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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. Why are there so few people on the streets?
(a) The weather is unpleasant.
(b) There are no open businesses nearby.
(c) There is a curfew.
(d) It is very late.

2. 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) Tried and failed to.
(d) Completely.

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

4. According to Bob, why did Jimmy stay in New York?
(a) He did not want to leave his family behind.
(b) He loved New York too much to leave it.
(c) He had a very limited imagination.
(d) He was scared to move somewhere unknown.

5. What reason does the waiting man give the police officer for his presence?
(a) He is trying to stay out of the rain.
(b) He thought that the business would be open.
(c) He is lost.
(d) He is waiting for a friend.

Short Answer Questions

1. What finally reveals the plainclothes officer's face?

2. What distinguishing feature does Bob have on his face?

3. How long does Bob wait for Jimmy after he speaks with the police officer?

4. On page 621, Bob uses the slang word "bully." What does this word mean in the context of the story?

5. What causes Bob to realize that the plainclothes officer is not Jimmy?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Bob and Jimmy know one another, 20 years ago?

2. How is Bob characterized by the accessories that he carries?

3. Describe the story's opening moments, including its setting.

4. What is appropriate about the plainclothes officer greeting Bob with the line "It's Bob, sure as fate" (621)?

5. In the story's beginning, what evidence is there that Jimmy takes pride in his job?

6. Why does Bob guess that Jimmy might not be as much of a success as Bob himself has become?

7. What causes Bob to finally realize that the plainclothes officer is not Jimmy Wells?

8. How does the introduction of Bob's character contrast with the introduction of Jimmy's character?

9. What surprises Bob about the appearance of the man that he thinks is his old friend, and how does the man explain away Bob's doubts?

10. When the plainclothes officer tells Bob "We'll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times," (621), what does he mean, and what does Bob likely think he means?

(see the answer keys)

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