 1899.
(b) 1871.
(c) 1911.
(d) 1929.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Grandma Dowdel's unnamed town in A Long Way from Chicago is based on what actual town?

3. What does Joey see when his train passes Grandma Dowdel's house in "The Troop Train"?

4. In what year is "The Troop Train" set?

5. What term refers to a book comprised of short stories, such as A Long Way from Chicago?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the ghost story that Grandma Dowdel relates in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

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

4. What noise does Joey hear from Mary Alice's bedroom at night in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

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

6. What does the narrator say about John Dillinger in “Things with Wings"?

7. How has Grandma Dowdel's demeanor changed in the beginning of “Things with Wings"? Why?

8. What do Joey and Mary Alice discover in Grandma Dowdel's attic in “Things with Wings"?

9. How would you describe the style of language and dialogue in A Long Way from Chicago?

10. How is the theme of family illustrated in “The Troop Train"?

(see the answer keys)

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