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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the single thing Mother names as the only worry someone has when planning the task she says she could complete one-handed?
(a) Running the cash register at the bake sale.
(b) Pricing items for the Ladies' Aid Bazaar.
(c) Making sure the pot-luck dinner serves more than just meatloaf.
(d) Choosing the parts for the pageant.

2. Who is the youngest child in the Herdman family?
(a) Leroy.
(b) Ralph.
(c) Gladys.
(d) Ollie.

3. Before Charlie stands up to give his reason for liking Sunday School, how many other kids are said to have responded already?
(a) 8-9.
(b) 2-3.
(c) 5-6.
(d) 19-20.

4. The narrator describes the traditional Christmas pageant prior to this year as "people shuffling around" (17) the stage wearing all but which of the following items?
(a) Bedsheets.
(b) Bent halos.
(c) Sharp wings.
(d) Bathrobes.

5. What lie does Charlie tell Leroy to stop Leroy from stealing part of Charlie's lunch?
(a) He says that he gets all the dessert he wants at the library.
(b) He says that his father is a policeman.
(c) He says that he gets all the dessert he wants at Sunday School.
(d) He says that he knows karate.

Short Answer Questions

1. How often are the children required to visit the health room to get weighed and measured?

2. When the school nurse asks Imogene whether Ollie is in bed, Imogene replies that Ollie is where?

3. What does the narrator say is "the only unexpected thing that every happened to" (17) the pageant?

4. What preparations does Claude make when he brings the cat to Show-and-Tell?

5. What does the sign in the Herdmans' yard say?

Short Essay Questions

1. What level of involvement had Mother expected to have in the pageant prior to taking over as coordinator?

2. What is the one virtue displayed by the Herdman children within the burned toolhouse incident?

3. For what purpose does the author go out of her way to portray the Herdman children as unteachable?

4. What evidence is presented in Chapter One regarding the dire nature of the Herdman family's financial situation?

5. In what ways does the author employ hyperbole within Chapter One?

6. What happens to create several open jobs within the church during the holiday season and which jobs become vacant?

7. What connection does the narrator make between the Herdman siblings and the movies?

8. For what purpose does the author use the allusion to "a day of rest" (21) in Chapter Two?

9. Discuss the author's use of vivid imagery within the scene of the Herdmans' first time at Sunday school.

10. How does the author go about portraying the Herdmans as unteachable?

(see the answer keys)

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