"The 11:59"

Lester Simmons is responsible for ...

• Willie Beavers's death.

• running the Silver Arrow.

• creating the Porters' Death Train.

• giving Tip Samson his nickname

• keeping accurate time at the station

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What does Lester do to keep death away?

• lights a large fire

• boards a train

• breaks a window

• drifts off to sleep

• nails his doors shut

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.5

Which of the following is a synonym for the word meager in the phrase "is meager twenty-four-dollar-a-month Pullman retirement check"?

• generous

• valuable

• common

• limited

• extraordinary

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Lester reminds himself that "His first and only love had been traveling, and she was a jealous companion." What does he mean by this?

• Traveling would not have been as easy to do if he had been married.

• Companions are not easy to find when you travel a great deal.

• He has trouble falling in love because of his jealous nature.

• He broke up with the woman he loved because she wanted him to stop traveling.

• If he had stopped traveling, he would have envied anyone who was still on the move.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Which of the following words does not accurately describe Lester?

• proud

• friendly

• older

• easygoing

• lazy

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Lester never really expects to...

• die alone

• beat Death

• hear the 11:59

• be remembered

• outlive Tip Sampson

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In this story, Death is a character who is coming to get Lester. Why might the author have presented Death in this way?

• to show that Lester is losing his mind

• to show that time and death often work together

• to make Lester's conflict with death more dramatic

• to explain why Lester hears a train whistle at 11:59

• to emphasize that most of Lester's friends have already died

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

Hearing the 11:59 causes Lester to...

• search for the meaning of life

• long for contact with old friends

• change the way he views his life

• finally understand his place in the world

• go through a series of different emotions

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

In the passage given, the author mentions Louise Henderson in order to ...

• show that there are many people in the world who love Lester

• give an example of the many choices Lester has made in his life

• introduce an important new character in an interesting and unusual way

• explain how Lester has affected the lives of some of the people he has met.

• make it clear that Lester has been in love with the same woman for many years.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Which vocabulary word would make the most sense in the following sentence. "In the darkness of the night, the ____ seemed to float above him and look directly into his terrified eyes."

• chide

• worrisome

• specter

• meager

• stranger

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4