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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. In paragraph 6, what does the narrator say her mother is able to live comfortably in?
(a) Their farmhouse.
(b) Extreme elements.
(c) The spotlight.
(d) Extreme poverty.

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

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

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

5. 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.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator say her mother did the first time she owes her existence to her?

2. What does the narrator point out in paragraph one about how her mother moves through the house?

3. In paragraph 2, what does the narrator say she sometimes thinks her mother has no memory of from her youth?

4. Where does the narrator say the tabloids carried the story of their town's disaster?

5. According to paragraph 4, during what month did Anna experience her disaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. What events followed lightning striking the main tent pole while Harold and Anna were performing?

2. Why does the narrator sometimes forget that her mother was part of the Flying Avalons?

3. How is the scene at the circus before the disaster described? What was the weather like? What was the audience doing?

4. How does the narrator describe the way her mother moves through their home in New Hampshire in paragraph 1?

5. Describe Anna and Harold's typical trapeze performance.

6. Why does the narrator say people in the East are at a disadvantage regarding weather changes than those in the West, where she used to live?

7. Why does the narrator find it unsurprising that her mother was able to perform while seven months pregnant?

8. What type of performer was the narrator's mother? Where does she live and what is her medical condition?

9. What stands in the center of town as a reminder of the disaster? Where does the narrator find out about the events that day?

10. What detail about Anna was not mentioned in the newspaper accounts of the disaster?

(see the answer keys)

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