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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Mary tells Ned what she has learned from her mail, how does Ned react?
(a) He looks guilty and immediately leaves the room.
(b) He gets angry at her and asks whether she trusts him.
(c) He relaxes and tells her it is nothing to worry about.
(d) He snatches the mail from her and throws it into the fire.

2. What does Mary learn about the Blue Star Mine deal from her visitor in section "V"?
(a) Ned cheated Bob Elwell in order to make more money from it.
(b) It was not nearly as lucrative a deal as Ned pretended.
(c) Ned committed a crime in order to make the deal.
(d) Ned's actions caused the mine to go bankrupt.

3. When Mary, startled by the envelope's contents, cries out and rises to her feet, how does Ned react?
(a) He looks cornered and guilty.
(b) He quietly tells her to sit back down.
(c) He rushes to her side to comfort her.
(d) He laughs loudly and tells her to stop being dramatic.

4. For how many years did Ned and Mary live in the American Midwest while Ned worked as an engineer?
(a) 24.
(b) 4.
(c) 14.
(d) 34.

5. What does Mary conclude she needs to do in order to see the ghost?
(a) Get to know the house better.
(b) Find out whose ghost it is supposed to be.
(c) Stop actively looking for it.
(d) Make a habit of speaking out loud to the ghost.

Short Answer Questions

1. For the past week, what has Mary been assuming is the cause for Ned's need to be alone and his odd mood?

2. When Mary finally catches up with Ned on that October day, what is he doing?

3. When the story refers to "Boyne," who or what is being referred to?

4. When Mary discards her first two ideas about what is bothering Ned, she comes to a conclusion that upsets her. What is it?

5. What did Mary and Ned discover about their roof?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Parvis come to see Mary near the end of the story?

2. What do the Boynes tell Alida Stair about why Lyng's drawbacks are not problems from their point of view?

3. What is Mary doing on the morning that Ned disappears?

4. How has Ned's mood changed on the morning after he and Mary first discussed the Blue Star lawsuit, and what does Mary believe changed his mood?

5. How does the narrator describe the life that the Boynes had in America?

6. What does Mary remember happening earlier in the day in October when she and Ned first climbed Meldon Steep?

7. In the narrative present at the beginning of the story, where is Mary and what is she doing?

8. What is the name of Ned's book, and what is the thematic significance of this title?

9. Describe the emotional condition that Mary is in in section "IV" of the story.

10. What horrifying chain of events does Mary understand once she sees Bob Elwell's picture?

(see the answer keys)

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