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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. What arrives midweek after the flood to break the jam at the stone bridge?

2. What is the last name of the one male reporter to die of pneumonia?

3. What is used to disinfect the entire district in Chapter 8?

4. How many foreign nations donated money to flood relief efforts in Johnstown?

5. What sum does Unger summarize the losses at the club to be?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the sightseers at the flood site?

2. What is the nature of Pitcairn's second message to Pittsburgh?

3. How is the Quinn family described in Chapter 5?

4. What are some of the efforts made by the townsfolk in regards to helping the flood survivors in Chapter 7?

5. How is the identification of the dead bodies described in Chapter 7?

6. How is Victor Heiser described when the wave reaches his family's property?

7. How is Kurz and Allison's lithograph described?

8. How is Johnstown described at the beginning of Chapter 7?

9. What happens to a man and two women seen riding a barn roof in Chapter 6?

10. What does William Tice witness near the end of Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of the train engineers during the crisis. What impact did they have on the outcome of the flood?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role of the Hungarians' portrayal in the book. What reason did the author have for including these depictions in the book? What is telling of the townsfolk's treatment of the Hungarians after the flood?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's portrayal of social class in Johnstown. What role did the wealthy play in the town? What about the poor?

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