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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. What subject does Tom avoid while talking with his mother in Chapter Eight?
(a) Traveling to Europe.
(b) Working for a living.
(c) Penelope Lapham.
(d) Irene Lapham.

2. How old is Silas Lapham in Chapter One?
(a) Forty.
(b) Eighty.
(c) Fifty-five.
(d) Twenty-two.

3. Where does Silas Lapham decide to build a new more fashionable home?
(a) Downtown New York.
(b) In London.
(c) On the beach.
(d) His Back Bay property.

4. Which of the following statements does not appear in the description of Silas Lapham that Bartley Hubbard writes for his newspaper article?
(a) He is of medium height.
(b) He is bald and walks with a cane.
(c) He has a square, bold chin and a short, reddish-gray beard.
(d) His nose is short and straight.

5. In Chapter Nine, what is Silas Lapham fond of letting the public know?
(a) That he is rich.
(b) That his paint is a bestseller.
(c) That a member of the Corey family works for him.
(d) That his wife was once a teacher.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Persis Lapham try unsuccessfully to get her husband to understand at the end of Chapter Nine?

2. In Chapter Three, who do Silas and Persis Lapham run into while visiting the construction site of their new home?

3. In what series of articles is the newspaper going to feature an article on Silas Lapham?

4. Which of the following statements is not a way Tom Corey describes Silas Lapham to his father?

5. After giving Tom Corey a history of the paint, where does Silas Lapham suggest the young man come to finish their business talk?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspect of Tom Corey's life does Silas Lapham disapprove of, and what action does Lapham think it would take to improve Corey?

2. Why are the Laphams considered deficient in social graces?

3. What business proposals does Tom Corey suggest to Silas Lapham?

4. What is Anna Corey's reaction to her son's decision to go into the mineral paint business?

5. Describe Lapham's financial situation in Chapter Nine.

6. How has Persis Lapham supported her husband and his business over the years and how does Lapham honor her for her support?

7. How does Silas Lapham feel about having Tom Corey work for him, and how does he feel about Tom's work?

8. What indication is there in Chapter Ten that Tom Corey might prefer Penelope Lapham over her sister Irene?

9. Why do the Coreys consider themselves "better" than the Laphams, and what virtues does Silas Lapham possess that the Coreys do not?

10. Why does Silas Lapham decide to build a new house?

(see the answer keys)

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