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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The conflicting descriptions of the sniper that make him sound both young and mature are an example of what technique?
(a) Paradox.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Oxymoron.
(d) Personification.

2. What finally changes the way that the sniper is feeling?
(a) The sounds of the battle beginning to fade.
(b) The death of the turret gunner.
(c) The death of the enemy sniper.
(d) Being shot.

3. Where is the enemy sniper located?
(a) In an armored car.
(b) On the same rooftop as the protagonist.
(c) On the rooftop across the street.
(d) In an alley next to the building the protagonist is on.

4. What word (or a variation of it) is repeated several times after the sniper is shot?
(a) Broken.
(b) Dead.
(c) Ireland.
(d) Bridge.

5. In the context in which it is used in "The Sniper," how is "draught" (96) pronounced?
(a) It rhymes with "out."
(b) It rhymes with "raft."
(c) It rhymes with "taught."
(d) It rhymes with "rocked."

6. Where does the sniper think that he might know his enemy from?
(a) He thinks that they may have gone to school together.
(b) He is beginning to suspect that the dead sniper is his brother.
(c) He thinks it is possible that they served together in the same unit of the army.
(d) He has suddenly realized that the man might be on the Republican side.

7. The name of the street gives the reader what important piece of information?
(a) That the sniper has been assigned to a pointless task.
(b) How close the sniper is to the heart of the battle.
(c) How close the sniper is to his own home.
(d) That the sniper has mistakenly positioned himself in enemy territory.

8. Once he is wounded, what is the sniper's first priority?
(a) He needs to get off the roof before dawn.
(b) He needs medical attention.
(c) He needs to find and kill the old woman.
(d) He needs to report to his field commander.

9. Why does the sniper decide that it is safe to move from the rooftop?
(a) The enemy sniper was the only serious danger to him.
(b) The streets immediately around him are quiet.
(c) He is very drunk.
(d) The battle seems to be over.

10. Why does the enemy sniper stand up and expose his position?
(a) He believes that the protagonist will honor the white flag.
(b) He is startled by shooting in the street.
(c) He believes the protagonist to be dead.
(d) He is ready to give up.

11. What is the risk that the sniper takes in order to check out his dead enemy's identity?
(a) He knows that the street may be mined.
(b) He crosses the street.
(c) The body is in the opposite direction from his route back to his commander.
(d) He has to pass by a group of civilians.

12. How does the sniper get off of the rooftop?
(a) By the ladder he has with him.
(b) By jumping to a lower building.
(c) Through a skylight.
(d) Via a set of fire stairs.

13. What is the source of the sniper's respect for his fallen enemy?
(a) He is a fellow Irishman.
(b) His religious respect for life.
(c) He can tell that his enemy was also a soldier.
(d) The man was a good shot.

14. What is the sniper drinking?
(a) Whiskey.
(b) Milk.
(c) Coffee.
(d) Tea.

15. Where does the sniper get shot?
(a) In his leg.
(b) In his side.
(c) In his hand.
(d) In his arm.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?

2. What temporarily interferes with his vision and stops the sniper from seeing the results of his shot?

3. What nearby area of the city is under heavy fire?

4. What can readers infer about the sniper's revolver?

5. The description of the car "panting" (96) suggests what about the situation?

(see the answer keys)

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