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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bipti do the day before Mr. Biswas is born?
(a) Crosses the path of a white calf.
(b) Falls down the stairs.
(c) Goes to her parents' home with her three children.
(d) Faints at the market.

2. When Mr. Biswas sees a child destroying some of the store's stock, what does his reaction cause the mother of the accused child to do?
(a) She yells at her son.
(b) She yells at Mr. Biswas.
(c) She ignores Mr. Biswas.
(d) She beats her son.

3. How does Mr. Biswas reply to his mother's claim that she will end up in the poorhouse because of him?
(a) He declares that he will find his own job and buy his own house.
(b) He cries and runs out of the house.
(c) He faints.
(d) He declares she will never go hungry as long as he is alive.

4. Which room in Hanuman House does Mr. Biswas occupy while he is ill?
(a) Seth's bedroom.
(b) The back of the kitchen.
(c) Mrs. Tulsi's bedroom.
(d) The front living room.

5. How does Mr. Biswas decorate his room in Green Vale?
(a) With hand-lettered slogans from Hindi meetings.
(b) By painting the entire house inside and out.
(c) With wallpaper salvaged from construction sites.
(d) With new furniture.

6. What does Bipti's father believe caused the argument between Bipti and her husband?
(a) Hard times.
(b) Fate.
(c) Bipti's attitude.
(d) The white calf.

7. During his illness, what happens to the house that Mr. Biswas was constructing?
(a) His brothers finish building the house.
(b) It is burnt.
(c) Seth and his family move in.
(d) It is sold.

8. What was the purchase price of Mr. Biswas' house?
(a) $5,500.
(b) $13,000.
(c) $2,450.
(d) $3,000.

9. How does Mr. Biswas invest the money he saved from his sign painting days?
(a) In gold.
(b) In stocks and bonds.
(c) In an English business.
(d) In stocking the store and purchasing household goods.

10. In Book 1, Chapter 2, who runs away with Dehuti?
(a) No one.
(b) Ramchand, Aunt Tara's yard boy.
(c) Pundit Jairam, her teacher.
(d) Mr. Biswas, her brother.

11. Where does Sharma go to prepare for the birth of her first child?
(a) A room above the store.
(b) The local hospital.
(c) A hospital on the mainland.
(d) The Hanuman House.

12. What does Mr. Biswas recommend his wife do to earn money?
(a) Sell vegetables.
(b) Sell her hair.
(c) Sell their old car.
(d) Work at the school.

13. How does Mr. Biswas attempt to collect the money owed to the store?
(a) He hires a solicitor to collect debts from customers.
(b) He goes door to door to collect debts himself.
(c) He sues all of his customers.
(d) He calls on the local police for assistance.

14. What does Mr. Biswas do when he sees a relative's child destroying some of the store's stock?
(a) He beats the boy's mother.
(b) He beats the boy.
(c) He yells at the boy.
(d) He yells at the boy's mother.

15. What unlucky trait does the pundit claim Mr. Biswas will have?
(a) A glassy stare.
(b) A lisp.
(c) A sneeze.
(d) A limp.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mr. Biswas discover about Sharma after they move to The Chase?

2. How does Mr. Biswas react when he sees his lodgings at Green Vale?

3. What is Mr. Biswas' favorite hobby?

4. What solution does Seth recommend for Mr. Biswas' financial problems?

5. How many days does the pundit recommend Mr. Biswas' father wait before seeing his newborn son?

(see the answer keys)

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