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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 confidential piece of information does Smithback reveal to Margo that he knows about the two bodies from the river?
(a) There were teeth marks on the bones.
(b) All of the answers are incorrect.
(c) The skeletons are both female.
(d) One of the bodies is her cousin.

2. What is the name of the bridge in Chapter 1?
(a) Striker Bridge.
(b) Breston Bay Bridge.
(c) Hanging River Bridge.
(d) Humboldt Rail Bridge.

3. What shocking news does Frock give Margo in Chapter 22?
(a) That he is dying.
(b) That both of the river skeletons had been stolen.
(c) That Brambell was murdered the night before.
(d) That Margo's position at the Museum is in danger.

4. What does the waiter bring to Margo and Smithback along with their drinks in Chapter 15?
(a) A bowl of popcorn.
(b) A bowl of filberts.
(c) A bowl of peanuts.
(d) A bowl of crackers.

5. Where does Smithbeck's informant ask to meet him?
(a) In a coffee shop.
(b) The airport baggage claim area.
(c) The police station.
(d) A Penn Station bathroom.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which character had a crush on Smithback?

2. What odor does Smithback detect when following his informant into the small hole?

3. In what year was Linnaeus Hall constructed?

4. What dignitary shows up at Mrs. Wisher's rally?

5. What does the trio find in the cubby where the second headless body was found?

Short Essay Questions

1. What seems to be the reason that the unknown character in Chapter 8 holds the Ceremony?

2. What is ironic about using the muse of rhetoric, Polyhymnia, to name an ornate club in Chapter 10? Does its patronage seem to have anything to do with it?

3. What is Brambell's theory about what animal is responsible for the teeth marks on Pamela Wisher's bones? How does this change the direction of the investigation?

4. Why does Hayward say the tunnels are dangerous? Cite examples from the text.

5. What do you think is the importance of the New York Museum of Natural History to the storyline?

6. What does Pendergast reveal about Hayward? How does Hayward feel about this revelation? How does D'Agosta feel about this revelation?

7. What do you think is the author's purpose in describing Sergeant Hayward's physical characteristics in such detail?

8. Do you think Chief Horlocker's decision to make sure that the case is given priority because a debutante is based upon social standing, given that homeless men and women have died in the same way for weeks? Why or why not?

9. Why are the homeless referred to as "moles"?

10. Why do you think people of so many disciplines are called in to examine the two skeletons found in the river?

(see the answer keys)

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