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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. On the morning of the family's departure for their Michigan trip, Mother is in the kitchen scrambling eggs and making coffee while the Old Man is doing what?
(a) Yelling at the neighbors.
(b) Making waffles.
(c) Sleeping.
(d) Packing the car.

2. What happens when Grover Dill insults Delbert Bumpus' name?
(a) The narrator makes fun of Grover's name.
(b) Delbert charges at him.
(c) Delbert tells a teacher.
(d) The narrator laughs loudly.

3. What does the Old Man say every year when he and his family leave the County Fair?
(a) The fair has taken every dollar he had.
(b) He ate way too much.
(c) The fair seems to get better each year.
(d) He teases the boys about walking home from the fair.

4. Once the family arrives at the County Fair, the narrator accompanies his father where?
(a) To the fire-breathing act.
(b) Riding the bumper cars.
(c) To the dusty dirt track.
(d) Riding the carousel.

5. When Mother prepares the ham, she tops it with what?
(a) A maraschino cherry.
(b) Apple slices.
(c) Cranberry sauce.
(d) A cup of sherry.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long does the ham that Mother prepares have to sit in the oven to rest?

2. Who is spying on the narrator when he starts to spin tops against opponents?

3. What happens to the house next door to the narrator after the Bumpus family moves in?

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

5. Who is Iron Man Gabruzzi's arch-rival?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author lead the narrator into telling the story of his top-spinning battle with Scut Farkas?

2. How do the brothers behave at the County Fair?

3. Describe the sense of anticipation the Shepherd family members feel as they prepare to experience the County Fair. What is each family member looking forward to the most?

4. Where do the Bumpuses make their illegal liquor?

5. Describe some of what makes the Shepherd family a traditional one.

6. How does the Old Man feel towards the Bumpus family?

7. What is top spinning, and why are the boys of Warren G. Harding Elementary School so obsessed with this pastime?

8. On departure day, why does the Shepherd family fail to leave for their annual trip at six in the morning as planned?

9. Describe the Shepherd family's arrival at Ollie Hopnoodle's resort in Clear Lake.

10. What are the Mariah and the Wolf?

(see the answer keys)

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