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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Mayle picks up _______________ visitor at the railway station.

2. British writer Peter Mayle is living in the Provence region of ____________.

3. How does Peter feel about the food placed before him?

4. Mayle asserts that _________________ is the most common ailment that the French encounter.

5. At lunch time, Michel tells Peter and six other visitors to follow him where?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mayle say about the life of a writer?

2. How is Peter Mayle confused by the American visitor? How does this lead to a jab at Americans?

3. How does Mayle's wife first come across Boy? How does this first encounter lead her to act? How do you feel about her behavior?

4. What happens to Peter because of the lunch he eats? How is this a good ending to his trip to the wine region?

5. Describe Peter's birthday card. Why might he have been given this?

6. How is the toad story explained? Is it as odd and sensational as Peter had hoped? Why or why not?

7. How do Mayle's feelings about fan mail change over time? Why?

8. How does Mayle feel about fan mail at first? Why does he feel this way?

9. What does Peter say about this tasting experience? Why does he give these details?

10. Why might Peter's wife still plan a picnic, although he does not like them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Provence suffers from a terrible drought.

Part 1) Describe this drought. How is the region affected by this drought? How is this drought tied to other stories within this book?

Part 2) In what other ways is Provence connected with nature? How important is nature, the environment, and weather to life in Provence? Explain.

Part 3) How does this drought affect the Mayles? How else is nature an important part of the Mayle's lives, now that they live in Provence? Is nature, the environment, and weather significantly important in your own life? If so, how and why? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

The author describes a trip to Les Halles.

Part 1) What is Les Halles? What takes place at Les Halles? Why does the author include this trip in this book?

Part 2) Do you find this trip and these details about Les Halles to be important to the story? Why or why not? How does this story progress the plot or support the author's purpose for writing this book?

Part 3) Does the U.S. have anything like Les Halles? If so, what? If not, why not? What does Les Halles reveal about French culture? Is this something Americans have in common with the French? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

The author evolves throughout this book.

Part 1) How does he act at the beginning of the book? What are his thoughts and opinions about France at the beginning of the book? Are these opinions and beliefs accurate? Why or why not?

Part 2) How do his beliefs and opinions change over the course of the book? What leads to these changes? How are these changes reflected in his own and his wife's behaviors? Are these good changes? Why or why not?

Part 3) What opinions have you had that changed? What caused these changes? How have these changes affected your life?

(see the answer keys)

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