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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which character is described by the narrator as trying "to hard to be clever, too hard to be quick, too hard at everything except at being himself" (pp. 28-29)?
(a) Mr. Milne
(b) Mr. Bernstein..
(c) Dr. Donovan.
(d) Mr. Shilling.

2. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. Lisa tries to talk to her parents about something important. Lisa's mother, Mrs. Shilling, responds by doing what?
(a) Asking Lisa's sister and friend if they would like more food.
(b) Telling Lisa she can't get married.
(c) Listening to Lisa's concerns.
(d) Telling Lisa to go talk to her father.

3. Lisa Shilling sometimes speaks with what kind of an affected accent?
(a) French.
(b) Australian.
(c) English.
(d) Spanish.

4. The narrator describes which major character as fulfilling the role of school princess (that is, regal, cool, far off, blonde, and slim)?
(a) Mary Nell Fickett.
(b) Betsy Goodman.
(c) Elizabeth Frazer.
(d) Lisa Shilling.

5. What sport does Brian Morris play?
(a) Hockey.
(b) Football.
(c) Rugby.
(d) Lacrosse.

6. When the narrator describes her mother as a "joiner" (p. 31) what does she mean?
(a) She's using a slang word of the 1960s meaning her mother is not very cool.
(b) Her mother constructs articles by joining pieces of wood.
(c) Her mother likes to join various organizations.
(d) Her mother belongs to a social club known as the Joiners.

7. The novel is set in what U.S. State?
(a) New York.
(b) Georgia.
(c) Connecticut.
(d) New Jersey.

8. When Betsy Goodman and Mary Nell Fickett finally tell Lisa Shilling that the know she is mentally ill, Lisa Shilling responds by...
(a) Telling them they are out of line.
(b) Attacking them with a knife.
(c) Asking how they think they can help.
(d) Denying anything is wrong.

9. Which character is the youngest major character of the novel?
(a) Mary Nell Fickett.
(b) Betsy Goodman.
(c) Lisa Shilling.
(d) Elizabeth Frazer.

10. Where do Betsy Goodman, Mary Nell Fickett, and Lisa Shilling first meet for an impromptu group therapy session?
(a) At the Ficketts' house.
(b) At a popular diner.
(c) At the Long Island public library.
(d) At the Shillings' house.

11. When Lisa Shilling first tells her father that she thinks she might be going crazy, he tells her...
(a) That Shillings don't go crazy.
(b) That she's seen too many movies.
(c) That she should visit with a psychiatrist.
(d) That she should drink more coffee.

12. Lisa Shilling's only sibling is..
(a) Elizabeth, an older sister.
(b) Tracy, a younger sister.
(c) Ben, a younger brother.
(d) Brian, an older brother.

13. When Betsy Goodman finds Mary Nell Fickett and Lisa Shilling in Mr. Milne's classroom, Lisa Shilling is hiding underneath Mr. Milne's desk and doing what?
(a) Repeatedly sticking a pin into her wrist.
(b) Sobbing about her break up with Brian Morris.
(c) Reading a book about psychiatry.
(d) Copying the answer key to the next day's examination.

14. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. After that conversation what does Lisa do?
(a) Goes shopping with her friends.
(b) Goes to school and flunks her English test.
(c) Lays on her bead and smashes her head against the headboard.
(d) Moves out of the house to live with her boyfriend.

15. Before moving to Long Island, Mary Nell Fickett lived in what U.S. State?
(a) California.
(b) Nevada.
(c) Montana.
(d) Utah.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the narrator, Jeremy Bernstein's primary job function is...

2. In the novel's title "Lisa, Bright and Dark", to what does the term "Dark" refer?

3. How does Lisa Shilling react when Brian Morris breaks up with her?

4. Elizabeth Frazer agrees to try to help Lisa Shilling...

5. Which character is described by the narrator as looking "like Shelley Winters playing a roadhouse pick-up...stretch-pants two sizes too small, preshrunk sweaters with classic midriff bulge, a fur coat slung over her shoulders, and a scarf hiding the curlers in her hair" (p. 29)?

(see the answer keys)

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