WorksheetsThe Rifle by Gary Paulsen - pg. 3-82
Total questions: 44
Worksheet time: 22mins
A “sweet” rifle got its name because it was made from wood from the sweet maple tree.
True
False
Cornish McManus and John Wayne Wright were life-long partners.
True
False
After the trigger was pulled there were six steps that occurred before the ball propelled out of the barrel of the rifle, but it happened in nearly an instant.
True
False
When Cornish squeezed the trigger of the rifle the first time, he heard a crack rather than a thump.
True
False
It wasn’t until he proposed to Clara that Cornish considered selling the rifle.
True
False
Cornish was artistic with his rifle drawings which made Waynewright very happy.
False
True
Even a top gunsmith was unlikely to make more than one “sweet” rifle in his lifetime.
False
True
Cause: He had the stock only drop half as much as was usually done.
Effect: You choose the correct effect.
He was forced to use hand rasps and files to get the shapes he wanted.
He got cow’s urine from a neighbor to wipe the heated barrel.
The recoil didn’t bounce up but went straight into his shoulder.
He doubted it was possible so he tried it again.
Balls would travel faster and the rifles shot more accurately.
Cause: The wood was rigid and had hundreds of small knots which fought him all the way.
Effect: You choose the correct effect.
He was forced to use hand rasps and files to get the shapes he wanted.
He got cow’s urine from a neighbor to wipe the heated barrel.
The recoil didn’t bounce up but went straight into his shoulder.
He doubted it was possible so he tried it again.
Balls would travel faster and the rifles shot more accurately.
Cause: Waynewright had developed a unique system for rifling the barrel of a gun.
Effect: You choose the correct effect.
He was forced to use hand rasps and files to get the shapes he wanted.
He got cow’s urine from a neighbor to wipe the heated barrel.
The recoil didn’t bounce up but went straight into his shoulder.
He doubted it was possible so he tried it again.
Balls would travel faster and the rifles shot more accurately.
Cause: Cornish could only find one hole after he shot three times and wondered if it was possible they’d all hit the same spot.
Effect: You choose the correct effect.
He was forced to use hand rasps and files to get the shapes he wanted.
He got cow’s urine from a neighbor to wipe the heated barrel.
The recoil didn’t bounce up but went straight into his shoulder.
He doubted it was possible so he tried it again.
Balls would travel faster and the rifles shot more accurately.
Cause: He buffed the steel barrel and sanded it until the flats seemed like small mirrors, yet he knew he wasn’t finished.
Effect: You choose the correct effect.
He was forced to use hand rasps and files to get the shapes he wanted.
He got cow’s urine from a neighbor to wipe the heated barrel.
The recoil didn’t bounce up but went straight into his shoulder.
He doubted it was possible so he tried it again.
Balls would travel faster and the rifles shot more accurately.
Byam cut the white limb from the tree
with one shot from eighty with one shot from eighty paces away.
to use as a ram rod to oil the barrel.
to stir the honey paces away into the coffee pot.
In the end, Cornish sold the rifle for
a pack horse and twenty saved Bainbridge.
cured hides and an Bainbridge died anyway.
but could do nothing so he just rode off.
The British chased Byam but gave up when
American patriots arrived.
Byam got off one sweet broke their legs.
some of their horses shot killing their leader.
Byam saw the British trying to hang Bainbridge for helping the Americans – a. b.
so he shot both British and saved Bainbridge.
and killed the officer but Bainbridge died anyway.
but could do nothing so he just rode off.
The man who was also named John, tested Byam by
asking to see the rifle.
checking Byam’s documents.
throwing a coin in the air for Byam to shoot.
After joining McNary’s Rangers, when coming upon British patrols, Byam always
got off his current horse and traded for a British horse.
hid to avoid being recognized.
took down one or more British soldiers.
Byam rode with the Americans to New York which took six weeks
which was a record speed due to good roads.
due to rain, mud and fighting.
but Washington had already left the area.
One problem the British had was that they fought
rigidly, following their officer’s commands exactly.
like the Americans did, shooting from trenches.
more with sabers than with guns.
Cornish was killed when he was
shot for making rifles that were inferior.
hung for being a traitor to the Crown.
hunting and shot for being a poacher
Byam died while holding the rifle
which jammed for the first time.
but was shot from the rear.
as he lay in misery in filth.
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Lived in a motor home.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Lied about where the rifle was, then hid it in the attic between timbers.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Knew a lot about guns; wore a baseball cap with an NRA emblem on it.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Hung the rifle on nails over the fireplace in his home.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Got a rifle and a painting in return for installing a fuel pump.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Had children who found the rifle while playing in the attic.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
Using names from the list below, choose who did each of the following:
Rubbed grease into the wood and steel of the rifle so much that it remained undamaged for almost two hundred years.
Byam
Harv
Tim
editor
Sarah
For each pair of events below, write the letter of which came first in the story.
a. Tim was discharged from the army and started selling and buying guns.
b. Tim told Harv that the rifle “was carried by a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
a
b
For each pair of events below, write the letter of which came first in the story.
a. Tim didn’t want to part with his cash, and then he remembered the painting.
b. An antique dealer lied about the value or the rifle and bought it for $25.
a
b
For each pair of events below, write the letter of which came first in the story.
a. A Kansas City man sold the rifle for $350 to Tim Harrow..
b. The editor’s wife said, “Get rid of it, right away. I don’t want a gun in the house.”
a
b
For each pair of events below, write the letter of which came first in the story.
a. Harv walked home, carrying the painting of Elvis under his arm.
b. A wealthy bachelor bought a house from Sarah.
a
b
For each pair of events below, write the letter of which came first in the story.
a. Tim sprayed the rifle lightly with preservative oil and propped it in the back closet.
b. Tim got a new fuel pump and left town.
a
b
When Richard was very young he had to get shots because
he was bitten by a dog.
of fever from ear aches.
of his allergies.
Sissy became the boy’s babysitter, and it was from her that he
came to notice odors and scents so well.
learned to talk with the birds.
grew to love climbing the Swiss Alps.
Richard’s father found him by a small brook near some tracks made by a “biiig dog”
and Sissy was nowhere to be found.
which were likely really made by a bear.
which was probably a neighbor’s horse.
A workman one time offered Richard a ride on a backhoe
if Richard would recite the alphabet for him.
but his mother knew the danger and said “no.”
and then allowed him to pull one of the levers.
Two occupations Richard dreamed of becoming were a(an)
architect and a race car driver.
dentist and a policeman.
scuba diver and a cowboy.
One Christmas Richard got heavy metal toys, a backhoe and a dump truck, which he played with for two summers but then
his grandfather took him to a dinosaur museum.
decided that he was too old to play with toy trucks.
cried when they were left to rust in the rain.
One neighbor in Missouri was Harv and the other was a man who told Richard
never to come into his yard again.
stories about being a pilot in WWII.
what plants were safe to eat.
Richard’s best friend Dennis surprised him by
telling Peggy that Richard liked her a lot.
giving him a picture signed by Babe Ruth.
bringing him a curly haired, brown dog.
By the time Richard was fourteen he thought a lot about football, and other sports
as well as Peggy’s lips, eyes and hair.
but had to work at his father’s auto shop.
and spent time riding his Harley.
As Richard grew older and wasn’t around much anymore, Sissy began
chasing trucks and one day was hit by one.
to sleep under the house until Richard got home.
watching and playing with Harv’s two kids.
