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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. In what city does "The Sniper" take place?
(a) Belfast.
(b) Galway.
(c) Cork.
(d) Dublin.

2. What can readers infer about the sniper's revolver?
(a) It is almost empty of ammunition.
(b) It is not intended for long-distance shooting.
(c) It is an unreliable weapon.
(d) It has fallen into a tricky spot.

3. The description of the car "panting" (96) suggests what about the situation?
(a) The fighting is animalistic.
(b) The technology they have available is primitive.
(c) The air is thick with smoke from the British artillery.
(d) The soldiers are exhausted.

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

5. 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.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. On the rooftop where the sniper is lying, there is a parapet. What is a parapet?

3. How does the enemy sniper respond to the protagonist's ruse?

4. "His enemy had been hit" (98) is an example of what technique?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In the sentence "Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof," (96), what is being personified and what purpose does the personification of the bullet serve?

2. Who is the protagonist of "The Sniper" and what is he fighting for?

3. What is the symbolic significance of the O'Connell Bridge and the River Liffey?

4. What are the two contrasting descriptions of the sniper given when he is first introduced?

5. How does the sniper react to being shot?

6. What happens as a result of the Republican sniper's ruse?

7. Describe the wound that the sniper suffers.

8. Who does the sniper kill while he is still waiting to kill the enemy sniper, and why does he kill them?

9. What risk does the sniper take at the beginning of the story, and what are the consequences?

10. How does the enemy sniper manage to shoot the protagonist?

(see the answer keys)

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