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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what situation does the narrator say it is not a good idea for an author to use the first person?
(a) When it is obvious the events could not be real
(b) When the story is written for children
(c) When the narrator identifies too strongly with the narrator
(d) When it is essential for the narrator to know what every character is thinking

2. What did the hurricane of 1933 do to Ocean City?
(a) Cut an inlet from the ocean to Assawoman Bay
(b) Blew the roof off the arcade
(c) Tore up a section of the boardwalk
(d) Broke the fishing pier in half

3. What does Uncle Karl do for a living?
(a) Is a masonry contractor
(b) Works in a munitions factory
(c) Has a plumbing business
(d) Is a school teacher

4. What does the narrator say is the best thing to do when lost?
(a) Always travel in the same direction
(b) Always mark where you have already walked
(c) Stay in one place and holler if necessary
(d) Always take the right hand turn

5. What does Ambrose’s father do for a living?
(a) School principal
(b) Accountant
(c) Insurance agent
(d) Banker

6. What does the narrator say alternates back and forth in a narrative?
(a) Dramatization and summarization
(b) Exciting parts and boring parts
(c) Action and dialogue
(d) Characterization and Description

7. What did Ambrose say to Magda in the tool shed after she was done with her punishment?
(a) Ambrose would never forget that moment
(b) He would never punish her again
(c) Peter would be so jealous
(d) Ambrose asked Magda to marry him

8. What does the narrator say is the manuscript mark for italic type?
(a) A straight underline
(b) Highlighting the text
(c) Putting the text in square parentheses
(d) Backward quotation marks

9. What happens to Ambrose’s voice if he becomes excited when talking?
(a) It becomes whispery
(b) It deepens
(c) Nothing
(d) It becomes high-pitched

10. Ambrose thinks everything one sees in Ocean City is preparation and intermission for what?
(a) Life
(b) Growing up
(c) Winning the war
(d) Sex

11. What does Uncle Karl say Ambrose’s future family will use to go on vacation?
(a) A train
(b) A moving sidewalk
(c) A flying Autogiros
(d) A subway built underground across America

12. Many of what kind of machines are out of order in the penny arcade?
(a) The skit bowling machines
(b) The digger machines
(c) The pinball machines
(d) The fortune telling machines

13. What does the narrator say is irrelevant in a story about a fun house?
(a) Where the fun house is located
(b) How much it costs to enter the fun house
(c) Details about a drive to the fun house
(d) How long it takes standing in line at the fun house

14. Why does the narrator call Ambrose’s father a minstrel in reverse that evening?
(a) He pretends to sing on the street corner
(b) He carries his guitar across his back
(c) He is covered in Noxzema
(d) He could not sing but tried to anyway

15. What does Ambrose’s mother say when Magda wins the Towers game?
(a) Females will always win over the males
(b) Magda has better eyes than her sons
(c) She does not get a prize because she is not a member of the family
(d) Magda won because someone has a girlfriend

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator say the climax of this story must be?

2. What does the narrator call the diagram that represents conventional dramatic narrative?

3. Why is a conventional narrative pattern used, according to the narrator?

4. What does Ambrose notice about the people going into the funhouse?

5. What literary device does the narrator say diving into the swimming pool could be?

(see the answer keys)

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