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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. Which character does middle sister consider to be an "armchair supporter" (112) of renouncers, rather than an actual renouncer?
(a) Da.
(b) First brother-in-law.
(c) Somebody McSomebody.
(d) The milkman.

2. What kinds of abandoned buildings occupy the location called "the ten-minute area" (81)?
(a) Banks.
(b) Libraries.
(c) Churches.
(d) Homes.

3. Middle sister notes that French teacher has "an unnerving amount of" (69) what?
(a) Curiosity.
(b) Brilliance.
(c) Humor.
(d) Nerve.

4. When middle sister believes that the milkman has shown up outside of her college, she feels a "strange bodily sensation" (78) in which part of her body?
(a) Her coccyx.
(b) Her calves.
(c) Her toes.
(d) Her scalp.

5. What color van does the milkman drive when he is not driving one of his sports cars?
(a) Gray.
(b) White.
(c) Black.
(d) Blue.

Short Answer Questions

1. What name is used throughout the novel to refer to maybe-boyfriend's best friend?

2. Middle sister describes a night when all "but two" (94) of which animals in her neighborhood had been slaughtered by soldiers?

3. What is the subject of the literary passage French teacher reads to the class in French?

4. From what country is the flag adorning the car part awarded to maybe-boyfriend?

5. What is the only event that ever causes maybe-boyfriend to become angry and combative?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are the students in middle sister's French class so loathe to hear the sky described as any other color besides blue?

2. What is the ten-minute-area?

3. Which answers are said to be "acceptable" (72) when one is asked the color of the sky in middle sister's society?

4. Which character does middle sister suspect of having started a rumor about herself and an older man?

5. How do the students in middle sister's class react to French teacher's comments about the sky and which elements of their society have caused them to instinctively feel this way?

6. For what reason does middle sister discuss the activities that go on in the park where she likes to go for runs?

7. With which aspect of middle sister's habit of walking while reading does third brother-in-law take issue and why?

8. What is the symbolism of the British tabloids and newspapers?

9. What does maybe-boyfriend suspect about middle sister's reasons for never meeting him in her own neighborhood?

10. What evidence does middle sister provide for her claim that third brother-in-law should have been designated as a "beyond-the-pale" (41) by now, but that he has not?

(see the answer keys)

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