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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What metaphor is used in paragraph 5 to describe the way Anna and Harold would drop through the air during their act?
(a) Like two sparkling birds.
(b) Like two doves in love.
(c) Like dragonflies in the night.
(d) Like two peas in a pod.

2. What does the narrator say audience members ate while waiting for the act to begin?
(a) Ice cream and candy.
(b) Hot dogs and chips.
(c) Hamburgers and French fries.
(d) Popcorn and peanuts.

3. In paragraph 2, what does the narrator say she sometimes thinks her mother has no memory of from her youth?
(a) Double somersaults and heart-stopping catches.
(b) School dances and young love.
(c) Cramming for tests and getting good grades.
(d) Devouring books and writing poetry.

4. What condition does the narrator's mother have as explained in paragraph 1?
(a) She has dementia.
(b) She is blind.
(c) She is paralyzed.
(d) She is deaf.

5. What does the narrator sometimes do in her childhood room?
(a) She talks on the phone.
(b) She sews.
(c) She paints.
(d) She reads.

6. What weather condition resulted in the disaster Anna and her husband experienced during their act?
(a) A tsunami.
(b) A tornado.
(c) A gale.
(d) A blizzard.

7. What are some things the narrator says her mother has not kept from her youth?
(a) Sequined costumes or posters.
(b) Journals or news clippings.
(c) Old clothes and old friends.
(d) Essays or awards.

8. Where does the narrator say the tabloids carried the story of their town's disaster?
(a) Boston and L.A.
(b) Cincinatti and New York.
(c) Boston and New York.
(d) Chicago and L.A.

9. What would Harold show the audience members during part of their act?
(a) His blindfold.
(b) Anna's smear of lipstick near his mouth.
(c) His wedding ring.
(d) A card trick.

10. What phrase is used to describe the narrator's mother's movements in paragraph 2?
(a) Graceless fumbling.
(b) Stealthlike manner.
(c) Catlike precision.
(d) Like a bull in a china shop.

11. Where does the narrator and her mother live?
(a) Rhode Island.
(b) Vermont.
(c) New Hampshire.
(d) Maine.

12. According to paragraph 4, during what month did Anna experience her disaster?
(a) June.
(b) September.
(c) November.
(d) February.

13. What did Harold and Anna use for part of their act?
(a) Puppies.
(b) Colorful scarves.
(c) Strobe lights.
(d) Blindfolds.

14. What is the narrator's mother's name?
(a) Anna.
(b) Abbeth.
(c) Alice.
(d) Agnes.

15. Who was the other half of her mother's act?
(a) Herman Adams.
(b) Hank Allendale.
(c) Henry Allen.
(d) Harold Avalon.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does the narrator say she used to live in paragraph 4?

2. What did Harold and Anna do in midair during their act according to paragraph 5?

3. What stands "cast in concrete" (para. 3) to commemorate the accident?

4. What is the name of the narrator's mother's act?

5. In paragraph 6, what does the narrator say her mother is able to live comfortably in?

(see the answer keys)

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