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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What is Diedrich Knickerbocker's profession?
(a) Writer of novels.
(b) Historian.
(c) Governor.
(d) Farmer.

3. On page 30, the reader learns that Rip is "obsequious" and his wife is a "termagant." What can accurately be said about their relationship?
(a) They each have a skill that helps the other.
(b) They have violent arguments with each other.
(c) One is embarrassed by the other.
(d) One bullies the other.

4. On page 30, the reader is told that Rip has an "insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labour." What does this mean is true about him?
(a) He is physically unable to do heavy labor.
(b) He is eager to work at anything that will help himself, but he does not like to help others.
(c) He is simply lazy.
(d) He hates working hard for his own material comfort and financial security.

5. In the epigraph from Cartwright's play, to whom does the speaker swear that he will be honest?
(a) The Saxon god, Woden.
(b) The Celtic god, Alator.
(c) The Christian God.
(d) The Norse god, Odin.

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

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

8. Who is "Dame" Van Winkle?
(a) Rip's wife.
(b) Rip's daughter.
(c) Rip's sister.
(d) Rip's mother.

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

10. What is true of Rip's children in the beginning of the story?
(a) They are much more like their mother than like Rip.
(b) They are somewhat neglected.
(c) They are dangerously unsupervised.
(d) They refuse to speak to him.

11. 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) Reckless and indifferent.
(b) Thorough and honest.
(c) Demanding and critical.
(d) Approximate and imperfect.

12. 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.

13. After he can no longer spend time with his friends, where does Rip start going to spend time away from his home and farm?
(a) The river.
(b) The barn.
(c) The seashore.
(d) The woods.

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

15. What kind of relationship does Rip have with the village children?
(a) The children are frightened of Rip because of his habit of talking to himself.
(b) He is a favorite of theirs because he steals apples from a nearby orchard for them.
(c) The children are frightened of Rip because he is always yelling at his son and daughter.
(d) He is a favorite of theirs because he plays with them and tells stories.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Peter Stuyvesant?

2. 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?

3. On page 29, the mountains are said to be "lording it over the surrounding country." This is an example of which literary technique?

4. Under what pseudonym was "Rip Van Winkle" published?

5. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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