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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did Lessing's mother cure Lessing's lice problem?
(a) By washing her hair with scalding hot water.
(b) With paraffin.
(c) With expensive shampoo.
(d) By shaving her head.

2. How many bouts of illness did Lessing's family experience?
(a) Four.
(b) One.
(c) Three.
(d) Two.

3. How many family members went to visit Lessing's house in Persia?
(a) Two.
(b) Three.
(c) Four.
(d) Six.

4. What did Biddy O'Halloran's skin resemble?
(a) Olives.
(b) Red jelly and cream.
(c) Bronze.
(d) Peaches and cream.

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

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

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

8. How many biographers were writing about Lessing at the time that she wrote the book?
(a) Eight.
(b) Two.
(c) Five.
(d) Four.

9. What was Lessing's name for her outward personality?
(a) Igor.
(b) Winnie the Pooh.
(c) Tigger.
(d) Joey.

10. 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 being naughty was more fun than behaving.
(c) That lying would make their face stick in a horrible position.
(d) That a lie was worse than being naughty.

11. Which of the following conditions ailed the author's father?
(a) Shell Shock.
(b) Bulimia.
(c) Schizophrenia.
(d) Insomnia.

12. Which of the following drugs does Lessing admit to having taken once?
(a) Cocaine.
(b) Heroin.
(c) Marijuana.
(d) Mescalin.

13. How many adults lived in the Persian house while Lessing was growing up?
(a) Four.
(b) Three.
(c) One.
(d) Two.

14. What did Lessing refuse to have on her bed at night?
(a) A mosquito net.
(b) A blanket.
(c) A quilt.
(d) A kaross.

15. According to Lessing, where do most of the good biographers live?
(a) Germany.
(b) Britain.
(c) France.
(d) United States of America.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 3, which of the following does Lessing describe as her first memory?

2. According to Lessing, why do authors write so many biographies?

3. What did Doris insist on having with her in the photograph for which she posed?

4. Which of the following song for children made Lessing's mother cry?

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

(see the answer keys)

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