Test on “The Treasure of Lemon Brown”
Directions: Choose the correct answer to each of the following.
Part One: Plot
1. What subject was Greg about to fail in school?
A. English B. Math C. History D. Science E. Physical Education
2. How old was Greg’s father when he had to drop out of school?
A. 13 B. 14 C. 15 D. 16 E. 17
3. Greg asked his dad if he could play basketball for …
A. his school B. his church C. the community center D. a travel-ball team
4. Who was Greg trying to avoid by walking down the street in the rain?
A. the thugs B. Lemon Brown C. his teacher D. his coach E. his dad
5. What weapon did Lemon Brown threaten to use on Greg?
A. gun B. knife C. lead pipe D. razor E. mace
6. What was Greg’s dad’s job?
A. a postal worker B. a short-order chef C. a truck driver D. a salesman
7. Where did Lemon Brown hide his treasure?
A. in his mattress B. tied to his leg C. under the stairs D. in his pocket
8. How old were the newspaper clippings?
A. 10 years old B. 20 years old C. 35 years old D. 50 years old
9. Who did Lemon Brown’s son live with after Lemon’s wife died?
A. Lemon B. his grandmother C. his aunt D. his neighbor
10. “I didn’t have nothing to give him except these things that told him who I was, and what he come from. If
you know your pappy did something, you know you can do something too.” What did Lemon Brown give
to his son to show him that he could become anything he wanted to be?
A. a harmonica and newspaper clippings C. an expensive suit
B. a trophy D. an education
11. What was Lemon Brown’s real treasure?
A. his son’s respect C. his medals from fighting in the war
B. the wealth he accumulated from being famous D. his love of Jazz
12. What did Greg do as he entered his house, knowing that he was about to receive a lecture?
A. slam the door B. stomp up the stairs C. defend himself D. smile
Part Two: Show Not Tell / Inference
13. The author told us that, upon entering the old apartment building, Greg noticed several things. What
message was the author trying to tell his readers by saying that there was a torn mattress, a broken couch,
and a table on its side all together on one side of the room?
A. that Greg goes there often; it’s his hideout
B. that only this remains after the fire that destroyed the building
C. that a homeless person is staying there
D. that the building is abandoned; no one lives there anymore
14. Which of these quotes is NOT used to reveal that Lemon Brown is homeless?
A. “There were two feet, in cracked, dirty shoes”
B. “Legs that were wrapped in rags”
C. “the layers of dirty coats piled on his smallish frame.”
D. “His black, heavily wrinkled face was surrounded by a halo of crinkly white hair and whiskers”
E. “The rags were held on with strings, and there was a rope around his middle.”
15. The author alerts the reader to the fact that Lemon Brown and Greg are sincerely afraid for their lives
through each of the following quotes EXCEPT…
A. “The old man looked out [the window], then beckoned frantically for Greg to follow him.”
B. “There was a banging downstairs and a light as the men entered.”
C. “Greg felt Lemon Brown’s hand first lying on his shoulder, then probing down his arm until he finally
took Greg’s hand into his own as they crouched in the darkness.”
D. “Greg could feel his temples throb as the man slowly neared them.”
E. “Greg felt himself near panic.”
16. What do the following quotes reveal about the three thugs? “Throw down your money, old man, so I won’t
have to bash your head in!” “We heard you talking about your treasure,” the voice was slurred. “One was
carrying a length of pipe.” “We don’t want to have to come in and hurt you, old man, but we don’t mind if
we have to.”
A. They are young and disrespectful to elderly people.
B. They have robbed and killed before.
C. They are drunk and dangerous.
D. They followed Greg inside the abandoned apartment building.
E. They are members of a gang.
17. What is revealed about Lemon Brown by the following statements? “Lemon Brown released [Greg’s]
hand and moved toward the top of the stairs.” “Lemon Brown stood at the top of the stairs, both arms
raised high above his head.” “[He] hurled his body down the stairs at the men who had come to take his
treasure.”
A. He is willing to fight for his treasure.
B. He is mentally unstable.
C. He doesn’t care if he lives or dies.
D. Being with Greg brought out the bravery in Lemon Brown.
E. Lemon Brown was protecting Greg since he was unable to protect his own son.
Part Three: Story Elements
18. What story element did the author create by allowing Greg to hear a scraping sound and then the sound of
breathing coming from the dark room?
A. irony B. suspense C. flashback D. foreshadow E. theme
19. What element is created by the following quotes from the story? “grim shadows,” “graffiti-scarred
building,” dim light filtering through the dirty windows,” “the building was dark,” “the wind had picked
up, sending rain against the window with a force that shook the glass in its frame”
A. mood B. characterization C. irony D. point of view E. climax
20. What element is developed by the following lines from the story? “Every man got a treasure.” “What else a
man got ‘cepting what he can pass on to his son?” “Him carrying it around with him like that told me it
meant something to him. That was my treasure, and when I give it to him he treated it just like that, a
treasure.”
A. setting B. mystery C. theme D. falling action E. imagery
21. Which of the following is an example of internal conflict?
A. Lemon Brown jumping down on the thugs.
B. Greg trying to decide whether he’s going to do what his dad wants or not
C. Greg walking in the rain at night.
D. Lemon sleeping in an abandoned apartment building and eating out of garbage cans
22. What is the climax of the story?
A. the fight between Lemon, Greg, and the thugs C. when Lemon tells Greg about his son
B. Lemon’s son dying in the war D. Greg going home to face his dad
Part Four: Figurative Language
23. “The dark sky filled with angry swirling clouds…” is an example of what kind of figurative language?
A. simile B. onomatopoeia C. oxymoron D. personification E. hyperbole
24. “His father’s words, like the distant thunder that now echoed through the streets of Harlem, still rumbled
softly in his ears” is an example of what kind of figurative language?
A. metaphor B. simile C. idiom D. hyperbole E. onomatopoeia
25. “A car passed, its tires hissing over the wet street and its red tail lights glowing in the darkness” is an
example of what kind of figurative language?
A. pun B. hyperbole C. simile D. onomatopoeia E. personification
26. “Don’t try nothin’ ‘cause I got a razor here sharp enough to cut a week into nine days!” is an example of
what kind of figurative language?
A. personification B. metaphor C. idiom D. theme E. onomatopoeia
27. “When you get as old as me all you say when something hurts is, ‘Howdy, Mr. Pain, sees you back again.’
Then when Mr. Pain see he can’t worry you none, he go on mess with somebody else” is an example of
what kind of figurative language?
A. simile B. hyperbole C. metaphor D. personification E. pun
28. “They used to call me Sweet Lemon Brown” is an example of what kind of figurative language?
A. oxymoron B. simile C. personification D. idiom E. hyperbole
29. “I sung the blues so sweet that if I sang at a funeral, the dead would commence to rocking with the beat” is
an example of what kind of figurative language?
A. metaphor B. pun C. onomatopoeia D. hyperbole E. simile
30. “One day I got tired, sat down to rest a spell and felt a tap on my shoulder. Hard times caught up with me”
is an example of what kind of figurative language?
A. idiom B. personification C. oxymoron D. onomatopoeia E. metaphor