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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. When the children first meet Mr. Squalor, what does he offer to get them?
(a) A martini.
(b) A slice of cake.
(c) A bed.
(d) An orange.

2. In Chapter 1, what does the narrator suggest the reader do instead of reading this book?
(a) Curl up with a dictionary.
(b) Skip ahead to chapter four.
(c) Read the story backward.
(d) Read the book.

3. Who does Violet tell the Squalors is Gunther's true identity?
(a) Mr. Poe.
(b) Count Olaf.
(c) The doorman.
(d) Their long lost relative.

4. What do the Baudelaire children believe Gunther will try to do?
(a) Harm the Squalors.
(b) Kidnap them.
(c) Get his hands on their fortune.
(d) Hurt them.

5. According to Esme, what is illegal to auction off?
(a) Children.
(b) Clothes.
(c) Dogs.
(d) "In" items.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the narrator, what does Mr. Poe always have?

2. According to the narrator, what does a nefarious disguise mean?

3. When the Baudelaire children reach the Squalor penthouse apartment, who answers the door?

4. After arriving home from Café Salmonella, what kinds of noises do the children hear as they climb the stairs to the penthouse?

5. According to the narrator, what is one good part of the Baudelaires' living with the Squalors?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the meaning of "nervous" and "anxious" important to the reader's understanding of the novel?

2. What is significant about the doorman's comments that all problems have a solution, and the solution is sometimes under the nose?

3. How does the author reinforce the absurdity of the "what's in and what's out"?

4. What does the pinstripe suits being too big illustrate about Esme Squalor?

5. Why doesn't Jerome continue to stand up for the children against Esme when he obviously notices they are alarmed at Gunther's appearance?

6. What is the importance of the Baudelaire orphans' friends being named Quagmire?

7. What does the Squalor's apartment say about their lives and their character?

8. What role does the scene at Café Salmonella play in the overall plot of the story?

9. What is ironic about Sunny saying "Hansel" and "Gretel" when the children are trying to come up with a way to search the penthouse and not get lost?

10. What is the importance of the Baudelaire orphans' new guardians being named Squalor?

(see the answer keys)

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