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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How are the people in the narrator's story said to be living at the start of her tale?
(a) In eternal despair.
(b) Carefree and fancy free.
(c) Like peas in a pod.
(d) Happily ever after.

2. According to the narrator's tale, who were being shot by the police in the city?
(a) Burglars.
(b) Other police officers.
(c) Rioters.
(d) Schoolchildren.

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

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

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

6. 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.

7. What does the husband do to assuage his wife's fears that people from the city might intrude on their home in the suburbs?
(a) He buys her a gun.
(b) He buys them a house in the country.
(c) He has electronically-controlled gates installed.
(d) He adds padlocks to their doors.

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

9. What instrument does the narrator cite when describing how "the misbeats of [her] heart tailed off" (24)?
(a) Saxophone.
(b) Trumpet.
(c) Flute.
(d) Xylophone.

10. How was the plaque meant to indicate that the property owner was not racist?
(a) It said "All Are Welcome."
(b) The man was masked so you could not tell if he was Black or white.
(c) It contained a peace sign.
(d) It depicted a Black hand holding a white hand.

11. What did the old widower who was murdered have to protect him?
(a) An electronic alarm system.
(b) Guns.
(c) Fierce dogs.
(d) Security guards.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What precautions does the narrator say she does not take in her home, despite having the same fears of those that do?

2. What reason does the narrator give for the casual laborer murdering an old widower?

3. What does the man tell his wife to ease her fears the people from the city will come to their house in the suburbs?

4. What woke the narrator in the night at the start of the story?

5. What did thieves do to "somebody's trusted housemaid" (26) after the city riots were suppressed?

(see the answer keys)

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