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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 12.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Nabokov remember about his father's remarkable writing ability?
(a) He is very poetic.
(b) He could write sentence after sentence without correction.
(c) He has beautiful handwriting.
(d) He could spell any word.

2. What does Nabokov investigate about his family?
(a) Their religion.
(b) Their relationship to the tsar.
(c) Their country of origin.
(d) The family's coat of arms.

3. For whom is young Vladimir mistaken?
(a) A Swedish boy.
(b) A German boy.
(c) An American boy.
(d) An English boy.

4. Who are some of the ancestors on Nabokov's paternal, Russian side?
(a) A prominent Caholic cardinal, a physician, and Dmitri Nabokov, an inventor.
(b) A government leader, an opera singer, and Dmitri Nabokov, the surgeon.
(c) An explorer, the sister of a prominent Decembrist, and Dmitri Nabokov, the author's grandfather, who served as Minister of Justice for eight years.
(d) A lawyer, scientist, and Dmitri Nabokov, a well-known actor.

5. During one such trip in the summer of 1909, who does young Nabokov meet?
(a) A young German girl, named Brigitte.
(b) A young French girl, named Colette.
(c) A young British girl, named Beth.
(d) A young Spanish girl, named Clara.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does little Vladimir close his eyes at the bottom of each stairway?

2. With what is the aristocratic Nabokov house stocked?

3. What does Nabokov learn to read and write before Russian or French?

4. How does Mr. Cummings influence Nabokov's scientific drawings of butterflies?

5. What is Vladimir elected to, which the Tsar dissolves?

(see the answer key)

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