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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. What topic is at the center of the large argument between Ariel and Ruth on the day of Ruth's chorale performance?
(a) Which of the two women is the better singer.
(b) Which of the two women is the better cook.
(c) Which of the two women knows Emil more thoroughly.
(d) Which of the two women is more ambitious.

2. What does Tyler Klement do for work?
(a) He owns a construction company.
(b) He runs an engine repair business.
(c) He is unemployed.
(d) He is a dogcatcher.

3. What song does Ruth Drum sing at Bobby's funeral?
(a) Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
(b) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
(c) Amazing Grace.
(d) Ordinary Grace.

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

5. What game does Danny O'Keefe call to ask Frank and Jake to come over and play?
(a) Monopoly.
(b) Clue.
(c) Operation.
(d) Risk.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose conversation does Frank overhear when he is hiding behind the stage at the theater?

2. What method does Emil use to attempt suicide?

3. Why do Frank and Jake look forward to Saturday dinners at their house?

4. What object does Frank see sticking out of Danny's Uncle Warren's pocket?

5. Why do Frank and Jake walk home from the jail instead of riding in their father's car?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens within the conversation Frank overhears between Nathan and Emil after Emil's return from the private hospital?

2. What lengths has Gus gone to in order to make sure Nathan does not know of the card games he runs in the basement of the church?

3. How does Axel's request of Jake at the hospital reveal differences between Frank and Jake?

4. Where do Frank and Jake go just before Bobby Cole's funeral, and how does Jake's suit sleeve get ripped?

5. What are the reasons Officer Doyle gives for finding Bobby Cole's death suspicious?

6. When Frank and Jake come upon the Indian man and the apparently lifeless man referred to as Skipper, the Indian man says, "Know what I like about railroad tracks? They're always there but they're always moving" (32). When Jake replies, "Just like a river" (32), why is Frank shocked at Jake's reply?

7. During Gus' and Frank's conversation about Nathan's experiences in the war, what two sources of information does Gus warn Frank against heeding?

8. How does Gus' monologue about killing a man relate to the novel's title?

9. What is the situation that results in Frank, Jake, and Nathan going to the jail in the middle of the night?

10. What is ironic about Lise's reaction to Frank's grabbing of her shoulder when they succeed in moving the huge rock in her garden?

(see the answer keys)

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