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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens by midnight as Santiago returns to the land?
(a) He is able to fight off the sharks in the dark.
(b) The sharks leave as he gets near the city.
(c) The sharks come in a pack to get the rest of the marlin.
(d) His hands are well enough to use both of them with the club.

2. After he finally gets to the shack and puts down the mast, what does Santiago find?
(a) His bed has been stolen.
(b) A newspaper with the baseball scores.
(c) A warm beer.
(d) A water bottle.

3. Why is the old man pleased that the marlin had jumped a dozen times?
(a) He was getting a good look at his fish.
(b) He thinks the fish is about to die.
(c) When the fish jumps the boat stands still.
(d) The fish had filled its air sacs and could not dive deep again.

4. What does the old man call the business of getting the marlin lashed to the skiff?
(a) Boy Scout work.
(b) Slave work.
(c) Dugout work.
(d) Easy work.

5. What last weapon does Santiago use against the sharks?
(a) The tiller.
(b) A broken bottle.
(c) The mast.
(d) His fists.

6. How does the old man console himself as he returns home?
(a) There is little damage to his boat.
(b) He will never have to go fishing again.
(c) He promises himself never to go that far out again.
(d) The boy will be there waiting for him.

7. How long had Santiago gone without catching a fish?
(a) 1 year.
(b) 84 days.
(c) 6 months.
(d) 87 days.

8. What is the boy's name?
(a) Jose.
(b) Pedrico.
(c) Gabriel.
(d) Manolin.

9. What happens when the shovel-nose shark comes and Santiago stabs it in the brain with his makeshift harpoon?
(a) The knife comes untied from the oar.
(b) At that moment the wind dies down.
(c) The knife blade snaps off.
(d) The shark almost pulls the old man overboard.

10. When does Santiago realize the depth of his tiredness?
(a) As he ties the boat to a rock.
(b) As he walks up the hill to his shack.
(c) As he furls the sail.
(d) As he hauls the marlin's bones out of the water.

11. His back is already hurting him, and then what begins to give him pain?
(a) The sunlight gives him a headache.
(b) His hand cramps.
(c) His neck hurts from continually looking down at the water.
(d) He cuts himself with a knife.

12. What does the fisherman say about the marlin to the boy?
(a) He was eighteen feet from nose to tail.
(b) I need a tape to measure this fish.
(c) There is nothing left but head, tail, and bones.
(d) Why would the old man bring back only bones?

13. What does Santiago think is unjust but something he must do?
(a) Eat more raw fish to survive.
(b) Cut the marlin loose and go back saying he had another day of bad luck.
(c) Kill the great fish on the end of his line.
(d) Act strange for the boy.

14. What amazes Santiago as the boy talks about their first fishing trip?
(a) That the boy cannot remember one thing about the trip.
(b) That the boy has forgotten how big the fish was.
(c) That so many years have passed since that time.
(d) That the boy remembers everything so vividly.

15. What evidence does the old man have of his long, hard fight with the marlin?
(a) His damaged hands and his painful back.
(b) The damage to his boat.
(c) The long wet line he has now pulled into the skiff.
(d) The look in the marlin's eye.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a favorite topic of conversation for Santiago and the boy?

2. When does the old man hoist his sail?

3. In great pain from the cold, what does the old man hope for?

4. How does Santiago console himself after the first shark attack?

5. What indicates the old man's pride?

(see the answer keys)

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