1 Which activity are the narrator and his family doing during the first scene? Grocery shopping Decorating the tree Purchasing a Christmas tree Playing on the beach 2 Which organization is selling Christmas trees? The Kiwanis Club The Daughters of Australia The Blessed Sacrament School The Rotary Club 3 What does the graffiti say outside the grocery store? Coles sux Buy local think global Only eight shoplifting days til Christmas... Happy Christmas Canberra 4 At the start of the story, how long has it been since the narrator went to work? Two months Six weeks Four months Eight weeks 5 Which figure survives when the narrator drops the nativity scene? Melchior A goat Joseph The baby Jesus 6 To whom does the nativity scene belong? Eve Daniel Claire's mother Claire 7 How high does the narrator rate the tremor on his back on the "Richter scale"? 4.5 8.9 1.8 10 8 What does Claire do for a living? She's a doctor. She's a nurse. She's a cleaning person at a hospital. She's an accountant. 9 What did the narrator make for Christmas Eve dinner the previous year? waffles a whole ham pancakes spaghetti and meatballs 10 Which question does Eve ask about Santa Claus that Ben answers sarcastically? How does Santa fit down the chimney? How does Santa eat billions of cookies in one night? How old is Santa? How do reindeer fly? 11 Why does Claire work Christmas Eve? Because she can earn three times the normal hourly pay Because they don't have enough money for Christmas presents Because she can earn twice the normal hourly pay Because she can't stand being at home 12 What is the narrator's daughter's name? Claire Mary Ashley Evie 13 At what point on the narrator's spine does the injury exist? L6 N3 L3 N4 14 What does the expression, "to get on like a house on fire," mean? To get along well, but destructively To get along very poorly To have a passionate, volatile relationship To get along well and immediately 15 How does the narrator learn that his wife thinks his back pain is psychosomatic? He looks through the history on her laptop. The question pops up in her drop down bar when he goes to search something on her laptop. Ben tells him he overheard her on the phone asking a doctor. She tells him. 16 Which meal does the narrator make for Christmas Eve dinner? Pasta Pizza Box mac-n-cheese Pancakes 17 How old is Ben? Five Ten Eight Thirteen 18 How did the narrator injure his back in the first place? Taking Christmas decorations down from the attic Trying to clip a stray bough at work Playing footie with Ben Helping his friend push a truck out of the mud 19 What keeps the narrator awake at night? Stress about losing his job The idea that his wife is thinking about leaving him The sound of his sons playing computer games The many anti-inflammatories he takes 20 What is on the ceiling that bothers the narrator? A sauce stain A water stain A cobweb A pencil mark 21 What does the narrator's wife make per hour? 14.50 12.50 20.00 7.20 22 Which of the following does Eve use as a makeshift Virgin Mary? Polly Pocket Barbie A Bratz doll An American Girl doll 23 When Claire returns home from work Christmas morning, what does the narrator ask her to do? Walk on his back Clear a cobweb from the ceiling Get him two ibuprofen Take Ben's shoe out from under the couch 24 Why does the narrator make the painful trek up the stairs again on Christmas Eve night? Because he forgot to turn off the hallway light Because he noticed some stray toys on the carpet To look at his kids sleeping Because he thought he heard a commotion 25 Which of the following does the narrator bring to Claire's attention at the end of the story? The amount of time their children are spending watching television Some stars and glitter ground into the carpet A cobweb on the ceiling Ben's shoe under the couch
