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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Ned's joking theory about why the ghost is so hard to see?
(a) It will not see you without an appointment.
(b) It has too much competition from other "ghostly" things.
(c) It is shy.
(d) The house is deliberately keeping them from seeing its ghost.

2. Why does Mary have a hard time seeing the details of the man's appearance on that day in October?
(a) Her eyesight is not very good.
(b) The sun is behind the man.
(c) Ned quickly moves to block her view.
(d) The man is deliberately keeping himself in the shadows.

3. Why does Mary ask the mysterious young man whether he has an appointment with Ned?
(a) She is actually not sure that she knows where Ned is at the moment.
(b) She instinctively mistrusts the young man.
(c) She is trying to protect Ned's writing time.
(d) Ned has specifically asked her to turn away visitors.

4. When the story opens, in which room of her house is Mary waiting?
(a) The dining room.
(b) Her bedroom.
(c) The front parlor.
(d) The library.

5. What did Mary and Ned discover about their roof?
(a) It has a hidden walkway.
(b) It has one more chimney than they have fireplaces inside.
(c) There is a recently replaced section.
(d) It appears to be a different color over the library.

6. What detail does the narrator relate as evidence of how much Ned and Mary have yearned for a life like the one they have in England?
(a) They had already pre-planned every detail of how they would spend their days.
(b) They had a map of England pinned over their kitchen table at their old house in America.
(c) They made an agreement with one another that they would do "anything" it took to make their dream come true.
(d) They were discussing a move to England even before they got married.

7. What have Mary's new neighbors told her about the ghost?
(a) That it is often absent for long stretches of time.
(b) Nothing.
(c) That it can only be seen at night.
(d) That she will not know when she sees it.

8. Who is the author of "Afterward"?
(a) Shirley Jackson.
(b) Henry James.
(c) O. Henry.
(d) Edith Wharton.

9. Mary thinks about the "latent" significance of a piece of information on page 83. What kind of meaning does this information have?
(a) Meaning that seems positive at first but later reveals a negative side.
(b) Meaning that was always there but takes time to emerge.
(c) Meaning that stays with a person and is hard to "shake."
(d) Meaning that reveals a hidden aspect of the speaker.

10. Why does the narrator say that Ned and Mary are "two romantic Americans" (83)?
(a) Because neither one has any common sense.
(b) Because they are not being practical about their search for a house.
(c) Because they tell Alida a far-fetched story about their previous home.
(d) Because they are clearly deeply in love.

11. Where is Mary and Ned's house located?
(a) Dorsetshire.
(b) Shropshire.
(c) Devon.
(d) Kent.

12. What does Mary suddenly remember finding one day in October?
(a) A mysterious portrait.
(b) A letter addressed to a previous occupant of the house.
(c) A book on the house's history.
(d) A hidden staircase.

13. What does Ned's motive seem to be when he first brings up the subject of whether the house has a ghost?
(a) He thinks that living in a "haunted" house will add to his reputation as a writer.
(b) He is looking for an excuse to back out of buying the house.
(c) He is trying to frighten Mary.
(d) He is joking about how old the house is.

14. In section "III," when Mary looks at the house from across the property, what does she feel about the house?
(a) That it seems to be laughing at her, somehow, almost mockingly.
(b) That it seems to be trying to communicate something urgent to her.
(c) That is is like an evil creature squatting in the landcape.
(d) That it is like a kindly older person that keeps secrets for the good of others.

15. From what period is Ned and Mary's new home?
(a) Regency.
(b) Georgian.
(c) Edwardian.
(d) Tudor.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mary, startled by the envelope's contents, cries out and rises to her feet, how does Ned react?

2. To what do Mary and Ned attribute the great beauty they see in England?

3. When they are all laughing about the idea of a ghost, what does it mean that Mary "noted a certain flatness of tone in Alida's answering hilarity" (83)?

4. Why are Ned and Mary so interested in living in an isolated location?

5. What does Ned say, on page 83, must be true for him to believe a house is old?

(see the answer keys)

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