Tom Sawyer Powercheck (RL 4.1)

Which quotation from the story best shows why Tom was feeling downcast?

• Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush

• He compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with the far-reaching expanse of unwhitewashed fence

• He took up his brush and went calmly to work

• Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention.

"There was no lack of material; boys happened along every little while; they came to jeer, but remained to whitewash." (paragraph 21)

Select two reasons why the boys changed their minds and wanted to paint the fence.

• Tom made his friends think that painting was special

• Tom begged his friends to help him finish painting the fence

• Tom asked his friends to help him so they could go swimming later

• Tom gave his friends some of his possessions so they would help him

• Tom told his friends that he thought most people could not please his aunt

Ben gives Tom _________ so that Tom will ____________.

• a rat, go swimming with him

• a kite, let him whitewash the fence

• an apple, help him to whitewash the fence

• an apple, let him whitewash the fence

Tom ... went on to report to Aunt Polly that he was all done with his assignment.

What can the reader infer from this sentence?

• Tom wanted to get paid for his work

• Tom had worked hard to get the job done

• Tom's friends had finished whitewashing the fence

• Tom was going to ask if there were more fences to whitewash

What can the reader infer about the fence at the back of the house?

• Not just anybody can whitewash the back fence

• The back fence is harder to whitewash than the front

• Aunt Polly wants the back fence to be nicely whitewashed

• The back fence is not as important to Aunt Polly as the front

Which quote supports the answer to the previous question?

• "You see, Aunt Polly's awful particular about this fence..."

• "If it was the back fence, I wouldn't mind, and she wouldn't either"

• " ...it's got to be done very careful."

• "Sid wanted to do it, but she wouldn't let him, either."

What is Tom looking for in the following sentence?

He got out his possessions and examined them - bits of toys, marbles and trash - not enough to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom.

• A good paintbrush which will make the job easier

• something that he can eat because he is getting hungry

• a game he can play that will be more fun that whitewashing the fence

• something worth trading that he can use to get the boys to do his work for him

Which two phrases show how "Tom went from being a poor, poverty-stricken boy in the morning to being a boy literally rolling in wealth by the middle of the afternoon."

• While Ben worked and sweated in the sun

• There was no lack of materials

• Tom traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for a kite in good repair

• Johnny Miller bought in for a dead rat and a string to swing it with

• Tom had discovered a great law of human action

Why is Tom so upset in paragraph 3?

• Tom does not want to work on Saturday because it is such a beautiful day

• Tom thinks that his Aunt Polly is treating him unfairly and that she doesn't like him

• Tom sees that the fence needing whitewashing is a lot longer than he thought it was

• Tom realizes that he can't do what he wants to do and that his friends will make fun of him

Select two sentences which show things Tom does to trick Ben into wanting to whitewash the fence.

• Tom eats an apple while working

• Tom says that he does not like to go swimming

• Tom takes great care as he whitewashes the fence

• Tom says that Jim would do a better job of whitewashing than Ben would

• Tom pretends that he is enjoying his work so much that he does not see Ben