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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Patrick’s “statement” to Mary is not detailed in the text, but is said to last now long at most?
(a) 4-5 minutes
(b) 2-3 minutes
(c) 3-4 minutes
(d) 1-2 minutes

2. Where does Mary exit the home after killing Patrick?
(a) Through the front window
(b) Through the back door
(c) Through the front door
(d) Through the cellar door

3. The narrator's description of Mary and her husband’s home leads the reader to assume they fit into what economic bracket?
(a) Upper class
(b) Middle class
(c) Lower class
(d) Ruling class

4. What word from the short story means to be reluctant or wait to act because of fear, indecision, or disinclination?
(a) Ponder
(b) Hesitate
(c) Abundant
(d) Decisive

5. What does the store clerk inquire if Mary wants to purchase?
(a) A newspaper
(b) Wine
(c) Milk
(d) Meat

6. When Mary leaves the store, she tells herself that she’s returning home to do what?
(a) Cook dinner for her husband
(b) Wash the dishes
(c) Call her sister on the phone
(d) Finish the laundry

7. Where is Patrick standing when Mary reenters the living room with the meat from the freezer?
(a) On the porch
(b) By the window
(c) In the kitchen
(d) On the stairs

8. “Lamb to the Slaughter” illustrates author Roald Dahl’s fascination with what literary genre?
(a) Historical fiction
(b) Romance
(c) Science fiction
(d) Horror

9. What word from the story refers to a state of being desperate or wild with excitement, passion or fear?
(a) Astonishment
(b) Frantic
(c) Grief
(d) Wonder

10. Who arrives after the police detectives to investigate Patrick’s death?
(a) A doctor
(b) A police photographer
(c) Sergeant Noonan
(d) O'Malley

11. Who is the protagonist of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) Sam
(b) Sergeant Noonan
(c) Mary
(d) Patrick

12. To whom does Mary call out when she returns from the store?
(a) Ben
(b) Patrick
(c) Sam
(d) Jack

13. How many table lamps are described in the room in the opening of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) 2
(b) 4
(c) 3
(d) 1

14. Mary is told by the policemen that her husband has been killed with what weapon?
(a) A small caliber firearm
(b) A heavy blunt instrument
(c) A large caliber firearm
(d) A sharp knife

15. As Patrick begins to talk to Mary, the lamplight leaves what aspects of his face in shadow?
(a) His nose and hair
(b) His chin and mouth
(c) His hair and ears
(d) His cheek and eyebrow

Short Answer Questions

1. Mary tells Patrick that he can eat his dinner where in the beginning of “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

2. What overturns when Patrick falls to his death in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

3. Where does Mary say there’s “plenty of meat and stuff” after Patrick’s arrival?

4. Before Mary commits the crime of murder, she exhibits the qualities of what archetype or stereotype in the story?

5. Mary tells the store clerk that Patrick has caught her without any what?

(see the answer keys)

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