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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do Lessing's parents do in preparation for their next voyage?
(a) They saved money scrupulously.
(b) They had their teeth removed.
(c) They studied French.
(d) They drew up a legal will.

2. How did Lessing's mother convey her distaste for Emily McVeagh?
(a) A story about her frivolous ways.
(b) A constant undercurrent in her descriptions of Emily.
(c) A look of disdain in her eyes.
(d) A sniff.

3. How did Mrs. Mitchell and her son treat their Black servants?
(a) Mrs. Mitchell and her son treated their black servants like slaves.
(b) Mrs. Mitchell and her son completely ignored their Black servants.
(c) Mrs. Mitchell and her son treated their Black servants just like family.
(d) Mrs. Mitchell and her son screamed at and berated their Black servants.

4. Which of the following killed one of the chickens and took off with a couple of eggs?
(a) A snake.
(b) A mongoose.
(c) A mischievous child.
(d) A cat.

5. According to the quote at the opening of Chapter 1, the girl in Lessing's mother's favorite saying only cared about which of the following?
(a) Singing and prancing.
(b) Cats and flowers.
(c) Horses and dancing.
(d) Books and studying.

6. Which of the following books did Lessing use to illustrate the difference in transitioning from the consciousness of a child to that of an adult?
(a) The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
(b) Pride and Prejudice.
(c) Tristram Shandy.
(d) Hamlet.

7. What did Lessing's father think of his Persian business partners?
(a) That they were incompetent.
(b) That they were members of a different culture.
(c) That they were corrupt.
(d) That they were lazy.

8. What did Lessing's parents think of the Whiteheads when they first met them?
(a) That they were shifty and unsatisfactory.
(b) That they would be useful in developing relationships.
(c) That they could betray them at any time.
(d) That they should return to England.

9. How old was Lessing when she wrote "The Treasure Trunk"?
(a) 10.
(b) 13.
(c) 12.
(d) 19.

10. Who stated that children should play in mud?
(a) Lessing's mother.
(b) Lessing's father.
(c) Montessori.
(d) Mrs. Scott.

11. Which of the following was the "chief wrong" that Lessing's mother cited in her diatribe against the Catholic Church?
(a) Slavery.
(b) The Inquisition.
(c) The Counter Reformation.
(d) Imperialism.

12. What social development occurred during Lessing's stay at the Convent which, much to the chagrin of the nuns, parents supported?
(a) Cigarette smoking.
(b) The Talkies.
(c) Modernized womens' fashions.
(d) Social equality for women.

13. Growing up, what was Lessing always told about the family's financial status?
(a) That the family was middle-class.
(b) That the family was financially stable, but morally corrupt.
(c) That the family was poor.
(d) That the family would be fine when her father settled in his new job.

14. Which company offered loans to the farmers in Lessing's region?
(a) Southern Rhodesian Farming Association.
(b) The British National Bank.
(c) The National Bank of Southern Rhodesia.
(d) Land Bank.

15. How did the author feel about her childhood?
(a) Lessing felt as though the entire world was changing while she was a child.
(b) Lessing felt as though her parents had neglected her.
(c) Lessing felt as though her childhood had been very sheltered.
(d) Lessing felt as though there had been a grey cloud over her childhood.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following does Lessing state as signifying the end of any war?

2. How many trek oxen hauled the wagon carrying Lessing's family?

3. What image from the photograph album does Lessing describe?

4. How was Aunt Betty Cleverly like most women of her generation?

5. Which of the following historic examples does Lessing use to support her claims about human nature?

(see the answer keys)

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