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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. At what age did Emily McVeagh die?
(a) 35.
(b) 32.
(c) 23.
(d) 42.

3. Which of the following does Lessing blame for the distrust that 20th Century people have in their governments?
(a) World War I.
(b) Media coverage.
(c) Political corruption.
(d) World War II.

4. To which of the following illnesses did Lessing's brother often succumb?
(a) Bronchitis.
(b) Migraine headaches.
(c) Pneumonia.
(d) Emphysema.

5. In Chapter 2, what is one thing that Lessing says the writer must have in order to begin to write about his/her life?
(a) Copious emotional space.
(b) Tedious, rhetorical questions.
(c) Free time.
(d) Perspective.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Where was Doris Lessing born?

3. How much capital did Lessing's father take to Southern Rhodesia?

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

5. Where was John McVeagh born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What essential skill did Lessing learn in Chapter 5?

2. From the details Lessing provides in Chapter 1, describe the circumstances which led to Maude's broken heart.

3. Why did Lessing's parents have all their teeth removed before leaving for Africa?

4. Describe the circumstances that led to Alfred's depression.

5. In Chapter 4, what prompted the Tayler family to move to Africa?

6. According to Lessing in Chapter 2, what is the role of truth in autobiographical writing?

7. In Chapter 6, what was Lessing's mother's primary concern about the children?

8. In your opinion, why does Lessing trace her lineage in the opening chapter?

9. What advantage does Lessing that claim she has in writing her autobiography late in her life?

10. While their mother was bedridden, what did Lessing and her brother do?

(see the answer keys)

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