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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. Why is the family forced to leave Russia?
(a) The father is in trouble with the police.
(b) Their religion is being persecuted.
(c) Their visas have expired.
(d) The revolution has ended.

2. How does Nabokov open his autobiography?
(a) With a short meditation on the periods of inexistence before birth and after death.
(b) With an examination of his early childhood.
(c) With a short review of Russian history.
(d) With a short story about the birth of his son.

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

4. Where does Nabokov's mother trick Dimitri into believing he is still?
(a) In London.
(b) In Russia.
(c) In Greece.
(d) In France.

5. When does Nabokov eventually discover a new species?
(a) As a small boy in Russia.
(b) In Germany visiting his family.
(c) At Cambridge.
(d) Not until he is an old man, living in exile in the United States.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Who are Miss Norcott and Miss Hunt?

3. What does Nabokov investigate about his family?

4. From where is the family returning to Russia?

5. Of what are Nabokov's memories in a Russian setting?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Nabokov begin to write poetry?

2. Who is Mademoiselle?

3. What is cause is Vladimir's passion?

4. What evidence does the chapter give of Nabokov's bourgeois, aristocratic life?

5. What evidence is there showing that Nabokov and Tamara's relationship is not as innocent as his parents may think it is.

6. Why might be the reason for the Nabokov's leaving Europe?

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

8. What is Nabokov's favorite Captain Mayne Reid novel? Why?

9. What is happening in the science of butterflies?

10. What is Nabokov's life like after leaving Cambridge?

(see the answer keys)

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