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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In what town did Smith live while working in the South Bronx?
2. What did Smith find buried under the rubble at the Charlotte Street apartment in Chapter 5?
3. Why did Smith insist on working in the South Bronx?
4. What is one example of a booby trap sometimes left by arsonists?
5. Whose job is it to investigate suspicious fires?
Short Essay Questions
1. What did the firemen do when they got the second teenager out of the Intervale Avenue apartment building, which was torched in the arson attack in Chapter 1?
2. In reflecting on the boys who chanted hate-filled slogans at the firefighters in Chapter 4, Smith reflects that "people don't hate other people." What does he mean by that?
3. How did Dennis Smith get started on writing Report From Engine Co. 82?
4. Describe how fireman Jim Stack fought the apartment fire at 1284 Fox in Chapter 3.
5. What did the firemen mean by the term "tough shit" during their discussion of the arson fire in Chapter 1?
6. Besides the risks to firefighters, what does Dennis Smith believe is a real risk of malicious false alarms?
7. In what ways does Smith view the old-style machine politics as preferable to the current system?
8. What did Dennis Smith observe about the attitude of the driver who hit the young boy and was then beaten by the crowd in Chapter 2?
9. During a raging fire, Smith imagines neighbors serving coffee and food to the firefighters. Why does he think this is an impossibility in New York City?
10. How did the firefighters feel about the deaths of the two teenagers in the Intervale Avenue arson fire in Chapter 1?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The firefighters of Engine Co. 82 made several efforts to connect with the neighborhood children, for example, through ice cream parties. Do these sorts of community outreach projects ultimately help the community and if so, how? How can seeing authority figures "at ease" and off the job help children see them as non-threatening? Smith at one point expresses dismay that firefighters willing to to crawl through a fire to rescue one black child will share ice cream with 100 black children. In what ways do these community outreach projects help firefighters themselves? Do they normally get the chance to see people at their best? Can getting to know the neighbors outside of emergency calls help firefighters develop a deeper and more satisfying relationship with their community?
Essay Topic 2
Smith continued to work in the South Bronx despite the dangers and despite the fact that moving to another neighborhood would still allow him to serve as a firefighter, but in a safer environment. What compels some people to risk their lives for little or nothing in return? Are some people born with a unique sense of compassion and generosity or can this be cultivated in anyone? What kind of intangible rewards did Smith get from serving the South Bronx that he may not have gotten from serving, say, the Upper East Side?
Essay Topic 3
Why was Smith so affected by the interview with the student, Cynthia? Why did his encounter with her leave him feeling both heartened and concerned? Did he ultimately feel uplifted or overwhelmed by what she represented?
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This section contains 1,163 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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