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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Mr. Morton say he was teaching at the school?

2. What does Ellie say that makes Jennifer cry harder?

3. What does Will say about Lance and Jennifer that surprises Ellie?

4. What does Mrs. Wagner want when she calls?

5. How does Marco explain his actions with the sailboat?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Will and Ellie say to each other about Lance and Jennifer?

2. What does Marco do with the sailboat when he spies a group of kids in an old, battered boat?

3. How does Mr. Morton respond to what Ellie tells him about Will, Jennifer and Lance?

4. What does Ellie face when she arrives at Mr. Morton's apartment? What does she do

5. Why is Mr. Morton annoyed with Lance on Monday morning? How does Jennifer defend Lance to Mr. Morton?

6. What does Mr. Morton say he is doing? What does he advise Ellie to do?

7. What does Ellie say about Mr. Morton's abandoning his job and about the order?

8. What happens when Marco arrives at the conference room?

9. What does Mr. Morton think is going to happen since Will now knows about Jennifer and Lance? Whom does Mr. Morton blame?

10. What do Ellie and Jennifer talk about in the girls' bathroom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Will and she asks him if there is something upsetting him. He says no, but goes on to tell her that his dad is pressuring him to attend the Naval Academy for college. Will tells her that he will get in, but that he doesn't want to be in the military and that his father is having a hard time accepting his decision. Ellie tells him his father is probably pushing him into a Naval career because he feels it is the best thing for Will. Will expresses, very eloquently, that he doesn't want to go into the military because he believes in peace and negotiation. Ellie suggests Will talk to his step-mom and ask her to try and convince his father to ease up on talk of Will joining the military. Will finally told his father that he didn't intend to go to college at the Naval Academy. Will's father was so enraged that he kicked Will out of the house.

1. Discuss reasons Will's father might be pressuring Will to go to the Naval Academy? Consider the possibilities of both positive, e.g. he thinks it will be good for Will and negative, e.g. Mr. Wagner's ego is involved, when writing your answer. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss what Will's belief in peace and negotiations says about his values, morals and his character. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

3. Why do you think Will has not considered speaking to his mother about helping him and Ellie comes up the the idea? Discuss this in terms of their different family dynamics, their personalities and their genders. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Many novels, and perhaps a majority, of novels ends on a happy note. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think many (most?) people want what they perceive as a happy or good ending to a novel? Explain your opinion. Do you? Why or why not?

2. What are three reasons to read fiction? Discuss each one in light of Avalon High and whether or not it fulfills all three, two or one of the reasons you mention. Give examples as to why Avalon High is or is not successful in fulfilling the reasons you discuss.

3. Do you think reading solely for entertainment is as good a reason to read as any other? Why or why not? Can any work of fiction or non-fiction, no matter how poorly written, enlighten, teach, stimulate thought? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Ellie is relieved that no one bothers her with orientation on her first day and is happy that some "geeky girls" allow her to sit with them at lunch. She doesn't want to stand out, but she also doesn't want to be labeled as a loner or a nerd. Ellie is having her own issues; mainly she is insecure about everything. She feels she is too tall, not the kind of girl boys like, she is boring, etc.

1. Discuss Ellie's personality based on the first sentence above. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

2. Pretend Ellie is your best friend and talk to her about her insecurities. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss what might be the correlation between Ellie having two parents who are college professors and how she feels about herself. Use examples from Avalon High and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,480 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample