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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Mother tell Charlie when he says he does not want to be a shepherd and will become sick if she forces him?
(a) She tells Charlie to mind his own business.
(b) She tells Charlie he will not get sick.
(c) She tells Charlie to adjust his attitude.
(d) She tells Charlie not to be dramatic.

2. By the time all of the parts are assigned in the narrative, most of the actors have what last name?
(a) Hopkins.
(b) Herdman.
(c) Wendelken.
(d) Armstrong.

3. What is NOT an element mentioned by the narrator as a quality the pageant Mary had always displayed?
(a) Otherworldly.
(b) Dreamy.
(c) Quiet.
(d) Ever-smiling.

4. What reason does Charlie's friend Hobie say he cannot be a shepherd?
(a) He says that he has to get his tonsils removed.
(b) He says that he is going to Australia.
(c) He says that he has to get his appendix removed.
(d) He says he is going to Philadelphia.

5. Miss Graebner tells Mother that she can now retire because she has heard everything. What has she heard?
(a) Ollie asking to read about Bethlehem.
(b) Ralph asking to read about Herod.
(c) Imogene asking to read about Jesus.
(d) Gladys asking to read about the Wise Men.

6. What question does Imogene ask the narrator when the narrator says that to get a library card, you must sign your name?
(a) Imogene asks if she has to sign both her first and last names.
(b) Imogene asks if you have to write your name in cursive.
(c) Imogene asks if you can sign using your nickname.
(d) Imogene asks if you have to sign your own name.

7. How often does Mrs. Armstrong call the narrator's mother from her hospital bed?
(a) Five times a day.
(b) Every other day.
(c) Every day.
(d) Twice a week.

8. To what historical person does the narrator allude when referring to the ludicrous nature of Mother's declaration about the coming Christmas pageant?
(a) Sitting Bull.
(b) Jacques Cousteau.
(c) General Custer.
(d) Amelia Earhart.

9. What does Mrs. Armstrong mean by the saying she always tells the pageant participants?
(a) She means that learning lines is the first step to a good performance.
(b) She means that the short children need to be up front so everyone can see them.
(c) She means that every role is important, no matter how small.
(d) She means that thinking of what may go wrong in the pageant will help prevent disaster.

10. The pageant's dress rehearsal takes place the night before what other event?
(a) The pot-luck dinner.
(b) The bake sale.
(c) The rummage sale.
(d) The opening night of the pageant.

11. The narrator states that "the Herdmans started out mean, right from" (59) what?
(a) The cradle.
(b) Their first breaths.
(c) Their first screams.
(d) The stroller.

12. Mrs. Armstrong tells Mother that she always reminds the pageant participants of what saying?
(a) There are no small parts, only small actors.
(b) It is better to be safe than sorry.
(c) A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
(d) A stitch in time saves nine.

13. What element does the narrator name as keeping people from getting into the library basement undetected?
(a) A locked door.
(b) The treacherous stairs.
(c) A sign-in sheet.
(d) A noisy chain.

14. In the pageant incarnation described at the center of the narrative, who plays the role of Mary?
(a) Alice.
(b) Imogene.
(c) The narrator.
(d) Gladys.

15. Who begins to write down on a pad of paper every bad action taken by the Herdman siblings during the pageant rehearsals?
(a) Gladys.
(b) Alice.
(c) Mother.
(d) Mrs. Wendleken.

Short Answer Questions

1. What statement does Mother make that causes the narrator to describe her words as "the biggest" of "all the lies she'd told so far" (68)?

2. Why do all of the shepherds get nervous when Mother mentions the Angel of the Lord?

3. What method does Imogene tell Mother she can use to get a real baby to play Jesus?

4. What does the narrator say about the prediction that no would come to see the pageant?

5. After completing research at the library, in what way do the Herdmans want to rewrite the pageant?

(see the answer keys)

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