The Most Dangerous Game Comprehension/Plot Test

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME Quiz

A.    Understanding what happened:

Directions for each question, please place the letter of the best answer in the space provided:

____1. The general hunts humans because he:

a. hates humanity            b. is bored with hunting animals

                        c. is afraid of other people             d. wants the island to be a secret

____2. Rainsford cannot escape because:

            a. he has given his word he won’t             b. there is no way off the island

                        c. he wants to hunt             d. he wants to kill Zaroff

____3. The general especially welcomes Rainsford because he:

            a. is writing a book             b. wants news from the U.S.

                        c. is lonely                         d. is glad to meet another great hunter

____4. If Rainsford does not join the game, he will be:

            a. sent back to New York             b. drowned at sea

                        c. tortured by Ivan                         d. locked in the cellar

____5. At the end of the story, Rainsford is:

            a. killed by the general             b. waking up in the general’s bed

                        c. eaten by the general’s dogs             d. rescued by Whitney

B.    Interpreting Meanings:

For each question, please place the letter of the best answer in the space in the space provided:

­­­­­____1. In the story, most readers would share the feelings of:

            a. Rainsford                        b. the general                         c. Ivan            

____2. The general is a strange mixture of:

            a. wisdom and foolishness            b. sensitivity and cruelty

                        c. happiness and grief            d. hope and despair

____3. During the hunt, Rainsford is:

            a. frightened but clever             b. amused by the general

                        c. calm and relaxed                         d. slow to understand the game

____4. Rainsford realizes he must:

                        a. kill or be killed                         b. hide in the swamp

                                    c. escape and seek help             d. join the general

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____5. The hunt ends in one man’s death when the general:

                        a. leaps into the sea                         b. becomes too confident

                                    c. loses interest                         d. leaves his chateau

C.    Please put the following events in the correct order:

1.	a. After Rainsford lays a very intricate trail, General Zaroff still finds Rainsford’s hiding place.
2.	b. The Malay Man-catcher only slightly wounds Zaroff
3	c. The Ugandan knife trick does not kill its intended victim
4	d. Zaroff returns with Ivan and his pack of dogs
5.	e. The yacht is passing by “Ship-Trap Island”, a place with a very unsavory reputation.
6.	f. Rainsford hears a gunshot coming from the island.
7.	g. The door to the chateau opens, and a giant is standing in the door way with a gun pointing straight at Rainsford’s heart.
8.	h. Rainsford figures out that the general hunts humans.
9.	i. When Rainsford refuses to go hunting with the general, he learns that the general now plans to hunt him.
10.	j. Rainsford hears the baying of the hounds, and decides to do a desperate escape by leaping off the cliff into the jagged rocks in the sea below.
11.	k. Rainsford wakes up after a good night’s sleep in the general’s bed.
12.	l. The general turns on the light in his bedroom and finds Rainsford standing there.

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D. Vocabulary: Please match the word with its definition:

­­­

___ 1. Futile	a. with burning enthusiasm, passionate
___ 2. Lore	b. optical illusion
___ 3. Perils	c. unnoticed escape

___ 4. Mirage	d. ease or nimbleness
___ 5. Bizarre	e. dangers
___ 6. Ardent	f. endurance
___ 7. Condone	g. stories, legends, knowledge
___ 8. Eludes	h. allow
___ 9. Stamina	i. odd or unusual
___10. Agility	j. unsuccessful attempt

E. Plot Definitions: Match the term with its correct definition:

______ 1. Exposition	A. The moment when the protagonist’s fate changes for better or for worse.
______ 2. Rising Action	B. The end of the story when the plot is finally resolved.
______ 3. Climax	C. The back story or the events that have occurred before the short story, book, film or play begins. It is also the events which occur “off-stage”.
______ 4. Falling Action	D. The action or series of actions that occur after the climax.
______ 5. Resolution	E. The events that create the story and are the obstacles the protagonist encounters and by her/his efforts will try to overcome. These series of events will lead to the climax of the story.
______ 6. Plot	F. The character whose journey we follow throughout the story, and from whose viewpoint we experience the story.
______ 7. Protagonist	G. The character who opposes the protagonist in his/her journey.
______ 8. Antagonist	H. The series of events that make up the story; this includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.

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F. Plot: Determine from which part of the plot the following events occur:

1. Rainsford falls into the ocean when he loses his balance on the yacht’s railing:

            a. exposition                        b. rising action              c. falling action            

2. Rainsford is a world-renowned hunter on his way to South America to hunt jaguar:

            a. exposition                         b. rising action             c. falling action

3. The yacht is passing by a strange and forbidding island called “Ship-Trap Island”:

            a. exposition                         b. climax                        c. resolution

4. Rainsford is greeted at the door of the chateau by a giant of a man holding a gun pointed straight at Rainsford’s heart:

            

            a. rising action             b. climax             c. falling action

5. The General reveals that he is a hunter and a Cossack:

            a. exposition                         b. rising action             c. climax

6. When Rainsford refuses to go hunting for humans, the General then hints that he will hunt Rainsford:

            a. exposition                         b. climax                        c. rising action

7. Zaroff discover Rainsford’s hiding place but walks away:

            a. rising action             b. exposition                         c. falling action

8. The Malay man-catcher only wounds the general, but does not kill him:

           

            a. rising action             b. exposition                         c. climax

9. The Ugandan knife trick does not kill its intended victim:

            a. rising action             b. falling action             c. climax

(Continued on the next page)

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10. Rainsford hears the baying pack of hounds coming closer to him, in front of him lies the ocean, below jagged rocks. He leaps far out to sea:

            a. rising action             b. falling action             c. climax

11. The general turns on his  light and finds Rainsford standing in his bedroom:

           

a. rising action             b. falling action             c. climax

12. “On guard, Rainsford!” says the General just before their fight to the death

            a. rising action             b. falling action             c. climax

13. Rainsford wakes up the next morning in the general’s bed.

            a. rising action             b. falling action             c. resolution