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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What announcement did Maryna wish she had made at the party?
(a) She is dying.
(b) She is leaving.
(c) She is pregnant.
(d) She is happy.

2. What is the name of the ship sailing to America?
(a) SS Atlantic.
(b) SS Queen Mary.
(c) SS Germanic.
(d) SS Minnow.

3. What toast does Maryna offer?
(a) "World peace."
(b) "Besettas."
(c) "Homeland."
(d) "Amor."

4. How long do the newer steamships take to cross the Atlantic to America?
(a) A month.
(b) Eight days.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) Twelve days.

5. What does Maryna declare at the end of Chapter One?
(a) "I am muddleheaded and tired of acting."
(b) "I yearn for a better life."
(c) "I am hungry and confused."
(d) "I am too old to be a good actress any longer."

Short Answer Questions

1. How long is the train trip Julian and Ryszard take to get to their final destination in America?

2. Who makes the first toast to Maryna at dinner?

3. Who is Aniela?

4. What character in Middlemarch does the narrator compare to Maryna?

5. In what theatre does Maryna normally perform?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the Saloon passengers gain entry into America? How do the steerage passengers leave the ship? How do Julian and Ryszard leave the ship, and where do they go?

2. While he is in the steerage section of the ship, Ryszard is brought by a deckhand to meet a bedraggled man. This man offers his niece, Nora, to Ryszard. What kinds of emotions does Ryszard have while below the ship in steerage? How does this experience change him?

3. Maryna prepares for her departure from the stage. What engagements does she cancel, and what do the critics say about this? Why has she chosen Zakopane, and who has she asked to accompany her there?

4. Before leaving for America, Maryna and Bogdan go to say goodbye to his grandmother, the Dowanger Countess. What transpires in this meeting? How does the Dowanger Countess welcome the couple? What words of advise does she give them?

5. Who does Ryszard meet in the lounge of a whorehouse in New York City? What is important about the introduction Ryszard makes to the man? What do the two men talk about? What important thing does the man confirm for Ryszard?

6. While hiding at the celebration party, the narrator pieces together the people in the room and the subject of their discussions. What does she gather about the people in the room and the plan underway?

7. In Chapter Four, Maryna explains that in some places, the oldest is best. However, in America she says "biggest is best." What does she mean by this? What does she see that supports her observation? Is she displeased by this?

8. How does Maryna talk about the passenger who went overboard on the ship? Why does she talk so much about the incident? What are her speculations as to what happened? What are her feelings?

9. In Chapter One, what scene does Maryna give Krystyna to act out? Why?

10. After her performance in Chapter One, Maryna dresses and is accompanied by Bogdan to the Hotel Saski. Why are they going to the Saski? What are they celebrating? Where is the narrator?

(see the answer keys)

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