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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 does the author say was his one complaint about his mother?
(a) That she hid how bad things were during his childhood.
(b) That she let his father go.
(c) That she had low self-esteem.
(d) That she never remarried.

2. Who told the author he should "dress the way you want to be"?
(a) Curtis.
(b) His mother.
(c) His teacher.
(d) His father.

3. What did the author's mother buy for him that he rejected, saying they were the "wrong kind"?
(a) Shoes.
(b) Art supplies.
(c) Pretzels.
(d) Pants.

4. What score did the author receive on a math quiz that humiliated him?
(a) 9 out of 30.
(b) 0 out of 30.
(c) 15 out of 30.
(d) 28 out of 30.

5. Why does the author say he felt the stigma of being poor more acutely?
(a) Because he did not have a father.
(b) Because his house was in need of repair.
(c) Because his clothes were dirty.
(d) Because most of the kids at school were rich.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does the author say he worked at Wayne State University in one of the biology laboratories?

2. How did Alma Whittley help the author?

3. Why was the author surprised when he read the exam problems in the booklet, in "College Choices"?

4. What did the Yale admissions office pay for the author and Candy to do before Thanksgiving 1972?

5. Who is Curtis?

Short Essay Questions

1. What lessons does the author learn from working at Ford Motor Company?

2. What factors led to the author being a poor student at Higgins Elementary School?

3. How does the author describe his mother in "Carrying the Load"?

4. What happened in "A Terrible Temper," when the author's mother brought him a new pair of pants?

5. What was the author's father like intellectually?

6. How does the author make his college choice in "College Choices"?

7. Why didn't the author get the job he was promised in the summer of 1971?

8. How does the author explain, in "College Choices" the miracle he experiences on a class exam?

9. How did the author's mother respond to his announcement that he wanted to become a doctor?

10. Describe the plan the author's mother devised to help him improve his grades.

(see the answer keys)

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