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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What were the small boys called who hauled powder from the magazine to the cannon during the Revolutionary War?
(a) Powder Monkeys
(b) Ship's Boys
(c) Sons of Guns
(d) Swabs

2. Why does Harv Kline have candles on display for Christmas?
(a) They are leftover from Eid
(b) His wife gives them to him as a Christmas gift
(c) He receives them as a promotional gift
(d) He is a candlemaker

3. According to the novel, how many baseball games did Richard Allen Mesinger watch in an average year?
(a) 16
(b) He didn't watch baseball
(c) Two or three a week, all season long
(d) Over 100

4. Where was Richard Allen Mesington born?
(a) Willow, Colorado
(b) Salt Lake City, Utah
(c) Philadelphia
(d) New York

5. When was Richard Allen Mesington born?
(a) July 4, 1776
(b) The novel doesn't say
(c) October 13, 1979
(d) In early 1993

Short Answer Questions

1. What actually ignites the black powder in the "sweet" rifle as it hangs in Harv Kline's house?

2. How does Richard Allen Mesington think about firearms?

3. After John Byam, what act is never performed on the "sweet" rifle?

4. In what sport is Richard Allen Mesington not interested?

5. How much linear distance in the bore of the "sweet" rifle is used by a typical loading of powder and patched ball?

Short Essay Questions

1. What message does the novel convey?

2. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being above Harv Kline's fireplace.

3. How does the rifle fire after 217 years?

4. Describe Richard Allen Mesinger's academic performance.

5. What happens to the adults that survive the accidental death of Richard Allen Mesinger?

6. What happens when the rifle accidentally discharges above Harv Kline's fireplace?

7. Why don't the Mesinger and the Kline children play together?

8. How many people own the "sweet" rifle?

9. What does Richard Allen Mesinger think about his neighbor Harv Kline's antique gun?

10. What experiences does Mesinger have with firearms in his life?

(see the answer keys)

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