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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 item does Florence wear when she practices her scales that causes Edward to dream of a future daughter they might have together?
(a) Hair curlers.
(b) Spectacles.
(c) A headband.
(d) A baseball cap.

2. What had NOT been on the list of Edward and Florence's fears in regard to their parents' behavior at the wedding?
(a) They had feared that Edward's father would not attend the ceremony.
(b) They had feared that Edward's mother would forget the purpose of the event entirely.
(c) They had feared that Edward's mother would significantly misbehave.
(d) They had feared that Edward's parents would condescend to Florence's parents.

3. What is Florence's sole source of information about sex?
(a) A single day's lesson in health class.
(b) Her mother's three-minute talk.
(c) A paperback guide for new brides.
(d) Nature television programs.

4. The narrator names Edward's "one serious unphysical pastime" as what?
(a) Playing the violin.
(b) Listening to music.
(c) Reading.
(d) Playing poker.

5. How does Florence feel about the prospect of having children?
(a) She does not think she would make a good mother.
(b) She is worried that she will engage in the same types of abuse to which she had been subjected.
(c) She thinks that she would love being pregnant by Edward.
(d) She fears the prospect of childbirth.

Short Answer Questions

1. With what subject does Edward become obsessed during the summer he meets Florence?

2. What is NOT named as an example of Florence's clumsy nature?

3. To what city does Edward ultimately take the train on the day he meets Florence?

4. What item does Edward always keep in his jacket pocket?

5. What word brings to Florence's mind "nothing but pain, flesh parted before a knife" (8)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Florence's feelings about the word "penetration"? (8)

2. How does Florence describe her mother Violet's use of physical affection?

3. What legend exists about the shingle on Chesil Beach and how does it inform the couple's plans?

4. What is the symbolism of Edward's B- grade on his dissertation?

5. What beliefs does Edward draw from listening to blues music at the Hundred Club?

6. What does the television set symbolize within the narrative?

7. How is foreshadowing present within the narrator's description of Florence's attitude toward arguments?

8. What is the sole location that Florence and Edward determine is the only instance when they were in the same place at the same time before meeting?

9. How is the theme of misunderstanding portrayed within the narrator's explanation of Edward's mistaking Florence's shyness "for a form of coyness" (25)?

10. How does the author use historical context in order to shed light on Florence and Edward's behavior during their wedding night dinner?

(see the answer keys)

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