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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did the ringmaster do to introduce the Flying Avalons on the day of the disaster?
(a) He cracked his whip and pointed to the ceiling.
(b) He blew a horn and jumped up and down.
(c) He announced Anna and Harold to the crowd.
(d) He gave a little background on their love story.

2. After reading paragraph 1, what do readers learn about the narrator's mother's former partner?
(a) He lives with them.
(b) They had a falling out.
(c) He has died.
(d) He was unkind.

3. What does the narrator say her mother did the first time she owes her existence to her?
(a) She was born.
(b) She saved herself.
(c) She met her first husband.
(d) She saved her daughter's life.

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

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

6. Where does the narrator say she used to live in paragraph 4?
(a) The North.
(b) The Far East.
(c) The West.
(d) The South.

7. In paragraph 3, where does the narrator say she gets her information about her mother's disaster?
(a) Her mother.
(b) Her father.
(c) Her in-laws.
(d) Old newspapers.

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

9. What did Anna and Harold do "openly" as they performed according to paragraph 5?
(a) Laugh and flirt.
(b) Yell and argue.
(c) Sing and dance.
(d) Fumble and fall.

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. What did Harold and Anna do in midair during their act according to paragraph 5?
(a) Kiss.
(b) Change costumes.
(c) Embrace.
(d) Tell a joke.

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

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

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

15. What does the narrator point out in paragraph one about how her mother moves through the house?
(a) She barely moves so as not to disturb anything.
(b) She never bumps into anything or knocks anything over.
(c) She acts as though her daughter is not there.
(d) She is quite clumsy.

Short Answer Questions

1. What condition does the narrator's mother have as explained in paragraph 1?

2. What does the narrator say audience members ate while waiting for the act to begin?

3. What would Harold show the audience members during part of their act?

4. What happened during Harold and Anna's act just before they were able to clasp hands in midair?

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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