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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who says they "hope the cat will take heed" (30) after the serrated metal coils are installed?
(a) The boy.
(b) The man.
(c) The wise old witch.
(d) The woman.

2. What does the boy pretend the serrated metal coils are at the end of the story?
(a) A thicket of thorns.
(b) A xylophone.
(c) A ladder.
(d) A secret fortress.

3. What did the woman have the housemaid do to the people from the city who hung about looking for work?
(a) Shoo them away.
(b) Give them money.
(c) Bring them clothes.
(d) Bring them bread and tea.

4. Why did the man and the woman not hire any of the people from the city who came seeking jobs?
(a) They had been warned by his mother not to take anyone in off the street.
(b) They had no resumes.
(c) They did not need any extra help.
(d) They could not afford to pay anyone else.

5. What sounds collided with the screams at the end of the story?
(a) The dog's bark.
(b) The cat's wail.
(c) The neighbor's shouts.
(d) The alarm.

6. How is the housemaid described at the end of the story as she walks back to the house?
(a) Melancholy.
(b) Hysterical.
(c) Hopeless.
(d) Speechless.

7. What did the man and woman see outside while they were discussing the latest armed robbery one night?
(a) Someone sneaking around their garden.
(b) A neighbor's car get stolen.
(c) Their son sneaking off with a stranger.
(d) The cat effortlessly climb over the wall.

8. How do the intruders get past the iron bars in the suburban homes?
(a) They melt them.
(b) They saw through them.
(c) They squeeze through them.
(d) They bend them.

9. In addition to taken items from homes, what did the suburban intruders do in the homes?
(a) Read.
(b) Had parties.
(c) Ate and drank.
(d) Napped.

10. What does the mother do to get the boy to sleep at the end of the story?
(a) Read him a fairy tale.
(b) Sing him a lullaby.
(c) Give him sleeping medication.
(d) Watch a movie with him.

11. What is the gardener doing as he walks back to the house at the end of the story?
(a) Crawling.
(b) Yelling.
(c) Laughing.
(d) Weeping.

12. What additional security option does the husband and wife choose after comparing various styles in the neighborhood?
(a) Glass embedded in cement.
(b) Iron grilles with lance-points.
(c) Serrated metal coils.
(d) 12-inch pikes.

13. Why did the wife suggest they build a higher wall around their house?
(a) Her husband suggested that someone might still be able to climb in.
(b) She worried her son would climb over their current wall.
(c) She wanted their wall higher than their neighbors.
(d) She wanted it to block out the sun.

14. Who runs out of the house second and finds the boy at the end of the story?
(a) The housemaid and gardener.
(b) The cat.
(c) The wise old witch.
(d) The man and the woman.

15. What does the little boy drag to the wall while he is playing make believe at the end of the story?
(a) His tricycle.
(b) Garden stones.
(c) The cat.
(d) A ladder.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the end of the story, what is the coil tunnel said to be "just wide enough for" (30)?

2. Why did people in the city begin spending time in the suburbs even if they were not housemaids or gardeners?

3. What are some of the things intruders would take from suburban homes?

4. What does the man say cats always do, so they need not worry about him getting hurt on the new fencing?

5. What information was affixed to some of the security walls of people's houses in the suburbs?

(see the answer keys)

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