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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. Which child does Penelope call when she arrives home?
(a) Ava.
(b) Celeste.
(c) Marcy.
(d) Olivia.

2. How does the person in #61 arrive at Penelope's house?
(a) Rides a bike.
(b) Drives a car.
(c) Takes a trolley.
(d) Walks.

3. What news does Olivia share with Noel?
(a) Nancy is divorcing George.
(b) She is moving to New York.
(c) Penelope has a brain tumor.
(d) Cosmo is dead.

4. What is Olivia's job at the magazine?
(a) Editor-in-Chief.
(b) Editorial Director.
(c) Managing Editor.
(d) Advertising Director.

5. Who purchases the Lawrence Stern painting at the auction?
(a) A German.
(b) An Englishman.
(c) An American.
(d) A Frenchman.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where had Olivia gone with friends in the summer of 1979?

2. What is the name of the place where Penelope was on holiday with her family?

3. Who tells Penelope about the atrocities happening to Jews in Germany?

4. Who does Nancy think is the only person who ever understood her?

5. Where is Penelope returning from as she rides in a taxi at the beginning of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Penelope meet Ambrose Keeling?

2. How is Noel like his sister, Nancy?

3. What is life like for Penelope's daughter, Nancy?

4. Why does Noel exhibit such callous behavior toward his mother?

5. How is Olivia's view of the Lawrence Stern paintings different from how Olivia views them?

6. How important is independence in Olivia's life?

7. Describe the pretentious lifestyle that Nancy and her husband have.

8. What is the irony of Olivia's life as opposed to those of her brother and sister?

9. How does the author use foreshadowing by introducing Antonia into Olivia and Penelope's lives?

10. Why do the Lawrence Stern paintings have such an impact on Noel and Nancy?

(see the answer keys)

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