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

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

3. Why does the boy ride home with Sergeant Burke in the police car?
(a) He didn't have a ride home.
(b) He was in trouble.
(c) He was being bullied.
(d) He was out wandering at night.

4. Which of the boy's relatives dies in October 1949?
(a) His aunt.
(b) His sister.
(c) His uncle.
(d) His father.

5. What makes the boy feel distinctly uncomfortable in Chapter 1?
(a) The book he reads in the dark.
(b) His sympathy for the Protestant police.
(c) His mother's depression.
(d) What he finds in his sister's wardrobe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to both Brigid and Larry in Chapter 2?

2. From which part of the traditions of both Protestants and Catholics does the boy derive excitement?

3. In Chapter 1, where does the boy's mother ask him to take flowers?

4. What color is the light above the graves of Francis and Frances' parents?

5. When does Tony McIlhenny disappear?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are superstitions introduced in Chapter 1?

2. What happens to Frances and Francis?

3. What causes the rat infestation mentioned in Chapter 3?

4. Who is Tony and what happened to him?

5. How can we see in Chapter 2 that the belief in the supernatural is a powerful force in Northern Ireland during this time?

6. Describe Grianan.

7. Why does the boy try to run away in Chapter 3?

8. How is the theme of disappearance used in Chapter 1?

9. Why does the boy throw a rock at Sergeant Burke's police car?

10. How does the boy get rid of the rat problem?

(see the answer keys)

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