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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. Why is Gus the one who tucks Bill Bob in at night?
(a) Bill Bob wants Gus to do it.
(b) It makes Ma too sad to tuck him in.
(c) Henning is working at that time.
(d) Ma and Henning argue too much.

2. What kind of a temperament does Bill Bob have?
(a) He is often excited and surprised.
(b) He is almost too calm.
(c) He is wild.
(d) He is quiet but fun.

3. How many hours per year does Gus's ideal schedule entail?
(a) 10,000.
(b) 8000.
(c) 4,000.
(d) 1500.

4. Where do Bill Bob and Gus venture to when Bill Bob comes to stay at the cabin?
(a) To another river.
(b) Up a 500 foot ridge.
(c) To town.
(d) To the farm.

5. What does Henning tell Gus will make them part of eternity?
(a) Being close to the water as it will be forever.
(b) Fishing as it will last forever.
(c) Their energy.
(d) Love.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Gus decide about God by writing in his notebook?

2. To what does the narrator compare a fish's death?

3. What does Gus deem as the crux of Izaak Walton's book?

4. At what age does Gus come to the conclusion that Izaak Walton's book is useless?

5. What is Titus wearing that Gus admires but says he would never wear?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the story of the Garbage Gut bass and why is catching him an anticlimax for Gus?

2. How does Gus believe that he became a fishing prodigy?

3. What happens to Gus emotionally in the first few months alone in the cabin?

4. In what ways has Gus changed since finding Abe?

5. Why does Gus feel sorry for Sigrid the minnow he puts in his tank? What is he learning about himself through his feelings for her?

6. How is Bill Bob different than the rest of the family?

7. How does Gus react during the argument at dinner when he realizes that his parents only care about their own argument and not the story he is telling?

8. Explain Bill Bob's concept of life and death.

9. What are Ma's and Henning's philosophies of death?

10. What do statistics mean to the angler?

(see the answer keys)

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