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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 scent causes Tom Benecke to be tempted to accompany Clare Benecke outside of the apartment?
(a) Perfume.
(b) Dust.
(c) Baking bread.
(d) Smoke.

2. The narrator describes Tom Benecke as a man who looks like he had played what sport in college?
(a) Football.
(b) Lacrosse.
(c) Basketball.
(d) Baseball.

3. Tom Benecke mentions to Clare what benefit in relation to his workaholic nature?
(a) That she will have a maid one day.
(b) That money will be rolling in one day.
(c) That once this project is done, he will ask for reduced hours.
(d) That once this project is done, he will be able to take a vacation.

4. What is NOT a description of the types of data Tom Benecke had copied from "trade publications" (16) onto the yellow sheet of paper?
(a) Facts.
(b) Figures.
(c) Formulas.
(d) Quotations.

5. When Clare appears "at the end of the hallway" (4), what is she wearing?
(a) A dress.
(b) Slacks and a blouse.
(c) A slip.
(d) Nothing.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what floor of their building do the Beneckes live?

2. How far below the bottom of Tom Benecke's living room window is the ledge located?

3. To what location had Tom Benecke carried the yellow piece of paper during "a dozen lunch hours and early evenings" (16)?

4. Tom Benecke thinks to himself that if the yellow piece of paper does fall to the street, he will take what action?

5. What color is paper around which the story revolves?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Tom Benecke feel about the idea of abandoning the yellow sheet of paper at the beginning of the story?

2. For what reason does Tom Benecke feel that he needs to finish his work project quickly?

3. What event occurs that causes Tom Benecke to bang his head against the building wall, nearly leading to his death?

4. How is irony present within Tom Benecke's feeling about the idea of abandoning the yellow sheet of paper?

5. What is the setting of the story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket," and how is the setting used to amplify suspense?

6. What evidence points toward the fact that Clare Benecke often goes out by herself because Tom Benecke has to work?

7. In what way does the theme of deception enter the narrative in the first ten paragraphs of the story?

8. What is the significance of Jack Finney's choice of business field for Tom Benecke?

9. To what aspect of his life does Tom Benecke link his "guilty conscience" (1) at the start of the story?

10. Tom Benecke realizes at the beginning of the story that the feeling he is experiencing is not heat. What is it instead?

(see the answer keys)

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