Passage I

    I am riding the bicycle and I am on Route 31 in Monument, Massachusetts, on my way to Rutterburg, Vermont, and I'm pedaling furiously because this is an old-fashioned bike, no speeds, no fenders, only the warped tires and the brakes that don't always work and the handlebars with cracked rubber grips to steer with.  A plain bike--the kind my father rode as a kid years ago.  It's cold as I pedal along, the wind like a snake slithering up my sleeves and into my jacket and my pants legs, too.  But I keep pedaling, I keep pedaling.

    This is Mechanic Street in Monument, and to my right, high above on a hill, there's a hospital and I glance up at the place and I think of my father in Rutterburg, Vermont, and my pedaling accelerates.  It's ten o'clock in the morning and it is october, not a Thomas Wolfe October of burning leaves and ghost winds but a rotten October, dreary, cold, and damp with little sun and no warmth at all.  Nobody reads Thomas Wolfe anymore, I guess, except my father and me.  I did a book report on The Web and the Rock and Mr. Parker in English II regarded me with suspicion and gave me a B- instead of the usual A.  But Mr. Parker and the school and all of that are behind me now and I pedal.  Your legs do all the work on an old bike like this, but my legs feel good, strong, with staying power.  I pass by a house with a white picket fence and I spot a little kid who's standing on the sidewalk and he watches me go by and I wave to him because he looks lonesome and he waves back.

    I look over my shoulder but there's no one following.

    At home, I didn't wave goodbye to anybody.  I just left.  Without fanfare.  I didn't go to school.  I didn't call anyone.  I thought of Amy but I didn't call her.  I woke up this morning and saw an edge of frost framing the window and I thought of my father and I thought of the cabinet downstairs in the den and I lay there, barely breathing, and then I got up and knew where I was going.  But I stalled, I delayed.  I am afraid of a thousand things, a million.  Like, is it possible to claustrophobic and yet fear open spaces, too?  I mean, elevators panic me.  I stand in the upright coffin and my body oozes sweat and my heart pounds and this terrible feeling of suffocation threatens me and I wonder if the doors will ever open.  But the next day, I was playing center field hate baseball but the school insists on one participating sport anyway, I stood there with all that immensity of space around me in center field and I felt as though I'd be swept off the face of the planet, into space.  I had to fight a desire to fling myself on the ground and cling to the earth.  And then there are dogs.  I sat there in the house, thinking of all the dogs that would attack me on the way to Rutterburg, Vermont, and I told myself, This is crazy, I'm not going.  But at the same time, I knew I would go.  I knew I would go the way you know a stone will drop to the ground if you release it from your hand.

From Robert Cormier, I am the Cheese. Copyright 1977 by Robert Cormier.

1.  In the first paragraph, the narrator says he is "pedaling furiously."  However, the reason for the bicycle ride is never revealed.  From the information given, which of the following best describes the likely purpose of this bicycle trip?

A.  The narrator is fearful that he is being chased.
B.  The narrator is absolutely intent upon reaching his destination.
C.  The narrator thinks biking is an enjoyable way to spend one's time.
D.  The narrator does not want to make this journey by bicycle.

2.  In the second paragraph the narrator says "I did a book report on The Web and the Rock and Mr. Parker in English II regarded me with suspicion and gave a B- instead of the usual A."  The implication is that the lower grade meant that Mr. Parker

A.  did not even read the report.
B.  was holding a grudge against the narrator.
C.  did not think the narrator had done the work on his own.
D.  was a fair teacher.

3.  The setting for this mysterious bike ride is best described as a

A.  dreary, cold autumn morning.
B.  glorious autumn day.
C.  frightening autumn day.
D.  bright, cold autumn morning.

4.  When the narrator speaks of his fear of  "the upright coffin," he is most likely referring to his fear of

A.  riding in an elevator.
B.  playing basketball.
C.  being buried alive.
D.  riding his bicycle.