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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who fixes Jake's suit?
(a) Frank.
(b) Ruth.
(c) Nathan.
(d) Ariel.

2. Who touches Lise and sends her into a screaming fit after Emil attempted suicide?
(a) One of the policemen who arrive at the scene.
(b) Frank.
(c) Nathan.
(d) One of the firemen who arrive at the scene.

3. Why does Jake decide not to go to the fireworks stand with Frank, Gus, and Officer Doyle?
(a) He wants to stay and bake with Ariel.
(b) He and Frank are still technically grounded.
(c) He says he has a bad feeling about it.
(d) He does not have money to buy fireworks.

4. What difficult task does Lise assign to Frank and Jake when the three are gardening together?
(a) The moving of a large rock.
(b) The pulling of a large patch of weeds.
(c) The spreading of a truckload of gravel.
(d) The fixing of a dilapidated fence.

5. Whose conversation does Frank overhear when he is hiding behind the stage at the theater?
(a) Nathan's and Gus'.
(b) Jake's and Ariel's.
(c) Ruth's and Emil's.
(d) Ruth's and Nathan's.

6. How many children do Axel and Julia Brandt have?
(a) 4.
(b) 1.
(c) 2.
(d) 3.

7. What word does Ruth instruct the family to use when talking about Skipper, the dead man the boys had found on the tracks?
(a) Itinerant.
(b) Hobo.
(c) Bum.
(d) Transient.

8. What advice does Gus give to Jake when Jake feels guilty for swearing in front of the church?
(a) He tells Jake that it is good for people to be shocked out of their monotony once in a while.
(b) He tells Jake to say the Lord's Prayer ten times.
(c) He tells Jake to save his regret for the important things.
(d) He tells Jake to apologize in front of the congregation at the next week's service.

9. Which of their father's three church services is Frank's and Jake's favorite?
(a) The service in Fosburg.
(b) The service in Minneapolis.
(c) The service in Cadbury.
(d) The service in New Bremen.

10. What prompts Ruth to bring food to the Klements' house?
(a) Travis Klement is rumored to be ill.
(b) Amelia Klement does not show up to church.
(c) Peter Klement tells Ruth he goes hungry much of the time.
(d) She feels guilty for the way she has been treating Ruth as of late.

11. What reason does Warren Redstone cite for the 1862 attack on the white settlers by the Sioux tribe?
(a) Because the Sioux had discovered the white settlers' use of smallpox-infected blankets to kill their tribe members.
(b) Because the Sioux were starving and had been denied food promised them in a treaty.
(c) Because the white settlers had attacked the Sioux first.
(d) Because the Sioux realized that the white settlers wanted to own land the Sioux had occupied for centuries.

12. What does Frank say is intended to be the highlight of the Independence Day celebration in Luther Park?
(a) A piano concerto performed by Emil.
(b) The performance of a play written by Karl.
(c) The chorale that Ariel had composed.
(d) The singing of the national anthem by Ruth.

13. What work does Ariel do for Emil Brandt in exchange for music tutelage?
(a) She gardens in his yard.
(b) She transcribes for him.
(c) She cleans his house.
(d) She paints portraits for him to sell.

14. What reason does Frank give for thinking his father might be disappointed to find Frank and Jake reading comic books?
(a) Because he thinks his father sees comic books as a waste of the boys' earned money.
(b) Because he thinks his father wishes they were reading the set of encyclopedias in which he invested.
(c) Because he thinks his father disapproves of the content in comic books.
(d) Because he thinks his father wishes they were doing homework instead.

15. What kind of animal does Officer Doyle blow up with the M-80 firecracker?
(a) A pigeon.
(b) A salamander.
(c) A bullfrog.
(d) A seagull.

Short Answer Questions

1. Though there is little furniture in Lise and Emil's home, what object is a prominent feature in every room?

2. What topic is at the center of the large argument between Ariel and Ruth on the day of Ruth's chorale performance?

3. Who arrives at Emil and Lise's house moments after the firemen have left with Emil?

4. Why are Frank and Jake forced to squeeze in next to Karl when he takes them for a ride in his Triumph sports car?

5. What physical imperfection does Ariel exhibit?

(see the answer keys)

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