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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Once his enemy has died, the sniper begins to "gibber" (98). What is he doing?
(a) Weep.
(b) Pace back and forth.
(c) Speak rapid nonsense.
(d) Clutch at his face and head.

3. What do the Free Staters want?
(a) A united Ireland under joint rule between the British and the Irish.
(b) A divided Ireland, one part ruled by Ireland, one part ruled by Britain.
(c) A united Ireland under Irish rule.
(d) A united Ireland under British rule.

4. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?
(a) With a deep reverberating sound.
(b) In brief bursts with no regular pattern.
(c) Loudly.
(d) Continuously.

5. What is the sniper eating?
(a) A sandwich.
(b) Cookies.
(c) Cold stew.
(d) An apple.

6. How does the reader know the sniper's age?
(a) From the report of his thoughts.
(b) From the description of the objects he has with him.
(c) From the description of his face.
(d) From the description of his eyes.

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

8. At what time of day does the story begin?
(a) Dawn.
(b) Midnight.
(c) Dusk.
(d) Mid-afternoon.

9. What does the sniper do when he realizes that his enemy is dead?
(a) Cries out joyfully.
(b) Vomits.
(c) Drops to his knees.
(d) Calmly begins packing his things up.

10. As a result of taking a risk in order to see his dead enemy's body, what happens to the sniper?
(a) He has to kill another civilian.
(b) He sets off a bomb.
(c) Nothing: he gets away with it.
(d) He is shot at.

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

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

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

14. "His enemy had been hit" (98) is an example of what technique?
(a) Charged language.
(b) Passive voice.
(c) Parallelism.
(d) Honorific diction.

15. In order to fool his enemy, what does the sniper lift over the parapet?
(a) His head.
(b) His jacket.
(c) His hat.
(d) His rifle.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does the sniper take a risk to do after he finishes eating?

3. When the sniper turns over the body of his enemy, whom does he discover it to be?

4. What is the first physical sensation the sniper feels in the place where he has been shot?

5. After he is wounded, the sniper feels a "paroxysm" of pain. What kind of pain is he feeling?

(see the answer keys)

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