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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 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)?
(a) Mary recognizes that Alida is probably jealous of their good fortune and is trying to hide it.
(b) Mary has only just realized that Alida is using this discussion as an opportunity to make fun of Mary and Ned.
(c) Mary suspects that Alida feels embarrassed because she is lying about the ghost.
(d) Alida is laughing along, but Mary suspects that for some reason Alida does not find the subject as funny as everyone else does.

2. Why does Mary believe that people should not talk about seeing ghosts?
(a) It is dangerous.
(b) It is bad manners.
(c) It frightens the ghosts away.
(d) It makes people wonder about your sanity.

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

4. What does Mary find in the envelope addressed to her?
(a) A newspaper clipping.
(b) A photograph.
(c) A letter from Parvis.
(d) An anonymous note.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the only descriptive detail that the maid is able to give Mary about the stranger's appearance?

2. 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?

3. On page 84, the reader learns about the "prodigious windfall" that Ned and Mary experienced. Where did this "prodigious windfall" come from?

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

5. What does Mary suddenly remember finding one day in October?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. What news does Mary learn from a newspaper clipping that someone sends her in the mail, and why is she so upset by it?

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

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

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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