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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 name did Penelope die with, according to the narrator in "The Mistake Maker"?
(a) Penny Dunbar.
(b) The Birthday Girl.
(c) Penny Hanley.
(d) Penelope Lesciuszko.

2. What was Michael's mother's profession?
(a) She was a receptionist.
(b) She was a nurse.
(c) She was a baker.
(d) She was a schoolteacher.

3. What was the name of the red cattle dog Michael had as a teen?
(a) Homer.
(b) Zeus.
(c) Rosy.
(d) Moon.

4. What did Michael's mother demand of him in order to let him have the "Men Who Changed the World" calendar?
(a) To write an essay about each man from the calendar.
(b) To take out the trash for two weeks.
(c) To name 12 women who changed the world.
(d) To name 24 women who changed the world.

5. What three words did Clay say while looking back at his work before walking to the town in "The Boy With Bleeding Hands" (196)?
(a) "I made it."
(b) "I let go."
(c) "Wait for me."
(d) "Here goes nothing."

Short Answer Questions

1. At least how many children did Penelope tell Michael she wanted?

2. When did the East German government announce that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin?

3. What did Penelope ask Michael to read from to her after she broke her nose?

4. What is the title of Part 3 of the novel?

5. To what is the sun in Australia compared through metaphor in the beginning of "The Mistake Maker"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What inner conflicts does Clay face regarding returning home after he has spent time at his father's home?

2. Where did Michael and Abbey go after high school? Why?

3. What pets do the Dunbars have? What is the significance of their names?

4. How is Penelope's childhood described? Who raised her?

5. Where is the Murderer when Matthew finds him in the house in Part 1? What is he doing?

6. How did Penelope feel about emigrating from her childhood home? Why?

7. Why did Penelope like the house at 18 Archer Street?

8. Who are the Dunbar sons and what are their basic qualities?

9. How and why did Penelope's father arrange for her to flee as a refugee?

10. Where did Penelope go after fleeing the Eastern Bloc as a refugee?

(see the answer keys)

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