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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 is unusual in the eyes of the Coreys about the beverages the Coreys drink with dinner?
(a) They drink buttermilk.
(b) They drink lemonade.
(c) They drink moonshine whiskey.
(d) They drink ice water instead of tea, coffee, or wine.

2. What newspaper has sent reporter Bartley Hubard to interview Silas Lapham in Chapter One?
(a) The Wall Street Journal.
(b) The Globe.
(c) The Events.
(d) The Chronicle.

3. What is Anna Corey's reaction when her husband Bromfield tells her their son has decided to join Silas Lapham's paint business?
(a) She insists Bromfield should have stopped the boy.
(b) She demands that Tom leave Lapham's employ at once.
(c) She is elated Tom will be doing honest work.
(d) She faints.

4. What business idea does Tom Corey propose to Silas Lapham that meets with Lapham's approval?
(a) Lowering the price on his products.
(b) Adding a cheaper line of paint.
(c) Increasing the company's advertising.
(d) Taking the paint to foreign countries like Mexico.

5. How long has the Lapham family lived in their Boston home?
(a) One week.
(b) Twenty five years.
(c) One month.
(d) Twelve years.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Bromfield not think Tom will stick with the paint business long?

2. Which of the following statements does not appear in the description of Silas Lapham that Bartley Hubbard writes for his newspaper article?

3. In what city does the novel open?

4. What room does Irene tell Tom Corey the Laphams will have in their new Beacon Street home?

5. What business idea does Tom Corey first propose to Silas Lapham in Chapter Six?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Lapham's childhood and family background, and how does this background shape his values?

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

3. How does Tom Corey describe the Lapham family to his mother?

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

5. When Tom Corey comes to their new home's construction site, why do the Laphams leave him alone with Irene?

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

7. In what different ways do Silas Lapham and Persis Lapham react to Bromfield Corey's visit to Silas Lapham's office?

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

9. What happens in Chapter Ten when Milton Rogers asks Silas Lapham for a loan, and how does Persis Lapham feel about the situation?

10. Which Lapham sister does Tom Corey talk about when he visits the Laphams and which one does he not talk about, and what do his conversational tendencies indicate?

(see the answer keys)

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