1A. Which of the following does the narrator imply about the story of the swordfish? A. The narrator’s father believes the story will be hard for others to understand.

B. The narrator’s father cannot recall the sequence of events in the story.

C. The narrator’s father has repeated the story multiple times.

D. The narrator does not believe his father’s recollection of the details in the story.

2A. What does the narrator suggest about the “1959 Chevrolet with the swordfish tied on top”?

A. It was unusual.

B. It was embarrassing.

C. It was attractive.

D. It was worrisome.

3A. What is Ellis’ “purpose in life” (line 21) ?

A. To solve the mystery of the swordfish

B. To warn the town about the danger of the swordfish

C. To conduct scientific research about swordfish

D. To punish the boys who carried out the swordfish prank

4A. In line 23, the word “nocturnal” most nearly means

A. dangerous

B. edible

C. active at night

D. happening yearly

5A. Which phrase from the passage best supports your answer?

A. “slow to a crawl” (line 22)

B. “go out there” (line 22)

C. “two in the morning” (line 23)

D. “on the off chance” (line 23)

6A. Why does Miriam refuse to allow Ellis to eat at the Coffee Cup?

A. She thinks the Coffee Cup is too expensive.

B. She does not like the food at the Coffee Cup.

C. She does not want Ellis to see the swordfish.

D. She is concerned about the opinions of others.

7A. Which of the following describes the primary difference between Ellis’ point of view and the reader’s point of view?

A. The reader knows that there is more than one swordfish involved, whereas Ellis does not.

B. The reader understands the behavior of El Niño, whereas Ellis does not.

C. The reader knows why Ellis’ wife dislikes the Coffee Cup, whereas Ellis does not.

D. The reader knows how the swordfish gets into and out of the pond, whereas Ellis does not.

7B. Which of the following sentences from the passage best supports your answer?

A. “The Coffee Cup is long and narrow. There are twelve red vinyl stools at the counter, six red vinyl booths along the wall, and a table at the rear, underneath the stuffed swordfish Vinny brought with him from back East.” (lines 1-3)

B. “The boys never told anyone, but for the next three years, always on May third, they would sneak that fish out of the Coffee Cup and put it in Ellis’ pond. Each time Ellis would run to get Miriam and call Bob Jr., who would rush to the pond to no avail.” (lines 18-20)

C. “I think it happened during those heavy rains a few years back, when we had that flooding. They say El Niño caused things like this. I’ve read about it in the paper.” (lines 27-28)

D. “Noon came. Ellis was hungry. Miriam was gone, and she did all the cooking. She enjoyed it. Every now and then Ellis wanted to go to the Coffee Cup for lunch, but she wouldn’t hear of it.” (lines 34-35)