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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the start of the novel, how many boys, also brothers, are introduced?
(a) 4.
(b) 2.
(c) 6.
(d) 3.

2. Why does Manny crawl into bed with his brother at the beginning of the story?
(a) Manny does not have his own bed.
(b) Manny wants to tell them a story.
(c) Manny wants body heat.
(d) Manny is afraid of the dark.

3. How old is Ma when she gives birth to Manny?
(a) 12.
(b) 16.
(c) 14.
(d) 15.

4. What does Ma ask her sons to squirt on her face when they run out of the original ingredient(s)?
(a) Water and salt.
(b) Ketchup.
(c) Chocolate milk.
(d) Maple syrup.

5. When the narrator wakes up at Paps' work in Chapter 11, NIGHT WATCH, what does he ask him?
(a) "What's all this?" (55) referring to a card he finds on the ground.
(b) "What'd the man say to you?" (57) referring to Paps' co-worker.
(c) "Why is that light in a cage?" (53) referring to a light in a metal mesh box across the street.
(d) "Why is that light in a cage?" (53) referring to a light in the sky.

6. When the boys' father, Paps, comes home, how does he punish his sons?
(a) Paps does not speak to his sons.
(b) Paps spanks his sons.
(c) Paps yells at his sons for hours.
(d) Paps makes the sons mow the lawn.

7. Where does Ma work?
(a) A clothing store in the city.
(b) The brewery up the hill.
(c) Ma does not work.
(d) As a housekeeper at a hotel.

8. When the family car breaks down in the rain, what does Paps use to protect the brothers?
(a) Plastic bags.
(b) An old blanket.
(c) Old magazines.
(d) His jacket.

9. How does the narrator know Paps and Ma are fighting when Paps returns home in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?
(a) Paps is shouting.
(b) The narrator is in the kitchen and can hear Ma crying.
(c) He can hear them outside on the porch.
(d) He hears them stomping around and furniture tumbling.

10. According to Ma, in Chapter 4, SEVEN, who "studies God"(13)?
(a) Priests.
(b) Nuns.
(c) Monks.
(d) Good boys.

11. What does the narrator hope Paps and Ma will do after the brothers' hide from them in Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME?
(a) Leave the bathroom and never fight again.
(b) Dance around the bathroom and never find the brothers.
(c) Paps will kiss Ma and then hug the brothers.
(d) Find the brothers and embrace them.

12. Why does Lina, Ma's co-worker, come to the narrator's house?
(a) To babysit the boys.
(b) To tell Ma she has been fired.
(c) Ma has not been showing up to work.
(d) To tell Paps to stop beating Ma.

13. What simile is used to compare Paps' shouting on Page 23?
(a) Paps' shouting is compared to black-green murkiness.
(b) Paps' shouting is compared to a mad scientist.
(c) Paps' shouting is compared to a bobbing mass.
(d) Paps' shouting is compared to a marvel of his creation.

14. At the start of Chapter 6, US PROPER, what do the three brothers create by stacking up on one another's shoulders?
(a) "[A] woman" (24).
(b) The "Three Musketeers" (24).
(c) "[B]urglars" (25).
(d) "[A] ladder" (24).

15. What do Paps and Ma do in the bathroom as described on Page 48?
(a) Give each other massages.
(b) Fight over where the brothers are hiding.
(c) Kiss and dance.
(d) Have sex.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do the brothers run their fingers around the empty bowls in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

2. What job does Paps finally get?

3. What does Paps say to the narrator as he dries him off in Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME?

4. How does Ma respond when Manny asks worriedly if Paps is having a heart attack in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

5. At the start of Chapter 9, TALK TO ME, what does Ma cut her fingertip on?

(see the answer keys)

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