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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. What does Alma recall Paul, Sr. doing the time Pammy slapped her?
(a) He punished Pammy for two weeks.
(b) He yelled at Alma for bugging Pammy.
(c) He walked by and said nothing.
(d) He slapped her back.

2. What did Pammy and Paulie witness one fourth of July when they were young and playing with sparklers?
(a) Paul, Sr. hit Alma.
(b) Their parents having sex.
(c) Paul, Sr. having sex with another woman.
(d) A car accident.

3. What did Alma once do when Pammy and Paulie did not listen to her at the zoo?
(a) She had Paul, Sr. take them home.
(b) She left them there.
(c) She called the cops.
(d) She spanked them both.

4. What does Alma recall about Debi's parents?
(a) They both had limps.
(b) They were dancers.
(c) They were deaf.
(d) They were hippies.

5. When Pammy snaps Alma out of her daydream when they are walking, what reason does Alma give for stopping?
(a) She was daydreaming.
(b) Her knees hurt.
(c) She cannot remember where she is.
(d) She thought she forgot something at the restaurant.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Paulie miss the Mother's Day outing with Pammy and Alma?

2. Where does Alma say she wants to go when Pammy suggests they walk up Pickle Street?

3. How does Alma remember Debi when they were in high school?

4. What word did Paul, Sr. once use to describe "the efficacy of his tree stimulator" (3)?

5. What does Alma recall doing when she had once found Paul, Sr. passed out on their porch?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Pammy? Who is Alma? Why are they together at the start of "Mother's Day"?

2. What were Paul, Sr.'s vices?

3. What did Alma do for her husband to entice him to stay home when he began staying out all night when the children were young?

4. How does Alma feel about Pammy pointing out the purple flowers to her on their walk? What is Pammy wearing and how does Alma feel about her outfit?

5. Who is Paulie? Why is he not with Alma at the start of the story?

6. What does Paulie recall from the night he hit his father in the groin for scaring him and his sister? What does Alma recall?

7. Who is Debi Hather? Where does Alma first see her in the story? How does Alma remember her?

8. How does Alma feel about how her children turned out despite being such smart children?

9. Who is Paul, Sr.? What did he do for work? Was he successful? How do you know?

10. What does Alma remember about the time she visited the zoo with Pammy and Paulie as children?

(see the answer keys)

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