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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Bob leave New York?
(a) He hoped to make money in the West.
(b) He and Jimmy got into a fight.
(c) He fell in love with a girl from Chicago.
(d) He was wanted by the police.

2. What distinguishing feature does Bob have on his face?
(a) A birthmark.
(b) A black eye.
(c) A mole.
(d) A small scar.

3. What does the narrator mean by the description of the police officer's impressiveness as "habitual and not for show"?
(a) The police officer is not trying to show off.
(b) The police officer is a humble and modest person.
(c) The police officer is stuck in a rut and always does things the same way.
(d) The police officer knows that people are watching him.

4. What causes the few pedestrians around to hurry "dismally" past Bob (621)?
(a) The weather has gotten worse.
(b) It is almost time for the last businesses to close.
(c) Bob's obvious wealth.
(d) Bob is a suspicious-seeming person.

5. The narrator says, on page 619, that something has "well nigh depeopled the streets." In this context, what does the phrase "well nigh" mean?
(a) Come very close to.
(b) Slowly.
(c) Completely.
(d) Tried and failed to.

6. What is the significance of Jimmy knowing how long ago the restaurant closed?
(a) It characterizes him as an observant police officer.
(b) It creates dramatic irony.
(c) It foreshadows his identity.
(d) It confirms Bob's characterization of him as a lover of New York City.

7. On page 621, Bob uses the slang word "bully." What does this word mean in the context of the story?
(a) Excellent, wonderful.
(b) Someone who uses force to get their way.
(c) A great person, usually a male friend.
(d) Someone cruel and threatening.

8. What is the clearest purpose of describing the plainclothes officer as "submerged in his overcoat" (621)?
(a) Amplifying conflict.
(b) Establishing atmosphere.
(c) Providing foreshadowing.
(d) Developing characterization.

9. What is the only reason that Bob can imagine Jimmy not showing up?
(a) He has forgotten Bob.
(b) He no longer lives in New York.
(c) He cannot get away from work.
(d) He is dead.

10. On page 621, how does the reader learn that the first police officer was actually Jimmy?
(a) The plainclothes officer reveals his true identity to Bob.
(b) The plainclothes officer refers to him as "Patrolman Wells."
(c) Jimmy himself explains his identity.
(d) The narrator describes "the patrolman" waiting around the corner as his "oldest friend" is arrested.

11. What causes Bob to realize that the plainclothes officer is not Jimmy?
(a) His nose.
(b) His teeth.
(c) His eye color.
(d) His hair color.

12. How does the plainclothes officer get Bob to walk with him?
(a) He says that he lives nearby and they can go have a drink at his apartment.
(b) He tells him they will go somewhere close by and talk about old times.
(c) He shows him the note from Jimmy.
(d) He arrests him.

13. At what time of night are Bob and Jimmy supposed to meet?
(a) 9 p.m.
(b) Midnight.
(c) 11 p.m.
(d) 10 p.m.

14. What detail reveals Bob's emotions when he discovers that Jimmy has betrayed him?
(a) He begins to weep.
(b) He curses Jimmy and their friendship.
(c) He lunges at the plainclothes officer.
(d) His hand shakes.

15. What does Bob's nickname turn out to be?
(a) "Bully" Bob.
(b) "Silky" Bob.
(c) "Betting" Bob.
(d) "Slippery" Bob.

Short Answer Questions

1. What effect does the officer tell Bob that time can have?

2. At the end of the story, what motive for his deception does Jimmy reveal?

3. What causes Jimmy to comment that Bob seems to have become a success in the West?

4. Bob's eyes are described as "keen" (620). What does this description of his eyes communicate about his character?

5. On page 621, how does the plainclothes officer refer to his meeting with Bob?

(see the answer keys)

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