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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. How did Nick become poisoned in Chapter 2?
(a) By off-gassing from roofing materials.
(b) From fertilizer fumes on the farm.
(c) From pressure-treated lumber.
(d) Through a job transporting toxic chemicals and solvents.

2. How old was Betty when she got pregnant with Smarsh's mother?
(a) 16.
(b) 20.
(c) 14.
(d) 18.

3. How did Smarsh's grandfather Chic die?
(a) He had prostate cancer.
(b) He had an accident involving farm equipment.
(c) He had a heart attack.
(d) He was in a car accident.

4. When was Smarsh's father born?
(a) Halloween in 1955.
(b) Christmas Day in 1950.
(c) Labor Day in 1955.
(d) Christmas Day in 1960.

5. When did Betty and Arnie get married?
(a) August 1980.
(b) March 1950.
(c) September 1977.
(d) December 1985.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Smarsh remember her father letting her do when they visited Betty in the hospital?

2. Why was health care rare where Smarsh was from, aside from the rising costs?

3. What is the name Smarsh comes up with for her unconceived, unborn daughter?

4. What was Smarsh's grandfather commissioned to lead in 1949?

5. In Chapter 2, what life-threatening occurrences befell Smarsh many times?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part I, what do Smarsh's parents do around the Fourth of July to make a significant amount of money?

2. What kind of parallel does Smarsh draw between the kittens in Part II and farming families?

3. Why does Smarsh feel she needs to be so vigilant in childhood?

4. Why was Nick's barn burning down such a blow to Smarsh's family?

5. In Part II, what does Betty become so ill with?

6. In Part I, why was Jeannie considering calling off her wedding to Nick, and what changed her mind?

7. What kinds of health epidemics does Smarsh say rural families often face today?

8. In Part I, what happens with Jeannie that Betty takes to heart because she thinks it symbolizes her failures as a mother?

9. What are Smarsh's memories of her father Nick like from childhood?

10. In Part I, what is one of Nick's greatest accomplishments in carpentry?

(see the answer keys)

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