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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. With what does Ambrose brush Magda’s skirt?
(a) A hair on his thumb
(b) His forearm
(c) He does not touch Magda’s skirt
(d) His ring finger

2. How does Peter get into the swimming pool?
(a) He goes down the ladder
(b) He lies down at the side and rolls into the water
(c) He makes a swan dive
(d) He cannonballs into the pool

3. What does the old timer at the door tell Ambrose about the tumble-barrel room?
(a) To go crabwise to get an eyeful
(b) To hold onto Magda so she won’t fall
(c) To look straight ahead to keep his footing
(d) To stay on the left of Magda so she’ll fall and he can see up her skirt

4. In what situation does the narrator say it is not a good idea for an author to use the first person?
(a) When it is obvious the events could not be real
(b) When the story is written for children
(c) When the narrator identifies too strongly with the narrator
(d) When it is essential for the narrator to know what every character is thinking

5. What does the narrator say is irrelevant in a story about a fun house?
(a) Details about a drive to the fun house
(b) How long it takes standing in line at the fun house
(c) How much it costs to enter the fun house
(d) Where the fun house is located

6. What did Ambrose do at his Boy Scout initiation ceremony?
(a) Fell into the fire and burned his shoes
(b) Sang the Boy Scout song by himself
(c) Told the leader that he did not like scouting
(d) Pretended to be moved

7. What does Ambrose’s mother tell the children about the money they are given?
(a) Put the money away in their deepest pocket
(b) It is a holiday so spend it having a good time
(c) Do not spend the money quickly or in one place
(d) Use the money for rides because the father will buy dinner

8. For what does Ambrose think there should be a button?
(a) For turning on all the lights in the funhouse at one time
(b) For calling the funhouse attendant
(c) For ending one’s life quickly and painlessly
(d) A button that would let his father know where Ambrose is located

9. What does the narrator say is the best thing to do when lost?
(a) Always take the right hand turn
(b) Always travel in the same direction
(c) Always mark where you have already walked
(d) Stay in one place and holler if necessary

10. How old is Peter?
(a) 16
(b) 14
(c) 15
(d) It is never said how old Peter is

11. What kind of car is the family taking to Ocean City?
(a) 1937 Ford Cabriolet
(b) 1940 Plymouth Valiant
(c) 1936 LaSalle sedan
(d) 1938 Ford station wagon

12. What does Ambrose’s father come up with for Magda and Ambrose’s mother?
(a) Coca-colas
(b) Sunglasses
(c) Straw hats
(d) Carmel popcorn

13. Ambrose thinks everything one sees in Ocean City is preparation and intermission for what?
(a) Sex
(b) Life
(c) Growing up
(d) Winning the war

14. Many of what kind of machines are out of order in the penny arcade?
(a) The pinball machines
(b) The digger machines
(c) The skit bowling machines
(d) The fortune telling machines

15. Why does Peter insist they stand by the funhouse?
(a) So they can hear the laughing
(b) So he can watch the girls’ skirts blow up
(c) In case someone gives them tickets
(d) So their parents can find them

Short Answer Questions

1. What scares Ambrose about playing the game Niggers and Masters with Magda without Peter?

2. What does the narrator say the climax of this story must be?

3. What does Ambrose wonder after he dozes off when he tries to find the old man?

4. What does the narrator say giving descriptions with two different senses, such as auditory and visual, can do?

5. What does Ambrose’s father do for a living?

(see the answer keys)

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