View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is visiting Villa Venus, causing it to be overrun with police?
(a) President Alexander Screepatch and King Victor.
(b) President Claudia Sauter and King Alexander.
(c) Lord Evan Vanderley and Duke Hawthorne.
(d) Queen Margaritte and Prince Aubrey.

2. What is Van's earliest memory?
(a) A dog running off with his toy.
(b) The smell of bacon and coffee.
(c) A chunk of plaster falling into his cradle.
(d) His father pacing back and forth before his crib.

3. Who does Van challenge to a duel?
(a) A duke who steps on his toes on the train.
(b) A captain he accidentally bumps into leaving the train.
(c) A belhop who drops his luggage at the hotel.
(d) A waiter who addresses him insolently at dinner.

4. Who does Van see on the train?
(a) Blanche.
(b) His father.
(c) Uncle Dan.
(d) Cordula.

5. What type of fur coat does Ada wear?
(a) Rabbit.
(b) Fox.
(c) Mink.
(d) Sea otter.

6. What did the artillery officer played by Kim Eskimossoff do for comic effect?
(a) Shot a gun.
(b) Took photographs.
(c) Tap-danced.
(d) Juggled objects.

7. What names does Nabokov use for the world of the novel?
(a) Elysium and Hel.
(b) Shadia and Paradisia.
(c) Demonia and Antiterra.
(d) Terrafirma and Terraductile.

8. To what drink does Van attribute his boyish look?
(a) Beer.
(b) Vodka.
(c) Champagne.
(d) Scotch.

9. Where does Van track down Rack?
(a) Rack is at his children's school when Van finds him.
(b) Van tracks down Rack at a hotel, where he is with a lover.
(c) Rack is in the hospital where Van is sent.
(d) Van finds Rack at his music shop.

10. What does Van think about the relativistic idea of space-time?
(a) He thinks it is both true and false simultaneously.
(b) He embraces it.
(c) He rejects it.
(d) He thinks it is partially true.

11. To whom does Van send the flowers he buys while waiting for Ada?
(a) A stranger.
(b) Dorothy.
(c) No one.
(d) Ada.

12. What word does Greg seem to like to use?
(a) Terrible.
(b) Awful.
(c) Grotesque.
(d) Horrid.

13. What does Van not bother to put on before heading out to meet Ada?
(a) A tie.
(b) Socks.
(c) A hat.
(d) A jacket.

14. What example does Van use in discussing order or succession in our perception of the past?
(a) Remembering what days to take medicine.
(b) Remembering whether his razor has been used once or twice.
(c) Remembering what he had to eat on previous days.
(d) Remembering whether he has previously worn a tie.

15. Which of the following is NOT the name of one of Van's books?
(a) Furnished Space.
(b) The Texture of Time.
(c) Clairvoyerism.
(d) Terransmigration.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the best Franco-Estonian restaurant in Manhattan Major?

2. What does VPL stand for?

3. What is Van doing while he stays at Cordula's?

4. How does Ada introduce her husband to Van?

5. What is Van's purpose in writing his book about time?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 520 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample