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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who helps hold the box to keep it steady?
(a) Mr. Martin and his son.
(b) The mayor and the chief of police.
(c) Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers.
(d) Several of the larger boys.

2. What is being used for the first time this year?
(a) Black and white ping pong balls.
(b) A bigger stool.
(c) A new black box.
(d) Slips of paper instead of wood chips.

3. How many slips do the Hutchinson's take out of the box?
(a) Three. One for Bill, Tessie, and Bill, Jr.
(b) Five. One for each member of the family.
(c) Two. One for Bill and one for Tessie.
(d) Four. One for each the family members except the baby.

4. Who gets to go first in the second drawing?
(a) The three children draw first.
(b) Bill draws first.
(c) The oldest son draws first.
(d) Tessie insists on drawing first.

5. What is Mrs. Hutchinson's behavior as she makes her way to her family?
(a) Laughing and apologizing for being late.
(b) Perplexed and confused.
(c) Somber and angry.
(d) Anxious and in a hurry.

6. What is stressed as important to the lottery all through the story?
(a) That everyone knows how the tradition began.
(b) That family is the least important thing in the village.
(c) That it is a tradition that must be continued.
(d) That everyone does not need to be present.

7. What is in the black box?
(a) Beans.
(b) Slips of paper.
(c) Stones.
(d) Wood chips.

8. Why are the children running around that morning?
(a) Lottery Day is a school holiday.
(b) It is Saturday and there is no school.
(c) The teachers are in the lottery so they come to see them.
(d) Lottery Day is a special holiday for children.

9. What is on Tessie Hutchinson's paper?
(a) A message.
(b) The number 6.
(c) A black spot.
(d) Nothing.

10. Old man Warner suggests that discontinuing the lottery would be doing what?
(a) Going back to the Stone Age.
(b) Taking the life out of the village.
(c) Inviting strangers into the village.
(d) Shaming the ancestors.

11. What does Tessie try to do before Bill draws for the family?
(a) Find her three children to stand with their father.
(b) Run home to change clothes.
(c) Include her daughter's family in the drawing.
(d) Stand where the newspaper photographer can get her photo.

12. Who is the first person called to draw for the lottery?
(a) Mr. Martin.
(b) Mr. Adams.
(c) Tessie Hutchinson.
(d) Mrs. Graves.

13. Though they do not remember all the ancient ritual, what do the villagers all remember?
(a) The march.
(b) The stones.
(c) The song.
(d) The burning of the box.

14. What is the age of majority in the village?
(a) Sixteen.
(b) Thirty.
(c) Twenty-one.
(d) Eighteen.

15. What does the village look like on the morning of the lottery?
(a) It is dusty and dry with the paint peeling off the houses.
(b) It is in the sun with neat houses, green lawns, and flowers everywhere.
(c) It is very metropolitan with shiny glass commercial buildings.
(d) It is gloomy and cold looking with gray houses.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sound is heard as the papers are opened?

2. How does Jackson suggest that tradition may be questioned?

3. Which stones are the most prized for use in the lottery?

4. What serious formality occurs before the lottery begins?

5. Why are people gathering in the town square?

(see the answer keys)

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