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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How long ago was the premiere reading of the poem that was written about Shawn?
(a) Three years.
(b) Two years.
(c) Five years.
(d) Ten years.

2. What does Shawn think about the city in which he lives?
(a) It's cool beyond belief.
(b) It's too rainy.
(c) It's not sunny enough.
(d) It's wild to live near so many sports teams.

3. What is Shawn's bad news?
(a) All answers are correct.
(b) Being born changed life for the whole family.
(c) His parents got divorced because of him.
(d) He is a total "retardate."

4. What phrase is still confusing to Shawn?
(a) Door bell.
(b) Car wash.
(c) Keep on trucking.
(d) Kitty Hawk.

5. How many times has Shawn's father said his name aloud in his presence?
(a) Twenty-six times.
(b) Ninety-six times.
(c) Sixteen times.
(d) Six times.

6. What does Shawn not know at the time that he sees the dog killed?
(a) That death is painless.
(b) That there is an afterlife.
(c) That death is a part of the cycle of life.
(d) That his father might be planning his own death.

7. In the first verse of the poem that Sydney writes, what animal does he use to refer to Shawn?
(a) A butterfly.
(b) A crow.
(c) A bird.
(d) A fish.

8. Shawn thinks that his father does love him, although he is freaked out by what?
(a) His inability to control his bowels and bladder.
(b) Shawn's condition and seizures.
(c) His inability to talk and respond.
(d) His drooling and head bobbing.

9. What does Shawn's father always do to Shawn when he comes to visit?
(a) Reads the first stanza of the award-winning poem.
(b) Bends his thumbs backward.
(c) Makes Shawn sit up straighter in his wheelchair.
(d) Brings a vanilla cookie.

10. What do Shawn's parents explain to their friends "a trillion times?"
(a) Something about Shawn that is only partially true.
(b) About Shawn's test scores.
(c) About Shawn's I.Q.
(d) Something that is "stupid."

11. What is the pain that Dad speaks of wanting to end for Shawn?
(a) The pain of grand mal seizures.
(b) The pain of muscle spasms.
(c) The pain associated with bleeding in the brain.
(d) The pain of knowing a loveless life.

12. How many talk shows does Sydney appear on because of the poem?
(a) Twenty-three.
(b) Twelve.
(c) Eleven.
(d) Seventeen.

13. In Shawn's opinion, the fame of the poem turned his father into a professional what?
(a) Talk show guest.
(b) Writer.
(c) Victim.
(d) Philanthropist.

14. Chapter 1 is written from what point of view ?
(a) Omniscient.
(b) Third person.
(c) Shawn's.
(d) The psychologist's.

15. In Chapter 7, why is it necessary to file an incident report?
(a) Because Shawn cracked his skull.
(b) Because Shawn fell out of his wheelchair.
(c) Because William turns out to be cruel.
(d) Because William accidentally broke Shawn's arm.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Dad throw at the crow?

2. When Shawn has an "autonomic, uncontrollable systemic reflex" during a seizure, what is Shawn doing?

3. What control does Shawn have over his body?

4. According to Shawn in Chapter 7, how does the "proven scientific method for judging such things" classify Shawn?

5. When Shawn describes his seizures in great detail, according to him what is it about his seizures that is especially irritating to his family?

(see the answer keys)

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