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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. Who gets soaked?

2. Mayle's wife spots a man walking down the road to _______________ with a large dog at his side.

3. How does Peter feel about this toad story?

4. The diners manage to polish off most of the ___________, with the help of Andre.

5. Mayle takes a jab at Americans who create what?

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

3. How does Peter feel about his toad findings? Why does he feel this way?

4. Why does Mayle's wife bring the dog home? Should she have done this? Why or why not?

5. How does the book begin? What does this lead him to say about the French?

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. How does Peter end up in the small town of Chateauneuf-du-Pape? How might Peter feel about this trip?

8. Describe the picnic area. How might this compare to Peter's experience in London?

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

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

The Mayles have many unique experiences while living in Provence.

Part 1) Describe four of these unique experiences. Compare these experiences. How is one experience tied to the next? What is the purpose of telling the reader about these experiences? How does each experience support the author's purpose for writing this book?

Part 2) How do these experiences affect the reader? Do these stories make the book more engaging? Why or why not? Are all of these stories necessary? Why or why not?

Part 3) Describe a unique experience in your own life. How did it affect you? Are you still affected by it? Why or why not? How does your own unique experience compare to those of the Mayles?

Essay Topic 2

The Mayle's life is full of colorful people.

Part 1) Describe these colorful people. How are these colorful people tied to the unique experiences in the Mayles' lives? How do they support the author's opinion of Provence?

Part 2) How do these people, along with the author's unique experiences, enhance the book for the reader? How do these people affect your own opinion of Provence and France as a whole?

Part 3) What colorful and unique people exist in your own life? How do they affect your life? What would your life be like without them? Would it be better? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Mayle discusses the life of a writer.

Part 1) What is Mayle's description of a writer? Why does he give this description? Is this description surprising to you? Why or why not? What does this description reveal about Mayle?

Part 2) How is the life of a writer important to this story? What does this story reveal about the life of a writer? Based on this book, what do you think about the life of a writer?

Part 3) How does the life of a writer compare to the lives of those in other careers? In what career would you like to be? Why? How does working in this career field compare to working in the field of writing?

(see the answer keys)

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