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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What pleased the artist the most about Jaromil's drawings?
(a) Jaromil's own modesty when presenting them.
(b) The amount of time and care that went into them.
(c) The original inner world that they revealed.
(d) The high degree of talent which they exhibited.

2. Why does the blond girl wear a beautiful white dress to the dance hall?
(a) It is her wedding dress.
(b) She wants to attract attention from the boys around her.
(c) She wants to personify the snow.
(d) She wants Xavier to notice her.

3. How does Maman shame Jaromil in front of her guests?
(a) Combs his hair.
(b) Asks if he's dating a common girl.
(c) Berates him for an untidy bedroom.
(d) Brushes the lint off his trousers.

4. What is the first time Jaromil's words save him from punishment?
(a) When he yelled in a trochee speech pattern.
(b) When his insult was a rhyme.
(c) When he used adult vocabulary at a young age.
(d) When he began reciting the encyclopedia.

5. Why is Jaromil filled with pride after sleeping with the redhead girl?
(a) She is strikingly beautiful.
(b) She does not ask questions about his inexperience.
(c) She relieved him of his virginity.
(d) She thinks he is experienced.

6. Why does Jaromil imitate his peers' actions and speech as if he's in a mirror?
(a) He has very low self-esteem.
(b) He is a year older than they are.
(c) He does not know how to be his own person.
(d) He is a year younger than they are.

7. Where does Jaromil show off opinions about education which he heard from his grandfather?
(a) At the dentist's office.
(b) During school.
(c) At a friend's house.
(d) At the doctor's office.

8. Why does Jaromil write so many poems about women's bodies?
(a) He is obsessed with how women's bodies look.
(b) He wants to establish himself as a romantic poet.
(c) The body is beyond the reach of his understanding.
(d) He wants to immortalize the body of his first lover.

9. What puzzles Jaromil about the artist's poetry critiques?
(a) The artist uses words Jaromil doesn't understand.
(b) The artist's critiques are inconsistent.
(c) The artist prefers odd poetic forms.
(d) The artist's critique often use French poetic values.

10. What does Maman do with the books that the artist loans her?
(a) Does not read them.
(b) Reads them secretly for fear that Jaromil will recognize them.
(c) Reads them openly as a sign of her new love.
(d) Asks Jaromil to read them so she doesn't have to.

11. After the debate in the artist's apartment, how does Jaromil know he is no longer welcome there?
(a) The artist locks the door behind him when he leaves.
(b) The artist gives him a stern look rather than a verbal response.
(c) The artist's guests ignore Jaromil and resume their conversation.
(d) The artist asks him not to come back.

12. What is Maman's attitude about her affair?
(a) She loves the artist and sees the affair as something beautiful.
(b) She is hoping to leave her husband for the artist.
(c) She does not love the artist but sees the affair as something beautiful.
(d) She does not love the artist but is afraid that if she leaves him, he will refuse to teach Jaromil.

13. Why does Jaromil begin taking lesson from the art teacher?
(a) He thought the art teacher would make a good father.
(b) His art was consistently mediocre.
(c) Maman took an interest in the art teacher.
(d) He was tired of drawing people with dogs' heads.

14. What justification does Maman give herself for her initial infidelity?
(a) Sadness.
(b) Lust.
(c) Innocence.
(d) Anger.

15. What is the highest point of happiness which Jaromil reaches so far in his life?
(a) The reconciliation with his mother after their fight.
(b) His father's memorial service as a war hero.
(c) Sleeping with the girl he met at dancing class.
(d) A girl resting her head on his shoulder.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the artist paint two X's on Maman's face?

2. Why does Xavier constantly arrive late, no matter where he's going?

3. Which famous composer's music is played at the blond girl's funeral?

4. In the philosophy auditorium, what is the subject of the first poem recited?

5. How does Jaromil treat his dates with girls?

(see the answer keys)

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