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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. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?
(a) Trimmle.
(b) Lyng.
(c) Parvis.
(d) Ned's papers.

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

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

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

5. What does Mary learn from the contents of the envelope?
(a) Bob Elwell is dead.
(b) Her husband is being sued.
(c) Her husband is a criminal.
(d) All of their money is gone.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mary searches Ned's desk, to whom does she find he has been writing?

2. When Mary is waiting in the library at the beginning of the story, where is Ned?

3. What is the name of Mary and Ned's house?

4. Why does the narrator say that Ned and Mary are "two romantic Americans" (83)?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. In the beginning of section "IV," how much time has elapsed since Ned's disappearance, and what has been happening in that time?

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

(see the answer keys)

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