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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is the boys' mother upset when they return from their boat ride across the river?
(a) She didn't have enough time to prepare dinner.
(b) She knows her husband told the boys about Eddie.
(c) She didn't want the boys on the river.
(d) She didn't expect them to return so soon.

2. After his parents die, Eddie leaves. Where does everyone think he went?
(a) He skipped town with his girlfriend.
(b) He went to America.
(c) He enlisted in the IRA.
(d) He went to Grianan.

3. Who is the real informer?
(a) Crazy Joe.
(b) The boy's grandfather.
(c) Larry McLaughlin.
(d) Tony McIlhenny.

4. Who does the boy find out is responsible for the murder of 1921?
(a) Brother Regan.
(b) Neil McLaughlin.
(c) His grandfather.
(d) A policeman.

5. What does the boy's father do for a living?
(a) He is a factory worker.
(b) He is an electrician.
(c) He is a salesman.
(d) He is a shopkeeper.

6. The famous shoot-out in 1922 was between which two groups of people?
(a) The boy's uncles and the IRA.
(b) The IRA and the police.
(c) The police and the boy's family.
(d) The IRA and the boy's family.

7. How does the boy describe how he got rid of the infestation in Chapter 3?
(a) He hired an exterminator.
(b) He had the dogs eat them.
(c) He flooded the nests.
(d) He threw burning rags on them.

8. In June 1948, what does the boy witness?
(a) His mother attempt suicide.
(b) The death of a young boy.
(c) His father leave town.
(d) The house burn down.

9. What happens to the distillery after the shootout?
(a) It explodes.
(b) It is rebuilt.
(c) It floods.
(d) It is shutdown.

10. What key theme of the novel is introduced in Chapter 1?
(a) The disappearance of the boy's uncle.
(b) The death of the boy's sister.
(c) The conflict between the police and the IRA.
(d) The conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants.

11. Who is the heroine of the novel the boy reads in the dark?
(a) Ann.
(b) Una.
(c) Emily.
(d) Sarah.

12. What happens that lets the boy know his father isn't upset anymore about the rose bushes?
(a) His father apologizes.
(b) His father tells him he understands why his son did it.
(c) His father smiles at him.
(d) His father comes in and kisses his head.

13. In Chapter 1, what causes the boy's mother to become inconsolable?
(a) Her husband leaves.
(b) One of her children dies.
(c) She loses her job.
(d) The boy becomes sick.

14. What does the boy find in the wardrobe of his sister's bedroom?
(a) A gun.
(b) Money.
(c) A photo album.
(d) A flower.

15. When the boy and his brother, Liam, are taken across the river by their father, what does his father's explanation about Eddie reveal to the boy?
(a) The boy knows more than his father knows.
(b) His father knows nothing of Eddie's disappearance.
(c) Liam knows more about Eddie's disappearance than does the boy.
(d) His father knows more about Eddie's disappearance than does anyone else.

Short Answer Questions

1. What novel is the first book the boy has ever read?

2. From where does the title of the novel get its name?

3. According to the local belief his father told the boy, who gathers at the Field of the Disappeared at Christmas and other festivals?

4. What are the IRA gunmen protesting at the shootout at the distillery?

5. Where did the shoot-out of 1922 occur?

(see the answer keys)

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