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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What still lines Belmont Avenue that was there during the author's childhood?
(a) Pushcarts.
(b) Pots of flowers.
(c) Sewage.
(d) Garbage.

2. The author's childhood school is still standing in the neighborhood, how does the school feel to the author?
(a) Like a castle.
(b) Cold and damp.
(c) Like a hospital.
(d) Like home.

3. In front of what building did the author's father meet every Saturday morning?
(a) The delicatessen.
(b) The coffee shop.
(c) The Municipal Bank.
(d) The hardware store.

4. What description does the author give Belmont Avenue?
(a) The "merriest street in Brownsville."
(b) The "loneliest street in Brownsville."
(c) The "loudest street in Brownsville."
(d) The "brightest street in Brownsville."

5. How did the author feel about the women who sat around his dinner table on Friday nights?
(a) He got lost in their conversations but still sat there and listened.
(b) He was infatuated with one of them so he would listen in rapture to them.
(c) They were too noisy and would escape the house.
(d) They were they joy in the home.

6. When did the author feel the only time his favorite food could be eaten in "good conscience"?
(a) On his way home from school.
(b) After he finished playing stickball.
(c) Friday night.
(d) Saturday night.

7. Who inspired the teaching style and curriculum of the author's civics teacher?
(a) Theodore Roosevelt.
(b) Calvin Coolidge.
(c) Herbert Hoover.
(d) Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

8. Where did the author run away from his father?
(a) Prospect Park.
(b) The Abraham and Straus Store.
(c) Atlantic Avenue.
(d) Grand Army Plaza.

9. Who is it the author always sees first when he enters Brownsville?
(a) The Negroes.
(b) The old women.
(c) The subway guard.
(d) The children.

10. What did the older neighbor boys do when they came home from work?
(a) Released pigeons.
(b) Play instruments out on the street.
(c) Call on the author's cousin.
(d) Go out for a drink.

11. What kind of books did the author go to his cousin's room to read?
(a) Books on government.
(b) Yiddish books.
(c) Books on how to date women.
(d) English books.

12. How did the author feel about being confirmed?
(a) He was positive it was what he wanted to do.
(b) He did it for the gifts.
(c) He did it out of peer pressure.
(d) He did it for his mother and out of tradition.

13. What belief about Jews did the author grow up with?
(a) That they were destined to marry only out of duty.
(b) That they were destined to be bankers.
(c) That they were destined to be propertyless workers.
(d) That they were destined to be leaders of the country.

14. What instrument did the author play as a child?
(a) The clarinet.
(b) The trumpet.
(c) The piano.
(d) The violin.

15. What were the author's lasting feelings about his school years?
(a) A hopeful feeling of accomplishment.
(b) A feeling of inadequacy.
(c) A feeling of success.
(d) A lifelong sense of being judged.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of dresses did Mrs. B wear?

2. What trait did the author's mother posses that she was most ashamed of?

3. What did the author do every time he walked into the civics teachers classroom?

4. What political way of thinking did the author's parents practice?

5. What did the author spend his school days staring at in fear and anxiety?

(see the answer keys)

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