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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 hope does Bob express about Jimmy?
(a) That he has not been as successful as Bob himself has been.
(b) That he has found a job that makes him both proud and happy.
(c) That he has also had success.
(d) That he has married and started a family.

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

3. What can logically be inferred about Jimmy's question about whether Bob and Jimmy kept in touch?
(a) He is unsure if the man he is talking to really is his old friend.
(b) He wonders why Bob stopped writing to him.
(c) He does not remember when the last time he heard from Bob was.
(d) He wants to know if Bob realizes that he deliberately stopped writing to him.

4. 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 was wanted by the police.
(d) He fell in love with a girl from Chicago.

5. What is the first thing that Bob notices about the plainclothes officer he thinks is Jimmy?
(a) The man's voice is lower than he remember's Jimmy's being.
(b) The man does not seem to recognize the nickname that Bob gave Jimmy.
(c) The man is taller than he thought Jimmy was.
(d) The man seems to be trying to hide his face.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bob's nickname turn out to be?

2. What does Jimmy notice about Bob's pocket watch?

3. What causes the officer to suddenly slow down?

4. What does the narrator mean by the description of the police officer's impressiveness as "habitual and not for show"?

5. What reason does Bob give for falling out of touch with Jimmy?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is ironic about the way that Bob describes his old friend to the "policeman" he encounters?

4. 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?

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

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

7. What does the note from Jimmy explain to Bob?

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

9. What is amusing about the plainclothes officer's answer to Bob's question about whether he is doing well in New York?

10. Why does Jimmy, in his role as the police officer, ask Bob if he is going to keep waiting for his friend to show up?

(see the answer keys)

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