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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What impresses Merton about St. Antonin?
(a) It was laid out in a circular shape in the 13th century.
(b) The house he lived in.
(c) It was in France.
(d) The people he met there.

2. How does Merton describe his fellow students in France?
(a) The are vulgar, mean, and pitiless.
(b) They are socially inferior.
(c) They are extremely poor.
(d) They are cultured and refined.

3. What did Pop allow the 15-year-old Merton to do that really impressed him?
(a) Pop allowed the 15-year-old Merton to smoke a cigarette.
(b) He allowed him to visit his father alone.
(c) He allowed him to enjoy luxury travel.
(d) He allowed him to drive his car.

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

5. Who is Bob Lax?
(a) A friend of Aunt Maude's from childhood.
(b) A Catholic man who leads Merton to the faith.
(c) A friend of Merton's who eventually becomes a Catholic.
(d) A friend of Merton's father who was a musician.

6. What was his father building in St. Antonin?
(a) He builds an art studio.
(b) He builds a house for the family.
(c) He builds a piece of sculpture.
(d) He builds an extra bedroom.

7. What does Merton do during the summer he returned to New York after a trip to Rome?
(a) He begins going to bars and burlesques.
(b) He prepares for a diplomatic career.
(c) He immediately visits his Aunt Maude.
(d) He continues his religious explorations.

8. How does Merton describe this book?
(a) It is the biography of his mother.
(b) It is the story of his travels.
(c) It is an autobiography of faith.
(d) It is a story about his father.

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

10. How does Merton describe his mother?
(a) She was a British artist.
(b) She was a divorced woman.
(c) She was an American perfectionist.
(d) She was an American pessimist.

11. Who are M. and Mme. Privat?
(a) The owners of Merton's favorite restaurant.
(b) The caretakers of the Lycee.
(c) A couple Merton lives with in St. Antonin.
(d) A Catholic couple with whom Merton boards in Murat.

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

13. What does Merton admire about Mark Van Doren?
(a) His sports ability.
(b) His teaching.
(c) His many girlfriends.
(d) His contemplative ability.

14. Who visited Merton in St. Antonin?
(a) His mother.
(b) His brother.
(c) John Paul and Owen.
(d) Pop and Bonnemaman.

15. What words best describe Merton at the university?
(a) Romantic and in love.
(b) Intellectual and contemplative.
(c) Religious and non-political.
(d) Athletic and social.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Owen Merton?

2. What incident causes Merton personal pain at the university?

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

4. What action he performed in the summer of 1937 prompted Merton to take another step on his journey to faith?

5. Why does Merton go to class with the younger French children?

(see the answer keys)

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