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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. What is Jack referring to when he says "it was what life ought to be, what he'd once believed it was."?
(a) Life on the farm was a struggle, and now things seeem better.
(b) Life should be lived to the fullest, now he is stuck on a farm.
(c) Life should be easy and he does not know why it is not easy now.
(d) Life on the farm was good and simple before he killed his brother.

2. What is it that makes Jack crazy once his good feelings wear off?
(a) The stupidity of the cows.
(b) The fact that his father is gone.
(c) The amount of work to do on the farm.
(d) The lack of rain.

3. What sight does Jack see when he remembers his brother's death?
(a) The evening sky.
(b) The cultipacker stalling when it hits his brother.
(c) The brake on the tractor.
(d) The cultipacker rolling over his brother's body.

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

5. When Jack's father is gone for days, who takes over the work of the farm?
(a) Jack and hired help.
(b) Jack alone.
(c) Jack and his uncles, nieghbors or cousins.
(d) Jack and his friends.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old is the youngest child at the time of the accident?

2. How does Phoebe feel about having lunch with her brother?

3. What is the victim riding when he falls off and is run over?

4. What does Jack do while waiting for the cows to finish eating?

5. As Jack walks down the road, what is on his right?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When he is driving the tractor, how does Jack's behavior mimic that of his father?

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

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

5. Jack's father has been gone over three weeks. In what position does Jack find himself? Have his responsibilities changed? Who is he working with now?

6. What kinds of stories does Jack tell while he is riding on the tractor by himself before the accident? How do his stories change after the accident?

7. Jack begins to play the French horn in earnest. Why does he do this? Where does he practice?

8. When Dale Hawthorne returns home after his three week absence, he does not leave again. What does he do to occupy his time? What does he do when he becomes restless?

9. What chores are Jack responsible for when he works in the barn? What feelings do the chores arouse in him?

10. As his lessons continue, what does Jack begin to realize about his teacher and his rants about America and Russia?

(see the answer keys)

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