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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who lives in the home the narrator describes at the start of her story?
(a) A father and his son.
(b) A man, and a woman and their son.
(c) An old woman and her adult son.
(d) A single mother and her child.

2. What type of people are said to live in the city in the tale the narrator tells herself?
(a) People of another color.
(b) Religious people.
(c) People of a higher caste.
(d) Artistic people.

3. What did thieves do to "somebody's trusted housemaid" (26) after the city riots were suppressed?
(a) Made her tell them where all the family jewelry was.
(b) Tied her up and shut her in a cupboard.
(c) Stabbed her.
(d) Kidnapped her.

4. After the incident with a neighbor's housemaid, what did the man and woman's housemaid beg them to do?
(a) Give her a raise.
(b) Move to the country.
(c) Install burglar bars and an alarm system.
(d) Get a gun.

5. Who is said to have offered a warning to the man and woman when they started their life together?
(a) The town councilor.
(b) The man's mother.
(c) The woman's father.
(d) The neighbors.

6. What does the narrator realize is the reason for the creaking sound in her house?
(a) An intruder.
(b) Her child.
(c) Her cat.
(d) Her housing shifting.

7. What adjective is used to describe the gardener in the narrator's tale?
(a) Elegant.
(b) Patient.
(c) Attentive.
(d) Itinerant.

8. What does the narrator do when she is unable to go back to sleep?
(a) She tells herself a story.
(b) She eats a sandwich.
(c) She reads a book.
(d) She writes a letter.

9. Where were the riots said to be in the tale the narrator tells herself?
(a) In a far away land.
(b) In her mind.
(c) In the city.
(d) In another country.

10. Who is the author of "Once Upon a Time"?
(a) Nadine Gordimer.
(b) Grace Newsom.
(c) Nadia Golen.
(d) Nancy Greer.

11. What woke the narrator in the night at the start of the story?
(a) The phone ringing.
(b) A rainstorm.
(c) A creaking sound in her house.
(d) Her husband.

12. What is the man's mother called in the narrator's tale?
(a) The fairy godmother.
(b) The wicked witch.
(c) The wise old witch.
(d) The good witch.

13. Who had recommended the gardener to the man and his wife?
(a) The child's teacher.
(b) The woman's sister.
(c) Neighbors.
(d) The man's mother.

14. What does the wife worry the people from the city might come to their home and do some day?
(a) Tear off the plaque and stream in.
(b) Throw bombs and destroy all they have.
(c) Kidnap their maid and gardener.
(d) Go for a swim in their beautiful pool.

15. What pets does the family in the narrator's story have at home?
(a) A cat and a dog.
(b) Goldfish and a parakeet.
(c) A bird and a hamster.
(d) A monkey and a lemur.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the man and woman warned against doing as they start their lives together?

2. What does the husband do to assuage his wife's fears that people from the city might intrude on their home in the suburbs?

3. According to the narrator's tale, under what conditions were people who lived in the city allowed in the suburbs?

4. What does the narrator describe as "finely tuned" in the night?

5. According to the narrator's tale, who were being shot by the police in the city?

(see the answer keys)

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