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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The night before the County Fair, the Old Man says he doesn't care if Mother checks out the quilts and raspberry jams so long as he and the narrator can do what?
(a) Watch the parade.
(b) Watch the first heat of the dirt track races.
(c) Eat hot dogs, cotton candy, and funnel cakes.
(d) Ride the "Lightning Strike" roller coaster.

2. Which of the following are NOT found in the Bumpus' yard?
(a) Hounds.
(b) Peacocks.
(c) Chickens.
(d) Rats.

3. How does the narrator's childhood experience at the County Fair compare to a movie he watches when he's an adult that portrays a State Fair set in Indiana?
(a) The County Fair wasn't as exciting as the State Fair in the movie.
(b) His experience is identical to the movie.
(c) His experience is completely different from the movie.
(d) The food's exactly the same, but he remembers wilder rides.

4. What does the Old Man do two weeks prior to the family's departure for their annual Michigan vacation?
(a) Has a tuneup performed on their car.
(b) Maps out the trip route, complete with stops and detours.
(c) Starts telling everybody at work about his upcoming trip.
(d) Checks out library books to read during his vacation.

5. Who successfully rings the bell at the County Fair strong man exhibit?
(a) The Old Man.
(b) Randy.
(c) Mother.
(d) Caleb.

6. What do Mother and the boys do while the Old Man changes a flat tire on their way to Michigan?
(a) Stop at a convenience store.
(b) Become lost in nearby woods.
(c) Help the Old Man.
(d) Picnic by the side of the road.

7. At the start of Story Four, what reminds the narrator of his annual family vacations to Clear Lake, Michigan?
(a) Magazine article.
(b) Commercial.
(c) Souvenir.
(d) Postcard.

8. When the narrator starts spinning tops against opponents other than Scut, what does he use?
(a) His best top.
(b) Broken tops.
(c) Borrowed tops.
(d) Lesser quality tops.

9. When a crowd of kids gathers around the narrator and Farkas as they battle it out with their fancy spinning tops, what is the collective wish?
(a) That for once, someone is able to beat Farkas.
(b) That Farkas doesn't turn on them.
(c) That the teacher doesn't catch them.
(d) That it doesn't start raining.

10. For how many years does the Shepherd family take its annual pilgrimage to Clear Lake?
(a) Eighteen.
(b) Ten.
(c) Fourteen.
(d) Seven.

11. How do the boys prepare for their Michigan vacation?
(a) Reading about Michigan in their travel books.
(b) Gathering their collection of fishing tackle and a BB gun.
(c) Packing books, games, art supplies, and cameras.
(d) Fighting while Mother and the Old Man do all the packing.

12. How does the final spinning top battle between Farkas and the narrator conclude?
(a) Both tops leave the circle together and disappear down the sewer.
(b) The narrator wins and throws Farkas' top down the sewer.
(c) Farkas wins and throws the narrator's top over the school fence into the street.
(d) The narrator's kid brother comes from nowhere and steals both tops.

13. Soon after consuming three taffy apples, four hot dogs, and two root beers at the County Fair, what else does Randy ingest?
(a) A snow cone and three more root beers.
(b) Nachos and iced raspberry tea.
(c) A pickle and some buttermilk.
(d) Funnel cake and a fruit smoothie.

14. On the family road trip, where do the narrator and his brother fit in a car that is so full of supplies?
(a) Two tiny cubicles inside the vehicle.
(b) The front seat with Mother and the Old Man.
(c) Sitting on top of the cooler in the far back.
(d) The tiny travel trailer hitched to the car.

15. Which of the following do Randy and his brother NOT eat at the County Fair?
(a) Deep-fried chocolate bars.
(b) Fudge.
(c) Pumpkin pie.
(d) Pork and beans.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator says that his family's annual trip to Michigan is bigger than what to him?

2. What does the narrator say to get Scut Farkas to challenge him at top spinning?

3. In Story One, what sport does Delbert disrupt in gym class?

4. At what point does the narrator realize they are halfway to their Michigan destination?

5. What is the name of the Indiana town where most of the stories in the book supposedly take place?

(see the answer keys)

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