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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. How old is Jack's mother?
(a) 30.
(b) 43.
(c) 27.
(d) 34.

2. What does Jack drink from the thermos Phoebe brings him?
(a) Iced tea.
(b) Cold milk.
(c) Lemonade.
(d) Iced water.

3. What is Jack's mother's support system after the accident?
(a) Eating and watching television alone.
(b) Reading and writing poetry.
(c) She does not have one.
(d) Her many close, religious friends who visit often and care for her.

4. For what is Dale Hawthorne well-known in his town?
(a) His drunken fights.
(b) His prize winning cows.
(c) His drinking.
(d) His poetry and his poetry readings.

5. How does Jack's mother comfort him and his sibling?
(a) By reading the Bible to them nightly.
(b) By taking them on long drives.
(c) By telling them the accident was not their fault.
(d) By embracing them and giving constant praise and reassurance.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does one of Betty's friends say to her about Jack?

2. When Jack enters his home after riding the tractor home in the thunderstorm, how does he behave?

3. Who does Jack's father blame for his son's death?

4. What does Jack do while riding on the tractor?

5. How does Jack respond to Phoebe's question at the beginning of lunch?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jack react every time he relives the image of his brother David being crushed by the cultipacker?

2. What does Jack think about as he prepares the cows for milking after realizing why Phoebe wanted him to say grace? How does he feel as these thoughts enter his mind?

3. How do Jack's family and his mother's friends view his passionate interest in his horn? Are they concerned? Why?

4. How does Jack feel after asking Yegudkin if he will ever play the horn as well as the teacher? How does Yegudkin respond?

5. In this story, Jack and Phoebe have very traditional roles. What are the roles each play?

6. Who is involved in the accident and how old are they? Why is the accident seem particularly difficult for the two surviving children?

7. When Jack first opens the door and sees his family gathered around his father, his aunt says to him, "It's all over. Your father is home." What does she mean by this?

8. Where does Jack find peace and solace? With whom does he talk?

9. The narrator explains that Dale Hawthorne "trades off his sorrow for the sorrows of others." What does he mean by this?

10. With practice Jack is able to have major accomplishments with his horn playing. What are some of those accomplishments? Which ones seem especially important?

(see the answer keys)

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