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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. What detail does the narrator relate as evidence of how much Ned and Mary have yearned for a life like the one they have in England?
(a) They made an agreement with one another that they would do "anything" it took to make their dream come true.
(b) They were discussing a move to England even before they got married.
(c) They had already pre-planned every detail of how they would spend their days.
(d) They had a map of England pinned over their kitchen table at their old house in America.

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

3. For the past week, what has Mary been assuming is the cause for Ned's need to be alone and his odd mood?
(a) She thinks that he misses having a regular job to go to.
(b) She thinks that his book is not going very well.
(c) She thinks that he regrets moving to England.
(d) She thinks that he has seen the ghost.

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

5. In section "II," what question does Mary repeatedly ask Ned that evening in the library?
(a) She asks him what secret he is keeping from her.
(b) She asks whether he is having an affair.
(c) She asks whether he has given up trying to see the ghost.
(d) She asks whether it was a good idea to move into this particular house.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. When Mary and Ned see the man coming toward the hosue in October, what does Mary assume?

5. Mary thinks about the "latent" significance of a piece of information on page 83. What kind of meaning does this information have?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What draws the Boynes to England?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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