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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Besides teaching gym classes part time, what other job does the "Diamonds" narrator hold at Saint Carmichael's?
(a) Maintenance.
(b) Groundskeeper.
(c) Hospitality supervisor.
(d) Cook.

2. What sport did the "Diamonds" narrator excel in as a teenager?
(a) Cricket.
(b) Field hockey.
(c) Rugby.
(d) Football.

3. When Arm and Dympna meet Hector at Lally's, what conspiracy theory is the odd older man with Hector trying to advance?
(a) There is a hidden planet in our solar system.
(b) Scotland is trying to annex Ireland.
(c) The World Cup finalists are all robots.
(d) Jesus had a twin brother.

4. What technique is used when Paudi says that he will "have to take [the dog] for a walk up the heather" (135)?
(a) Allegory.
(b) Euphemism.
(c) Personification.
(d) Synechdoche.

5. What does Dympna do for a living?
(a) Sells marijuana.
(b) Sells illegal guns.
(c) Tends bar at Quillinan's.
(d) Runs a boxing club.

6. How did the barman get his scars?
(a) He attempted suicide.
(b) From a criminal associate.
(c) His wife tried to kill him.
(d) Fighting in a war.

7. What thought does the "Diamonds" narrator say he had after his cat died?
(a) That he should kill himself.
(b) That he should get some therapy.
(c) That he needed to start going to AA meetings.
(d) That he should never have another pet.

8. What technique is used in the sentence "Limply piled and dripping, it resembled the lustreless corpse of a drowned animal" (190)?
(a) Metaphor.
(b) Simile.
(c) Euphemism.
(d) Personification.

9. What is the "Diamonds" narrator intending to do when he leaves the school on Monday morning?
(a) Go into the city.
(b) Go to a pub.
(c) Get coffee and a newspaper.
(d) Go to Siobhán's house.

10. On page 195, how does Eli characterize his marriage to Maryanne?
(a) "Panicked."
(b) "Hopeful."
(c) "Craven."
(d) "Insanity."

11. What does Eli tell the barman when they are outside having a cigarette?
(a) That he used to be married to Maryanne.
(b) That he has a wife and child.
(c) That Doran is not a close friend of his.
(d) That he is trying to quit smoking.

12. Which word best describes the uncles' house?
(a) Spartan.
(b) Dilapidated.
(c) Opulent.
(d) Cozy.

13. What does Paudi do with the stone that Arm sets on the table?
(a) Puts it in his pocket.
(b) Tells Arm to get it out of his house.
(c) Tosses it into the fireplace.
(d) Throws it at Arm's face.

14. When the "Diamonds" narrator meets the woman in the city, what does he tell her about his life?
(a) He tells her about his parents and his sister.
(b) He tells her about being a gym teacher at Saint Carmichael's.
(c) He tells her about his substance abuse problem and Siobhán.
(d) He makes up lies based on other people's lives.

15. Where does Siobhán's husband work?
(a) At a local pub.
(b) In a mine in Siberia.
(c) On an offshore oil rig.
(d) At Saint Carmichael's.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does an examination of his own hands reveal to the "Diamonds" narrator?

2. It is reasonable to infer that for the "Diamonds" narrator, the most depressing part of the unusually harsh winter is what?

3. What technique is evident in the page 143 sentence "It was drenched in a swathe of syrupy, sticky stuff turned dark plum against the denim"?

4. After Paudi shows Dympna the injured dog, what question does he ask Dympna?

5. Who is Usula?

(see the answer keys)

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