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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. Johannes Schmidt, whose theory about eels and their mating habits is considered the most accurate one, thought that eels mate where?
(a) The Gulf of Mexico.
(b) The Sargasso Sea.
(c) In river springs.
(d) The Arctic Ocean.

2. What does Ernest Atkinson convert his manor Kessling Hall into?
(a) A museum in honor of Sarah Atkinson.
(b) An asylum for the mentally ill.
(c) A hospital for the wounded of World War I.
(d) A school for orphans.

3. The headmaster of the school where Tom Crick teaches history thinks Tom should retire from his job. Why?
(a) All of the above.
(b) The headmaster does not like Tom Crick.
(c) History will be eliminated from the curriculum.
(d) Tom Crick has stopped teaching the syllabus.

4. What does Ernest Atkinson do with the three remaining steam ships he owns?
(a) He sells them to the city of Gildsey for the use of the fire brigade.
(b) He converts them into pleasure cruise ships.
(c) He names them after his daughter, Helen I, Helen II, and Helen III.
(d) He donates them to the army to aid in the war effort.

5. How does Tom eventually arrange to marry Mary, even though her father Harold Metcalf hates him?
(a) Mary ignores her father and elopes with Tom.
(b) Tom comes home a war hero, and Harold Metcalf is too embarrassed to say no.
(c) Tom breaks into the Metcalf home at night and runs off with Mary.
(d) Tom's father Harry asks Harold for permission in the place of his son.

Short Answer Questions

1. The effects of Ernest's special ale caused all of the following EXCEPT:

2. Where does Tom put the bottle that he found drifting in the water after Freddie Parr's death?

3. Who says, "explaining's a way of avoiding the facts while you pretend to get near to them?"

4. How does Freddie Parr's father Jack react to the ruling by the court that Freddie's death was an accident?

5. What about Mary strikes Tom when he returns from Germany at the end of World War II to marry her?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter 33, Tom Crick takes Price to a bar to have a drink. What is the question Price asks Tom that shakes Tom the most?

2. In chapter 37, Tom Crick discusses the idea of terror and how it aids people in pretending they're changing the world for the better. What are some examples Tom gives from the French Revolution?

3. Who does the chapter title "The Saviour of the World" refer to, and what does it mean?

4. In chapter 29, Tom comes up with a way to test whether Dick killed Freddie Parr. What does he do to provoke a reaction from Dick? What reaction does he get?

5. In chapter 7, Tom describes the complicated relationship between Mary, Tom, Freddie Parr, and Dick. Briefly discuss the main dynamics of this relationship.

6. In chapter 47, Tom explains why he thinks Mary's mental illness can't be healed. Explain his reasoning.

7. In chapter 11, Tom Crick describes the inquest into Freddie Parr's death. What does the judge determine is the official cause of death, and how does he arrive at his conclusion?

8. Chapter 39 is about Mary's reaction to her pregnancy and to Tom's joy about it. What does Tom find her doing and what is the reason she gives?

9. In chapter 45, what is the symbolic significance of where Dick elected to hide the key from Tom to their mother's chest?

10. In chapter 46, Tom opens his mother's chest in the attic and finds a few items. What are they and what is their significance?

(see the answer keys)

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