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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Alice's mother doing for a living when she meets Alice's father?
(a) Alice's mother is a secretary.
(b) Alice's mother is a model.
(c) Alice's mother is a teacher.
(d) Alice's mother is a novelist.

2. According to Calvin, which of the following best describes Alice at age fifty?
(a) Alice looks older than she is, due to her illness.
(b) Alice looks just like her mother.
(c) Alice looks like a dietitian in sensible shoes.
(d) Alice looks young for her age and still attracts men.

3. According to Calvin, he never stops trying to do what?
(a) Remember what Alice is wearing the night he meets her.
(b) Come out of his shell.
(c) Gain Alice's trust.
(d) Impress Alice.

4. According to Calvin, why does Alice take out bank loans in her twenties?
(a) Alice takes out bank loans to pay for her cancer treatment.
(b) Alice takes out bank loans to tide her father over when he is low on money.
(c) Alice takes out bank loans to finance her work with disadvantaged students.
(d) Alice takes out bank loans to invest in her father's vending machine invention.

5. What is the name of the Calvin's eldest daughter?
(a) Mary.
(b) Abigail.
(c) Sarah.
(d) Maggie.

6. What disease does Alice's mother suffer from?
(a) Alzheimer's.
(b) Emphysema.
(c) Ovarian cancer.
(d) Lung cancer.

7. How does Calvin describe the impact of Alice's beauty on her life?
(a) Alice's beauty makes her vain.
(b) Alice's beauty has no disadvantages.
(c) Alice's beauty involves complications.
(d) Alice's beauty opens doors in her career.

8. In what month and year does Calvin first meet Alice?
(a) August 1990.
(b) April 1965.
(c) December 1976.
(d) December 1963.

9. What is written on the envelope in which Alice keeps special items?
(a) Treasures.
(b) Important Stuff.
(c) Trillin Family Mementos.
(d) Memories.

10. What is the theme of the poem at the introduction of chapter three?
(a) Alice's 61st birthday.
(b) Alice's intellectualism.
(c) Alice's views on taxation.
(d) Alice's 50th birthday.

11. What reasons does Calvin give for stating that "Alice doesn't look like who she is"?
(a) Alice is not pampered or snooty, despite the fact that she grows up in an affluent town and attends a prestigious college.
(b) Alice is seriously pampered and snooty in high school.
(c) Alice looks like a dietitian, but in actuality she is a talented writer.
(d) Alice is known as the class beauty and most popular cheerleader in high school.

12. Where does Calvin keep one of the photos of Alice from the article in chapter three?
(a) On his bedside table.
(b) On his living room wall.
(c) On his desk.
(d) On his mantle.

13. In the days when he is renovating his home, Trillin has this quote above his typewriter.
(a) "Money doesn't grow on trees."
(b) "Time is money."
(c) "Words Is Money."
(d) "Writing doesn't pay."

14. In chapter one, what object does Alice wave in the air following Calvin's speech?
(a) A pen.
(b) A book.
(c) A shoe.
(d) A cigarette.

15. At which institution does Alice teach English in her mid-twenties?
(a) Yale University.
(b) Hofstra Universtity.
(c) Wellesley College.
(d) New York University.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Alice attend college?

2. How does Calvin characterize his father-in-law?

3. At the end of chapter three, Calvin describes an event in Alice's life that takes her by surprise. What happens?

4. What is the headline in the magazine article in which Alice is featured as a model at the age of thirty-five?

5. According to Calvin, what photo of Alice appears on the cover of the program at her memorial service?

(see the answer keys)

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