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

2. What causes Mary to finally be certain that the ghost was Bob Elwell?
(a) She sees a picture of Elwell.
(b) Her visitor sees the ghost and knows that it is Elwell.
(c) Her visitor recognizes him from her description.
(d) She reads a letter that Elwell wrote.

3. Which character opens the story on page 83 by saying "Oh, there is one, of course, but you'll never know it"?
(a) Ned Boyne.
(b) Mary Boyne.
(c) Alida Stair.
(d) Trimmle.

4. 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 was always there but takes time to emerge.
(b) Meaning that reveals a hidden aspect of the speaker.
(c) Meaning that seems positive at first but later reveals a negative side.
(d) Meaning that stays with a person and is hard to "shake."

5. When section "III" opens, Mary is spending the morning working outdoors. She goes into the area where the "espaliered" pear trees are (89). What kind of pear trees are these?
(a) They are draped with nets to keep the birds away from the fruit.
(b) They are miniature pear trees.
(c) They are trained to grow flat against the wall.
(d) They are grafted with many different kinds of pears on each tree.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. When does Mary first realize that Ned is missing?

4. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?

5. Why is the information about Bob Elwell's slow death so significant to Mary?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What draws the Boynes to England?

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

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

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 happens with the mysterious visitor on the day that Ned disappears?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,162 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample