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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is implied about the sudden end to the phone conversation between Edith and John when she tells him about the baby party?
(a) Edith is angry at her husband and has hung up on him.
(b) John hears his boss coming and quickly ends the personal call.
(c) The unreliable phone service in the suburbs has cut out.
(d) Ede has pulled the phone out of her mother's hand.

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

3. When Joe Markey comes downstairs and hears Edith insult his wife and child, what does he tell Edith to do?
(a) Get out of his house.
(b) Mind her manners.
(c) Apologize to his wife.
(d) Control herself.

4. As John walks to the Markeys' house, what is he wondering about?
(a) How long he will be expected to stay at the party.
(b) How Ede will compare to the other children.
(c) Whether his friend Joe will be at the party.
(d) Whether his wife is having a good time.

5. How long is the fight between John and Joe?
(a) 5 minutes.
(b) 20 minutes.
(c) 10 minutes.
(d) 2 minutes.

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

7. What is comical about the fight between Joe and John?
(a) The way they keep arguing about the babies while they fight.
(b) Neither man actually wants to fight.
(c) They keep falling because of the ice and mud.
(d) Neither man knows how to fight.

8. Why is Edith eager for John to arrive at the Markeys' house?
(a) She wants the other women to see how devoted he is to her.
(b) She hopes that he will talk to the Markeys so she does not have to.
(c) She wants an excuse to leave the party.
(d) She wants him to see how wonderful Ede is in this context.

9. Besides "rude," what does Edith call Mrs. Markey on page 10?
(a) "Common."
(b) "Snippy."
(c) "Fat."
(d) "Fool."

10. How old is John Andros?
(a) 38.
(b) 48.
(c) 42.
(d) 32.

11. What technique is used in the page 4 phrase "the moon was out, shining with proud brilliance on the thin sugary snow"?
(a) Personification.
(b) Euphemism.
(c) Conceit.
(d) Allusion.

12. What does the most difficult part of parenting seem to be for John?
(a) Worrying about how to provide for his family.
(b) Understanding the needs of a small child.
(c) Letting his child develop into her own person.
(d) Tolerating the mess and chaos of a small child.

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

14. In the passage that describes the babies trying to get into the kitchen, how does the narrator's diction create a comic effect?
(a) Through parody.
(b) Through contrast.
(c) Through understatement.
(d) Through double entendre.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does Edith feel when she joins Ede in her misbehavior?

3. When Edith tells Ede, on page 8, that she is a "bad girl," what does Ede do?

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

5. What technique is used in the page 3 phrase "her eyes with their irises of morning blue"?

(see the answer keys)

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