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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Grandma Dowdel's response to the performance by Mrs. Weidenbach's nephew at the talent show in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) "That was a fine performance."
(b) "Now that was something to write home about."
(c) "That made me about half-sick."
(d) "Now I'm half asleep."

2. How old is Joey Dowdel when he visits his Grandmother in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) 17.
(b) 15.
(c) 14.
(d) 16.

3. How much money does Grandma Dowdel demand the banker give to each of her grandchildren in "Things with Wings"?
(a) $1.
(b) 25 cents.
(c) $2.
(d) 50 cents.

4. Who from the Ladies' Hospitality Committee for the Centennial Celebration has fallen ill with a "nervous condition" in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) Mrs. Keene.
(b) Mrs. Vottsmeier.
(c) Mrs. Cripe.
(d) Mrs. Pugh.

5. In what year is "The Phantom Brakeman" set?
(a) 1935.
(b) 1932.
(c) 1933.
(d) 1930.

6. What is Uncle Grady Griswold's response when Grandma Dowdel arrives and asks him how he's been in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) "Downright terrible."
(b) "Hardy as a horse."
(c) "Fit as a fiddle."
(d) "Fair to piddling."

7. How much money does Otis say Grandma Dowdel has held in the bank in "Things with Wings"?
(a) $5.
(b) $2.
(c) $17.
(d) $12.

8. How much does Ray Veech want Joey to pay him for a full driving course in "Things with Wings"?
(a) $2.
(b) $1.
(c) 25 cents.
(d) 50 cents.

9. What car does Joey describe as "shimmering in her loveliness" outside of Veech's garage in "Things with Wings"?
(a) A Ford Model T.
(b) A Plymouth coupe.
(c) A Terraplane 8.
(d) A Rolls-Royce.

10. Of whom does Grandma Dowdel say "You couldn't blast [her] off her place with a charge of dynamite" in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) Mrs. Vottsmeier.
(b) Effie Wilcox.
(c) Aunt Puss Chapman.
(d) Leota Shrewsbury.

11. Into what division of the military does Joe Dowdel enlist in "The Troop Train"?
(a) The Navy SEALS.
(b) The Coast Guard.
(c) The Marine Corps.
(d) The Army Air Corps.

12. What name does Mary Alice tell Joey she is giving to the puppy that she found in "The Phantom Brakeman"?
(a) Pepper.
(b) Skipper.
(c) Mittens.
(d) Spot.

13. During what historical period are the stories set in A Long Way from Chicago?
(a) The Reconstruction Era.
(b) The Gilded Age.
(c) The Great Depression.
(d) The Information Age.

14. From what station does Joe Dowdel ship out for basic training in "The Troop Train"?
(a) Jackson Station.
(b) Washington Station.
(c) Dearborn Station.
(d) Central Station.

15. How does Grandma Dowdel say her old tomcat died in "Centennial Summer"?
(a) "Got run over by a horse."
(b) "Fell into the old coal mine."
(c) "Fell off the roof of the barn last July."
(d) "Got in front of the Cannonball."

Short Answer Questions

1. What war is taking place in "The Troop Train"?

2. How does the narrator describe the food at Grandma Dowdel's house in the different stories from the book?

3. The narrator says that on the day of the Centennial Celebration, "People came in farm wagons and Fords from as far away as" where, in "Centennial Summer"?

4. Who from the Ladies' Hospitality Committee for the Centennial Celebration has fallen ill with "female troubles" in "Centennial Summer"?

5. Which of the short stories from A Long Way from Chicago was first published elsewhere?

(see the answer keys)

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