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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Howard says of his father in Chapter 3, "The world fell away from my father the way he fell away from us. We became" what?
(a) His ghost.
(b) His dream.
(c) His suffering.
(d) His regret.

2. What word used in Chapter 3 means concerned with relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of something?
(a) Collapsed.
(b) Arbitrary.
(c) Convenient.
(d) Peripheral.

3. How does the narrator describe George's wife's cooking in Chapter 4?
(a) Mediocre.
(b) Very fatty.
(c) Very good.
(d) Very bad.

4. Of his father and of the old Indian that repaired the canoe, Howard says in Chapter 3, "My memories of them are" what?
(a) Atmospheres.
(b) Regrettable.
(c) Dreamlike.
(d) Dissipated.

5. How much money is hidden in George's workbench downstairs in Chapter 4?
(a) $6,220.
(b) $3,540.
(c) $2,400.
(d) $1,200.

6. At how many different banks has George kept safety deposit boxes, according to the narrator in Chapter 4?
(a) 3.
(b) 4.
(c) 10.
(d) 6.

7. What does Howard witness a fish do as he sits in the pond watching the Indian in Chapter 3?
(a) A fish jumps down the Indian's throat.
(b) A fish leaps from the water and flies away.
(c) A fish transforms into an ostrich.
(d) A fish leaps onto land and walks away.

8. What kind of car is Nikki Bocheki driving when he visits George in Chapter 4?
(a) A red Alfa Romeo.
(b) A black Rolls Royce.
(c) A blue Jeep.
(d) A mint-green Cadillac.

9. What is the first step in the excerpt called "How to Make a Bird's Nest" in Chapter 4?
(a) Take a piece of yarn.
(b) Punch holes near the base of the triangle.
(c) Take a wafer of tinker's tin.
(d) Take a piece of rotten cardboard.

10. What is Howard's mother doing when he returns from the woods after having his first seizure in Chapter 3?
(a) Darning socks.
(b) Reading the newspaper.
(c) Talking to her mother on the phone.
(d) Speaking with the police.

11. How many men are waiting outside when Howard's father is taken away in Chapter 3?
(a) 6.
(b) 4.
(c) 3.
(d) 2.

12. How does Howard describe his father's mental deterioration in Chapter 3?
(a) It seemed as though my father just vanished completely in one breath.
(b) It seemed to me as if my father simply faded away.
(c) It seemed like my father became electrified.
(d) It seemed that one day my father awoke and was no longer himself.

13. What is referred to in Chapter 4 as "that part of a clock which keeps time"?
(a) The escape wheel.
(b) The going train.
(c) The dulcimer.
(d) The pinion.

14. What word used by Howard in Chapter 3 means anxious or concerned?
(a) Regal.
(b) Solicitous.
(c) Uncommitted.
(d) Casual.

15. What has George worked at filling his safety deposit boxes full of, according to the narrator in Chapter 4?
(a) Hundred dollar bills.
(b) Gold watches.
(c) Diamond jewelry.
(d) Customer invoices.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the grocery store where Howard works in 1953?

2. George reveals that he has an inscribed first edition printing of what novel in one of his safety deposit boxes in Chapter 4?

3. What word in Chapter 3 refers to a repository for relics?

4. The narrator says in Chapter 3 as Howard searches the woods for his father, "The tom-tom tap of a pileated woodpecker sounded from somewhere in the woods, to Howard's left." What literary device is used in this sentence?

5. What word from Chapter 4 refers to an instrument that is pointed and pen-shaped used in artwork?

(see the answer keys)

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