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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is used in the page 3 phrase "her eyes with their irises of morning blue"?
(a) Imagery.
(b) Synesthesia.
(c) Simile.
(d) Allusion.

2. Why does Ede begin to cry shortly after her father arrives at the Markeys' house?
(a) She does not want to leave the party.
(b) She is overtired and wants her father to pay attention to her.
(c) She is confused and upset by all of the shouting.
(d) She hears Mr. Markey call both her and her mother insulting names.

3. How old is Ede when the story takes place?
(a) 1 1/2.
(b) 2.
(c) 2 1/2.
(d) 3.

4. What amuses John about the idea of the baby party?
(a) The idea that anyone would want to go to a party for babies.
(b) The idea of the babies causing chaos in someone else's house.
(c) The idea of the mothers all making critical remarks about one another's children.
(d) The idea that babies would even understand the idea of a party.

5. What is the meaning of "amity" as it is used on page 5?
(a) Compromise.
(b) Friendship.
(c) Rivalry.
(d) Diplomacy.

6. What interrupts the argument between Joe and John?
(a) Mrs. Markey going to fetch Edith's coat.
(b) A party guest comes back to get her forgotten purse.
(c) Billy and Ede beginning to play together happily.
(d) Edith bursting into tears.

7. After they leave the Markeys' house, why does John watch to make sure that Edith has reached their own walkway?
(a) He does not want her to overhear what he is about to say to Joe.
(b) He is concerned that she will get into another argument with Mrs. Markey.
(c) He wants her safely out of the way before he and Joe fight.
(d) He wants his daughter to get out of the cold December air.

8. What causes the two men to stop fighting?
(a) They realize that neither one of them can actually win.
(b) They realize they have no reason to fight.
(c) They grow too tired to keep fighting.
(d) They realize that someone is coming down the sidewalk.

9. What does the narrator say, on page 6, is the "real business of the afternoon"?
(a) Gossiping about women who are not present.
(b) Gossiping about their in-laws.
(c) Bragging about their husbands.
(d) Bragging about their children.

10. What terms does John use on page 4 as he wonders about Ede's party dress?
(a) "Monstrous and vain."
(b) "Bizarre and expensive."
(c) "Radical and mature."
(d) "Incomprehensible and frilly."

11. Who is Ede named after?
(a) Her mother.
(b) Her father's sister.
(c) Her father's mother.
(d) Her mother's mother.

12. What word describes John's attitude toward Joe during their argument?
(a) Ambivalent.
(b) Contemptuous.
(c) Wounded.
(d) Pitying.

13. What word does Mrs. Markey use to describe Ede on page 5 that Edith takes as a potential criticism?
(a) "Smart."
(b) "Fresh."
(c) "Baby."
(d) "Little."

14. What does Edith feel when she joins Ede in her misbehavior?
(a) Solidarity and defiance.
(b) Relief and freedom.
(c) Shame and embarrassment.
(d) Anxiety and exhilaration.

15. How do the Androses know the Markeys?
(a) They are in the same bridge club.
(b) They are next-door neighbors.
(c) Joe and John work at the same firm.
(d) Joe and John went to college together.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Edith decide is true about John when he has not arrived by six o'clock?

2. What word does the narrator use on page 3 to describe the moments that John spends on the phone with Ede?

3. What begins to happen after the children have their cake and ice cream?

4. Edith thinks that Mrs. Markey is "snippy" (5). What does she think is true about Mrs. Markey?

5. When John arrives at the Markeys' door, whom does he hear crying?

(see the answer keys)

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