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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. Why did owners of suburban homes particularly mourn when the intruders drank their single malt scotch?
(a) They did not make that kind anymore.
(b) They usually saved it for a special occasion.
(c) They felt the intruders were unable to appreciate what they were drinking.
(d) It was too expensive to replace.

2. Who is the first to find the boy at the end of the story?
(a) The man and the woman.
(b) The cat.
(c) The wise old witch.
(d) The housemaid and the gardener.

3. What information was affixed to some of the security walls of people's houses in the suburbs?
(a) The local homeless shelter.
(b) Who to call in case of emergency.
(c) The local police number.
(d) The company who installed them.

4. How are the coils the man and woman have installed around their wall described when the workmen are putting them in?
(a) Serrated and stinging.
(b) Razor-bladed.
(c) Fierce and cutting.
(d) Sharp as a knife.

5. The sounds of the alarms in the suburban neighborhood were likened to which creatures?
(a) Blackbirds and crickets.
(b) Frogs and cicadas.
(c) Mosquitoes and bluejays.
(d) Bees and grasshoppers.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does the little boy pretend to be at the end of the story?

2. Who says they "hope the cat will take heed" (30) after the serrated metal coils are installed?

3. What were the man and woman and little boy no longer able to admire when they took their dog for walks around the neighborhood?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. After building a higher wall, what did the man and woman notice the cat doing one night while discussing the latest robberies?

2. Why did the neighborhood alarm systems tend to go unanswered?

3. Despite thinking it the ugliest, what option did the man and woman choose to enhance security after building a higher wall?

4. Rather than noting lovely roses and gardens, what did the man and woman begin to admire during their neighborhood walks with their son and dog?

5. What does the wife tell her husband she is worried after installing the serrated metal coils around their wall?

6. What did the wife do for the people who hung around looking for work outside their home? What did the housemaid think of them?

7. Who helps remove the little boy at the end of the story? How do they do it?

8. What did the unemployed begin doing in the suburbs?

9. Describe what would likely happen should someone attempt to climb the wall with the serrated metal coils installed?

10. After the man and woman decided they should build a higher wall, what did the man's mother get them for Christmas? What did she get for their son?

(see the answer keys)

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