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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the name of the school nurse who was in charge of Michael and the other boys his age?

2. How old was Lalla when she received a small inheritance?

3. In one of the stories about Mervyn's train escapade, how many dogs was he leading on ropes?

4. Why was Doris put in Spittel's Nursing Home?

5. How far was it to drive from Colombo to the tea estate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Rene de Saram do when one of her cows caught Rinderpest fever?

2. How did Lalla die?

3. How did Michael describe the only picture he had of his parents together?

4. How did Michael get a bath when he was five and attending a boarding school?

5. Why couldn't Mervyn stand Lalla?

6. Why did Lalla come to Kuttapitiya when Michael and his family lived there?

7. What happened to the eggs that Willie Gratiaen imported from Australia?

8. Why was it thought that Rene de Saram's husband was the victim of someone's charm?

9. What did Doris coach the three older children to do when Mervyn lapsed into one of his alcoholic states?

10. What did a fortune-teller predict when Doris left Ceylon in 1949?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mervyn had an obsession with trains. Discuss why Mervyn's train rides became notorious.

Essay Topic 2

Mervyn struggled with dipsomania. Discuss dipsomania and how it affected Mervyn and his family.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Michael's purpose for writing "Running in the Family" and whether he achieved his purpose.

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This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample