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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which two characters are introduced first at the beginning of the novel?
(a) The boy and Rory Hannaway.
(b) The boy and his father.
(c) The boy and Una, his sister.
(d) The boy and his mother.

2. In Chapter 2, at what time does the grandfather clock strike before it stops for good?
(a) Nine.
(b) Ten.
(c) Midnight.
(d) Six.

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

4. What type of stone chair is hidden in the ruins of Grianan?
(a) A throne.
(b) A wishing chair.
(c) A table chair.
(d) A stool.

5. Who is Billy Mahon?
(a) A neighbor.
(b) A policeman.
(c) A friend of the family.
(d) A priest.

6. What happens to both Brigid and Larry in Chapter 2?
(a) They have both lost their jobs.
(b) They are killed.
(c) They have lost their ability to speak.
(d) They both cannot see.

7. Who is Ena?
(a) The boy's mother's sister.
(b) The boy's grandmother.
(c) The boy's father's sister.
(d) The boy's sister.

8. 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.

9. What does the boy try to do after his talk with Sergeant Burke in Chapter 3?
(a) To talk to his mother.
(b) To talk to his father.
(c) To hide in his room.
(d) To run away.

10. What information about the family secret does the boy know in Chapter 3 that his parents do not know?
(a) Who the real informer was.
(b) Where Eddie was killed.
(c) Who killed Eddie.
(d) What happened to Tony.

11. Who is the hero of the novel the boy reads in the dark?
(a) Robert.
(b) Patrick.
(c) Simon.
(d) Rory.

12. Who tells the boy about the murder of 1921?
(a) Rory Hannaway.
(b) Neil McLaughlin.
(c) Billy Mahon.
(d) Brother Regan.

13. To whom is Larry McLaughlin related?
(a) The boy narrator.
(b) Francis.
(c) Katie.
(d) Brigid.

14. What does "The Shan Van Vocht" mean?
(a) The Land of Poverty.
(b) The Conflict of Past.
(c) The Poor Old Woman.
(d) The Lovely Dark Land.

15. In what ways are the boys in the math class punished if they do not answer the questions correctly?
(a) Extra homework or caning.
(b) Time out or extra homework.
(c) Extra homework or cleaning.
(d) Cleaning or caning.

Short Answer Questions

1. The famous shoot-out in 1922 was between which two groups of people?

2. Which of the boy's relatives dies in October 1949?

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. Where did the shoot-out of 1922 occur?

5. Which three males are attacked at the end of the chapter?

(see the answer keys)

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