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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What advice does Big Will give to Willie regarding his poor pass in the last football game?
(a) "Always visualize the path the ball should take before you release your throw."
(b) "Any son of mine will not embarrass me with another poor play like that."
(c) "Never do less than your best just because you're playing an inferior team."
(d) "Life is too short to make bad passes."

2. What does Willie do to try to help himself get to sleep?
(a) He plans to try drinking some warm milk.
(b) He goes for a short run around the block.
(c) He counts sheep in his bed.
(d) He plans to take a warm bath.

3. How does the crowd react to the end of the Crazy Horse Electric game?
(a) They politely applaud both teams' efforts.
(b) At first they are stunned into silence, but then they erupt into cheers.
(c) They immediately jump to their feet and cheer.
(d) Some fans cheer, but others groan.

4. Why are Willie's arms and head trapped when he falls into the water?
(a) He is trapped under the ski.
(b) The life jacket is too large and it slips up, trapping his arms and head.
(c) He gets wrapped up in the tow line when he goes under water.
(d) The boat drifts over top of him and traps him in the water.

5. What is wrong with Wilie's final pitch in the Crazy Horse Electric game?
(a) His delivery is off, the pitch does not drop and he lands unbalanced.
(b) His pitch is supposed to be a fast ball, but it does not have enough speed.
(c) He throws so hard that he tears the tendons in his elbow.
(d) He pitches it into the dirt.

6. What accusation does Willie hurl at Jenny at the end of Chapter 9?
(a) She lied to him about staying with him.
(b) She has not been supportive or understanding about his problems.
(c) She has only stayed with him because she feels sorry for him.
(d) She cheated on him with Jeff Rhodes.

7. How has Willie changed over the twelve months before the novel begins?
(a) His voice has become squeaky and his face is full of acne.
(b) He has gotten bigger, stronger, and better.
(c) He has learned to appreciate the gifts he has been given.
(d) He has learned that there is more to life than baseball.

8. How does Jenny make amends for upsetting her aunt?
(a) She scrubs the kitchen and bathroom floors.
(b) She and her family go to church on a Thursday night in order to "get the devil out" of her.
(c) She pulls weeds in her aunt's garden.
(d) She peels fifty potatoes for the church picnic.

9. Where does Willie take Jenny when he wants to try to change their relationship?
(a) To the baseball field.
(b) To a bluff overlooking the river.
(c) To the bleachers at the football field.
(d) To his fishing hole.

10. What evidence does Jenny give to her aunt to prove that the woman on the religious channel is not really crying?
(a) She says that even though the woman is sobbing, she is not producing tears.
(b) The woman goes from a sobbing to singing without pausing.
(c) She says, "when people cry for real, there's snot," but the woman does not produce snot when she cries.
(d) The woman's makeup remains perfect.

11. What does Cyril Wheat's T-shirt say?
(a) You Look As If You Think I Care.
(b) If You Can Read This, Turn Me Over.
(c) I'm With Stupid.
(d) Gay Vegetarian Nazis for Jesus.

12. Willie's bus ticket will take him to which city?
(a) San Francisco.
(b) Portland.
(c) Spokane.
(d) Oakland.

13. What advice does Cyril give Willie to help him deal with the dreams that he has been having?
(a) Cyril tells him to acknowledge that he already knows what the dreams are trying to tell him.
(b) Cyril suggests that he take a warm bath before he goes to bed.
(c) Cyril tells him to exercise before bed so that he is too tired to dream.
(d) Cyril suggests that he tells his parents about his dreams.

14. Why does Willie feel sad when he is sitting with Jenny at the party?
(a) He is no longer interested in her, but does not know how to tell her.
(b) He is sad that she will spend the rest of her life with a "cripple."
(c) He is jealous of her because she still has all of her athletic ability.
(d) He knows that eventually she will lose interest in him and leave him.

15. What is special about this trip to Salmon Lake?
(a) They are celebrating Willie's birthday.
(b) It is Mrs. Weaver's first trip to the lake since the death of Willie's sister.
(c) It is the first trip out in Big Will's new boat.
(d) It is the last weekend of the summer that they will be able to get to the lake.

Short Answer Questions

1. What keeps Willie from acting like a cocky kid?

2. What does Johnny Rivers do in the bottom of the fifth inning in order to highlight the strength of Willie's pitching?

3. What is Willie's first mistake of the Crazy Horse Electric game?

4. Why do Willie and his father NOT grab the fish that they see in the water hole?

5. Where do Willie and his father stop during their motorcycle ride?

(see the answer keys)

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