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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. Where does the man allow the dog to sleep?

2. These Provencal residents __________ their newfound celebrity.

3. How does Michel feel about spitting out the wine?

4. What do the guests do when they reach Maurice's restaurant?

5. Mayle instantly became pen pals with whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What takes place prior to Boy and the Gregoires' dog breeding? Why does the breeding not go as planned?

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

3. How does Peter get involved in this world of truffles?

4. How does Benson react to the French doctor? Why might he react this way?

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

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

7. Describe the truffle business.

8. How does the language barrier lead to humor in this chapter?

9. Why is Peter's friend, Frank, worried and on edge? Should he feel this way?

10. What does Peter ask about tasting the wine? Why does he ask this? How does Michel respond? Why might Michel respond this way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Peter makes observations about summers in Luberon.

Part 1) Describe Peter's observations. How does he share these observations with the reader? How does this style of writing compare to the rest of the book? What are your thoughts on the way Peter presents this information?

Part 2) Why are the summers in Luberon important to the author? How are the summers compared to other seasons? How are the details of these summers tied to Provencal and French culture?

Part 3) What are summers like in your own community? How do they compare to summers in Luberon? What are the reasons for these similarities and differences? Would you prefer to be in Luberon or your own community for the summer? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Peter's return to London is enlightening.

Part 1) Describe Peter's return to London. How is it enlightening? What does it reveal about Peter? What does it also reveal about London, Provence, and the people of these regions of the world?

Part 2) How does Peter continue to change after this visit to London? How are these changes revealed? Do Peter's English friends see these as positive changes? Why or why not? Do you see these as positive changes? Why or why not?

Part 3) Describe an experience in your own life that was enlightening. How was it enlightening? How did this experience affect you? Was this a permanent effect? Why or why not? How does your own experience compare to Peter's?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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