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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In exile in America, when a ranger or marshal spots him traipsing into the backwoods, net in hand, what is he asked?
(a) Where his guide is.
(b) If he has a fishing license.
(c) What the net is for.
(d) What he is doing in the woods.

3. What mystifies the two boys about Mademoiselle?
(a)
(b) She has children that visit her once a month, but she never allows the two boys to play with her children.
(c) She reads many novels to the boys, all in French, with a smooth, gentle voice.
(d) She is kind most of the timea but can easily lose her temper.

4. When do they arrive in Paris?
(a) Early morning.
(b) In the middle of the night.
(c) Early afternoon.
(d) Late afternoon.

5. At the time the family moves, where are Nabokov and his brother?
(a) In Cambridge.
(b) In New York University.
(c) In the University of Paris.
(d) In Oxford.

6. Why does Nabokov's mother often wander the estate's forest?
(a) To search for mushrooms.
(b) She becomes lost easily.
(c) She loves the estate property.
(d) It helps clear her mind.

7. To whom does Nabokov feel the strongest bond of kinship?
(a) His father's maternal grandfather, Nikolay Illarionovich Kozlov.
(b) His mother's maternal grandfather, Nikolay Illarionovich Kozlov.
(c) His mother's paternal grandfather, Nikolay Illarionovich Kozlov.
(d) His father's paternal grandfather, Nikolay Illarionovich Kozlov.

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

9. What would change throughout Nabokov's childhood, depending on the prevailing advice of the family's current medical consultant?
(a) The temperature of the bath water.
(b) How much he exercises.
(c) The medicines his mother uses.
(d) The temperature in his home.

10. When does Nabokov see Mademoiselle again after she is no longer in their household?
(a) In New York after the family emigrates to the U.S.
(b) In Lausanne after the war.
(c) In London while Nabokov is at Cambridge.
(d) In Paris right before the war.

11. Why is he detained briefly in 1918, by a Bolshevik soldier?
(a) He is accused him of signaling British warships with his net.
(b) He is evading the draft.
(c) He has run away from the Red Army.
(d) He is trying to escape the country.

12. Each day, when he awakes, how can young Vladimir tell what kind of day it is?
(a) By the character of the light that slips through the shutters.
(b) By looking out of the window.
(c) By having the servants open the curtains.
(d) By asking his mother to check the weather.

13. Of what descent is Nabokov's mother?
(a) Aristocratic Norwegian descent.
(b) Aristocratic German descent.
(c) Aristocratic English descent.
(d) Aristocratic Swedish descent.

14. What does the butterfly net in particular always invite?
(a) Intriguing discussions.
(b) Exciting questions.
(c) Curious visitors.
(d) Awkward comments.

15. From where is the family returning to Russia?
(a) An autumn in London.
(b) A summer in France.
(c) A winter in Greece.
(d) Almost an entire year abroad.

Short Answer Questions

1. After his father's death, to where does Nabokov's widowed mother move?

2. What is the first memory Nabokov drags from the darkness?

3. Why does Nabokov's father force the family to leave a sidewalk cafe?

4. What does Young Vladimir discover in the family's attic?

5. How does the Nabokov family frequently travel from St. Petersburg to Paris?

(see the answer keys)

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