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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Dollars and the Demimondaine", what is the relationship between Emanuele and Jolanda?

2. In "Dollars and the Demimondaine", who are La Bolognese and Mad Maria?

3. In "Theft in a Pastry Shop", what do the police do when they arrive at the scene of the crime?

4. "The Adventure of a Clerk," what does Enrico want to talk about but can't?

5. In "Sleeping Like Dogs", how does Belmoretto rent out the object he himself has rented?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Theft in a Pastry Shop", how do the thieves escape?

2. Write a synopsis of "The Adventure of a Soldier".

3. In "The Adventure of a Clerk", what is the clerk doing?

4. In "The Adventure of a Poet", what inspires Usnelli to write poetry?

5. In "The Adventure of a Reader", what does Amedeo like to do?

6. In "Dollars and the Demimondaine", how does Emanuele try to get Jolanda out of the bar?

7. In "Theft in a Pastry Shop", what makes the thieves more excited than money? Why?

8. In "Transit Bed", who sleeps in the bed and why?

9. In "The Adventure of a Nearsighted Man", what is the man's problem and how does he fix it?

10. How does "Transit Bed" end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how the stories in "Difficult Loves" are and are not dated.

Essay Topic 2

What literary technique did you feel the author used most effectively in this book?

Essay Topic 3

Italo Calvino is a critically acclaimed author.

Part 1) Describe Calvino's popularity and place in history as a writer.

Part 2) Explain why he was and still is pivotal to contemporary literature.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 729 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample