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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 meaning does the whale whirligig have for Grandma?
(a) Life will continue to "spin" after her death.
(b) The ocean is the keeper of life.
(c) Nature follows a cycle of life and death.
(d) The dead want the living to laugh.

2. Who does Tony want to be?
(a) Ken.
(b) Bobby.
(c) Mr. Mintz.
(d) Kelsey.

3. Who/what is Brent's sole company as he works on the next whiligig?
(a) Lea's photo.
(b) Lea.
(c) His friend Flaco.
(d) His friend Emil.

4. Which musician is Lea?
(a) The clarinet player.
(b) The cellist.
(c) The guitarist.
(d) The trumpet player.

5. Where does Brent stay when he arrives at his destination?
(a) A Dutch family's home.
(b) A youth hostel.
(c) The Sheraton.
(d) A campground.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Jenny not want to drive Grandma anywhere?

2. Why does Brent like being in Texas?

3. Where do the billboards announcing the Key Lime Pie Belt first appear on Brent's bus trip?

4. What does Brent study during breaks from building the third whirligig?

5. What does Brent see as he enters the El Paso bus station?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the whale whirligig represent to Grandma?

2. Emil makes a comment to Brent that his father had told him that teachers live forever through their students. When Brent hears this, what person in his past comes to mind? What do her words mean to Brent at the time she speaks to him? What realization has Emil's sharing brought to Brent?

3. In Chapter 6, what task has the fifth grade teacher assigned that is difficult for her student Tony? Why is the assignment so hard?

4. Which whirligig is at Tony's summer campground? How does Tony feel about the whirligig?

5. Describe the wooden band whirligig. How does it move in the wind?

6. About what do the children warn Brent regarding the location of the wooden band whirligig?

7. Why does Brent refuse to use the Visa card which his parents have given him for the trip? What does this say about his new sense of responsibility?

8. How does the boy's interest in the whirligig affect Brent?

9. When the chapter ends, what does Tony do that connects the little boy to his great-grandfather?

10. What effect do her parents' actions concerning their Jewish heritage have on Jenny?

(see the answer keys)

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