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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. What does Farkas mean when he challenges the narrator to play for keeps?
(a) Both tops are released into a circle, and the first one to leave the circle loses.
(b) Winner keeps the tops; the loser keeps away from the playground.
(c) Whoever loses the next round is never allowed to spin tops on the playground again.
(d) Whoever wins gets to take and keep the opponent's top.

2. 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) Packing the car.
(b) Yelling at the neighbors.
(c) Sleeping.
(d) Making waffles.

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

4. The narrator and his family eat practically the same thing every day, except on what occasion?
(a) New Year's.
(b) Halloween.
(c) Fourth of July.
(d) Easter.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the boys prepare for their Michigan vacation?

2. How does the narrator describe the sound that his spinning top makes?

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

4. What daredevil act do a couple of skinny blond girls perform at the County Fair?

5. When Farkas starts walking away from the narrator after their first top spinning contest, what does the narrator do?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who does most of the work when it's time to prepare for the narrator's annual vacation?

3. Explain how the narrator prepares for his spinning tops battle against Farkas.

4. How does the narrator describe getting to the County Fair?

5. What are some of the misadventures the family experiences on their drive to Michigan?

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

7. What are the Mariah and the Wolf?

8. What is the final outcome of the battle of the spinning tops between Scut Farkas and the narrator?

9. How does the Old Man handle all the problems the family encounters en route to Michigan?

10. Describe the conditions inside the car during the drive to Clear Lake, Michigan.

(see the answer keys)

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