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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. How does Neil feel being there as Julie's babysitter?
(a) He is bored and wants to go home.
(b) He is glad to do it because he will see Branda when she returns.
(c) He thinks he can get Julie to tell him family secrets.
(d) He feels like a poor relative.

2. How has Mrs. Patimkin reinvented herself?
(a) She has never forgotten her humble beginnings and remains simple and kind.
(b) Her identity is derived directly from her husband's wealth and upwards mobility and from being Brenda's mother.
(c) Her identity is based on her children's education.
(d) She has gone from former debutante to simple housewife.

3. How does Neil evaluate Mr. Patimkin's intelligence?
(a) He is a near genius.
(b) He is just average.
(c) He is not too smart.
(d) He is just a shade above stupid.

4. How does Mrs. Patimkin treat Neil?
(a) She asks questions to embarrass him.
(b) She keeps the conversation on topics Neil knows nothing about.
(c) She is merely polite.
(d) She refuses to recognize his presence.

5. Besides attending Rutgers, what had Neil been doing in recent years?
(a) He had studied in France.
(b) He was in the Peace Corps.
(c) He had been drifting around the country.
(d) He was in the army.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does Neil call Brenda for the second time?

2. How does Neil avoid the issue of the boy wanting to check the Gauguin book out of the library?

3. What request does Brenda make to her father?

4. What does Neil do from his desk on the main floor?

5. What happens in the TV room later that night after Brenda returns?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the basement reveal about he Patimkin family?

2. Describe Brenda's neighborhood in Short Hills.

3. What is learned about Mrs. Patimkin from the conversation Neil and Brenda have outside under a tree?

4. How does Neil see Mr. Patimkin when he meets him at dinner?

5. Describe the relationship between Neil and Brenda during the summer.

6. What does Neil tell Brenda about his family?

7. How does Neil feel sitting at the table with the Patimkin family?

8. Early in the story what gives Neil away as a consummate romantic?

9. What does Brenda do that suggests she is very infatuated with Neil?

10. Explain the social and economic difference between Brenda and Neil.

(see the answer keys)

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