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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is unusual about the weather during the summer Enid is caring for Mrs. Quinn?
(a) It is cold and dry.
(b) It is very hot and wet.
(c) It is very hot and dry.
(d) It is cold and wet.

2. What claim does Mrs. Quinn make about her role in what was happening with Mr. Willens?
(a) She claims that she had already told Mr. Willens that his attentions were unwelcome.
(b) She claims to have been helpless because she had to stay still.
(c) She claims that she accepted his advances because Mr. Quinn rejected her.
(d) She claims that she did not understand Mr. Willens' intentions.

3. When Olive Green comments, on page 69, that "Someone's been busy," what is she referring to?
(a) Mrs. Quinn's telling stories about her brother.
(b) Enid's growing relationship with Rupert Quinn.
(c) The new manners and hygiene habits Enid has taught the girls.
(d) Enid's cleaning and organizing of the Quinn home.

4. When Enid gets up in the middle of the night to work, she thinks that it is the best way to be "penitent" (52). What does this mean she is trying to do?
(a) Keep herself busy and distracted.
(b) Stay organized.
(c) Show she is sorry.
(d) Keep herself humble.

5. What unnerving sound does Enid hear from the sickroom when Rupert is there saying goodbye to his wife before he leaves town?
(a) Mrs. Quinn coughing.
(b) Rupert crying.
(c) Mrs. Quinn laughing.
(d) Rupert cursing at his wife.

6. What is ironic about the future that the story implies Enid is heading for?
(a) She has learned an important lesson about life through someone else's death.
(b) She will end up breaking the promise that she made to her mother.
(c) She has secretly loved Rupert since she was a young girl.
(d) Her mother has always known her better than she knows herself.

7. What crop is Rupert trying to harvest and store in June?
(a) Corn.
(b) Wheat.
(c) Barley.
(d) Hay.

8. What does the doctor have to say about Enid feeding Mrs. Quinn eggnogs?
(a) She needs more nutritious food.
(b) It is dragging out her death.
(c) It is a brilliant idea.
(d) Raw eggs might kill the woman.

9. Why does Mrs. Quinn say she missed Mr. Willens's funeral?
(a) She was out of town.
(b) She hates funerals.
(c) She could not get a ride.
(d) She was in labor with one of her daughters.

10. What makes the "Glug-glug" sound on page 59?
(a) It is the sound of Rupert swallowing a bitter laugh.
(b) It is the sound of a bird perched on the windowsill.
(c) It is the sound of Mr. Willens dying.
(d) It is the sound of Mrs. Quinn drinking her tea.

11. Why does the teacher bring Lois and Sylvie home from school?
(a) They live too far to walk.
(b) It looks like rain.
(c) School let out earlier than usual.
(d) The bus has broken down.

12. At the end of "Mistake," what is meant by the final sentence, "What a laugh" (62)?
(a) This refers to Mrs. Quinn's attitude toward reading about Mr. Willens's death.
(b) This refers to Rupert's failure to fully understand what was going on between his wife and Mr. Willens.
(c) This refers to the idea that the Quinns got away with murder.
(d) This refers to the attitude of the townsfolk about the death of Mr. Willens.

13. On page 44, what does Enid's mother compare Enid to?
(a) A nun.
(b) A soldier.
(c) A politician.
(d) A saint.

14. What does Mrs. Quinn do with the souvenir cloth?
(a) Shreds it with scissors.
(b) Burns it.
(c) Buries it.
(d) Tosses it in the river.

15. What is the souvenir cloth from?
(a) Olive and Clint's vacation to Toronto to see a famous tower.
(b) Rupert and Mrs. Quinn's honeymoon at Niagara Falls.
(c) Mrs. Quinn's time working in a northern hotel.
(d) Rupert's parents' visit to see a famous set of quintuplets.

Short Answer Questions

1. Besides the smell of the burning cloth, what other smell does Mrs. Quinn blame for making her sick?

2. What is revealed in the paragraph about Mrs. Quinn's wish to smash Mr. Willens's instruments?

3. When Olive Green sends the girls outside to her husband's truck, what do the girls seem most focused on?

4. What is Mr. Willens ostensibly doing when Rupert sneaks back into the house?

5. What is different about the way that Enid lets the girls play on the last day of their mother's life?

(see the answer keys)

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