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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 must firefighters find the rewards in their profession?
(a) They must seek rewards from their fellow firefighters.
(b) They must seek them out each in his own way.
(c) There are no rewards in the profession.
(d) They must look to society's veneration of firefighters.

2. What was Billy O'Mann griping about when talking about empty lots near the fire station?
(a) He thought new buildings should be constructed on the lots.
(b) He thought parks should be built in the lots.
(c) He thought the station should be expanded onto those lots.
(d) He thought the city should allow firefighters to park there so their cars do not get stolen.

3. Where did Smith take the application test?
(a) Greenwich Village.
(b) Harlem.
(c) Upper West Side.
(d) South Bronx.

4. Why did George say firefighters will never realize they are being duped?
(a) Because they were not smart enough to realize they were being duped.
(b) Because you had to be crazy to run into a fire and crazy people do not recognize reality.
(c) Because they knew the city would never help them.
(d) Because they took pride in providing for themselves.

5. How old was Tina when Smith first met her?
(a) Fourteen.
(b) Ten.
(c) Eighteen.
(d) Seventeen.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Smith say he disagreed with fellow firefighters' prejudices, but also understood them?

2. Why did Smith think his school principal and mother were wrong to lament his dropping out?

3. What was the first call the department took the day after the Saint Patrick's Day parade?

4. Why did one firefighter want to start up a collection at the station in Chapter 7?

5. Approximately how many children were at the ice cream party in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the elementary student, Cynthia, approach her interview with Smith in Chapter 9?

2. Why does Smith suggest that perhaps even with guidance, South Bronx resident Tina de Vega may still have ended up on drugs and prostituting herself?

3. Does Smith feel that society has become more violent over the years, and if so, why?

4. How did Smith convince himself of the need to respond to all calls when he found himself getting fed up with the arson incidents?

5. Did Smith's wife appreciate her husband's devotion to his job?

6. Why did Smith think it was useless to argue with the sneering youths hanging around a fireman's car in Chapter 10?

7. What did Smith find most frustrating about the attack on the firefighters (the dropped garbage can) in Chapter 8?

8. Is the poverty seen by Dennis Smith in the South Bronx different than the poverty in which he grew up?

9. In what way can the training firemen undergo never be completely sufficient?

10. What were Smith's initial views of firefighting before he joined the department?

(see the answer keys)

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