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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the stanza of the poem that opens Chapter 9, what is the ghost bird replacing?
(a) Joy.
(b) A real bird.
(c) A heart.
(d) Healing.

2. Cindy says something on the Alice Ponds Show that Paul calls "classic." What does she say?
(a) I'd be lost without him.
(b) Which brother?
(c) I go there often.
(d) Do I know you?

3. How is Sydney McDaniel introduced on The Alice Ponds Show?
(a) As a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author.
(b) As a prize-winning writer who can explain the nature of pure evil.
(c) As a parent who kills.
(d) As a man who is considering the murder of his own child.

4. Why does Shawn mention women in a Maxfield Parrish painting?
(a) It is a bad omen that the painting fell off the wall in his mother's room.
(b) The painting is visible to him when he lies in bed.
(c) It is his favorite painting.
(d) Ally resembles one of those women.

5. The peace usually lasts how long between Paul and his father?
(a) No longer than spring training.
(b) Until his father starts a new project.
(c) No more than a few days.
(d) No more than a few months.

6. Who is going to watch Paul's team in the tournament?
(a) Mom, Cindy, and Cindy's friends.
(b) Mom and Cindy.
(c) Paul's friends.
(d) Cindy, Ally, and the rest of her friends.

7. Who is referred to as being trapped at Shawn's house all night?
(a) Dad.
(b) Shawn.
(c) The bird.
(d) Vonda.

8. What does Shawn's mother call Cindy and Paul downstairs to discuss the morning after Ally spends the night?
(a) The murder of a disabled child.
(b) Appearing on a talk show.
(c) A made-for-television movie.
(d) The video Shawn's father made at his school.

9. What does Shawn's father say he did, night after night, when Shawn was born?
(a) Rage against the truth.
(b) Pray.
(c) Sink into a depression.
(d) Cry.

10. Which of the following is not a happy memory for Shawn?
(a) The thump of Cindy's feet as she runs up the stairs.
(b) The ring of the telephone.
(c) The morning paper hitting the porch.
(d) Winky, winky, winky.

11. During the doozy of a seizure that Shawn has during the Alice Ponds Show, what does Shawn experience?
(a) Pure joy.
(b) Abject terror.
(c) Confusion and angst.
(d) Absolute peace.

12. What do Cindy's friends do in front of Shawn that he sees as a "silver lining?"
(a) They act as though Shawn is blind and deaf.
(b) When they include him in conversations, they shout at him.
(c) They make sure to whisper their most private secrets so he cannot hear.
(d) They romp in the next room.

13. In the stanza of the poem that opens Chapter 11, what is the overriding image or message?
(a) Aloneness.
(b) Individuality.
(c) Blindness.
(d) Nothingness.

14. What are the two ruffians asking about for when they threaten Shawn?
(a) Cindy.
(b) The bus.
(c) Money.
(d) Drugs.

15. Right before bed in Chapter 14, how is Shawn feeling?
(a) Exhilarated.
(b) Anxious.
(c) Happy.
(d) Exhausted.

Short Answer Questions

1. Shawn, Cindy, and Paul all know what when it comes to their father?

2. In Chapter 12, what is Paul being punished for?

3. On The Alice Ponds Show, what does Sydney McDaniel claim kills Collin?

4. What happens to Shawn and his father after his father finishes speaking in Chapter 16?

5. How does Shawn feel after meeting Ally?

(see the answer keys)

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