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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When does Nabokov see Mademoiselle again after she is no longer in their household?
(a) In New York after the family emigrates to the U.S.
(b) In Lausanne after the war.
(c) In Paris right before the war.
(d) In London while Nabokov is at Cambridge.

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

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

4. To what is Nabokov's mother quite sensitive?
(a) Insect bites.
(b) Insults.
(c) Perfume.
(d) Seemingly small events.

5. The rest of the chapters are published separately, mainly by whom?
(a) The St. Petersburg Publishing House.
(b) The New York Times.
(c) The Chicago Tribune.
(d) The New Yorker.

6. What does Nabokov learn to read and write before Russian or French?
(a) English.
(b) Dutch.
(c) German.
(d) Swedish.

7. Why, when Nabokov is a child, is he terrified of the dark?
(a) He seems to lose himself in the pitch black.
(b) He thinks burglars will come into his room.
(c) He is afraid of monsters under his bed.
(d) He is afraid his home will catch on fire.

8. At the time the family moves, where are Nabokov and his brother?
(a) In Cambridge.
(b) In New York University.
(c) In Oxford.
(d) In the University of Paris.

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

10. What does the butterfly net in particular always invite?
(a) Curious visitors.
(b) Intriguing discussions.
(c) Exciting questions.
(d) Awkward comments.

11. How does Mr. Cummings influence Nabokov's scientific drawings of butterflies?
(a) He is Nabokov's botanist.
(b) He is Nabokov's butterfly instructor.
(c) He is Nabokov's drawing instructor.
(d) He is Nabokov's science instructor.

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

13. What is the first memory Nabokov drags from the darkness?
(a) Playing in the yard on the estate.
(b) Going on a picnic with his mother and father.
(c) Being fed by his nanny.
(d) Holding hands with his mother and father, as the three of them walk along a garden path in 1903,

14. How long does the family stay in Paris?
(a) Six months.
(b) One night.
(c) One week.
(d) One month.

15. What is young Vladimir's main concern?
(a) Whether or not he will be able to go hunting for new and rare butterflies.
(b) Whether or not he will be able to go horseback riding.
(c) Whether or not he can play in the forest.
(d) Whether or not he can play with his friends down the road.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Nabokov claim stems more from an ecological longing for the place of his birth, than in his family's loss of property and station?

2. How does the family spend their time in this town?

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

4. Who are some of the ancestors on Nabokov's paternal, Russian side?

5. What is happening to the science of butterflies at this time?

(see the answer keys)

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