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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 Ned begins to read the newspaper in the library in section "II," he tries to sound casual as he asks Mary a question. What is the question?
(a) He asks if she knows how long "afterward" it is when people realize they have seen the ghost.
(b) He asks if Mary remembers seeing the ghost in October.
(c) He asks if she ever wonders exactly how he made the money they used to buy the house.
(d) He asks if the mysterious stranger has come back to the house at any point.

2. What does Ned say, on page 83, must be true for him to believe a house is old?
(a) It must be "bought out of an exhibition."
(b) It must be "a registered home."
(c) It must be "practical."
(d) It must be "thoroughly uncomfortable."

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

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

5. According to Alida, what is unusual about the ghost at Ned and Mary's new house?
(a) It can assume a physical form.
(b) It can come and go--it is not "bound" to the house itself.
(c) It can take different forms depending on who is living in the house.
(d) No one knows they have seen it until quite a while after they actually see it.

Short Answer Questions

1. On that evening in the library in section "II," what does Mary see has happened when she looks up from preparing the tea?

2. On page 84, the narrator links isolated environments to "acuities of emotion." What are "acuities of emotion"?

3. In the opening of the story, what is Mary waiting for?

4. What aspect of the house does Alida mention that finally convinces Ned and Mary that it is as old as they are hoping?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What strange conclusion does Mary come to about the relationship of the ghost to the house, Lyng?

2. What does Ned tell Mary about the Blue Star lawsuit?

3. What happens with the mysterious visitor on the day that Ned disappears?

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

5. On the day of his disappearance, what is so frustrating for Mary about her conversation with her staff about where Ned is?

6. What draws the Boynes to England?

7. What do Mary and Ned plan to do with their time at Lyng?

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

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

10. After she finds out that he has gone out with the mysterious man and not yet returned, why is Mary immediately alarmed?

(see the answer keys)

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