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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who are Miss Norcott and Miss Hunt?
(a) Two of Vladimir's tutors.
(b) Two of Vladimir's governesses.
(c) Two of Vladimir's girlfriends.
(d) Two of Vladimir's aunts.

2. What does Young Vladimir discover in the family's attic?
(a) A small treasure trove of scientific books
(b) A book of his family's ancestry.
(c) A small collection of exotic butterflies.
(d) Souvenirs from the family trips to France.

3. Mademoiselle threatens several times to leave. Why does she end up staying?
(a) Nabokov's mother gives her a raise.
(b) Nabokov's mother gives her gifts.
(c) Nabokov's mother threatens her.
(d) Nabokov's mother talks her into staying

4. What is the first memory Nabokov drags from the darkness?
(a) Playing in the yard on the estate.
(b) Going on a picnic with his mother and father.
(c) Holding hands with his mother and father, as the three of them walk along a garden path in 1903,
(d) Being fed by his nanny.

5. How does Mademoiselle provide Vladimir with an extra hour or two out of the darkness?
(a) She leaves a candle lit by his bed.
(b) He sits with him while he falls asleep.
(c) The light from her lamp gives a little light to his room.
(d) She allows him to fall asleep in her room.

6. How long does the family stay in Paris?
(a) One night.
(b) One week.
(c) Six months.
(d) One month.

7. How do the aristocrats confront the ocean waves?
(a) By diving in.
(b) On a boat.
(c) By swimming in groups.
(d) With the help of professional bathers.

8. From where does Mademoiselle come?
(a) Switzerland.
(b) France.
(c) Africa.
(d) Denmark.

9. What is young Vladimir's main concern?
(a) Whether or not he can play with his friends down the road.
(b) Whether or not he can play in the forest.
(c) Whether or not he will be able to go hunting for new and rare butterflies.
(d) Whether or not he will be able to go horseback riding.

10. Who occupies one of the estates near St. Petersburg when not abroad?
(a) Vyra, Nabokov's wife.
(b) Nabokov's uncle, Vasiliy Ivanovich.
(c) Nabokov's cousin, Yuri.
(d) Nabokov's father, Dmitri.

11. What game does the whole family often play on the estate?
(a) Rounders.
(b) Badmitton.
(c) Lawn bowling.
(d) Lawn tennis.

12. What does this hobby do to him?
(a) It encourages him to study.
(b) It isolates him throughout life.
(c) It helps him make friends.
(d) It encourages him to spend time outside.

13. Soon, the string of nurses transforms into what?
(a) A string of governesses.
(b) A string of doctors.
(c) A string of surgeons.
(d) A string of teachers.

14. What properties do the Nabokovs own until the Russian revolution?
(a) Several large estates south of St. Petersburg.
(b) A large estate in Moscow.
(c) Several summer cottages on the Baltic Sea.
(d) A large estate in St. Petersburg.

15. How many years does Mademoiselle spend with the family?
(a) Five.
(b) Two
(c) Seven.
(d) Seventeen.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where is the family returning to Russia?

2. Why is the family forced to leave Russia?

3. What does the rain cause to grow on the estate?

4. What is memorable about this first memory?

5. What would change throughout Nabokov's childhood, depending on the prevailing advice of the family's current medical consultant?

(see the answer keys)

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