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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 his father.
(b) The boy and his mother.
(c) The boy and Una, his sister.
(d) The boy and Rory Hannaway.

2. Where are the boy's father's sisters sent to live after the death of their parents?
(a) Their mother's sister.
(b) Their grandfather.
(c) Their brother.
(d) Their father's brother.

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

4. What happened to the boy's sister, Una, in 1948?
(a) She was kidnapped.
(b) She became paralyzed.
(c) She became sick and died.
(d) She ran away.

5. What do people believe lay below the ruins of Grianan?
(a) The souls of those who had disappeared.
(b) The ghosts of unborn children.
(c) The souls of those who did not have a Christian burial.
(d) The bodies of legendary ancient warriors.

6. What do the boy's parents suggest he should have done instead of involving Sergeant Burke when he was being bullied?
(a) They said he should have run away.
(b) They said he should have just taken the punches.
(c) They said he should have talked the bully out of fighting.
(d) They said he should have stood up for himself.

7. Who is Meave?
(a) The boy's niece.
(b) Katie's daughter.
(c) Eddie's daughter.
(d) The boy's sister.

8. What is a specific characteristic of Brigid's behavior after the children disappear?
(a) She pretends the children have never left.
(b) She sings the children's song once a year.
(c) She never leaves her house.
(d) She skips wherever she goes.

9. What happens to the boy when the police come to search the house?
(a) He is hidden in the attic by his father.
(b) He is beaten by the police.
(c) He is told to leave the house so they can search it.
(d) He is taken to the jail for further interrogation.

10. What is going to be built across the river?
(a) Police station.
(b) British oxygen plant.
(c) Catholic church.
(d) Private farmhouse.

11. How do the boy's father's parents die?
(a) Fever.
(b) Old age.
(c) Killed at the shootout at the distillery.
(d) An accident.

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

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

14. According to the local belief his father told the boy, who gathers at the Field of the Disappeared at Christmas and other festivals?
(a) The souls of those who were murdered.
(b) The souls of children who died at a young age.
(c) The souls of orphans.
(d) The souls of those who have not had a Christian burial.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who teaches the boy's math class?

2. How old was the boy's father when he was left in charge of the family?

3. What causes the infestation mentioned in Chapter 3?

4. Why is the boys' mother upset when they return from their boat ride across the river?

5. What happens to Billy Mahon?

(see the answer keys)

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