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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 is NOT something Tom Benecke relates to the reader about his "own project" (10)?
(a) It has not yet been announced at the office.
(b) It will earn him a guaranteed raise.
(c) The boss may read the report stemming from it over the weekend.
(d) It could be postponed.

2. "The air from the building hallway" (10) smells of what?
(a) New carpet.
(b) Floor wax.
(c) Urine.
(d) New paint.

3. At what time does Clare leave the Beneckes' apartment?
(a) Just before 6.
(b) Just after 8.
(c) Just before 7.
(d) Just after 7.

4. In what city does the narrative of the story take place?
(a) New York City.
(b) Lafayette.
(c) Newark.
(d) Portland.

5. Tom Benecke thinks to himself that if the yellow piece of paper does fall to the street, he will take what action?
(a) He will race down the stairs.
(b) He will give up and begin his research again.
(c) He will hurry to the elevator.
(d) He will try to get someone's attention below.

Short Answer Questions

1. The piece of paper "beside the typewriter" (1) is covered with what?

2. What object slides "over the window ledge" and "out of sight" (15) as Tom Benecke watches?

3. For what reason does Clare leave the Beneckes' apartment?

4. What verb is used to indicate the way in which the "projecting wall" (25) interacts with Tom Benecke as he moves toward it?

5. What action does Tom Benecke take after walking Clare Benecke to the "front-door closet" (10)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is irony present within Tom Benecke's feeling about the idea of abandoning the yellow sheet of paper?

2. What kinds of implements does Tom Benecke consider in his quest to reach the yellow sheet of paper from his window?

3. What evidence points toward the fact that Clare Benecke often goes out by herself because Tom Benecke has to work?

4. Tom Benecke realizes at the beginning of the story that the feeling he is experiencing is not heat. What is it instead?

5. What types of information are written upon the yellow sheet of paper?

6. Discuss how Finney employs sensory details as a means to create suspense.

7. To what aspect of his life does Tom Benecke link his "guilty conscience" (1) at the start of the story?

8. What does the yellow sheet of paper symbolize?

9. Discuss the way in which Finney uses the hypothetical with a particular purpose in mind in Paragraph 20.

10. Why and how does Finney portray forward momentum as a negative force within business?

(see the answer keys)

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