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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the section labeled Father, what does Mother tell Alice to do with her remains when she dies?
(a) Scatter her remains near the water.
(b) Bury her with Father.
(c) Bury her in the Fivey family plot.
(d) Scatter them anywhere.

2. Who makes Alice a cake?
(a) Duane.
(b) Aunt Frances.
(c) Mrs. Early.
(d) Mother.

3. How is Nonna described in Part Two:The Big House-Arthur?
(a) As being heartless.
(b) As being soft-hearted.
(c) As having a heart of stone.
(d) As having a hardened heart.

4. What was Mr. Early doing when he died?
(a) Gerdening.
(b) Reciting a poem.
(c) Sleeping.
(d) Marching in a parade.

5. What does Alice say she is hoping for in the chapter labeled Short Identifications?
(a) A rich uncle from Madeira.
(b) A letter.
(c) A vacation.
(d) Money falling from the sky.

6. How old is Alice in Part Four: West 76th-Mother?
(a) Twenty-eight, again.
(b) Twenty-five.
(c) Fifty.
(d) Thirty.

7. Why is Mother's appearance changed when Alice goes to visit her after Nonna's funeral?
(a) She is bald from the chemotherapy.
(b) She has bulimia and has lost weight.
(c) She has dyed her hair red.
(d) She is tanned and healthyl

8. How does Alice describe Mr. Early when he taught high school?
(a) Dancing on his toes, whooping over the sounds the poet makes.
(b) The unexpected man who no one recognizes once he speaks.
(c) An endless fountain of words, energy and hope.
(d) Bursting out of his ill fitting suit with prose and poetry.

9. How does Alice say that Nonna described Mother?
(a) As eager to please.
(b) As shy and withdrawn.
(c) As spirited and energetic.
(d) As precocious, loud and boisterous.

10. Where does Alice say that Father is buried?
(a) Near the church he attended.
(b) In the plot adjacent to Nonna and her husband.
(c) With his parents.
(d) Far from the church he attended.

11. What does Mother call her home in Part Four?
(a) The Cattery.
(b) The Nunnery.
(c) The Land of the Wasted.
(d) The Birdcage.

12. What kind of poets does Alice say Father liked?
(a) Senseless men who spouted jibberish.
(b) Ivy league approved classics.
(c) Hairy, bearish and mad.
(d) Romantic.

13. What does Mother say about Nonna's feelings for her children?
(a) That she only had room in her heart for Billy.
(b) That she ignored both of her children.
(c) That she was overprotective and worried constantly.
(d) That she resented both of her children.

14. How long does Alice believe it took for Father to die?
(a) 8, 9, or 10 minutes.
(b) A single heartbeat.
(c) 30 plus years.
(d) The time it takes to give up on the people you love.

15. What does Alice say that Nonna felt about her children?
(a) She never wanted to have children.
(b) She never wanted a second child.
(c) She adored her children.
(d) She felt they deserved a better mother.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Arthur driving when he dies?

2. Where does Alice go to visit Mother in Part Three: West 76th Street?

3. What does Alice argue with her aunt and uncle about after Arthur's death?

4. What promise does Alice say she neglected to keep to Mr. Early?

5. Why does Alice first return to the Big House years after leaving?

(see the answer keys)

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