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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. What does Martha have to arrange when John is going to be out of town for a few weeks?

2. One of Martha's classmates misinterprets her comment about _________, which shows her that she is not the only one who isn't smart enough.

3. What does John decide to avoid as he is worried about his wife?

4. What is the condition that is suggested by the test result that Martha gets after the holiday?

5. What was the symptom that allowed Martha to discover why she had so many difficult symptoms during her pregnancy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the stroke of luck that Martha experienced in relation to the daycare situation?

2. What did Martha and John feel about the prospect of going to Harvard to get their degrees?

3. What happened to Martha when she is going down the stairwell during the emergency?

4. How did Martha find out that she might not have been rescued as she thought she had?

5. What did the daycare that was closest to Harvard require in order to admit Katie to their program?

6. What did Martha begin to think of when she saw her baby for the first time on the ultrasound?

7. What were some of the symptoms that Martha would experience during her pregnancy because of an undiagnosed medical condition?

8. What were some of the struggles that Martha faced when she began the new semester?

9. What were some of the accomplishments that Martha Beck lists within the context of this book?

10. What was the vivid dream that Martha has, causing her to ask for more testing on her child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The book itself is a memoir, told from the perspective of Martha as she learns about giving birth to a child who has Down Syndrome.

Part 1: Why do you think bringing up a child with Down Syndrome is more difficult?

Part 2: How might you respond if you heard your child was to be born with Down Syndrome?

Part 3: Do you think a person should abort a child if they know they're going to have developmental disorders?

Essay Topic 2

Martha has an experience that leads her to write this book because of a meeting with a psychic.

Part 1: Do you think psychics have valuable information to offer to others?

Part 2: Why do you think that Martha decided to listen to the advice of the psychic?

Part 3: How do you think you might respond if you had heard that same advice from a psychic?

Essay Topic 3

Martha can not understand why Deirdre would want to stay with a man who was cruel to her.

Part 1: Why do you think Deirdre decided to stay with a person who was cruel to her?

Part 2: Would you want to stay with a person who was cruel to her?

Part 3: Make an argument for a person to stay with someone who is mean to them, whether it's physical or mental abuse.

(see the answer keys)

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