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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. Why do all of the shepherds get nervous when Mother mentions the Angel of the Lord?
(a) They are scared of the narrator, the girl playing the Angel of the Lord.
(b) They are scared of Imogene, the girl playing the Angel of the Lord.
(c) They are scared of Alice, the girl playing the Angel of the Lord.
(d) They are scared of Gladys, the girl playing the Angel of the Lord.

2. With what role assignment does Mrs. Armstrong say she always begins the pageant preparations?
(a) The Angel of the Lord.
(b) Joseph.
(c) The shepherds.
(d) Mary.

3. Mrs. Wendleken uses what adjective to describe Mother's decision to allow a Herdman to play the role of Mary?
(a) Sacrilegious.
(b) Insane.
(c) Immoral.
(d) Heretical.

4. What is Mrs. Armstrong's first name?
(a) Jennifer.
(b) Deborah.
(c) Helen.
(d) Rachel.

5. What is the true source of the smoke that causes one of the women in the Ladies' Aid group to call the fire department?
(a) Ollie's chemistry set.
(b) Gladys's pipe.
(c) Imogene's cigar.
(d) Claude's cigarette.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reason does Mother finally give Mrs. Armstrong so that she can get off the phone and cook the pork chops?

2. By the time all of the parts are assigned in the narrative, most of the actors have what last name?

3. At the end of Mother's story to Father about the first pageant rehearsal, what conclusion does she draw about the Herdman siblings?

4. Mrs. Armstrong announces that however the pageant turns out, she will accept the what?

5. What does the narrator mean when she says Mother told her "not to be so fresh" (26)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the significance of Mother's comment when she states to Father, "No, their chief instinct was to get Mary and the baby out of the barn. But even so, it was Herod they wanted to do away with, and Mary or Joseph. They picked out the right villain -- that must mean something" (50).

2. What evidence does the author provide for the conclusion that having the first meeting about the pageant after church is a poor decision?

3. For what purpose does the author include an allusion to General Custer in the last section of Chapter Six?

4. In what ways does Mother display the qualities of fortitude and perseverance?

5. What behaviors of the Herdman siblings indicate their keen interest in the subject of the Christmas story?

6. Discuss the author's purpose for including Alice's character within the narrative.

7. In what way does Reverend Hopkins redirect his congregation when he notices their treatment of the Herdman siblings?

8. How does the narrator's interaction with the Herdmans change the narrator's perspective of the Christmas story?

9. Discuss how Mother's character is depicted as having unending supplies of patience and compassion.

10. For what reasons does the pageant not have a real baby to play Jesus?

(see the answer keys)

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