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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is comical about the fight between Joe and John?
(a) Neither man actually wants to fight.
(b) They keep falling because of the ice and mud.
(c) Neither man knows how to fight.
(d) The way they keep arguing about the babies while they fight.

2. What technique is used on page 3 when John's life is described as "a series of struggles up a series of rugged hills"?
(a) Anaphora.
(b) Antithesis.
(c) Epizeuxis.
(d) Antistrophe.

3. As John walks to the Markeys' house, what is he wondering about?
(a) Whether his friend Joe will be at the party.
(b) How Ede will compare to the other children.
(c) How long he will be expected to stay at the party.
(d) Whether his wife is having a good time.

4. What word best describes the narrator's tone toward modern parenting practices?
(a) Skeptical.
(b) Enthusiastic.
(c) Confused.
(d) Concerned.

5. Who is Ede named after?
(a) Her father's mother.
(b) Her mother.
(c) Her mother's mother.
(d) Her father's sister.

6. What does Ede think the stuffed bear that Billy is holding is?
(a) A dog.
(b) A cat.
(c) A monkey.
(d) A monster.

7. What word does the narrator use on page 3 to describe the moments that John spends on the phone with Ede?
(a) Vivid.
(b) Amusing.
(c) Bewildering.
(d) Wondrous.

8. After they leave the Markeys' house, why does John watch to make sure that Edith has reached their own walkway?
(a) He does not want her to overhear what he is about to say to Joe.
(b) He is concerned that she will get into another argument with Mrs. Markey.
(c) He wants his daughter to get out of the cold December air.
(d) He wants her safely out of the way before he and Joe fight.

9. What does John do to accommodate Edith's wishes?
(a) Brings a camera to take pictures at the party.
(b) Stops to get a baby gift on his way home.
(c) Leaves work early so that he can get to the party before it ends.
(d) Stops to get Ede a sweater on his way to the party.

10. Edith thinks that Mrs. Markey is "snippy" (5). What does she think is true about Mrs. Markey?
(a) She wants to know everything about everyone just so that she can gossip.
(b) Her friendship is fake and she often criticizes people behind their backs.
(c) She has a stuck-up and short-tempered way of speaking.
(d) Her lack of attention to detail causes problems for others.

11. When Joe angrily asks John if John thinks he is going to get away with the things he has just said, what does John do?
(a) Laughs.
(b) Turns around to confront Joe again.
(c) Punches Joe in the face.
(d) Walks out the door.

12. What does Edith tell John she thought that he and Joe were going to do when she went back into the house?
(a) Argue a little bit and then come inside.
(b) Go to the bar to get a drink together.
(c) Fight each other.
(d) Shake hands and make peace.

13. What word does Mrs. Markey use on page 9 that infuriates Edith?
(a) "Brat."
(b) "Monster."
(c) "Goblin."
(d) "Spoiled."

14. On page 6, how does the narrator characterize the behavior of the children at the party?
(a) They behave "like little animals."
(b) They behave "like little statesmen."
(c) They behave "tolerably, given the circumstances."
(d) They behave "remarkably well."

15. What does John hear as he is heading back into his house after the fight?
(a) The sound of the later train that he usually takes home from work.
(b) A police siren approaching the house.
(c) An argument starting between Joe and Mrs. Markey.
(d) The sound of Ede's laughter from inside his house.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the children doing when Edith and Ede arrive at the party?

2. What technique is used in the page 4 phrase "the moon was out, shining with proud brilliance on the thin sugary snow"?

3. When Edith tells Ede, on page 8, that she is a "bad girl," what does Ede do?

4. When Edith is interrupted, on page 9, as she says that Mrs. Markey is making "a mountain out of--" what idea is she trying to convey?

5. What interrupts the argument between Joe and John?

(see the answer keys)

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