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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. When Linda says "Catch old lady Strangeworth sending anybody a check," (427), what is she implying?
(a) Miss Strangeworth is not generous.
(b) Miss Strangeworth is weird.
(c) Miss Strangeworth is cruel.
(d) Miss Strangeworth is getting absentminded.

2. Why does Miss Strangeworth think that she has a right to eavesdrop on Linda Stewart at the post office?
(a) She knows Linda's parents well.
(b) It is "her" town and she needs to know if "her" people are in trouble.
(c) It is a public place.
(d) She means to help Linda with her troubles.

3. Linda suggests that since no one in town seems to care about her and Dave, they should not bother to help anyone else. When Dave decides to help anyway, what does it demonstrate?
(a) That even the town's teenagers are more mature than Miss Strangeworth.
(b) That Miss Strangeworth would not be so isolated if she were a kinder person.
(c) That a good person chooses to be kind and helpful even in difficult times.
(d) That Linda is really the problem in their relationship, not Dave.

4. When does Miss Strangeworth generally mail her letters?
(a) Whenever she sees that there are not a lot of people at the post office.
(b) In the middle of the night.
(c) Very early in the morning.
(d) Around the time the sun sets.

5. Miss Strangeworth thinks that the Cranes are "infatuated" (421). What would this mean is true about the couple?
(a) They have a difficult relationship and often argue.
(b) They are in love, in an exaggerated and perhaps foolish way.
(c) They are strange people who often seem out of touch with others.
(d) They are kind people but perhaps not very intelligent.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Miss Strangeworth fail to notice the important detail about her letters?

2. According to the narrator, how do the townspeople feel about Miss Strangeworth and her house and her roses?

3. When Miss Strangeworth gets home from the grocery store, why does she not have the cup of tea she thinks about having?

4. What is Dave Harris's reason for hand-delivering one of Miss Strangeworth's letters?

5. What detail is included to show that Miss Chandler is upset about something?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence is there in the story that Miss Strangeworth is well-known and respected in the town?

2. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's thoughts as she notices that various townspeople seem distressed?

3. To whom do the townspeople want to dedicate a statue, and why does Miss Strangeworth say that it should be a statue of her grandfather, instead?

4. Explain how Miss Strangeworth's need to do things perfectly is shown in how she writes her letters.

5. Describe Miss Strangeworth's feelings about her roses.

6. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Foster about her upcoming surgery, and what is she implying?

7. What details does Jackson provide about the interior of Miss Strangeworth's house to show the pride the family has always taken in the house?

8. Describe the exterior of Miss Strangeworth's house.

9. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Harper, and what is she implying?

10. What is ironic about Dave Harris being the one to find and deliver Miss Strangeworth's dropped letter?

(see the answer keys)

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