Ruthless

1. Which event sets the story into motion?

• the theft of Judson's liquor

• Judson's decision to have a drink

• Judson's reluctance to return to the city

• an argument between Judson and Marcia

Which of the following actions causes Marcia's fear

• "he turned from the bathroom cabinet, entered the expensively primitive living room of his mountain camp, and crossed to a closet set in the pine wall" ( Paragraph 2)

• "he had been packing his things away for the Winter, and in a few minutes would be driving back to civilization" ( Paragraph 2)

• "she saw the bottle in her husband's hand" ( Paragraph 7)

• "one by one he dropped the tablets into the bottle and held it up to watch them dissolve" ( Paragraph 12)

How does the conversation between Judson and his wife develop the plot of the passage?

• It causes Alec to retaliate against Judson.

• It prompts Marcia to go to warn Alec's wife about the poison.

• It causes Judson to be distracted by Marcia's obvious distress.

• It prompts Judson to consider throwing out the poisoned whiskey.

Which statement expresses the main theme of the story?

• No crime is bad enough to warrant another person's death.

• It's important to take the opinions of loved ones into consideration.

• There will be consequences if people take justice into their own hands.

• It is fair to make sure a person's punishment fits the crime they committed.

Which detail from the text best reveals Judson's belief about crime and punishment?

• "He corked his bottled vengeance and set it back on the shelf alongside the little whiskey glass." ( Paragraph 14)

• "Also, the use of rat poison is quite legal. The only way any rat can get into this closet is to break in." ( Paragraph 17)

• "We won't be here till next spring. I can't bear to think of that deathtrap waiting there all the time." ( Paragraph 22)

• "'and don't worry about your poor, abused little burglar. No one is going to get hurt who hasn't got it coming to him.'" ( Paragraph 25)

How does Judson Webb cause his own death in the story "Ruthless?"