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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. According to Lessing, what is the most intense form of hatred?
(a) Stereotyping.
(b) The racially-motivated hatred of post-colonial Africa.
(c) The hatred of the disillusioned soldier.
(d) The rage of a child.

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

3. In Chapter 8, what does Lessing reference as a common theme throughout her childhood?
(a) Trees.
(b) Fires.
(c) Dreams.
(d) Adventures.

4. 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) Tedious, rhetorical questions.
(b) Free time.
(c) Perspective.
(d) Copious emotional space.

5. What did the doctor prescribe to alleviate Lessing's mother's ailment?
(a) Hydration and exercise.
(b) Bed rest.
(c) Tonic and quinine.
(d) Penicillin.

Short Answer Questions

1. During the 1930's what did Lessing and her brother hear all of the adults discussing?

2. How did Lessing's friend make a living in New York to support herself and her daughter?

3. 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?

4. How did Lessing's mother convey her distaste for Emily McVeagh?

5. What do Lessing's parents do in preparation for their next voyage?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Lessing suspect was the root of her mother's illness?

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

3. In Chapter 8, how did the girls at the school avoid exams?

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

5. In Chapter 3, what type of child abuse does Lessing describe?

6. In Chapter 7, what did Lessing and her brother do in the bush?

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

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

9. Quoting a recent historian, to what major event does Lessing attribute current feelings of mistrust toward the government?

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

(see the answer keys)

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