View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does Nabokov's mother trick Dimitri into believing he is still?
(a) In London.
(b) In France.
(c) In Greece.
(d) In Russia.

2. What is the common name for Boletusoften?
(a) Tube mushrooms.
(b) Tropical hibiscus.
(c) Blue grass.
(d) Red geraniums.

3. What does this thriving upper-class tourist industry offer?
(a) Vendors lining the beach and even servants in the change huts to assist in the removal of bathing suits.
(b) Expensive restaurants, street vendors, and swimming lessons.
(c) Live performances, pubs and restaurants, and bicycles to rent.
(d) Gambling, live theatre, and music.

4. Why does Vasiliy insist upon lying supine on the floor?
(a) He claims it stretches out his spine.
(b) He claims it helps him breathe better.
(c) He claims it relieves his chest pains.
(d) He claims it improves his posture.

5. Of what are Nabokov's memories in a Russian setting?
(a) A quite German childhood.
(b) A quite Russian childhood.
(c) A quite English childhood.
(d) A quite French childhood.

6. What is the process by which Vladimir Nabokov writes "Speak, Memory?"
(a) The autobiographical novel is culled from essays written by the author's son.
(b) The autobiographical novel is culled from stories told to him by family members.
(c) The autobiographical novel is culled from Russian history books.
(d) The autobiographical novel is culled from essays on his life.

7. How does Nabokov open his autobiography?
(a) With an examination of his early childhood.
(b) With a short meditation on the periods of inexistence before birth and after death.
(c) With a short story about the birth of his son.
(d) With a short review of Russian history.

8. To what does the memory of the bracelet lead?
(a) An important memory about his mother.
(b) An important memory about Mademoiselle.
(c) An important memory about Colette.
(d) An important memory about his father.

9. How many years does Mademoiselle spend with the family?
(a) Seventeen.
(b) Five.
(c) Seven.
(d) Two

10. Each day, when he awakes, how can young Vladimir tell what kind of day it is?
(a) By asking his mother to check the weather.
(b) By having the servants open the curtains.
(c) By looking out of the window.
(d) By the character of the light that slips through the shutters.

11. What does Nabokov reveal about his mind?
(a) He always associates sounds with colors.
(b) He hallucinates.
(c) He has depression.
(d) He has a great short-term memory.

12. Who occupies one of the estates near St. Petersburg when not abroad?
(a) Vyra, Nabokov's wife.
(b) Nabokov's cousin, Yuri.
(c) Nabokov's uncle, Vasiliy Ivanovich.
(d) Nabokov's father, Dmitri.

13. In exile in America, when a ranger or marshal spots him traipsing into the backwoods, net in hand, what is he asked?
(a) What he is doing in the woods.
(b) Where his guide is.
(c) If he has a fishing license.
(d) What the net is for.

14. What is happening to the science of butterflies at this time?
(a) The Germans have made leaps and bounds in discoveries.
(b) It has not changed for decades.
(c) They have not found any new species.
(d) There is a great unheaval.

15. What mystifies the two boys about Mademoiselle?
(a) She has children that visit her once a month, but she never allows the two boys to play with her children.
(b) She reads many novels to the boys, all in French, with a smooth, gentle voice.
(c)
(d) She is kind most of the timea but can easily lose her temper.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Nabokov's father force the family to leave a sidewalk cafe?

2. From where is the family returning to Russia?

3. To what simple rule does Nabokov's mother ascribe?

4. After his father's death, to where does Nabokov's widowed mother move?

5. What game does the whole family often play on the estate?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 660 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample