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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Nabokov call the process of using both the English and Russian translations of "Speak, Memory" to shape the current work?
(a) Re-Englishing.
(b) Redoing.
(c) Reediting.
(d) Rewriting.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Mademoiselle provide Vladimir with an extra hour or two out of the darkness?

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

3. What is Nabokov's favorite medium?

4. Where do the children bathe?

5. Who are some of the ancestors on Nabokov's paternal, Russian side?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Kirill?

2. How does Nabokov meet Mademoiselle after she leaves Russia?

3. Describe Nabokov's ancestors.

4. Describe Nabokov's mother.

5. In 1910, the Nabokov brothers acquire teeth braces. How does their father reward them for dealing with the dental sessions?

6. How does Nabokov describe the final years in Europe?

7. How is Nabokov's experience at Cambridge?

8. What does Nabokov experience in Crimea?

9. The aristocratic Nabokov house is stocked with English and French amenities. What are some of the amenities?

10. How does young Nabokov react to rumor that his father has challenged someone to a duel?

(see the answer keys)

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