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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How quickly does Richard Allen Mesinger die after being shot?
(a) He dies instantly
(b) About five minutes
(c) A few minutes after arriving at the hospital
(d) After a few hours

2. Which of the following does not describe the loading process used by John Byam to load the "sweet" rifle?
(a) He used a needle to clean out the touch hole
(b) He used a greased patch
(c) He dabbed grease into the touch hole
(d) He swaged out the greased patch

3. According to the novel, what was the leading cause of death to voyagers along the Oregon Trail?
(a) Firearms accidents
(b) Dysentery
(c) Starvation and exposure
(d) Indian attack

4. What does Richard Allen Mesington do as a small child that frightens his parents?
(a) Explores the forest around the family home
(b) Likes to play with fire
(c) Chases a bear in the forest around the family home
(d) Plays with a gun

5. According to the novel, how much pressure does a black powder charge generate?
(a) Enough to blow up the average gun
(b) 11,000 pounds per square inch
(c) Very little
(d) Two British tonnes

6. How much linear distance in the bore of the "sweet" rifle is used by a typical loading of powder and patched ball?
(a) None
(b) Two inches
(c) The entire length of the bore
(d) Two feet

7. The novel states that black powder has what chemical property?
(a) It is poisonous if ingested
(b) It is extremely explosive
(c) It will dissolve if it gets moist
(d) It is very corrosive

8. According to the novel, how long was Richard Allen Mesinger "supposed" to have lived?
(a) Long enough to discover a genetic cure for cancer
(b) An additional 60 years
(c) To age forty
(d) To age fourteen

9. What does the Mesinger family do in the early evening of Christmas Eve, 1993?
(a) They play "sub-for-Santa" with the Kline family
(b) They walk the neighborhood looking at Christmas decorations
(c) They sit down to a huge dinner of goose
(d) They go snow sledding

10. With which relative is Richard Allen Mesington particularly close?
(a) His grandfather
(b) His son
(c) His cousin
(d) His adopted little sister

11. Why does Mrs. Kline put candles on the mantle?
(a) To obscure Mr. Kline's velvet Elvis painting
(b) She's trying to burn down the house
(c) She's celebrating Halloween
(d) To heat up the "sweet" rifle

12. What is Richard Allen Mesinger doing at the moment he is killed?
(a) He is flying a P-51 in combat during World War II
(b) Adjusting a decoration on a Christmas tree
(c) He is riding a horse behind enemy lines
(d) He is making out with Peggy

13. According to the novel, how old was Richard Allen Mesinger "supposed" to be when he died?
(a) 60
(b) 14
(c) 74
(d) Old enough to know not to play with guns

14. According to the novel, how many movies did Richard Allen Mesinger watch in an average year?
(a) 12
(b) 52
(c) He didn't watch movies
(d) Over 100

15. When the Mesington family moves away from Willow, Colorado, what state do they move to?
(a) Texas
(b) Colorado
(c) Alabama
(d) Utah

Short Answer Questions

1. After whom was Richard Allen Mesington named?

2. What happened to Mrs. Mesinger after Richard Allen Mesinger's death?

3. In the novel, how many people actually fire the "sweet" rifle?

4. When Richard Allen Mesington is four years old, he has an exciting experience doing what?

5. How does Richard Allen Mesington get along with Harv Kline?

(see the answer keys)

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