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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following did Lessing delight in telling the other children at the school?
(a) That being naughty was much worse than lying.
(b) That lying would make their face stick in a horrible position.
(c) That being naughty was more fun than behaving.
(d) That a lie was worse than being naughty.

2. According to Lessing, above all, what does history tell us?
(a) That mankind is not peaceful by nature.
(b) That happiness is fleeting.
(c) That circumstances dictate the person.
(d) That nothing is permanent.

3. What type of animals frequently made their way into the Tayler house?
(a) Lizards.
(b) Snakes.
(c) Cats.
(d) Beetles.

4. To which of the following does Lessing compare writers?
(a) Ventriloquists, casting a message from afar.
(b) Liars.
(c) Archaeologists.
(d) Pegs on which to hang ideas.

5. What does Lessing say about memory?
(a) Memory must be recorded in books.
(b) Memory is a careless and lazy organ.
(c) Memory is an astonishing record.
(d) Memory cannot be trusted.

6. What image from the photograph album does Lessing describe?
(a) A visit to her father's workplace.
(b) A visit to a swimming bath.
(c) Her first day in the Persian house.
(d) A trip to the market.

7. Which of the following historic examples does Lessing use to support her claims about human nature?
(a) The Reformation.
(b) The Renaissance.
(c) The Holocaust.
(d) The Crusades.

8. How many trek oxen hauled the wagon carrying Lessing's family?
(a) 12.
(b) 14.
(c) 18.
(d) 16.

9. Where did Lessing's family live before they found property?
(a) In Lilfordia.
(b) In Kent.
(c) In Johannesburg.
(d) In London.

10. What kind of food were the children fed at the convent that Lessing stayed in as a child?
(a) German peasant food.
(b) Traditional Rhodesian food.
(c) French peasant food.
(d) English peasant food.

11. What year did Lessing leave Southern Rhodesia?
(a) 1919.
(b) 1934.
(c) 1945.
(d) 1949.

12. Why did Lessing learn to drive?
(a) Lessing learned to drive because she wanted to work in town.
(b) Lessing learned to drive because of her father's awkward leg.
(c) Lessing learned to drive to displease her mother.
(d) Lessing learned to drive because she wanted independence.

13. With whom did Lessing board as a child?
(a) Mrs. Mitchell.
(b) Mrs. Scott.
(c) Mrs. James.
(d) Mary Peach.

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

15. Which of the following names does Lessing give the personality that would comes out of her while under the influence of drugs?
(a) The Recluse.
(b) The Guide.
(c) The Hostess.
(d) The Cynic.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following killed one of the chickens and took off with a couple of eggs?

2. What did Lessing refuse to have on her bed at night?

3. Growing up, what was Lessing always told about the family's financial status?

4. How did Mrs. Mitchell and her son treat their Black servants?

5. Which of the following conditions ailed the author's father?

(see the answer keys)

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