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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did foreigners say about Italian fishermen when they saw Salvatore on the beach?
(a) They were hard workers.
(b) They were lazy devils.
(c) They were unfortunate peasants.
(d) They were the salt of the earth.

2. What work does Salvatore do when he settles home after returning from military service?
(a) He works as a cook for a wealthy family.
(b) He works with his mother cleaning houses.
(c) He refused to work and just hangs out on the beach.
(d) Fishing and working on his father's vineyard.

3. What word is used to describe the size of the "white-washed" house Salvatore and Assunta buy?
(a) Tiny.
(b) Miniscule.
(c) Gigantic.
(d) Microscopic.

4. What simile is used to describe Salvatore's hands when he is not bathing his children?
(a) Like legs of mutton.
(b) Like loaves of bread.
(c) Like clouds.
(d) Like bricks.

5. What simile is used to describe Salvatore's hands while he bathes his children?
(a) Like buzzing bees.
(b) Like flowers.
(c) Like sandpaper.
(d) Like cold stones.

6. Where did Salvatore go to have a good look at Assunta before deciding whether he would marry her or not?
(a) Church.
(b) Her house.
(c) The cafe.
(d) The beach.

7. How does the narrator describe Salvatore's manners after marrying Assunta and moving to their home?
(a) Beautiful.
(b) Peasant-like.
(c) Barbaric.
(d) Aristocratic.

8. Why did Assunta not marry the man to whom she had been engaged?
(a) He walked out on her and never returned.
(b) He left her for another woman.
(c) She ended the engagement when she learned he had cheated.
(d) He was killed during military service.

9. What would Salvatore do when his rheumatism made it impossible for him to work?
(a) Drink till dawn.
(b) Lay in his bed.
(c) Rest on the beach.
(d) Sob in the dark.

10. Why does Salvatore's fiancé say she can no longer marry him?
(a) He will never be able to work.
(b) She is moving far away.
(c) She has married somebody else.
(d) She has fallen in love with someone else.

11. Who does Salvatore cry to when he returns home after learning he is not to be married to the girl he loved?
(a) His mother.
(b) His best friend.
(c) His brother.
(d) His father.

12. How does Salvatore feel toward his ex-fiance after learning they will not marry?
(a) He hates her.
(b) He feels betrayed.
(c) He feels honored to have had her love at all.
(d) He understands why she cannot marry him.

13. How did Salvatore's family learn his fiancé was not going to marry him before he did?
(a) Her new husband told them.
(b) Her father told them.
(c) Her mother told them.
(d) She told them.

14. What did Salvatore tell his mother after he took a good look at Assunta?
(a) He would rather marry his own brother.
(b) He would marry her.
(c) He would marry her if she fixed herself up a bit.
(d) He would rather die than marry her.

15. What does Assunta seem always to by touched by regarding Salvatore?
(a) His gentle sweetness.
(b) He physical prowess.
(c) He altruism.
(d) His perseverance in the face of adversity.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of fish did Salvatore catch during fishing season?

2. How many children did Assunta and Salvatore have?

3. What word is used to describe Salvatore's body after marrying?

4. Whom did Assunta have "nothing but harsh words for" (7)?

5. What was Assunta able to purchase for Salvatore if they married?

(see the answer keys)

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