View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. From what ailment did Richard Allen Mesington suffer as an infant?
(a) Ear infection and fever
(b) Reynaud's Syndrome
(c) Allergies
(d) Cholic

2. What is Harv Kline's favorite time of year?
(a) Spring
(b) The hunting season
(c) Just after tax season
(d) The Christmas season

3. Where was Richard Allen Mesington born?
(a) Willow, Colorado
(b) New York
(c) Salt Lake City, Utah
(d) Philadelphia

4. According to the novel, why does the black powder in the "sweet" rifle remain explosive after hundreds of years?
(a) It was wrapped in a linen cartridge
(b) The rifle's small caliber preserved the powder
(c) It was a modern type of powder
(d) Grease used in loading formed an airtight seal

5. According to the novel, what would Richard Allen Mesinger have done had he not been shot?
(a) Murdered Harv Kline
(b) Married Sarah
(c) Built a second "sweet" rifle
(d) Found a "genetic cure for heart disease"

6. What happens to black powder if it is exposed to the air for a long period of time?
(a) It is ruined
(b) It turns a greyish white
(c) It gets much stronger
(d) It explodes

7. According to the novel, how much pressure does a black powder charge generate?
(a) Two British tonnes
(b) 11,000 pounds per square inch
(c) Enough to blow up the average gun
(d) Very little

8. What profession does Richard Allen Mesington first believe he will pursue?
(a) A heavy equipment operator
(b) A veterinarian
(c) Politics
(d) A United States Marine

9. What is Richard Allen Mesinger doing at the moment he is killed?
(a) Adjusting a decoration on a Christmas tree
(b) He is flying a P-51 in combat during World War II
(c) He is making out with Peggy
(d) He is riding a horse behind enemy lines

10. How many close friends does Richard Allen Mesington have during the first few years of his life?
(a) Dozens
(b) Five
(c) One
(d) None

11. Which of the following does not describe the loading process used by John Byam to load the "sweet" rifle?
(a) He used a needle to clean out the touch hole
(b) He used a greased patch
(c) He dabbed grease into the touch hole
(d) He swaged out the greased patch

12. After whom was Richard Allen Mesington named?
(a) A famous British officer of the American Revolutionary War
(b) His maternal grandfather
(c) A well-known gunsmith
(d) A famous artist

13. What happened to Harv Kline after Richard Allen Mesinger's death?
(a) He fled the country and lived in Bermuda
(b) He became an alcoholic
(c) He went to jail for murder
(d) The British soldiers hung him also

14. Why does Harv Kline have candles on display for Christmas?
(a) His wife gives them to him as a Christmas gift
(b) They are leftover from Eid
(c) He receives them as a promotional gift
(d) He is a candlemaker

15. When was Richard Allen Mesington born?
(a) The novel doesn't say
(b) October 13, 1979
(c) July 4, 1776
(d) In early 1993

Short Answer Questions

1. After John Byam, what act is never performed on the "sweet" rifle?

2. How does Richard Allen Mesington refer to the first bear he sees as an infant?

3. What were the small boys called who hauled powder from the magazine to the cannon during the Revolutionary War?

4. When he is an infant, Richard Allen Mesington imitated which animal?

5. The novel states that black powder has what chemical property?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 564 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample