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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 Tom Crick find in the river that he thinks caused the bruise that killed Freddie Parr?
(a) A cricket bat with an odd indentation and a label that reads F.P.
(b) A wrench Dick uses to fix his motorbike.
(c) A metal ball from a slingshot Tom has seen Jack Parr use to kill birds.
(d) A beer bottle from the defunct Atkinson brewery.

2. What about Mary strikes Tom when he returns from Germany at the end of World War II to marry her?
(a) How frail and vulnerable she seems.
(b) How much more beautiful she has become.
(c) How much of her old spark and curiosity she has lost.
(d) How tough and independent she has become.

3. What does Freddie Parr do to Mary as revenge for setting him up to lose the competition because she knew he couldn't swim?
(a) He holds her under water until she nearly drowns.
(b) He slips a large eel into her knickers.
(c) He rolls her in wet mud until she is totally covered by it.
(d) He steals all her clothes and forces her to walk home naked.

4. The Atkinsons are an important family in the Gildsey area for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
(a) They represented the Gildsey district in parliament.
(b) They owned a major textile factory.
(c) They helped drain the marshes by buiding locks and canals.
(d) They ran a famous brewery.

5. Which one of the following is NOT one of the ghosts that is said to haunt the marches along the River Leem?
(a) The Grim Hound of Gargoyle Hall.
(b) The Singing Swans of Wash Fen Mere.
(c) The Headless Ferryman of Staithe.
(d) The Monk of Sudchurch.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does his most outspoken student reject Tom Crick's attempt to teach the class history?

2. On the day that Freddie Parr was found dead in the river, Mary confesses what to Tom?

3. What does Ernest Atkinson do with the three remaining steam ships he owns?

4. Who says, "explaining's a way of avoiding the facts while you pretend to get near to them?"

5. Where do the Cricks find the body of Freddie Parr?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter 20, Price tells Tom Crick that he thinks "explaining's a way of avoiding the facts while you pretend to get near them." Why does Price think he does not need to have explanations for history?

2. Chapter 9 details the rise of the Atkinson family through various activities and involvements. After Tom Atkinson marries Sarah Turnbull. Sarah becomes a pivotal character in the Atkinson story. How?

3. In chapter 25, Tom Crick gauges the reaction of his students at his racy revelations. What does he observe about rebellion in this context?

4. At the end of chapter 47, Tom says that "we all come to out asylums." Where is he when he says this and what does he mean?

5. Who does the chapter title "The Saviour of the World" refer to, and what does it mean?

6. In chapter 38, Tom describes the death of his mother from the flu. What is most remarkable about it to him?

7. Chapter 18 once again recounts the conversation the headmaster Lewis Scott and Tom Crick have about Tom's forced retirement. The headmaster attempts to diffuse the tension by offering Tom large amounts of what?

8. What is the surprise Tom Crick encounters when he stands up to speak at the end of chapter 48?

9. In chapter 17, Tom Crick discusses his difficulties in trying to marry Mary Metcalf. What are the sources of those difficulties?

10. In chapter 32, Tom Crick describes the relationship between Mary and Dick. Why does Mary say she wants to "educate" Dick and what is the version of events that she tells Tom?

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