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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On page 29, the narrator says that a person might have "descried" the smoke from the village. What does this mean a person might have done?
(a) Seen it.
(b) Complained about it.
(c) Been puzzled by it.
(d) Explained its details.

2. Who is the author of "Rip Van Winkle"?
(a) Diedrich Knickerbocker.
(b) Geoffrey Crayon.
(c) Washington Irving.
(d) James Fenimore Cooper.

3. Which nation controls New York at the time when Rip and the village are introduced to the reader?
(a) Holland.
(b) Sweden.
(c) The United States.
(d) Great Britain.

4. What is Rip's son's name?
(a) John.
(b) Rip.
(c) Dutch.
(d) Peter.

5. What is Rip's dog's name?
(a) Dutch.
(b) Bear.
(c) Dog.
(d) Wolf.

6. In the frame narrative, the reader is told that the main story's narrator gets his information from the wives of the "burghers" (28). Whose wives are these?
(a) The wives of prominent Dutch colonists.
(b) The wives of country farmers.
(c) The wives of political officials.
(d) The wives of local indigenous leaders.

7. Who is Derrick Van Brummel?
(a) The owner of a local hotel.
(b) The schoolmaster.
(c) The mayor.
(d) The owner of the village inn.

8. What evidence does the frame narrator give that the main story's narrator is still well-liked?
(a) His picture is stamped onto new year's cakes.
(b) His portrait is hung in many local schools.
(c) There is a street in New York named after him.
(d) There is a children's rope-skipping rhyme about him.

9. On page 28, the reader is told that the narrator of the main story is known for "scrupulous" accuracy. What kind of accuracy is this?
(a) Thorough and honest.
(b) Demanding and critical.
(c) Reckless and indifferent.
(d) Approximate and imperfect.

10. On page 29, the mountains are said to be "lording it over the surrounding country." This is an example of which literary technique?
(a) Onomatopoeia.
(b) Synechdoche.
(c) Hyperbole.
(d) Personification.

11. How does Rip's wife treat his dog?
(a) She ignores the dog completely.
(b) She insists that the dog stay outside and earn its keep on the farm.
(c) She treats the dog better than anyone else in the family.
(d) She treats the dog the same way she treats Rip.

12. Why does Rip stop spending time with his friends?
(a) His wife tells him he cannot spend time with them anymore.
(b) His friends decide that he is too lazy to be friends with.
(c) His friends move away to a bigger town.
(d) His wife yells at them constantly.

13. When on page 31, the narrator says of Rip that he will "eat white bread or brown," how is Rip being characterized?
(a) He overeats.
(b) He only likes two kinds of bread.
(c) He is easy to please.
(d) He is unaware of what he is eating.

14. Where does Rip spend time with his friends?
(a) Inside the bar of a local hotel.
(b) Fishing in the Hudson River.
(c) Hunting in the woods.
(d) On a bench outside the village inn.

15. On page 29, the setting sun causes something to light up and glow "like a crown of glory." This is an example of what literary technique?
(a) Understatement.
(b) Simile.
(c) Alliteration.
(d) Metaphor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of relationship does Rip have with the village children?

2. Who is Peter Stuyvesant?

3. Who is "Dame" Van Winkle?

4. What is true of Rip's children in the beginning of the story?

5. When on page 31, the narrator refers to Rip's wife's nagging as a "torrent of household eloquence," what tone is created?

(see the answer keys)

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