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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why were merchants good to firefighters (i.e., by giving them discounts) under the old system?
(a) They were required to offer discounts to firemen.
(b) They expected the firemen to be forgiving during inspections.
(c) They wanted to get faster response times during emergencies.
(d) They expected the firemen to protect them from arson.

2. What film does Smith reference when discussing the station's housekeeping chores in Chapter 10?
(a) Cinderella.
(b) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
(c) Fantasia.
(d) Sleeping Beauty.

3. What did Smith see in Fireman Billy-o as he held the baby who died in the fire?
(a) Depression.
(b) Hatred.
(c) His humanity.
(d) Despair.

4. Why did the firemen call for police assistance while battling the Fox Street fire in Chapter 8?
(a) Residents were screaming at the firemen.
(b) There were looters in the area.
(c) They were attacked with garbage cans and iron balls.
(d) There were people fighting in the street.

5. Why did Smith choose to transfer to Engine Co. 82?
(a) He wanted a quieter place to serve.
(b) He wanted to make more money.
(c) It was the busiest engine company in the city.
(d) He wanted to serve the South Bronx.

6. What did the woman do to the man whose Intervale Avenue apartment burned in Chapter 7?
(a) She pointed a gun at him.
(b) She went after him with a machete.
(c) She threw a lamp at him.
(d) She went after him with a knife.

7. Why were the firefighters frustrated about budget issues?
(a) The budget was being cut.
(b) The firefighters themselves have always had to pay for basic station needs.
(c) Layoffs were expected.
(d) Salaries were being cut.

8. What did the firefighters discover after the police had left the station in Chapter 6?
(a) A bullet that hit the alarm system.
(b) A bullet lodged in a fire truck.
(c) A bullet that had ricocheted and landed on the floor of the fire station.
(d) A bullet lodged in a bulletin board near Smith.

9. How many weeks did fireman's training last?
(a) Six.
(b) Ten.
(c) Eight.
(d) Twelve.

10. Why did Smith think his school principal and mother were wrong to lament his dropping out?
(a) He believed he'd make a lot of money working instead.
(b) He did not think he was good enough at academics.
(c) He wanted to get out of New York.
(d) He believed school was a waste of time.

11. Why did Fireman Jim Stack have to stay longer at the hospital after the Intervale Avenue fire in Chapter 10?
(a) He suffered severe smoke inhalation.
(b) He had dangerously high blood pressure and nerve palpitations.
(c) He suffered severe burns.
(d) He suffered a heart attack.

12. Why were the teens carrying the items out of the Simpson Street apartment building?
(a) They were carrying them out of their own apartment for safety.
(b) They had bought them from another resident.
(c) They were carrying them out for another resident.
(d) They stole them from another resident.

13. Why did Smith not eat hamburgers when fellow firefighters prepared them for the station dinner?
(a) He was a vegetarion.
(b) He had to live on hamburgers during his poverty-stricken childhood.
(c) He needed to lose weight.
(d) He felt they weren't healthy enough.

14. For which radical group was the group of Park Avenue residents raising money in the magazine article read by Smith in Chapter 7?
(a) Gray Panthers.
(b) Black Panthers.
(c) Students for a Democratic Society.
(d) Symbionese Liberation Army.

15. To which classical literary figure does Smith refer when describing the wounds on the young girl assaulted by her stepfather in Chapter 9?
(a) Electra.
(b) Medea.
(c) Medusa.
(d) Gaia.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the Fire Department persist in holding parties for children who regularly harassed firefighters?

2. How must firefighters find the rewards in their profession?

3. What did the newspaper article say a firefighter rescued following a rubbish fire?

4. What ethnic group was now predominate in the formerly Irish neighborhood in which Smith grew up?

5. How old was Tina when Smith first met her?

(see the answer keys)

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