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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Obi respond to the assertions of Mr. Green and Miss Tomlinson about leave entitlements available to Africans?
(a) Obi says Nigerians will show the Europeans what they are capable of.
(b) Obi says it is their country so they should have the same privileges as the British.
(c) Obi says they know nothing about Nigerians.
(d) Obi says that the Europeans set the rules when no Nigerians were in the senior service.

2. What does the parcel that arrives from the general hospital while Obi is at work contain?
(a) Clara sends him a £100 note and asks him never to pay her back.
(b) Clara sends him £50 and Obi does not know how to return the money without offending her.
(c) Clara sends him the ring asking him to return it until they can afford it.
(d) Clara sends him a monetary gift from her father.

3. How does Obi finally get caught for his involvement in bribery?
(a) An undercover policeman pays him a bribe with marked bills.
(b) Mr. Green has a spy follow Obi home and sees him accepting money.
(c) Mr. Omo sees Obi accepting money from a scholarship applicant at the club.
(d) A visitor returns with a stranger who finds Obi with marked bills after paying Obi money.

4. What does Obi turn to for solace when at home in his distress after refusing dinner?
(a) A.E. Houseman's poems about Nigeria.
(b) A.E. Houseman's "Collected Poems."
(c) Shakespeare's Sonnets.
(d) T. S. Eliot's poetry collection.

5. What causes Obi's failure to repay Clara's money?
(a) Mr. Green demands that he repay the salary advance immediately.
(b) He gets news of his father's death.
(c) He gets news of his mother's death.
(d) He gets news of taxes he owes.

6. How does the relationship between Obi and Marie Tomlinson develop after she witnesses Obi's distress about his finances?
(a) They have become intimate and share many activities.
(b) They have not recovered from the heated argument about Obi's unpaid debt.
(c) They have become distant and speak only about work.
(d) Obi and Marie Tomlinson are on a first-name basis and speak frankly about many things, including Mr. Green.

7. On what assumption does Mr. Green find it necessary to warn Obi about paying his car insurance?
(a) He believes Obi is irresponsible.
(b) He believes Obi will do a back door deal if Mr. Green does not watch carefully.
(c) He knows Obi is careless with details.
(d) The educated rarely think about tomorrow.

8. What is Obi's financial situation like as he is on his way home?
(a) He has no money and will not be able to pay John's school fees.
(b) He has less than he needs and owes money on John's school fees.
(c) He has only John's schoool fees and some small change.
(d) He has enough money because of his leave pay.

9. How does the argument between Obi and Clara end on the night before he goes home?
(a) They part without any resolution.
(b) They kiss passionately and make up.
(c) They terminate the relationship.
(d) They end up in a physical fight.

10. What does the process lead Obi to decide when he examines the "mainspring of his actions" for the first time in his life?
(a) He decides to confess his troubles to his father and ask for help.
(b) He decides to confess his troubles to Clara's father and ask for help.
(c) He resolves to stop making payments to the UPU until it is convenient.
(d) He decides to confess his troubles to Mr. Green and ask for help.

11. What is the first report of Obi's involvement in bribery?
(a) A prosperous Lagos businessman hands him money to get his son to England on scholarship one evening during scholarship season.
(b) Obi sleeps with a scholarship applicant and then recommends her for the scholarship.
(c) He finally accepts money to make his payments to the UPU.
(d) Obi accepts a bribe from a colleague whose daughter needs a scholarship.

12. What does Obi do in an effort to find solace for his distress about Clara's situation?
(a) He storms into the hospital at midnight demanding to see Clara.
(b) He cannot eat, sleep or read poems that normally console him.
(c) The author writes that Obi does not eat; he pulls down Houseman's volume but then reads no poems.
(d) He is so agitated that he almost crashes his car.

13. What brings a bad end to the occasion at the end of the evening after the two couples have enjoyed themselves?
(a) Christopher's car is missing from the parking lot.
(b) The couples are held up on their way to the car.
(c) Obi's car is missing from the parking lot.
(d) Clara's money is missing from Obi's car.

14. How do the circumstances surrounding Clara's hospitalization contribute to Obi's eventual downfall?
(a) They lead to his mother's death and Obi's decision to return to England.
(b) They cause him to leave Clara and become more careless about money, finally accepting a bribe.
(c) They lead to their break-up and the worsening of his financial situation.
(d) They lead to Clara's death, more expenses, and his loss of hope.

15. How does Obi feel after he resists the temptation to accept Mr. Mark's bribe?
(a) He feels wonderful because Marie says he did so well in the interview.
(b) He feels wonderful because Clara sends a note agreeing to marry him.
(c) He feels wonderful because he will get a good review.
(d) He feels wonderful because he resisted his first temptation to accept a bribe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the contents of the letter from Obi that Clara later returns?

2. What worries does Obi have about the expectations of the people at home as he makes his journey home?

3. After Clara and Obi discuss the situation concerning the response of his parents to their engagement, what comments of Clara foreshadow further trouble?

4. What happens that makes Obi smile while reading that evening?

5. According to Mr. Green, what characteristic of Nigerians would prevent the country from being able to manage independence?

(see the answer keys)

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