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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Merton say gave him the only valuable religious and moral training he had received?
(a) His mother.
(b) His father.
(c) His grandfather.
(d) His teachers.

2. What are Merton's childhood memories of his brother?
(a) His brother was a tag-along.
(b) His brother went with him to school.
(c) His brother was liked by older boys.
(d) His brother cried a lot.

3. Where had Merton been shortly before his father died?
(a) St. Antonin.
(b) Scotland.
(c) France.
(d) Strasbourg.

4. Who is Mark Van Doren?
(a) He is Merton's professor and trusted friend.
(b) He is on Merton's running team.
(c) He is Merton's favorite priest.
(d) He is Merton's friend and roommate.

5. Who are Pop and Bonnemaman?
(a) Thomas Merton's grandparents.
(b) Neighbors of his mother.
(c) Friends of his father.
(d) People he met at school.

6. What is the Jester?
(a) A student publication.
(b) A card game Merton plays.
(c) A costume Merton wears to a party.
(d) A nickname for Merton's friend.

7. When was Merton's brother born?
(a) October, 1921.
(b) March, 1919.
(c) January, 1920.
(d) November, 1918.

8. What connection did Uncle Ben have with Durston House?
(a) He played on its cricket team.
(b) He went to school there.
(c) He was a teacher there.
(d) He had been headmaster there.

9. What did Pop tell Merton while Owen was ill?
(a) That John Paul would be joining him at Oakham.
(b) That he and Bonnemaman were moving to Paris.
(c) That Merton and his brother would be financially secure after their father's death.
(d) That the Great Depression had ruined him financially.

10. Where does Merton meet Bob Lax?
(a) At a student meeting.
(b) In a bar in New York City.
(c) At Zion Church.
(d) In a class at the university.

11. Why does Merton say he was "truly happy" in England?
(a) Because he has many friends.
(b) Because he is learning to play cricket.
(c) Because he is sincerely religious for the first time.
(d) Because he is living in England.

12. What keeps Merton from athletic participation?
(a) A concern about physical injury.
(b) The struggle and pain associated with practice.
(c) The pain of being compared to his father.
(d) The fear of being on the losing side.

13. What are the contents of the note Merton receives from his father?
(a) The address of his grandparents.
(b) A goodbye from his mother.
(c) Instructions for caring for his brother.
(d) A description of his father's travels to Africa.

14. How did Merton's parents foster his love for the monastic life?
(a) They disliked anything they considered to be bourgeois.
(b) They introduced him to monks.
(c) They bought him many things.
(d) They encouraged him to be wealthy.

15. What is one of the last things mentioned in Chapter 4 of Part 1?
(a) Merton's lack of faith.
(b) Merton's sins.
(c) Merton's aunt.
(d) Merton's love affair.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Merton describe this book?

2. What lessens Merton's fear of Catholicism?

3. Who put Merton on the academic path to Cambridge University?

4. What was the name of the school Merton attended in 1929?

5. What did Owen ask Merton to do for him while he was ill?

(see the answer keys)

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